Best pliers 2026
Gripping and cutting tools can be put to all manner of uses, but which of our seven sets does the best job?
When you need to really get a grip, you’ll reach for a pair of pliers. Whether wrestling with a rusted nut or cutting a cable tie, it is one of the most versatile and useful tools. If you’re still struggling with an old and tired pair that’s making every job harder than it needs to be, upgrading might be cheaper than you thought.
We gathered seven sets from various brands, including a general-purpose pair of pliers along with wire-cutters and narrow-topped ‘snipe-nose’ tools. These three will cover most needs and vary from less than £10 up to nearly £80. While it is worth spending more for quality, knowing they’ll last a lifetime, our test reveals you don’t necessarily get what you pay for. Which set is the best bet?
How we tested
We are looking for tools that can grip hard, cut cleanly and will be long lasting. We chopped a 6mm-gauge wire, such as that used for battery leads, with both the dedicated snips and the inner cutting edge of the pliers, and we cut a large cable tie.
We gripped a hardened steel bolt to check for marked surfaces, and we checked whether the pliers had tight enough tolerances to grip a sheet of paper. Handle comfort was then judged, as were other features. Finally, we considered the value.
Minotaur High Leverage Plier Set 3 Piece
- Price: around £14.99
- Rating: 5.0 stars
- Contact: toolstation.com
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Cash £8,495Compared against other pliers in this test the Minotaurs look a little on the small side – especially the combination pair, which are just 160mm long.
But somehow they still seem to be able to grip and cut as hard as their bigger competitors, helped by the comfortable and slip-resistant handles. They held our sheet of paper easily and the cutters happily snipped the wire and the cable tie, remaining sharp even in the face of our hardened bolt.
The combination pliers also have two sets of rounded ‘teeth’ for gripping bolt heads more effectively. Add in the good value, and this Minotaur set takes the win.
Aoyfuwell 3 Piece Pliers Set
- Price: around £9.99
- Rating: 4.0 stars
- Contact: amazon.com
We weren’t expecting much from this value-led set bought from Amazon, because the packaging doesn’t exude quality, sporting instructions only in Chinese and the bizarre phrase, “High-end boutique clamp series”. The odd stray blob of glue and moulding marks on the handles suggest the pliers are built to a budget, too.
But the tools themselves passed all our tests easily, with the cutters in particular chopping nearly as well as the £80 Knipex rivals.
The Aoyfuwells are also the only tools here to have a spring on the snipper and snipe-nose pliers, making them much easier to use one-handed.
Halfords Advanced 4 Piece Plier Set
- Price: around £35
- Rating: 4.0 stars
- Contact: halfords.com
Although this set’s price looks expensive compared to some rivals, it includes a fourth item plus a foam storage tray that slots into tool drawers to keep things neat. The bonus piece is a pair of adjustable clamping grips for holding on to nuts even more tightly or keeping two surfaces together while gluing or welding.
Among the other items, the combination pliers are large and comfortable to use, with big, grippy handles. The cutters dealt with our challenges easily and are easy to hold, too. Only the snipe-nose pair disappoint – they are small and tricky to hold.
Knipex Assembly Combination Set 3 Piece
- Price: around £79.99
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Contact: screwfix.com
Knipex has a reputation for quality, which goes some way to justifying the £79.99 cost of this set. This is evident when using the cutters, too, because the super-sharp blades glided through the cable tie and wire with the least effort of any in this test.
We also liked the long and precisely engineered snipe-nose pliers, but the set is let down by the standard pliers, which were stiff to use and failed to grip our paper.
Simply Tools 3 Piece Plier Set
- Price: around £12.99
- Rating: 3.0 stars
- Contact: ebay.co.uk
At the budget end of the market, the Simplys do a reasonable job. The set consists of combination and snipe-nose pliers – both at 203mm long – and 152mm cutters. All have chunky soft-grip handles that make them comfortable to use and easy to hold.
The long-nosers’ faces aren’t that precisely machined but still gripped the paper, yet the cutters struggled with the wire and failed to sever the cable tie.
B&Q General Purpose Pliers Set
- Price: around £11.53
- Rating: 2.5 stars
- Contact: diy.com
THIS is B&Q’s cheapest set of pliers. They look suitably no-nonsense, with 160mm cutters, a 200mm pair of combination pliers and 160mm long-noses.
Yet that price means they are low on features, with flat faces rather than curved grips. While the cutters snipped the wire, they couldn’t cut the tie first time. But the biggest issue is the comfort; the dip-coated handles are tough to grip tightly.
Draper Expert High Leverage Pliers Set (3 Piece)
- Price: around £27.59
- Rating: 2.5 stars
- Contact: drapertools.com
The khaki and black handles, and the black oxide and polished finish, make the Drapers look modern and sophisticated. They are comfortable to hold and lighter than rivals, too, with precise-feeling joints that are smooth to use.
But the jaws of both the snipe-nose and the conventional pliers don’t meet, letting our test paper slip free. The cutters also failed to chop our chunky cable tie.
Verdict
We usually recommend paying more to get better-quality tools, but the £15 Minotaur set seemed durable and comfortable. The Aoyfuwells were even cheaper and felt it in places, but there was no arguing with the results. And the Halfords set justified its extra cost.
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