Tips for Building
Across brands, shared charging only exists inside an alliance. AMPShare and CAS write it both ways; Power for All writes one direction only, a partner's battery on a Bosch charger. Across one brand's own ranges, only Milwaukee (dual M12 and M18 chargers) and DeWalt (FLEXVOLT on an 18V charger) write it down; Makita needs an adapter. For 5 of the 9 brands, nothing is written.
Across one brand's ranges
| Brand | Across the brand's ranges | What the maker writes | Inside one range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makita LXT, XGT, CXT, G-Series | Adapter only | One bridge only, and it is an accessory: the ADP10 adapter (191C10-7) puts an LXT 18V battery on an XGT 40V max charger. Nothing the other way, and nothing for CXT. makita.fr | Each range has its own chargers. G-Series even has a dedicated one, the DC18WA, and LXT chargers are not listed for it. |
| Bosch Professional, le bleu Professional 18V System, Professional 12V System | Nothing written | Bosch does not say whether an 18V charger takes a 12V battery, and lists no dual-voltage charger. Nothing either on a green Home and Garden battery on a blue charger. bosch-professional.com | Full battery and charger compatibility inside 18V since 2008, and inside 12V since 2005. |
| Bosch Home and Garden, le vert POWER FOR ALL 18V, POWER FOR ALL 36V | Nothing written | The 36V is presented as a separate system, with no word on whether an 18V charger takes a 36V battery. No page states plainly that the green battery will not charge on a blue charger. bosch-diy.com | The green 18V battery is stated to work with every 18V Bosch charger in the Home and Garden range. |
| DeWalt XR 18V, XR FLEXVOLT, POWERSTACK, XR 12V | Written by the maker | One case is written: DeWalt says XR FLEXVOLT batteries are backward compatible with every XR 18V product and charger. A 54V pack therefore charges on an 18V charger. Nothing on an XR 12V battery on an 18V charger, or the reverse. dewalt.fr | POWERSTACK packs are XR 18V batteries: no special charger is announced for them. |
| Metabo Classe 18 V, Classe 12 V | Nothing written | Nothing on a 12V battery on an 18V charger. The words "in the same size" suggest it does not, without saying so. metabo.com | Metabo writes that every Metabo charger charges all battery packs in the same size, a promise held since 2009, voltage class by voltage class. |
| Milwaukee M18, M12, MX FUEL | Written by the maker | The only brand that sells it as a feature: the M12-18 FC charger refills every M18, M14 and M12 battery, as do the M12-18 C, M12-18 AC and M12-18 GBC4. MX FUEL has dedicated chargers and appears on no dual charger. fr.milwaukeetool.eu | Chargers specific to each range, plus dual M12 and M18 chargers. |
| Ryobi 18V ONE+, 36V MAX POWER | Nothing written | The 36V MAX POWER chargers are presented as dedicated, with no word on whether they take an 18V ONE+ battery. Nothing the other way. fr.ryobitools.eu | 18V ONE+ batteries work with, and are backward compatible with, every ONE+ tool, ONE+ HP included. |
| Einhell Power X-Change | Single range | No question to ask: Einhell sells a single system, and its 36V machines pair two 18V batteries that charge on the same chargers. einhell.fr | Stated compatibility across every Power X-Change tool and charger, including the Plus, Multi-Ah and SEALED battery variants. |
| Parkside (Lidl) X 20 V TEAM, X 12 V TEAM | Nothing written | Dedicated X 12 V chargers. Nothing on an X 12 V battery on an X 20 V charger, or the reverse. parkside-diy.com | Full battery and charger compatibility inside X 20 V TEAM. |
Across the brands of an alliance
An alliance first promises that one battery runs every member brand's tools. Charging is a separate question, and the three alliances do not say as much about it.
| Alliance | One brand's charger, another brand's battery | What the alliance writes |
|---|---|---|
| CAS (Cordless Alliance System) the 18V Metabo battery | Yes, both ways Batteries and chargers mix across member brands. The alliance publishes no question and answer as plain as AMPShare's about another brand's charger: its general promise is what says so. | Simply combine your batteries and chargers with more than 500 CAS brand tools. With the CAS battery, you need fewer chargers and battery packs.cordless-alliance-system.com |
| AMPShare the 18V Bosch Professional battery, the blue one | Yes, both ways Both ways and across every member brand. AMPShare adds that 18V Bosch Professional chargers sold since 2008, without the logo, charge AMPShare batteries too. | Can I recharge AMPShare batteries with chargers from another brand? Yes. AMPShare guarantees full compatibility between every battery, every charger and every tool in the AMPShare battery system, whatever the brand on the product.ampshare.com |
| Power for All the 18V Bosch Home and Garden battery, the green one | One direction written Only one direction is written: a partner brand's battery charges on a green Bosch charger. The reverse, a Bosch battery on a partner's charger, is not covered in the FAQ. And first-generation 18V batteries are excluded. | Can I charge partner batteries with Bosch chargers? Yes. Can I charge first-generation 18V batteries with the chargers? No.powerforall-alliance.com |
Each alliance's member brands are listed on the three alliances page.
Three cases that save you a charger
Milwaukee M12 and M18. A dual charger refills both ranges. It is the only brand in this survey that sells it as a written feature. Charging only: an M18 tool still will not take an M12 battery.
DeWalt FLEXVOLT. The 54V pack charges on an XR 18V charger, in DeWalt's own words. If you already own 18V gear, moving one machine to FLEXVOLT needs no new charger.
An AMPShare or CAS alliance. The Bosch Professional or Metabo charger already in your case charges a member brand's battery, and the reverse. For AMPShare, even a blue 18V charger sold before the logo, since 2008.
What nobody writes down
Bosch Professional, Bosch Home and Garden, Metabo, Ryobi and Parkside each sell two voltage ranges and do not say whether one charger takes the other. We do not infer it from a photo or a forum: the cell stays "nothing written". Metabo comes closest with its "all battery packs in the same size" wording, which suggests 12V and 18V do not cross, without saying so.
Power for All has the same gap one way round: its FAQ says a partner battery charges on a Bosch charger, not that a Bosch battery charges on a partner's charger. And Makita's ADP10 adapter only goes from an LXT battery to an XGT charger.
For which batteries fit which tools, see one brand, several ranges and, between brands outside an alliance, battery adapters, which never cover charging.
Frequently asked questions
Can one brand's charger charge another brand's battery?
Only inside an alliance that says so. AMPShare guarantees it both ways across its brands, CAS claims it, Power for All writes it for a partner battery on a Bosch charger. Outside an alliance, no brand in this survey promises it.
Does a Milwaukee M18 charger charge an M12 battery?
A dual charger does: the M12-18 FC, M12-18 C, M12-18 AC and M12-18 GBC4 refill M12, M14 and M18 batteries. MX FUEL appears on none of them.
Can a battery adapter let me charge on another brand's charger?
No. Cross-brand adapters are there to run a tool, not to charge. The only charging adapter in this survey is Makita's ADP10, inside Makita, from LXT to an XGT charger.