6 Of The Best Socket Sets You Can Get At Harbor Freight (According To Buyers)

Nov 12, 2024

Harbor Freight has more than 1,500 locations in the United States, where you can find plenty of tools to help you with automotive DIY projects. For heavy-duty applications like drilling through steel or removing wheel lugs, you can get Hercules or Bauer power tools, and Harbor Freight sells several valuable automotive tools for $55 or less. One of the most useful bits of gear you can have in your home auto repair arsenal is a socket set, which comes in handy for everything from swapping out a battery to rebuilding your engine.

Harbor Freight has a huge selection of sockets, ratchet handles, extensions, and complete kits available in its stores and on its website. These items will help you with all sorts of auto maintenance and repair jobs while leaving you plenty of room in your budget for parts, paint, and fuzzy dice to hang from your rearview mirror. Let's run down a half-dozen of the best socket sets that Harbor Freight offers, based on ratings from actual buyers.

For sheer versatility, it's hard to beat the Quinn 66-piece socket set that sells for $59.99. This kit comes in a blow-molded plastic carrying case and includes three quick-release 72 tooth ratchet handles in 1/4 inch, 3/8 inch, and 1/2 inch drive sizes. It comes with 60 individual sockets in both metric and SAE sizes, so you can work on both American- and foreign-made cars. There are also extensions in each drive size, and each piece is made from chrome-vanadium steel for corrosion resistance and strength.

This kit has an average rating of 4.8 out of five stars from more than 1,100 Harbor Freight buyers, with 98% recommending it to others. Many reviewers praised the kit's versatility and value, and the well-organized case was mentioned by several buyers as a plus. Some buyers even mentioned that for the price, they were able to buy multiple sets to put in different vehicles or give as gifts.

For more predictable jobs, Quinn makes a smaller socket set that also has a mix of metric and SAE sockets. This 21-piece set comes in 1/4 inch, 3/8 inch, and 1/2 inch drive sizes, although the smallest of the three is not available on Harbor Freight's website; you'll have to visit your nearest store to pick that one up. The 3/8 inch drive set sells for $27.99, although Harbor Freight Inside Track members can get it for $21.99 through September 26, a 21% discount. The 1/2 inch drive set costs $31.99 and has 20 sockets ranging in size up to 13/16 of an inch and 24 millimeters. This kit doesn't come with a case, though, so you'll want to add a socket rail or tray to your Harbor Freight cart to keep it organized.

This kit includes a quick-release 72-tooth ratchet handle with a reverse switch on the head, and is made of the same chrome-vanadium steel as the 66-piece kit. The inch-sized sockets are marked in red and the metric ones in blue for quick identification, and the 21-piece set also has a 4.8 out of 5 rating from more than 1,000 buyers and a recommendation rate of 98%.

In between those two socket sets in terms of size and price is the Quinn 35-piece kit, which Harbor Freight sells for $39.99. This kit comes with metric and SAE sockets and a 3/8 inch ratchet handle to drive them. In addition to the blow-molded plastic case, this set also comes with a few extras that make auto maintenance and repair tasks easier. It has three- and six-inch extensions and a universal joint to get to hard-to-reach fasteners, along with 13/16 inch and 5/8 inch spark plug sockets. The SAE sockets come in shallow and deep formats in sizes from 1/4 inch to 7/8 inch, and the shallow metric sockets range from 10 millimeters to 22 millimeters.

While this set doesn't have as many customer reviews as the other two Quinn sets with just over 400, it's just as highly regarded. The average rating is 4.8 out of five stars, and 99% of buyers recommend it to others. Many buyers mentioned the compact size, versatility, and durability of this kit, and several noted the large, easy-to-read markings on the individual sockets.

Pittsburgh is another of Harbor Freight's well-regarded house tool brands, and Pittsburgh hand tools are backed by a lifetime warranty. Like with the Quinn brand, Harbor Freight sells the Pittsburgh 21-piece socket set in three drive sizes. The 1/4 inch drive set sells for $17.99, the 3/8 inch drive set is $21.99, and the 1/2 inch drive set is $29.99. All three sets come with a quick-release 72-tooth ratchet handle with a comfortable rubberized grip and reverse switch on the head, and the individual SAE and metric sockets have high-visibility markings for quick identification. The socket sizes in each set vary with the drive size.

The 1/4 inch kit has SAE sockets from 3/16 to 9/16 of an inch and metric sockets from 5 to 14 millimeters. The 3/8 inch drive kit has SAE sockets in sizes from 5/16 to 13/16 of an inch and metric sockets ranging from 10 to 22 millimeters. As for the 1/2 inch drive set, that one has SAE sockets in sizes from 3/8 to 15/16 of an inch and metric sockets in sizes from 10 to 24 millimeters. All three versions of this set share an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars from almost 2,000 Harbor Freight buyers and a 98% recommendation rate.

Pittsburgh also makes a combination socket set with three drive sizes. This 64-piece kit sells for $39.99 and includes 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2-inch ratchet handles with an assortment of SAE and metric sockets as well as extensions for the 1/4 and 3/8 inch ratchets It includes 26 1/4 inch sockets, 27 3/8 inch drive sockets, and six that fit the 1/2 inch drive ratchet handle. The chrome vanadium set also includes a single spark plug socket and comes in a blow-molded plastic case to keep everything organized.

This socket set has an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars from almost 1,400 Harbor Freight buyers, with more than 1,000 rating it a perfect 5 out of 5 and 95% recommending this set to other customers. Many of them cited its value for the cost, and one buyer who rated it five stars said they had just used this set to tear down and rebuild a 5.7-liter HEMI V8.

For tough jobs that involve large fasteners or ones that might be frozen with rust, consider the Pittsburgh 1/2 inch drive socket set that Harbor Freight sells for $27.99. The metric version of this 16-piece set is sold under the Pittsburgh Pro label, while the SAE kit is part of the standard Pittsburgh line. Both kits include a 1/2-inch drive ratchet handle, short extension, breaker bar, and blow-molded plastic case. The metric set has sockets ranging from 11 to 28 millimeters, and the SAE set includes sockets from 7/16 of an inch to 1 1/4 inches.

This socket set has an average rating of 4.7 out of five stars from over 300 Harbor Freight buyers, and 96% of them would recommend it to others. As with the other socket sets on this list, customers had praise for this one's value for the money and usefulness. Several of them mentioned that it had the correct sizes to work on their car's axles and suspensions, which often have larger nuts that other socket sets can't handle.