Almost every hardware store carries oscillating multi tools, as well as their lifeblood - attachments. Your local neighborhood hardware store is going to be the best place to check out and gets a hands-on look at the tools and attachments you will be using, but it may not be the best place to buy. Here are a few comparisons of the prices you can expect to pay for brand-name attachments and replacements. 

Fein Blades

Fein is the godfather of oscillating multi tools, with a killer selection of multi tool attachments. Unfortunately, they have brand-name prices as well. For the sake of comparison, we’ll stick with the most popular attachments. For a Fein scraper blade, you can expect to pay anywhere from $15-30 per blade at your local hardware store. Fein Bi-metal plunge cut blades (which you’ll be using a hell of a lot) will cost you at least $30. Ouch. 

Bosch and Dremel Blades

If you’re a multi tool owner, or if you read this post, you would know that Bosch is one of Fein’s leading competitors. Bosch blades are less expensive than Fein blades overall. You can expect to find Bosch brand scraper blades starting at $10; as for bi-metal plunge cut blades, you’re looking at paying around $15. 

Scraper blade upgrades and replacements for Dremel also start at $10, and bi-metal plunge cut blades are around $12. Dremel doesn’t carry as much of a variety of selection as Bosch or Fein, but you can usually expect both Bosch and Dremel to have similar prices on their replacement multi tool blades. 

Brand Or Off-Brand? 

Ah, this old question again. As a general rule, you want to save money, but you don’t want to sacrifice quality beyond a certain point. Blade retailers are smart: they keep up with the big guys in terms of variety and innovation in multi tool attachments, all while maintaining a standard of quality that keeps their customers coming back.

From scrapers to bi-metal plunge blades, you can expect to pay about half the price (sometimes even less!) for replacements and upgrades from online blade retailers. Just check out this Fein Universal E-Cut Saw Blade. For $142.40/3-pack (about $47.50 for one) you can get your multi tool a 1 ¾ in. attachment with sturdy bi-metal teeth that has endless applications. Looks fancy, huh? Well, here is the same 1 ¾ in. titanium bi-metal blade for $12.50 a piece (albeit without the fancy Fein logo).

Even Bosch, which is at the lower end of the price spectrum, sells its wide scraper blade for around $10.45 in stores. You can get a similar version with all the same perks for as low as $4.50! 

It’s down to you whether or not you choose to go brand name. But with low prices and cross-brand compatibility, you’re best off trying a blade retailer for yourself!

Image source: http://www.sxc.hu/assets/6/58785/saw-blades-1-552960-m.jpg