Harbor Freight Vs DeWalt 6-Tool Combo Kit: How They Really Compare

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Combo kits can offer great value compared to buying tools individually, and many major brands offer them within their lineup. Harbor Freight offers various combo kits between its Bauer and Hercules brands, with one of the biggest of them being the Bauer 20V 6-tool combo kit that retails for $249.99.

The cut-price tool retailer often adds comparisons to its online listings; in this case, the big-brand kit that it compares the Bauer to is the DeWalt DCK695P2W2052 6-tool combo kit with a retail price of $1,298. Harbor Freight claims that buyers can save $1,048 by purchasing the Bauer kit instead. So, is the Bauer kit is a no-brainer over the DeWalt? The answer is no, although it's not entirely for the reasons you might think. 

Firstly, the DeWalt kit is listed as out of stock at the time of writing, and since it's a Home Depot exclusive, it can't be bought elsewhere. Even leaving that fairly significant caveat aside, there are plenty of other issues with the claim that serve as a reminder not to take comparisons like this one at face value. 

Despite Harbor Freight comparing the two kits on its website, both contain a different set of tools. The Bauer kit includes a ½ inch drill/driver, a ¼ inch impact driver, a 6-½ inch circular saw, a compact LED light, a blower, and an oscillating multi-tool. Meanwhile, the DeWalt kit includes a ½ inch hammer drill, a ¼ inch impact driver, an LED flashlight, and a 7-¼ inch circular saw. These four tools are similar to the Bauer kit, but DeWalt also adds in a 4-½ inch angle grinder and a reciprocating saw.

As well as the difference in tools, there's a big difference in the batteries that are supplied with both kits. Bauer ships its kit with only two batteries, a 3Ah battery and a 1.5Ah battery, while DeWalt includes four 5Ah 20V Max batteries. Both brands include a standard charger for their respective batteries, but DeWalt also adds in a tool bag for users to carry their new purchases, while Bauer does not.

Every tool and battery in DeWalt's kit is covered by the brand's 3-year warranty, whereas Bauer only offers 90 days of warranty cover. This won't be news to Bauer fans, as all of the brand's standalone tools also come with the same short standard warranty. However, it's still worth noting, especially given Harbor Freight's extended warranty provides up to 2 years of cover. Plus, that extended warranty will drive up the overall cost, and whether it's worth the money or not isn't clear-cut either.

We've previously covered just how much further $500 will go at Harbor Freight versus DeWalt, but in that comparison, we primarily compared DeWalt's cordless tools with equivalents from Harbor Freight's Hercules brand. When they're put side-by-side, some of Hercules' tools look tempting compared to DeWalt. In rare cases, some Hercules tools are even more powerful than their closest DeWalt rival. But as the cheaper in-house Harbor Freight brand, Bauer's tools often don't match up as evenly.

As previously mentioned, Bauer's and DeWalt's kits feature a different set of tools. Where similar tools are included in both kits, it's usually DeWalt's selection that feature better performance specs.

To take an example, Bauer says that its ¼-inch impact driver is capable of 3,330 impacts per minute (ipm), while DeWalt's included ¼-inch impact driver reaches 3,600 ipm. In another comparison, the 7-¼ inch circular saw that's included with DeWalt's kit can cut material up to 2-9/16 inches thick and has a motor that reaches 5,200 rpm for cleaner cuts. Meanwhile, Bauer's included 6-½ inch circular saw cuts material up to 2-⅛ inch thick, while its motor reaches only 4,000 rpm.

There's only one tool in the Bauer kit that comfortably outperforms its DeWalt counterpart: its LED worklight. The Bauer light offers a maximum of 300 lumens, while the DeWalt only manages 110 lumens. It's a win for Bauer, sure, but it's hardly enough to sway the balance, since the light can be bought individually for just $9.99.

Although the hugely different price between the two might make the Bauer kit sound like a bargain at first glance, but they're arguably two separate kits for two completely separate types of buyers. So no, you're not really saving $1,048 by buying the Bauer kit. However, that shouldn't take away from the fact the Bauer kit is still a good option for DIYers looking to upgrade their tool kit while keeping their next project cheap.