What Does $500 Buy At Tractor Supply Vs Harbor Freight?

Whenever it comes time to start a new project, you're probably going to have to gear up with some new tools and supplies. Costs on these can add up fast, though, and it's all too easy to find yourself creeping over budget before you know it. One way you can offset this is by carefully choosing where you do your shopping, and a couple of the more affordable retail outlets that you might consider are Harbor Freight and Tractor Supply.

The first is a dedicated discount tool retailer. Harbor Freight owns and sells many of its own tool brands, including Pittsburgh, Icon, Bauer, and Hercules. By cutting out the middlemen between manufacturing and distribution, the company is able to offer tools at significantly lower prices than many of its competitors. Tractor Supply, on the other hand, is largely known as a rural lifestyle, farm, and homestead outfitter. The company sells a broad range of products that you won't find at Harbor Freight, including animal feed, fencing, farm implements, trailer accessories, and heating supplies. That said, there is a fair amount of crossover in terms of the kinds of tools and supplies that both of them carry. They won't be from the same brands, but setting the same budget might give you a better idea of how far your money will go at each establishment.

With that principle in mind, let's take a look at what a $500 budget will get you at Tractor Supply vs. Harbor Freight when you are trying to get a specific kind of tool and its associated accessories. This analysis is based on standard pricing, as both retailers offer frequent discounts.

Tractor Supply sells several power tool brands, but DeWalt is definitely one of the more premium options. The black-and-yellow power tool company has a strong reputation as one of the best cordless power tool brands on the market. Those looking to start collecting these tools at Tractor Supply will probably want to start with the DeWalt 4-piece 20V Combo Kit, which is only available online. The kit costs $399.00 of your budget, but you get a 20V ½-inch Drill, 20V 6 ½-inch Circular Saw, 20V Reciprocating Saw, 20V LED Worklight, 2.0Ah Battery, 4.0Ah Battery, charger, and work bag. That will still leave you just enough money for a DeWalt 4 ½-inch 9 Amp Angle Grinder, for a total of five tools and everything you need to operate them.

Harbor Freight has a few different power tool brands, but the two main ones are Bauer and Hercules, with Hercules marketed as the more premium brand that is often compared to DeWalt. If you choose to do your shopping here, you can start by getting the Hercules 2-Tool Combo Kit for $249.99. This comes with a 20V ½-inch Brushless Compact Hammer Drill, a ¼-inch Brushless Impact Driver, two 5Ah batteries, and a charger, leaving you with half the budget left for other tools. Then you could get a Hercules 20V Cordless 6 ½-inch Saw, 20V 4 ½-inch Angle Grinder, 20V Reciprocating Saw, and a Bauer 20V/120V Dual-Power Jobsite Fan and still be under budget.

There's a bit of give and take here. Tractor Supply has DeWalt's name-brand security, but the tools in its budget-oriented bundle are brushed, entry-level models. Meanwhile, the Hercules drill, impact driver, and angle grinder are brushless. You also get one more tool and higher-capacity batteries for the same price.

Buying a bunch of tools is all well and good, but you're also going to need a place to store them. There are quite a few mobile tool cabinets available at both Tractor Supply and Harbor Freight, as well as numerous accessories that you can use to expand their utility. In fact, both companies have store-owned models that are spacious and affordable.

You can get a Tractor Supply brand 42-inch 8-Drawer Mobile Wooden-Top Tool Cabinet for $359.99. This is made of steel and boasts a 1,000-pound weight capacity. It also has a cable grommet and a built-in power strip on the side featuring six outlets and two USB ports. You can use the rest of your budget to further organize this unit with products like the TMB 6-piece Magnetic Socket Organizer, a couple of Tractor Supply Tool Box Mats, and the JobSmart 9-Tub Item Organizer.

At Harbor Freight, you can get the Yukon 46-inch 9-Drawer Mobile Storage Cabinet with Wood Top for that same $359.99 price point. This doesn't have the same electronic features, but it's also made of steel and boasts a 1,200-pound capacity. Harbor Freight also sells a broad selection of magnetic add-ons from its U.S. General brand that can be easily attached to the sides of the Yukon cabinet, including a Tray with Screwdriver Holder, Glove/Tissue Dispenser, Spray Can and Screwdriver Holder, and 5-Outlet Power Strip. You could get one of each of these and still have plenty of money left over to get enough U.S. General Nonslip Toolbox Liners to pad every drawer.

The cornerstone of any woodworking shop is a good table saw, but it's also likely to be one of the more expensive tools that you buy. Those who shop at Tractor Supply can get the legendary DeWalt 8 ¼-inch 15 Amp Jobsite Table Saw for $469.99. That doesn't leave a lot of money in the budget for accessories, but you can add a 2-pack of JobSmart 350-pound Capacity Folding Sawhorses to use as stand supports or outfeed support and still fit just under the $500 budget.

Harbor Freight has recently added a similar table saw to its lineup. The Hercules 15 Amp 8 ¼-inch Compact Table Saw has similar specs and retails for just $299.99. This newly added Harbor Freight table saw brings a rack and pinion fence to this smaller and cheaper package, adding more precision. This leaves a lot more room in the budget for accessories. You can add on a Central Machinery Universal Tool Stand to mount it, a Bauer 250-pound Capacity Adjustable Roller Stand with Edge Guide, a Bauer 24-inch Table Saw Fence and Miter Gauge, and a Power Foot Switch, and you would still have a decent chunk of money left in your budget to get some lumber.

This is another example of brand value vs. dollar value. On paper, the Harbor Freight table saw is the much better value proposition. The saw has similar specs at a much lower price, allowing the buyer to trick it out with a bunch of accessories while staying under budget. On the other hand, DeWalt is widely acknowledged as one of the best major table saw brands on the market.

When it comes to lawn care, one of the biggest investments you'll likely make is your lawn mower. One of the best models that you can get at Tractor Supply with a $500 budget is the Toro 22-inch Recycler with Personal Pace Gas Lawn Mower. It retails for exactly $499.99, and Toro has an excellent reputation for both power and feature-rich designs. This particular mower is powered by a Briggs & Stratton EX 163cc gas engine that delivers 7.25 lb-ft of gross torque. It also has extra features, like a Personal Pace Autodrive system and Vortex technology that helps with cutting, mulching, and bagging.

Harbor Freight only has one mower available, and getting it up and running will also take almost your entire budget. The Atlas 80V Brushless 21-inch Self-Propelled Lawn Mower itself is only $269.99 for the bare tool, but it is an electric mower and doesn't come with the battery and charger. You will have to separately purchase an Atlas 80V 2.5Ah and 40V 5Ah Battery for $139.99 and an Atlas 40V and 80V Dual-Voltage Standard Charger for $59.99 in order to run it. A higher-capacity 80V 4Ah battery would be better, but those go for $249.99 on their own, and would put you over budget before you even got a charger. That said, the Atlas mower is a powerful tool that is highly rated among consumers. It has specialized load sensing technology that automatically adapts the power output to the density of the grass to deliver the required speed and torque, offers variable-speed rear wheel drive, and can operate with two batteries if you choose to add a second one down the line.

Another reason that you might visit either of these stores is to get a source of off-grid power, and both offer a fair number of gas or electric options. Those who shop at Tractor Supply will have several generator brands to choose from, with one of the best options within our established budget being the Champion Power Equipment 2,500 Ultralight Portable Inverter Generator. This retails for $499.99 and offers 2,500 starting watts and 1,850 running watts. That isn't quite enough to run an entire household for most people, but it's on the higher end for the price point. The generator itself weighs less than 40 pounds and features Champion's patented Quiet Technology and Cold Start Technology.  Inverter generators cost a bit more than standard generators, but they're usually the better options for most people. They're generally quieter and more fuel-efficient.

Harbor Freight mostly sells generators from its own Predator brand. The company also sells a number of inverter generators, but none that you can get for under $500. If you don't want a massive, loud generator and want to stay under budget, then one alternative that you might consider is the Predator 600W Power Station, which costs $449.99. This device has a lithium-ion battery with a 512Wh capacity and promises to power up to seven devices at a time. It offers 1,200 starting watts, 600 running watts, and recharges in 90 minutes. It doesn't have even half the output of the Champion generator, but the tradeoff is that it can be stored and operated indoors since it doesn't run on fuel. You'll even have enough money left over to throw in a Vanguard 25ft 10 Gauge Multiple-outlet extension cord to help get the power where you need it.