2024 test16 productsAdhesives, Glue & Tape
Which Hot Glue Guns Brand Wins?
We compared 16 hot glue guns options head to head. Surebonder came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Surebonder
Price shown in test: $121
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Runner-up
Kemaisi
Price shown in test: $26
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Budget pick
Black+Decker
Price shown in test: $11, stated as the least expensive corded glue gun tested
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Claimed specs | Weight | Country of origin | Measured power draw | Warm up: 1 minute | Warm up: time to reach 300F target | Warm up: 5 minutes | Time to begin laying down glue | Glue output, one squeeze of trigger after 5 min warm up | Max glue output in 30 seconds after 6 min warm up | Drip after 10 min heat up (corded group) | Glue temperature after 10 min warm up (corded group) | Overall average finish (1st to 16th place ranking averaged across tests) | Drip after 10 min heat up (cordless group) | Glue temperature after 10 min warm up (cordless group) | Warm up: 10 minutes | Fireproof material claim test | Warm up: 2 minutes | Warm up: 3 minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Surebonder$121 | professional glue gun delivering up to 220 W, adjustable temperature control, specialty nozzles available, extra nozzle included, blow molded case | 644 g, heaviest glue gun in the lineup | Taiwan | rated 220 W, measured around 272 W, better than advertised | 128.8F | 2 minutes 8 seconds, second place behind DeWalt in the final ranking | 347F | 38 seconds, fastest of all 16 glue guns tested | 1 g, second place behind Chandler | 24.26 g, first place, almost twice the second place finisher | 0.45 g | just over 375F, almost as hot as the AdTech | 3.8, tied for best average finish with Kemaisi | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Kemaisi$26 | 100 W working power claimed, high end PTC thermal element claimed, heats up in 1 minute claimed, 212F on low heat and 428F on high heat claimed | 294 g | China | just over 100 W, described as by far the best match to its claim of any glue gun tested | 149F | stated as 2 minutes 26 seconds in narration and as 144 seconds (2 minutes 24 seconds) in the final recap leaderboard, third place | not tested | 1 minute 3 seconds, second place at that point in the test | 0.88 g, second place behind Chandler | 13.19 g, took the lead at that point before being overtaken by DeWalt, AdTech, and Surebonder | 0.23 g | 418.9F, hottest of all 16 glue guns tested, corded or cordless | 3.8, tied for best average finish with Surebonder | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Black+Decker$11, stated as the least expensive corded glue gun tested | heats up quickly and bonds within 6 minutes claimed, two heat settings, fold down stand | 228 g | China | low heat around 17 W, high heat momentarily exceeded 100 W then dropped to 51 W | 163.8F, very strong start | 2 minutes 37 seconds, fastest corded glue gun at that point in the test | 370.8F, hottest yet at that point | 67 seconds, second place behind cordless Ryobi | 0.85 g, second place behind knockoff DeWalt at that point | 10.54 g | 0.57 g, dripped the most among corded glue guns, tied with DeWalt | 393.1F, hottest at that point in the corded group, later stated as second place overall in that test behind Kemaisi's 418.9F | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 4DeWalt$34 | ready for use in 60 seconds claimed, 30 minute auto safety shutoff, over 80 percent faster glue output claimed, dual temperature range 275F to 445F claimed | 470 g | China | rated 85 W, measured around 115 W low heat and 126 W high heat, better than advertised | 187.7F, fastest yet at that point | 1 minute 49 seconds (109 seconds), fastest of all 16 glue guns tested | 350.8F | 58 seconds, took the lead from Ryobi at that point, second place in the final recap behind Surebonder | 0.71 g, not enough to take the lead from Chandler | 13.34 g, third place in the final recap behind Surebonder and AdTech | 0.57 g, tied with Black+Decker for most among corded glue guns | 352.6F | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5AdTech$68 | dripless hot glue gun claimed, marketed for carpentry, home repairs, DIY, and remodeling, 3.5 lb of glue per hour claimed, 200 W claimed | 590 g | China | started strong then quickly dropped to 155 W | 94.3F, really slow start | not tested | 249.3F, did not reach the 300F target within the recorded warm up window | 2 minutes 9 seconds, quite a bit slower than DeWalt | 0.79 g | 13.68 g, second place behind Surebonder | 0 g, one of only two corded glue guns (with Chandler) that did not leak | approximately 388F, described as laying a pretty hot puddle | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6Ryobi$60, stated as tool only, not including battery and charger | tested with a 4 amp hour 18V battery, large two finger trigger, claims to run 3.5 hours with a 4 amp hour battery | just under 400 g, heaviest cordless unit at that point | China | not tested | 138F | 3 minutes 19 seconds, fastest at that point, took the lead from WORX | approximately 336F | 61 seconds, heats up and lays down glue a lot faster than the other battery powered glue guns tested at that point, third in the final recap behind Surebonder and DeWalt | 0.7 g, moved into third place behind Avid Power | 12.32 g, took the lead at that point | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.46 g, messiest cordless glue gun tested, worse than Greenworks | 378.5F, performed well, almost as hot as WORX | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 7Chandler$22 | 60 W of power claimed, no drip technology claimed, removable stand up base | 242 g | Taiwan | started at 100 W, quickly dropped to just over 50 W | 123.8F, very slow to warm up | not tested | barely made it to the 300F target within the 5 minute test | 1 minute 50 seconds | 1.08 g, first place, most glue laid down with one squeeze of the trigger of all 16 glue guns | 7.16 g, third place among corded glue guns | 0 g, one of only two corded glue guns (with AdTech) that did not leak | 343.4F | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8AVID Power$40, stated as glue gun, battery, and charger | warm up in 3 to 5 minutes claimed, delivers 0.63 oz in 1 minute claimed, comes with a 20V 1.5 amp hour battery that charges in 3 hours claimed | 366 g | China | not tested | 114.6F | approximately 4.5 minutes | just over 308F, third place behind knockoff DeWalt at that point | 1 minute 10 seconds, moved into the lead at that point, barely ahead of WORX | moved into second place behind knockoff DeWalt at that point, exact gram figure not stated in the transcript | 11.88 g, moved into the lead at that point | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.07 g | 374.8F | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 9ROMECH$25 | fast preheating claimed, heats up to 410F claimed, glue flow rate 0.53 oz per minute claimed, dual temperature settings of 60 W and 100 W claimed | 203 g | China | low heat around 24 W, high heat close to 54 W | 143.2F, quite a bit faster than average | 3 minutes 25 seconds | 334F | 1 minute 4 seconds, moved into second place behind cordless Ryobi at that point | 0.85 g, described as continuing a trend of outperforming the Arrow in every test so far | 10 g, moved into third place among corded glue guns at that point | droplet too small for the scale to measure, effectively no measurable leak | 380.8F, performed well | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 10Gorilla$15 | built in stand with a pretty wide base, dual temperature claimed at up to 14 W (measured power draw was far higher, see note) | 264 g | not stated in the transcript | low heat close to 24 W, high heat around 55 W | 143.8F, not nearly as fast to warm up as Black+Decker | 4 minutes 16 seconds | 309.7F | 1 minute 19 seconds, trailed Black+Decker again | 0.64 g | 10.08 g, about half a gram less than Black+Decker | 0.18 g | 340.9F, 50 degrees cooler than Black+Decker | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 11Arrow$22 | gun body made of fireproof material claimed, stand design with a front glue tray to catch drips, high and low temperature settings | 332 g | China | 27 W on low heat, only 35 W on high heat | 113.7F, really slow to warm up | not tested | missed the 300F target at 245.7F | 2 minutes 44 seconds, stayed cooler than most of the competition | 0.82 g | 6.71 g, struggled, began slowing after only about 5 seconds | right at half a gram of glue | 301.5F, lowest of the corded group in that reading | not tested | not tested | not tested | still not up to the 300F target | failed: the stand melted and the glue gun fell; the body avoided catching fire on the first attempt but was definitely on fire after a second attempt | not tested | not tested |
| 12WORX$30, stated as tool only, not including battery and charger | max temperature of 382F claimed, preheats in 3 minutes claimed, self standing base, includes 10 glue sticks, auto shutoff after 20 minutes for safety | 378 g | China | not tested | 122F, about the same as knockoff DeWalt | 3 minutes 35 seconds, fastest at that point in the test | 336.7F, hottest yet at that point | 1 minute 12 seconds, fastest at that point in the test | 0.52 g, moved into second place behind knockoff DeWalt at that point | 10.42 g, third place behind knockoff Makita at that point | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.06 g | 388.3F, hottest of the cordless group at that reading | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 13Knockoff Makita$30, stated as tool only, not including battery and charger | compatible with Makita 18V batteries, copper and insulated nozzle designed to prevent leakage, warms up in 3 to 5 minutes claimed | 364 g | China | not tested | 111F, slower start than knockoff DeWalt | not tested | just under 300F, trailed the knockoff DeWalt throughout the 5 minute test | 1 minute 50 seconds | 0.46 g, about half of the knockoff DeWalt | 10.88 g, close second to knockoff DeWalt at that point | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.19 g | 340.2F, about the same as knockoff DeWalt | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 14Knockoff DeWalt$24 | designed to work with DeWalt batteries, working temperature up to 392F claimed, uses 11 mm or 7/16 inch glue sticks like all guns tested, claims to warm up in 3 to 5 minutes, rated 100 W | 356 g | China | not tested | just over 122F | just under 4 minutes | 321.3F | 1 minute 18 seconds | 0.87 g | 10.93 g | not tested | not tested | not tested | no drip on this test, though it was noted as dripping earlier in the showdown | approximately 340F | not tested | not tested | 214F | 268.9F |
| 15Knockoff Milwaukee$30, stated as tool only, not including battery and charger | compatible with Milwaukee M18 batteries, claims to deliver 0.63 oz a minute, designed to warm up in 2 to 5 minutes, includes 20 glue sticks | 354 g | China | not tested | 95.7F, trailing knockoff DeWalt and knockoff Makita | not tested | only 234.9F, described as really struggling | needed right at 3 minutes to reach 180F and begin producing melted glue | 0.38 g, described as really struggling | 4.21 g, less than half of knockoff DeWalt and knockoff Makita | not tested | not tested | not tested | drop of glue too small for the scale to measure | 319.5F | only 292.5F | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 16Greenworks$57, stated as glue gun, battery, and charger | drip free nozzle claimed, 24V battery, claims to heat up in 90 seconds, 20 percent more power and 35 percent more run time claimed, automatically shuts down after 3 minutes of standby | 378 g | China | not tested | 166.8F, fastest start of the cordless group at that point | not tested | very close to 300F but did not quite reach it | 1 minute 22 seconds | 0.47 g | 3.7 g, ran out of steam very quickly at around 8 seconds, worst of the cordless group tested to that point | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.23 g, one of the two messiest cordless glue guns along with Ryobi | 298.3F, described as really struggling, lowest of the cordless group | not tested | not tested | not tested | around 273F, described as really slowing down |
How it was tested
- warm up test: thermal probe temperature at 1, 2, 3, and 5 minutes (some brands also checked at 10 minutes), and time taken to reach a 300F target temperature
- time to begin laying down glue under constant trigger pressure
- glue output with one full squeeze of the trigger after 5 minutes of warm up, measured in grams
- maximum glue flow rate over 30 seconds after 6 minutes of warm up, measured in grams
- drip resistance after 10 minutes of heat up, measured in grams of glue leaked, tested separately for the cordless group and the corded group
- glue temperature measured with a thermal probe or thermal camera after 10 minutes of warm up, tested separately for the cordless group and the corded group
- one off bond strength demo comparing a repair made with warm glue (knockoff DeWalt, heated 4 minutes) against really hot glue (Kemaisi, heated over 9 minutes), broken with a downward force scale
- fireproof material claim test on the Arrow, attempting to ignite the gun body
- overall ranking: raw scores from all tests converted into a 1st to 16th place ranking and averaged per brand
“the Surebonder outperformed the Kamasa for speed at heating up, volume of glue dispensed in one trigger pull, and maximum glue laid down in 30 seconds”
Data notes and caveats
Surebonder and Kemaisi tied on the video's stated overall average finish of 3.8; the narrator explicitly favors Surebonder as the better choice for large jobs, which is the basis for the winner/runnerUp assignment here rather than a strict numeric tiebreak. The video also gives two additional per-use-case picks that are not represented in the single winner/budgetPick fields: Ryobi as the preferred cordless tool (without battery/charger) and Avid Power as the recommended full cordless kit alternative for buyers not already invested in a battery platform. Two brands (Knockoff DeWalt and Knockoff Makita/Knockoff Milwaukee) are generic products designed to work with major power tool battery platforms rather than genuine branded tools; kept separate from the real DeWalt product tested later at $34. Kemaisi (captioned Kamasa/Kamasi) and ROMECH (captioned Romeo/Romex) both show mid video phonetic caption drift, resolved against the description's product list and price points.