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Wall plugs buying guide

Updated: October 2026

You are choosing a pack for a curtain pole or a small shelf, and the lid is shouting a piece count. A wall plugs buying guide puts that number last. A wall plug is a plastic sleeve that lets a screw grip a drilled hole in brick, block, stone or concrete. It is not a 13 A mains plug. Decide the wall, then the screw, then plugs only or plugs and screws. The five packs are the examples in the [wall plug comparison](/hub/sockets-and-extension-leads/wall-plug). Listings were checked on 16 October 2026. There was no pull-out test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are choosing a pack for a curtain pole or a small shelf, and the lid is shouting a piece count. A wall plugs buying guide puts that number last.

Our top picks

Lemiyoo Lemiyoo 188-piece plug and screw set

Best overall

Lemiyoo Lemiyoo 188-piece plug and screw set
7.5/10about £6.99
View offer
PlasPlugs PlasPlugs 52 assorted wall plugs

Best value

PlasPlugs PlasPlugs 52 assorted wall plugs
7.7/10about £4.22
View offer
Merriway Merriway BH07204 yellow, red and brown

Rank 3

Merriway Merriway BH07204 yellow, red and brown
8.4/10about £4.56
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Name the wall before the basket
  2. 2.Match a screw, then a plug
  3. 3.Plugs only, or plugs and screws
  4. 4.What the price bands actually buy
  5. 5.When not to use this aisle

Name the wall before the basket

An expansion plug works by being squeezed against a solid hole. DIY Doctor treats plastic plugs as a fixing for sound brick, block, stone and concrete, and says a normal plug widens a hole in plasterboard until it works loose. If you are in solid masonry, stay here. If you are on board, a stud, or a dot-and-dab gap, a masonry sleeve is the wrong family unless that product publishes a load for the board. None of these five does. Merriway's use bullet stays on solid masonry. PlasPlugs' title claims drywall without a load. Lemiyoo says plasterboard in the title and masonry in the bullet. Yibaijia puts drywall in a highlight. DODIYDO lists brick and plasterboard together. Read the use line. Before you drill, look both sides of the wall, as the Health and Safety Executive says, and stop if you cannot locate cables. The incoming cable can stay live with the consumer-unit switch off.

Match a screw, then a plug

The screw has to sit in the plug's stated range. Too thin, and the sleeve never expands. As wide as the plug, and the plastic can split. Rawlplug's red UNO 6 × 28 mm takes screws of 3.5–5.0 mm. Those numbers belong to UNO. They are not the rating of a grey assortment with no millimetres. Merriway prints gauges: yellow for screws 4 to 6, red for 6 to 10, brown for 10 to 14. PlasPlugs says the instructions recommend a screw and a drill size, then prints neither. Yibaijia and Lemiyoo name metric pairs. DODIYDO states 2.5 cm to 8 cm and disagrees with itself about how many sizes that is. If the packet has colours and no numbers, do not borrow the first chart you see. That clash is the job of the colour and size page.
Lemiyoo Lemiyoo 188-piece plug and screw set

Testsieger

Lemiyoo Lemiyoo 188-piece plug and screw set
7.5/10about £6.99
View offer

Plugs only, or plugs and screws

Merriway, at about £4.56, is plugs only. PlasPlugs, at about £4.22, is 52 grey nylon plugs. You supply the screw. Merriway reviews complain about the sprue. In the first 50 PlasPlugs reviews, plugs break at the neck while the screw is driven. Yibaijia, at about £4.99, pairs plugs and screws, and the same sample describes heads snapping. The bullet says carbon steel while the table says zinc alloy. Lemiyoo, at about £6.99, is mostly smaller anchors in a box. DODIYDO, at about £19.99, draws reviews of screws that spin and never tighten. Choose plugs only when you own decent screws and the wall is solid. Choose a kit when you will discard a screw that twists before it bites. Which pack fits which job is on the best wall plugs page.

What the price bands actually buy

The shelf prices on 16 October 2026 were PlasPlugs about £4.22, Merriway about £4.56, Yibaijia about £4.99, Lemiyoo about £6.99 and DODIYDO about £19.99. As a rule of thumb from those listings and nearby UK retail, entry sits around £4–£5, a mixed kit around £6–£10, and an organiser or trade tub around £15–£21. Wickes listed a Rawlplug UNO mixed case of 150 at £9, so a named plug can also sit in the cheap band. Prices move. The band is the shape of the buy, not a heavier load.

When not to use this aisle

A picture or a light shelf on sound brick is the job. A television, a radiator, a boiler or a kitchen wall unit is not. You need the bracket maker's fixing and a published load. Fischer states an ETA on certain DuoPower sizes only. None of these five cites an ETA. BS EN 14566 is not an approval for these sleeves. BS 1363 is the UK 13 A plug, a different object. Timco's tensile loads do not transfer. If the masonry is crumbling, or a cable may be in the hole, get a competent person.

Common questions

What size pack is enough for pictures and a curtain pole?
A pole and a few pictures on solid brick need a handful of matching plugs, not a 300-piece case. Merriway's 120, forty of each colour, or PlasPlugs' 52, is already more stock than one pole.
Why does a 188-piece set still feel short of large plugs?
Lemiyoo lists four anchors at M10×50, fifteen at M8×40, fifty at M6×30 and twenty-five at M5×25. One buyer in the first 50 reviews said only four plugs were a useful larger size and bought another mix.
Can one assortment cover brick and plasterboard?
Not by a title. A standard expansion plug needs solid material. Plasterboard and a dot-and-dab gap need a different fixing, or a stud, unless that product publishes a load for the board. Merriway does not claim board. PlasPlugs and DODIYDO do, without a load figure.
Is a dearer organiser kit safer?
A case keeps sizes sorted. It does not raise the load. DODIYDO at about £19.99 includes a compartment box, and reviews still describe screws that spin and small pieces that are weak in drywall. A named UNO tub near that money buys a different plug.
Are small plugs a problem with children in the house?
Yes. A loose plug is small enough to swallow, and Lemiyoo's listing says the box is there to stop children swallowing pieces or being scratched. Close the case, and do not leave a sprue of yellow plugs on the floor.

Related pages

Plasterboard or brick

Wall plug

Best wall plugs UK: match your wall, not the stars

Yellow, red and brown wall plug size: the packet wins

How to fit wall plugs in solid brick, block or concrete

Sources

Public UK sources on masonry plugs, plasterboard fixings, and drilling near cables. Listings checked 16 October 2026. Prices on amazon.co.uk move.

  1. DIY Doctor, fixing to masonry (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. DIY Doctor, fixing to plasterboard (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. Rawlplug UNO data sheet (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. Fischer DuoPower ETA (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. EOTA EAD 330284-00-0604 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. HSE, work near electricity (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. HSE CIS65 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. BSI, BS EN 14566 (retrieved 16 October 2026)