The best wall plugs, compared.
Top pick: Lemiyoo 188-piece plug and screw set Best value: PlasPlugs 52 assorted wall plugs – About £4.22 is the lowest shelf price here, with 4.5 from 2,001 reviews. The drywall line is a claim, and millimetre sizes are not printed. Updated October 2026.
A wall plug, often called a rawl plug, is a plastic sleeve that lets a screw grip a drilled hole in brick, block, stone or concrete. You are usually hanging a picture, a blind or a light shelf, or keeping a mixed kit in a toolbox. The piece count on the lid is not the quality. What matters is the match between plug diameter, drill bit and screw, and a wall that can take expansion. Ordinary expansion plugs are the wrong family for plasterboard and for a dot-and-dab gap, unless the maker publishes a load for that board. The [plasterboard or brick guide](/hub/sockets-and-extension-leads/wall-plug/sub/wall-plug-plasterboard-vs-brick) is that fork. Yellow, red and brown are a trade colour habit, and the drill size on the packet overrides any single chart. A 13 A plug, a USB charger and a travel adapter are not wall plugs, even when a title uses those words. Scores use stars, review volume, listing clarity, the size mix and the price.
A wall plug, often called a rawl plug, is a plastic sleeve that lets a screw grip a drilled hole in brick, block, stone or concrete.
18 products checked · 46 hrs invested · +18,600 readers
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What should the box contain?
The Lemiyoo LY24081601 is 188 pieces at £6.99: polyethylene plugs and galvanised carbon steel screws in a plastic box, rated 4.6 from 736 amazon.co.uk reviews, the highest star line in this set. The contents line is precise: four anchors at M10×50, fifteen at M8×40, fifty at M6×30 and twenty-five at M5×25, each with a matching screw. In the first 50 reviews, buyers call it a handy odd-job box and like being able to see the sizes through the case. The same texts say the mix is mostly small. One buyer said only four plugs were a useful larger size and bought another assortment. The title says plasterboard, while the use bullet lists solid and perforated masonry and does not name board. The box bullet warns that small pieces are a swallowing risk for children. No load figure is printed.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A toolbox stock of small and medium masonry plugs when four large anchors are enough.
Less suitable: A run of M8 and M10 fixings, or a plasterboard wall you are taking from the title.
Specifications
Common questions
How many large plugs are there?
The contents bullet lists 4 anchors at M10×50, 15 at M8×40, 50 at M6×30 and 25 at M5×25, each with a matching screw count.
Does the listing agree about plasterboard?
The title says plasterboard. The use bullet lists solid bricks, concrete, lime-sand bricks and high-pored bricks, not board.
What do buyers complain about?
In the first 50 reviews the repeated point is too many small plugs. One buyer said only four were a useful larger size and bought another mix.
The PlasPlugs FCS-MFA500 is 52 grey nylon plugs at £4.22, the lowest shelf price in this set, with 4.5 from 2,001 amazon.co.uk reviews. The title names brick, stone, cement, concrete, hollow cavity, partition and drywall, and the bullets claim an expanding barrel with anti-rotate ribs. In the first 50 reviews, buyers report use in brick and in plasterboard, and some say the plugs keep their shape better than cheaper ones they had used. The listing does not print millimetre sizes. One buyer measured 5 mm, 6.5 mm, 8 mm and 10 mm and missed the 6 mm and 7 mm plugs they wanted. Plugs can break at the neck while the screw is driven. There are no screws in the 52-piece count, and the page asks about outdoor use without answering it in the bullets.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A small plugs-only stock when you will match your own screws and you treat the drywall line as a claim, not a measured load.
Less suitable: You need a printed drill size, or you are hanging something that needs a published load.
Specifications
Common questions
Are screws included?
No. The pack is 52 plugs. The bullets say the instructions recommend a screw and a drill size.
Which walls does the title name?
Brick, stone, cement, concrete, hollow cavity, partition and drywall. Millimetre sizes are not in the specification table.
What do buyers report going wrong?
In the first 50 reviews, plugs breaking while the screw is driven, and a size mix a buyer measured as 5, 6.5, 8 and 10 mm rather than 6 and 7 mm.
The Merriway BH07204 gives you 120 PVC plugs, forty yellow, forty red and forty brown, at £4.56 on amazon.co.uk, where it sits at 4.5 from 226 reviews. The listing maps yellow to screw gauges 4 to 6, red to 6 to 10 and brown to 10 to 14, and the use bullet names solid brick, concrete, stone and masonry. Across 31 review texts, buyers treat the plugs as adequate for ordinary hanging, and one person compared them with a Rawlplug for a basic job. Millimetre drill sizes are not printed, so the packet still has to set the bit. Reviewers say the plugs arrive joined on a sprue that is awkward to snap apart, and one buyer used secateurs. The box contains no screws. A few people still wanted more of the larger plugs for the M6 and M8 screws they already owned.
Pros
Cons
Best for: Solid brick, block or concrete when you already own the screws and want yellow, red and brown gauges labelled on the listing.
Less suitable: Plasterboard, a dot-and-dab gap, or a job that needs the screws in the same box.
Specifications
Common questions
Are screws included?
No. The included-components line is 40 brown, 40 red and 40 yellow plugs. You supply the screw.
Does the listing say these suit plasterboard?
No. The use bullet names brick, concrete, stone and masonry. The page question about plasterboard is not answered with a yes.
What do the colours mean on this pack?
The listing says yellow for screws No. 4–6, red for No. 6–10 and brown for No. 10–14. Millimetre drill sizes are not given.
The Yibaijia 2-Dty-110-009 is 55 yellow polypropylene plugs and 55 screws in M6×30 mm, M6×40 mm and M8×40 mm, at £4.99, rated 4.4 from 1,697 amazon.co.uk reviews. The masonry bullet names solid and perforated brick and concrete. Drywall appears only in a highlight. In the first 50 reviews, buyers like having three sizes rather than a pile of tiny plugs, and one person used the large size to fix a wooden threshold bar to concrete. The same sample repeatedly describes screw heads snapping, including one head that broke in a pilot hole in wood with a hand screwdriver. The bullet calls the screws high-strength carbon steel, while the attribute table says zinc alloy, and the listing does not resolve that. A shelf stayed up for one buyer, but a broken screw left in the wall is difficult to remove.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A small masonry job where you want M6 and M8 screws in the box and you will stop if a head starts to twist off.
Less suitable: Plasterboard, or any fixing where a snapped head left in the hole is a problem you cannot drill out.
Specifications
Common questions
What sizes are in the box?
The listing says 55 plugs and 55 screws in M6×30 mm, M6×40 mm and M8×40 mm. The item diameter field says 6 mm.
What are the screws made of?
The bullet says high-strength carbon steel. The attribute table says zinc alloy and a zinc finish. The listing does not resolve that.
What failure shows up in reviews?
Across the first 50 reviews, screw heads snap, including one report of a head breaking in a pilot hole in wood. Some buyers still report a firm plug.
The DODIYDO ZZWallPlug300P is 150 nylon-PE plugs and 150 screws in a compartment case, at £19.99, rated 4.4 from 57 amazon.co.uk reviews. The bullet lists brick, concrete, plasterboard and timber, and it states lengths from 2.5 cm to 8 cm. The size count is unresolved: the listing says ten sizes, and reviews describe about five lengths. Across 33 review texts, buyers like the case and a size guide on the lid for pictures and shelves, and they describe a firmer hold in brick and concrete than in drywall. Screws that spin without tightening in the plug come up more than once. One reviewer said the two largest screws were countersunk Pozidriv rather than the Phillips head in the attribute table. The listed weight is 100 g for a 300-piece kit, which sits oddly next to a lighter pack that weighs more on its own listing. One reviewer would not hang a flat-screen television on this kit.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A stocked toolbox case for light pictures and shelves on brick, if you check that each screw actually bites before you trust it.
Less suitable: A television, a radiator, or plasterboard that you are trusting to the smaller plugs.
Specifications
Common questions
Is a storage case included?
Yes. The bullet says a clear compartment case with the 150 plugs and 150 screws.
Does the seller claim plasterboard?
Yes. The bullet lists brick, concrete, plasterboard and timber. Reviews say the smaller plugs are weak in drywall.
Do the screws match the plugs?
The attribute table says Phillips. One review says the screws do not tighten in the plugs. Another says the two largest screws are countersunk Pozidriv.
For this comparison we scored five amazon.co.uk wall-plug listings on 16 October 2026. A wall plug here is a plastic masonry sleeve, not a 13 A socket. The scores use star ratings, review volume, whether the listing matches the wall and prints sizes, the pack mix, and the GBP price. Deductions cover plugs or screw heads that break, a size mix buyers call too small, and sprigs that will not separate. There was no pull-out test and no laboratory.
Amazon stars
30%The amazon.co.uk star average is scaled to a 30-point cap. That star line is the listing score. It is not the editorial total, and it is not a strength test.
Review volume
20%2,000 or more reviews take the full 20 points. A short count, such as 57, cannot score like 2,001.
Listing match
25%Points for a wall claim that matches the use bullet, printed sizes or gauges, and material lines that agree. A missing millimetre table and a title that conflicts with the bullet cost points.
Pack mix
15%An even colour split, or a short list of useful sizes, scores higher than a count dominated by the smallest plug.
Price
10%About £4–£5 scores 9 or 10 of the 10 price points. About £7 scores 7. About £20 scores 3. The price is the shelf price against what the pack states.
Start with the wall, not the piece count. Solid brick, block, stone or concrete can take an expansion plug. Plasterboard, a stud, or a dot-and-dab gap needs a different fixing unless a load for that board is published. Then match the screw you will actually use, and the drill on the packet. Screws in the box are convenient only if the heads stay on and the sizes are the ones you need. Prices in this set run from about £4.22 to about £19.99 on amazon.co.uk.
A wall plug, often called a rawl plug, is a plastic sleeve that lets a screw grip a drilled hole. On solid brick, block, stone or concrete the sleeve expands and holds. UK shoppers buy a small pack for pictures and shelves, or a mixed plug-and-screw kit for a toolbox. Quality is the match between plug diameter, drill bit and screw, plus a wall that can take that expansion. The number printed on the lid is not a strength rating. Standard expansion plugs are the colour-coded sprigs.
An ordinary expansion plug needs a solid hole. In plasterboard, or across a dot-and-dab gap, it can spin or pull through. A title that lists board as well as brick is a claim, not a measured load.
If the plug is tight, the usual mistake is to open the hole until it drops in, which removes the grip. A screw that is too thin will not expand the sleeve. The bit and the screw should follow the packet.
Assortments are often mostly the smallest plug. Driving on until a head snaps leaves a screw in the wall that is awkward to remove. A higher piece count is not a heavier-duty fixing.
Solid masonry can take an expansion plug. Plasterboard, a stud wall, or a dot-and-dab gap needs a different fixing, or a fixing into a stud, unless the maker publishes a load for that board. That is the first cut, ahead of price and piece count. The screw you will actually use has to sit in the plug’s stated diameter range so the sleeve expands without splitting. A screw that is too thin will not expand the plug. A screw that is too large can split it.
Screws in the box are convenient, and reviews on cheap sets include heads that snap and screws that never tighten. A plugs-only pack is the better buy when you already own screws that match the gauge. Assortments are often mostly the smallest plug, so read the contents line. Four large anchors in a 188-piece box is a different purchase from forty of each colour. A published load or an ETA matters when the item is heavy or safety-relevant.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You are fixing pictures, blinds or a light shelf on brick, block or concrete, and you already own the screws. The Merriway BH07204 prints yellow, red and brown gauge bands and keeps the use bullet on solid masonry. You supply the screw, and the sprigs are hard to snap apart.
You want plugs and screws in one case for odd jobs on solid masonry. The Lemiyoo set prints four sizes with counts, and most of the box is the smaller anchors. Drop the plasterboard line in the title. The use bullet does not name board.
You want the lowest shelf price in this set and you will match your own screws. The PlasPlugs pack is about £4.22, with 4.5 from 2,001 reviews. Treat the drywall and hollow-wall line as a claim, not a measured load. Millimetre sizes are not printed.
The top pick is the Merriway BH07204: 40 yellow, 40 red and 40 brown, gauge bands on the listing, and a use bullet that stays on solid masonry, at about £4.56 with 4.5 from 226 reviews. There are no screws, and it is not a plasterboard fixing. The best value is the PlasPlugs 52-piece pack at about £4.22, with 4.5 from 2,001 reviews, the lowest shelf price and the largest review count in this set. The title claims drywall and hollow walls without a load, and millimetre sizes are not on the listing. A 4.6 from 736 does not outrank a mix that is mostly the smaller anchors. Fifty-seven reviews do not carry a £19.99 case.
PlasPlugs 52 assorted wall plugs
About £4.22 is the lowest shelf price here, with 4.5 from 2,001 reviews. The drywall line is a claim, and millimetre sizes are not printed.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources on masonry plugs, plasterboard fixings, and drilling near cables. Listings checked 16 October 2026. Prices on amazon.co.uk move.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Scores compare published listings and review texts. They are not a laboratory test.
