The best Nerf guns of 2023 make the perfect toy for kids and adults alike and will provide hours of fun all year round. Nerf guns have come a long way in recent years, from basic pistols to larger machine-style guns with actual rotating magazines and more.
In this guide, we round up the best Nerf guns, including blasters, pistols, rifles and machine guns. Nerf guns are sure to make the perfect gift for any kid or big kid, and with the holiday season coming up, now is a good time to bag your purchases before they all sell out, as they are a timeless toy that never goes out of style.
There’s something to suit most budgets in this line-up, and we’ve broken down the cost, as well as features like battery life, performance and size to help you make the right choice.
The sheer volume of Nerf weapons available has left many justifiably confused as to which blaster they should add to their arsenal, or trust their children with. This is where we step in: read on for our list of the best Nerf guns right now.
Don't forget to check out our list of the best water guns as well, and our guide to the best toys overall. And for the more indoors types, we've got the best board games and best Lego sets.
Oh, and one more thing, Nerf blasters are always discounted during the big sales each year, especially during Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday. If you can wait to make a purchase then it very well could be worth your while doing so, as we see top Nerf guns discounted each year.
- See all Nerf blasters at Amazon UK
- See all Nerf blasters at Smyths Toys
- See all Nerf blasters at Argos
- See all Nerf blasters at John Lewis
- See all Nerf blasters at Very
- See all Nerf blasters at Amazon US
- See all Nerf blasters at Target
- See all Nerf blasters at Walmart
Best Nerf guns ranking 2023
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For balancing price and foam-shooting power, this can't be beaten. You need to prime your shots using a noisy mechanism that will make stalking hard if you didn't do it in advance, but there's no argument with the results – this fires its six bullets over a great distance with good accuracy.
You can can fire all six darts that it's loaded with in rapid succession, and the only downside here is that limited magazine size. Pay more and you can fire more darts between reloads. Otherwise, there are no complaints here, and Nerf's modular system is supported, so you can add sights or a stock or other upgrades. It's just a huge amount of fun for a low cost, as we explain in our full Nerf Elite 2.0 Commander RD-6 review.
Want more firepower than our first pick? This is the obvious step up, using a similar battery-free firing system, but upping the ante with a 15-bullet drum. That's a lot of firing before you run out, and your opponents will feel the brunt of it. The whole thing is a bit bigger than the model above, but is still pretty handle-able for most kids.
It comes with 30 darts in total, so inevitably losing a few when you're raining them over someone else isn't too much of a worry. You can fire them one at a time, or get some good rapid-fire going – we did experience the darts catching when trying to shoot as fast as possible, though. It wasn't a deal breaker for us, though – we still enjoyed using this massively, as you can read in our full Nerf Elite 2.0 Shockwave RD-15 review.
The thing about Nerf guns is that they're much more fun when there's more than one of you. So this great value twin pack will deliver hours of fun – provided you invest in some extra darts, because the pack only includes 12 darts for the two six-shooters.
The N-Strike Elite range is its of fun, and these two sharp-shooters have rotating drums and slide-release priming for fast and intense action. You can fire one dart at a time or use the slam-and-strike action to fire all six darts in quick succession, making quick work of your enemies. Although these pistols are relatively small compared to the rifle-based models in the same range, they're capable of firing up to 27m (90 feet).
The Nerf Elite Retaliator (brilliant Nerf name, first of all) modular blaster can go from a single-handed pistol to a long-range two-handed weapon of foamy destruction once you add on the stock and barrel. It can fire darts up to 27 metres with impressive accuracy, and it shoots rapidly from a drum that contains 25 darts. Oh, and this special set comes with a second drum so you can continue firing right away (and it has 50 darts to fill them both, naturally).
There are a number of sets in the Nerf Nitro range; they must have named the Nitro Motofury Rapid Rally though whilst the over-enthusiastic Nerf naming team were on an away day. Aimed at extending the appeal of the brand, this new foam-car-launching-system uses the motorised air-chamber to hurl out the cars at a decent speed from the blasters ramp. The cars are equipped with more sturdy and speed worthy plastic wheels and achieve decent distances - wood and lino is best, short office style carpet is fine, anything else will chafe the low-clearance chassis slowing it significantly.
This top-of-the range Nerf gun set comes with nine cars, ramps and a bunch of obstacles for you to line-up and smash up. There are smaller sets in the series with shrunken down blasters and a few different accessories including the rings of fire. Introduce household items to extend your targets further upwards for more satisfying collapses.
The more sniper-like look of the Accustrike range is no mistake, as it has been developed for those on your crack squad who like to sit in secret and take pin-point pot shots at opponents fairing far too well in the field. If not for this reason, you should own an Accustrike FalconFire Nerf gun, as with a modicum of practice, you should well be able to win target based bets as the darts are most certainly superior. Designers spent over two years on the dart design and, as a direct result, they’re better balanced with a redesign that gives improved airflow and aerodynamics. The result = increased accuracy.
If you're trying to tear kids away from playing Fortnite on their screens, why not try… Fortnite! But in real life. This blaster doesn't take the standard small Nerf darts – it takes the beefier Mega darts, giving it more impact (and making it easier to hit things). The styling and design are great for that cartoony action look and you can also find a super soaker water option too for even more fun and outdoor play.
The latest arrival on the Nerf scene is an extension to the Modulus category. Multiple tactical rails and accessory sets you can mix and match these blasters into over 1,000 different combinations. This model is able to blast regular Nerf projectiles plus the MEGA ones and also the missile variant, which, with some practice can travel around 30 feet – and your intended target will definitely feel it!
It is easy to arm up the air chamber at the rear in super-quick succession on the Strongarm, an often overlooked Nerf gun. This is a superb six-dart shooter that is about one of the best in the manual line-up and unleashes with excellent accuracy and achieves impressive distances. An absolute must have in any Nerf arsenal as a back-up blaster for cover. There are also tactical rails atop this one, should you decide to accessories with other elements.
This deceptive single-shot, manual-powered blaster is one that you really shouldn't travel anywhere without. A superb quick-fix for when you eye a target on your daily grind for a pot shot and one that can be secreted about your person easily when your opponents are acquiring your arsenal, your last-chance-at-the-saloon-shooter. For a blaster that punches above its weight for both distance and power this one is unsurpassed.
