2022 test15 productsHome & Cleaning
Which Stapler Brand Wins?
We compared 15 stapler options head to head. Makita 18V LXT came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Makita 18V LXT
Price shown in test: $219 (tool only, battery and charger not included), most expensive tested
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Budget pick
Ryobi
Price shown in test: $84 (tool only, battery and charger not included)
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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 | Weight | Noise | Reaction Speed | Activation Force | Speed Test | Spruce Force Test | Corner Bead Test | Oak Test | Jam Resistance Test | Composite Decking Test | Width Test | Proximity Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Makita 18V LXT lithium ion$219 (tool only, battery and charger not included), most expensive tested | 3.87 lb without battery, 5.23 lb with 4Ah battery | 101.7 dB | 0.1 sec, fastest battery powered stapler tested | 0.02 lb, lightest touch of any stapler tested | 23.5 sec for a full row, fastest overall, took the lead | one two punch at 5 lb then 7 lb, drove the staple in, best result of all staplers tested | made very easy work of the corner bead on back to back attempts, one of only three staplers to pass this test | completely buried the staple, very impressive | no jam, crushed several staples without jamming | drove the staple in deeper than the Ryobi, best result of all staplers tested | narrowest profile tested, tied with the manual Arrow, very close to 1 in | not tested |
| 2Ryobi 18V ONE+$84 (tool only, battery and charger not included) | about 3 lb without battery, 4.58 lb with 4Ah battery | 102.8 dB | 0.15 sec, fastest battery powered stapler tested | weight of the tool alone is almost enough to fire a staple | 29 sec for a full row, 1.5 sec slower than Stanley, no jams | three swings at 5, 7.5, and 10 lb, drove the staple in at 10 lb and took the lead | well designed hammer, made easy work of the corner bead without destroying the staple, one of only three staplers to pass this test | more than enough firepower, completely drove in the staple | no jam, smashed staples without issue | completely drove in the staple, second best result behind the Makita | not tested | not tested |
| 3Milwaukee$119 (tool only, battery and charger not included) | 3.16 lb without battery, 4.06 lb with 4Ah battery | 95.7 dB | 0.2 sec | fires with just the weight of the tool | 37 sec for a full row, no jams | four swings, drove the staple in at 12 lb, 2 lb more than the Ryobi, third place | drove in one leg on the first attempt, did great on the second and third attempts as well, one of only three staplers to pass this test | very easy work, completely drove in the staple | no jam, pounded staples flat without issue | hits pretty hard but did not completely drive in the staple, second place | narrow profile, grouped with the Citadel and Stanley as very narrow | not tested |
| 4Stanley 2-in-1 electric stapler$30 | 2.14 lb | 98 dB | 0.05 sec (corded) | 2.69 lb | 27.5 sec for a full row, no jam | needed three attempts at 10, 15, and 20 lb, fully drove the staple in at 20 lb and took the lead from the Arrow | left a dent and destroyed the staple, fail | best yet at that point, completely drove in the staple | jammed, but the damaged staples were very easy to remove | made about twice the progress of the twenty dollar Arrow but did not finish, fourth place overall on this test | narrow profile, grouped with Citadel and Milwaukee | not tested |
| 5Neu Master lightweight tacker$40 | 2.6 lb | 97.6 dB | claimed 0.05 sec, same as Ework and Stanley, but has a long delay from trigger squeeze to reaction in practice | 1.72 lb, least force yet at that point | 80 sec for a full row, no jam | two swings at 15 and 20 lb, drove the staple in at 20 lb | destroyed the staple, fail | drove the staple deeper into the wood than the Ework | jammed, but damaged staples were very easy to remove | slightly more progress than the Ework | not tested | not tested |
| 6Ework electric stapler and nailer$35 | 1.75 lb | 98.8 dB | 0.05 sec (claimed same as Stanley) | 3.3 lb | 48 sec, fourth place, jammed on the final three staples | attempted at 15, 20, 25, and 30 lb, never fully drove the staple in and the staple was crushed, fail | corner bead was too much for it, fail | just enough punch to drive in the staple | flattened staples without jamming | moved into second place behind the Stanley | not tested | not tested |
| 7Bauer 4V cordless, sold at Harbor Freight, comes with charger and charging cable, limited to 1/2 in staples$40 | 2.48 lb | 97.1 dB | 0.2 sec | 0.65 lb | 52 sec, 4 sec slower than the Ework, no jams | two swings, drove the half inch staple in at 20 lb | did the best yet at that point, drove in one leg of the staple | sunk the staple most of the way, similar to the Ework | flattened staples without jamming | drove the half inch staple in about halfway | not tested | not tested |
| 8DeWalt electric stapler with depth control$52 | 2.53 lb | 99 dB | 0.05 sec (corded) | just over 2 lb | 39 sec, second fastest time in that round, no jam noted in this particular test | attempted at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 lb, crumpling staples instead of driving them, fail | experienced a jam | smashing staples instead of driving them, fail | in the separate steel block jam resistance test the DeWalt experienced a pretty bad jam and required pliers to remove the staple | same progress as the Neu Master but did a lot of damage to the staple | not tested | not tested |
| 9Workpro 3.6V lithium ion cordless 6-in-1 heavy duty staple gun$50 | 2.36 lb | 90.7 dB | 0.25 sec | 0.15 lb | 48 sec, very close to the Arrow ET501C's time, no jams | attempted at 15, 20, 25, and 30 lb, does not hit hard enough, fail | partially drove both legs of the staple | not enough firepower, oak was too much, fail | jammed, but very easy to clear | struggled, same as the Arrow ET501C | not tested | not tested |
| 10Arrow T50DCD cordless$60 | 2.45 lb | 97.4 dB | 0.2 sec | less than 1 lb | 64 sec, a little slower than the ET501C | attempted at 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 lb without success, fail; limited to a half inch staple like the Bauer referred to as the Bear | destroyed the staple, fail | not enough firepower, fail | became jammed pretty badly, needed pliers to clear | struggled, performed about the same as the Arrow ET501C and the Workpro | not tested | not tested |
| 11Arrow ET501C, 5-in-1 cordless electric multi tacker$46 | 2.38 lb | 89.3 dB, quietest tested | 0.2 sec | 0.63 lb over the weight of the tool | 58 sec, 6 sec slower than the Bauer sold at Harbor Freight, no jams | attempted at 15, 20, 25, 20, 35, and 40 lb without success, hammer does not hit hard enough, fail | destroyed the staple, fail | not enough firepower, fail | jammed, but easy to clear | least progress at that point, moved into last place behind the Citadel | not tested | not tested |
| 12Arrow Manual stapler$20 | 1.85 lb | 94 dB | 0.25 sec (operator hand paced) | 33.5 lb, 12 lb more than the Citadel | 45 sec for 80 staples, no jam | 35 lb was insufficient, 40 lb was enough to fully drive the staple in | partially drove one leg of the staple, fail | almost completely drove in the staple | no jam | made more progress than the Citadel but far short of finishing | narrowest profile tested, tied with the Makita, very close to 1 in | 1.75 mm from a vertical object, best of all staplers tested |
| 13Citadel$14, the least expensive stapler tested | 1.95 lb | 96.4 dB at 24 in | 0.25 sec (operator hand paced) | almost 22 lb | 46 sec for 80 staples, no jam | unable to drive the staple in at 32 lb; at just over 40 lb it damaged the staple without fully driving it in, fail | mangled the staple, fail | crumpled the staple, fail | no jam | drove the staple in about halfway | narrow profile, grouped with Stanley and Milwaukee | under 6 mm from a vertical object |
| 14Bielmeier hammer tacker | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | took several swings at 10, 15, 20, and 25 lb and finally got the staple in | destroyed the staple, same as the Citadel, fail | hits way too soft for oak, fail | pounded staples flat without becoming jammed | made the least amount of progress of any stapler tested, described as definitely a light duty stapler | not tested | not tested |
| 15Bauer 4V cordless, USB micro-B charging cord, charger not included$30 | 1.61 lb, lightest stapler tested | 98.1 dB | 0.35 sec (has to wind up before firing) | 3.77 lb | jammed twice within the first 10 staples (jam clearing time excluded); 81 sec total, slowest of the round | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
How it was tested
- staple driving speed for a full row of 80 staples
- activation force required to fire a staple
- trigger reaction speed
- jam resistance against a steel block
- force required to drive a staple into a spruce 2x4
- driving a staple into drywall corner bead
- driving a staple into oak
- driving a staple into composite decking
- proximity of a driven staple to a vertical object
- tool width and profile
- noise level in dB
- tool weight
“If you want the best stapler, though, in my opinion, the Makita definitely seems to be the best.”
Data notes and caveats
This video tests two visually distinct products under the shared brand name Bauer: a $30 unit with USB micro-B charging that is only tested for weight, noise, force, and speed and never appears in the later destructive tests, and a $40 Harbor Freight unit limited to 1/2 in staples that the transcript refers to only as the Bear for the remainder of the video. Bielmeier is also never named directly in the transcript, appearing only as the BeA hammer, and gets no price, weight, noise, or speed reading, consistent with it being a manual hammer tacker rather than an electric or battery tool. Only 5 of 14 chapters in the metadata correspond to individual products (Stanley, Ework, DeWalt, Ryobi, Makita); the rest of the video's products have no matching chapter. The overall products[] ranking beyond the top four (Makita, Ryobi, Milwaukee, Stanley, all of which the video explicitly discusses in the closing verdict or names in an explicit final placement) is an approximation based on performance across the spruce, corner bead, oak, and composite decking tests, since the video does not declare one single overall order for the remaining ten products.