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Tile drill bit buying guide

Updated: October 2026

You have a cordless drill, a bathroom wall, and a plug in your hand, and the packets all say they will drill tile. This tile drill bit buying guide is the order to follow before you buy, from the Products Compared editorial team on 15 October 2026. It uses the amazon.co.uk listings in our [tile drill bits](/hub/drilling-and-accessories/tile-drill-bit) comparison and public UK shop pages. We did not lab-test the bits. A purchase through our links can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Decide the hole, then the tile, then the shank, then cooling and depth. Read the price last, when those four answers are already clear.

You have a cordless drill, a bathroom wall, and a plug in your hand, and the packets all say they will drill tile.

Our top picks

BGTEC BGTEC 8-piece diamond hole-saw kit, up to 50 mm

Best overall

BGTEC BGTEC 8-piece diamond hole-saw kit, up to 50 mm
6.9/10about £39.99
View offer
QWORK QWORK 5-piece carbide spear set, 6–12 mm

Best value

QWORK QWORK 5-piece carbide spear set, 6–12 mm
8.5/10about £6.98
View offer
SHDIATOOL SHDIATOOL 6 mm M14 dry diamond cores, pack of 2

Rank 3

SHDIATOOL SHDIATOOL 6 mm M14 dry diamond cores, pack of 2
8.8/10about £15.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Name the hole before you name the brand
  2. 2.Match the cutting end to the tile you can identify
  3. 3.Make the shank fit the drill in your hand
  4. 4.Cooling, depth, and fields that contradict the title
  5. 5.What to spend, without a winner

Name the hole before you name the brand

Match the bit to the millimetre mark printed on the plug. Screwfix says most red plugs are 6 mm and brown plugs are 7 mm. Drillfix maps blue to 8 mm and grey to 10 mm, while TehTools calls a blue plug 10 mm, so the colour charts are a poor guide. A 6 mm bit does nothing useful for a bath tap. Sanctuary Bathrooms says a bath-tap hole often falls between 22 mm and 35 mm, and you check the tap sheet. Plug sets here cluster between 5 mm and 12 mm. Meccion is only 14 mm. SHDIATOOL is only 6 mm. BGTEC reaches 50 mm on a straight shank. A 50 mm saw is the wrong basket for a towel rail.

Match the cutting end to the tile you can identify

Once the hole has a size, the tile picks the cutting end. Topps Tiles and Toolstation point a tungsten-carbide spear at glazed ceramic, and diamond at dense porcelain and stone. Wax inside a dry core is a coolant, not a count of holes. A spear cuts a hole the size of its point. A diamond core grinds a ring and leaves a slug. Topps says a carbide spear point burns flat on porcelain. Identification sits on the drill bit for porcelain tiles page, and the family argument on diamond or carbide tile drill bit. Bosch HEX-9 is not one of these twelve listings.
BGTEC BGTEC 8-piece diamond hole-saw kit, up to 50 mm

Testsieger

BGTEC BGTEC 8-piece diamond hole-saw kit, up to 50 mm
6.9/10about £39.99
View offer

Make the shank fit the drill in your hand

A round, hex, or three-flat shank closes in a drill chuck. An M14 thread will not tighten inside a normal chuck. SHDIATOOL and LEKOMESH are M14, and neither box contains the adapter a drill needs. DECKRKAT and DKIBBITH name angle grinders and put a round shank in the box, with no grinder adapter. If you only have a cordless drill, an M14 packet waits on a part you still have to buy. A stated diamond height of 10 mm opens the tile and then stops.

Cooling, depth, and fields that contradict the title

Wax inside a dry diamond bit melts as the rim heats. Topps separates that dry bit from a wet bit you keep wet for the whole cut. A stated diamond height of 10 mm opens the tile and will not drill the brick behind it. When the title and a field disagree, keep both lines. SHDIATOOL's piece-count field says 20, while the title says two bits. QWORK's minimum-bore field says 12 mm, while the set includes 6 mm. SabreCut's surface field says Glass. BGTEC prints that a slower rpm shortens life, which conflicts with drilling tile slowly. That line is a listing conflict, not a speed to copy.

What to spend, without a winner

On 15 October 2026 the prices sat in three bands: about £5.99 to £7.49, then £10.99 to £21.99, then £39.99 for both hole-saw kits. The lower band can suit a ceramic splashback and a 6 mm plug. The same pounds are a weak spend when the box says fully vitrified. This page ends when you can say the hole size, the tile family, the machine you already own, and whether you will cool the bit. The price is the last line you read.

Common questions

What size tile drill bit do you need for a wall plug?
Use the millimetre number printed on the plug. Screwfix says most red plugs are 6 mm and brown plugs are 7 mm. Drillfix and TehTools disagree on what blue means, so the colour name is a poor guide on its own. A bath tap is a separate hole, often between 22 mm and 35 mm, and you check the tap sheet before you buy a saw.
Should you buy a set or one diameter?
Buy one diameter when you know the plug and you will drill that size only. SHDIATOOL's 6 mm pair is that case if you already have a grinder. Buy a set when the bathroom has 6 mm and 8 mm plugs and you want a spare. A set that tops out at 12 mm still does not cut a tap hole.
Will a round-shank set fit an angle grinder?
Only if you add an adapter, and the round-shank listings here do not include one. DECKRKAT and DKIBBITH name grinders and put a round shank in the box. An M14 bit such as SHDIATOOL or LEKOMESH needs an adapter before it will sit in a drill chuck, and that adapter is not supplied.
Does wax-filled mean you can ignore water?
Wax is a coolant inside many dry diamond bits. It melts as you drill. It does not mean the rim will survive a long cut with no pause. Topps treats a wax-filled dry bit and a bit you must keep wet as different tools. If the tile is hot under your finger, stop and cool the bit.
What should you ignore when the title and the specification disagree?
Keep both lines and do not smooth them into one story. A piece-count of 20 against a title that says two bits, a minimum bore of 12 mm on a set that includes 6 mm, and a surface field that says Glass, are conflicts on the amazon.co.uk page. The contents sentence you can count is the safer description of the box.

Related pages

How to drill into tile

Tile drill bits 2026

Best tile drill bit: who it fits, and who should skip

Diamond or carbide tile drill bit: one condition

Drill bit for porcelain tiles: diamond, not a spear

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings in this comparison. Last checked 15 October 2026.

  1. Topps Tiles: what type of drill bit for tiles (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. Homebuilding: drilling into tile without cracking (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. Screwfix: how to drill into tile (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. Bosch Professional GB: EXPERT HEX-9 hard ceramic drill bit (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. HSE CIS36: silica dust when drilling and coring (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. BSI: BS EN 14411 ceramic tiles (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. Rubi: porcelain tile drill bits (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk listing B0751893Y2 (QWORK), checked 15 October 2026 (retrieved 15 October 2026)