I use the DeWalt one. The battery life is pretty good. It's plenty long enough for doing a few boards or some smaller projects. I have a plug-in one I will break out if I'm doing a large project. Can't comment on the brushed or brushless though. I bought it about 5 years ago. More on reddit.com

One of the 'tubers - Stumpy maybe? - did a video on this not too long ago (note: it may not have been Stumpy after all). The gist was that since you're generally going to have a DC hose attached to the sander, there's no real benefit to cordless since you've taken the one significant benefit (mobility/freedom from a tether) away. The con we all know about - running out of battery halfway through a major sanding project - still remains. I've recently switched to primarily cordless tools and contemplated the sander. In the end, though, he (or she ... maybe it was April?) were right - my hose keeps me as tethered as a cord would. So no point is wasting the money on it when I already had a good corded one. More on reddit.com

There are a few tools where I don't mind if there's a power cable:. primarily when dust-collection is involved. Because if you've already got a hose going from the tool to your shop vac/dust collector, the addition of a power cable is almost inconsequential. Plus, it makes the tool itself lighter, and cheaper, and you won't feel pressured to get the tool that's in your established battery ecosystem if you prefer the feel, features, or performance of another. But make no mistake, I totally am otherwise 100% in the camp of cordless. I'm way way more likely to pick up the tool I don't need to plug in, if I have the option. I have two circular saws. The "better" one is plug-in, and then I have a lower-quality but cordless one...and I use that one almost 9 times out of 10. More on reddit.com

Perhaps a hot take but I never recommend cordless sanders if it is your only sander. Depends on your project of course but they absolutely chew through batteries and are very heavy, with batteries typically making the surface unbalanced. Additionally, I try to use dust collection whenever possible, if not sanding outside. If I have a vacuum hose hooked up to it, the cord for power just makes sense. I don’t deny there are plenty of use cases, but I bought one a few years ago for cheap, and ended up returning it, not because it wasn’t a working machine, but because of what I wrote above. But if your question is “I want cordless sanding, are these worth it?” Then the answer is likely yes! Enjoy! But my cautionary response would be “perhaps consider a corded sander” Enjoy! Actually, sorry, but I'm going to double-down and say that even if you are a casual woodworker, I would recommend a good sander before nearly any other tool in the shop. Sanding is far from enjoyable, but a good sander can be faster, healthier (better dust collection and vibration control), and a better overall experience. If you want more unsolicited opinions, I have been very happy with bosch and dewalt 5" corded sanders, (Bosch ROS10 or Dewalt DWE6421K), but once I upgraded to the bosch GET756N I realized what I had been missing. That last model is a different price range entirely, but I'm sharing just becuase I care about sanding. Additionally, if you want to really blow your mind, grab some 3M Xtract Cubitron II sandpaper and use dust collection. You will never look back. Check out some nerdy vids if you want to really save some money on sanding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W--YEYzQQY Now I truly am sorry about this long reply to your very simple question. I also went waaaaaay off with the sander bit at the end. I know these aren't budget options, which is typically a a goal of ryobi users like myself, but as I have aged I've found myself prioritizing safety and logevity of hobbies more and more. I remember ten years ago I would sand a full table top with no dust collection or mask and be coughing for a few days. Now, I have upgraded those parts of my setups to avoid those situations. I consider it money well spent. More on reddit.com