Orbital sanders use third or half-sized sandpaper or will use round sandpaper sheets, depending on model type. Orbital sanders are used for sanding a range of surfaces such as wood, walls, paint and buffing metal. Orbital sanders are occasionally known as random orbit sanders.

Carpenters, decorators and cabinet makers often use orbital sanders. In addition, orbital sanders are also found in the automotive industry since they are used to sand paint on vehicles.