Last Updated on December 29, 2025 by Stewart
Glue guns are great for a wide variety of DIY tasks around the house. However, a problem I’ve seen is that the market has been flooded with a lot of cheap glue guns. This makes picking out the high quality ones a real challenge.
Over the past few months, I’ve tried numerous glue guns to assess how well they perform. For each glue gun, I used the recommended glue sticks by the manufacturer to ensure that I was getting the best possible result from them. Below you will find my picks of the best glue guns on the market.
Loctite Hot Melt Glue Gun
Loctite are well known for their wide array of superglues, so I was really curious to see how well their glue gun performed. This is a modestly priced glue gun (just under £15 at the time of writing). In the kit, you get the wired glue gun, as well as two Loctite glue sticks. I’ll point out at the start that Loctite do say that you should only use their glue sticks, so bear that in mind if you have a different brands in your collection.
This is an easy to use, lightweight glue gun. I found that the stand for it is actually pretty decent for a gun at such a low price point. It was able to support the weight of the glue gun whilst it was heating up and I didn’t have any issues with it falling over.
The warm up time was a bit longer than other glue guns on this list; it took just over 8 minutes for me to get it up to temperature. I found the trigger on it very easy to use, and squeezing it slowly allowed a controlled release of glue from the tip. I didn’t find it messy to use at all, and it gave a great finish. The glue was also great to use on leather, plastic and ceramics and has remained strong over the past few months.
The long warm up time might be a deal breaker for some. However, if you need a high quality glue gun on a budget and don’t mind waiting a while for the heat up, the Loctite is the best one for you. The additional glue sticks are also very reasonably priced.
- Fast and reliable - The practical hot glue gun adhesive reaches maximum strength just 2 minutes after application, allowing you to finish bonding jobs quickly
Last update on 2026-10-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
WorkPro Cordless Glue Gun
WorkPro have quite a few glue guns in their repertoire, but my favourite overall is their 7.2v cordless variant which takes 7mm diameter glue sticks.
The battery acts as a base to stand the glue gun up whilst not in use, and it’s very sturdy. Not only that, but it’s a nice overall weight in the hand. In addition to this, it’s biggest stand out is the fact that it’s ready to use in just under 1 minute. This is a very impressive warm up time and you can use it for up to 45 minutes before needing to charge it again.
The WorkPro has a fast flow rate of glue as well, meaning that the job can be done in a short time frame. I found that controlling the flow of this glue gun was very easy via the excellent trigger and I was able to get the right amount of glue from it, every time I used it.
WorkPro have also included 20 glue sticks in the box as well. They also sell additional sticks as well. These are just over £10 for a pack of 200. Considering how great the glue is that they supply, this is an absolute bargain.
- Corded or Cordless Convenience: Enjoy the flexibility of two power options. Plug it in for continuous use, or use it cordless after a full charge for greater freedom of movement. Unlike typical lithium-powered glue guns, it can also be used while charging—ideal for longer projects without interruption
Last update on 2026-10-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Bosch PKP 18E Glue Gun
For those that want to use a corded glue gun that can heat up longer than the Loctite mentioned earlier on the page, the Bosch is a great option.
It’s bang in the middle of the price of the Loctite and the WorkPro and has a very impressive 2m length cable which is perfect regardless of where you’re using it.
The warm up time was just over 5 minutes for me, which isn’t terrible by any standards and is very respectable for a mains powered glue gun.
I also really liked the stand on it. For the majority of my testing, it was able to hold up the weight of the gun just fine, with it only every falling over twice. One of the big game changers for me on this was the extra long nozzle on it. I found this really helpful when applying glue to tight spots. It was also very accurate in terms of its application and did not dribble excess glue out of the nozzle.
In the box, there was only 1 glue stick included which I thought was a bit stingy, but this is a glue gun with a great feature set at just over £20, so that’s not too bad. Additional Bosch glue sticks can be bought at just under £20 for 26 sticks. The quality of the glue is excellent and is a great companion for this really good glue gun.
![Bosch Glue Gun PKP 18 E (1 x Extra-Length Nozzle, Glue Stick, 240 V),Package may vary [Energy Class A]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31l0DaFHuOL._SL160_.jpg)
- The glue gun PKP 18 is a handy all-purpose gluing device
Last update on 2026-08-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.