Lowes or Home Depot which is better? Well, that is not such an easy question both stores have great advantages. Practically anything you need for a remodeling project can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot. Both are equally as competitive in their quality and pricing. This is great news for the DIY’er and local contractors but not so great news for local hardware stores and lumber yard. 

I have spent countless hours in both stores over the years and this is what I found. Home Depot is slightly more geared towards contractors and tradesmen. Their floor space is utilized by mostly raw building materials and essentials for contractors. Whereas Lowe’s, while also stocking many of the same items has a more homeowner friendly environment geared towards decor and outside living. 

Customer service, product availability, and store accessibility can vary greatly depending on your area of the country. With both companies some stores are better than others. For example in my area we have two Home Depots very close to each other. One is a great store, easy to navigate with excellent customer service. The other is the worst Home Depot I’ve ever been in. The parking can hardly accommodate a pick-up truck, the customer service is terrible, the store is small and poorly stocked, I could go on, but I won’t. In fairness, this store is not typical in my dealings with Home Depot, an unfortunate one-of-a-kind in our area. Lowes can be the same way, some of their stores are great some not so great. It really depends on where you live as to which store is better. As a professional carpenter I tend to spend more of my time in Home Depot than in Lowe’s simply because they seem to have what I need when I need it, more often than Lowes .

 Home Depot and Lowes are great when buying building materials, but for a cheaper and easier alternative when buying tools. Amazon.com consistently offers the lowest prices on name brand tools.