The best paintbrush sets we’ve tested

From professionally-recommended to own-brand DIY paintbrush sets, the range of options and uses for the brushes is vast.

One thing life has taught me (or so I believed) is that cheap paintbrushes are usually a bad purchase. It’s a simple equation: a cheap brush = more time spent picking bristles off freshly-painted walls.

But as products improve, does it still mean that own brand or cheaper brushes will never be as good as more expensive ones?

It’s easy to assume that the brushes professional decorators use or expensive sets will provide a better-quality finish.

But, if the paint goes on smoothly, doesn’t leave bristles or too many brush marks and you aren’t left with an arm or hand feeling as if you’ve completed a workout, then surely that’s the mark of a good brush?

To help inform our choice of brushes to test, we looked at what’s easily available to buy, read existing reviews and combined this with our own extensive experience to pick five brands we felt were worthy of Exceptional testing.

Although there are a range of both oil and water-based paints available on the market, we opted to use water-based emulsion for testing. As well as being slightly more eco-friendly, it’s better for testing purposes as it dries quicker and brushes can be cleaned easily without the use of extra solvents.

Based on the experts’ advice, we chose brushes with synthetic bristles.

We used the same size 2” brush from each pack to ensure a fair comparison. As the GoodHome pack used millimetres on their sizing rather than inches, we picked 50mm brush as the best comparison.

Lining paper test squares were applied to a painted wall to ensure each brush was used on the same surface.

Choosing a darker colour paint also meant brush strokes and coverage could be more easily seen during and after painting.

A rest break was also taken in between each round of testing so that any signs of discomfort were purely down to the feel and weight of the paintbrush, rather than natural fatigue.

Each brush was assessed regularly through the process based on the testing criteria.

As someone who has moved over 20 times, has worked as a professional home stager and completed many DIY projects, there was also an element of immediate instinct when it came to how the brush felt to use.

Harris, Purdy, Hamilton, Dulux and GoodHome all made the test sheet. As well as being known professional or DIY brands, they were easily available to purchase both online and in store. Prices were also wide-ranging to give us a measure for assessing just how price affected performance.

As comfort was one of the testing categories, we also picked sets that had a  range of handle options and shapes including natural wood, painted wood, plastic and both tapered and round designs.

All brushes were true to their packaging claims, with zero bristle loss. Although they all cleaned easily, the lighter bristle colours did mean the tips of them were permanently stained with blue.

And while the colour didn’t transfer if the brush was used to apply a different colour, it did mean they didn’t look quite as new after only one use.

The most noticeable differences – and the ones which set the winner apart – were comfort, brush strokes and value for money. Harris Essentials Pack of 5 shone in all these categories. Light in weight, easy to handle and providing a smooth, even finish with just one coat, made it the most memorable brush tested.

GoodHomes brushes were a close second when it came to comfort. Purdy and Harrison scored lower. Both brands were heavier and the natural finish of the wood was less smooth and felt coarse against the skin on my hand.

Dulux, despite being plastic, was also heavier than the winner – although this was probably due to the ingenious metal paint lid remover tool built into the end of each brush. A great idea to avoid spending time looking for a flat head screwdriver to open the paint.

Value for money ranged across the sets, with packs containing either three or five brushes. Although three of the packs stated they were suitable for all paints, for testing purposes we were looking more at the number of brushes in the pack as a value indicator.

Although Harris is a well-known brand, the budget cost of this set meant our expectations weren’t high  – but we were proved wrong.

From comfort to finish, this brush performed well across all categories. Packaged in a simple cardboard sleeve, the pack was easy to open and left minimal waste.

Made with extremely soft bristles and a lightweight painted wooden handle, the brush was comfortable to hold and was noticeably lighter than all the others tested. Holding the paint well from tin to wall, the process of applying the paint to the paper felt smooth and required minimal effort.

Brush strokes were light, bristle loss was zero and a clean, even coverage was achieved with just one coat of paint.

Although it’s only recommended for use on water-based paints, with five different brushes in the pack, Harris’ Essentials comfort, performance and value for money were second to none, making it the clear overall winner.

Traditionalists should not be put off by the contemporary design of this set, as despite having a round, rather than tapered, handle, it still felt natural to hold and was light to use.

The brush is cleverly designed with an integrated lip at the top of the handle, making it possible to put the brush down with the bristles touching the surface – a neat way of avoiding unwanted paint marks.

Although the bristles felt slightly coarser, they still held the paint well and transferred paint smoothly. Brush marks were minimal and coverage from one coat was good.

With five brushes in the pack, it would cover a wide range of surface sizes giving good value for money.

Ease of clean was again good and it felt like the brush would last well – especially as the plastic surface wouldn’t rot due to water exposure when cleaned.

With Dulux one of the most well-known paint brands, we were expecting the brushes to work well and they did.

We loved the addition of the integrated paint tin opener on the handle of the brushes, the hardwearing plastic design, and the thick smooth coverage of the paint.

Although there were only three choices in the pack which did limit options, one brush head was triangular in shape which would be good for cutting in or on smaller sections of detailed woodwork.

It would be a handy set to have in your decorating kit, although you’d certainly need to buy more brushes to cover all your painting needs.

Good to use when you want quality, some novel design elements and a set that will last.

A set of three boxed brushes designed for use with water-based paints, this set from Hamilton was more traditional in look with a natural wooden handle and stainless-steel head, but it also had a slightly rounder design that felt comfortable to hold.

The wooden and metal design meant the heavier weight of the brush was more noticeable, with my hand feeling tension soon after use. Soft bristles meant the paint applied smoothly to the wall, although brush strokes were marginally more noticeable when dry.  We suspect this may have been down to the extra weight of the brush which made it harder to apply the paint to the wall.

Zero bristle loss was a plus and even after cleaning it still felt as good as new (despite blue stains to the white tips of the brush).

With only three brushes in the pack, it was slightly lower in the value-for-money stakes.

With the packaging stating the brushes were suitable for use in a vapour box, (a specialised box used by professional decorators to stop their brushes drying out) it feels like you are getting a professional-quality product.

As the most expensive set tested, we were expecting great results from these brushes.

Sold as a set of three, the brushes arrived in a box with each one also individually wrapped. The brushes are made by hand and have a personal touch with the additional feature of a sticker signed by the maker.

The natural wooden handle was smooth to touch, although the bristles were coarser than other brands. Zero bristle loss scored high, although when it came to using the brush, it felt harder to spread the paint across the lining paper. Coverage was good but I found myself loading the brush slightly more often.

Heavier in weight, I noticed my hand slightly aching after painting just one test sheet of lining paper.  A marked difference to the Harris brush where I felt I could keep painting for much longer.

The coarser texture of the bristles also meant the paint stuck to the bristles more and required greater effort when cleaning.

Although there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the brushes, and perhaps in a professional environment (where they are used daily) they might be hardier and thus more cost-effective, the Purdy paint brushes felt too expensive for home DIY use and didn’t deliver any more than the other brands.