A staple gun may not be a tool you’ll find use for everyday. However, there are quite a few tasks that are going to come up where having one in your tool bag can come in extremely handy, whether it be fixing the upholstery on your living room couch, tidying up wiring, or installing insulation around the house. Not to mention, it can prove very useful for both temporary and permanent fastenings during home repairs, crafts, and various home projects where attaching materials with glue guns just isn’t ideal.
The best staple guns can drive different staple types into various softer materials, including plywood, drywall, flooring, sheathing, fabric, leather, and more, allowing you to quickly attach items through multiple fastening points. This makes them very useful for simpler DIY jobs, such as installing delicate molding, fixing carpets in place, or putting up home decorations, since they can fasten quickly without making much noise.
Staple guns generally use four types of fasteners, namely standard angled staples (T50), curved staples, small brad nails, and pin nails. Some staple guns will work with only one specific fastener, while others will work with two, three, or more (yes, those four aren’t the only variants), so make sure to check that capability if you want more versatility out of your fastening tool.
The best staple guns can be manual, electric, or pneumatic. Manual staple guns use a spring mechanism to store mechanical energy that it uses to drive staples when you press the trigger, although the manual action means it can get tiring if you’re doing it multiple times in a row over and over (e.g. you’re upholstering multiple furniture pieces). That’s when an electric staple gun (both corded and cordless are available) comes in handy, as it can spare you from the fatigue of pressing the trigger over and over. If you want maximum driving power, though, pneumatic staple guns are the way to go, as they use compressed air to drive those fasteners in, although they require you to have an “>air compressor, which severely dampens their portability.
Why not just get a nail gun? For one, staple guns are much more affordable, while operating relatively quietly (they make one loud noise when the fastener goes in and it’s done). They’re compact, easy to use, and don’t require much in the way of maintenance, making them very convenient. Sure, they can’t handle tougher tasks like driving nails on hardwood or concrete, but maybe you can upgrade to something more powerful when the need for that comes up.
These are the best staple guns for various fastening tasks around the house.
Stanley TR110 Heavy Duty Staple Gun
Pros
- Durable and built to last
- Side window makes it easy to clear jams and see when you’re running out
- Fits 500 staples at a time
Cons
- Requires a lot of hand strength to use
- No staples included
Made from heavy-gauge, chrome-plated steel, this staple gun feels extremely well-built, especially at its affordable price, making it a great pick for home DIY use. It works very reliably, always churning out staples as you need them without a single jam, although, like any manual staple gun, it requires quite a bit of force to actuate, so those with weaker or injured hands won’t be able to use it very effectively. We like the fact that there’s a cutout window on the side that makes it easy to see when you’re starting to run out of fasteners. It takes heavy-duty T50 staples in either 1/4- or 9/16-inch sizes, although you’ll have to buy them separately since they don’t include any.
DeWalt Heavy-Duty Stapler and Brad Nailer
Pros
- Packs plenty of punch
- Lightweight build
- Just a little easier to squeeze
Cons
- Doesn’t feel as sturdy as others
Manual staple guns will always require a substantial amount of force to drive whatever fasteners they’re loaded with. That’s just a fact. To ease the burden a little bit, this model from DeWalt integrates the outfit’s “easy squeeze” technology that reduces the amount of force you need to put in, making it just a little easier to use compared to the Stanley staple gun above. It can be loaded with any T50 staples and 18-gauge brads that will fit inside the chamber, while sporting an anti-jam design that eliminates jams and mechanical misfires. This is one of the lightest staple guns we’ve used, by the way, which comes courtesy of its aluminum construction, making it just that much easier to use when carrying out multiple fastening tasks. We appreciate the small side window to see when staples are running out, as well as the integrated belt clip that makes it even easier to take during jobs.
- Easy-squeeze technology helps reduce actuation force
Workpro 6-in-1 Staple Gun
Pros
- Accepts a wide variety of fasteners
- Allows you to lower actuation for easier squeezing
- Unique handle lock
Cons
- Requires a lot of force to squeeze
Billed as a “6-in-1 staple gun,” this tool accepts six different types of fasteners, namely standard T50, T20, JT21 light-duty, T25, 18-gauge brads, and pins. Yep, it accepts all those, making this a great pick if you like working with different kids of fasteners. They even labeled the exact kinds of staples it supports right on the handle, so you can check it for reference any time. It’s all got all the familiar elements common in this type of tool, from the easy to load magazine and the small side window to the anti-jamming mechanism. To make it easier to use, they added a switch that changes the amount of force necessary to actuate the tool, so you can set it to low if you’re only stapling softer objects like leather or plastic, only setting it back to high if you need to work on wood and similar items. We also appreciate the padded grip, which makes it easier to handle, as well as the unique handle lock design and the integrated belt clip.
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Arrow PT50 Pneumatic Staple Gun
Pros
- Works on harder woods
- Fatigue-free fastening
- Supports rapid-fire successive staples
Cons
- Not portable (require a separate compressor)
If you need a little more power than what you can get from simply squeezing on a spring, then a pneumatic staple gun like this one might be more to your liking. We love the affordable price, which is not that far off from manual options, all while delivering a fatigue-free experience that makes it ideal for bigger fastening jobs and working with harder materials. Like other pneumatic tools, it requires you to hook it up to an air compressor, which makes it a lot less portable, although adding that power source allows this to be so much more useful. Not only can you fire a fastener without having to put on much effort, you can even hold down the trigger and simply press it against the surface to rapid-fire multiple staples in succession, saving you both time and effort. It also doesn’t require any oil for maintenance, which makes it very convenient. The tool only works with T50 staples, although it supports ones from 1/4 inches to 9/16 inches, so you can use a wide variety of staple sizes with this thing. Other things we like include dual triggers to prevent accidental presses, an adjustable exhaust cover, and an overmolded grip that makes it pretty comfortable to use, so long as you don’t mind the dangling air hose in the back.
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Neu Master Cordless Staple Gun
Pros
- Very portable
- Fatigue-free fastening
- Built-in safety features
Cons
- Loading staples not as straightforward as others
If you want an easier time driving fasteners, but don’t want to deal with dragging a large air compressor around, this cordless electric staple gun might prove to be a better addition to your toolbox. Powered by an integrated battery, it’s just as portable as any manual staple gun, all while eliminating all the fatigue that comes with driving multiple staples onto your materials. The big limitation here is that it only accepts T50 staples up to half an inch long. If that’s not an issue, though, then you can use this to breeze through most fastening jobs, as it’s very stable, making it easier to drive through cleanly. There’s also a safety feature that makes it impossible to pull the trigger unless the tool is pressed against a surface, so you won’t accidentally waste staples while walking around with this thing in hand. According to the outfit, the onboard battery can fully charge in around 90 minutes, at which point it has enough to juice to do up to 500 staples before needing to recharge.
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DeWalt 5-in-1 Multi-Tacker
Pros
- Supports five different types of fasteners
- Drives staples into hardwoods like oak
- Safety features and wire guide
Cons
- Wired design makes it less portable
- Heavier than others in the list
This corded electric staple gun can work with five different types of fasteners, namely heavy duty staples, narrow flat crown variants, cable staples, 18-gauge brad nails, and 18-gauge pins, making it a versatile tool for different kinds of fastening tasks. It’s got enough power to drive staples into oak hardwood, making this a truly heavy-duty option, while sporting a contact tip switch that restricts nail from firing if the tool isn’t pressed against a work surface (no wasted fasteners). We also appreciate the integrated wire guide that makes it easy to accurately fasten over wires even with narrow staples, as well as the switch that lets you adjust the actuation power (you can lower it when working with soft wood materials). Do note, this is a bit heavier than your typical staple gun, all while tethering you to a power outlet, so there’s some loss of convenience on that end.
- Suitable for use with narrow, heavy-duty, cable, 18-gauge and 18-gauge headless brads