Last Updated on July 21, 2026 by Stewart

At some point or another in your DIY journey, you’ll no doubt need to be able to bond wood to wood. Whilst you could use a grab adhesive for this, a better option would be to use a wood glue.

There are various different kinds of wood glue available, both for indoors and outdoors. To make the buying process easier, I have curated my favourite wood glues and went into depth on them below. This run down of the best wood glues will give you all the information you need to make an informed decision on what you should buy.

How These Wood Glues Were Tested

All of the glues listed below were purchased with my own money. More information regarding this can be found at the editorial standards page.

During all tests, I wore nitrile gloves to protect my hands from the glue.

The glues were tested by binding MDF to MDF, plywood to MDF, timber 2×4 to each other and also plywood to the 2×4.

These tests were carried out 3 times on each type of wood, and where appropriate it was left outside to see if exterior glues can really be used as such.

The strength of the items were evaluated 12 months after the glue had first been used.

The testing process also assesses the cure time of the glue, how easy it is to work with and also any mess it leaves behind & how easy it is to clean this up. The cost to performance was also assessed to see if it offers true value for money.

Gorilla Wood Glue

Gorilla are well known for their many adhesives, and as such it felt right to test their wood glue.

The applicator nozzle on it has been designed well, meaning that an even stream of glue flows from it. During the testing, I noticed that it did start to grab on relatively quickly, with it taking just over 20 minutes for the initial grab. I did leave the wood sections clamped together for 90 minutes to make sure the bond was strong enough. The final cure will be 24 hours after the application.

It performed flawlessly with all woods mentioned above. There was very little seepage from the joints as well. The initial over spill was quickly removed with a damp cloth. I did leave some on intentionally to observe any discolouration and unsightly appearance. For what little overspill there was, this dried to a natural colour and was practically invisible.

For indoor applications, its performance was excellent. 12 months on from the tests and the structures were just as strong as they were after the cure was finalised.

The structures mentioned above were also left outside in the rain. This is a water resistant glue, not a water proof one. I did notice that after being left outside for 2 weeks in heavy rainfall, there was a weakening in the glue bonds.

12 months later, I could easily manoeuvre the wood around, indicating that the rain water had weakened the integrity of the glue. Due to this, I wouldn’t recommend that it is used in areas where it will be subjected to a high volume of water.

There are various sizes available, ranging from 118ml to 1 litre. The benefit of this is that if you only need this for 1 job, you could opt for the smallest size and save yourself money. During the testing, I had opted for the 532ml bottle. As of September 2025, this can be purchased for just over £8.

12 months on from the testing, the applicator has still not clogged up, nor has the glue hardened inside.

Despite it not being suited for extended exterior exposure, it still performs well indoors and provides excellent value for money. For those that are solely needing an interior wood glue and would prefer a longer working time, Gorilla Wood Glue is an easy choice.

Gorilla Wood Glue is available from Amazon

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Evo-stik Exterior Wood Glue

Despite the name, this wood glue can be used indoors and outdoors. The “exterior” in the title is used to distinguish it from the Evo-stik glue that can only be used inside.

During the testing process, I found this slightly trickier to apply than the Gorilla Wood Glue due to the nozzle design. It was still usable, but would have preferred the Gorilla kind of nozzle instead.

It should be noted that this is an incredibly strong glue, much like all of the other products in the Evo-stik range.

In terms of grab time, the average time for it during my testing was 5 minutes. I did keep it clamped during this time, and as per the instructions form Evo-Stik I kept it clamped for the full 12 hours. As with the Gorilla Wood Glue, it will fully cure within 24 hours.

The small amount of overspill was easily removed with a damp cloth. I also let some of it dry. It dried to a clear finish and was not overly noticeable. I did take a sharp utility knife and was able to shave this off as well.

The structures that I use the glue on were solid after the final cure time. When testing the structures that were left outdoors, I was pleasantly surprised to see that despite a solid 2 weeks of heavy rain, it did not have any impact on the structural integrity of the glue bonds. At the 12 month mark, the bonds were equally as strong. When trying to flex the structures, I was only able to put a slight flex on it, thereby indicating how strong they are.

At the 12 month mark, I did not have any issues with using the nozzle. It should be noted though that the nozzle was cleaned out as per the instructions on the bottle. The glue still flowed easily 12 months on, which is a benefit for those that did not use all of it in a short time frame.

It is available in various sizes, ranging from 125ml to 5 litres. I opted to use the 500ml bottle which (as of January 2026) can be purchased for just over £9.

If you’re on a budget and don’t mind the fast working time of it, this is a great glue for exterior use.

It is available from Amazon

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Titebond III Ultimate  Wood Glue

Titebond is a US brand that is now starting to become available in the UK. There are a few glues in their range, but I’ve chosen Titebond III for this best of list. The reason for this is that it is suitable for use both indoors and outdoors in that it is fully waterproof as opposed to Titebond II Premium which is only water resistant.

The application nozzle is great and allows the glue to flow easily from the bottle and onto the wood. At no point did I see if flowing out too quickly.

The assembly (grab) time for this is short. You have ten minutes to make any adjustments to the structure before it becomes next to impossible to do so. In my testing, I had on average 9 minutes to manoeuvre the wood into position before I was unable to re-position it. The full cure was after 24 hours with it being clamped down during this time.

The strength of the structures I made for this test felt the strongest out of all 3 glues on here. With respect to overspill of the glue, I was able to clean this up quickly with a damp cloth. If it is not cleaned up in time, it will harden up. It dries to a mild yellow colour, and it is noticeable. I was able to shave off some excess glue with a utility knife, but it was cumbersome to do so.

After leaving it outside for 2 weeks in continuous rain, there was no degradation of the glue. The stuctres still felt incredibly strong and I was not able to flex them at all. This indicates that this is an incredibly strong glue considering that I put my full weight behind it and it wouldn’t budge.

I feel that this is the best possible option for those that want to have a strong wood glue that can be used indoors and outdoors and also has more flexibility in terms of the working time of it.

After the 12 month mark, the glue still flowed easily from the bottle. It does have a shelf life of 24 months after it has been opened, so this should be considered before you buy a bottle of it.

The good news is that the available sizes of this are quite diverse; the smallest volume is 473ml and the largest volume is 8 litres. I used the 473ml for testing and as of January 2026 it is available for just over £13. Given that there are numerous sizes, it means that you can get great value for money based on the tasks you need it for.

Titebond 3 is available from Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.