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The 10 Best Rivet Guns
Manual pop rivet guns and hand riveters for sheet metal, gutters, trailers and auto work, ranked from live Amazon data.
Ranked by ToolboxTop10 from Amazon data captured Nov 6, 2026. How we rank
A hand rivet gun sets blind (pop) rivets from one side of the work, so it joins sheet metal, gutters, trailer skins and plastic where you can't reach the back. We ranked 10 best-sellers on rating, review volume and features (1/4-inch capacity, rivets and drill bits in the box, a case and a warranty of a year or more). Most one-hand guns top out at 3/16-inch rivets; for 1/4-inch and stainless rivets, buy a long-handle two-hand riveter. They run from about $14 to $73.
Marson 39000 HP-2Money No ObjectTradespeople who set rivets every day and want a tool that lasts.
Where the deals are
The tools ranked here come from WETOLS, LIBRATON, GIANTISAN, KLRStec, NEU MASTER, NEXTACK, BEETRO, Astro Pneumatic, Arrow, and Marson. Prices on these brands move week to
week on Amazon, and the deepest cuts usually land around Prime Day and Black Friday.
Every price button on this page opens the live listing, so you always see today's
number, not the one we captured on 2026-11-06. If your pick is over budget
right now, check back in a few days — WETOLS and LIBRATON rotate through sales and bundle
deals often.
Amazon's top-selling riveter: four tool-free nosepieces from 3/32 to 3/16 inch, 200 rivets, matching drill bits and a hard case, with a 24-month warranty.
Best for: A first rivet gun that comes with everything to start.
Skip it if: You need to set 1/4-inch rivets; it tops out at 3/16.
A two-hand long-handle riveter for rivets up to 1/4 inch, with five nosepieces, 350 rivets in eight sizes including longer ones for thick sheets, a mandrel catcher and a labeled case.
Best for: Thick sheet metal and 1/4-inch rivets, with rivets in the box.
Skip it if: You want a one-hand tool for light work.
A professional hand riveter with a drop-forged steel handle and a square-shoulder fulcrum pin that keeps the pivot holes from wearing oval, the failure point on cheaper riveters.
Best for: Tradespeople who set rivets every day and want a tool that lasts.
Skip it if: You rivet a few times a year; a $20-30 kit will do.
Listing doesn't state rivet capacity or what's in the box
How we rank
Every tool gets one score from 0 to 100, weighted
45% on its star rating,
35% on how many people have reviewed it (more reviews = more
confidence the rating is real), and 20% on the features that
matter for the job. The list is ordered by that score. Best Overall is our pick for the
best all-around, ready-to-use tool; Best Budget the best value at or under
$20; and Money No Object the one to buy if price is no object.
The features score is built from rivets included (25%), quarter inch (20%), a carrying case (20%), drill bits (20%), long warranty (15%), capped at 100. The review-count score is on a log scale, so each tenfold jump in reviews adds the same amount, and 11,000 or more reviews gets full marks. Open Why this score on any tool to see its numbers.
What changed
We re-check every listing on this page on a rotation. The most recent changes:
Prices, ratings and review counts re-checked on every listing. Biggest price moves: the WETOLS WE-888 rose from $29.96 to $39.99; the GIANTISAN GT900 dropped from $26.98 to $24.28.
Page published with 10 ranked picks and 1 tool to avoid.
Buyer's guide
What size rivet gun do I need?
Match the gun to the rivet diameter. Most one-hand guns take 3/32, 1/8, 5/32 and 3/16-inch rivets, which covers gutters, flashing and light auto work. For 1/4-inch rivets on trailers and truck bodies, get a long-handle two-hand riveter like the Astro 1423 or NEXTACK NT300.
Can a hand riveter set steel or stainless rivets?
Aluminum rivets are easy. Steel and stainless take much more force: Arrow says not to use 3/16-inch steel or any stainless rivets in its manual tools, while the long-handle Astro and NEXTACK are rated for 1/4-inch stainless. Check the listing before you buy rivets.
How long should the rivet be?
The rivet's grip range has to cover the total thickness of the parts you're joining. Too short and it won't set; too long and it sets loose. Kits with several lengths, like the NEXTACK's eight sizes, make it easier to match thick stacks.
What drill bit do I use?
Drill a hole just over the rivet diameter, usually the bit listed for that rivet size. Kits from WETOLS, LIBRATON, GIANTISAN and KLRStec include a bit for each rivet size.
Is a rivet gun the same as a rivet nut tool?
No. A rivet gun sets blind rivets, which are permanent. A rivet nut tool sets threaded inserts you can bolt into. The Astro and NEXTACK listings both note they're not for rivet nuts.
Tools to avoid
Not everything in the search results deserves your money.
This one would rank dead last on our scale — here's the listing to walk past, and exactly why.
A swivel-head riveter whose listing can't agree on what it's made of, with the lowest rating of the riveters we looked at. Arrow's own RH200 kit costs about $4 more and includes 120 rivets.
Why we'd skip it
A bullet promises 'rugged all steel construction', while the spec table lists the material as plastic.
Another bullet describes 'the anti-slip handle on the rivet nut tool', but this is a blind-rivet tool, not a rivet nut tool, so the copy looks pasted from another product.
It's rated 3.9 stars, the lowest of the riveters we compared, and no rivets come in the box.
