While many of us associate glue guns with crafting and art projects, the truth is they can prove useful in many settings, including woodworking, home repair, and all sorts of DIY projects. Heck, they’re even extensively used in industrial settings, such as manufacturing, automotive, and electronics, among others. Basically, anything that can benefit with using adhesives, the glue gun is likely to be a useful tool in that endeavor, making it a very useful tool for every handyman.
As such, there are different types of glue guns in the market, each one aimed at various types of uses. For home use, standard glue guns that melt glue between 220 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit are the most common, since this heat level is ideal for materials like paper, cardboard, plastic, and fabrics. You can find them in most hardware stores and are usually available at very affordable prices.
However, there’s an entire world of glue guns outside the standard applicator. There are industrial-grade glue gun that melt glue at higher temperatures (up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit) for bonding heavier materials like wood, ceramics, and metal, as well as low-temperature glue guns used for delicate materials such as electronics, foam, or thin fabrics. There are miniature-sized glue guns for use in tight spaces, detailer glue guns for more intricate jobs, pneumatric glue guns for heavy-duty precision, and a whole lot more.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be focusing on glue guns designed for most common household tasks. You know, the kind you can use for crafts, art projects, and basic fix-ups (e.g. reattaching loose upholstery), as well as those you can use for woodworking, DIY projects, and various home repair tasks.
These are the best glue guns you should find very useful at home.
Stanley DualMelt Glue Gun
Despite being one of the more affordable options in the list, this glue gun is actually pretty capable, coming with dual temperature settings, so you can set it on high for working with wood and ceramics, or low for fusing sytrofoam and small jewelry items. What’s the catch? Well, it heats up slower than all other glue guns we tested, but once it hits the desired temperatures, it’s able to maintain well, never getting too hot when you need the low settings, which isn’t always the case with some dual-temp glue guns we’ve tried. We prefer using Stanley’s dual-temp glue sticks with this, so we can just keep any leftover glue for use later (dual-heat works with either setting), although it will also work with any low- or high-temperature glue sticks you prefer. We think the size of this glue gun is perfect (not too big, not too small), although we do wish the fold-out stand is a bit better.
Gorilla Dual Temp Mini Hot Glue Gun
While smaller than other glue guns in the list, this corded tool is pretty capable, coming with dual temperature settings – a high one (374 degrees Fahrenheit) for regular materials and a lower one (311 degrees Fahrenheit) for more delicate items. Because of its size, the glue gun should be suitable for use even by older kids, since their smaller hands should be able to control it without much trouble, while the insulated nozzle should help safeguard against accidental burns. It has a precision nozzle that allows for targeted application, complete with a long, easy-squeeze trigger to make dispensing glue a breeze. We love how quickly this glue gun can reach desired temperatures, as well as the fact that it doesn’t drip like some glue guns we’ve used in the past.
Surebonder Cordless Hot Glue Gun
If you want a cordless glue gun at an affordable price, this model from Surebonder brings cordless convenience at a lower price than what tool-grade cordless glue guns usually go for. That’s because the onboard battery only allows it to run cordless for three minutes at a time, requiring you to put it back on the charging dock to replenish after. Do note, you can actually get a bit more than three minutes of work here at a time, since it takes a minute or so before the glue cools off too much. If you need it for continuous gluing tasks, you can take the cable off the charging base and put it on the tool instead, so it’s flexible in how you can use it. It gets quite hot, too, reaching temperatures of up to 380 degrees Fahrenheit for fusing heavier materials like wood, bricks, and more. Like many glue guns, though, it occasionally leaks, but they did add a tray at the charging base to catch any drips, so it’s easy to clean up later.
Ryobi P305 One+ 18V Hot Glue Gun
This feels more like a tool compared to traditional crafting glue guns, complete with using the same swappable 18V battery found in Ryobi’s line of power tools. It’s excellent for use with heavier materials, as it fosters a really strong bond with wood and even metals, making it excellent for various DIY repair tasks all around the house. We used it with a 4Ah battery that’s rated for 3.5 hours of use and, in our tests, it does hold up quite well, since we got around to doing a whole bunch of tasks without any signs of slowing down. Granted, we barely used it for an hour total, but it does feel like it will hold up for a bit. It heats up fast, too, allowing you start dispensing in under five minutes, so you can start on your DIY jobs without long waiting times,. We love the big trigger, the replaceable nozzles (you can buy other nozzle shapes separately), the textured, and the fact that it doesn’t drip, making it an excellent tool all around.
Surebonder PRO2-100L 100W Low Temperature Glue Gun
When you need to glue sensitive materials that can burn, such as styrofoam, balloons, or plastic film, you’ll need a low-temperature glue gun and this corded model from Surebonder is our favorite of the lot. How low-heat is it? It’s low enough that we saw no damage on styrofoam after applying, whereas other glue guns will usually melt through sections of the material. You can apply the hot glue straight to a balloon and it doesn’t burst, either, so you can use this for any task where your regular glue gun will end up doing damage. We love the long trigger and the textured front grip, although the power button placement is a little iffy (we accidentally pressed it a couple times). It also doesn’t leak, which, we guess, stems from the lower heat setting, although the wire stand near the nozzle isn’t quite as stable as we’d like, so we often just set it down on its side. Still, an overall great glue gun if you do crafts with plenty of more delicate materials.
Bosch PKP 18 E
We love the slim nozzle on this glue gun, which makes it easy to exude more precise amounts of glue at just the right spots. It heats up a bit slower than some of the faster glue guns in the list, but with an extruding capacity of 20 grams per minute, it does let you run through gluing jobs pretty quickly as soon as it heats up. While we have seen it leak on occasion, it does so a lot less than most other glue guns in the list, so we appreciate that. Do note, you definitely want to use Bosch-branded glue sticks when using this tool, since they’re formulated to work well with this glue gun, whereas there are plenty of reports of third-party glue sticks hardening inside and leaving the glue gun unusable. If you’re fine with that, this is an excellent option for a high-heat glue gun. It feels like it can last a while, too, with a pretty solid build.
Ryobi P307 One+ 18V
While this is very similar to the Ryobi glue gun above, it comes with dual temperature settings that allow you to use it for both low-heat and high-heat applications. It performs similarly well, making it excellent for fusing wood, ceramics, and thick plastic materials, with the low heat setting simply making it more versatile, so you can use it for less demanding tasks. While we didn’t have drip issues with the P305, we actually did with this one. Fortunately, it comes with a drip tray, so we guess they expected that it will drip at some point. This one comes as a full set, by the way, complete with a 4Ah battery, charger, and two extra nozzles. Yes, the nozzles that are optional for the P305 are included here, making this a more complete option. Granted, it’s also twice the price, so you’ll have to take that into consideration.
Surebonder PRO2-220 220W Adjustable Temperature Glue Gun
Want greater control over the temperature your glue is getting heated at? Pick up this pro-grade glue gun, which has a knob at the underside of the barrel that lets you manually dial in the temperature anywhere from 220 to 420 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s right, it goes up to 428 degrees, allowing you to fuse, pretty much, any material that can be held together with glue. We love the fact that you can use it for both low-heat and high-heat, by the way, letting you work on the most delicate and the toughest materials alike. It’s recommended for use with industrial-grade glue sticks, by the way, although we’ve tried standard ones with no real trouble. Just make sure to use the long 10-inch ones, since this melts through glue faster than anything we’ve seen.
If it sounds too expensive for a glue gun, that’s because this doesn’t work like the glue guns you’ve used all these years. This is a real tool-grade glue gun that’s incredibly precise (it even comes with swappable nozzles), highly reliable, and very efficient. Seriously, it heats up in under five minutes and lets you run through a 10-inch stick in short order. It’s downright impressive and you can feel the difference immediately the first time you use it. Do note, this thing is big, so it feels more like you’re handling a power tool rather than a glue gun.
