Harbor Freight often models its designs after popular tools made by rival brands, and several users have noted that one of the company’s miter saws looks a lot like DeWalt’s. That said, you can get this one for a lot cheaper.

The Hercules 15 Amp 12-inch Dual-Bevel Miter Saw (HE74) retails for $349.99, meaning that it’s a full $299 cheaper than the DeWalt 15 Amp 12-inch Double Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw (DWS780) that you might compare it to. It isn’t just the design that’s similar, either. The specs are pretty impressive as well. This tool’s 15 Amp motor is able to rotate the blade at speeds up to 4,100 RPM. It has a 14-inch crosscut capacity, a 6 ¾-inch vertical cut capacity, and a 7 ½-inch nested capacity for crown molding. The saw can miter 60 degrees to the right or 50 degrees to the left, while the miter detent plate has 10 positive stops and an override system for fine adjustments. 

The tool also includes an LED blade guide system to help line up your cuts, and it comes with a 60-tooth carbide-tipped blade. It boasts an impressive score of 4.9 out of 5 on the Harbor Freight website, aggregated from over 3,600 reviews, with 99% of users claiming that they would recommend the item to others. “The power is incredible,” said one reviewer. “I cut through a 4×4 test piece, and the saw’s motor didn’t bog down at all. The fit and finish is impeccable, and the entire saw was 100% accurate right out of the box.” With that in mind, it’s easy to see why this miter saw is often counted as one of the best Hercules power tools sold at Harbor Freight.

Woodworkers who often utilize rough-cut or irregularly shaped boards will eventually want to invest in a feed-through board planer. The DeWalt 12 ½-inch Thickness Planer (DW734) is one of the top-rated standing planers on the market, regularly being cited as among the most popular choices on sites like Amazon and Home Depot (though the 13-inch model is usually ranked a bit higher). Even so, buying one is a big investment. The yellow and black model retails for $549.00.

Alternatively, you can invest in the Hercules 15 Amp 12 ½-inch Portable Thickness Planer (HE091), which goes for just $399.99. Like the DeWalt, this tool has a 15 Amp motor, promising the same ability to deliver up to 96 cuts per inch. This helps keep board surfaces smooth as they’re planed. It also shares DeWalt’s 3-knife cutting head design. Additionally, the planer has a material removal gauge to help keep cuts consistent across multiple passes, a turret depth stop that makes it easy to maintain a standard thickness across boards, a 4-post carriage lock that helps reduce snipe, and a tool-free dust port with 2 ½-inch and 4-inch diameters for different-sized hoses.

This tool has a 4.8 out of 5 on the Harbor Freight site, with 97% of buyers claiming that they would recommend it. “This thing is solid and does a really stellar job on anything I’ve thrown at it, one reviewer stated. “The price is perfect, the cut quality is great, it’s sturdy, and is ready to go right out of the box. The adjustments are clear and it works really well. This new is far better than buying name brand on marketplace for cheap.”

If you’re interested in getting some pneumatic tools, such as an air-powered nail gun, impact wrench, paint sprayer, or grinder, then you’re going to need a decent air compressor. DeWalt sells a few of these, but they can be quite pricey. The DeWalt 27-gallon 200-PSI Portable Vertical Electric Air Compressor (DXCM271) is a solid option — but it will run you $856.69.

Harbor Freight’s alternative to this is the Fortress 27 Gallon 200 PSI Oil-Free Vertical Shop/Auto Air Compressor (FT27200). You can already see that it matches most of the specs right there in the name, but this compressor also has a soft-start motor, a full roll cage for the pump and motor assembly, a hose wrap, a cord wrap, 10-inch tires, an integrated control panel, 2-inch gauges, and two universal brass couplers. It has an effective regulated pressure range of 0-155 PSI and delivers 5.1 SCFM at 90 PSI. Best of all, it’s just $399.99 — less than half the price of the DeWalt.

This guy has a 4.5 out of 5 on the Harbor Freight site with a 90% customer recommendation rating. There are a couple of scattered complaints about how long the compressor takes to reach the desired pressure and a few more stating that the 78 dB motor is too loud, but the vast majority of reviews are positive. “Fills up from zero to full in 9:38 seconds,” one reviewer said. “Ran it for 30 minutes straight for the initial break-in period. The drain valve is a little lower than I’d like, but it’s still workable. Solid unit, unbeatable price.”

Another tool you might be considering for your collection is an angle grinder. These are incredibly useful for all kinds of tasks, from cutting to grinding to sanding. That said, they’re also one of the most nerve-wracking tools for even pros to use due to their rapid rotation and the fact that they offer less guard protection than most cutting tools, so you want to make sure that you get a good one.

Harbor Freight compares its Hercules 13 Amp 4 ½-inch to 6-inch Trigger-Grip Angle Grinder (HE65) to the exceptionally highly rated DeWalt 13 Amp 4 ½-inch Corded Angle Grinder (DWE43116). Both of these tools have the same-sized electric motor, but the DeWalt only promises 9,000 RPM when not under load, while the Hercules edges past it at 10,000 RPM. It also has a trigger-grip handle with an optional lock-on function, a 2-position side handle, a metal gear case, and comes with three separate tool-free guards for different-sized attachments: 4 ½-inch, 5-inch, and 6-inch. The Hercules is also $99.99 while the DeWalt is $158.99.

This tool has a 4.8 out of 5 on the Harbor Freight website with a 97% recommendation rate. “You can pay twice as much for a similar tool, but why?” asked one reviewer. “I removed tile in my large kitchen and used this tool to remove the glue underneath. […] I had this grinder going for hours at a time for close to a week. Very solid tool.” There are a handful of negative reviews, but there don’t appear to be any consistently reported issues that suggest a problem in the tool’s design.

Another woodworking tool that might be on your list is a good fixed-base router. You’ll need one of these if you want to create those fancy patterned edges on table tops, cut out smooth slots to use as handles, or any other number of applications that involve shaping and removing wood.

The DeWalt 12 Amp Corded 2 ¼ Horsepower Fixed and Plunge Base Router Kit (DW618PKB) retails for $244.00 and allows you to make just about any type of cut you might want. It’s also worth noting that this particular kit includes a tool bag, which the Harbor Freight model does not. That said, the Hercules 12 Amp Variable Speed Fixed Base Router with Plunge Base (HE041) has the same size motor and just about everything you might need to make fixed and plunge cuts, and it will only run you $124.99.This is a variable-speed router that promises 10,000-25,000 RPM. It has a 6-speed variable control dial, integrated dust collection, works with ¼-inch and ½-inch shanks, has a built-in LED worklight, and adjusts within 1/64-inch increments.

The tool has a 4.8 out of 5 on the Harbor Freight site with an impressive 98% recommendation rate. “I was impressed the first time I hit the power switch,” said one of the reviewers. “The feel of power through the handles. The way it removed oak and pine both with ease. The accessories were easy to use. The dust removal system works well and not blown into your face. Incredible power for a great price.”

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Harbor Freight asks customers to compare several of its tools and accessories to models made by other brands right on its website, suggesting that it offers products that are comparable to pro-grade models at a fraction of the price. In preparing this article, we started by looking at several of the Harbor Freight products that explicitly stated that they were comparable to models made by DeWalt. We had several criteria for the options that we chose: We wanted to make sure that we were not only showcasing tools and accessories that were similar in design, but also ones that advertised comparable specifications and features while being sold at a significantly lower price than their DeWalt counterparts.

Once we had picked out a few options, we broke down what the product was, how its specs and features compared to those of the rival DeWalt model, and the difference in price. We also took a look at what users have had to say about these tools to get a better idea of whether or not they actually live up to Harbor Freight’s promises in real-world applications, and whether any weaknesses were regularly reported that potential buyers might want to know about.