One good set of twist bits covers 90% of home and shop drilling. The other 10% — hardened steel, clean holes in hardwood, impact drivers — is where the right set earns its keep. Here are the picks that hold up, by job and by budget.
The default answer for most people. The pilot point bites without a center punch and won't walk, the titanium coating handles wood, plastic and light metal, and it's cheap enough to not baby. Nothing fancy — just the set most drills should ship with.
Check price on Amazon →When you want a lot of sizes for a little money and aren't drilling hardened metal daily. Coatings wear faster than name-brand, but for occasional DIY the value is hard to beat.
Check price on Amazon →Cobalt is alloyed through the whole bit, not coated, so it shrugs off the heat that kills titanium bits in stainless, cast iron and hardened steel. The upgrade to make once a titanium bit smokes and stops cutting.
Check price on Amazon →If you drive everything with a cordless impact, get bits built for it. The hex shanks lock in, and the variable-helix flute clears chips fast and resists snapping under impact torque.
Check price on Amazon →Twist bits wander and tear on wood. A brad point's center spur pins the start and the side spurs slice a clean-rimmed hole — the difference between a splintered mess and furniture-grade holes. Worth having alongside your twist set.
Check price on Amazon →| Set | Material | Best for | Price tier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEWALT DW1361 | Titanium-coated HSS | All-round: wood, plastic, light metal | $ | Amazon → |
| COMOWARE / Neiko | Titanium-coated HSS | Budget, many sizes, occasional use | $ | Amazon → |
| Bosch / Drill America Cobalt | Solid cobalt M35–M42 | Stainless, hardened & cast metal | $$$ | Amazon → |
| Milwaukee SHOCKWAVE | Impact-rated HSS, hex shank | Cordless impact drivers | $$ | Amazon → |
| Brad-point set | HSS, spurred tip | Clean holes in wood | $$ | Amazon → |
Two questions settle it: what are you drilling, and how often.
Coating / material is the big one:
Shank: if you run a cordless impact driver, get hex-shank impact-rated bits so they lock in and don't snap. For a keyed/keyless drill chuck, round shanks are fine.
Different jobs. Titanium-coated bits are cheaper and great for wood, plastic and light metal. Cobalt bits cost more but the hardness runs through the whole bit, so they handle the heat of stainless and hardened steel and outlast titanium in metal. For general use, titanium; for real metalwork, cobalt.
A 20–30 piece fractional set covers almost everything at home. Huge 100+ piece sets are mostly duplicate small sizes and filler — buy those only if you want number/letter sizes too. See the drill bit size chart for what's worth having.
Yes if you drill with it a lot. Impact-rated bits have a 1/4" hex shank that locks into the driver and are built to survive the hammering torque. Round-shank bits can spin loose or snap in an impact.
Cobalt bits, run slow with cutting oil and firm pressure — let the bit cut, don't overheat it. For truly hardened steel, a carbide or specialty bit. High speed just burns the edge off.