Fight with Tools garnered a mildly positive reception from music critics who praised the production and attention to political topics.

Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews praised the album for its use of live instrumentation and the lyrical delivery of both Jonny 5 and Brer Rabbit, concluding with, "The versatility of the Flobots sound makes them very hard to pin down, but it also makes for an entertaining musical journey that doesn't get bogged down by their politics or a preachy didactic presentation.

"[7] AllMusic's David Jeffries also complimented the band for having the ambition to tackle various political messages while backed with a live orchestra, saying that "Good points are made with skill and fine wordplay, the guitars and drums crunch along driving home the message with head-bobbing grooves, and the album opens up with the marvelous "Handlebars", a carefully crafted, slowly building tale of the ego run wild via some beautiful muted trumpet.

"[4] A more negative appraisal came from James Greene, Jr. of PopMatters, who criticized the album for failing to recapture what Rage Against the Machine brought before and for being preachy in its political messages.

As the chorus demonstrates, they're just saying the same things over again, giving us the same revolutionary slogans anti-establishment forces have been shouting in the face of 'The Man' for years: "We want money for healthcare and public welfare / free Mumia and Leonard Peltier!