4 Harbor Freight Finds That Outshine Menards In Price And Quality

While you can find a variety of useful gadgets at Menards, its product offerings make it a home improvement store, whereas Harbor Freight has a narrower focus as a discount tool retailer. Still, there are areas where their product categories overlap.

Based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the family-owned Menards boasts 341 locations in 15 states, primarily in the Midwestern United States. The company offers tools and products, both in-store and online, to assist with projects such as plumbing, construction, and remodeling. You can find appliances, cabinets, doors, windows, and furniture at the retailer.

Harbor Freight has more stores, with 1,622 locations spread across the United States' 48 contiguous states in 1,313 cities. While you won't find furniture or building supplies in Harbor Freight stores or online, you can find just about any tool you'll need to complete any project you can imagine.

Ultimately, if we're shopping for anything the two retailers both offer, Harbor Freight's superior nationwide presence and smaller, more intimate layout make shopping there more attractive from the start. However, for a Harbor Freight find to really outshine Menards in price and quality, it has to offer more than just a pleasant shopping experience.

Masterforce impact drivers are found exclusively at Menards in much the same way that Hercules and Bauer tools are only found at Harbor Freight. Full disclosure: Masterforce didn't make the list when we ranked the major impact driver brands back in 2024, but Bauer and Hercules did. Menards lists the tool-only version of its Masterforce Boost 20V Brushless Cordless ¼-inch Impact Driver for $119.99.

Compared to the previous model Masterforce impact driver, the Boost model is advertised to deliver 20% more power while being 35% lighter and 12% smaller. Specs provided on its product page report up to 4,300 impacts per minute (IPM), a maximum of 3,600 RPM with variable four-speed control, and a maximum output of 2,400 in-lbs of torque. The tool is backed by a 3-year manufacturer's warranty.

Harbor Freight's Hercules 20V Brushless Cordless ¼-inch Compact Impact Driver offers similar performance, a longer warranty, and a lower price. Harbor Freight lists the tool-only Hercules impact driver for sale at $69.99. Its 3-speed variable control delivers up to 3,600 RPM with 2,200 in-lbs of torque. A fourth speed mode auto-detects completion of self-tapping screw installation to prevent stripping. The Hercules impact driver is protected by a 5-year warranty.

While Hercules specs indicate 200 in-lbs (about 8%) less torque than the Masterforce Boost impact driver, that doesn't necessarily translate to a reduction in performance. Online reviewers like Lee's Tool Review pit the two impact drivers against each other, and the Hercules comes out on top.

Harbor Freight's Daytona Superduty floor jack's design is so close to Snap-On's that it got them sued. Menards sells a Masterforce floor jack that appears similar but hasn't been sued over its design. Both floor jacks have 6,000-pound capacities, feature dual-piston designs capable of raising the unloaded saddle to its highest position in under five pumps, and come with 3 years of warranty protection.

Menards lists its Masterforce 3-ton Heavy-Duty floor jack at $299.99, unless you catch it on sale. We'll focus on list prices since both retailers are prone to putting items on sale at random times. The Masterforce jack has a fully collapsed height of 4 inches at the saddle (6.61 inches overall) with a maximum lift height of 23 inches. It weighs 113.44 pounds and measures 15.67 inches wide and 33.3 inches long.

The Daytona Superduty 3-ton floor jack from Harbor Freight is normally priced at $289.99 and comes in a variety of metallic colors such as red, purple, sunburst orange, and green. There's also an option for a non-metallic bright yellow if you prefer. The jack's hydraulic pump features a magnetic filtration system that the company claims delivers "extraordinary pump life." Compared to the Masterforce floor jack, the Daytona jack is lighter and has a smaller footprint, weighing in at 104 pounds and measuring 14.5 inches wide and 31.25 inches in length. Overall, the Daytona is taller at 8.875 inches, but has a lower 3.75-inch collapsed saddle height while maintaining roughly the same maximum lift at 23.125 inches.

Comparing hand tool brands can generate a similar level of debate as asking which pickup truck is the best. While higher-priced brands are typically better quality, many feel they fall short compared to the value provided by lower-priced options with lifetime warranties. Budget-friendly tool sets like Menards' Masterforce and Pittsburgh from Harbor Freight are worth buying, but there's no sense in paying more than you have to for infrequently used cheap tools.

At Menards, the Masterforce ¾-inch Drive SAE Mechanic's Tool Set includes 13 pieces for $134.99. The set includes nine standard-depth 12-point sockets ranging from 15/16-inch to 1-⅝-inches, skipping 1-3/16, 1-5/16, and 1-9/16 sizes. The kit also comes with the Masterforce 19-inch ¾-inch drive quick-release ratchet, a breaker bar, and two extensions, all in a powder-coated steel carrying case.

While the Masterforce tool set is nice, the Harbor Freight Pittsburgh ¾-inch Drive SAE Jumbo Socket Set shines brighter. Priced at $79.99, the Pittsburgh kit contains 20 pieces with a larger variety of 12-point sockets, two extensions, a 19.5-inch ratchet, and a breaker bar in a plastic storage case. Socket sizes range from ⅞ to 2 inches, skipping sizes like 1-9/16, 1-11/16, and 1-15/16.

Choosing a top-ranked torque wrench brand makes sense when performing precision work like rebuilding an engine, but for everyday tasks, a less-expensive model often serves the purpose with satisfactory results. Harbor Freight's budget-friendly Pittsburgh ½-inch Drive Click Torque Wrench, for example, consistently lives up to its +/- 4% accuracy rating even after 1,000 cycles during testing, although it only costs $21.99.

Menards sells a Performax torque wrench with similar specs for $23.99. The Pittsburgh torque wrench advertises a torque range of 10 to 150 foot-pounds compared to the Performax model's range of 20 to 150. Both torque wrenches are reversible, click-type with micrometer-style adjustments that use the same "Heavy-duty cam and pawl mechanism" phrase in their product descriptions.

The Performax torque wrench measures 18.3 inches long, while Harbor Freight lists the length of the Pittsburgh wrench at 18 inches. However, the differences between them are subtle; they even come in nearly identical blow-molded plastic cases to keep them safe while not in use.

There's little reason to think either of these torque wrenches won't provide years of trouble-free service if they're not dropped, kept clean, and returned to zero for storage to protect their spring tension. In fact, I've been using the same Pittsburgh torque wrench to check the lug nuts on my camper between destinations for over five years.

The author's familiarity with various types of tools undoubtedly influenced these picks. However, almost every DIYer will need these types of tools as well. Once the field was narrowed down, we began comparing individual tools from Menards to those found at Harbor Freight. Sometimes the data favored the Menards product, and the options were often close in price and quality. All of the closely matched options that we chose to highlight here represent Harbor Freight selections that squeak past Menards based on price, while most offer more features and higher quality.