What's The Difference? Lowe's Vs. Home Depot

Home Depot and Lowe's seem to be often mentioned in the same sentence. These two stores are also featured in almost the same location for many residents, sometimes as close as next door. These similarities have often made Home Depot and Lowe's the subject of rumors. For example, according to Snopes, there's an urban myth floating around that claims these two retailers were once the same store. The store was said to be owned by a husband and wife who became embattled in a bitter divorce. To divide the marital assets, each got a home improvement chain, but their settlement required the exes to build stores in the same place so both could flourish in business.

While it is true that some chains have "sister stores" like Olive Garden and Red Lobster, it is false that there is any direct relationship between Lowe's and Home Depot management. There are similarities to be found in these home improvement giant retailers for sure, but there are also many differences. Some of those differences just might surprise you.

Investopedia reminds us that Home Depot and Lowe's are the two largest home improvement retailers in the world, as reflected in their annual company reports and other data. These stores carry quite a large real estate footprint in the United States and Canada. Lowe's stores average about 112,000 square feet of enclosed space and approximately 32,000 additional garden center areas. Home Depot alternatively has around 105,000 square feet of enclosed space and a slightly smaller garden area (24,000 square feet).

As of March 2020, Home Depot had 2,287 stores across the U.S., U.S. territories, Canada, and Mexico. Home Depot had stores in China as well, but these shuttered in 2012. Lowe's has 2,002 stores in the United States and Canada, closing its own overseas efforts in Australia in 2016. While Lowe's has more space, Home Depot has more stores. Lowe's operates 15 mechanized distribution centers in the United States and seven in Canada when it comes to distribution centers. In comparison, Home Depot operates 20 distribution centers in Texas alone, according to The Business Journals. Lowe's has been running on modern mechanization for longer, while Home Depot began its modernization process in 2009.

Professional and commercial services can draw in large percentages of a retailer's revenue, which is true for both Home Depot and Lowe's. Just imagine the cost difference between a single DIY bathroom and a contractor who plans to remodel an entire apartment building to understand the scale of these sales. Lowe's reports about 20% to 25% of sales in professional contracts, while Home Depot reports 45% in similar professional contracts.

There might be a reason why Home Depot is pulling in more contracts. "They want to use products they know they can trust, and Home Depot has better brands," Seth Basham, the managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, tells Insider. Also contributing to these numbers is the fact that while single-item purchases across both brands are very similar in price, bulk package pricing is slightly more competitive at Home Depot. This can change costs significantly for contractors at scale. But while Home Depot leads in commercial services right now, things are always subject to change at both a professional and DIY level.

If you feel strongly about a product line, this might be a big reason to choose one store over the other. For example, Lowe's carries the composite decking line ChoiceDek, while both Home Depot and Lowe's carry the competing line called Trex, as shared by Consumer Reports. The Spruce also notes that each store has exclusive tool lines. Lowe's carries Kobalt and Task Force while Home Depot stocks Husky and Ryobi. It turns out that both Kobalt and Husky tools generate a large number of 1-star reviews at each store, once again balancing the stores' approval ratings.

Their paint departments also carry different brands, with Lowe's stocking Valspar and some Sherwin-Williams items and Home Depot having Behr and Glidden. It's noted that new Pella windows are also a Lowe's exclusive. Deciding which brand you need often comes down to a choice of availability, color match, and price, so which store you prefer may really depend on the project.