5 Harbor Freight Alternatives To Popular Ryobi Tools

There's nothing wrong with wanting to stick with established name brands for the things you buy, including power tools. If you enjoy using Ryobi tools, for example, by all means, stick with what you like. That said, sticking exclusively with a single name brand does reduce your flexibility a bit, not to mention potentially increases your overhead when shopping for new equipment. If you're willing to venture outside your comfort zone, you might just find tools at your local Harbor Freight that are comparable to those offered by Ryobi, and at a cheaper cost.

Harbor Freight doesn't sell name-brand tools like Ryobi, instead offering various implements through its various in-house brands, like Bauer and Atlas. For all of Ryobi's most popular tools, like blowers, drills, and chainsaws, Harbor Freight's brands offer tools that are functionally identical, or similar enough so as not to matter. While you may be tempted to dismiss store-brand products, these tools are just as capable as their counterparts, and could make a sound alternative if you're looking to mix things up or save a few bucks.

A couple of Ryobi's different blowers have pretty good reputations, whether it's the heavier-duty 40V model for yard work or the smaller 18V blower for cleaning up in your workshop or the bed of your truck. The 18V model, in particular, runs $99, with Ryobi claiming it to be the best-in-class for its particular power to size ratio. If you don't have $100 to drop on a light-duty blower, Harbor Freight's Bauer 20V Compact Workshop Blower could be an attractive alternative.

The Bauer Compact Blower is about the same size as the Ryobi blower, intended for light-duty jobs like cleaning sawdust out of tight nooks in your personal garage or workshop. Its three-speed selector switch delivers max output of 200 mph and 120 CFM, only slightly less than the max speed offered by the Ryobi blower. It retails for $39.99, less than half the price tag of the Ryobi blower, with the only noteworthy catch being that you can only purchase it in a physical Harbor Freight storefront rather than shopping online.

Chainsaws are some of the most muscular tools you can get from any major hardware brand, using powerful motors to slice directly through trees and tree limbs. Naturally, that muscle is often accompanied by hefty price tags. Ryobi's 40V 16 inch chainsaw, for instance, costs $219, though it claims to pack more power than a 40cc gas-powered chainsaw through its 40V battery pack. By that logic, then, Harbor Freight's Atlas 80V 18 inch Chainsaw is even more impressive, as it claims to be stronger than a 50cc gas-powered chainsaw.

The Atlas 18-inch Chainsaw is rated for 180 cuts through 4x4 logs on a single charge from its 80V battery pack. Like Ryobi's chainsaw, it features a brushless high-efficiency motor to improve output, allowing it to cut through lumber up to 32 inches thick with the bucking spikes, mechanical chain brake, and low kickback bar helping to keep cuts safe and steady. It is larger, and therefore heavier, but despite being a larger tool, it costs more than $50 less than Ryobi's chainsaw at $149.99.

A good inflator gets less attention than something like a power drill, but it has arguably more everyday use cases for more people. This is a tool every driver should keep in their car in case of a flat tire, among other uses. Ryobi's 18V high-pressure digital inflator is very attractive at $39.97, able to output up to 160 PSI of air pressure to meet most inflation needs. As nice as the digital display is, though, if you're willing to part with it, you can get comparable performance from Harbor Freight's Bauer 20V Cordless Inflator, and for $10 less at $29.99.

What the Bauer 20V Cordless Inflator lacks in creature comforts, it makes up for in simplicity. It's got a comfortable pistol grip design with a 19 inch hose, which can output anywhere from 0 to 160 PSI of air pressure, same as Ryobi's. It lacks the automatic stop feature in Ryobi's pump, as well as the digital display, but it uses a fairly easy-to-read circular pressure gauge, and you can just let go of the trigger as soon as you reach the pressure you're gunning for.

Every proper workshop or trade worker toolkit needs a reliable power drill and driver, whether you're making holes in things or securing fasteners, preferably one that lasts a good while on a single charge. Ryobi's 18V ½-inch drill/driver is a very popular choice for these needs, delivering up to 1,750 RPM and 515 in-lb of torque for forceful fastening, all for a mostly accessible $64 price tag. Why settle for "mostly-accessible," though, when you can get comparable performance at a more accessible $39.99 with Harbor Freight's Bauer 20V ½-Inch Drill/Driver?

The Bauer 20V ½-Inch Drill/Driver features a similar makeup to Ryobi's drill/driver, including a ratcheting metal chuck and a two-speed gearbox, with its 22-position clutch being only slightly less flexible than the 24-position clutch on Ryobi's model. Where the Bauer model distinguishes itself is in performance, slightly outpacing Ryobi's drill/driver with a maximum speed of 1,900 RPM and a max torque of 575 in-lb for powerful driving and fastening. This tool is only available in physical Harbor Freight locations, though, while you could get Ryobi's drill online.

One of Ryobi's current popular offerings is its 40V 15 inch attachment-capable string trimmer, which claims to boast more power than a 25cc gas-powered trimmer and an hour of runtime on a single charge from a 40V battery pack. It costs $119, which isn't unusual for this kind of specialized implement, but there's nothing wrong with saving some cash where you can, such as by opting instead for Harbor Freight's Atlas 80V 16 Inch String Trimmer, available for $79.99 at physical Harbor Freight storefronts.

Despite technically being a heavier-duty tool, its performance is more or less analogous to that of Ryobi's string trimmer, with performance estimated to be greater than that of a 23cc gas-powered trimmer. It has a slightly larger cutting width than Ryobi's trimmer, 14-16 inches versus 13-15 inches, support for 0.080 line, as well as a similar variable speed trigger that automatically shuts the tool down when released.