How we test and rank

Turn on and go (25%) - How much a first-time user has to learn before the machine is useful: preset modes, menu depth, and whether the factory settings are sensible.
Target ID honesty (25%) - How finely the machine reports conductivity and whether it separates iron by tone. Digging junk is what makes beginners quit, so this carries the same weight as depth.
Depth potential (20%) - Assessed from coil size, operating frequency and whether the machine is single- or multi-frequency - the things that actually govern depth in real soil.
Build and weather (20%) - Coil and control-box sealing, shaft rigidity, and whether it survives wet grass, rain or shallow water.
What you get (10%) - What ships in the box against what you will have to buy separately - the kit is what sets your real total price.

What this site is, plainly

This is a desk comparison, not a field test. We do not own these ten machines and we have not swung them. Saying otherwise would be the easiest thing in the world to write and the hardest thing for you to check, which is exactly why we are not doing it.

What the scores are built from

Published specifications from each manufacturer, the documented behaviour of the underlying technology - single versus multi-frequency, coil size, discrimination systems - and the consistent themes in what long-time detectorists report about each machine. Every figure we quote is attributed to its source on the model's own page.

The weighting is our editorial judgement about what matters to a first-time buyer, and we publish it above so you can disagree with it. Where a maker does not state a figure we write "not stated" rather than guessing.

What that means you should trust

Use this to narrow ten machines to two or three and to understand the trade-offs behind the numbers. For the last step - how a specific machine feels in your hands and in your soil - a local club or a dealer who lets you swing one will tell you more than any website, including this one.

Money

Some links here are affiliate links and we may earn a commission. Scores and order are set before any link is attached, and adding a link has never changed a position.