Best PUBG Pistols and Sidearms, Ranked

Here's the honest truth most pistol rankings won't tell you: in PUBG: Battlegrounds, the pistol's job is to stop existing as fast as possible. You grab one in the first ten seconds of a hot drop, you use it to win or survive the scramble before anyone has a rifle, and then you drop it the moment something with a magazine and stopping power hits the floor. The "best" pistol is mostly the one that keeps you breathing during that window.

But there's a real wrinkle, and it's the whole reason this ranking exists: two of PUBG's sidearms aren't really pistols at all. The Skorpion is a machine pistol that functions as a pocket SMG, and a kitted Deagle hits hard enough to matter into the mid game. Those two can earn a permanent slot. The rest are exactly what you think — emergency tools you'll forget you're holding by minute three. So we're ranking all seven sidearms here, but we're ranking them by how well each does its actual job, not by a fantasy where you're winning final circles with a Glock. For the bigger picture across every class, see our full PUBG weapons tier list.

One caveat first, same as our SMG ranking and AR ranking: PUBG has never published official weapon damage numbers. Every per-shot figure you've seen is datamined or community-tested, and balance patches shuffle it. So we rank on what you can feel and verify — fire mode, ammo type, mag size, reload speed, recoil, and where each gun spawns — not a fake-precise damage spreadsheet. This is the PC and console game, which balances separately from PUBG Mobile.

When a pistol actually matters

There are exactly three moments a pistol earns its keep:

1. The opening scramble. You land, you have no rifle, and so does the guy 15 meters away. Whoever puts the first reliable burst into a chest wins. A pistol is a real weapon here because nobody has armor or a better gun yet.
2. The out-of-ammo emergency. Your AR clicks empty mid-fight at 20 meters. Reloading takes longer than swapping to a loaded sidearm. A pistol with rounds in it can finish a fight your reload would have lost.
3. The free slot. PUBG gives you a dedicated sidearm slot that doesn't compete with your two main weapons. Whatever you put there is "free" carry, so the question isn't whether to hold a pistol — it's which one maximizes that free slot.

Outside those three moments, the pistol is dead weight you're rightly ignoring. The whole ranking comes down to which sidearm wins moment one the hardest, and which one (Skorpion, Deagle) stretches its usefulness furthest past it.

How we rank pistols in PUBG

Four questions decide where a sidearm lands:

1. Close-range effectiveness in the opening. Fire rate, per-shot punch, and how fast it ends a 10-meter fight before anyone's geared. This is the core job.
2. Mag size and reload. A pistol that runs dry in three shots and reloads slowly loses the exact scramble it exists for. Bigger mags and faster reloads matter more here than on any other class.
3. Recoil and control. A sidearm you can keep on a chest beats one that climbs off-target after two rounds, especially since most pistols can't mount much to tame it.
4. Ammo and availability. Most sidearms feed common 9mm or .45 ACP, so supply is rarely the issue — but a couple are map-locked or feed oddball ammo that limits how much you'll ever actually use them.

The unique thing about the sidearm slot is that it's free — it doesn't cost you a primary or secondary weapon slot. That changes the math: the best pistol isn't the one with the highest theoretical damage, it's the one that does the most with a slot you weren't using for anything else.

S-tier: the two sidearms worth keeping

These are the only two sidearms a good player keeps on purpose past the opening, because both punch well above "emergency pistol."

The Skorpion is the smartest pick in the entire class because it isn't really a pistol — it's a fully-automatic machine pistol that occupies the sidearm slot. That's the trick: it gives you a usable spray weapon without spending one of your two main weapon slots. It feeds common 9mm, holds 20 rounds standard (extendable to 40), and is surprisingly controllable in full auto for something this small. It even accepts grips, a stock, and a suppressor. Run it as your sidearm and you've effectively got three guns: a long-range weapon, a mid-range weapon, and a close-range buzzsaw in the "free" slot. Its only real knock is a slowish reload (it can't take quickdraw mags), so reload it between fights, not during them.

The Deagle is the only true pistol that stays relevant past the opening, because it hits harder than anything else in the class — hard enough to drop a Level 3 (Spetsnaz) helmet in two headshots. It's a .45 ACP hand-cannon with a 7-round mag (10 with an extended), and the trade is exactly what you'd expect: higher recoil, energy, and velocity than any other pistol, so it demands trigger discipline. It can mount a red dot and a laser sight for hip-fire, which a lot of the field can't. The Deagle won't out-spray a Skorpion, but in the hands of someone who can land headshots it's the pistol that actually kills geared players, not just bare-chested ones in the first minute.

A-tier: the best pure pistols

These are the strongest of the "real" pistols — the ones you genuinely want in the opening scramble before you settle for anything else.

The P18C (the Glock 18C) is the best pure pistol for the job pistols actually do. It's the only fully-automatic handgun in PUBG, and while it has the lowest per-shot damage of any pistol, it has the highest damage per second in the class — it rivals an SMG in a phone-booth fight. In the opening scramble where everyone's spraying from the hip at 8 meters, raw fire rate wins, and the P18C out-DPS-es every semi-auto pistol here. The catch is heavy recoil that climbs fast in full auto, so tap it in short bursts and lean on a sight or suppressor if you find one. If you land naked and need to win the first fight right now, this is the pistol you want in your hand.

The P1911 is the classic hard-hitting semi-auto — a .45 ACP that packs a real punch per shot. Its problem is the magazine: only 7 rounds by default, which is brutal in a sustained fight, so finding an extended (or extended quickdraw) mag is close to mandatory if you plan to hold it, since it nearly doubles the capacity. Its muzzle velocity is slow, so don't try to reach past ~50 meters with it. As an opening weapon it's strong; as a kept sidearm it's outclassed by the Skorpion and Deagle. The P92 (Beretta 92FS) is the sensible middle ground: a 15-round magazine — the most forgiving in the class — with balanced firepower and modest recoil. It won't out-DPS the P18C or out-hit the P1911, but it's the most reliable backup, and that bigger mag means it's the least likely to leave you reloading at the worst moment. If you just want a no-drama emergency sidearm, the P92 is it.

B-tier and the revolvers

This is where the sidearms stop being worth a second thought.

• R45 (.45 ACP, Miramar-only). A 6-round revolver that replaces the R1895 on Miramar. It hits much harder per shot than the standard pistols and — crucially — reloads with a speedloader instead of round-by-round, so it's far quicker to top up than the R1895. It feeds common .45 ACP and can mount a red dot. As revolvers go it's the good one. It's still a revolver, though: low capacity, slowish fire rate, and you only see it on one map.
• R1895 (7.62mm). The bottom of the class, and it's not close. A 7-shot revolver with a famously punishing reload (loading rounds one at a time, nearly as slow as an M249), the slowest fire rate of any pistol, and it can't even mount a red dot — only a suppressor. The one genuinely cool thing is that suppressor: thanks to its gas-seal design it's one of the few revolvers that suppresses well, which makes it a niche stealth-pick for sneaking up on someone. Outside that exact gimmick, it's a last-resort gun.

There's no truly broken sidearm in PUBG right now — even the R1895 will win a point-blank surprise. But the revolvers ask you to accept low capacity and slow reloads for per-shot power you rarely need, and that's a bad trade when the Skorpion exists in the same slot.

Does the sidearm slot even matter

For a lot of players the honest answer is "barely," and that's fine — once you've got two kitted main weapons, you'll almost never draw your pistol. But "barely" isn't "never," and the slot is free, so there are two cases where filling it smartly is a genuine, free upgrade:

• Run a Skorpion if you're an aggressive close-range player. It turns your free slot into a third gun. If you like pushing buildings and hot drops, this is the single best use of the sidearm slot in the game — a real spray weapon that costs you nothing. Pair it with a longer-range rifle from our loadouts guide and you cover every range.
• Run a Deagle if you trust your aim. Against a geared opponent, a Deagle headshot does work that a 9mm pistol can't, and it's a fast swap when your primary runs dry. It's the one pure pistol that can flip a mid-game fight.

For everyone else, grab whatever pistol you trip over in the first 30 seconds, use it to survive the opening, and let it fall out of relevance once you're kitted. Don't waste inventory space or looting time chasing a "better" pistol when you have a working rifle — your time is better spent on heals, attachments, and ammo. See our looting and inventory guide for what to actually prioritize.

Which pistol should you actually grab

The short version, by situation:

• Best overall sidearm: Skorpion. A pocket SMG in the free slot — it's the only sidearm that's a real weapon at any stage. Reload it between fights.
• Best for the opening scramble: P18C. Full-auto, highest DPS in the class, wins the naked 10-meter fight. Burst it.
• Best pure-pistol kept slot: Deagle. The only handgun that meaningfully hurts geared players — if you can land headshots.
• Best reliable backup: P92, for its 15-round mag, or a P1911 with an extended mag if you want more punch.
• Best revolver: R45 (Miramar) — the speedloader makes it usable. Skip the R1895 unless you specifically want a suppressed stealth pistol.

Quick Action Checklist

• Grab any pistol in the first ten seconds of a drop — surviving the scramble beats finding the "best" one
• Run a Skorpion as your sidearm if you play aggressive — it's a free pocket SMG, just reload it between fights
• Keep a Deagle only if you trust your aim — it's the one pistol that hurts geared players (two headshots through a Level 3 helmet)
• Take the P18C for the opening — full-auto, highest DPS in the class, but burst it to fight the recoil
• Put an extended mag on a P1911 immediately, or take a P92 instead for its 15-round mag
• On Miramar, the R45 over the R1895 — the speedloader reload is far faster
• Only keep the R1895 if you specifically want a quiet, suppressed stealth pistol
• Once you have two kitted main weapons, stop chasing a better pistol — loot heals and ammo instead
• Treat any specific damage number as approximate — PUBG never published official values