The Edit — Craft
Diamond Painting Kits: Round or Square Drills, and Size
Round drills are quicker to place and forgive a crooked hand. Square drills lock edge to edge into a flatter, brighter picture and take patience. Canvas size and drill count decide how many evenings a kit lasts.
This guide is research-led: we have not handled these units ourselves. If you buy through our links we may earn a commission — it never changes a pick. How we choose
Nothing here was used or tested. This page reads each kit’s published contents and what owners report, and the 6 picks are ranked as How we choose describes: highest rating first, then most ratings.
ARTDOT 60-Slot Storage Case for Diamond Art
Good fit You have a second kit and loose bags of drills
Not for You are only doing one small kit
Diamond Art Club Heavenly Beauty Kit
Good fit You want a first project you will actually finish
Not for You want a large piece for a wall
Suptikes 22-Piece Diamond Painting Tool Kit
Good fit Your kit came with a single pen and you are filling large blocks of colour
Not for You need jars that stay shut in a bag
KINPLUB Moonlight Beach Diamond Art Kit
Good fit Your first small kit went well and you want a wall-sized step up
Not for You mind colours a shade duller than the photo
YALKIN Square-Drill Dandelion Kit, 15.8 x 27.6 in
Good fit You have finished a round-drill kit and want the flatter square look
Not for This would be your first kit
Good fit You work in the evening or on canvases with dark colours
Not for You want a stand in the box
Round drills are the forgiving start
Round drills are faceted circles, and a circle sits happily a hair off its square on the canvas. That tolerance is why a first-time painter moves faster with them and why a crooked row barely shows when the piece is finished.
The trade is the gaps. Circles leave small corners of canvas visible between them, so a round-drill picture looks more like glitter than mosaic. Diamond Art Club builds its whole range on round drills and states the count on every kit: 7,290 on Heavenly Beauty, in 51 colours.
Diamond Art Club Heavenly Beauty Kit
7,290 round drills in 51 colours on an 8.8 by 9.8 inch canvas, finished in a handful of evenings.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Drills | Round, 7,290 |
|---|---|
| Canvas | 8.8 x 9.8 in, full drill |
| Colours | 51, plus 3 specialty |
Owners describe colours that stand out from the canvas and a kit that goes together quickly, with everything needed in the box. The 8.8 by 9.8 inch size is the point: small enough to finish, and small enough to carry to a table without worrying about loose drills.
It will not fill a wall. Buy it as the project that teaches the technique, not as the piece that decorates the room.
Buy it if
- You want a first project you will actually finish
Don't buy it if
- You want a large piece for a wall
Square drills make a flatter picture on a second kit
Square drills butt edge to edge and cover the whole canvas, so the finished piece reads as a continuous image rather than a field of sparkles. They also take more care, because a square set at a slight angle pushes its neighbours out of line.
Owners who have moved to square drills tend to describe the result as sharper and the process as slower. That is the honest reason to start round and graduate. YALKIN’s 40 by 70 cm dandelion kit is a typical square-drill step up, and it shows why to check the drill shape in the photos as well as the title.
YALKIN Square-Drill Dandelion Kit, 15.8 x 27.6 in
A large 40 by 70 cm canvas sold as square drill, with 30% spare drills, 2 pens and 2 trays.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Drills | Square (title), 30% spare |
|---|---|
| Canvas | 15.8 x 27.6 in |
| Frame | None |
YALKIN sells this dandelion kit as square drill in its title and first bullet, and a later bullet describes round drills. Look at the close-up of the drills before buying. The canvas is 40 by 70 cm, about 15.8 by 27.6 inches, with 30% spare drills and no frame.
4.5 across only 134 ratings, so this is a newer listing with a thin owner record. The better-known square-drill kit from Ausanrl, 4.4 across 2,055, draws mixed reports on picture sharpness and drill size.
Buy it if
- You have finished a round-drill kit and want the flatter square look
Don't buy it if
- This would be your first kit
Canvas size decides how long a kit lasts
Canvas size is the number that tells you whether a kit is a weekend or a winter. An 8.8 by 9.8 inch canvas carries about 7,000 drills. At the same drill size, a 12 by 16 inch canvas has about twice the area, and a 15.8 by 27.6 inch canvas about 5 times.
The larger canvases also demand a clear table for weeks, since a half-finished canvas has to lie flat and stay covered. For a gift, match the size to the person’s patience rather than to the wall.
KINPLUB Moonlight Beach Diamond Art Kit
A 16 by 12 inch round-drill scene with 20% spare drills, sized for a second project.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Drills | Round, 20% spare |
|---|---|
| Canvas | 16 x 12 in |
| Includes | 1 pen, 1 tray, wax, grip |
The KINPLUB Moonlight Beach kit is a 16 by 12 inch round-drill scene, a sensible second project after a small first one. Owners are pleasantly surprised by the quality and find it relaxing to work through.
The recurring complaints are colours slightly duller than the listing photo and, in some boxes, missing pieces. The maker states it adds 20% spare drills, which covers most shortfalls.
Buy it if
- Your first small kit went well and you want a wall-sized step up
Don't buy it if
- You mind colours a shade duller than the photo
The tools in the box are the weak point
Most kits ship with 1 pen, 1 tray and a square of wax, and owners replace all 3 within a project. The fix is cheap and makes the biggest difference to speed: a multi-drill pen and somewhere to keep the drills.
Suptikes 22-Piece Diamond Painting Tool Kit
A roller, a 28-grid box, 3 trays and 4 pens that pick up 1, 3, 6 or 9 drills at a time.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Pens | 4, for 1, 3, 6 and 9 drills |
|---|---|
| Storage | 28-grid snap box |
| Also | Roller, tweezers, 10 wax pads |
The Suptikes kit adds a roller to press finished rows flat and 4 pens that lift 1, 3, 6 or 9 drills at once. Owners single out the 6 and 9 pens for filling large blocks of a single colour, and call it a complete starter set for the money.
The recurring complaint is the 28-grid box, whose lids do not always stay closed. Do not trust it in a bag.
Buy it if
- Your kit came with a single pen and you are filling large blocks of colour
Don't buy it if
- You need jars that stay shut in a bag
ARTDOT 60-Slot Storage Case for Diamond Art
60 screw-lid jars of about 2,000 drills each in a foam-lined zip case, with 4 pens and 2 trays included.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Jars | 60, screw lids, 10 g each |
|---|---|
| Holds | About 2,000 drills per jar |
| Also in the case | 4 pens, 2 trays, labels, funnel |
ARTDOT’s case solves the box problem: 60 screw-lid jars in a foam base, each holding about 2,000 drills, with 4 pens and 2 trays included. Owners call it enough for even the most detailed kits and good value for the money.
It is more storage than a single small kit needs. Buy it with the second kit, when loose bags of drills start to pile up.
Buy it if
- You have a second kit and loose bags of drills
Don't buy it if
- You are only doing one small kit
A light pad matters for dark canvases
The symbols on a dark canvas are printed dark on dark, and they are hard to read under a ceiling light. A light pad under the canvas shines through and picks them out, which owners describe as the single upgrade that made evening work possible.
Diamond Art Club A3 Light Pad
A 14.9 by 11.8 inch lit surface under the canvas, with a 10-foot USB cable and wall plug.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Work surface | 14.9 x 11.8 in |
|---|---|
| Weight | About 1.3 lb |
| Power | USB, 10 ft cable, plug included |
The Diamond Art Club A3 pad gives a 14.9 by 11.8 inch lit surface, sized for a 12 by 16 inch canvas, and weighs about 1.3 lb. Owners praise its 3 brightness levels and say it helps most on canvases in dark colours.
It has no stand. The ARTDOT A3 light pad, 4.5 across 47,978 ratings, comes with 2 stands and a storage case, though some owners find it smaller than they expected.
Buy it if
- You work in the evening or on canvases with dark colours
Don't buy it if
- You want a stand in the box
Ornament-sized kits, finished in an evening, are compared in diamond painting Christmas ornament kits. For other crafts that suit a beginner, see beginner craft kits, compared.