6 Cheaper Alternatives To Mac Tools' Hand Tools

Oct 21, 2024

Mac Tools has a well-earned reputation for being a high-quality tool manufacturer. The company has an impressive array of pneumonic and battery-powered products in its catalog, but it is perhaps best known for its hand tools. Mac makes wrenches, ratchets, pliers, screwdrivers, picks, scrapers, hammers, hex keys, and just about anything else your typical craftsmen might need–but these tools don't come cheap.

All you have to do is take a look at the company's website, and your heart will break once you see the price tags. One of Mac's basic plier sets costs $124.99, and the company's master tool kits are all priced in the thousands. Getting a full set of hand tools from Mac would certainly make a nice addition to any workshop, but it isn't exactly in everyone's budget.

Fortunately, there are several other manufacturers on the market that offer similar products at a significantly reduced price. I've been building furniture and doing home repairs for years and I've used several different tool brands in that time. There's no guarantee that everything these brands make will be able to match Mac's overall build quality, but each of them is a well-respected manufacturer in their own right, and they all offer products that are more than sufficient to get you started. Here are a few alternatives to Mac Tools that will help you get to work without breaking the bank.

Craftsman is one of the oldest and most well-known tool manufacturers in America. The company debuted in 1927 and has been consistently churning out quality products ever since. Craftsman is ranked as one of the best power tool brands on the market, and its reputation for hand tools is just as formidable. The company makes everything from basic hammers and screwdrivers to specialty automotive tools, riveters, knives, and rasps. What's more, its tools tend to be priced in the middle of the road between budget and premium brands. So, while they aren't exactly cheap, they are quite a bit more affordable than many of the company's higher-end competitors.

Craftsman was purchased from Sears in March 2017 and is currently owned by Stanley Black & Decker. The brand has shifted manufacturing factories several times over its history, and the once American-made-only brand has shipped much of its production overseas. There are those who believe that the company's tools were of a higher quality back when they were manufactured in the U.S. That said, I've used several Craftsmen tools over the years, and I've never once had an issue with any of them. The modern Craftsman also still honors the company's famous lifetime warranty. So, any tool that breaks can be replaced by a brand-new one, no questions asked. That guarantee, coupled with the affordability of its tools, makes Craftsman tool a tempting proposition for any consumer.

Another tool brand that you might consider is Icon. This is one of the store brands that are owned and sold exclusively by Harbor Freight. Those who have spent time in one of their stores know that Harbor Freight specializes in taking popular tool designs, making their own versions of them, and then selling them at a fraction of the cost. Harbor Freight owns multiple brands that do this, with some, like Pittsburgh, being more budget-oriented while others are focused on emulating more premium brands.

Icon is Harbor Freight's top-of-the-line brand. This means that its tools are a bit more expensive than some of the others that you might see hanging beside them on the store's shelves, but it also means that they're designed to replicate the quality that you might find from brands like Snap-On or Mac Tools. I've purchased a few Icon tools from my local Harbor Freight. They don't always quite match the quality of the tools they compare themselves to, in my experience, but they're still much better than their budget counterparts. So, while Icon's tools may be among the most expensive of their kind in Harbor Freight, they are still significantly cheaper than competitors in other stores. In fact, Icon's pricing model is more in line with the budget brands that you would find in most other hardware stores.

One example of this is the seven-piece Icon Professional Wobble Socket Extension Set, which Harbor Freight sells for $39.99. The site claims it's comparable to the Mac Tools 7-piece Multi-Drive Wobble Extension Set, which retails at $259.99. Harbor Freight also provides a lifetime warranty for all of its hand tools, making the brand even more appealing.

While we're on the subject of hardware store-exclusive brands, another one that you might want to look into is Husky. You can always find this company's products lining the shelves of your local Home Depot. Husky makes a lot of the tools that are sold individually in the store, like hammers and prybars, but it also makes some great kits that bundle together everything you might need for whatever kind of project you're taking on. But, as one of Home Depot's official store brands, it's responsible for other tool-adjacent products like hoses, tie-down straps, and extension cords. It also makes a wide variety of workbenches, cabinets, tool chests, and other storage solutions if you need a place to put your tools once you've bought them.

In terms of pricing, Husky is definitely on the affordable side as well. It isn't the cheapest budget brand out there, but the quality of its products reflects a much higher value than its price tag, making it a solid bargain for what you're getting. Most of Huskey's tools have a rating somewhere between four and five stars on Home Depot's website, with the tools' overall quality regularly receiving praise. My shed (which I nailed together using a pair of Husky hammers) is full of Husky tools, and I've never had to replace any of them. In fact, I've been using the same Husky ratchet set that I bought 12 years ago and have yet to break a single socket. What's more, Husky is another brand that offers a lifetime warranty.

Continuing this theme, we have the Lowes exclusive brand Kobalt. But while Harbor Freight and Home Depot have their store-exclusive power tools and hand tools split between two or more different brands, Lowes has them all bundled together under the single Kobalt Banner. So those who want to try and keep all of their tools in a single color scheme might want to consider Kobalt's blue and black.

However, Kobalt's selection isn't as vast or varied as some of the other brands on this list when it comes to hand tools. Lowes currently only has 31 products listed under the Hand Tools category marked for sale. The hand tools that Kobalt sells are all rated between four and five stars on the Lowes website, with reviewers frequently citing excellent build quality as the primary reason that they were satisfied with their product. Its tools are made by a company called Chervon, which outsources most of its manufacturing to German and Chinese factories.

Kobalt's tools are also priced very reasonably. You can get a 16oz hammer for $6.98, a 5-piece set of pliers for $19.98, and a full 18-piece magnetic screwdriver set for $19.98. That easily rivals Icon's tools.

I haven't used Kobalt tools myself, but Pro Tool Reviews covered the company's Socket Set, Wrench Set, Combination Wrench Set, and Mechanic's Tool Set, and all of their reviews confirmed that, while not professional grade, Kobalt tools are an easy and affordable option for getting everything you need to start your collection in a single location.

Tekton is another brand you might want to consider if you're looking for high-quality hand tools that don't quite hit Mac Tools prices. This company makes screwdrivers, pliers, and wrenches of all kinds, but it's best known for its ratchets and sockets. Tekon makes hand sockets and impact sockets as well as a wide array of ratchets to use them with.

Now, Tekton tools aren't quite as affordable as those made by the other manufacturers we've discussed so far, but the prices are still considerably lower than those set by Mac Tools. A 3-piece set of groove joint pliers from Tekton costs $50.00, which is probably more than you would pay for Husky, Icon, or Kobalt, but it's much less than the $239.99 that Mac charges.

In terms of quality, Tekton is usually ranked somewhere in the upper-middle grade. Hank O'Hop of The Drive reviewed Tekton's ½" torque wrench and its 45-piece mechanics set, and he seemed impressed with the company's products in both of his reviews. Tekton is a solid option for those who want something that promises higher overall quality than most of the store brands at prices that are still fairly reasonable. They're also quite easy to find. You can get them from Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, Amazon, and several other retailers.

Another brand you might want to consider is GearWrench. This one is regularly considered as a cheaper alternative to brands like Snap-On and Mac. As you may have guessed from the name, GearWrench specializes in hand tools for mechanics. The company makes a variety of modular tool sets, 120XP ratchets and wrenches, 90T ratchets and wrenches, shop equipment, and a brand-new line of diagnostic tools. It also makes specialized Bolt Biter extraction tools that are designed to easily break stuck fasteners and a handful of storage options if you need a place to put them.

Because GearWrench is so specialized, there are a lot of tools that it doesn't make. You probably aren't going to find a GearWrench ball peen hammer any time soon. Even so, those who are looking specifically for auto maintenance and repair tools will be hard-pressed to find a better brand.

O'Hop from The Drive reviewed the GearWrench 68-piece socket set. He thought professionals might want something a bit more heavy-duty and that it was priced a bit high for home enthusiasts. Even so, he called GearWrench one of the best non-premium brands, praising their overall quality.

I've been working with hand tools ever since I was old enough to hold one. Most of my experience is in carpentry, electronics, home maintenance, and auto repair. I've personally used several Craftsman, Icon, and Huskey brand tools.

To compose this list, I started by looking at the products in the Mac Tools catalog. I then looked for other highly-rated brands that made similar products at a reduced price. I weighed each brand's catalog size, reputation for build quality, and pricing model in order to select six of the best options available. I then relayed my own personal experience with the brands that I've used and relied on the opinions of other professional reviewers for the ones that I haven't in order to get a baseline for how these tools perform in the real world.