French Cleat Vs Pegboard – Pick According To Your Need!

A French cleat and a pegboard are both systems for organizing and storing tools and other items in a workshop, garage, house, or shed wall space. They both provide a way to hang items off the wall in a neat and organized manner.

French cleats are typically easier to organize, looks better, secure, and are more stable than pegboards, as they are designed to hold heavy tools and equipment. However, pegboards are generally more flexible, easy to install, quicker to set up, affordable and customizable, as they can be easily modified by adding or removing pegs or hooks as needed.

Both are good at their perspective and have advantages and disadvantages. You must compare their appearance, holding capacity, and cost to choose between them.

Let me show you the critical points of French Cleat vs Pegboard to provide a clear idea of which one is better for your workstation.

The Comparison Table 

Comparison Between French Cleat vs Pegboard

French Cleat 

A French cleat is a type of mounting system that consists of an angled strip of wood or metal with a lip on one side and a matching angled strip that fits over the lip. The two strips are attached to a wall and a tool or other item is hung on the cleat by fitting the lip over the matching strip. 

Both strips are cut at an angle of 45 degrees to do a great job of holding the tool in a place where one strip is attached to the wall securely using multiple screws, which will hold the other strips to attach anything you want. This creates a secure and stable mounting point that allows the tool or item to be easily moved or removed as needed.

Advantages

Weight

A French Cleat can lift a huge amount of weight and ensure it stays in place as the strips are cut at a 45-degree angle. That 45-degree angle securely holds everything, and make sure it won’t fall as you remove tools or lift it off. In fact, the heavier the tool you hang, the stronger the grip.

Note: You can even hang a Cleated pegboard on the French cleat.

Organize

On French Cleat organizing your tools and items is very much easy. This system allows you to build any organizer, to easily hang or attach multiple tools or items exactly the way you want.

Look

The French Cleat strips are customizable as needed and are attached in a row and can easily attach to a cleat in an organized way that ensures it won’t look messy and provides you a clean look.

Disadvantages

Installation

The main drawback of French Cleat is its installation, as you have to cut the strips at a 45-degree angle perfectly and screw them in a straight row, which needs more effort and takes much time to set up.

Pegboard

A pegboard is a panel made of wood, metal, or plastic with evenly spaced holes or slots. The holes or slots are used to hold pegs or hooks, which can be used to hang tools or other items. 

Pegboards are typically mounted on the wall and provide a flexible and customizable way to store and organize tools and other items. The hardboard or metal plate is drilled with multiple holes in patterns. You must place a hook or pegs in the hole to hang or attach your tools or items.

Advantages

Installation 

A pegboard is easy to install and can be setup quickly. You need a strip, screw, and pegboard. First, attach a strip on the wall, mount the pegboard, and screw it tightly. No extra effort is needed to install it, and in a quick time, you can set it up to hold your tools or items.

Note: You will get readymade strips, screws, and pegboard; all can be purchased from the store.

Customizable

A readymade pegboard comes in multiple sizes, and from them, you can customize or cut the board as you need with a knife or saw.

Affordable

A pegboard is a sheet of a perforated hardboard or metal; that’s why it is more affordable than other organizer wall systems. The other exercises, like the strip and screw needed to attach the pegboard, are not much more costly. 

Note: Perforated metal sheets are more costly than perforated wooden pegboard.

Disadvantages

Weight

A pegboard cannot take much weight, as it is a sheet of a perforated hardboard or metal plate. These sheets are not much thick, which is why the weight of the tools or items could break or bend wood pegboard, or metal pegboard.

Organize

Though you can easily organize your items on it, if the hooks or the holes don’t fit as the board, then you will get a shaky vibe while you attach or remove tools. Also, the hooks could be detached without lifting them off.

Look

On the pegboard, if you place the tools or items as they should, it will look good, but when you attach multiple items, however you place the items in their suitable place, it will look messy and can spoil the look of your workshop.

Differences Between Pegboards and French cleats wall

Both French cleats and pegboards can be useful for organizing a workshop or garage, but they have some differences. A French Cleat is easier to organize, takes more weight, is fully customizable, and looks better. In addition, the pegboard is easy to install, quicker to set up, customizable, and affordable.

Here are some key differences between French cleats and pegboards:

Installation: 

French cleats require more precise installation, as the angled strips must be carefully aligned and attached to the wall. Pegboards are generally easier to install, as they can be hung on the wall using screws or nails.

Customization: 

Pegboards offer more customization options, as they can be easily modified by adding or removing pegs or hooks as needed. French cleats are more fixed in their layout and do not offer as much flexibility for customization.

Security: 

French cleats are typically more secure than pegboards, as they are designed to hold heavy tools and equipment and provide a stable mounting point. Pegboards may not be as secure, especially if they are not mounted properly or if they are overloaded with too many tools or items.

Ease of use: 

Both French cleats and pegboards can be easy to use, depending on how they are set up. However, French cleats may be slightly easier to use, as tools and items can be easily moved or removed by simply lifting them off the cleat. With a pegboard, tools and items may need to be lifted off the pegs or hooks, which can be more difficult if they are heavy or awkwardly shaped.

Cost: 

French cleats may be more expensive to install, as they require specialized hardware and may require more time and effort to install. Pegboards are generally less expensive and easier to install, as they do not require any special hardware and can be hung on the wall using screws or nails.

Which one to choose, French Cleat or Pegboard?

While installing and using them in my workshop and house wall to hold my tools or items, I saw, in some terms; the pegboard had advantages, and in other terms, the French cleat had advantages.

A French cleat does a better job of supporting more weight than a pegboard. For the cut of a 45-degree angle, the French cleat holds more weight.

On organizing items, you can do the job more fluently and perfectly on the French cleat than on the pegboard. 

On appearance, after hanging tools, the French cleat looks better than the pegboard. While hanging multiple tools on a pegboard gives you a messy look.

The pegs or hook fall out on the pegboard when you grab a tool. Where nothing this type of thing happens on the French cleat.

They both can be customizable but won’t get the freedom like the French cleat.

On cost, the pegboard is cheaper than the French cleat. The pegboard is a thin sheet of hardboard and can be purchased readymade from the store.

Note: If you already have the wood in your workshop, the cost of the French cheat will be cheaper.

In almost all terms, the French cleat is better than the pegboard except for the installation and cost, though the price is low for the French cleat. If you have a budget and want a better appearance and need to hang heavy or more tools, I suggest you go for the French cleat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Pegboard and French cleats hold tools and are great for organizational purposes. I have described all their prospects to have a clear idea between Pegboard and French cleat. Now it’s up to your need and budget for your choice. Thank you.