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Rankings re-checked weekly · Last re-checked 3 November 2026
·Listings checked daily·AI-assisted, run by Jaco Olwagen
One of two 125mm discs on this list and the only pick with a published brake: DeWalt gives it an electronic brake, a separate kick-back brake and an E-Clutch that shuts the motor off when the disc binds.
Why it's number one: Leads the dimension worth 30 per cent of this card with three published safety systems no other pick can match - an electronic brake, a kick-back brake and an E-Clutch motor cutoff - and is one of four grinders here running a 125mm disc, with an exceptional owner rating on a modest Amazon UK record.
8.5ExcellentTop7 Score
✓Checked today
OwnersExceptional owner rating from a modest record on Amazon UK
✓ Ships from the UK
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This is one of four picks here running a 125mm disc (the Bosch Professional GWS 18V-8, the Bosch AdvancedGrind 18V-80 and the Einhell Professional TP-AG 18/125 CE Q are the others), and that is half the reason to buy it. A 125mm wheel has 5mm more radius than the 115mm wheels on three of the grinders on this page, and radius is where depth of cut comes from, so it gets through thicker box section and further into a slab before you have to turn the work over.
The other half is the safety electronics, which is the dimension worth 30 per cent of the score. DeWalt UK publishes three separate systems on this tool: an electronic brake that stops the disc when the switch is released, a kick-back brake that is activated when the tool is jammed, and an E-Clutch that shuts the motor off when the disc is pinched or stopped. No other pick on this list publishes more than one of those. Around them sits the usual 18V XR hardware - a brushless motor, a metal gear housing, a dust-proof switch, mesh debris covers stopping grit being pulled through the motor, a rubber overmould on a narrow handle and a guard that adjusts without tools - and DeWalt quotes 2.6kg including a battery, which is the only weight figure it publishes for the tool.
Two things to be honest about. DeWalt UK's own product data lists the switch type as a slide switch rather than a dead-man paddle, so it can be locked on and will keep running if it leaves your hand; that costs it a point on the safety rubric against a paddle-switch tool, brake or no brake. And DeWalt UK publishes no no-load speed and no spindle thread for this model, so neither is quoted here and the cutting score is built on disc size and motor type alone. It is body only, with no pack or charger in the box, so it only makes financial sense if there are already 18V XR batteries on the van - and if there are, this is the one to buy.
Cutting
8.1
Safety
8.5
Battery
8.5
Owners
8.8
Owners is our reading of this listing's Amazon UK owner rating (exceptional rating, modest record), shrunk toward the category average when the record is thin. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 8.1 (rubric 7.5): Brushless 125mm on 18V XR, the largest disc size on this list, which only the Bosch AdvancedGrind matches. DeWalt UK publishes no no-load speed and no wattage, so it cannot reach the card's 8.5 band for a 125mm brushless at 8,500 to 9,000 rpm; scored above the compact brushless band on disc size and motor type alone.
Safety 8.5 (rubric 8): Electronic brake, kick-back brake and E-Clutch are all published by DeWalt UK, but no rated stop time is, so the brake sits at 6.5 rather than the card's 7.5 base; plus 1.5 for the E-Clutch anti-kickback cutoff. No dead-man point: DeWalt UK lists a slide switch.
Battery 8.5 (rubric 8): Brushless body-only tool on DeWalt 18V XR, a professional platform with 5.0Ah and larger packs sold in the UK, which is the card's 8 band. No platform tool count is published on dewalt.co.uk, so the card's 200-tool bonus is not applied.
Pros
+ A 125mm disc, one of three here: more radius than the 115mm picks, which is where depth of cut comes from
+ Three published safety systems - electronic brake, kick-back brake and an E-Clutch that cuts the motor on a pinch or stall
+ Brushless motor with a metal gear housing, a dust-proof switch and mesh covers over the motor vents
+ Guard adjusts without tools and the cutting guard is removable; supplied with guard, side handle and Allen key
+ Runs on DeWalt 18V XR, so a pack bought for a combi drill or impact driver feeds it
Cons
− DeWalt UK lists the switch as a slide type that locks on, not a dead-man paddle
− DeWalt UK publishes no no-load speed and no spindle thread for this model, so neither is quoted here
− Body only: no battery and no charger, so it is only good value if you already run 18V XR
− A modest owner record on Amazon UK, thinner evidence than any other cordless pick on this list
125mm Disc18V XR BrushlessE-ClutchKick-Back BrakeElectronic BrakeBody Only
Einhell Professional TP-AG 18/125 CE Q 18V Power X-Change Brushless 125mm Angle Grinder (Body Only)
125mm Disc18V Power X-ChangeBrushless
Value
Rank #2
Einhell Professional TP-AG 18/125 CE Q 18V Power X-Change Brushless 125mm Angle Grinder (Body Only)
Our Verdict
The brushless grinder for Power X-Change owners: 125mm, a speed dial from 3,000 to 10,500rpm, and power Einhell rates at a 900W corded tool's. Sold by Amazon. No brake.
8.1ExcellentTop7 Score
✓Checked today
OwnersExceptional owner rating from a deep record on Amazon UK
✓ Ships from the UK
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This is the grinder for anyone whose shed already runs on Einhell's green and red batteries. It replaces the brushed TE-AG 18/115 that sat in this slot, and it's a different class of tool. The motor is brushless, the disc is 125mm, and Einhell rates the output at the equivalent of a 900W corded grinder.
Two things lift it above the cheaper Power X-Change grinders. A dial sets the speed anywhere from 3,000 to 10,500rpm, with an LED display, so you can slow it down for a flap disc or a wire brush. And Einhell's constant speed electronics hold the disc speed when the cut gets heavy, rather than letting it sag. Einhell gives a cutting depth of up to 33mm.
The safety list is sensible but short: soft start, restart protection, overload protection and a quick-adjust guard. There's no brake and no kickback cutoff, so the disc coasts down after you let go. It's sold and dispatched by Amazon, body only, with a guard but no battery, charger or disc. Einhell lists Power X-Change as over 300 devices on one battery.
Cutting
8.9
Safety
5.9
Battery
8.1
Owners
8.9
Owners is our reading of this listing's Amazon UK owner rating (exceptional rating, deep record), shrunk toward the category average when the record is thin. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 8.9 (rubric 8.5): Brushless and rated by Einhell at 900W corded-equivalent, between the card's 700W band at 7 and its 1,000W band at 8.5, so scored 7.5; plus 0.5 for the 3,000 to 10,500rpm speed dial and 0.5 for constant speed electronics that hold disc speed under load.
Safety 5.9 (rubric 4.5): The card's 4 base, with no brake and no kickback cutoff published, plus 0.5 for soft start and restart protection. Overload protection guards the motor rather than the operator, so it earns nothing further.
Battery 8.1 (rubric 7.5): Brushless body-only tool on a DIY platform is the card's 7, plus 0.5 because Einhell lists Power X-Change as over 300 devices, past the card's 200-tool line.
Pros
+ Brushless, rated by Einhell at the equivalent of a 900W corded grinder
+ Speed dial from 3,000 to 10,500rpm with an LED display, and electronics that hold speed under load
+ An exceptional owner rating on a substantial Amazon UK record, sold and dispatched by Amazon
+ Runs on Power X-Change, which Einhell lists as over 300 devices
Cons
− No electric brake and no kickback cutoff, so the disc coasts down
− Costs more than the brushed Einhell grinders it sits above
− Body only: no battery, charger or disc in the box
125mm Disc18V Power X-ChangeBrushless3,000-10,500rpm900W EquivalentBody Only
Blue Bosch Professional, not green Home & Garden: a 125mm cordless grinder Bosch rates at 800W of corded-equivalent power and 11,000rpm, on the 18V Professional battery. Body only.
7.4GoodTop7 Score
✓Checked today
OwnersExceptional owner rating from a substantial record on Amazon UK
✓ Ships from the UK
Ad· we may earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you.
This is the grinder for anyone whose drill is already blue. It runs Bosch's 18V Professional battery, the same pack as the GSB and GSR drills. It doesn't take the green Power for All pack that the AdvancedGrind on this page uses, and the two ranges don't swap in either direction.
Bosch's UK page gives the numbers plainly: a 125mm disc, 11,000rpm, an M14 spindle and 1.6kg without a battery. It rates the motor at 800W of corded-equivalent power, which puts it level with a decent mains grinder rather than a heavy one. Bosch pitches it at light work: rebar, sheet metal, PVC, tile and deburring. That's what most people buy a grinder for.
What Bosch's UK page doesn't do is name its safety features. It says the tool is packed with them and lists none, so the score here gives it no credit for a brake or a kickback cutoff. If those matter to you, and on a grinder they should, the DeWalt at the top of this page publishes both. It's sold and dispatched by Amazon, with a guard, side handle, flange, nut and spanner in the box, but no battery, charger or disc.
Cutting
7.8
Safety
5.5
Battery
6.3
Owners
8.9
Owners is our reading of this listing's Amazon UK owner rating (exceptional rating, substantial record), shrunk toward the category average when the record is thin. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 7.8 (rubric 7): Bosch's UK page rates it at 800W of corded-equivalent power at 11,000rpm on a 125mm disc. That is the card's 700W-equivalent band, short of the 1,000W band, and no speed range or load management is published to add to it. The motor type is not named.
Safety 5.5 (rubric 4): The card's 4 base. Bosch's UK page says the tool has safety features but names none, so no brake, kickback cutoff, paddle switch, soft start or restart protection can be scored.
Battery 6.3 (rubric 5): Bosch's UK page does not name the motor type, so it cannot claim the card's brushless professional band and takes the 5 for a body-only tool, as the green AdvancedGrind does. No pack or charger is supplied.
Pros
+ Blue Bosch Professional 18V, the same battery as Bosch's GSB and GSR drills
+ 125mm disc at 11,000rpm, rated by Bosch at 800W of corded-equivalent power
+ 1.6kg without a battery, by Bosch Professional's figure
+ An exceptional owner rating on a substantial Amazon UK record, sold and dispatched by Amazon
Cons
− Bosch's UK page names no brake, kickback cutoff or restart protection for it
− Bosch doesn't state the motor type on its UK page
− Body only: no battery, charger or disc in the box
− Blue Professional packs don't fit green Bosch tools, and green packs don't fit it
18V Cordless125mm Disc11,000rpm800W EquivalentBosch Professional BlueBody Only
Bosch Professional GWS 7-115 720W 115mm Corded Angle Grinder (240V)
115mm Disc720W Corded11,000rpm
Value
Rank #4
Bosch Professional GWS 7-115 720W 115mm Corded Angle Grinder (240V)
Our Verdict
The blue Professional mains workhorse and the largest branded owner base here: 720W in, 300W out, 11,000rpm on a 115mm disc, in the smallest grip Bosch Professional publishes for its 720W class.
7.4GoodTop7 Score
✓Checked today
OwnersExcellent owner rating from a deep record on Amazon UK
✓ Ships from the UK
Ad· we may earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you.
The corded workhorse of the list, and the branded grinder with the most owner evidence behind it: an excellent rating on a deep Amazon UK record. This is Bosch's blue Professional range rather than the green Home & Garden one, which matters the moment you think about adding a cordless tool: the two 18V ranges do not share a battery in either direction.
Bosch Professional publishes 720W rated input and, unusually honestly, 300W power output, at 11,000rpm on a 115mm disc, with an M14 grinding spindle, a 1.9kg weight and a 176mm grip size that Bosch calls the smallest in its 720W class. The flat gear head is the detail that earns its keep on site: it gets the disc into a gap a fatter head will not reach. It takes the GDE 125 EA-S dust extraction attachment and the Click and Clean system, which is the difference between chasing a wall and redecorating the room afterwards. In the box are an auxiliary handle, a backing flange, a locking nut, a protective guard and a two-hole spanner.
The safety list is short and worth reading before you buy. Bosch publishes restart protection, so it will not fire up on its own when the power comes back, and a lockable switch - which is the opposite of a dead-man paddle, because the tool keeps running if it leaves your hand. There is no brake and no kickback cutoff published for it. One more thing to check if you buy this grinder anywhere other than the ASIN linked here: bosch-professional.com/gb lists the GWS 7-115 in both 110V and 240V versions, and the Amazon UK listing ranked here is the 240V one.
Cutting
7.0
Safety
5.9
Battery
7.8
Owners
8.5
Owners is our reading of this listing's Amazon UK owner rating (excellent rating, deep record), shrunk toward the category average when the record is thin. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 7.0 (rubric 6): Bosch Professional publishes 720W rated input, 300W power output and 11,000rpm on a 115mm disc. Above the card's brushed 115mm anchor on speed, below the 1,000W-equivalent band on rated power.
Safety 5.9 (rubric 4.5): No brake and no kickback cutoff is published for this model, so the card's 4 base applies, plus 0.5 for Bosch Professional's published restart protection. The switch is lockable rather than a dead-man paddle, so nothing further.
Battery 7.8 (rubric 7): Corded, so the card's mains clause applies: a 240V tool with no pack or charger to buy and no runtime limit, scored level with a brushless tool on a DIY platform, set against the loss of cordless freedom and a lead that ties it to a socket.
Pros
+ An excellent owner rating on a deep Amazon UK record, the largest branded owner base on this list
+ Bosch Professional publishes 720W rated input, 300W power output and 11,000rpm on a 115mm disc
+ 1.9kg with a 176mm grip that Bosch calls the smallest in its 720W class, plus a flat gear head for tight gaps
+ Restart protection, and it takes the GDE 125 EA-S dust attachment and the Click and Clean system
+ Corded, so there is no pack or charger to buy and no runtime limit
Cons
− No brake and no kickback cutoff published: the disc coasts down after the switch is released
− Lockable slide switch rather than a dead-man paddle, so it keeps running if it is dropped
− This is the blue Professional range, not the green Home & Garden range the AdvancedGrind and UniversalGrind on this list belong to
− Bosch lists 110V and 240V versions of this grinder, so check the listing title if you buy it elsewhere
115mm Disc720W Corded11,000rpmRestart ProtectionBosch Professional Blue240V
The entry-level corded grinder from Bosch's green Home & Garden range: 750W at 12,000rpm on a 115mm disc, supplied with three cutting discs and a side handle, from a maker that publishes what it sells.
7.3GoodTop7 Score
✓Checked today
OwnersExcellent owner rating from a modest record on Amazon UK
✓ Ships from the UK
Ad· we may earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you.
This is the budget corded slot, and it goes to a named maker rather than a marketplace listing. Bosch publishes a 750W motor, 12,000rpm, a 115mm disc, a quick-adjust guard and a 1.8kg weight for the UniversalGrind 750-115, and this Amazon listing (06033E2071) adds three straight cutting discs, a side handle and a guard converter in the carton, so it cuts the day it arrives. Being corded, the green-versus-blue battery question does not apply: it plugs into a domestic socket and there is no pack to match.
What it does not publish matters on a grinder. Bosch lists no brake, no kickback cutoff, no soft start and no restart protection for this model, and restart protection is the one the blue GWS 7-115 on this page carries: it stops a grinder that was left switched on from starting by itself when the plug goes back in. The case for the Bosch is the three discs in the box and a maker's published specification behind a tool at this end of the shelf. It's the cheapest corded grinder on this page. If restart protection matters more to you than the price, the blue GWS 7-115 has it.
Cutting
7.0
Safety
5.5
Battery
7.8
Owners
8.5
Owners is our reading of this listing's Amazon UK owner rating (excellent rating, modest record), shrunk toward the category average when the record is thin. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 7.0 (rubric 6): Bosch Home & Garden publishes 750W at 12,000rpm on a 115mm disc for this model. Above the card's brushed 115mm anchor on speed, below the 1,000W-equivalent band on rated power.
Safety 5.5 (rubric 4): The card's 4 base: Bosch publishes no brake, no kickback cutoff, no soft start and no restart protection for the UniversalGrind 750-115, so nothing above the no-brake base can be credited.
Battery 7.8 (rubric 7): Corded, so the card's mains clause applies: a domestic mains tool with no pack or charger to buy and no runtime limit, scored level with a brushless tool on a DIY platform, set against a lead that ties it to a socket.
Pros
+ 750W at 12,000rpm on a 115mm disc, published by Bosch for this model
+ Three straight cutting discs, a side handle and a guard converter in the carton
+ Corded, so there is no battery range to match and no runtime limit
+ Quick-adjust guard and a slim housing Bosch publishes at 1.8kg
Cons
− No brake, no kickback cutoff, no soft start and no restart protection is published
− No restart protection, which the blue GWS 7-115 on this page has
− Tied to a socket by its lead
− Green Home & Garden: a DIY range rather than Bosch's blue Professional line
750W Corded115mm Disc12,000rpmCutting Discs IncludedBosch Home & Garden Green
Green Home & Garden, not blue Professional: a 125mm cordless grinder on the Power for All battery with electronic speed selection from 2,800 to 12,000rpm, soft start and a tool-free disc change. Body only.
7.1GoodTop7 Score
✓Checked today
OwnersExcellent owner rating from a substantial record on Amazon UK
✓ Ships from the UK
Ad· we may earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you.
Settle the range question first, because it is the one that costs people money. This is Bosch's green Home & Garden line and it runs the 18V Power for All Alliance battery. A blue Professional pack from the GWS family will not fit it, and a green pack will not fit a blue tool. It is sold body only in a carton with an anti-vibration side handle and a quick-clamping M14 nut, and no battery, charger or disc; Bosch recommends a pack of 4.0Ah or more.
What it adds over Bosch's smaller 115mm UniversalGrind 18V-75 is the disc and the dial. It takes a 125mm disc, which buys depth of cut on paving and block, and Bosch publishes electronic speed preselection from 2,800 to 12,000rpm, so it can be slowed for wire brushes, flap discs and sanding instead of running flat out on everything. Soft start takes the jolt out of switching on, and the quick-clamping nut changes a disc without a spanner in under 12 seconds by Bosch's figure. The costs: Bosch Home & Garden publishes no motor type and no power figure for it, and no brake, kickback cutoff or restart protection, and it weighs a published 1.7kg without a battery. If you already run Power for All packs from a green drill or garden tool, this is the grinder that uses them; if you own no batteries yet, the corded Bosch Professional GWS 7-115 on this page publishes restart protection and needs no pack at all.
Cutting
7.4
Safety
5.9
Battery
6.3
Owners
8.2
Owners is our reading of this listing's Amazon UK owner rating (excellent rating, substantial record), shrunk toward the category average when the record is thin. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 7.4 (rubric 6.5): Bosch Home & Garden publishes a 125mm disc and 2,800 to 12,000rpm but no motor type and no wattage, so it cannot be placed in the card's brushless bands and is held at the 6 anchor for a 125mm grinder, plus half a point for electronic speed preselection.
Safety 5.9 (rubric 4.5): The card's 4 base, because no brake and no kickback cutoff is published for this green Home & Garden model, plus half a point for the soft start Bosch does publish. No restart protection is published.
Battery 6.3 (rubric 5): No motor type is published for this green Home & Garden tool, so it cannot claim the card's brushless DIY band and takes the 5 for a body-only tool on any platform. Bosch publishes no Power for All Alliance tool count of 200 or more, so the platform bonus is not applied.
Pros
+ Green Home & Garden range on the 18V Power for All battery, labelled here so it is not confused with the blue Professional GWS
+ 125mm disc, for more depth of cut than the 115mm grinders on this list
+ Electronic speed preselection from 2,800 to 12,000rpm for brushing, flap discs and sanding
+ Soft start and a tool-free quick-clamping nut, with an anti-vibration side handle in the box
Cons
− Body only: no battery, no charger and no disc in the carton
− Bosch publishes no motor type and no power figure for this model
− No brake, no kickback cutoff and no restart protection is published
− Green Power for All packs do not fit blue Bosch Professional tools, and blue packs do not fit it
18V Cordless125mm DiscVariable SpeedSoft StartBosch Home & Garden GreenBody Only
Nothing on this site is bought, tested or handled. Each grinder is scored against a published rubric - Cutting power 45%, Safety and brake 30%, Battery and runtime 25% - using specifications taken from the manufacturer's own UK site (bosch-professional.com/gb for the blue Professional range, bosch-diy.com/gb for the green Home & Garden range, dewalt.co.uk, makitauk.com, einhell.co.uk) or from the Amazon UK listing itself, plus owner ratings at scale and published reviews of the exact model where they exist. No allowlisted outlet has reviewed any of these seven exact models, so no critic score is carried.
Where a figure is not published it is left out rather than borrowed from a sibling in the same range. Makita's manual for the DGA454Z describes a soft start, an anti-restart function and Active Feedback sensing Technology, and no electric brake, so none is credited to it here, even though the newer DGA463 and DGA469 in Makita UK's current catalogue do publish one. DeWalt UK publishes no no-load speed or spindle thread for the DCG407N-XJ, so neither is quoted. The marketplace-brand grinder in the list publishes a wattage, a no-load speed and nothing else, and is scored on that alone.
The Battery dimension was written for cordless tools, so for this category it carries a mains clause, added the same way the circular saws rubric was extended: a corded grinder is scored on what a socket is worth against a battery platform, which is 7 for a 230V or 240V tool and 6.5 for a 110V site version that needs a transformer. Owner ratings are shrunk towards the category mean, so a grinder with a modest owner record cannot outrank one with a very deep record on a rounding difference. Prices move daily and are not quoted in this text - tap through for the current figure on Amazon. Links to Amazon are advertising.
Scored on Cutting power 45%, Safety and brake 30%, Battery and runtime 25%, plus owner ratings and critic reviews. The Battery dimension was written for cordless tools and carries a mains clause for corded grinders, added the same way the circular-saws card was extended.
115mm, four and a half inches in old money, is the size the UK shelf is built around. It is what Screwfix, Toolstation, B&Q and Wickes stack their cutting discs, grinding discs and flap discs in, it is the cheapest disc to replace, and three of the seven picks below take it. 125mm buys you 5mm more radius, and since depth of cut comes from radius that is the whole argument for it: a 125mm grinder gets through thicker box section and deeper into a slab before you have to turn the work over. The cost is a slightly bigger, heavier tool, a smaller disc range on the shelf, and discs that cost a little more. The DeWalt DCG407N-XJ, the Bosch Professional GWS 18V-8, the Bosch AdvancedGrind 18V-80 and the Einhell Professional TP-AG 18/125 CE Q are the four 125mm grinders here. If you mostly cut sheet, angle, threaded rod and tile, 115mm is the right default; if you are regularly through thick steel or slab, size up.
110V, 240V, and the suffix that is the only tell
UK building sites run power tools at 110V through a yellow centre-tapped transformer, because a 110V shock on a wet site is far less dangerous than a 240V one, and site rules will require it. A 110V tool will not run from a domestic socket at all without that transformer. Amazon lists both voltages side by side and the suffix in the model code is usually the only thing that tells them apart. Makita marks 110V with /1 and 240V with /2 - makitauk.com lists the GA4530R as GA4530R/1 and GA4530R/2 for exactly this reason - and DeWalt appends -LX for 110V. The catch on this category's shelf is the Makita GA4530R/1, a 720W 115mm site grinder with a substantial owner record at a price that undercuts every branded corded grinder on this page. It is genuinely good, it is genuinely cheap, and unless you own a transformer it is genuinely useless. It is not ranked here for that reason. Bosch is the same story from the other direction: bosch-professional.com/gb lists the blue Professional GWS 7-115 in both 110V and 240V versions, and the ASIN ranked below is the 240V one.
Corded, cordless, and which battery you already own
A corded grinder has nothing else to buy, no runtime limit and no pack to go flat halfway through a cut, and for a grinder - a tool you often use in one place for ten minutes at a time - that is a stronger argument than it is for a drill. Cordless earns its keep when the lead is the problem: up a ladder, in a trench, on a roof, or anywhere an extension lead and an RCD are more trouble than the cut. The thing that actually decides it is which packs you already own. Every cordless pick below is body only, so the real cost is the tool plus a pack plus a charger unless you are already on the platform. DeWalt 18V XR and Makita 18V LXT - which makitauk.com publishes as more than 225 products - are the two professional platforms; Einhell Power X-Change, published by einhell.co.uk as over 250 devices, is the big DIY one; Ryobi ONE+ is sold everywhere in the UK if that is what is in your shed.
Bosch Professional blue and Bosch Home & Garden green do not share batteries
This trips up more UK buyers than anything else in the category. Bosch Professional is the blue range, with GWS, GSB and GBH model codes, and it runs its own 18V packs. Bosch Home & Garden is the green range, with names like UniversalGrind and PWS, and it runs the 18V Power for All Alliance battery shared with other household and garden brands. The two do not interchange in either direction, and Amazon listings for them sit next to each other looking almost identical. Both ranges appear on this page: the corded GWS 7-115 and the cordless GWS 18V-8 are blue Professional, and the cordless AdvancedGrind 18V-80 and the corded UniversalGrind 750-115 are green Home & Garden. Check the range before you buy a second battery, not after.
The safety features that are actually worth paying for
Three things go wrong with an angle grinder. The disc binds in the cut and the tool kicks back at you. A disc shatters and throws fragments, which is what the wheel guard is there to contain - never take it off, and use the closed cutting guard for cut-off wheels rather than the open grinding guard. Or the tool is dropped, or the power comes back after a cut, with a locked-on switch still set to run. The published features that answer those are an electric brake, which stops the disc in a fraction of the time it takes to coast down; an anti-kickback motor cutoff, which DeWalt calls an E-Clutch and Makita calls Active Feedback sensing Technology, and which shuts the motor off when it senses the wheel binding; a dead-man paddle switch that stops the tool the moment your hand comes off it; and restart protection, which stops the tool firing up on its own after a power cut. Note what the makers themselves say about the limits: Makita's manual states plainly that its feedback cutoff does not prevent kickback, only stops the spindle once a bind is detected. None of this replaces a full face shield, gloves and two hands on the tool.
Check the model code before you buy an import
Makita codes its UK and European 18V grinders DGA - DGA452, DGA454, DGA463, DGA469 - and its US catalogue codes them XAG. A listing on Amazon UK carrying an XAG code, with the disc sized in inches rather than millimetres, is a US-specification tool that has found its way onto a UK marketplace. The XAG25Z on this shelf is exactly that: well reviewed, priced below the UK-coded Makita on this page, and sold without any established UK warranty cover, which is why it is not ranked. It is not a fake and it is not unsafe, but a grey import is a tool you cannot take to a Makita UK service agent, and on a tool with this much stored energy that is not a trade worth making. The same logic applies to DeWalt: -GB and -XJ codes are UK and European stock, and a code you do not recognise is worth ten seconds of checking.
An angle grinder is the fastest tool on a UK job list. It cuts rebar, angle iron, paving slabs, threaded rod and rusted-solid bolts, it chases out for a cable run, it dresses a weld and it takes the rust off a gate before it gets painted. It is also the tool that puts people in A&E, because a disc spinning at eleven or twelve thousand revolutions a minute stores a lot of energy and will give all of it back if it binds in the cut. That is why safety is worth 30 per cent of the score below, and why the picks are separated as much by what electronics are inside them as by how hard they cut.
The Amazon UK shelf for 2026 splits four ways. There are branded corded grinders, led by the Bosch Professional GWS 7-115 in the blue range with a deep owner record behind it. There are professional cordless tools on the two platforms UK trades actually carry, DeWalt 18V XR and Makita 18V LXT. There are DIY-platform cordless grinders, where Einhell fields a brushless Professional grinder on its Power X-Change battery and Bosch fields a green Home & Garden tool on the Power for All Alliance battery. And there is a long tail of marketplace-brand corded grinders - CHANTPOWER, DEKOPRO, Dong Cheng, KATSU - that sell in real volume and publish almost nothing. One of them is ranked here, labelled for what it is. What you will not find on Amazon are Erbauer EXT and Titan TXP, which are Screwfix lines: plenty of UK buyers own them, but they cannot be picks on this list.
Two listings on that shelf look like the bargain of the category and are not ranked at all. One is a Makita GA4530R/1, which is a 110V site tool: the /1 suffix is Makita's 110V marker and /2 is 240V, and Amazon shows the two side by side with no warning. It will not run from a socket in your house without a transformer. The other is a Makita XAG25Z, which is a US catalogue model - Makita UK codes its 18V grinders DGA - sold on a UK listing with the disc sized in inches. Both are explained properly in the buying guide below rather than ranked, because neither is a tool most people reading this can plug in and use.
Three questions settle which grinder you want. 115mm or 125mm? 115mm is the UK default and it is what most of the discs on a merchant's shelf are cut for; 125mm has 5mm more radius, and radius is where depth of cut comes from. Corded or cordless? Corded means nothing else to buy and no runtime limit; cordless only makes sense if you already own the packs, because a body-only grinder plus a pack and charger is a different purchase entirely. And how much safety do you want built in? A brake, an anti-kickback motor cutoff and a dead-man paddle switch are all real features that some of these publish and some do not.
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Can't decide between our top two? See how they stack up head‑to‑head.
115mm for most people. It is the UK default disc size, so it is what every merchant stocks deepest and what the cheapest discs are cut for, and four of the seven picks below take it. 125mm gives you 5mm more radius, which is where depth of cut comes from, so it gets further into thick box section, slab and plate before you have to turn the work over. The DeWalt DCG407N-XJ and the Bosch AdvancedGrind 18V-80 are the 125mm options here. If you cut sheet metal, angle, conduit, threaded rod and tile, stay at 115mm; if you regularly cut thick steel or masonry, the bigger disc earns its keep.
What does the /1 or /2 on a Makita grinder mean?+
It is the voltage. Makita marks 110V site tools with /1 and 240V domestic tools with /2, which is why makitauk.com lists the same 720W 115mm grinder as both GA4530R/1 and GA4530R/2. UK building sites run 110V through a yellow transformer because it is far safer on a wet site, and a 110V tool simply will not run from a socket in your house without one. This matters on Amazon because both versions appear on the same search, at different prices, with the suffix as the only tell - the GA4530R/1 is one of the cheapest well-reviewed grinders on the whole UK shelf, and it is not ranked on this page because most people reading it cannot plug it in. DeWalt uses -LX for its 110V versions. Check the suffix before you buy.
Do I need an angle grinder with a brake?+
It is the single feature most worth paying for, and it is not on most grinders at this end of the market. Without one the disc keeps spinning after you let go of the switch, which is when a lot of damage gets done - to a worktop, a cable, a leg - because the tool gets put down before it has stopped. An electric brake cuts that to a fraction of the coast-down time. Of the seven picks below, only the DeWalt DCG407N-XJ publishes one, and DeWalt also publishes a separate kick-back brake that fires when the tool jams. Makita's manual for the DGA454Z does not describe a brake, which is why it is not credited with one here, though the newer DGA463 and DGA469 in Makita UK's current catalogue do publish one. None of the corded picks has a brake.
Are Bosch blue and Bosch green batteries interchangeable?+
No, and this is the most expensive mistake in the category. Bosch Professional is the blue range - GWS, GSB, GBH codes - and runs its own 18V packs. Bosch Home & Garden is the green range - UniversalGrind, PWS, EasyImpact - and runs the 18V Power for All Alliance battery, which Bosch shares with other household and garden brands. A green pack does not fit a blue tool and a blue pack does not fit a green one. Both ranges are represented below: the corded GWS 7-115 and the cordless GWS 18V-8 are blue Professional, and the cordless AdvancedGrind 18V-80 and the corded UniversalGrind 750-115 are green Home & Garden. Amazon's listings blur the two constantly, so read the model name, not the picture.
Is a cordless angle grinder powerful enough?+
A brushless one on a professional platform is. The two cordless picks at the top of this list are brushless tools on DeWalt 18V XR and Makita 18V LXT, and they are bought by people who cut steel for a living. A brushed cordless grinder is a different proposition: the Bosch green Home & Garden picks below are for short cuts, light dressing and getting somewhere a lead will not reach, not for standing in front of a job all afternoon. The honest comparison for sustained cutting is still a corded tool - it does not slow down as a pack drains and it never stops. Whatever you pick, remember every cordless grinder here is body only, so the real cost includes a pack and a charger unless you already own them.
Why is that cheap Makita grinder on Amazon UK sized in inches?+
Because it is a US-catalogue tool on a UK listing. Makita codes its UK and European 18V grinders DGA and its US ones XAG, so an XAG25Z advertised with a 4-1/2 inch or 5 inch disc is a grey import rather than UK stock. It is a real Makita and it will work, but it is sold without established UK warranty cover, so there is no straightforward route to a Makita UK service agent if the gearbox goes. That is why it is named in this guide and not ranked. The same check applies across the board: DeWalt uses -XJ and -GB for UK and European stock, and an unfamiliar suffix is worth ten seconds before you press buy.
Are the cheap unbranded angle grinders any good?+
They sell in real volume and some of them are rated well, so it would be dishonest to pretend they are not on the shelf. Four of them hold the bottom of the Amazon UK angle grinder listings - CHANTPOWER, DEKOPRO, Dong Cheng and KATSU. None is ranked here: the CHANTPOWER held the budget corded slot until September 2026, when Bosch's green UniversalGrind 750-115 replaced it as a named maker publishing its wattage and speed at a similar price. What you give up is everything you would normally check: no manufacturer data sheet, no published power output or cutting depth, no UK service network, no registered warranty scheme, and in most cases no published safety feature of any kind - no brake, no restart protection, no kickback cutoff. For a one-off job that is a reasonable trade. For a tool you reach for every week, the branded corded picks on this list cost very little more and publish what they are.
When is the best time to buy an angle grinder in the UK?+
Black Friday falls on 27 November 2026 and is the deepest power-tool discounting of the year, followed by Boxing Day and the January sales. The next real window is the run-up to Easter on 28 March 2027, when the DIY and garden season opens and fencing, decking and paving jobs start, then the May bank holidays on 3 and 31 May and the August bank holiday on 30 August. Father's Day on 20 June 2027 moves a lot of mid-range tools. If you are buying through a business, the date that matters more is the tax year ending 5 April and what the Annual Investment Allowance lets you write off.
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