I've got cordless tools from Makita, Dewalt, Ryobi, Hercules and Bauer.
TLDR
Ryobi is a good budget option. Decent cordless tools and a huge range that few other brands can match.
Bauer is a solid budget brand, often cheaper than Ryobi but I feel pretty comparable in quality and the range of tools, although Ryobi does have an even larger selection of tools available. Bauer's batteries are a big advantage being both inexpensive and offering some large capacity 8 and 12ah batteries. Avoid the 1.5ah batteries. Frequent HF sales can make Bauer very affordable, and they are not junk tools.
Hercules a theoretically a notch above Bauer. There is a smaller range of tools available, but Hercules does have some things Bauer doesn't. Batteries are also quite affordable.
The long version
I'm still largely a corded tools guy, for a long time the Makita drill / driver was my only exploration of cordless. A cordless drill is just too useful to be without.
I've also got a Dewalt drill driver set from 2017-ish, its ok, but the battery life falls well short of my older Makita.
I had some Dewalt cordless tool at work, probably 2010 era tools. I wasn't impressed at all, but 15 years is a long time the current gen may be better. I like Dewalt corded tools, but my experience with their cordless has turned me off of them.
I got a Ryobi cordless hedge trimmer in 2012-13, and I've mostly stuck to their garden tools. Until recently Ryobi accounted for the bulk of my cordless tools. I've got a hedge trimmer, chainsaw, weedwacker, a caulking gun (bought as a joke, but I love it), and a ratchet. Everything works as it should, and in that 13-14 years I think I've only had one battery stop working.
About 2 years ago I bought a Bauer drill / driver set (brushed) that came with 1.5ah batteries. It was on sale very cheap, $39.99 for the set (drill / driver, 2 batteries and a charger) as I recall. I have used Makita for years, but wanted a second drill / driver set to keep in the house for small spur of the moment use, and something other family members can use if needed. The tools I keep in the house have a tendency to not get put back where they were found.
My initial impression was it was a cheap drill / driver set, not great but it did the job. Well HF started doing these buy a battery, get a free tool (or the reverse). They batteries in these deals were the larger 3ah or 5ah. With these larger batteries the cheap drill / driver became significantly better. Still no Makita, but they did all I asked of them, and for a $20 tool much better than I expected.
With the frequent deals HF was doing there for a spell I've added a brushless drill / driver set, 7-1/4" circular saw, angle drill, 1/2" impact driver, jigsaw, 3" cut off tool, hot glue gun, two different inflators and a 3 gallon shopvac. Bauer has become my primary cordless tool brand.
I used the Bauer brushless drill with a 6" hole saw and the jig saw to install a bathroom fan last year. I was quite impressed, no lack of power.
I've only bought a few cordless Hercules tools, just things not available from Bauer. I have the cordless portaband, and a 1/2 gallon handheld shopvac.
The Bauer tools are solid DIY / homeowner tools, and I'd even say could be a good tool platform for somebody professionally doing light construction like a handyman. Decent tools and a very good selection.
The brushless drill / driver is worth the extra cost, but for maximum affordability the brushed drill / driver is not bad. With the 1.5ah batteries it is like using a cordless 12v drill from the 90s.
Don't bother with the 1.5ah batteries if you can help it, as most of the tools have a noticeable decrease in performance with them.
Personally I think the 5ah battery offers the best option for performance and cost. HF frequently puts the 2 pack of 5ah batteries on sale for $99 which brings the per battery price below the regular price for the 3ah batteries ($59).
The batteries is one of the big advantages to Bauer. By cost the beat almost everybody. You can find 2 packs of Ryobi 4ah batteries on sale for $99, so close to the 5ah 2 packs. Bauer offers batteries from 1.5ah to 12ah, Ryobi only has 2,4,and 6ah batteries.
Most Bauer tools only have a 90 day warranty, but warranties are not free and that is a big part of how they keep the price down on Bauer. You can buy an extended 2 year warranty, but that starts getting you into Hercules pricing. Bauer has a broader range of tools compared to Hercules, but Hercules also has some tools unique to it.
I've got less experience with Hercules, but they have been good. Probably better than Bauer, but since my Hercules purchases were for tools that are not offered in Bauer I have no 1-1 comparison. Like Bauer HF frequently offers battery deals on the Hercules batteries. I got the portaband in a tool / battery deal for the non-sale price of the battery.
Hercules batteries are only a little more than Bauer so still pretty cheap compared to many brands. They offer 2ah to 12ah, and again the 5ah seems to be the bargain point as the 2 pack goes on sale for (I think) $109.
