How to choose a random orbit sander: what the tests measured
Dust, noise and speed from published sander tests. I have not sanded with these machines. A US corded tool is the wrong voltage in much of the world.
Researched in August and September 2026. Reviewed . Next review: March 2027. 3 sources
Also in español
Research guide: I have not tested these products. Affiliate disclosure As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
How I built this guide
Sources I read. Serious Grit 2026, WWGOA’s mid-price test, Wood Magazine’s 5-inch roundup, and one Reddit fragment I could not open.
What I cross-checked. Which test rewarded dust and which rewarded speed.
What I could not verify. A live Amazon.com price except the search snippet, and any 120 V tool on a 220 V wall.
Most sources suggest this if you are finishing at a bench and dust matters more than hogging speed; skip it if you need to flatten a twisted board, or you are about to plug a 120 V tool into 220 V.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Bosch ROS20VSC
Mid. The sources disagree. Read the notes in the guide.
Serious Grit ranked it first for noise, vibration and dust. WWGOA measured it as the slowest of the leaders. A US search and a Mexico listing were open on 28 Oct 2026. The photo on this guide is a different Bosch.
Slower stock removal if that is what you measure.
Opens Amazon. Price and stock change. I have not used this. Affiliate link: if you buy, I may earn a commission. You do not pay more.
Makita BO5041 / BO5040
Mid. One source, no second opinion.
Serious Grit placed a Makita second. WWGOA included a Makita without a verdict I could record. A BO5040 listing on Amazon.es was open on 28 Oct 2026.
The cheaper BO5030 has no variable speed.
Opens Amazon. Price and stock change. I have not used this. Affiliate link: if you buy, I may earn a commission. You do not pay more.
DeWalt DWE6423
Budget to mid. More than one source agrees.
Wood Magazine called a DeWalt top value. WWGOA timed it as the fastest and also the noisiest. On Amazon.com.mx I only confirmed the DWE6421, which is not the variable-speed model.
Noise and vibration, in the WWGOA test.
Opens Amazon. Price and stock change. I have not used this. Affiliate link: if you buy, I may earn a commission. You do not pay more.
Festool ETS EC 125/3
Premium. The sources disagree. Read the notes in the guide.
Wood Magazine shares a top-tool slot with it. A Reddit comment says the short-stroke ETS is a finish sander, not a hogging sander.
Price, and the job it is actually for.
Opens Amazon. Price and stock change. I have not used this. Affiliate link: if you buy, I may earn a commission. You do not pay more.
A random orbit sander is for a surface that is already close. The pad spins and orbits so the scratch does not sit in one line. I have not used one. The argument in the tests is what they chose to measure.
What the experts say
Medium certainty. Two tests praise the Bosch for dust and vibration. They do not agree that it is the fastest.
Serious Grit put the Bosch ROS20VSC first because it was the quietest and the smoothest, with the best dust collection in that group.1 WWGOA timed it as the slowest of the leaders and still noted the low vibration.2 Wood Magazine’s value pick in the fragments I could read was a DeWalt, praised for speed, while WWGOA also recorded that DeWalt as loud.3
Festool shows up as a top tool in Wood Magazine and, in a Reddit fragment, as a short-stroke finish sander rather than a hogging machine. I could not open the thread.
What owners report
One Reddit fragment calls the Bosch’s dust collection good. That is a fragment from a search result, not a thread I read. I am not building a verdict on it.
Where they disagree
Serious Grit ranks the Bosch first. WWGOA’s clock says it is slow. They are measuring different things: dust and manners against stock removal. Makita’s second place is basically one detailed test. The BO5030 in that note has no variable speed. The BO5040 listing I could open was on Amazon.es, not a promise about every country.
My take
If the job is finish sanding at a bench, the tests that care about dust point at the Bosch ROS20VSC, with the speed caveat written down. If the job is removing wood fast, the DeWalt is the one those clocks liked, and you accept the noise they measured. Neither replaces a plane. A corded American sander is a 120 V tool. Do not learn that on a 220 V wall.
The photo is a Bosch, and it is the wrong Bosch. Flat tear-out is often a card scraper problem, not a sander problem.
Where this comes from
- Serious Grit. Best random orbital sander under $100. Comparative test. Serious Grit Consulted 28 Oct 2026. back
- WWGOA. Mid-priced random orbit sanders. Comparative test. WWGOA Consulted 28 Oct 2026. back
- Wood Magazine. 5-inch random-orbit sanders. Comparative test. Wood Magazine Consulted 28 Oct 2026, via search fragments. back
Changes in this guide
- Rewritten around the published tests. The photo is labeled as a different Bosch.
Common questions
Will this flatten a board?
No. These tests are about finish sanding. A plane or a jointer removes twist. Sanding a hollow dishes the wood around it.
Is the sander in the photo the one to buy?
No. It is a Bosch PEX 270 A. The notes are about other models.