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When it comes to home improvement and where to go for the best prices, the battle of Lowe’s vs. Home Depot can be a tough one to navigate. The costs of home and garden projects can really add up, so saving a buck here and there isn’t just a happy extra —it’s a huge necessity.
So, who is cheaper: Lowe’s or Home Depot? That’s the question I set out to answer. I broke down both stores’ policies, tool prices, truck rentals, deals, coupons, and exclusive brands, and though they’re pretty evenly matched — one store came out on top and kept more money in my pocket time and time again.
Of course, before you shop, you should download The Krazy Coupon Lady app and add both Lowe’s and Home Depot to your list of favorites. That way, you’ll get to stay on top of the best tips, deals, and sales at both stores.
1. Remember that Lowe’s and Home Depot price match each other, so finding the cheapest name-brand items is easy.
If you’re shopping for name-brand items that both Lowe’s and Home Depot carry, you can always get the lowest price between the two. How’s that? Because Lowe’s and Home Depot price match each other. So, if you’re at looking at a Samsung washer from Lowe’s, check to see if Home Depot has a better price. If so, all you have to do is show proof of the lower price to a Lowe’s employee, and they’ll match the price for you. And it works the same way at Home Depot.
Here’s the catch: some brands are sold exclusively at Home Depot (like Ryobi tools) and some brands are sold exclusively at Lowe’s (like Valspar paint). Because you won’t find these items at both stores, you won’t be able to get a price match.
If low prices are more important to you than specific brands, these items will make or break your decision to shop at Lowe’s vs. Home Depot, and vice versa.
2. But even though both stores match the other’s prices, only Lowe’s will price match Amazon.
Lowe’s price match policy is nearly identical to Home Depot’s price match policy — with one glaring exception: Lowe’s price matches Amazon.
Home Depot will price match any physical or online store that has the same item, with the exception of Amazon and other third-party marketplaces. And since Amazon prices are often hard to beat, this is a huge win for Lowe’s.
This puts Lowe’s on the scoreboard, 1 – 0.
3. Lowe’s truck rental beats Home Depot by $10.
Between Lowe’s and Home Depot truck rentals, one is the clear winner. Let me break it down for you:
- The Home Depot flatbed truck rental gives you 75 minutes for $19 and $129 for the full day.
- The Lowe’s pickup truck rental gives you 90 minutes for $19 and $119 for the full day.
If you have an all-day moving job and want to save $10, definitely go with the Lowe’s truck rental. That is unless you have a strong preference between driving a Ford F-250 (go with Home Depot) and driving a Chevrolet Silverado (choose Lowe’s).
But if we’re going purely on price, Lowe’s jumps up to a bigger lead. It’s 2 – 0, Lowe’s.
4. Rent tools with Lowe’s instead of Home Depot, especially if it’s a long project.
Choosing between Home Depot tool rental (see their lineup) and Lowe’s tool rental (see their lineup) really depends on how long you’ll need your rentals.
If you only need tools for four hours or one day, then Home Depot and Lowe’s are priced about the same on most equipment I saw (give or take $1 – $5 in either direction). And both stores charge a $50 deposit on most rentals.
But if you need rentals for one to four weeks, then I’d shop from Lowe’s. For most types of tools, Lowe’s is more than $100 cheaper for 4-week rentals.
Check this out:
Despite price differences in long-term rentals, The Home Depot does have a much bigger selection when it comes to tool rental. Still, the competition of Lowe’s vs. Home Depot is about who’s the cheapest. More often than not, that’s Lowe’s.
That puts the scoreboard at 3 – 0, Lowe’s.
5. Buy Lowe’s or Home Depot appliances — price matching makes it a tie.
When I compared Lowe’s and Home Depot appliances, I noticed that almost every appliance was priced the exact same. And whenever one store would beat the other, it would be by roughly $50 – $60. For example:
- Lowe’s Whirlpool Electric Dryer $699, regular price vs. Home Depot Whirlpool Electric Dryer $749, regular price
- Home Depot Frigidaire Built-In Microwave $499, regular price vs. Lowe’s Frigidaire Built-In Microwave $499, regular price
But with both stores’ respective price-matching policies, these differences in prices are usually irrelevant for the big-brand appliances both stores carry. Just bring in proof of the other store’s lower price and they’ll adjust the total for you.
It’s a tie, so Lowe’s is holding on to their 3 – 0 lead.
6. Buy Home Depot’s exclusive tool brands, as they tend to be cheaper.
When it comes to Home Depot and Lowe’s tools, both carry some exclusive brands. For example, Home Depot carries Ryobi and Ridgid, while Lowe’s carries Kobalt and Metabo HPT.
Ryobi is Home Depot’s cheapest tool brand — a Ryobi 6-tool combo kit is cheaper than a Ridgid 3-tool kit — so I compared Ryobi to Metabo HPT, which is Lowe’s cheapest brand. The verdict? Ryobi’s usually $50 – $150 cheaper than what I saw from Metabo. This cordless drill from both brands is a perfect example:
7. Home Depot’s Special Buy of the Day has a better selection than Lowe’s Daily Deal.
Both Home Depot and Lowe’s run a 24-hour sale with items that change daily — Home Depot’s Special Buy of the Day and Lowe’s Daily Deals. With Lowe’s, I expect to save 10% – 45% through their Daily Deal, but the best deals I’ve seen are through Home Depot’s Special Buy of the Day. That’s where I found this Milwaukee Lithium-Ion Cordless Combo Kit for 50% off its regular price.
Not all Home Depot Special Buys are deeply discounted, but if you take the time to browse, you’ll find tools from top brands for 50% – 60% off.
This round has to go to Home Depot, which means they’re only down by one. 3 – 2, Lowe’s.
8. Get a $10 off $75 coupon for attending Lowe’s DIY-U Workshops.
Lowe’s offers a high-value $10 off $75 purchase coupon to anyone attending their free DIY-U Workshops. These workshops are available in person at your local store, or you can also attend them via a live stream video from the comfort of your home. That makes this a very easy way to save on your next Lowe’s purchase.
Lowe’s Workshops are hosted by Lowe’s Red Vest store associates, and all attendees will have the opportunity to get answers to their project questions. These workshops are a great way to do small home projects with guidance from the pros.
If you attend the Lowe’s DIY-U Workshop via live stream, you’ll get your coupon through email within one week of attending. If you attend an on-site workshop, the coupon will be given to you during the workshop.
Home Depot workshops are also available for homeowners and DIYers, but no such coupon exists if you attend. They used to offer a 15% off coupon when you complete a workshop, but it isn’t available anymore (at least not right now).
This round has to go to Lowe’s, which means they’re building a lead at 4 – 2, Lowe’s.
9. Easily find 10% – 15% off coupons online for Home Depot.
While both Home Depot and Lowe’s offer coupons, Home Depot has more coupons available at any given time. While not all of them are available year-round, these are some of the best coupons we’ve seen from Home Depot:
- Join the Home Depot email list for $5 off a $50 purchase coupon
- Sign up for Home Depot text alerts: Earn a $5 off $50 coupon.
- Sign up for Home Depot Style & Decor emails for 10% off select furniture, home accents, bedding, and bath.
- Join the Home Depot Garden Club: Earn a $5 off $50 coupon.
Lowe’s, on the other hand, doesn’t have any immediately available coupons outside of the DIY-U Workshop coupon.
That brings Home Depot back into the game: 4 – 3, Lowe’s.
10. Save $2 per gallon when you buy paint from Home Depot.
Home Depot and Lowe’s each have two exclusive paint brands. Home Depot has BEHR and Glidden paints, while Lowe’s has Sherwin-Williams HGTV paints and Valspar paints. And like we saw with tools, Home Depot offers much more affordable rates for their cheapest paint.
There are many different ways to prepare the paint, but for the purposes of this article, I went as basic as I could: one gallon of flat/matte interior paint. By those metrics, Home Depot barely edged out Lowe’s for the cheapest paint.
RELATED: Best Deals and Tips for Finding Cheap Paint Near You
11. Lowe’s has lower prices on flooring than Home Depot.
It may not seem like much, but when you can save 20 cents per square foot on flooring, those numbers add up fast. Lowe’s has lower prices than Home Depot for laminate flooring, tile, hardwood, and carpet per square foot.
Lowe’s
- Laminate flooring from $0.90/square foot
- Floor and wall tile from $0.89/square foot
- Hardwood floor from $2.79/square foot
- Carpet from $0.83/square foot
Home Depot
- Laminate flooring from $1.09/square foot
- Floor and wall tile from $1.09/square foot
- Hardwood floor from $2.75/square foot
- Carpet from $0.31/square foot
Lowe’s wins this round. We’re now 5 – 4, Lowe’s.
12. Buy wallpaper from Lowe’s instead of Home Depot to save nearly $6 per roll.
Wallpaper is a big home decor trend right now, so knowing where to go for the best price pays off. The cheapest wallpaper I found at Lowe’s was the 56.4 square foot Fine Decor Medley Geometric Wallpaper, which costs just $14.44. I checked Home Depot for the same exact roll, but they didn’t have it. So, no price matching.
The cheapest option at Home Depot for the same size roll (but a different brand) is $20.16. So, shopping at Lowe’s is an easy way to save on wallpaper, about $6 per roll.
Lowe’s wins the wallpaper game, giving them a bigger lead at 6 – 4.
13. Home Depot has cheaper AA and AAA batteries than Lowe’s — Pay as low as $0.23 per battery.
Home Depot actually has their own brand called HDX, and their HDX AA batteries are some of the cheapest out there. You’ll pay just $0.26 per battery for a 64-count pack.
Home Depot also sells a massive 300-count pack of ACDelco AAA batteries online, which you can buy for as low as $0.23 per battery.
So, Home Depot wins the battery battle, and we’re looking at a score of 6 – 5, Lowe’s.
14. Lowe’s credit card offers better rewards than you’ll get from Home Depot.
The best perk that Lowe’s credit card offers is 5% savings whenever you shop at Lowe’s, but that’s not the only benefit. New cardholders also get 20% off their first purchase (up to $100 in savings) for opening and using a new account. Plus, they get six months of special financing on purchases of $299 or more.
Meanwhile, The Home Depot Consumer Credit Card also offers new customers up to $100 off their purchase, but you have to spend at least $1,000 to save $100. They also offer 6 months of financing on purchases of $299 or more. What they DON’T offer is the 5% back in rewards that Lowe’s gives credit cardholders.
So, this one’s easy: Lowe’s wins, which gives them an even bigger lead, 7 – 5, Lowe’s.
15. Home Depot provides more free services than Lowe’s.
Home Depot and Lowe’s freebies are pretty neck and neck — but Home Depot comes out slightly on top.
Both stores offer free paint shaking and retinting, free workshops for kids and adults, free battery recycling, and free lumber cutting.
Lowe’s offers free carpet installation with a $499 purchase, and Home Depot offers free carpet installation with a $599 purchase. Even though Home Depot has a higher spend threshold, they’ll also move your furniture and remove and haul away old carpet for free.
Home Depot also offers free tool repair on tools under warranty, free moving boxes (if you ask a manager nicely), and free flooring and carpet samples.
This round goes to Home Depot, so they’re catching up now. It’s 7 – 6, Lowe’s.
16. You can buy Home Depot Kids’ Workshops online if you can’t get your hands on a free one.
Kids’ workshops are a great way to activate creativity and get your little ones away from those screens. The best part? Home Depot and Lowe’s both offer these workshops for free. Your best bet is to register for these workshops online for the scheduled in-store event.
During the pandemic, both stores only offered take-home kids’ workshops. But now, Lowe’s Kids’ Workshops are done in stores only. If there are any no-shows, they WILL give away leftover workshop kits at the store after the event. But these aren’t a guarantee.
Home Depot also gives away leftover take-home kits on the day of the workshop, but if there aren’t any left, you have another option. If you can’t get your hands on a free Home Depot Kids’ Workshop, you can buy one online for $5 – $10 (depending on the kit).
Take-home kits from Home Depot include:
- All necessary materials and instructions
- Certificate of completion
- Kids’ Workshop Pin
- Orange Home Depot Kids’ Apron
This gives Home Depot another win, and we’re all tied up now at 7 – 7.
17. Lowe’s and Home Depot have pretty competitive spring sales, but Lowe’s wins with their deal on mulch.
Lowe’s and Home Depot both drop huge lawn and garden sales for spring. These deals will start in late March and last through the end of April.
While Lowe’s SpringFest and the Home Depot Spring Black Friday sale offer similar deals, Lowe’s wins with their “5 for $10” deal on 2 cubic foot bags of mulch. Home Depot offers the same deal, but for 1.5 cubic foot bags — so you’re getting more bang for your buck at Lowe’s vs. Home Depot. And this is one of the best mulch sales all year.
During the spring sale, Lowe’s also offers better deals on annuals, hanging flower baskets, and Bonnie Veggie Plants. But during Home Depot’s Spring Sale, you’ll find better deals on Miracle Gro Garden Soil, mulch, and concrete pavers.
Miracle Gro Garden Soil
- $2.29 per bag at Lowe’s
- $1.98 per bag at Home Depot
Mulch
- $2 per 2-cubic-foot bag at Lowe’s
- $1.98 per 1.5-cubic-foot bag at Home Depot
Annuals
- $0.50 each at Lowe’s
- $0.88 each at Home Depot
Hanging Flower Baskets
- $9 at Lowe’s
- $9.98 at Home Depot
Bonnie Veggie Plants
- $2.50 at Lowe’s
- $4 at Home Depot
Holland Pavers
- $0.25 at Lowe’s
- $0.25 at Home Depot
So, even though it’s a close call, Lowe’s wins the spring sale battle with their awesome mulch deal, which puts them back in the lead at 8 – 7.
18. Get free shipping over $45 and free appliance delivery over $396 from both Home Depot and Lowe’s.
Shipping and delivery options can make or break your decision to buy from one store vs. the other. For that reason, Lowe’s and Home Depot have nearly identical offerings.
Both stores offer free shipping on orders over $45, plus free delivery on all major appliances of $396 or more. They’ll also both haul away or move your old appliance for an extra $40 charge.
Only Home Depot promises free next-day or free two-day shipping on thousands of items. But Lowe’s isn’t too far off, either. They promise free standard shipping in 1-4 business days. However, I’ve found that the estimated delivery date on most Lowe’s items was within the two-day timeframe. So, it all balances out.
This one HAS to be another tie. So we’re still looking at a score of 8 – 7, Lowe’s.
19. Subscribe to auto-ship at Home Depot and Lowe’s to save 5%.
Both Home Depot and Lowe’s offer subscriptions you can use to save 5% on recurring purchases, like air filters for your HVAC system. Plus, neither store charges for shipping on subscribed purchases.
It’s a lot like Amazon’s Subscribe and Save. You put qualifying purchases on a Home Depot or Lowe’s subscription and never think about it again. Both stores require you to sign up for an account, and from there you can manage, pause, or cancel your subscription at any time.
This one’s a tie. Same discount. Same items. The score holds strong at 8 – 7, Lowe’s.
20. There’s no limit to how much you can save with Lowe’s military discount — unlike Home Depot.
One of the early executives at Lowe’s was a World War II veteran, so it makes sense that Lowe’s military discount is better than Home Depot’s military discount.
Home Depot and Lowe’s both offer 10% off regular-priced items for active military members and their spouses, both online and in-store. But the key difference is that you can only save up to $400 a year with Home Depot’s military discount.
Lowe’s, on the other hand, has no annual savings limit for military members.
This round goes to Lowe’s, so they’re up two points. The score is 9 -7, Lowe’s.
21. Returns are free at both Lowe’s and Home Depot and you have 90 days to return most items.
Home Depot and Lowe’s mirror each other on nearly every aspect of their respective return policies. Both stores allow you up to 90 days to make a return, and neither store will leave you on the hook for return shipping. Plus, Home Depot and Lowe’s allow customers to return dead plants, shrubs, and perennials for up to one year.
They both have a few exceptions for items that have a shorter 30-day return policy. In the Home Depot return policy, these items include furniture, area rugs, gas-powered equipment, generators, and consumer electronics. In Lowe’s return policy, these items include TVs and electronics, outdoor power equipment, plumbing, air conditioners, liquid paint, and highway trailers.
This one’s another tie, but Lowe’s ends the game with a score of 9 – 7!
The Winner: Lowe’s leads the battle at a 9 – 7 score against Home Depot.
Here’s a recap of Lowe’s wins over Home Depot:
- Even though both stores offer price matching, only Lowe’s price matches Amazon.
- Lowe’s beats Home Depot’s truck rental prices by $10.
- Tool rental prices are cheaper at Lowe’s than they are at Home Depot, especially for longer projects.
- Grab a coupon for $10 off a $75+ purchase when you attend a Lowe’s DIY-U Workshop.
- You’ll find lower prices on wallpaper and flooring at Lowe’s.
- Lowe’s offers better credit card perks than Home Depot.
- The Garden-to-Go Kits put Lowe’s spring sale ahead of Home Depot’s.
- There’s no limit to how much you can save with Lowe’s military discount.
