The Best Gutter Guards of 2021

The FlexxPoint "30 Year" Gutter Guard system is the best of the gutter guard systems that we tested. Though it just barely edges out some similar all-metal systems that we tested, we're giving it the nod because of its affordable price, range of options, and its effective design, which keeps debris on top—including pine needles—but allowed water to flow freely in the gutter below.

The FlexxPoint system comes in a variety of colors (black, brown, silver aluminum, and white) and sizes, from 22 feet up to 200 feet per shipment. The system installs using stainless steel zip screws in the back and front, which provides exceptional durability; I had these installed all winter and they never bent even with several feet of snow on my roof. The screws grabbed the gutter really easily and the hex head makes it easy to both drive them into an appropriate depth and easy to remove even if they were to somehow get rusted, since they're much less likely to strip than standard Philips head screws. They were also easy to cut with basic tin snips, making it easy to cut to the right length as needed.

Overall, these were clearly the best guards that we tested and they also were among the most affordable costing around $1.20 per linear foot. As with all the gutter guards, they do tend to collect debris on top, especially smaller pieces of leaves and pine needles that are less likely to be blown clear by the wind, but the guard was easy to clean and didn't cause any ice dam issues on my home. If you're planning on installing your own gutter guards, these are the ones to get.

The A-M Aluminum Gutter Guards are an excellent backup choice if our top pick is unavailable. The design is very similar, with a simple all-aluminum construction, though it fastens to the front of the gutter and rests on the back of the gutter instead of using screws on both sides. It does have nice tabs so that two pieces can fit together seamlessly without creating gaps, but we prefer the gutters that have screws at the back at well, which did a better job resisting buckling than this model.

Everything else about the A-M gutters was exceptional: They are easy to install, very easy to cut, affordable (at the time of testing they cost right around $1.20 per linear foot), and they look great. They don't come in the same range of colors as our other gutter picks, if that's something you care about, but they are available for both 5-inch and 6-inch gutter widths and work with a wide range of gutter designs.

In our long-term testing, these gutters excelled. They handled everything from rain to wind to snow without issue, and they didn't allow any debris to clog up the gutter that we could find while checking periodically.

The LeafTek Gutter Guard system is one of the most popular that we found, and it definitely lives up to that billing. Though it's not the best gutter guard we tested, it was easy to work with, lightweight, durable, and affordable. It is a tad more expensive at most lengths than the top picks we tested, though the prices of aluminum (and thus these all-aluminum gutter guards) are variable and that can change.

Overall, it's a quality product that is worth the investment, though it did seem a little flimsier at the seams and the vented ridges weren't as tall as on other gutters. That said, it didn't have any issues in our long-term testing with debris or clogging. It is available in white and black, with enamel coatings for both, and it comes in lengths ranging from 32 feet up to 200 feet at about $1.50 per linear foot. Like our top pick, it comes with a range of hex-head self-tapping screws that were able to easily drive into the existing gutter and will be easier to remove later, even if they were to rust.

The Smart Screen gutter guard system earns high marks for ease of installation and its ability to block debris. They are more like gutter covers that can be screwed in place, with heavy-duty aluminum that wraps over the front edge of your gutter. The instructions aren't particularly intuitive, but it was easy enough to install.

My main issue with these is they allow water to pool up too easily, which could contribute to freezing or ice damming eventually. They were simple to use and are not terribly expensive at around $1.50 per linear foot, but with better products on the market these are tough to recommend.

The Raptor Stainless Steel Micro Mesh is a unique type of gutter guard that uses a heavy-duty mesh of woven stainless steel, letting water permeate but not any debris. It is definitely better at blocking everything that might enter your gutter than the Swiss cheese-style guards, but I found the installation a lot trickier, they're nearly twice as expensive at $2 per linear foot, and cleaning them off can be cumbersome.

The basic installation of these, like other gutter guards, was pretty simple. It comes with self-tapping hex head screws (and a magnetic drill bit, a very nice touch), and you're meant to pop these into place and then fasten them down. It goes smoothly enough, though the micro mesh can pretty easily cut your skin if you're not careful.

The installation guide was refreshingly simple with very clear pictures and diagrams. The one thing I took issue with is the recommendation to potentially pop these under the last row of shingles. It doesn't specifically mention this, but I would have real concerns about that causing ice dams in freezing climates, driving frozen (and eventually thawed) water right back into your home. The guide presents plenty of alternative arrangements though, so it's not a requirement.

The main benefit here is the micro mesh, which will keep out more debris than our top picks. If you're using a rainwater catch system and you want to prevent anything and everything from getting into your basin, this may be a good alternative, but for everyone else our top picks are a better value.

The Amerimax "Snap In" Gutter Guard promises a dead-simple installation that doesn't require any screws at all. These are lightweight, affordable, mesh-style guards that are made primarily of plastic. They're meant to just pop into your gutter, using the size of the guard and the gutter to create the tension to keep them in place.

In our experience, these just don't hold up to any significant weight. Even our basic downpour test using a hose caused these to buckle slightly, leaving openings that leaves and needles could flow right into. They may slow your gutters' clogging problems, but they won't fix them. They are affordable at less than $1 per linear foot, but the savings just aren't worth the hassle.

The Frost King plastic gutter mesh promises a simple tool-free solution to your clogged gutter woes, but it just doesn't hold up. This is little more than a roll of plastic mesh that you bend and place in your gutter. It will generally do a half-decent job of keeping large leaves out and letting water pass through, but it's barely able to keep any sort of pine needle or small leaf debris out in our experience.

The main issue here is that this just can't stand up to any significant weight. Though not everyone gets the kind of snow that we do in New England, even more than a lightweight load of leaves and the guard pieces begin to buckle. These are dead simple to install and very affordable (less than $0.50 per linear foot at the time of testing), but unless your needs are extraordinarily limited these likely won't hold up.

The Amerimax "Lock-In" Gutter guards are another mesh-style guard but these are just sections of open mesh shaped to fit your gutter instead of the kind that screw into place. They are very easy to install, though the lack of fasteners can be annoying as pieces slide around while you go from section to section (try a coat hanger for a little extra reach if you are on a ladder).

In general, they seemed to work well. They didn't block the pouring rain much at all, but they did keep most of our test debris out. The main issue I had with these is they install by fitting up under your shingles. This isn't as dangerous with the mesh-style guards because water shouldn't pool and freeze on top, but it still presents a huge problem if, like me, your gutters weren't professionally installed. Since I have sections where the shingles hang up to 3 inches over the gutter, this type of "lock-in" installation is basically impossible.

The E-Z gutter guards are very popular online, and they seem like the perfect solution for a DIYer looking to install guards in a weekend. Unfortunately, I didn't find them easy to work with and the build quality didn't leave me with a whole lot of confidence.

Though these guards handle the basics just fine (they're easy to install, cost around $1 per linear foot, and kept most debris out and water in), they just don't seem likely to hold up to punishing winter climates. The mesh is among the strongest that we found that has such large openings, but we did find that pine needles could slip through and the guards were prone to sliding and creating gaps near the ends and in the seams, which could eventually lead to clogging.

If regular gutter guards seem boring to you, these "Superior" Gutter Guards feature a patterned raise stainless-steel mesh design that looks great. Unfortunately, they were difficult to work with, didn't install easily, and the mesh gave me one of the nastier paper cut-style slices I've had. They are also expensive, costing nearly $2 per linear foot—about as much as a professional installation in some places.

This product may be different, but having marginally better-looking gutters (that will get filthy with time anyway) isn't worth the price.