The UK's bestNail Guns2022 Review

The Ryobi ONE+ Airstrike 18G is probably the best battery powered nail gun for 2^nd fix you can get hold of. It’s incredibly easy to use, takes a decent range of nail lengths, and can be set to continuous fire mode.

Japanese tool experts Ryobi are well favoured for their excellent range of DIY and garden tools that make use of the ONE+ battery system. It means you can power anything from a lawn mower to a hammer drill with the same battery. This brad nailer comes as a “bare” tool, so you’ll have to use the 18V battery from your Ryobi drill or purchase one separately.

The first thing that caught my attention when testing out this nail gun is how simple it is to use. I like how quickly you can dial in the pressure using the rear selector and then fine-tune the firing with the adjuster wheel. Ryobi have made it as easy as placing the nails where you want them and choosing exactly how deep they’ll be fired in.

Clearing stuck brad nails is simple as well. The nose portion can be unclipped without using either tools or much effort. The magazine can be loaded up with a range of nail lengths and it’ll even tell you when you’re nearly out. Overall, it’s light enough at just 2.5 kg and feels good in the hand. I love it.

Producing a range of hand and power tools from cordless glue guns to leather punchers, NEU MASTER are a decent budget brand that doesn’t lack in quality. The NTC0040 electric nail and staple gun is an absolute joy to use and one of the best electric nailers out there right now.

If the idea of buying gas cartridges or an expensive air compressor setup seems unnecessary, it probably is! This electric nailer/stapler is ready to go so long as you’ve got access to mains power. And if you need to work “off-grid”, NEU MASTER also make the impressive NTC0023 cordless nail gun. It’s the same quality tool, but it takes its power from an 18V battery.

With a built-in adjustable power wheel, it’s ideal for use on a range of different materials, and the non-marring rubber nose will help to keep those surfaces clean. Another great thing about this nailer is that it can be used with a few different types of fixing. You can fit different lengths of 18-gauge brad nails, T staples, and crown staples into the magazine without special tools or any downtime. This is easily one of the best combination staple and nail guns for 2^nd fix work at this price.

Easily one of the biggest and most recognisable names in DIY is Stanley, and they’ve come up with what I think is one of the best corded electric staple and nail guns for the money.

If you’ve ever used a manual staple gun before, you’ll probably be familiar with how the TRE550 electric staple gun works. You pull back the bottom slide to load a line of staples or nails into the foot of the stapler, and off you go. Pull the trigger and effortlessly fix whatever you want.

It’s comfortable to hold and easy to use, but the feature I was surprised to see on a stapler in this price bracket was the power adjuster wheel. It gives you six levels of stapling power – a useful feature that you might only see on the best nail or staple gun.

It’s a shame that Stanley haven’t supplied even a small box of staples of brads to get you started though. But, for the money it’s hard to complain about this little workhorse of a staple gun.

German power tool brand Einhell have been making quality and affordable kit since 1964. Well established as a tool manufacturer, they’ve been impressing DIYers with their new line of cordless Power X-Change 18 V for a while now. The TE-CN cordless nail gun and stapler is an impressive device that does away with power cords, air lines, and anything else you might trip over.

It’s an extremely comfortable tool to use thanks to the ergonomic grip shape and rubberised handle. I like the depth setting feature as well, it’s intuitively located on the back of the handle and means you can micro-adjust penetration levels on the fly. Load it up with 18-gauge nails or staples for all 2^nd fix work around the home or garden.

The magazine can hold up to 100 nails or staples and is held in place with a powerful magnet. This should help to keep the fixings in place for firing and mean that you can use it at all angles without misfires. For the price, this is an affordable way to get hold of a quality cordless nail gun.

One of the most respected specialist fastening brands out there, Tacwise have been making some of the best nail and staple guns for more than 50 years. The 53-13EL cordless nail and staple gun is a lightweight tool for small brad nails and staples. It’s more like a traditional stapler than a heavy duty nail gun.

This handy little cordless staple and nail gun is great for hobbies. It weighs just over 1 kg. It can still put staples or brad nails into wood without much effort at all. It’s probably the simplest little nail gun I’ve had a chance to use as well. There are no dials to fiddle with, it’s simply a case of load it up and get firing.

The internal 4V battery is strong enough for lighter stapling and nailing jobs. It’s an ideal tool for an upholsterer or if you need to put up lots of posters. It’s not designed to replace a carpenter’s nail gun and can’t take 50 mm long nails, but it certainly beats a traditional manual stapler.

Charging up the non-removable battery with a micro-USB makes this a particularly handy tool to have around. However, if it runs out of juice, you’ll have to wait around before you can start working again. It’s my only gripe against what is otherwise the best electric staple gun I’ve tried out.

British tool brand Lumberjack make a wide range of woodworking tools. I think their NS18G corded nail gun is the best nailer and stapler gun for home use, and it won’t cost you the earth.

For the price, I expected the NS18G to be a flimsy bit of kit, but it’s surprisingly well put together and robust. The rubberised overmoulded grip is one of the best I’ve held. It certainly feels like it will last well if you don’t treat it too badly.

The operation is easy as well. There’s a simple power adjustment wheel, loading the magazine doesn’t take long to figure out and pulling the trigger fires one pin or staple. There isn’t much there to go wrong. It’s not the most powerful nail gun out there, but for the price it’s one of the best budget nail guns on the market.

The Dewalt DCN660N Brushless Framing Nailer is simply the best framing nail gun for first fix. It’s mechanical, fires up to four 16 gauge nails per second, and these nails can be up to 63 mm long.

This is a first fix framing nailer that takes nails of between 32 to 63mm. It has a magazine capacity of 110 nails and an angle of 20 degrees. The framing nailer can be used either in “bump” or sequential modes. Depth adjustment is simple due to the easy-to-read gauge. The nail gun also features LED lights with error notification. You can easily troubleshoot any problems and fix them with the tool-free jam clearing mechanism.

This DeWalt nail gun is mechanically powered which means you don’t need to use gas. This also allows the nailer to be used at a wider range of temperatures than gas-powered products. It’ll also save you money on running costs. The brushless motor is maintenance-free and long-lasting. The nailer is powered by an Li-Ion battery. This is a bare tool so the battery is not included, but this high-quality nail gun still makes extremely good value.

The framing nailer is ergonomically designed and is light and comfortable to use. Overall, the simplicity and versatility of this DeWalt nail gun make it the best framing nail gun on the market in this price range.

Japanese tool giants Makita are well respected by tradespeople and DIYers across the world. They haven’t let their fans down with the AF506 nail gun – it’s one of the best pneumatic nail guns for second fix you can get for the money.

Equipped with sequential fire mode as well as single shot, you’ll be blasting the best 18 gauge nail gun at high speed before you know it.

This is a slim and lightweight brad nail gun that operates up to a massive 120 psi. It carries up to 100 18 gauge brad nails at a time, with a handy viewing window in the magazine to see when they’re running out. It’s what you’d expect from a premium Makita product- one of the best brad nailers available right now.

Almost anyone who’s attempted a DIY job at home has come across British budget tool brand Silverline. With an enormous range of wallet-friendly products, they make an air brad nailer that costs a fraction of the best brad nail gun. For the price it still offers some excellent features.

Weighing in at just 1.2 kg, it’s nicely light in the weight department. The build quality is reasonably good, and I think it’s the best budget finishing nailer in the 18 gauge category. It fires nails confidently and leaves a tiny hole that is barely noticeable on the surface.

The Silverline 868544 includes a safety trigger and standard ¼” quick connector to your air compressor. You shouldn’t have any trouble using this air brad nailer on your next project. Lightweight and very portable, this is the best brad nail gun if you’re just starting out. If you don’t want to spend too much money, but want an honest nailer, this is the one.

The NuMax SFN64 air finish nail gun comes from a product line of quality, professional-level nail guns, air compressors and spray guns. This rugged and lightweight tool is one of the best budget finishing nailers I’ve come across in 16 gauge. It’s also at a price that’s very affordable.

You can adjust the depth easily, and although it doesn’t feature a “bump” fire mode, the sequential firing mechanism is well suited to precision second fix nailing jobs. The barrel-style grip is easy on the hand and reduces vibrations, but my favourite feature is the 360° adjustable exhaust. There’s no more blowback in your face.