Milwaukee M12 2401-20 Screwdriver Review: Is a Dedicated Screwdriver Still Worth It?

Introduction

The Milwaukee M12 2401-20 sits in an odd corner of the cordless tool world: a purpose-built screwdriver in a category dominated by increasingly capable drills. It raises a fair question. When a compact drill can drive screws just as well and do far more besides, does a single-use tool still make sense?

What the Milwaukee M12 2401-20 Actually Is

The 2401-20 is a pistol-grip cordless screwdriver that runs on Milwaukee’s M12 battery platform. Milwaukee claims up to 175 in-lbs of torque and 500 RPM, and the tool ships as a bare option or in kits that include batteries and a charger. One of the more pleasant surprises is the gyroscopic motion built into the grip, which lets you adjust speed intuitively by how you hold and angle the tool. It is a genuinely nice touch that separates this from a basic drill.

It is worth noting the pricing landscape. New, the bare tool has been listed around $79, with kits that bundle two batteries and a charger running closer to $100. Used examples can turn up for considerably less, which is where the value question gets interesting, since used prices vary widely and depend heavily on condition.

Clutch Behavior: The Defining Feature

The standout hardware feature is a torque-limiting collar around the front of the tool, functioning as an adjustable clutch. In practice, settings one through thirteen offer genuinely useful increments, and lower settings stop with just two fingers of resistance, which helps prevent overdriving drywall screws, stripping wood screws, or cracking outlet and switch plate covers.

There are quirks, though. The clutch only works with quick-lock bits, so you will need an adapter collar for standard bits. Settings fourteen, fifteen, and the drill mode all felt effectively the same in testing, and the measured top speed came in noticeably under the claimed 500 RPM. The clutch is also fairly loud and clunky at the mid-range settings. As a bonus, a belt clip is included, which is handy for ladder work.

Who Should Actually Consider It

At over a pound, this is not an ultralight tool, but it is lighter than Milwaukee’s Fuel-series drills and easier to control for precision work. That lower-clutch, gentler-driving character could suit someone with arthritis or anyone doing repetitive light-duty fastening where finesse matters more than power.

The honest comparison is against the rest of the M12 lineup. Milwaukee’s own M12 Fuel drills and impact drivers cost more, but non-Fuel versions of those tools can be found for not much more than this screwdriver, and they deliver far more capability. If you already own M12 batteries and frequently do delicate screwdriving, the 2401-20 has a defensible niche.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The main argument against this tool is redundancy. An M12 drill handles everything the 2401-20 does, plus drilling, and many M12 drill options are priced close enough that the screwdriver’s savings feel marginal. The clutch is the one thing a drill cannot fully replicate, and if delicate clutch-controlled driving is a regular part of your work, that alone can justify the purchase. If not, a drill is almost certainly the better spend.

Buying Advice

Buy this if you already have M12 batteries, do lots of light-duty fastening, and value the fine clutch control and gyroscopic speed adjustment. Skip it if you are building a kit from scratch; a compact M12 drill at a similar price does more work. On the used market, where prices can drop well below new pricing, the calculation shifts in its favor, but inspect the tool carefully and check the battery before committing.

Conclusion

The Milwaukee M12 2401-20 is an impressive, well-built tool with a clever gyroscopic grip and a genuinely useful clutch, but it faces a tough question: whether a dedicated screwdriver still has a place when capable drills cost only a little more. For a specific kind of user, it does. For most buyers, a compact drill remains the smarter purchase.