All reviews
Every option in our Best Metal Detectors for Beginners ranking, reviewed on its own terms.
Prefer the numbers side by side before you dig into a single review? Our metal detector comparison chart lines up every score and sub-score for all ten machines in one table.
Already loyal to a particular manufacturer? Our metal detectors by brand guide groups these same reviews by maker instead.
New to this entirely? Our beginner's academy puts choosing a machine - the step these reviews are part of - into a full five-stage sequence that runs through your first find.
- #1 Garrett ACE 300 8.7/10
The one most clubs hand a newcomer, and for good reason: the target ID is honest enough that you stop digging junk within a session, and the iron audio lets you hear trash before you dig it.
- #2 Minelab Vanquish 360 8.5/10
Multi-frequency at an entry price, which is the single biggest technical advantage on this list - it reads targets in mineralised soil and on the beach where single-frequency machines get confused.
- #3 Nokta Simplex Ultra 8.4/10
Fully waterproof to a real diving depth rather than splash-resistant, with a wireless setup that beginners usually pay extra for elsewhere.
- #4 Garrett ACE 200 8.1/10
The cut-down ACE: same honest behaviour as the 300 with fewer segments on the display and no iron audio. Fine as a first machine, frustrating by the second season.
- #5 Fisher F22 8.0/10
Weatherproof, light and quiet in trashy parks, with a clear numeric ID. The one to look at if your ground is full of modern rubbish.
- #6 Garrett ACE 400 7.9/10
The top of the ACE line: adds iron audio, a frequency adjustment and a better stock coil. More machine than a first-time user needs, but the one you would not outgrow.
- #7 Minelab Vanquish 540 Pro-Pack 7.8/10
The Vanquish with two extra coils and headphones in the box. Excellent kit, but it puts a beginner well past the price where the learning happens.
- #8 Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro 7.5/10
A capable machine on paper held back by a display that asks you to interpret rather than read. Rewards patience, punishes impatience.
- #9 Bounty Hunter Tracker IV 7.0/10
The classic cheap starter. It will find coins, and it will also send you digging a great deal of iron - which is exactly why so many people try detecting once and stop.
- #10 Nokta Simplex Lite 6.9/10
The stripped Simplex. Waterproof and light, but with the features removed that made the Ultra worth recommending - and priced close enough to it to be an awkward middle.
What owners say - and where it splits from the listing
Every review above is built from the maker's own listing - our methodology says so plainly. To check where that desk comparison lines up with people who actually own these machines, we searched r/metaldetecting and other open reviews for each of the ten models below. What follows is unedited: real excerpts, linked back to the source, model by model.
Garrett ACE 300
The listing leans on a 0-99 digital target ID for "precise target detection." Clubs still hand this one to newcomers - our own verdict above says so - but a vocal slice of r/metaldetecting treats the whole ACE line as dated next to newer multi-frequency machines, and names the numeric ID specifically as the part that is not as steady as the spec sheet implies.
No, Garrett machines are outdated and overpriced for their capabilities. Those are the three best starter machines available.
Number readings and signals have ZERO consistency.
Minelab Vanquish 360
Minelab markets Multi-IQ as "no second-guessing" and the body as fully waterproof (IP68). One of the few claims owners confirm outright rather than push back on - more than one thread specifically flags that it is the 360, not the cheaper 340, that carries the fully waterproof body.
The vanquish 360 is fully waterproof (not the 340) and is the same price as the Xterra pro.
Nokta Simplex Ultra
Nokta markets full submersibility to 5m and a carbon-fiber shaft built to last. The one model-specific verdict that turned up on r/metaldetecting is thin - a single line - but it leans positive rather than contradicting the listing.
I've got the ultra, it's brilliant and have found loads of interesting bits.
Garrett ACE 200
The listing uses the same 0-99 digital target ID language as its ACE 300 and ACE 400 siblings. We ran the same search for the ACE 200 by name and found no dedicated r/metaldetecting thread about this specific model - the chatter that mentions "Garrett ACE" groups it with the 250, 300, 400 or Apex instead. The inconsistent-numeric-ID critique the ACE 300 owners raise above is the one that keeps surfacing across that wider ACE discussion, but we have no ACE 200-specific data to say whether this model is better or worse on that point - so we are not claiming either way.
Fisher F22
Fisher markets the F22 as weatherproof, turn-on-and-go, and accurate for coins and jewelry. No dedicated r/metaldetecting thread about the F22 by name turned up in search. The clearest independent owner account is this metal-detecting forum review, and it does not dispute the coin and jewelry claim.
With the 7 inch coil is hits harder on nickels and gold items. It hits good on coins in the jewelry mode.
Garrett ACE 400
The step-up ACE markets the same 0-99 digital ID plus iron audio as the reason to pay more than the 300. This is the clearest gap between listing and field report in the whole lineup - owners cite actual detection depth in single-digit inches and name salt or wet-sand performance specifically, neither of which the manufacturer bullet points mention.
Garrett ACE 400 has a functional depth of a mere 4 inches.
The Garrett will not perform reliably in the wet sand.
Minelab Vanquish 540 Pro-Pack
The bundle markets simultaneous multi-frequency detection, turn-on-and-go setup, and 4 ground modes. No pushback on the detection claims themselves - the recurring theme instead is price. Owners default to buying used rather than paying list, and more than one points newcomers at Minelab’s pricier Legend bundle instead.
I have both & both are great machines. The Legend has more features, is waterproof & has a beefier design. I’d check out the Legend Pro Pack.
If you haven’t ordered it yet, I’d recommend picking up a used 540 pro pack off ebay. That’s what I did, it works great and was a lot cheaper.
Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro
The listing calls this an "advanced target ID," "deep-penetrating" detector for all purposes. Of the ten machines here, this is the one where online opinion is most consistently negative relative to its own marketing copy - both the recommendation to skip it and the specific recovery-speed complaint predate our own review and come from unrelated threads years apart.
Not good. Save up your money and go with the Minelab Vanquish or the Nokta Simplex. Those are the two best starter machines available.
From what I have seen, it lacks in recovery speed ability vs Fisher’s more expensive detectors.
Bounty Hunter Tracker IV
The listing promises "Accurate Detection with 3 Search Modes" for finding coins, relics, jewelry, and gold "with ease." This matches what our own review already flags: without a numeric target ID, pinpointing exactly what is buried is the part owners struggle with, even when they rate the brand and the price fairly.
Hey all. Got a BT as a gift .. however I am a noob and I'm finding it difficult to pinpoint where the item is when it goes off.
bounty hunter tracker IV, less than $100 on amazon. bounty hunter is a respected brand and the tracker IV is a popular starting point.
Nokta Simplex Lite
Our own verdict already calls this one "an awkward middle" against the pricier Ultra. The one r/metaldetecting thread specifically about this model is thin as data goes - a single beginner naming it as a first detector - but it does not contradict the "awkward middle" call above.
Nokta Simplex Lite for my first metal detector.
None of this is a field test - it is the same desk-comparison honesty as the rest of this site, pointed at what current owners say instead of just the spec sheet. The clearest pattern across all ten: complaints cluster around accuracy and depth claims (ACE 300, ACE 400, Land Ranger Pro), while waterproofing claims mostly hold up when owners mention them at all (Vanquish 360, Simplex Ultra). Our metal detector comparison chart lines up the same sub-scores side by side, and how to use a metal detector covers target ID and iron audio in more depth for the ACE line specifically.
Simplex Ultra and Fisher F22 sit close enough in score and price to be a real choice for the same buyer - see how they compare head to head.