Where to Buy Nitrile Gloves: Our Top 5 Picks

You may not have given much thought to choosing where to buy nitrile gloves. Lots of people assume that suppliers for disposable gloves and their suppliers are pretty much interchangeable. That misconception might wind up costing you more than you think, both in money and in wasted time. Many nitrile glove suppliers have limited selections, high markups, or inconsistent quality.

For a casual consumer buying a box of nitrile gloves for spring cleaning, the difference might not be significant. But if you’re a business owner buying safety equipment, you can’t afford anything less than the best quality at the best price possible. A difference of a few dollars per case might add up to a whole lot of squandered profit in the long run.

Luckily, we’ve been sourcing and selling disposable gloves of all kinds for 30 years, and we know where to find the selection, quality, and price that’s best for all kinds of workplaces. Below, we’ll review the best places to buy nitrile gloves so you can choose the supplier that best fits your needs.

The Top 5 Best Places to Buy Nitrile Gloves

We’ll go over these in more detail below, but here’s a quick introduction to the top sellers of disposable nitrile gloves.

1. Dedicated Online Glove Retailer (Gloves.com)
   An unparalleled selection of high-quality nitrile gloves, available at wholesale prices.
2. Medical and Scientific Suppliers (Thomas, Primo, Vitality, etc.)
   Rigorous quality standards, but high markups.
3. Big Box Stores (Walmart, Home Depot, Walgreens, etc.)
   Reliable products at average prices, with only a few brands available.
4. Amazon
   Large range of options, but quality and customer service can be a mixed bag.
5. Local Hardware/Drugstores
   Small selection and high markups.

#1: Dedicated Online Glove Retailer: Gloves.com

The best place to buy nitrile gloves is to buy in bulk from an online retailer devoted to selling disposable gloves — like Gloves.com.

We do just one thing at Gloves.com: sell reliable, comfortable, and durable single-use gloves. Thanks to our longtime relationships with suppliers around the globe, we’re able to provide top-quality nitrile gloves at far lower markups than other retailers. Our customers can get trusted brands like HandCare, Advance, and Optify for just a few cents per glove.

If you buy in bulk, the prices get even better thanks to our wholesale discounts. Stock up for the month, quarter, or year and spend much less per case than usual. And when you spend $75 or more, you’ll get free expedited shipping on your order.

We don’t cut corners on quality to get those excellent prices. All the nitrile gloves we sell are latex-free, powder-free, and exam-grade. We work only with the most trusted suppliers, and their products are vetted by third-party laboratories to ensure they meet our exacting standards.

Our unbeatable range of nitrile glove options also makes it easy to find exactly the right gloves for the job you’re tackling. You can shop by thickness — select flexible 2.8-mil gloves, heavy-duty 10-mil gloves, or anything in between. Or search by size, from extra-small to XXL. You can even shop for the color you want, choosing high-vis orange or sleek black nitrile gloves.

Plus, you can draw on our extensive knowledge base to help you figure out the gloves that are right for you. Want to know how to choose the perfect gloves for a tattoo parlor, a medical facility, or an auto repair shop? We’ve got you covered.

Take a look at our product collection and see for yourself why our customers keep coming back.

#2: Online Medical and Scientific Supply Companies

Doctors, nurses, dentists, and lab workers are some of the biggest users of nitrile disposable gloves. Since nitrile is resistant to punctures and harsh chemicals, it’s a logical choice for professionals who need protection against infections and contamination. So companies that supply these workplaces, such as Thomas Scientific or Vitality Medical, usually stock nitrile gloves.

These suppliers can be a decent choice if you need a highly specialized type of nitrile gloves. For example, if you’re supplying a surgical operating room and you need sterile gloves in sealed packaging, it might make sense to shop with a medical or scientific supply company. You might also be able to get custom deals when ordering through a hospital or school that has a relationship with one of these companies.

If not, though, you’re likely to wind up paying more than you should. Disposable gloves aren’t the primary focus for most of these companies, so they have to charge higher markups to make them worth stocking. They’re also less likely to have the precise thickness or size you need.

#3: Big Box Stores

Many huge retail chains also carry single-use nitrile gloves, since they’re fantastic for all kinds of everyday tasks like cleaning and gardening. Stores like Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and Walgreens will likely have at least a few options on hand.

Big box stores can usually be counted on to carry trustworthy disposable glove brands, and their prices tend to be on the lower side. You can also usually find one that’s just a short drive away, so there’s no need to wait for your gloves to ship to your door.

However, these retail chains are heavily geared toward consumers. They’re great when you just need a few nitrile gloves to serve food at a neighborhood cookout, but they don’t offer much of a deal if you need large quantities.

A store like Wal-Mart will typically only stock nitrile gloves in boxes of 5-25 pairs. As a result, their price per glove is often 2-3 times as high as what you’d pay with a dedicated glove retailer like gloves.com. They also tend to carry a much smaller selection of brands, sizes, colors, and thicknesses, especially if you want to buy nitrile gloves in-store. You can’t necessarily count on finding the perfect glove for the job in one of these stores; you’ll have to settle for something more middle-of-the-road.

#4: Amazon

When it comes to enormous retailers, Amazon is in a class all its own. They stock a little of almost everything, and that includes nitrile gloves. And since their products don’t have to compete for shelf space, they can offer a far larger selection of thickness and size options than consumer retailers like Home Depot.

The flip side is that the selection is so large that it’s not always easy to figure out which item you need. If you’re not sure what thickness or style of nitrile gloves is best for the type of work you’re doing, Amazon offers no guidance.

It’s also hard to count on the quality of their gloves — well-established brands and dubious knockoffs are listed side-by-side. You may be able to tell them apart if you’re familiar with the industry, but if not, all you can do is delve into the reviews and try to gauge which ones are honest.

There’s no comparison with the kind of quality assurance you get from a dedicated glove retailer with a well-established network of suppliers. Also, while Amazon’s prices are good compared to lab supply companies or big box stores, they don’t provide the kinds of discounts you can get when you buy nitrile gloves in bulk.

#5: Local Hardware and Drugstores

Those who like to buy local might also decide to check out their neighborhood hardware stores or pharmacies. Most of them will have at least one or two kinds of nitrile gloves for sale. (Though this is less certain nowadays — see below.)

This option offers some of the same advantages as a big box store — the gloves available should be from trusted brands, and you can pick them up the same day you shop instead of waiting for them to arrive in the mail.

Unfortunately, you’ll also have to deal with many of the same drawbacks. You won’t have the option to buy nitrile gloves in large quantities or choose between more than a handful of brands. A local shop is likely to have even fewer color and thickness options than a major chain, and their prices will likely be higher. The staff members are also unlikely to have much specialized knowledge about disposable gloves, so you’ll have to do your own research to figure out which ones are right for your business.

When you’ve got a small or short-term job and you only want one or two boxes of nitrile gloves, buying from a small store might work fine. Those who have more specialized PPE needs and have to change gloves frequently will probably want to look elsewhere.

Why Are Nitrile Gloves So Hard to Find?

Nitrile gloves can still be hard to find today because of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and recent disruptions to global supply chains. When the global health crisis erupted, ordinary people suddenly had a reason to buy the kind of protective equipment that only healthcare workers used in the past. At the same time, hospitals were faced with huge numbers of patients to treat, so they began to go through supplies much faster.

While the pandemic has receded, the general public remains more health-conscious than before. Companies around the world also continue to face logistics issues that can interfere with shipping and make it harder to get nitrile gloves into the hands of customers.

Shop For High-Quality Nitrile Gloves At Gloves.com

Thanks to our robust relationships with numerous nitrile glove manufacturers, we’re still able to offer a huge range of nitrile gloves at affordable prices. And we also provide the knowledge resources you need to find the perfect pair. When you’re wondering where to buy nitrile gloves, look no further than Gloves.com.

Stop by our product page to get the disposable nitrile gloves that will keep you and your customers safe.