The Best Starter Toolkits of 2023

One of my biggest complaints about pre-assembled toolkits doesn’t always concern the tools included in the kit. Rather, it’s the plastic cases that the kits sometimes come packed in. Many cases can be aggravating to snap tools into and, even once the tools have been returned to their spot, I’m often infuriated when I try to close the kit, only to have a number of seemingly secure tools, fall out of their designated spots. The Workpro W009036A avoids all of this by packaging its tools in a tool bag. This ensures that your tools are secure and, as a bonus, that you’ll have the extra space in the bag to store new tools in you may buy over time, as required. Unfortunately, the quality of the tools in the W009036A aren’t as high a quality as those in our main pick. However, the W009036A does come with some thoughtful additions that the Stanley kit lacks.

The W009036A’s interchangeable head screwdriver, for example, comes with a large variety of common screwdriver heads, such as Robertson, slotted and Philips, along with less common tips designed for working with security screws, in various sizes. Some of the common heads come with multiples of the same type and size: a generous bonus should they become stripped from frequent use. The kit’s box cutter comes with 10 extra blades, and the tool bag feels durable.

You should know that when I emailed the company for information regarding the warranty, I received no response.

The toolkit contains a 16-inch zippered tool bag with outside pockets and a carrying strap, a nine-inch torpedo level, a set of 16 hex keys, a three-meter tape measure, a mini hacksaw, three pairs of pliers, six precision screwdriver set, a utility knife with 10 replacement blades, 40 black cable ties, a 16-ounce claw hammer, a combination wrench with clamp, an adjustable wrench and replaceable head screwdriver with 60 bits.

If my toolkit recommendations were based solely on the number of pieces in a kit, this would have been our main pick. With a whopping 168 pieces (not including each of the zip ties in the kit: I’m looking at you, Workpro), the Deko B0723914V1 has everything you didn’t know you needed. Most of the kit’s tools were good, but not great, with nothing standing out as being particularly low quality. However, the warranty for this kit is a suspiciously short 30 days.

The hammer included in the B0723914V1 wasn’t my favorite—my heart belongs to Stanley. It had a fairly comfortable handle, however, the rubber was softer and the grip was not as secure as the Stanley. The pliers and screwdrivers in this kit, however, really shone, with a ratchet on the interchangeable head screwdriver and magnetic tips on the dedicated flathead and Roberts screwdrivers. Most of the extra pieces in this kit looked useful, including some clips that were stronger than expected. However, all those extra tools pushed up the kit’s price.

If you know how you’d use most of the extra tools, the B0723914V1 might be worth your consideration. Otherwise, stick with a smaller kit of higher quality and purchase individual tools as needed.

This toolkit contains a set of nine hex keys, 22 drive sockets with a ratchet and socket adapters, 28 screwdriver bits, three pliers, a set of six combination wrenches, a set of five precision screwdrivers, four screwdrivers, one adjustable wrench, one hammer, a utility knife, a hacksaw, a level, a 10-foot tape measure, four spring clamps, a box with an assortment of wood screws, a 16-foot roll of insulating tape and a wire stripper.

The quality of the tools in the AmazonBasics kit was merely passable, with the exception of the tape measure: it was one of my favorite tested for this guide as it comes with an auto-lock.

I was unimpressed with the thin handle on the pliers, which made them uncomfortable to use. Additionally, the bag fabric on the inside felt like tissue paper. Given its price, you’d be better served by our main or budget pick.

The kit includes a tool bag with a carrying strap, a 16-piece Allen wrench set, a 13-ounce hammer, an auto-locking 16-foot tape measure, a torpedo level, utility knife, two sets of pliers, a Phillips screwdriver, a slot-head screwdriver, an interchangeable head screwdriver with a 30-piece bit set and a ratchet with eight sockets.

This set from Workpro gives the impression that the designer intended it to be tucked away in a kitchen junk drawer and ignored until it’s needed. The zippered case that comes with the kit uses elastics to tuck each tool away in a soft-sided case.

Unfortunately, the tools are of poorer quality than the other Workpro set featured in this guide. The hammer is quite light—I needed more strikes to drive in a nail than I did with the Stanley kit’s hammer. I also disliked that the kit’s screwdriver had a handle with a flat bottom, making it hard to push down on and turn.

This toolkit is contained in a tool bag and includes two sets of pliers, an adjustable wrench, an eight-ounce claw hammer, four precision screwdrivers, a 10-foot tape measure, 40 cable ties, a snap-off knife with 10 replacement blades, a torpedo level, an eight-piece set of hex keys, a interchangeable head screwdriver with 20 bits and nine sockets.

On the plus side, the tools were very secure in this kit’s case and included most of the must-haves we expect (with the exception of a box cutter) in an entry-level toolkit. While the screwdriver, level, and tape measure were all of average quality—which, given the DT9408's price, is impressive—the hammer was easily one of the worst tools we tested for this guide. During testing, the hammer tended to bounce rather than direct force downward into the nails I was attempting to drive.

This toolkit contains one set of needle-nosed pliers, an adjustable wrench, an eight-ounce claw hammer, a digital voltage tester, a 12-foot tape measure, a torpedo level, six precision screwdrivers, an interchangeable head screwdriver with 20 bits, a set of four wrenches and a set of 16 Hex keys.

Starter toolkits that come in a container with space for additional tools you may buy down the road should get some sort of recognition. But not this kit. The Apollo DT9773's toolbox had very specific cutouts for tools it did not include—there was a space designed for a socket set in the lid. However, no socket set is included in this kit. I checked to see if this was a mistake: perhaps the sockets were accidentally excluded when the kit was assembled by Apollo. Nope. The tools that are in this kit are identical to Apollo’s DT9408's kit. The only difference between these two Apollo kits is the case that they ship in.

This toolkit comes with a hard-sided plastic toolbox, one set of needle-nose pliers, an adjustable wrench, an eight-ounce claw hammer, a digital voltage tester, a 12-foot tape measure, a torpedo level, six precision screwdrivers, an interchangeable head screwdriver with 20 bits, a set of four wrenches, and a set of 16 Hex keys.