Who Makes Ryobi?
By The Tool Bandit
Ryobi is the green wall at Home Depot. Cheap, everywhere, and quietly related to Milwaukee. This guide covers who actually makes Ryobi tools, why they cost what they do, which ones are genuinely worth buying, and where you’d be better off with a different brand.
The 30-second version
In a hurry? This is the whole article:
- Who makes them: TTI (Techtronic Industries), the Hong Kong company that also owns Milwaukee. It makes Ryobi power tools under license from Ryobi Limited of Japan.
- Why they’re cheap: one US retailer (Home Depot), huge volume, and tools engineered for homeowner duty cycles instead of jobsite punishment.
- Worth buying: the 18V fans, the Airstrike brad nailer, the digital inflators, the glue guns, the USB Lithium small tools. Specialty stuff where Ryobi is cheap and good.
- Not the pick: tools you’ll run all day for a living. That’s Milwaukee and DEWALT territory.
Who actually makes Ryobi tools
The short answer: Techtronic Industries (TTI), a Hong Kong-based manufacturing company. The longer answer is worth knowing, because the name on the box has changed hands twice.
Ryobi started as Ryobi Seisakusho Co., Ltd., founded in Japan in 1943 making die-cast parts. It began manufacturing power tools in 1968. The power-tool business left Japan in stages: TTI acquired Ryobi’s North American power-tool business in August 2000, the European business in 2001, and the Australia/New Zealand operations in 2002. TTI operates the Ryobi power-tool brand under license from the original Ryobi Limited. That company still exists today, making die-cast components, printing equipment, and builders’ hardware. In 2018, the remaining Ryobi power-tool business (Japan, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa) transferred to the Kyocera Group.
Here’s the part that surprises people: TTI also owns Milwaukee (acquired in 2005), plus Hoover, Dirt Devil, Oreck, and AEG. It makes Hart power tools for Walmart and licenses the Ridgid name from Emerson for the cordless tools sold at Home Depot. So yes. The green DIY tools and the red pro tools share a parent company. They’re run as separate brands aimed at different buyers: Milwaukee for the trades, Ryobi for homeowners.
Where they’re made: most Ryobi tools are manufactured in China, with additional production in Vietnam, Mexico, and the United States. The Ryobi brand’s US headquarters is in Greenville, South Carolina.
The Home Depot thing
In the United States, Ryobi power tools are sold exclusively at Home Depot. That exclusivity is a big part of the pricing: one retailer, enormous volume, and a supply chain with no middlemen to feed.
Common misconception, cleared up: Home Depot does not own Ryobi. The brand belongs to TTI (under license from Ryobi Limited of Japan). Home Depot is the exclusive US retailer, not the manufacturer.
The Ryobi tools actually worth buying
Ryobi’s drills and drivers are fine. But the brand’s real strength is the oddball stuff: tools the pro brands either don’t make or charge double for. These are the Ryobi tools with genuine followings:
Cordless fans. This is Ryobi’s best category, full stop. The lineup runs from a 4-inch clamp fan (over 140 CFM, clamps to 2x lumber, and runs for roughly 40 hours on a single battery) up to the 18-inch Air Cannon hybrid drum fan, which pushes up to 2,400 CFM and runs on an 18V battery or plugged into the wall. Reviewers have struggled to find real drawbacks with the Air Cannon, and nothing else in the cordless world moves that much air at anything close to the price.
The Airstrike brad nailer. The 18-gauge Airstrike drives brads from ⅝ inch to 2⅛ inches, and it’s the rare Ryobi tool that wins outright comparisons: it’s been picked as a best cordless nailer by major review outlets, with strong marks for the precision tip, depth adjustment, and LED guide light. Cordless trim nailing with no compressor to drag around. For baseboards, casing, and furniture projects, it’s the tool that converts the most skeptics.
Digital inflators. The 18V high-pressure inflator holds a 4.7-out-of-5 rating across roughly 5,900 Home Depot reviews, with 93% of reviewers recommending it. It inflates to 160 PSI with a digital gauge and auto shut-off at your set pressure. Set it, walk away, no babysitting. The dual-function inflator/deflator adds a high-volume mode for air mattresses and pool toys, and it runs in reverse to deflate them.
Glue guns. An 18V cordless glue gun sounds like a gimmick until you’ve used one: the dual-temperature model heats in under a minute with no cord tethering you to an outlet, and the compact version runs through over 100 glue sticks on a charge. There’s also a USB-C rechargeable model in the USB Lithium line for the junk drawer.
USB Lithium tools. A separate 4V platform (powered screwdrivers, compact rotary tools, glue pens, inspection lights) that recharges over USB-C. A screwdriver you top up from a phone charger is a genuinely useful thing to own, and it costs a fraction of a full-size kit.
The 18V power inverter. Clips onto any ONE+ battery and gives you 150W of AC power. Charge a laptop, run small electronics, or power lights off a tool battery during an outage.
Notice the pattern: none of these are trying to out-drill Milwaukee. They’re the tools where “cheap and good enough” is the entire job description, and Ryobi owns that lane.
ONE+ HP vs brushed: which to buy
Inside the 18V ONE+ system there are two tiers. Brushed tools are the cheaper baseline: fine for light, occasional work. ONE+ HP tools are brushless, with better motors and more power, and they are the strongest tools Ryobi makes on the platform. The base brushed ONE+ tools are the wrong choice for sustained heavy-load work: they run hotter and slower than brushless tools doing the same work. For drills and drivers, the rule is simple: buy the ONE+ HP brushless versions. For a specialty tool you will use twice a year, the brushed version is fine and cheaper.
The battery system argument
The other reason to buy Ryobi isn’t any single tool. It’s the 18V ONE+ system. Launched in 1996, it now covers 300+ tools on one battery platform, and Ryobi has kept new batteries backward compatible with older ONE+ tools along the way. Once you own batteries and a charger, every additional tool can be bought “bare” (tool only), which is by far the cheapest way to build a collection.
That’s the real math on Ryobi: the first kit buys you into the system, and everything after that gets cheaper per tool. For the core drilling and driving tools, reach for the ONE+ HP brushless versions. They’re the strongest tools Ryobi makes on the platform.
The 18V vs 40V boundary: 18V ONE+ is for everything from drills to fans. 40V is a separate, bigger system for outdoor equipment like mowers, blowers, and chainsaws, and the batteries do not cross over. USB Lithium is a separate 4V platform too, not part of ONE+, and it recharges over USB-C.
Buy in this order: a drill/driver kit first, since it buys you into the system, then the specialty tools you will actually use, then bare tools as needs come up.
Is Ryobi good enough for professional work?
Ryobi is engineered for homeowner duty cycles: weekend projects, repairs, a few hours at a time. It is not built for the life of a tool that gets run eight hours a day and thrown in a truck bed every night. If you earn a living with your tools, that durability gap matters: tighter tolerances, better service networks, and tools designed for punishment are what Milwaukee and DEWALT sell, and it’s why they cost more.
The base brushed ONE+ tools are also the wrong choice for sustained heavy-load work. They’ll do the job, but they run hotter and slower than brushless tools doing the same work. And if you need a tool Ryobi simply doesn’t make at a pro level (rotary hammers, big grinders), don’t force it. Buy the right brand for that tool.
The rule is simple: if you own a house, Ryobi is the value play. If you run a crew, buy the pro brand. We keep an eye on Ryobi price drops and will feature them on the deals page when they land.
FAQ
Who makes Ryobi tools?
Techtronic Industries (TTI) of Hong Kong makes Ryobi power tools under license from Ryobi Limited of Japan. TTI acquired the North American business in 2000, Europe in 2001, and Australia/New Zealand in 2002.
Is Ryobi owned by Milwaukee?
No. Both are owned by TTI, but neither owns the other. Milwaukee (acquired by TTI in 2005) is the pro brand; Ryobi is the homeowner/DIY brand.
Where are Ryobi tools made?
Mostly China, with additional manufacturing in Vietnam, Mexico, and the United States. The brand’s US headquarters is in Greenville, South Carolina.
Is Ryobi only sold at Home Depot?
In the US, yes. Home Depot doesn’t own the brand (TTI does), but it’s the exclusive American retailer for Ryobi power tools.
What Ryobi tools are actually worth buying?
The specialty tools: 18V fans, the Airstrike brad nailer, digital inflators, glue guns, and the USB Lithium compact tools. For drills and drivers, buy the ONE+ HP brushless versions.
Is Ryobi good enough for professional use?
Ryobi is built for homeowner duty cycles. Pros who run tools all day buy Milwaukee or DEWALT for durability and service support. ONE+ HP is the toughest Ryobi gets, but it doesn’t replace a pro-grade tool for daily jobsite work.
Should I buy Ryobi ONE+ HP or brushed?
Buy ONE+ HP brushless for drills and drivers: better motors, more power, and the strongest tools Ryobi makes on the platform. Brushed tools are fine for light, occasional work and cheaper, but they run hotter and slower under sustained heavy load. For a specialty tool you will use twice a year, the brushed version is fine.
What is the difference between Ryobi 18V and 40V?
18V ONE+ is the main system, covering 300+ tools from drills to fans. 40V is a separate, bigger system for outdoor equipment like mowers, blowers, and chainsaws, and the batteries do not cross over. Buy into 18V for workshop and home tools, and 40V only if you are building out yard equipment.
Is Ryobi USB Lithium part of ONE+?
No. USB Lithium is a separate 4V platform for compact tools like powered screwdrivers, rotary tools, glue pens, and inspection lights, and it recharges over USB-C. USB Lithium batteries do not fit ONE+ tools, and ONE+ batteries do not fit USB Lithium tools.
Also in this series: DEWALT Tool Lines Explained, Milwaukee Tool Lines Explained, Which Power Tool Brand Should You Actually Buy?, Tool Brands Explained.