The 4 Best Drill Brushes

$20 at Amazon

The best product we tested is, not coincidentally, the largest set we tested. The Jusoney 23 Piece Set is a versatile, diverse collection of brushes and drill-mounted scrubbing tools that work well for a wide variety of tasks around the home and the garage. There are brushes of different shapes, sizes, and textures for light and heavy tasks. There are also fibrous and sponge scrubber attachments that affix with hook and loop ("velcro") to a dedicated scrubbing round. If you can't scrub it with a large set like the Jusoney, you can't scrub it at all.

Our main complaint about the Jusoney set is that it lacks medium-stiffness brushes. The orange brushes included are most similar to red brushes from other manufacturers. Additionally, the brushes are at either end of the stiffness spectrum but omit medium options of any color. (Medium texture models come in different colors to avoid potential “cross-contamination” through cleaning tasks). Mid-stiff brushes are best for indoor hard surfaces, such as those found in a bathroom or kitchen. This set is optimized for carpet on one end of the spectrum and soiled, sturdy outside surfaces on the other. While we wish there were mid-stiffness brushes of at least one color, the Jusoney set is still our top recommendation.

$10 at Amazon

The tested blue version of the Drill Brush 360 Attachment Kit is optimized and pitched for use on your water sports equipment. The texture is medium in stiffness, which works well on plastic and fiberglass. The blue color is intuitively associated with water and water sports. The brush texture itself is indiscernible from the medium stiffness of other colors from other manufacturers. We couldn't discern a difference, and manufacturers do not claim a difference between medium stiffness brushes of different colors. Colors are differentiated to avoid potential cross-contamination from one use to the next.

This is the smallest set of brushes we tested. There are just three different shapes, and the Drill Brush 360 set does not include an extension/quick-change function. Other sets and manufacturers include a standard, long 1/4 inch drive bit extender. The overall function suffers just a little for this simplicity, but we could reach pretty much all the surfaces we wanted to clean. As a result, it's a favorite for water sports equipment as you can get into any crevice in that context easily enough.

$30 at Amazon

This six-piece set from The Ultimate Drill Brush is versatile, compact, and affordable. Each component is robust and of high quality. The six pieces represent different textures/stiffnesses and different shapes. For most casual household use, you will find some version of what you need in this set. That it's all available at a reasonable price only sweetens the deal. This is a solid, basic set of drill brushes.

For professional level or extended use, this set is limited. Because each piece varies in both shape and texture, you may not find the shape you want in the texture you need. Further, Drill Brush Inc. doesn't include an extension or fast-change adapter with this set. Most of the other high-scoring products have this in the package, and it gives you more options for changing shapes mid-task and getting into hard-to-reach corners. Any standard 1/4 inch drive bit extender will do the job, but we wish it were included with this set.

$7 at Amazon

The Hiware 4-Piece Drill Brush is good for even more than the model name suggests. Many, of course, will purchase it for automotive use. However, the brush textures are also suitable for carpets and upholstery inside your house. These white brushes are the softest available on the market. The three different shapes give you enough options to reach whatever corners you need to reach. We had great luck scrubbing stains from the carpet and buffing shinier surfaces with no damage to either.

The Hiware 4-Piece is not the most versatile option we tested. Other colors are stiffer and, therefore, more suitable for challenging tasks on robust surfaces. If you want a drill brush set for all-around home and shop use, go with a bigger and more versatile kit. For extensive scrubbing of sensitive and more delicate materials, the Hiware Car Kit is our top recommendation.

$25 at Amazon

The Drill Brush 4-Piece Nylon Power Brush Tile Cleaner kit is just like it sounds. Four different-shaped brushes attach to your power drill for cleaning surfaces in your bathroom. The brushes in this kit have bristles of medium stiffness. This texture is tuned for various surfaces, including those in your kitchen, bathroom, and on many water sports equipment. Drill-mounted brush manufacturers have decided (unanimously, as best we can tell) on a color convention to differentiate medium-bristled brushes. Basically, they each make medium stiffness brushes in the same three different colors. The different colors allow you to have multiple medium stiffness brushes for different tasks without risking cross-contamination. Yellow is pitched as suitable for bathroom tasks. Yellow isn't fundamentally different from the other medium-stiffness colors.

Our small, informal market survey found that most users will first try a drill brush for cleaning their bathrooms. Therefore, yellow is often the first choice. If you desire more versatility from your drill brushes, you'll find this kit is underwhelming. Larger, more expensive sets have a wider variety of textures and shapes. Though, if you're simply seeking a set that'll do the best for bathroom surfaces without getting your hands as tired or dirty as typical scrubbing, this is the one to take a gander at.

$26 at Amazon

The Holikme 22-Piece Drill Brush Attachment Set is relatively comprehensive at a reasonable price. They include four of six possible colors, three of four possible brush textures, and all four different shapes that we know of. Further, this set includes a reasonably comprehensive set of abrasive scrubbing pads. All these options should cover your various scrubbing and brushing needs.

The Holikme 22-piece Set is pretty expensive and doesn't include the stiffest brush texture in any shape. As a result, we had a hard time scrubbing out some of the toughest “stuff” that you might see on the surface. If you're simply seeking various abrasive pads, this set may work. The stiffest brush texture is more useful than you might think. In all our testing, we tried all the different stiffnesses on a variety of surfaces. Despite what you might think, drill brushes aren't particularly damaging. Even when using stiff brushes on more delicate surfaces, we observed no damage. What we did notice, though, is that stiffer brushes do their work faster and with less pushing input from the cleaner.

$10 at Amazon

We tested the Holikme 4-Pack Power Scrubber Brush and found it to be functional and simple. It features medium texture bristles in yellow color and has a total of four parts. It has three brushes and one extension/quick-change adapter. It is robust, sturdy, and tuned for your bathroom cleaning needs.

While we found the Holikme to be a functional set, it simply doesn't have the variety we prefer in the number of brush heads. The brushes also come in one texture, which limits their versatility. While you can easily use it on a kitchen surface (as well as in the bathroom), you might want to color-code your brushes to avoid cross-contamination. If you're seeking a pared-down cleaning set for the bathroom, this simple option is a decent choice.

Why Trust GearLab

Our testing included using each set in its intended application. Actual “real world” testing is the best way to see if a product lives up to its intended uses. To do this, we ordered each product at full cost and used each to clean a variety of surfaces, from bathroom surfaces to kitchen sinks to outdoor equipment. We measured and counted each set's components and researched the entire field to make deductions and observations that complement our in-use findings.

Our test team was led by an all-around handy person and long-time tester Jed Porter. Jed started with us as a mountain guide to test outdoor equipment. He still guides, but his professional and personal life has grown with us. He is now a homeowner, camper renovator, landlord, and Airbnb Superhost with a 5-star cleanliness rating. He knows home care and knows how to secure further consult in that category. Had he had access to a set of drill brushes at the apex of his AirBnb hosting side hustle, he might have achieved that 5-star level clean in a fraction of the time.

Analysis and Test Results

We chose a wide variety of drill-mounted brushes to see which ones perform the best throughout a series of side-by-side tests. After using each while cleaning rentals and our homes, we rated each comparatively across a few metrics. This includes versatility, sturdiness, and ease of changing parts.

Versatility

Drill-mounted brush sets can do any of several scrubbing tasks. Almost any scrubbing is more effective when the brush is attached to a power drill. The primary differences between individual options are shape and bristle stiffness. All manufacturers make brushes in four different stiffnesses. Different shapes include three different sizes of cylindrical brushes and two different sizes of hybrid cylinder/hemispherical brushes. None of the sets we tested had all the possible combinations.

Each is tailored to either a particular intended usage or a range of uses. The largest sets in our review have the most versatility. The Jusoney 23 Piece Set features maximum versatility. It isn't perfect, but it does have the most options in the review. Not far behind is the Holikme 22 Piece. Special mention must be made of the carefully curated Drill Brush Attachment Set.

Further versatility is accomplished by including pad-mounted abrasive scrubbers. These are sturdier versions of your kitchen sink dish scrubby attached with hook-and-loop ("Velcro") to a spinning, flattened cylinder. Not all sets have such scrubbies.

Sturdiness/Durability

All of the brush kits we tested held up very well. In fact, this is a good time and place to point out that, to the best of our knowledge, these brushes have more in common than they are different. Brushes of the same shape and color are virtually indistinguishable from one another, regardless of the manufacturer. It is entirely possible that all are made in the same molds or the same factory. Drill Brush brand brushes have stickers with that brand noted and some raised embossing molded into the brushes themselves. None of the others have any markings on the products themselves. All non Drill Brush brand brushes look identical to one another. Even this brand of products, aside from the stickers and embossing, appears identical to the others.

In use, we found similar individual components to be seemingly identical. We could not distinguish between them. The result is that all the products are quite sturdy and durable, with no discernible differences in this regard. Even the branding is confusing. We tested all the different brands we could find, but we still got some overlap. The Jusoney, Drill Brush, Holikme 4-Pack, and Drill Brush 360 are all very similar.

Ease of Changing Parts

All the tested components are built around a “standard” 1/4" drive bit format. Cordless drivers just require seating the brush into the bit driver. All adjustable chuck drills will hold these brushes too. Some of them include a dedicated extension that also serves as a quick-change adapter. This dedicated extension could be purchased aftermarket, but it is nice when it is included with the set. The Jusoney 23 Piece Set, both Holikme products, and the Hiware 4 Piece Set include extension/quick-change adapters.

Conclusion