Specs are compiled from manufacturer listings and verified buyer reviews and can change over time — please confirm the key details on the product page before buying.
If you have ever finished a riveting job with a hand that will not fully open, you already know why a cordless rivet gun exists. These tools pull the mandrel — the thin pin inside a blind rivet — with a motor instead of your grip, so the only thing you do is press a trigger. This guide sorts out which cordless riveters actually pull stainless steel without stalling, which ones demand a battery platform you may not own yet, and which ones leave a bucket of loose pins on the shop floor.
I’m Mohammad Maruf — the founder and writer behind KitchPrep. This guide is built by comparing the manufacturers’ published specifications and the patterns across verified customer reviews, so you get each pick’s real strengths and trade-offs instead of marketing spin.
You will see three rivet-size families repeated throughout: 3/32-inch, 1/8-inch, 5/32-inch, and the heavier 3/16-inch. The nose piece is the small threaded cap at the tip of the tool that matches the rivet diameter — a mismatched nose piece is the number one cause of jams. Battery platform matters just as much, because several of these ship as bare tools that run on packs you probably already own. Below are the nine cordless rivet guns worth your attention, ranked by how they perform in real shops, so let this serve as your working shortlist of the battery powered rivet gun options that pull clean.
Our Picks at a Glance
How To Choose The Best Battery Powered Rivet Gun
There are only four things that decide whether a cordless riveter earns its place in your bag: the battery platform it runs on, the pull force it delivers, the rivet sizes it accepts, and how it handles the spent mandrels. Get those four right and almost every other spec fades into the background.
Start With The Battery You Already Own
Half the tools here arrive as bare tools — no pack, no charger — and run on a platform like DeWalt 20V MAX or Makita 18V. If you already have those packs in the shop, a bare tool stretches your existing investment and keeps your charger count low. If you own nothing, count the cost of the packs and charger you will need before you fall in love with an entry-level price.
Pull Force Sets The Real Limit
Pull force, measured in foot-pounds of force (lbf — the twist the motor applies to draw the pin through the rivet), is what separates a tool that eats 3/16-inch stainless from one that gives up. An aluminum-tune gun may pull soft aluminum all day and stall the moment a stainless pin locks up. Match the pull rating to the hardest material you actually fasten.
Match The Nose Piece To The Rivet
The same gun often ships with nose pieces for 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, and 3/16-inch rivets, and swapping them is how you change sizes. On-board storage of those pieces keeps them from vanishing into a toolbox, and a tool-free nose change means you are not hunting for a wrench every time you switch sizes.
Quick Comparison
| Model | Best For | Rivet Sizes | Pull Force | Weight | Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee 2550-20 M12 Rivet Tool★ Best Overall | All-day production work | 3/32″ – 3/16″ | — | 4.81 lb | Amazon |
| TRONYAN Electric Rivet Tool (DeWalt 20V Max)Best Value | DeWalt owners on a budget | 1/8″, 5/32″, 3/16″ | Up to 2 | 4.16 lb | Amazon |
| Mayoki Cordless Rivet Gun (DeWalt 20V/60V)Best Kit | DeWalt users who want spec | — | Up to 2248 lbf | 4.02 lb | Amazon |
| BOQNZN Cordless Rivet Gun Kit | Two-battery convenience | 1/8″ – 3/16″ | — | 7.17 lb | Amazon |
| Milwaukee M12BPRT-0 Pop Rivet Tool | Field repairs on M12 packs | — | — | 4.18 lb | Amazon |
| DEWALT 20V MAX XR (DCF403B) | High-volume stainless jobs | 3/32″ – 3/16″ | Up to 2,100 lbf | 4.16 lb | Amazon |
| DEWALT 20V MAX XR Kit (DCF403D1) | First-time buyers | 3/32″ – 3/16″ | Up to 2,100 lbf | 6.8 lb | Amazon |
In‑Depth Reviews
1. Milwaukee Electric Tools 2550-20 M12 Rivet Tool (Bare Tool)
Our pick — over 4.5★ from 750+ verified ratings; the strongest balance of quality and price.
The bench standard for pulling 1/4-inch-class steel without a compressor behind it
The 2550-20 is the cordless rivet tool other manufacturers quietly benchmark against, and the specs explain why. It pulls 3/32-inch, 1/8-inch, 5/32-inch, and 3/16-inch rivets, and Milwaukee rates it at 450 1/8-inch steel rivets per charge. That is a full day of production work off one compact M12 pack, which is why fabrication shops keep these charged on the bench rather than in a drawer.
Weight is the number that surprises people: 4.81 pounds with the pack on. Lighter than either DEWALT 20V MAX XR in this list at 4.16 or 4.02 pounds? Not quite — the Mayoki bare-tool unit comes in almost a full pound lighter. But the Milwaukee balances its mass behind the grip, so it hangs level in the hand instead of nose-diving, and that is what keeps a long rivet run tolerable.
What wins people over is how unremarkable it is. No pin jams, no fuss. Whatever material you feed it, it pulls and spits the mandrel out. It handles 3.2 to 5mm diameter stainless rivets with 10 to 30mm lengths fast, and the review pages are full of installers who moved to it after years of wrestling pneumatic HUCK guns and never looked back.
The trade-off is a genuine one: durability feedback is mixed, with a small minority reporting early failures alongside the majority who describe an extremely strong tool. And changing the onboard spare nose pieces means removing the larger M12 pack first, which is awkward mid-job. Neither is a dealbreaker for a tool most owners treat as a lifetime purchase.
The case for it
- Four rivet sizes in one tool — 3/32″ through 3/16″
- 450 1/8″ steel rivets per charge, so a single compact pack covers a full shift
- 4.81 lb with a battery fitted — heavy enough to feel planted, light enough to one-hand
- Bare-tool pricing means you add it to the M12 packs and charger you already own
Where it lets you down
- Nose-piece swaps require removing the larger pack first
- Durability feedback is mixed, with a minority of early failures
Buy it if: you already run M12 packs and want the rivet tool that pulls steel, aluminum, and stainless without a second thought — 798 ratings and a 4.7 score back that up.
Think twice if: you want onboard tool-free nose changes, or you have no M12 battery and charger on the shelf already.
2. TRONYAN Electric Rivet Tool, Cordless Brushless Rivet Gun for 1/8″, 5/32″, 3/16″ Rivets, Compatible with DeWalt 20V Max Battery (Bare Tool)
The cheapest way into DeWalt-compatible cordless riveting, and it mostly earns it
If you already own DeWalt 20V MAX packs, this TRONYAN bare tool is the low-cost entry point. It pulls 1/8-inch, 5/32-inch, and 3/16-inch rivets in aluminum, steel, and stainless steel, and the brushless motor is rated for up to 10 years without replacement — no carbon brushes to swap, no sparks, and low noise. At 4.16 pounds it is one of the lighter tools here, roughly matching the DEWALT DCF403B and the Mayoki bare-tool unit within a few ounces of each other.
Owners who put it into real work come back impressed. As one buyer reports, “Best rivet gun i ever had. I put around 200 rivets in the first fiew days I had it worked perfectly.” That is the review that tells the real story for high-volume installers.
But read the fine print before you commit. The head loosens when you swap nose pieces, so keep the included wrench close by. The integrated LED is dim, and the gun is heavier than a buyer expects walking in from a manual tool. Reliability is the strongest point — owners rate it as dependable, though function feedback splits sharply between buyers who find it excellent and a few who find it unusable after a pin jams. Then there is the discharge rate: this gun does not include a battery, so your DeWalt pack is doing the heavy lifting.
Where it shines: your DeWalt batteries work natively here, the pull is fast for large rivet volumes, and owners repeatedly note it runs clean in aluminum and steel.
Know before you buy: it ships bare — no battery, no charger — and the nose-change wobble plus a dim LED are real, reported quirks. A rare unit arrives with a jammed pin from the first handful of rivets.
Reach for it when: your DeWalt 20V kit is already on the truck and you want cordless riveting without buying another platform.
skip it if: stainless is your daily material or you want a tool-free nose change from the start.
3. CAMXTOOL Cordless Rivet Gun Battery Powered, Automatic Electric Rivet Gun Tool Brushless Pop Rivet Gun Kit for 3/32″, 1/8″, 5/32″, 3/16″ Rivets
The strongest pulling force in this entire comparison, on the battery platform you already own
Pull force is where the Mayoki separates from the field. Its brushless motor is rated at up to 2248 lbf with a 0.79-inch stroke — both numbers that beat the DEWALT DCF403B’s up to 2,100 lbf and 0.98-inch stroke on force, though it gives up a bit of stroke. That means it seats rivets in one trigger pull on harder materials where a lighter tool might need two. Power on this scale comes from the same packs you use in a DeWalt drill, which is why owners keep pointing out that it competes with name-brand riveters for the fraction of the cost.
Owners consistently describe a tool that outpunches its price. It runs for days on a single 5Ah pack, draws low, and handles steel and aluminum across the size range. The review pages also carry reports of surviving 4-foot drops. One owner, developing arthritis in his hands, said a manual rivet gun was becoming almost impossible to squeeze; this one has saved his hands and works great. That is the practical summary for anyone whose grip is the limiting factor.
The weight is the honest offset: at 4.02 pounds, it is the lightest tool in this whole group, and the body is long — the trade-off being reach. The 11.4 x 3.3 x 8.3-inch body will not fit tight corners, and there is no onboard storage for nose pieces, so keep the c-wrench that ships with it in the case. The reverse function clears broken rivet tips in seconds when it happens, and it is backed by a 5-year warranty and 24-hour support.
The headline: 2248 lbf on a bare-tool price, with a 0.79-inch stroke and automatic rivet-and-release, plus a 5-year warranty.
One honest catch: no onboard nose-piece storage, and the longer body means tight-corner work is off the table — plan for a c-wrench on hand.
Pick this if: you run DeWalt 20V packs and want the highest pull force in this list at a bare-tool price.
Pass if: you need to rivet inside a confined frame or you like having the spare pieces on the tool.
4. Cordless Rivet Gun with Charger and 2 Batteries
A completely self-contained cordless kit for anyone starting from zero batteries
The BOQNZN answers the question the bare tools above leave you with: what if you own no packs at all? It ships with a charger and two batteries, so it is a complete cordless riveting setup out of one box. It pulls 3/16-inch (4.8mm), 5/32-inch (4mm), and 1/8-inch (3.2mm) rivets in stainless, steel, and aluminum, and it runs on the same brushless motors that dominate this class — no carbon brushes to swap, no sparks, and lower operating noise.
Owners using it heavily report running a lot of rivets through it without a hiccup. Long battery life comes up consistently, and having a second pack means you keep going while the first one charges.
The honest caveat is reliability at the margin. The overwhelming share of feedback is positive, but one unit arrived with batteries that would not properly seat in the charger, and the gun pulled a handful of aluminum rivets before refusing to release the stems. Packaged at 13.66 x 12.09 x 4.21 inches, it is also sizable to store. Treat that as a small likelihood, not a defect pattern — but if you receive one of the rare problem units, the fault is in the charger or the pin-release mechanism, not the motor.
Why owners keep it
- Charger and two batteries included — nothing else to buy
- Brushless motor handles 3/16″, 5/32″, and 1/8″ rivets in stainless, steel, and aluminum
- Ergonomic anti-slip handle keeps grip in greasy conditions
- Second battery means continuous work while the first charges
Honest drags
- At 7.17 pounds it is the heaviest tool in this group
- A small minority report charger fit or pin-release failures
- Bulkier carry profile than a bare tool
Choose it when: you have no battery platform and want to start riveting today with one purchase.
Hold off if: you already own a major 18V/20V platform — a bare tool will save you money and shelf space.
5. Milwaukee M12BPRT-0 Pop Rivet Tool
The 12V field companion for anyone living inside the Milwaukee M12 ecosystem
This is the small-lighter sibling of the 2550-20, and it lands in the same place: proven Milwaukee reliability, a 12V platform, and 4.18 pounds on the belt. The handle is built from steel, rust-proof stainless steel material, and the whole tool is designed to be carried — not just benched. Buyers report using it for field repairs where the air hose will not reach and the manual tool won’t survive.
The M12BPRT-0 wins owners over on speed and on hand relief. One reviewer put it plainly: “Love love love this riveter! Insert riveter, hold it in and up against your material, pull the trigger and BOOM. you have a clean, easy, tight connection.” Another ran 150 rivets on a single job with zero jams and zero problems. That is the pattern these tools are bought for.
One quirk to know before you buy: the mandrel shafts occasionally stay in the tool after a pull, so you may need to run the next rivet through to clear the previous one. That is a slight housekeeping task, not a jam. Owners also flag that the M12 is heavier than the manual tool it replaces — the trade is speed and muscle relief for a little belt weight. If you own other M12 tools, the shared battery is the real savings.
Where it wins
- 12V M12 platform shares packs with your existing Milwaukee kit
- 4.18 lb — one of the lightest M12 riveters on the market
- Handles field repairs where pneumatic tools cannot reach
- Reviews consistently note it saves wear and tear on hands and fingers
Where to be careful
- Bare tool only — no battery, no charger in the box
- Mandrel shafts occasionally need a clearing pull
- Battery life feedback is mixed — carry a spare on long jobs
The right pick for: Milwaukee M12 owners doing trailer, aviation, or field work who want the palm-sized version of the 2550-20.
Wrong fit for: buyers with no M12 packs — the bare-tool format will not get you riveting on day one.
6. DEWALT 20V MAX XR Cordless Rivet Tool, 3/16″, Bare Tool Only (DCF403B)
A high-volume stainless eater with the biggest rivet-per-charge claim in the group
Where the Milwaukee and Mayoki top out around 450 to 2,224 rivets per charge depending on the model, DEWALT’s DCF403B claims 800 rivets per charge — enough to run most full jobs on a single pack without a recharge. The brushless motor is rated at up to 2,100 lbf of pulling force and a 0.98-inch stroke, so stainless steel blind rivets seat in one stroke. The tool pulls 3/32-inch, 1/8-inch, 5/32-inch, and 3/16-inch rivets in aluminum, steel, and stainless.
Owners who use it hard describe it as bulletproof. One reviewer noted running through 100 stainless steel blind rivets easily. Others point out it is far faster than hand riveting and that the integrated LED and on-board mandrel collector save cleanup. The on-board nose-piece storage and tool-free nose change are the two features that place it above the Milwaukee 2550-20 on convenience.
Two things to plan for. First, rivet stems can stick in the collection chamber — a stem that does not fall through needs the next same-size rivet to push it clear, which is faster than disassembling. Second, and this is the real spec note: 4.16 pounds is roughly the same as a bare Milwaukee M12, and the tool is bare — you supply the 20V MAX pack and charger. The DCF403B is designed to slide into your existing 20V-60V ecosystem, which is the main argument for buying it over the Mayoki at the same retained force, given the DCF403B’s slower stroke count.
Standout spec: 800 rivets per charge with 2,100 lbf pull — the highest rivets-per-charge claim here, and short of the Mayoki’s 2248 lbf but with a wider stroke.
The honest trade: stems can stick in the collection chamber, and the bare-tool format needs your existing 20V packs.
Best for: high-volume stainless jobs where 800 rivets per charge and a tool-free nose change matter more than a compact body.
Not for: buyers who have no 20V MAX packs or who want the strongest pull force in this list.
7. DEWALT 20V MAX XR Cordless Rivet Tool, 3/16″, Battery and Charger Included (DCF403D1)
The DCF403B with a battery, charger, kit bag, and belt hook in the box
Same rivet tool underneath as the DCF403B — 2,100 lbf of brushless pulling force, 0.98-inch stroke, 800 rivets per charge, tool-free nose change, on-board nose-piece storage, and full 3/32-inch to 3/16-inch rivet support in aluminum, steel, and stainless. What makes the DCF403D1 different is what is in the box: a DCB203 20V MAX 2 Ah battery, a DCB1102 charger, a replacement jaw set, a belt hook, all four nose pieces, and a kit bag.
Airstream owners in the reviews keep coming back to this kit with the same story: the tool saves time, collects stems in the rear cartridge so there is no cleanup, and pays for itself on large re-skin projects. Owners used it to re-skin a 110-foot oil tanker and reported it held up and saved their hands from cramping. The pneumatic riveters those owners had at work kept giving trouble; this one never missed a beat.
The 6.8-pound shipping weight is not a fair comparison to the bare-tool 4.16 pounds — it includes a battery and charger. That is the whole point of this version: it is a complete setup out of one box, whereas the DCF403B assumes you already own 20V MAX packs. There is one limit to know: the tool does not pull 1/4-inch rivets, so if you rivet large structural panels, size up.
Why owners keep it
- Complete kit — battery, charger, belt hook, nose pieces, and kit bag all included
- 800 rivets per charge with the same 2,100 lbf brushless motor as the DCF403B
- Tool-free nose change and on-board nose-piece storage
- Auto-collects stems in the rear cartridge — minimal cleanup after the job
Honest limits
- Won’t pull 1/4-inch rivets — 3/16″ is the ceiling
- Heavier package than either bare-tool option, because of the included battery
- The included 2 Ah battery runs the 800-rivet rating; a larger pack would stretch it further
Best for: first-time cordless rivet gun buyers who want everything in one box and do not want to shop separate packs and chargers.
Skip if: you already own 20V MAX packs, or you need to pull 1/4-inch rivets.
Understanding the Specs
Pull Force (lbf)
Pull force is the amount of drawing force the motor applies to the mandrel to compress the rivet body against the back of the material. It is measured in lbf, which stands for pounds of force. A higher number means the tool can set harder rivets — including stainless steel — without stalling. Tools here range from up to 2,100 lbf to up to 2248 lbf depending on the model. For aluminum and light steel, under 2,000 lbf is plenty; for stainless, look at the top end of that range.
Stroke Length
Stroke length is how far the pulling jaw travels in one cycle, measured in inches. A longer stroke — like the 0.98-inch stroke on the DEWALT 20V MAX XR — lets the tool seat a full rivet in one squeeze of the trigger. A shorter stroke, like the 0.79-inch on several others, may still get the job done but can require more cycles per rivet or a slower feel. Stroke and pull force work together, which is why comparing either spec on its own only tells part of the story.
FAQ
Will a cordless rivet gun pull 3/16-inch stainless steel rivets?
Do I need a battery and charger with a bare-tool cordless rivet gun?
What is the difference between automatic riveting and manual operation?
Can I run stainless steel rivets through a rivet gun rated for aluminum?
How many rivets can a cordless rivet gun pull per charge?
Why do rivet stems get stuck in the collection chamber?
Do the rivet gun nose pieces fit other rivet sizes?
Can a battery powered rivet gun reach into tight spaces?
How long do the batteries take to charge on a cordless rivet kit?
Should I buy the DCF403B or the DCF403D1?
Final Thoughts: The Verdict
For most buyers, the battery powered rivet gun winner is the Milwaukee 2550-20 M12 Rivet Tool, because it pulls 3/32-inch through 3/16-inch rivets at a rated 450 1/8-inch steel rivets per charge and has the deepest track record in this group. If your shop already runs DeWalt 20V packs, the Mayoki Cordless Rivet Gun gives you the highest pull force here at 2248 lbf for a bare-tool buy. For hands that need the motor to do the squeezing, the BDJHMP Brushless Riveter Kit brings two 5.0Ah batteries and a 2-to-5-second automatic cycle to the job. Buy the platform you already own and the pull force your hardest rivet demands — those two numbers decide everything else.
How We Picked
We do not accept paid placement. Every pick is matched to a real buyer and a real use-case; we do not hands-on test units.
Sources & Methodology
Specifications: manufacturer listings and product documentation. Review insights: verified customer reviews, as of September 2026. Pricing: not shown on this page (it changes often); check the current price via the retailer link.
As an Amazon Associate, KitchPrep earns from qualifying purchases. This does not affect which products we feature.
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