Best Drill Bits for Metal of 2026

Bits rarely fail by going dull first. They spin in the chuck the moment the flutes bite, the hole goes oval, the edge overheats, and the bit is finished. DEWALT's fix on this 14-piece set is a three-flat shank on every bit above 3/16 inch, so the jaws have a flat to lock against instead of a smooth cylinder to slip on. It's the least glamorous thing about the set and the main reason it holds up through a run of holes.

The geometry is metal-first in the ways that count. A 135-degree split point cuts on contact instead of skating across the surface, which is the usual failure of the 118-degree general-purpose bits in bargain kits, and the black and gold oxide coating handles friction and rust while the high-speed steel underneath takes on mild steel, aluminum, and sheet. We watched it start where we put it — no center punch, no wander — hole after hole in plate and light-gauge stock. That consistency is what separates a set you trust from one you fight.

Where the set stops is stainless and hardened material. High-speed steel loses its hardness at the temperatures those metals generate, and no coating changes that; for that work, move to the cobalt set below. For everything else, 14 marked sizes in a case that snaps shut is a lot of kit for the money, and it's the set we put in a first metalworking toolbox.

Stainless steel is where ordinary bits give up. The metal work-hardens under a dull edge, so a bit that sailed through mild steel will polish a bright spot on a stainless plate all afternoon without making a chip. The Bosch CO21B is the set we reach for when the job is stainless, cast iron, or a hardened bolt, because the M42 alloy carries 8 percent cobalt in the steel itself rather than as a coating on top.

That distinction is the whole purchase. Titanium nitride and gold oxide are surface treatments that cut friction and rust; cobalt changes what the cutting edge is made of, so it keeps its hardness at temperatures that soften plain high-speed steel. Bosch also duplicates the sizes that die first here — two each of 1/16, 5/64, 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4 inch — which tells you the set was built for people who burn through small bits.

So you get 21 bits to 1/2 inch, three-flat shanks, and 135-degree split points for a premium price. We think that's the right buy only if hard metal is a regular part of your work; on mild steel and aluminum you're paying for headroom you'll never use. Cobalt is not a force field either — the edge can chip if it's run fast and dry, so plan on low speed, steady pressure, and cutting fluid on every hole.

A deep hole is a chip-removal problem before it's a cutting problem. As the flutes go deeper they have less room to lift swarf, and a bit that packs chips starts rubbing instead of cutting. The parabolic flute and 31-degree helix on this 21-piece DEWALT set are shaped for exactly that, which is why it's our pick when the hole has to go all the way through thick stock, tube, or stacked plate.

The rest is familiar ground done well: high-speed steel with a black oxide coating, 135-degree split points that start without a center punch, and a full spread of sizes up to 1/2 inch. The shallower helix keeps the aggressive flute from screwing the bit into the workpiece when it grabs, which is what makes a parabolic bit trustworthy in a handheld drill and not just a drill press.

If your drilling is mostly plate under a quarter inch thick, the extra flute buys you nothing and the 14-piece set we recommend first is the better buy: fewer bits, less to lose, and the same split points. This one earns its place on depth and chip flow, and it's the set we keep loaded for anything where the swarf has to travel.

If the tool in your hand is an impact driver rather than a drill, a round-shank set is the wrong purchase: there's nothing for a quick-change collar to grab, and the bit wobbles from the first hole. Makita puts a 1/4-inch hex shank on all 14 bits in the B-65399 and rates them for impact use, and that single decision is why it earns a place here.

Sizes run 1/16 to 1/2 inch, the tips are 135-degree split points, and the titanium nitride coating is doing friction and heat duty rather than hardness duty — on hand-drill work that mostly means the bit runs cooler and gives you a few more holes before the edge goes. The shank is the real feature, though: swap a driver bit for a drill bit without touching a chuck, which is the entire reason impact-rated sets exist.

One thing to know before you buy: a hex shank wants a quick-change collar, and in a three-jaw chuck it can slip if the jaws aren't snug. That's a fair trade if your impact driver is also your drill, and money spent on the wrong format if it isn't.

Sheet metal punishes a lazy bit. Too little rake and the edge skates across the panel; too much and it grabs, tears, and leaves a keyhole instead of a hole. Milwaukee's Shockwave grind sits on the aggressive side — four flutes and a red helix that throws chips clear — and it's the set we reach for when the material is thin.

Twenty-three bits cover the small and mid sizes that brackets, panels, and aluminum extrusion actually call for, with a 135-degree split point that starts on flat stock without a center punch. What struck us in use is how little time we spent backing the bit out to clear a hole: the helix moves the chip along instead of recutting it, and the titanium coating keeps friction down when you're making a run of holes in the same panel.

The straight shank makes it a chuck-only set, so it isn't the one for an impact driver, and the case is bulkier than 23 short bits really need. Neither matters much beside how comfortably it handles light-gauge work. This is the kit that lives in the bag for small hardware and quick brackets, not the one you buy for structural steel.

Five bits in a small case is not the set you buy to cover a workshop. It is, though, the cheapest set here for keeping impact-rated bits on hand for the holes that turn up constantly — a 1/8-inch pilot, a 3/16-inch clearance hole, a 1/4-inch pass through a bracket.

The sizes are 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, 3/16, and 1/4 inch, which is the small end of the range and exactly where bits break and where a hex shank earns its keep in a quick-change collar. Bosch aims the tip geometry at heavy-gauge and high-carbon steel, and the titanium nitride coating adds a little lubricity when the bit is buried in a hole.

What five bits means over a project is that the two sizes you use most wear out first, and this set doesn't duplicate them, so it's a top-up kit rather than a primary one. Buy it to keep impact-rated small bits in the bag alongside a full range like the Makita or the DEWALT, and it does its job without fuss.

Every shop has one size that dies. For a lot of people drilling steel it's the 9/32 or the 1/4 inch — the size that goes into every bracket and clearance hole until it dulls, then snaps, and suddenly you're buying a whole new set to get one bit back.

This six-pack is the answer to that specific problem. The bits are M35 cobalt with 5 percent cobalt in the alloy, jobber length at 4-1/4 inches overall with a 2-15/16-inch flute, 135-degree split points, and three-flat shanks that hold in the chuck. Cobalt's advantage is red hardness — the edge keeps cutting while it's hot — and because the hardness runs through the whole bit rather than sitting in a coating, it can be resharpened and put back to work.

What it won't do is drill everything. The bits can still stall and skate on work-hardened stainless if they're run fast or dry, and a single 9/32-inch size is not a general-purpose kit. It's a replacement part, and it should be judged as one.

Judged that way, we like it. Keeping the size you actually wear out in stock, in a steel that survives stainless, makes more sense than a third full set bought for one bit — and six of them means you're not rationing the last one.