The 5 Best Heat Guns

Best Cordless Heat Gun

DeWalt 20V Max Cordless Heat Gun

Temperature Range	550°F - 990°F (288 - 532°C)
Power	20v battery
Cord Length	Cordless
Attachments	Multiple
Weight	2lbs 5.7oz

The DeWalt Cordless Heat Gun is a game-changer for professionals and DIY enthusiasts. Whether you're working in tight spaces or tackling outdoor projects, the absence of a power cord allows for impressive maneuverability with little to no compromise on performance. It offers a wide temperature range, with a low setting from 550°F to a high setting of 990°F, making it suitable for a wide variety of applications. From removing paint and adhesives to shaping plastic and soldering, the DeWalt's heating performance ensures you have the right amount of heat for each job. And the heat gun heats up rapidly, minimizing downtime and allowing you to get to work quickly. With its sleek and ergonomic design, this heat gun fits comfortably in your hand, ensuring prolonged use is comfortable and fatigue-free.

The DeWalt Cordless Heat Gun is easily one of our favorites, but it requires batteries and has a limited runtime compared to corded models. It is also significantly more expensive than the corded options we tested, especially when considering larger-capacity batteries, which are sold separately. Of course, if you are already in the DeWalt family and have other cordless tools at home, batteries can easily be swapped between tools, somewhat easing the expense for brand-loyal customers. Still, we know the steep price may be hard for some to swallow. If you're on a budget, we suggest looking at the next best performer, the Porter-Cable PC1500HG Heat Gun, which will save you some bucks.

Best Corded Heat Gun

Porter-Cable Heat Gun

Temperature Range	120 - 900°F (49 - 482°C), 130 - 1100°F (54 - 593°C)
Power	1500 W
Cord Length	6 ft
Attachments	None
Weight	2lbs

The Porter-Cable PC1500HG Heat Gun is an excellent tool that delivers impressive performance and versatility, whether you're working on DIY projects or tackling professional tasks. With a variable temperature control and a maximum temperature of 1,150°F, it provides ample heat for a wide range of applications like paint stripping, thawing pipes, and bending plastics. The gun heats up quickly and maintains a consistent temperature throughout the task, ensuring efficient and precise results. The PC1500HG offers an ergonomic design with a well-balanced handle that reduces fatigue and enhances user comfort during extended use — it even includes a built-in stand, allowing you to conveniently rest it on a surface when not in use.

As one of the larger and heavier devices, the Porter-Cable Heat Gun isn't ideal for smaller or more delicate tasks. It also doesn't come with any diffusers or nozzles, though you can purchase compatible ones separately. Minor criticism aside, this heavy-duty heat gun is a top-notch tool that combines power, durability, and user-friendly features, making it a terrific addition to any toolbox or workshop. If you mainly plan on tackling smaller projects, you might find the Homidic Mini is everything you need.

Best Bang for the Buck

Wagner Furno 300

Temperature Range	750 - 1000°F (399 - 538°C)
Power	1200 W
Cord Length	6.5 ft
Attachments	None
Weight	1lb 8oz

The Wagner Furno 300 is a great option if you need a solid heat gun on a budget. This workhorse features two different temperature settings integrated with two specific blower settings. With a maximum temperature of 1000°F, it offers more than enough heat to melt adhesives and strip paint, but it can also handle lower-heat DIY crafts. The all-plastic handle has a molded texture for better grip than comparable budget models, and its 6'6" cord is longer than many other models we tested. The cord also has a handy, integrated hanging loop for storage.

We should note the Wagner Furno 300 doesn't come with nozzles or diffusers. That shouldn't be an issue for most jobs, but if you need them, these accessories are available for purchase separately. If you need to set it down, this device is relatively stable but isn't the most well-balanced cordless model we tested. A rubberized material on the handle should make it slightly more ergonomic, but the grip is only adequately comfortable. Still, the simplicity of this easy-to-use, capable heat gun makes it a great pick for those with a limited price range. If you want diffusers included with your purchase at a reasonable price, the Seekone 1800W is likely within budget.

Best Value on a Tight Budget

Homidic Mini Handheld Hot Air Gun

Temperature Range	200°F
Power	300 W
Cord Length	6.5 ft
Attachments	None
Weight	15oz

If you are focused more on crafts or smaller projects and are hoping to spend as little as possible on a heat gun, then we think the Homidic Mini is a great, inexpensive option. This compact product is great for crafts and smaller projects with lower-temperature requirements, like shrinking plastic, removing bubbles, or setting up embossing powders. It's lightweight, fairly comfortable to hold, and features a long, 6'6" power cord for maximum versatility. It also has a fold-down metal stand to keep the hot end elevated while cooling down or for hands-free operation.

Based on the heat output, the Homidic Mini is not ideal for high-heat or heavy-duty applications. It's limited to a lower maximum temperature of 200°F and states that it can only run for 10 minutes at a time. We highly recommend this heat gun to anyone wanting a low-cost solution for small projects. But, we suggest an upgrade for projects requiring prolonged or more frequent use, higher temperatures, or more industrial applications. The Wagner Furno 300 is such an option that reaches 1000°F and comes at an attractive price.

Best Heat Gun for Arts and Crafts

Chandler Tool Heat Gun

Temperature Range	392 - 572°F (200 - 300°C)
Power	300 W
Cord Length	5 ft
Attachments	None
Weight	15 oz

The Chandler Tool Heat Gun is an excellent tool for DIY projects and crafts, like melting wax, eliminating bubbles in resin castings, bending plastics on small models, and shrinking heat-shrink tubes onto wires. Its compact and ergonomic design makes it comfortable to hold, and its low weight makes it easy to maneuver and store when not in use.

Although we liked this device, no heat gun we tested was flawless, including the Chandler Tool. It only offers two heat settings of 392°F and 572°F, which is a good heat range for low-temperature projects, but far from adequate for heavier-duty applications. Compared to the corded models we tested, the five-foot cord also runs on the shorter side, limiting your distance from an outlet or forcing you to constantly manage the cord. Still, for a small heat gun, the Chandler Tool offers great performance within its capabilities, making it a prime pick for arts and crafts enthusiasts. Others who require a heavy-duty heat gun should consider a more capable model like the Porter-Cable PC1500HG Heat Gun.

Compare Products

Compare select up to 5 products to compare

	Score	Product	Price
	78	DeWalt 20V Max Cordless Heat Gun Best Cordless Heat Gun	$328
	77	Porter-Cable Heat Gun Best Corded Heat Gun	$40
	75	Wagner Furno 300 Best Bang for the Buck	$27
	73	Seekone 1800W	$32
	72	Genesis GHG1500A	$30
	71	Prulde N2190	$23
	70	Wagner Spraytech HT1000	$35
	69	Milwaukee M18 Compact Heat Gun	$145
	66	Black+Decker HG1300	$30
	63	Homidic Mini Handheld Hot Air Gun Best Value on a Tight Budget	$13
	62	Chandler Tool Heat Gun Best Heat Gun for Arts and Crafts	$25

How We Tested

We spent hours researching the best products available before purchasing the most promising heat guns to put through our comprehensive testing. We rated and ranked products head-to-head, comparing their heating performance and capabilities, user-friendliness, ergonomics, and included accessories. We tested performance through a set of practical applications like shrinking heat-shrink tubes onto wiring, stripping paint, and bending PVC pipe.

Our testing of heat guns breaks down into three rating metrics:

• Heating Performance (50% of overall score weighting)

• Ergonomics (30% weighting)

• Ease of Use (20% weighting)

Why Trust GearLab

Ben Hickok takes charge of our heat gun review. He frequently uses heat guns for electrical, home, and mechanical projects. He has been using these products for well over a decade on everything from freeing seized hardware, stripping paint, and shrink-wrapping wires to loosening old grease, grime, and adhesives from a classic tractor he is restoring.

David Wise laid the foundation for this review. He is an avid DIYer, with formal training as a mechanical and ocean engineer. He has equal experience using heat guns for projects like freeing seized hardware on an underwater robot, to shrinking heat-shrink tubing over the solder joints on an electric race car.

Analysis and Test Results

We divided our testing process into three different testing metrics: heating performance, ergonomics, and ease of use. Each metric comprises a subset of tests, assessments, and evaluations. We recorded the products' performances across every test, comparing them side-by-side to determine rank. We highlight the overall performance in the following sections, focusing on the top-performing models for each metric.

What's the Best Value?

Although we don't formally consider the price of a product in our overall performance scoring, we recognize that it likely plays an important role in your ultimate purchase decision. We consider value as what you get relative to what you pay for a particular product. Following those guidelines, heat guns with a comparatively high overall score and a low price represent a higher value.

While cordless heat guns are still very expensive compared to their corded counterparts, the award-winning DeWalt Cordless represents a solid value, particularly for folks using these tools professionally, where sometimes mobility can be just as important as heating performance. For corded models, there is no better option than the Wagner Furno 300, which scored nearly as well as the top-rated DeWalt cordless heat gun. And if you just need something simple for basic crafts, check out the especially affordable Homidic Mini.

Heating Performance

The most important aspect of these products is their heating performance, making this metric the most significant in terms of overall weighting. We looked at the temperature settings, listed temperature range and airflow settings, and used our experience working on various projects to determine scores. Test projects involved softening paint for easier stripping, heat shrinking, loosening grease from an old tractor, and drying metal parts.

Regarding heating performance, the Seekone and Porter-Cable heat guns have the highest temperature outputs. Both also have the most adjustable temperature ranges, rather than the fixed high and low settings many other models employ.

The Seekone has an impressive rated range of 122 - 1202°F and features a high and low fan setting. The Porter-Cable has two separate temperature ranges depending on the airflow setting (120-900°F, 130-1100°F). But we really liked the location and easy-to-use dial on the side of the Porter-Cable, as opposed to the rearward-located dial of the Seekone. This design makes the dial unusable in a hands-free mode since the heat gun rests on the dial.

The Prulde N2190, Wagner Spraytech HT1000, Wagner Furno 300, and the Black+Decker HG1300 all followed regarding heating performance. These four models also have a simple high and low setting, though the Prulde has a slightly higher maximum temperature — offering 800/1112°F for its two settings — as opposed to the Spraytech, Furno, and the Black+Decker that have high and low modes of 750/1000°F.

The Genesis GHG1500A also has two different settings, again with temperature and airflow tied together for a low and high mode. While other models feature similar dual-temperature settings, the Genesis offers a lower low than other models we tested, with a temperature range of 572/1000°F.

The two cordless models we tested, the DeWalt 20V and the Milwaukee M18, have lower peak temperatures than the corded models we tested. The DeWalt has two heat settings that also toggle the fan speed. On the lowest setting, it produces 550°F heat and moves 3.8 cubic feet of air per minute, which bumps up to 990°F and moves 6.7 cubic feet of air per minute on the higher setting. The Milwaukee, on the other hand, is fixed at 875°F and moves 6 cubic feet of air per minute.

Although not a top performer in terms of heating performance, the Chandler Tool is a nice miniature option for low-heat projects, with a maximum temperature of 572°F. We like that this product also offers a low mode with a temperature of 392°F. The Homidic is a similar compact model, with an even more limited peak temperature of only 200°F, which makes it a good candidate for DIY crafts with kids.

Ergonomics

For our ergonomics metric, we looked at how comfortable each of these products is to hold, how well they position for common uses, and their overall weight. We also evaluated button and switch locations, and the grip of the handle.

The DeWalt 20V and the Milwaukee M18 cordless heat guns were easily the most ergonomic models tested. Each one builds on the ergonomic designs used in their respective power tool lines, which are meant to be handled by professionals all day. Each one has a rubberized coating on the pistol grip, which not only keeps the tools from slipping in your hand, but also adds a nice level of comfort. While both are very nice, the DeWalt is slightly more comfortable to hold than the Milwaukee. The trigger-style safety on the DeWalt is easier to operate than the smaller safety on the Milwaukee, which is located strangely high on the grip, making it less than ideal for large hands or operating while wearing gloves.

The DeWalt 20V is also very lightweight — even with a 3 amp-hour battery — weighing only 2 lbs. 5.7 ounces. It's also important to note that using a smaller, 1.3 amp-hour DeWalt battery will keep the total weight under 2 lbs, greatly increasing your ability to comfortably use this heat gun for extended periods. The Milwaukee M18 weighs just over 3 lbs with their proprietary, 5 amp-hour M18 battery. While the tool itself is a little heavier than the DeWalt, the weight can also be brought down by using smaller and lighter 1.5- or 2-amp hour M18 batteries. Without a cord in your workspace, the ergonomics of these cordless options easily trump all the other corded models we tested.

The non-pistol-grip models, the Chandler and the Homidic, are the lightest of the group. Weighing in at less than a pound, these miniature heat guns are great for arts and crafts projects that don't require higher heat outputs. These two models have similar rocker switches, though the Chandler's dual settings were slightly more difficult to switch between. For some reason, the 'off' position is in the middle, and it's very easy to overshoot and accidentally toggle the setting on the opposite side — which can be alarming if you think this heat gun is turned off.

Out of the pistol-grip, corded options, the Porter-Cable has one of our favorite handle designs. Despite being one of the heaviest heat guns we tested, it features rubber grips and is nearly as comfortable to hold as the lighter-weight, cordless models. The heft of the Porter-Cable is nicely balanced, so it doesn't feel too bulky. It also has a burly switch and an easy-to-adjust temperature selection dial on the side to easily adjust with your free hand.

The Seekone, Wagner Furno 300, and the Prulde N2190 also offer decent ergonomics. Even though the harder plastics are used for the all-plastic molded grips of the Seekone and Wagner models, they are still comfortable enough to hold. The Prulde, on the other hand, feels comparatively top-heavy. The slide switches were very user-friendly on all three models, but we favored the large temperature adjustment dial on the back of the Seekone.

The Genesis and Wagner Spraytech are about average in terms of comfort, with all three models weighing in at a comfortable range of 1.5 and 2 pounds. But we aren't huge fans of the switches on these two models, which are somewhat clunky. However, the Black+Decker switch is the worst of the bunch due to a clear, soft cover that makes changing setting very cumbersome.

Ease of Use

For our ease-of-use metric, we looked at the length and flexibility of the power cord for each of these products, how stable they were on their stands or in a standing position, if any attachments were included, and how useful the attachments proved to be.

With no cord to get in the way, simple-to-operate trigger-style switches, and easy-to-handle pistol grips, the DeWalt and Milwaukee cordless heat guns are some of the easiest models to operate. The bottom-heavy weighting of the cordless models also earned these tools top scores for ease of standing and balancing. Of course, cordless convenience comes at the price of keeping a charged battery on tap. This will likely be a non-issue for folks who already frequently use cordless DeWalt or Milwaukee tools. But this may present a learning curve — and a significant extra expense — if these are some of the first cordless tools in your workshop.

Regarding stability in the hands-free mode, the miniature models, the Homidic and the Chandler lead the other corded, pistol-grip style models thanks to their compact design and lower center of gravity. While they are very similar in design, the Chandler has a slightly more optimum angle for hands-free use.

Looking at the corded, pistol-grip options, the Porter-Cable offers the greatest stability. This burly heat gun doesn't have any fold-out legs, but is still stable thanks to molded stabilizing flanges. The Wagner Furno 300 offers similar stability to the Porter-Cable — again with molded stabilizing flanges at the bottom rear of the pistol grip — and the cord exits the handle at an angle that avoids any stability issues.

The Genesis and the Prulde models are our next favorites for stability. Though not quite as solid as the Porter-Cable, we were more than happy to trust their balance while using them in a hands-free, upright position.

Due to its fold-out wire foot, the Seekone was a bit more prone to tipping than the Genesis or the Prulde models. It's fine on a flat surface, but is quite precarious if the surface is uneven, and it falls over easily if bumped. The Wagner Spraytech and the Black+Decker are the least stable models we tested. Both are very easy to knock over with a slight jostle. The stiff wire on the Spraytech also initially kept it from balancing — we actually had to manipulate the wire to get it to stand up on its own.

The Wagner Furno 300, Homidic, Prulde, and the Genesis models all have the longest cords of the group, measuring 6.5' (2m). However, the Homidic's cord is considerably more flexible than the other heavier-duty heat guns, again making it a great choice for arts and crafts spaces.

The Seekone has the shortest power cord of the group, at just over 5', and it is somewhat rigid like many of the other heavier-duty options we tested. While the difference in cord length of only 1.5' might seem insignificant, it greatly impacts the ease of use. The 5-foot cord on the Seekone is really limiting and commits you to only working close to a power source. It also doesn't leave much room to work since the cable tends to lay across your bench or workspace.

We also looked at any included nozzles or diffusers included with these heat guns. These accessories are commonly used for melting, softening adhesives, paint stripping, and wire shrinking. The Seekone, Genesis, and Prulde models all generously include four different nozzles. The Seekone includes a wire shield, a flat nozzle, and two different sizes of cylindrical concentrators; the Genesis includes a wire shield, a flat shield, a concentrator, and a flat nozzle, while the Prulde substitutes the flat nozzle for a perforated option designed for starting charcoal briquettes. The DeWalt cordless includes two attachments: a flat nozzle for directed softening of adhesives or paint stripping, and a hook-nozzle for wire shrink tubes, PVC pipe bending, and thawing.

The other models lack accessory nozzles or diffusers. These accessory attachments can be purchased separately for the Milwaukee M18 and the two Wagner models. Given the strong heating performance of all three options, you should still be able to accomplish heavy-duty tasks without the extra nozzles or diffusers. However, they could certainly improve performance or efficiency.

The lower heat output of the Homidic and the Chandler Tool limit them to lighter-duty tasks like crafts. It's not likely that attachments would make much of an improvement in performance — as such, neither include attachments.

Some models stand out for more than just the basic ease-of-use boxes they tick. The cordless models we tested satisfy nearly all our evaluations for this metric and include value-added features unavailable on other models.

Both feature a useful LED work light and, depending on the battery you use, may feature battery level indicators. Batteries are sold separately, but if you already own a cordless Milwaukee M18 or DeWalt 20V drill, saw, or impact driver, your choice of heat gun should be an easy one since batteries are interchangeable between the M18 and 20V lines, respectively. Additionally, it's worth mentioning that the DeWalt has a lock to leave the gun on for working hands-free — similar to many corded models we tested. In contrast, the Milwaukee does not include this feature.

Conclusion

There are many different types of heat guns out there, and each has purpose-specific features that can make them better for delicate crafting or more serious home improvement projects. We included a range of products with the hope that our findings and test results will give you the information you need to find the perfect one. Whether you are a DIY weekend warrior or a seasoned professional, by testing only the top models available, this comprehensive review will help you choose the best heat gun for your next project.