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Anyone who’s walked through a Walmart in the past several years shouldn’t be surprised to learn that the retail chain is, by the numbers, the biggest company in the United States. It’s harder to name things you can’t buy at Walmart than what you can, making it an all-in-one destination for many shoppers. Not only can you skip additional trips to the grocery store or pharmacy, but the store also sells lots of home improvement and automotive gear, including tires and power tools.

You can find gear from major tool companies, sometimes at lower prices than you would otherwise. There are also in-house brands owned by Walmart, like Hyper Tough, which start off pretty affordable to begin with. You won’t find Walmart’s private-label brands at other places like Ace Hardware, though Ace often sells big-name tools close to their list price. As fans of Milwaukee and STIHL likely already know, these list prices can be pretty steep.

This doesn’t mean anyone should assume that lower price tags equate to lower quality. There are products available at Walmart that aren’t just cheaper than the competition, but perform better as well. Here are five Walmart finds that outshine Ace Hardware in price and, based on test results and firsthand impressions from both customers and professionals who’ve used them, quality. More information on how these tools were evaluated and compared can be found at the end of this list.

The power tools and equipment made by Hyper Tough, Walmart’s in-house brand, aren’t likely used by many professionals when more premium and powerful options from manufacturers like Makita and Milwaukee exist. Plenty of more casual users and DIYers shop the brand, though, and at least one of its products — the 20V Max Compact 1/2-inch Impact Wrench — may even be worth considering if you’re a tradesperson.

That’s because Walmart’s second-gen tool managed to beat out nearly all of its competition in an extensive comparison conducted by Torque Test Channel. The Hyper Tough 80046 model scored third highest, ranking higher than several of the best cordless impact wrench brands on the market. Only Astro and Aircat proved superior overall and Hyper Tough was the highest-scoring battery-powered model. The tool isn’t more powerful than the Milwaukee M18 Fuel ½-inch Impact Wrench when it comes to actual torque, but Torque Test Channel uses its own formula that balances several objective metrics to determine final scores.

If max torque is what you’re looking for, then Milwaukee clearly beats out Hyper Tough. But plenty of shoppers will likely take the fact that the Milwaukee M18 Fuel ½-inch Impact Wrench costs over $200 more into account, especially since Ace Hardware’s price doesn’t even include a battery or charger, which the Hyper Tough does. The tool still offers up to 350 ft-lbs of torque, which should be enough for many applications, and is equipped with a brushless motor like many premium power tools are these days.

The Hyper Tough 20V Max Compact 1/2-inch Impact Wrench (model 80046) is currently available from Walmart for around $75.

Even if you have every tool needed to change a car battery, all your effort won’t be for much if you’re inserting a subpar power source. Based on online chatter in forums like Reddit, Walmart’s EverStart brand of car batteries is very reliable and often an affordable option. The EverStart Maxx Lead Acid Car Battery (Group Size 65 12V 850 CCA), for example, is a little over $150.

That’s almost $70 less than a similar unit from Deka, which is one of the primary car battery brands sold by Ace Hardware. Group 65 batteries are typically reserved for larger vehicles like pickups, vans, and full-sized SUVs, so drivers of F-150s or Dodge Rams can save a decent chunk of change shopping at Walmart. The Deka Gold Series Car Battery (Group Size 65 12V 850 CCA) isn’t poor quality, per se (though the very few reviews from Ace customers aren’t great) and the brand has its fans, but you don’t see the name come up often when people talk about car batteries they really like.

On r/Diesel, one Redditor says you can’t top the prices and availability of EverStart Maxx and reports that they’ve been powering their Ford 7.3L engine with 8-year-old batteries from the brand “that still fire up in freezing temps without being plugged in.” In the same thread, another driver who owns multiple vehicles says they’ve been using the brand for over two decades and that the “shortest life I’ve ever had from one is 5 years and I had one last 9 years. Highly recommend.”

The EverStart Maxx Lead Acid Car Battery (Group Size 65 12V 850 CCA) is currently available from Walmart for around $154.

To make sure you have the right tool for a given task, you should know the differences between a combination wrench vs. an adjustable wrench. One thing both tools have in common, though, is that they shouldn’t easily break when you try to use them. Unfortunately for at least one Ace Hardware customer, that’s exactly what happened using an adjustable wrench from the chain’s house brand after just a few uses. In an r/Tools post on Reddit, this user also complains that “the Ace brand plumbing fixtures have been horrible quality, I had several of their valves split in half. Their tools are awful.” Another commenter echoes this sentiment, saying that a wrench from the Ace Metric Wrench Set bent on the first twist.​​

These anecdotes aren’t very encouraging when it comes to Ace tools — at least not those related to plumbing. The Ace 8-inch Adjustable Wrench is just $10, so it might be worth giving it a shot. However, you can get the same tool from Walmart for less than $5.50. The wrench, which is built from heat-treated, forged carbon steel, even includes a rough coat of vinyl around the handle for a more comfortable and controlled grip.

Interestingly, Walmart’s 8-inch Adjustable Wrench with Sure Grip Handle has no name attached to it — it’s literally listed as “unbranded.” However, the contact info for more information on the tool or its warranty is for Hyper Tough’s call center, suggesting it’s the same manufacturer. That may be even more incentive for those who already like using other tools from Walmart’s house brand.

The 8-inch Adjustable Wrench with Sure Grip Handle is currently available from Walmart for around $5.50.

While Walmart’s house brands are associated with low prices, Ryobi is also considered a solid tool brand that typically costs less than competitors like DeWalt and Makita. The Home Depot is closely affiliated with Ryobi and is the primary seller of the brand in the country, but you can still find its products from other retailers, like Amazon and Walmart. For instance, Walmart offers the Ryobi 18V One+ Oscillating Multi-Tool for $75, though that’s not including a battery or charger.

That’s 25% less than the price of the Craftsman V20 Oscillating Multi-Tool sold by Ace Hardware. Both tools have been thoroughly tested in the lab by Consumer Reports, which has determined that Ryobi’s less-expensive model is also significantly better than Craftsman’s. In fact, Craftsman’s tool has one of the lowest overall scores of all the oscillating multi-tools tested by Consumer Reports’ experts.

The Ryobi 18V One+ Oscillating Multi-Tool was designed to be more ergonomic and provide faster cutting to help reduce user fatigue, among other things. It maxes out at 20,000 OPM and has a lock-on function for cruise control. It also features a variable-speed dial, making it easier to use on multiple materials from wood and plastic to grout and metal. Consumer Reports gave it perfect scores in wood and plastic and a 4 out of 5 for grout and metal. It also gave it a perfect score for operational noise and Ryobi claims its multi-tool vibrates less than any tool in its class.

The Ryobi 18V One+ Oscillating Multi-Tool is available from Walmart for $75, but is currently available for $12 less if purchased online.

At the time of this writing, the Prettycare Cordless Stick Vacuum is currently $90 off its list price, which is a more than 40% discount. Even at its full price, though, the cleaner is cheaper than the Craftsman V20 Cordless Multi-Stage Filter Stick Vacuum Kit, which goes for $199 at Ace Hardware. That price difference is even more staggering when you consider that the overall customer score for Prettycare’s vac is a solid 4.3 out of 5 while Craftsman’s is a rough 3.6 out of 5.

Based on nearly 4,000 user reviews, Walmart customers seem to appreciate the suction power, cleaning ability, and battery life of the Prettycare Stick Vacuum. It also gets props for being lightweight and easy to maneuver around the home, as well as for a stylish design that earns the “pretty” in its name. Between its specs and user feedback, the device holds its own against the best major vacuum cleaner brands. Prettycare’s self-standing vacuum weighs 5.4 pounds and its 180W motor can deliver up to 30,000 pa of suction. It also has a low setting that goes up to 18,000 pa. At eight pounds, Craftsman’s V20 is heavier and is confined to just one speed setting.

Its 2,600-mAh battery can last for up to 50 minutes, allowing the vacuum to cover over 1,937 sq-ft of space. That’s 10 minutes shy of Craftsman’s model, though. It doesn’t utilize a separate battery but instead recharges by being plugged directly into the wall, which is either a pro or a con depending on how you feel about using interchangeable batteries for your power tools and equipment.

The Prettycare Cordless Stick Vacuum is available from Walmart for $160, but is currently on sale for just $69.99.

Only products available at Walmart or Ace Hardware at the time of this writing are included in this list; similarly the prices that are compared to one another are the list prices at each respective retailer at the time of writing. Sale prices have not been factored into the comparison, as they may have changed by the time you read this. In the spirit of fairness, only products relatively similar to one another are compared directly — Craftsman’s cordless stick vacuum, for example, is not measured up against any corded options that would have an advantage in cost and power.

To compare the quality of the products in this list, firsthand opinions from a variety of sources have been prioritized over manufacturers’ specs, though both are factored into the evaluation. Firsthand experience is sourced from ratings and reviews left by owners on Walmart’s and Ace’s websites, as well as online discussions in forums like Reddit. Additionally, the results of expert testing from reputable YouTube channels and organizations like Consumer Reports, as well as review scores based on those results, have also been used to help determine which Walmart products truly outshine Ace Hardware’s in quality.