Which Kreg Jig to Buy for Beginners (The Answer)

Confused about the Kreg Jig models? Here is everything you need to decide about which Kreg jig to buy for beginners or experienced makers.

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Pocket holes are great beginner-friendly joinery. I use them to build almost every one of my projects.

I never get tired of seeing and reading emails from readers who tell me that pocket holes have changed the way they felt about woodworking or rather they are no longer intimidated by it.

The other most common emails I receive have the following questions –

Today, I am breaking it all down – into bite-sized pieces and helping you understand the capabilities of each model, pros, and cons, and most importantly – how to decide which one to pick.

Video

I have a full video talking about picking the Kreg Jig if you prefer watching. A full written article with concise information is below as well.

***This post contains referral or affiliate links. It is a way for this site to earn advertising fees by advertising or linking to certain products and/or services.  Please read my full disclosure here ***

Let’s start with the most basic question.

What is a Kreg Jig?

A Kreg Jig is a jig that helps you make a pocket hole.

A pocket hole is an angled hole that is drilled into one board.

When you screw in through the angled hole to attach two boards, an extremely strong joint is made.

Learn more about pocket holes here.

The pocket hole jig manufactured by Kreg Tool Company is called a Kreg Jig. They have been around for a long time and have multiple models of Kreg Jig available.

How does a Kreg Jig work

Each Kreg Jig kit includes the following:

• The Jig itself
• A pocket hole drill bit with stop collar
• A hex wrench to adjust the depth collar (may include a material thickness gauge)
• A square drive bit to help drive the pocket hole screws.

Some models also have a PRO add-on package that has other extra items like support wings, etc which make it easier to use the jig in certain situations. These are optional but highly recommended.

The basic workings of any Kreg Jig are the same.

• Set the drill guide height
• Clamp the jig to the board or board into the jig.
• Set the drill depth collar
• Make the pocket hole.

I go into all the details of how the Kreg Jig works in this post. Even though I use the now obsolete Kreg K4 in that demonstration, the basic concepts remain the same.

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Which Kreg Jig to buy

All the Kreg Jig models are very user-friendly and great for beginners. We will cover all their features in detail below.

Before we get into the details, there are a few factors you should consider so you can keep them in mind as you read through.

How often will you use it?

Even if you are a hobby woodworker, will you be exclusively building with pocket holes or will you be using them to make the occasional pocket holes in your projects?

If you use pocket holes all the time, you want to definitely get a pocket hole jig that is easy to set up so you can knock out the pocket holes quickly.

If you are the occasional user, you may be ok with a pocket hole jig that takes a little time to set up.

Where will you use it?

Do you have a dedicated workbench where you can set up a jig? Or, do you use it in your driveway or apartment?

Do you have the storage space for it?

How will you use it?

The best thing about pocket holes is that you can use them not only to build but also to repair older furniture. What is it that you will use it for most often?

• Repair furniture – This requires you to clamp a jig into an existing piece of furniture. In this case, you would need the most portable option.
• Build new furniture – If you are building furniture, you can use any one of the jigs.

What type of materials will you be using?

If you build with large sheets or panels, you want to get a jig that can be easily clamped to them and moved around.

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Kreg Jig models

There are many different Kreg Jig models including the HD, micro, and mini. Last year Kreg Tools obsoleted its older K4 and K5 models.

Here we are going to only focus on the most common models. All of these are great for beginners.

• Kreg 320
• Kreg 520
• Kreg 720

In addition to the above, there is also the Kreg Foreman which is the higher-end version that is great for building professionally but is overkill for hobbyists.

Each of the models achieves the process of making the pocket holes with varying degrees of ease and efficiency.

In general, the more you spend on the Kreg Jig, the more efficient it is to use plus you get more features. But there are many factors you should consider before purchasing a Kreg Jig.

Let’s dive into each of the pocket Kreg Jig models in detail.

Kreg 320

Among the three jigs listed above, the Kreg 320 is

• The smallest pocket hole jig
• The most budget-friendly (~ $40)
• Quick to set up
• Easy to store
• Easy to move around

HOW IT WORKS

• Set the jig to the material thickness using the movable tabs behind the jig.
• Clamp the jig to the workpiece (any clam will work but a face clamp is highly recommended to keep the workpiece from moving.)
• Set the drill bit depth collar to the thickness of the material
• Make the holes

See a detailed tutorial of how to use the Kreg 320 here.

BEST FOR

• Beginners who are just starting out
• Occasional woodworkers
• Furniture repair

FAVORITE FEATURES

• The drill guides and the spacers can be twisted apart to form a single drill guide to help vary the spacing between pocket holes depending on the width of the material you are drilling into.
• Can be easily clamped on angled stock to make pocket holes.
• Can be used for furniture repair, or if you forget to make pocket holes in a part of your project.
• Great to make pocket holes in plywood.

Since the drill guides can be taken apart and put together to customize the number and spacing of pocket holes, Kreg also sells additional spacers that you can use and customize your pocket hole jig.

DRAWBACKS

• Needs an additional clamp. Any clamp can be used but it works best with a face clamp.
• Can be time consuming to move and re-clamp after every pocket hole.
• It lays horizontally on the work surface and can be hard to drill into at times.

OVERALL

The Kreg320 is a perfect beginner pocket hole jig – especially if you want to try your hands at pocket holes without committing to it. It is versatile and can be used not just for building but also for furniture repair.

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Kreg 520

The Kreg 520 is a replacement for the now-discontinued K4 model and is more advanced compared to the 320.

• It is pretty compact in size
• Can be portable or clamped (clamp sold separately) to the workbench.
• Mid-range pricing. (~$100)
• Small and light weight
• Has preset thickness markings for 1/2″, 3/4″, and 1 1/2″ on the drill guide
• Preset holes spacings for 1×2, 1x3s, and 1x4s.
• Upgrades available (Pro Package)

HOW IT WORKS

• Set the drill guide to the thickness of the workpiece
• Clamp workpiece into the jig
• Set the drill bit depth collar to the thickness of the material
• Make the holes

See a detailed tutorial of how to use the Kreg 520 here.

BEST FOR

• Beginners just getting started but are very interested in continuing to make woodworking projects
• Small shops with limited storage space.

FAVORITE FEATURES

• Can be used in vertical or horizontal position.
  The vertical position is great for making pocket holes in boards and the horizontal position makes it easy to drill pocket holes in plywood or large panels.
• The quick release clamp makes it efficient to quickly make pocket holes in multiple workpieces of the same thickness.
• Rotating handle – you can easily rotate the handle to the most comfortable position while making the pocket hole.

DRAWBACKS

• It can only help you make pocket holes in the most common thickness materials.
• No dust extraction port.

Accessories for the Kreg520

There are a few accessories you can buy separately to make the Kreg520 more functional.

Clamp

The Kreg520 is portable but you can also clamp it to your workbench using a pocket hole clamp which is sold separately. The pocket hole jig clamp is only $15 and in my opinion well worth the investment.

However, it is also included with the Docking station and I would recommend getting that instead if you have the budget.

Docking Station

The docking station for the Kreg520 is an entire package that helps transform the portable jig into a benchtop jig. It includes:

• Clamp – to attach to a workbench and turn it into a bench top jig
• Material support wings – to help support large boards as you make pocket holes in the vertical configuration.
• Material Stop – to help make pocket holes in multiple boards at the same location.
• Storage – the material support wings also double as storage boxes and can hold the clamp, material stop as well as the drill and driver bits.

It is a little bit of an investment to get the docking station to upgrade your Kreg 520 jig.

If you already own the jig, you can purchase the docking station. However, for the same amount of money, I would recommend the Kreg 720 PRO instead. More on that below.

Micro Drill Guide

The micro drill guide helps create smaller pocket holes by about 25% and works for 1/2″ thick material or very narrow boards.

You can simply swap out the existing drill guide to use the micro drill guide.

OVERALL

The Kreg520 is perfect for starter woodworkers – It is easy to use with preset thicknesses and is also great to make lots of pocket holes efficiently.

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Kreg 720

The Kreg 720 pocket hole jig is a replacement for the K5 but with many more amazing upgrades.

• The largest of the above set of jigs and considerably heavier.
• It is a bench top jig but can moved around too if needed.
• Can be used in vertical or horizontal configuration
• Auto adjusts to thickness of material
• Has bit storage built in.
• Markings to adjust drill bit collar to various non-standard thicknesses.
• Can also cut pocket hole plugs (with additional accessory)

HOW IT WORKS

• Clamp workpiece into the jig.
• Set the drill bit depth collar to the thickness of the material
• Make the holes

That’s right, you don’t have to set up the jig to the depth of the board since it auto-adjusts.

See a detailed tutorial of how to use the Kreg 720 here.

BEST FOR

• Woodworkers who build a lot with pocket holes
• Workshops with plenty of work space
• Looking for a jig to use long term.

FAVORITE FEATURES

• Auto-adjusting jig height – My favorite!
  It automatically adjusts to the thickness of the material. You can easily switch between materials without making any adjustments to the drill guide.
  Place the material in the jig, push the clamp down, and the guide automatically adjusts to the thickness.
• Dust port – simply hook it up to your shop vac and remove wood chips as you make the pocket holes. This helps not only keep the workspace clean, it also creates clean pocket holes.
• Vertical and horizontal configuration – vertical is great for boards and horizontal is perfect for large panels and plywood.
• On-board bit storage – keeps the bits handy and you will never lose your drill and driver bits again.

DRAWBACKS

• The size – it is definitely bulkier than the other models and will take up some space on your shelf.
• Can’t be used easily for furniture repair.
• More expensive.

Accessories for the Kreg720

You can upgrade your Kreg720 with simple accessories.

Clamp

The Pocket hole jig clamp helps clamp the Kreg720 to your workbench. It is only $15 and in my opinion well worth the investment.

However, it is also included with the Kreg720PRO package (explained below) and I would recommend getting that instead if you have the budget.

Docking Station (Kreg720PRO package)

The Kreg720PRO package includes the jig AND additional accessories to expand the capabilities of the jig. It includes:

• Clamp – to attach to a workbench and turn it into a bench top jig
• Material support wings – to help support large boards as you make pocket holes in the vertical configuration.
• Material Stop – to help make pocket holes in multiple boards at the same location.
• Storage – the material support wings also double as storage boxes and can hold the clamp, material stop as well as the drill and driver bits.

In my opinion, spending a little extra $$ to get the PRO package is totally worth it.

Micro Drill Guide

The micro drill guide kit helps create smaller pocket holes by about 25% and works for great for 1/2″ thick material or very narrow boards.

You can simply swap out the existing drill guide to use the micro drill guide.

Plug cutter guide

The plug cutter drill guide kit helps cut pocket hole plugs. The advantage of using this is that you can cut plugs from scrap wood to match the exact wood type of your project.

OVERALL

The Kreg720 is perfect for woodworkers who want to build with pocket holes – it is easy and efficient to use and with the variable thicknesses, it can grow with you and your skills.

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Kreg Jig Models Comparison

Let’s summarize everything above in a chart.

My Recommendation (the answer)

Finally, which Kreg Jig is right for you?

The answer to that depends on the answer to the questions I asked you at the beginning.

If you are trying to choose between the Kreg 720 and the Kreg 520, and if you have the budget, I would recommend getting the Kreg 720 and the Kreg 320.

The Kreg 720 will grow with you and your skills with the various thickness boards that are possible while the Kreg 320 offers the versatility of being able to use it in tight spaces.

But if you are starting out and can buy only one, I would recommend the Kreg 520.

I hope this comparison helped you make your decision confidently.

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