Drywall – ny difference between wood screw and anchor screws

Suitablilty of fasteners for supporting bracketry in concrete depends mostly on the weight.

• light duty 0-10lbs: Screws with concrete threads, no anchors needed (EG Tapcon and Spax)
• medium duty: 10-50lbs: anchors of plastic or lead,
• heavy duty: 50+ : sleeve and wedge anchors

There are overlaps between light and medium duty , based on screw size and depth of penetration. Follow package directions closely. Drill the exact size hole and depth called for, the fastener retention depends on it!

Wood screws directly into a stud are going to be many times stronger then drywall anchors. When you have hit a stud, use a screw. When you are just in the drywall, use a drywall anchor.

Drilling out the strong wood to replace with weak plastic doesn't make any sense.

If you really wanted to just use anchors, they make metal anchors that can be driven into a stud but the description of them is:

No pre-drilling necessary - drills directly into drywall even if you hit a wood stud. Starts easier than other self-drilling drywall anchors.

I emphasized the word even.

_{(source: easyanchors.com)}