The 8 Best Random Orbital Sanders of 2024

Best Overall

Bosch ROS20VSC Palm Sander

$79 At Amazon $79 At Lowe's View On Acmetools.com

Sanding is definitely dusty work, but with the Bosch ROS20VSC 5-Inch Random Orbital Sander, you won’t have as much to contend with once the job is done. We put this small-but-powerful random orbital sander to the test and greatly appreciated its built-in microfilter system that traps dust particles as small as one-half micron in diameter. It also has a twist-off dust canister that lets you see at a glance when it’s full. There’s also a vacuum-hose adapter in case you prefer to hook the device to your wet/dry shop vacuum.

But that’s not the only benefit of this handy tool. It has a 2.5-amp motor, which is plenty of power for most DIY tasks, and you can adjust the sanding speed between 7,500 and 12,000 orbits-per-minute (opm) to fine-tune the speed to your needs. Like most random orbital sanders, it uses 5-inch discs with hook-and-loop (that basically means Velcro) attachments, so it’s very easy to swap out discs when one wears out or you want to switch to a different grit. Although we had no difficulties during our testing session, a handful of buyers have complained that the discs come loose, however. 

We used this sander to clean up three rough-cut bookshelves with heavy grain and found it very easy to use. Not only does it have powerful performance, but it’s designed for comfort and reduced hand fatigue. The ergonomically shaped handle has a soft-grip top and is just long enough to allow you to grasp the sander in a variety of positions, greatly reducing strain on your hand and wrist. Even better, the soft grip helps reduce the vibration of the tool—all power sanders tend to create a great deal of vibration while in use, which can be tough on your hands. 

Overall, we gave this tool the top spot based on its combination of ease of use, powerful performance, and effective filtration system. It does a wonderful job of sanding without leaving any swirl marks or blemishes on the wood. While it’s not the most powerful random orbital sander, it’s more than sufficient for most typical DIY projects. Along with a one-year warranty, this tool includes a sanding pad, sanding disc, vacuum adapter, and soft-sided carrying case.

_{Power Source: Corded | Motor: 2.5 amps | Disc Size: 5 inches | Max. Orbits per Minute: 12,000 | Variable Speed: Yes}

Best Cordless

DEWALT 20-Volt Cordless Sander

$162 At Amazon $180 At Home Depot $190 At Walmart

Most random orbital sanders are corded tools, but this model from DEWALT is a great cordless option with a 20-volt battery. That means there's no need to worry about the distance to the nearest electrical outlet and no fear of tripping over a cord. Instead, you get a brushless motor, which extends the tool's runtime, and plenty of power to tackle most common DIY projects. The sander comes with a 2.0-amp-hour battery; on the plus side, that's not too heavy but on the minus side, you can expect no more than a half-hour or so of runtime before you need to recharge. Still, that's enough time for many sanding jobs, and if you really want longer runtime, the sander will work with any 20-volt DEWALT battery with higher amp hours.

There's a variable speed control with settings from 8,000 opm to 12,000 opm, so you can go slow for better control or fast when you just want to remove material as quickly as possible. The sander has an ergonomic handle with a rubbery over-mold on the grip that is comfortable in your hand and helps to reduce vibrations. The low-profile shape of the tool means your hand is closer to the wood while you work, thus increasing your control. And you'll appreciate the smooth, swirl-free results. Although this is a fairly expensive option, it might be worth it if you are looking for the convenience. a cordless option provides. We also appreciate that it comes with a battery, charger, tool bag, and a 3-year warranty.

_{Power Source: Battery | Motor: 20 volt | Disc Size: 5 inches | Max. Orbits per Minute: 12,000 | Variable Speed: Yes}

Best for DIYers

SKIL SR211601 5-Inch Random Orbital Sander

$35 At Amazon $60 At Walmart $36 At Lowe's

If you are planning on tackling a big project in your home that involves sanding, such as restoring wood floors, or you do a lot of woodwork as a hobby, then you need a versatile, reliable, and powerful random orbital sander like the SKIL SR211601. It has an ergonomic design with a soft-grip handle that helps reduce vibration, so you’ll be more comfortable during those long sanding sessions. And its fairly compact size means you can easily reach into tight spots or maneuver around curves or obstacles.

The 2.8-amp motor is powerful enough to up the pace without overheating. This is a variable-speed sander with a range of 7,000 opm to 13,000 opm, so you can go slow when you need more control and fast when you are doing rough sanding.

On the downside, while the sander has an easy-to-clean, highly effective dust collector, a few buyers complained that the dust-capture box didn’t stay in place well or rattled while sanding. Still, this is a very reasonably priced random orbital sander that creates a smooth, whirl-free finish and is easy to use. The SKIL sander takes 5-inch discs, weighs 3.4 pounds, and comes with three sanding discs. It has a 1-year warranty.

_{Power Source: Corded | Motor: 2.8 amps | Disc Size: 5 inches | Max. Orbits per Minute: 13,000 | Variable Speed: Yes}

Best Budget

BLACK+DECKER 5-Inch Random Orbital Sander

$37 At Amazon $39 At Home Depot $40 At Walmart

Not every job, nor every DIYer, requires the highest power or speed in a random orbital sander. If you’ll only need a random orbital sander for very light or infrequent household tasks, such as refurbishing an old piece of furniture, a simple, budget-friendly option might make more sense. The best-selling BLACK+DECKER BDERO100 earns high praise for doing a great job at a rock-bottom price. It’s not as powerful as many higher-priced sanders–the motor is just 2 amps–but that’s sufficient for a simple job like smoothing the top of a table before painting. Note, though, that the sanding speed is fixed at 12,000 orbits-per-minute, making this model a little less versatile than higher-priced choices with variable-speed control.

This sander has a dust-collection bag, but several buyers complained that the bag does a poor job of containing the dust, and unlike many similar tools, you cannot attach this one to a shop vacuum. That’s our main complaint with this random orbital sander, which otherwise does a good job of creating a smooth, mar-free finish. It’s comfortable to hold, is designed to reduce vibration, and has a rubberized handle.

Like most of these tools, the BDERO100 uses 5-inch discs that attach with Velcro tabs. It comes with one sanding sheet and is covered by a 2-year warranty.

_{Power Source: Corded | Motor: 2 amps | Disc Size: 5 inches | Max. Orbits per Minute: 12,000 | Variable Speed: No}

Best for Remodeling

Milwaukee M18 Random Orbit Sander

$105 At Amazon $129 At Home Depot View On Toolbarn.com

If you are doing some remodeling around your home—maybe you are installing new cabinets or trim, refinishing floors, adding built-in shelves, or replacing doors—then a sander is going to come in handy for those inevitable rough edges and slight adjustments. Our recommendation for DIY remodeling is this cordless offering from Milwaukee, which runs off an 18-volt battery (not included) and provides almost the same kind of power and performance you'd expect from a corded sander, but without the bother of a cord. Runtime will depend on the amp-hours of the battery you choose, as well as the way you're using the sander, but generally, you'll get around a half-hour of runtime from a 3-Ah battery.

This random orbital sander uses 5-inch pads and has variable speed control with a range of 7,000 opm to 12,000 opm. It's designed to fit comfortably in your hand and to reduce vibrations, which is especially helpful during long work sessions. Like other cordless random orbital sanders, it can be a bit cumbersome until you are used to it, however. It includes an adapter for attaching the sander to a shop vacuum, but also has a dust collection box. A few customers complained that the collection box fell off easily or was hard to empty, though. Considering that you have to buy the battery separately, this is a somewhat expensive tool. Still, if you already have an 18-volt Milwaukee battery, or use other cordless Milwaukee tools, the price is far more reasonable.

_{Power Source: Battery | Motor: 18 volts | Disc Size: 5 inches | Max. Orbits per Minute: 12,000 | Variable Speed: Yes}

Best for Woodworking

Makita BO5041K 5-Inch Random Orbital Sander

$125 At Amazon $144 At Home Depot $190 At Walmart

It might not be the most inexpensive random orbital sander, but when you’re tackling a lengthy job, such as sanding wooden floor edges, or if you regularly do woodworking as a hobby or professionally, then you’ll definitely appreciate the extra front handle on the Makita BO5041K 5-Inch Random Orbital Sander. This handy feature makes it easy to use two hands instead of just one while working—that’s a lot less fatiguing—and gives you extra control when working in tight corners. Plus, this sander has rubberized grips and an ergonomic design to reduce user fatigue even further. A handful of buyers did mention that they felt too much vibration, however.

But that’s not all that we love about this sander; with a 3-amp motor, it has a lot of power, and it has a variable speed control dial with settings from 4,000 to 12,000 orbits-per-minute. It also has a fairly large 1/8-inch orbit, allowing you to sand quickly. (The typical range of orbit size on this type of tool is between 3/32-inch and 3/16-inch.) Even better, the trigger switch has an easy-to-use lock, so no need to waste finger power keeping the power switch on while you work.

There’s a vacuum-port adapter if you prefer to let your shop vac collect the dust, or you can rely on the tool’s built-in high-capacity dust collection bag. The sander comes with a 5-inch sanding disc, case, and one-year warranty.

_{Power Source: Corded | Motor: 3 amps | Disc Size: 5 inches | Max. Orbits per Minute: 12,000 | Variable Speed: Yes}

Best for Light Sanding

BLACK+DECKER BDERO600 5-Inch Random Orbital Sander

$43 At Amazon $43 At Home Depot $49 At Walmart

This isn’t an especially high-powered random orbital sander, although its 2.4-amp motor has enough oomph to get the job done. However, we like this very reasonably priced 5-inch sander for small or lightweight sanding tasks, such as smoothing the edges of a wooden shelf before installation or removing paint from a piece of furniture. And at 8.8 x 5.1 x 6.3 inches, this tool is a little more compact than many others, making it ideal for sanding in confined spaces, like the inside of a cabinet or bookshelf, or working around edges or corners. Plus, it only weighs a bit over 3 pounds, which is lighter than many other sanders on this list.

Its comfortable, rubberized grip is easy on your hands, and the high-performance dust collection bag keeps your work area clean, although, as with any sanding device, you should wear a suitable dust-protection mask while working. But on the downside, this is not a variable-speed sander; it has a fixed speed of 14,000 orbits-per-minute, which might be faster than you are comfortable with when doing delicate work. And a few customers did complain that it didn’t have the power they expected, although this isn’t the tool for heavy-duty tasks.

The sander is covered by a 2-year warranty and comes with one sanding disc.

_{Power Source: Corded | Motor: 2.4 amps | Disc Size: 5 inches | Max. Orbits per Minute: 14,000 | Variable Speed: No}

Best Heavy-Duty

Bosch Dual-Mode 6-Inch Random Orbital Sander

$329 At Amazon $329 At Home Depot $329 At toolnut.com

This beast might be more sander than you need, but if you do extensive woodworking that involves both aggressive sanding and finish sanding, then the Bosch GET75-6N might be for you. This 7.5-amp sander has two modes. One is random orbital sanding, for smooth, swirl-free finish sanding. The other is turbo mode, which kicks up the sanding power times three, basically turning the tool into a belt sander for rapid and rough sanding of wood and other materials. There is variable-speed control, with a range of 3,300 opm to 7,300 opm, and the tool maintains speed even during heavy use. It uses 6-inch discs, and has a removable pad guard to keep the sander from hitting nearby surfaces while you work.

This is a rugged tool, constructed to last. It has a comfortable handle on top, as well as an auxiliary handle along the side for better control with less fatigue. However, at almost six pounds, this is a heavier sander than the others on our list. It has an attachment for connecting the sander to a shop vacuum, but it does not have a dust-collection system of its own. Designed for serious woodworkers, the Bosch GET75-6N is expensive, but for those who demand or need high power and performance while spending hours sanding, it's money well spent. It's covered by a 1-year warranty.

_{Power Source: Corded | Motor: 7.5 amps | Disc Size: 6 inches | Max. Orbits per Minute: 7,300 | Variable Speed: Yes}