Finding the best home improvement retailer is about a lot more than just knowing the tips and tricks for shopping on a budget at retailers like Lowe’s. After all, customer satisfaction is based on a variety of factors, each of which can move the needle at any time. But according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, you actually have a few solid choices, and they’re all tied for first place.

The ACSI has a trio of heavy-hitters on top for 2026: Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Menards. Each company earned a score of 81 out of 100. Both Home Depot and Lowe’s scored higher than the year before, while Menards was slightly lower. The ACSI 2026 rankings place these companies ahead of other well-known home improvement retailers, including Tractor Supply – which has been in business since 1938 – and Ace Hardware, which took a notable hit in this year’s index after being the highest-ranked last year.

The ACSI uses customer interviews to inform its rankings rather than relying on a single rating. Those interviews are fed into a model that measures customer satisfaction through a specific set of drivers. Those drivers include customer expectations, perceived quality, and perceived value. The results are then connected with customer complaints and customer loyalty to determine the final satisfaction score. This makes it possible for companies within the same industry to be compared using the same measurement system.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index for 2025 looked much different for home improvement retailers than it did just one year later. Menards ranked higher and was actually tied for the top spot with Ace Hardware. Home Depot was in second place, and Lowe’s, where some people hate to shop, came in dead last. Tractor Supply Company, which ranked in 2026, was not part of the ACSI in 2025.

The ACSI doesn’t reveal exactly what caused customers to rate their personal experiences differently from one year to the next. However, scores are definitely impacted by even the slightest change in customer responses. This means that small differences can lead to big shifts, especially when those changes show up consistently across multiple survey responses rather than in just one area. This was reflected in the rankings from 2025 to 2026. Additionally, the ACSI represents one set of survey results that perhaps do not accurately tell the whole story across the board.

For example, the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction Study ranked Lowe’s highest in customer satisfaction. Ace Hardware came in a close second, while Home Depot and Menards followed behind. In this case, J.D. Power measured satisfaction across eight areas, including store experience, product availability, digital tools, and value for price paid, among others. Responses from more than 2,000 customers who had recently made home improvement purchases were used to determine the results.