12 Home Improvement Tools Under $50 Users Say Are Worth Buying

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The thing that makes or breaks a person's homeownership experience is how much they like the idea that maintaining their home as a hobby. And whether things need fixing, improvements need to be made, or you just want to add something because it's what you want, having a good set of tools is vital to getting it done. However, various parts of your home will need specific tools, and speaking from experience as a homeowner, that can add up pretty quickly.

Developing the ability to pick out good tools at a lower price will really help with your homeownership experience. This can be done in a variety of ways, like getting tools that perform multiple functions for one price or finding very inexpensive tools to perform basic stuff and saving the big purchases for more specialized tools. Either way, finding a good useful tool at a decent price is never a bad thing. 

A good price point for tool shopping is around $50. You can find almost any individual hand tool you could ever need for less than that, unless you go for an ultra-premium brand like Snap-On. You won't find a ton of power tools in that price range, so if you're looking for some good tools for under $50, it'll most likely not be powered by electricity. 

One of the most useful tools in my entire toolkit is my multi-bit screwdriver. Having one tool to handle Philips, flathead, and Torx bits is supremely useful. I'm not ashamed to say that it's probably the most used tool I own. Screwdrivers are useful for virtually any home improvement project, and needing to only carry around one saves you trips to the garage. There are some decent electric screwdrivers on the market, but for under $50, you probably want a normal screwdriver. 

The Klein Tools 11-in-1 Magnetic Screwdriver is a slam dunk for this. It comes with two Philips bits, two flathead bits, two Torx bits, two square drivers, and three common hex bits. That should pretty much cover anything you'll find inside of your house. It's also among the most popular we could find, scoring a 4.7 rating on Amazon with a staggering 15,064 total customer reviews. 

Screwdrivers are basic tools, so the positive user reviews pretty much all say the same thing. Klein made a good screwdriver with the right selection of bits for a fair price, and it performs very well. If I didn't already own a multi-bit screwdriver, I would buy this one.

Sometimes you need a wrench and sometimes you need a pair of pliers. Why not have both? The Knipex Pliers Wrench is one of those do-it-all kind of tools that can handle a lot of different tasks. It's also adjustable, which allows you to grab bigger or smaller things as the job requires. Knipex wasn't satisfied with that, though, so they also made this tool in eight different sizes. A small warning, though, that the largest ones eclipse $50. 

The smaller sizes are good for basic tasks like tightening a bolt or crimping a thin piece of metal like chain link. The further up you go, the more tasks you can perform. This might one of the best tools ever made. On Amazon alone, it has over 12,000 total reviews with a 4.9 rating. There aren't a lot of products in any category that can pull off a 4.9 rating with that many reviews.

Customers praise the top-notch built quality, excellent usability, and versatile utility of these things. As of this writing, the tool has no 1-star or 2-star reviews, so as you can imagine, complaints are few and far between. Buy these with confidence, they are really that good.

A good ratchet set can be used for anything from furniture assembly to general housework. Anywhere there is a nut or a bolt, and you have a reason to own a ratchet set. Sizes and shapes tend to vary greatly, so the best value is buying a whole socket set so you'll be ready for whatever comes, even if you never use some of the sizes. The good ones tend to cost more than $50, so finding one within budget is a little bit challenging. 

It is doable, though, and Pittsburgh's 64-piece SAE and metric socket set from Harbor Freight fits the bill at $40. This set includes ¼-inch, ⅜-inch, and ½-inch sizes along with both metric and SAE sockets. Between all of that, this set should work for just about everything you'll run into while working on your home.

It's also a good buy according to customers. This set has a 4.6 rating with 1,534 total reviews, which is impressive. Customers praise the build quality and value, stating that it's more than good enough for home improvement and mechanic applications. If it's good enough to work on engines, it's good enough for home improvement. 

Power tools are rare in the sub-$50 market, but Ryobi was able to squeak one into the mix. The brand sells its One+ 18V ⅜-inch cordless drill for $50 on the nose, making it one of the few decent power drills at this price point. The ⅜-inch chuck should be big enough for most drill bit sets on the market, and using a power tool can dramatically reduce the time it takes to perform a repetitive task. In 2022, my wife and I replaced every electrical outlet in our home, and I used my Ryobi drill to remove and attach the plates. It saved my wrist a ton of pain. 

For the price, you also get a charger and a 1.5 Ah battery, so this isn't one of those things where it's technically under $50 but it's for just the tool. It's usable right out of the box. Customers seem to appreciate this, as the tool has 4.6 rating across 1,400 reviews. People enjoy that it's lightweight and usable for most common household tasks. Reviewers did note that it doesn't come with a torque clutch, which means there's an upper limit to the drill's power. For more intense applications, you'll want a stronger drill.

If you already have a power drill, a good thing to buy for under $50 is a decently sized drill bit set. These range in price and capacity by quite a lot, but we think the 95-piece Ryobi Drill and Impact Drive Kit strikes a nice balance between price and size. You get 95 bits to play with, and the total cost is $25. I personally own a variant of this kit, and I've used it dozens of times over the years. The first time I ever used it was to bore holes in a wood shelf to run Philips Hue lighting strips behind it, and I used it most recently a couple of months ago to hang some Christmas decorations. 

It's a popular product with customers as well, scoring a 4.5 rating after 3,438 reviews. Customers like that it's compatible with basically any power drill while also having a ton of bits to choose from. It's often touted as a good beginner set by users, which tracks with its size and price. Customers do note to be careful with high torque applications, though, as the bits are good, but not indestructible. It's a reasonable value for its price point, and it's certainly better than owning no bits at all. 

A full set of wrenches is practically a must-have for a homeowner's toolkit. These can get pretty expensive, with brands like Snap-on charging hundreds of dollars for a set, but you can also find wrench sets for much less money by shopping around. A good wrench can tackle a lot of tasks. The last time I used mine, it was to replace a toilet seat and made the installation quick and easy for me. 

For this one, we're actually going to recommend two sets. The Pittsburgh 14-piece metric wrench set and its SAE counterpart. Each wrench set costs $25, so buying both together still hits that $50 or under threshold. That's 28 wrenches in both SAE and metric sizes, and if that doesn't cover everything inside of a home, I don't know what will. 

These wrenches have a combined 4.7 rating with 1,291 total reviews, so people who bought these wrenches seem to really like them. Users commonly praised the build quality and price, calling these wrenches an excellent value. The only major complaint is that the set doesn't contain an 18mm wrench, so you'll need to buy one of those if you need one. 

Of all the tools on the list, I think the Vampliers are the coolest. The technical name for the Vampliers Brute is stripped screw extraction pliers. As someone who's dealt with stripped screws a few dozen times in my life, I purchased this tool for myself the day I learned it existed. On the whole, it functions like a normal set of pliers, but also features a set of vertical teeth and a specifically designed jaw for grabbing onto screws that have been stripped so that they can be removed. How cool is that? 

The name is also distinctive, which makes the tool fairly memorable. On Amazon, the Vampliers carry a 4.8 rating with over 3,000 reviews, so as you can clearly tell, I'm not the only one grateful for a way to deal with stripped screws. The most common phrase I saw when reading through reviews was the sheer number of people who wished they'd known about this tool sooner. Otherwise, the build quality was the biggest compliment, with some folks claiming they use this tool as professionals. The praise doesn't get too much better than that, and for around $38, these are worth having around. 

The humble Dremel tool doesn't have a single daily use, but it fills so many niches that it can easily become a daily use tool. The various bits you can attach to it can do anything from cutting, grinding, polishing, and it can even be used as a handheld electric drill, although it doesn't have a ton of torque. In any case, the big one Dremel sells is the Dremel 4300 at around $130. You can get its smaller, less expensive sibling, the Dremel 3100, for around $60. However, this tool goes on sale so often that getting it for $50 is pretty easy with a little patience. 

Dremel has one of the best reputations among rotary tool brands, and that's reflected in its customer reviews. Despite being a smaller model, the 3100 still boasts a 4.6 rating with over 800 reviews. The biggest praise is that it's noticeably better and more reliable than less expensive rotary tools while still being useful for a variety of small tasks like cutting bolts. It's also popular among crafters for engraving, polishing, and sanding small items. The larger model is more powerful, but customers say that this smaller one is easier to hold in smaller hands. 

You can find a host of good tape measures for under $50, as most tape measures on the market are under that price. In most cases, a simple $10 one from Home Depot or Lowe's will do the trick, but if you have the scratch, why not get something with some bells and whistles? The Spec Ops Elite Series tape measure fits the bill. It's a 25-foot tape for $30, which is on the pricier side, but you also get auto-locking, printing on both sides of the tape, 15 feet of standout, a magnetic tip, and a limited lifetime warranty. Plus, 3% of all sales go to military veterans, and no one hates that. 

This tape measure doesn't have a ton of reviews in any one spot, but many of them scattered about various websites where it's sold. Overall, it averages high marks and good reviews on all of them. Customers say that they like the high contrast black writing on white tape and the fact that it's double sided. People also enjoy the option between 25-foot and 35-foot variants and the general build quality. The magnetic tip also got some shoutouts. In short, it's a very good tape measure that checks every box.

Lighting is a universally useful tool when doing any kind of work, be in the home or professionally. Fortunately, lighting is everywhere and is mostly inexpensive in most of its forms. You can find lights for over $50, but they're usually overkill for home improvement projects and are meant to light up whole construction sites. For that kind of stuff, you can get something much smaller, like the Icon Magnetic Slim Bar Work Light for $40. 

This little guy folds in and out and has a light bar that casts a decent light in small spaces. This is perfect for doing some plumbing work under the kitchen sink and similar use cases. It boasts a 4.7 rating with 3,252 reviews, so people who own it like it as well. It's generally praised for its strong magnet, good amount of light, and general versatility. The most common complaint was that the battery life could be better, but it's not a complaint every customer holds. 

Headlamps and lantern-style lights are also available for under $50 pretty regularly. These are also useful for various tasks. The choice is ultimately yours, but when buying tools, don't forget to pack the right light for the job, whatever it might be. Chances are it'll cost you under $50 anyway.

There is a ton of caulk in the average home, including bathrooms, windows, baseboards, door trims, and other spaces where you don't want water or air getting through. Most caulk guns cost under $50, and many cost under $10. For the price and the performance, you can't go wrong with a Tajima Caulk Gun. It's frequently described as the best of the best, and if you're going to buy something once and keep it for years, why not upgrade to something good?

The Tajima model costs around $36 on Amazon, which is actually on the high side for a caulk gun. However, the customer reviews tell the story. It has a 4.7 rating with 528 reviews, with most of the reviews talking about how much better it is and how much easier it is to use than a regular, inexpensive caulk gun. The key for people seems to be the handle, which is quite comfortable and many people say that getting a good flow going is exceptionally easy compared to cheaper caulk guns. These kinds of upgrades are usually more expensive, but for caulk guns, it's just an extra $20 or so.

Like many homeowners, I am guilty of using a flathead screwdriver as a pry bar, and subsequently snapping it because it's not made for that kind of work. A pry bar is, and you can get a decent selection of them for under $50. The Pittsburgh Pry Bar Set is perfect for this. You get four pry bars of varying sizes for $17, and all four pry bars will work better than a flathead screwdriver. The set comes with 8-inch, 12-inch, 16-inch, and 24-inch bars. They're all made of carbon steel, and the varying sizes means you can use them in any home improvement project, big or small. 

You wouldn't expect it, but these pry bars are actually pretty popular at Harbor Freight, garnering a 4.7 rating with over 2,300 reviews. It's a simple tool, so the reviews are similarly simple. People like that they function properly, aren't terribly expensive, and seem to hold up under stress. A common sentiment is that many users didn't know they needed one until they had one, and then they figured out just how often they used it. I can appreciate that sentiment. In my first year as a homeowner, I tore down some awful wood paneling, and I used a claw hammer to do it. I wish I'd had a pry bar. 

There are a lot of tools for under $50, so narrowing down potential candidates for this list was, to say the least, overwhelming. Every tool on the list above has at least a 4.5-star rating, with at least 500 reviews across all the websites where it's sold. Items with high ratings but only a few reviews were discarded. It's pretty easy to justify buying a tool when 1,000 people like it versus only 19 or so. 

After that, it was just a matter of finding useful tools that people might actually use with some regularity. Something like the 11-in-1 Klein Tools screwdriver are daily-use tools. Conversely, a plumbing wrench might have great reviews, but you also might only need it rarely. We focused on putting up tools that you might actually buy, keep, and use many times over the years, rather than niche picks. 

Sticking to that criteria, the selection got much smaller very quickly, resulting in the list of tools above.