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Best drill bits

Updated: 2026-10-23

You searched for the best drill bits and landed on three Bosch cases at 4.7 stars, a £7.99 mini set, and a cobalt box at £37.89. Those stars do not drill every material. The best drill bit here is the listing that names your material and your diameter, and the skip is as useful as the pick. Prices and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines in the [drill bit comparison](/hub/drilling-and-accessories/drill-bit), from £5.95 to £37.89. Products Compared read those ten listings on 22 October 2026 and did not run a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You searched for the best drill bits and landed on three Bosch cases at 4.7 stars, a £7.99 mini set, and a cobalt box at £37.89. Those stars do not drill every material.

Our top picks

Bosch Bosch 34-piece X-Line

Best overall

Bosch Bosch 34-piece X-Line
9.4/10about £10.63
View offer
Bosch Bosch Mini X-Line 15-piece

Best value

Bosch Bosch Mini X-Line 15-piece
9.4/10about £7.99
View offer
Bosch Bosch PointTeQ 19-piece HSS

Alternative

Bosch Bosch PointTeQ 19-piece HSS
8.4/10about £14.12
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Best mixed set for shelves and plug holes
  2. 2.Best HSS set for mild steel
  3. 3.The stainless pick, and why 4.7 stars is the wrong signal
  4. 4.Sheet, hex and plasterboard

Best mixed set for shelves and plug holes

A shelf on brick wants a straight-shank masonry bit at the diameter on the plug pack. None of these sets is SDS. For a 6 or 8 mm plug, the Mini X-Line at £7.99, 4.6 from 11,466 reviews, has five carbide masonry bits, five HSS bits and five wood bits at 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 mm. Skip it for 5.5, 7 or 10 mm. The top pick for a 5.5 or 7 mm plug is the 34-piece X-Line at £10.63, 4.7 from 28,187 reviews, with CYL-1 masonry at 5, 5.5, 6, 7 and 8 mm. Its HSS bits stop at 5 mm, and the wood bullet prints 4/5/6/78 mm. For 10 mm masonry, the 50-piece at £14.49 lists CYL-1 to 10 mm and no 5.5 mm. The 70-piece at £20.99 is driver bits and a 32 mm spade, and the piece-count field says 1. Plug depth stays on the masonry drill bit page.

Best HSS set for mild steel

Mild steel wants high-speed steel at every half millimetre. PointTeQ at £14.12 is black-oxide HSS from 1.0 to 10.0 mm in 0.5 mm steps, 4.5 from 5,060 reviews. The bullets name alloyed and mild steel, non-ferrous metals, cast steel, cast iron and plastic. Skip it for brick and stainless. The piece-count field prints 1 against a 19-piece title. Amazon Basics at £9.12, 4.3 from 7,821 reviews, runs 1.5 to 10 mm with 1.5 mm and 3.2 mm repeated, and the usage note excludes masonry and stainless. The title says titanium and the finish field says polished. A gold 4.7-star X-Line is the wrong spend once the hole in steel is above 5 or 6.5 mm.
Bosch Bosch 34-piece X-Line

Testsieger

Bosch Bosch 34-piece X-Line
9.4/10about £10.63
View offer

The stainless pick, and why 4.7 stars is the wrong signal

Screwfix treats a titanium nitride coat as a wear layer, and cobalt as the alloy for stainless. The three 4.7-star Bosch mixed sets are still HSS. The only listing here that says M42 8% cobalt is STROTON at £37.89, 4.3 from 4,756 reviews, from 1 to 10 mm. The bullets say 135 degrees. The spec says 90 degrees. Some UK reviews praise stainless after HSS has failed, and others report a snap. That is comment, not a timed test. Skip it for brick. Speed and oil are on the HSS or cobalt drill bits page.

Sheet, hex and plasterboard

Thin sheet is the LSLANSOON set at £12.99: five titanium-coated HSS step bits plus an S2 centre punch, 4.0 from 199 reviews. Five bits are said to stand in for 50 diameters, and the steps are not listed. A bullet says 118 degrees and the spec prints 1183 degrees. Amtech F1120 at £5.95 is a 1/4 inch hex set, title sizes 1.5–6.5 mm, 4.1 from 3,797 reviews. The title says titanium-nitride HSS and the spec says alloy steel. Funnytek at £26.49 is fifty identical 5/32 inch M2 cut-out bits for a spiral saw, with no review line, so it is not scored.

Common questions

What are the best drill bits for a UK DIY set?
For a first set that must touch wood, ordinary metal and brick, the best value at 6 or 8 mm is the Bosch Mini X-Line at £7.99. The top pick when the plug is 5.5 or 7 mm is the Bosch 34-piece X-Line at £10.63, because that listing names those masonry sizes and a case.
Which set should I buy for mild steel?
PointTeQ at £14.12, nineteen black-oxide HSS bits from 1.0 to 10.0 mm in half-millimetre steps, 4.5 from 5,060 reviews. Amazon Basics at £9.12 reaches 10 mm as well, with repeated small sizes and a titanium-versus-polished clash, and it excludes stainless. The 34-piece mixed set stops its metal bits at 5 mm.
Are the 4.7-star Bosch sets the best for stainless steel?
They are the wrong signal for stainless. The 34-piece, 50-piece and 70-piece X-Line sets are 4.7 stars, and their metal bits are HSS or HSS with a titanium nitride coat. The stainless listing in this comparison is STROTON, M42 8% cobalt, at £37.89.
When is the STROTON cobalt set worth £37.89?
When the hole is stainless, or HSS has already failed on stainless, and you want 1–10 mm in 0.5 mm steps on the only M42 listing here. It is 4.3 from 4,756 reviews. It is a poor spend for brick, for a first shelf kit, and for mild steel that PointTeQ or Amazon Basics already name.
What should I buy for thin sheet, and what is the Funnytek set for?
Thin sheet, wood and plastic are the LSLANSOON step set at £12.99, five titanium-coated HSS bits and a centre punch, with the 118 versus 1183 degree clash left on the page. Funnytek at £26.49 is fifty identical 5/32 inch M2 cut-out bits for a spiral saw in plasterboard.

Related pages

Drill bit buying guide

How to use a drill bit

Drill bit

Masonry drill bit for brick plugs, hammer and dust

HSS or cobalt drill bits for mild steel or stainless

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file.

  1. HSE CN3: silica dust and APF 20 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. HSE CIS36: drilling and respirable crystalline silica (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. HSE: electricity, drilling near cables (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. HSE CIS65: power off if cable routes are unknown (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Bosch DIY UK: guide to drills (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. Screwfix: guide to types of drill bits (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. Rawlplug UNO universal plug (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. CMT: standard plastic wall plugs (retrieved 22 October 2026)