Dremel 4000 vs 4300 – Which One is Better?

If you were to head down to your local hardware store and look at the list of Dremel tools available for sale, then you would almost certainly see both a Dremel 4000 and a Dremel 4300 tool available. Now, despite the difference in numbers, the 4300 isn’t actually just a straight upgrade of the 4000. The two rotary tools have few noticeable differences.

To help clarify the difference between the two and help you decide which tool is right for you, I’m going to take a look at both of them. In this article, you will see comparisons between the two as well as a list of the differences.

Comparison between Dremel 4000 vs 4300

Here is a quick comparison chart between the two models with their specifications.

 

Differences Between The 4000 And 4300

The main differences between a Dremel 4000 and 4300 are the motor power, the introduction of keyless 3-jaw chuck and LED light. The Dremel 4300 is also quiet when compared to the model 4000. The other significant difference is the available kits that come with each model.

Now let me explain the details.

Power

One of the key areas where these two tools differ is when it comes to power output. The Dremel 4000 tool has a power output of around 1.6 amps. The Dremel 4300 has a power output of around 1.8 amps. Now, I know this doesn’t sound like a huge difference on paper, but in practice, it can make a difference. With tools as small as Dremel’s, and when working on the sort of small jobs that a Dremel tool is usually used for, even a slight increase can be important.

* Edit: A reader of this site, Mr. Phil pointed out that the difference from 1.6 to 1.8amps is only 200mA which is hardly a helpful increase. I agree with him.

Kit and Attachments

A more noticeable difference has nothing to do with the tools themselves, but with the kit and the accessories that come with the tools. To illustrate the difference, let’s compare the largest accessory kit available for each tool.
The largest accessory kit that you can currently get for your Dremel 4000 is the 4/50 kit. This kit comes with 4 different attachments and 50 different bits (accessories) for you to use.

The Dremel 4000-6/50 kit. Click the above image for more details

Now, compare that to the largest kit for the Dremel 4300, and you will see why the 4300 is better. The largest kit for the 4300 is the 9/64 kit. This means that it has 9 different attachments and 64 different Dremel bits for you to pick from. Already, you can see the vast difference here.

* Edit: Dremel 4000 now has a 4/65 EZ kit and a Platinum Edition 6/128 kit that offer a lot more tool bits.

The above image shows Dremel 4300-9/64 kit. Click for more details

Keyless 3-Jaw Chuck

Dremel introduced a self-centering keyless 3-jaw chuck for quick clamping of accessories. In my opinion, this is a time saver when you are working on complex projects that require a number of different tool bits and accessories.

LED Light

The Dremel 4300 is equipped with an in-built pivoted LED light. The LED is battery powered which means that even you have unplugged the rotary tool, you can still keep the lights on.

Is this really useful? My first thought was why would I need this when I have powerful lamps set up on my workbench? But the light comes handy when you are engraving intricate profiles where the shadow of the tool will block your view.

Size

Both models are roughly the same size. The width is approximately 1.5-inches and the length is 9-inches. However, the Dremel 4300 is slightly thinner than the previous design. This makes it a better option for jobs that require prolonged use. Plus the newer model has better cooling and additional power (but I will go into more detail on this shortly).

Performance Comparison

Alright, now that you are more familiar with the key differences between these two tools, the question that is probably on your mind is “how do they actually perform?” Well, to a certain extent it depends on what you plan to use the tool for. However, in terms of pure performance, you can see clearly that the 4300 is going to be the winner. It just outclasses the 4000 model in terms of power, ease of use, and accessories available.

Which One Is Better And Why

Unless you know that you are mainly looking at the price tag, then the 4300 Dremel tool is the better option for a few reasons that I outline above. For starters, it is more powerful. Not a lot more powerful, but it is noticeable. If price is your main deciding factor then you may also want to check the older Dremel 3000 model.

Secondly, the 4300 is more comfortable to hold, which has its own set of advantages, especially if you plan on doing bulk work. (The cordless 8220 provides even more flexibility, although it is not as powerful as the 4300 model.)

Finally, there is the issue of kits and attachments. One of the most important things to keep in mind about Dremel tools is the fact that they are meant to be extremely versatile, so having more attachments and bit is always a good thing, although you would probably end up buying more.