I have had experience using both the 18 volt and the 36 volt. Do not underestimate the 18 Volt, when it comes to power and speed. It turns a couple hundred more RPM’s than the 36. While the 36 Volt probably has a little more torque, we noticed that it has an overload disengage circuit. If you squeeze the throttle fully from a dead start, the drill kicks out, until you re-trigger. I think this is because Dewalt designed it that way to protect a user against a twisted wrist, if a drill bit were to catch. The real benefit of the 36 is the battery life is longer, due to the physical size. That is my opinion. DPX is happy that either of the drills work well!