Metabo HPT 4 Years Later: The Good, The Bad & What’s Changed
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Metabo HPT Four Years Later: What's Changed
In 2022 I made a video on Metabo HPT covering my thoughts on the brand, what I liked, what I didn't, and where the lineup stood. A viewer recently asked what I think of the brand now, so I pulled my Metabo HPT tools back out, looked at where things stand in 2026, and made an update.
The short version: Metabo HPT still makes solid tools, but the lineup has barely moved. I don't regret recommending what I did in 2022, and I'm not telling anyone to sell their Metabo HPT gear. I just expected the brand to be a lot further along by now.
The tools are still good
Nothing about the tools I've used has soured on me. Metabo HPT built its reputation on professional-grade tools rather than chasing the lowest price, and that still holds up. MultiVolt, their battery platform that runs across different tool types, is still one of the more interesting things the brand does. If Metabo HPT makes the specific tool you need and the price is right, it's still a fine buy.
A lot of the lineup is showing its age
Four years is a long time in cordless tools. Over that stretch, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita and others have shrunk motors, pushed impact power up, improved their electronics and refreshed entire categories. Metabo HPT's reciprocating saws, drills and impact drivers look much the same as they did when I made the first video.
An older tool isn't automatically a bad one. But when a tool sits unchanged for years, it ends up competing against everyone else's newer designs, and that's where Metabo HPT is starting to slip. The performance is still there. The momentum isn't.
Outdoor power equipment is still the big gap
This was a problem in 2022 and it still is. If you're buying into a battery platform, you're usually buying more than a drill. You want blowers, string trimmers, chainsaws, hedge trimmers and the rest of the yard tools running off the same batteries. Metabo HPT doesn't give me confidence there compared to the larger platforms.
If you only want one or two pro-grade tools, this won't matter to you. If you're trying to standardize a garage or jobsite on one battery system, it matters a lot.
HiKOKI is doing more than we're getting
Metabo HPT is the North American name for HiKOKI, which sits under KOKI Group. Everywhere else in the world it's HiKOKI, and if you follow that brand internationally, you'll see tools that never seem to show up here under the Metabo HPT name. Plenty of them stay in the HiKOKI line.
That's frustrating, because it proves the parent company is still developing new tools. We just aren't getting enough of them.
One change might help. KOKI Group has announced that the separate Metabo brand in North America is being folded into Metabo HPT, with the transition scheduled to finish during 2026. That should broaden what sits under the Metabo HPT name, but it's too early to say what it means for the lineup long term.
Lowe's has been shrinking the shelf space
Metabo HPT's footprint at Lowe's has been getting smaller at the stores I visit. That changes the buying experience. A big part of the appeal of a major cordless platform is walking into a store, seeing the tools, and grabbing a battery when you need one. For Metabo HPT, I'm increasingly shopping online, and Amazon is where I'd point you if you want to buy into the platform today.
To be fair, this is my own local observation. I don't have evidence that Lowe's is pulling back nationally, so take it as what I've seen at the stores near me.
The warranty has changed
The warranty used to be a real selling point, and it's not what it was. Much of the lineup has moved away from the old lifetime coverage to a professional warranty of either three or five years, depending on the tool. That's still reasonable coverage, but it's a step down, and it varies by product, so check the specific tool before you buy.
There is some good news
Metabo HPT hasn't stopped developing tools. In September 2026 they announced a new Cordless Pneumatics category of battery-powered nailers for North America, aimed at delivering pneumatic-style speed without a hose or compressor. This is the kind of new product I've been wanting to see from them, and it's a category worth watching.
Other releases have arrived too, including tools coming over as part of the Metabo consolidation. My complaint isn't that development has stopped. It's that the pace and breadth don't match what the bigger brands are doing.
Would I still buy Metabo HPT in 2026?
Yes, with more caveats than I'd have given in 2022.
If Metabo HPT makes the exact tool you want and it's competitive on price and performance, I wouldn't skip it just because the overall lineup is moving slowly. Where I'd hesitate is recommending it to someone who wants one battery platform to cover nearly everything for the next decade. The aging tools, the thin outdoor selection and the slow pace of new releases matter much more in that situation.
The tools are still good, MultiVolt is still interesting, and new products are still coming, including those nailers. But in 2026 I expected considerably more from the platform than what we're seeing. Hopefully when I revisit this again in a few years, I'll have a lot more new tools to talk about.
