There are perhaps a dozen metal detectors genuinely worth buying in the UK, and the gap between the cheapest and the dearest is about £1,200. That gap buys real things — but not in a straight line, and not always the things the marketing emphasises.
This is the hub guide. It covers the whole ladder, from a first machine to a flagship, and says where each rung is actually worth climbing. If you already know your bracket, the dedicated guides go deeper: beginners, under £100, beaches, waterproof and kids.
Prices were checked on 18 October 2026 and move around more than you would expect.
The short answer
- Under £300? The Minelab Vanquish 360 at about £259. Multi-frequency, light, and the current generation of the machine most UK beginners start on.
- £600 to £700? The Minelab Equinox 700 at about £699. This is where most serious UK detectorists end up, and most of them stop here. Our full Equinox 700 review explains why it beats the 900 for most British ground.
- Want waterproof without the price? The Nokta Simplex Ultra at about £300, rated to 5 metres.
- Money no object? The Minelab Manticore — but be aware that Amazon’s UK listing currently ships from Amazon US.
- Under £150? Buy second-hand, or wait. New machines at that price are mostly toys, with the partial exception covered in our under £100 guide.
What actually makes a difference
Four things separate a £200 detector from a £1,000 one. Everything else is detail.
Simultaneous multi-frequency. A single-frequency machine transmits at one frequency and is therefore good at some targets and poor at others — low frequencies favour silver and large objects, high frequencies favour small gold and thin hammered coins. Multi-frequency machines transmit several at once and compare the returns. On UK soil, and especially on mineralised ground or wet sand, this is the single biggest step change available, and it is the dividing line between the Vanquish range and everything cheaper.
Waterproofing. Most detectors have a waterproof coil and a control box that is not. If you intend to work the waterline, or to detect in British weather without worrying, a fully waterproof machine removes an entire category of anxiety. It is also the cheapest premium feature — the Simplex Ultra has it at £300, where Minelab wants £699.
Weight and balance. A detector you swing for four hours is a different object from one you lift in a shop. Anything around 1.2 to 1.3 kg is comfortable; much over 1.5 kg and you will feel it in your elbow by the afternoon. This matters more than most beginners expect, and it is almost never the reason people choose a machine.
Target ID resolution and recovery speed. Dearer machines give you a finer numeric scale and separate two targets lying close together instead of blending them into one signal. On clean pasture this barely matters. On a Roman site littered with iron, or a beach full of ring-pulls, it is the difference between digging good targets and digging all day.
What does not make much difference: headline depth claims, coil size at the extremes, and the number of preset modes. Depth in particular is mostly a function of ground conditions and coil size rather than price — our guide to how deep a metal detector can really detect explains why the advertised figures are close to meaningless.
The best metal detectors in the UK
1. Minelab Equinox 700: best overall (about £699)
If you are going to own one detector for a decade, this is the one to own. The Equinox 700 runs Minelab's Multi-IQ simultaneous multi-frequency, is waterproof to 5 metres, and weighs 1.3 kg with the 11-inch coil. It turns up on permissions and rallies across the UK more than any other machine at this level, and the reason is that it does everything competently rather than one thing brilliantly — pasture, stubble, beach, wet sand, iron-infested Roman sites. The step up from a £300 machine to this one is a real step; the step from this to a £1,400 machine is a much smaller one. At the time of writing it is sold on Amazon UK by LP Metal Detecting, a UK dealer, which is worth having for warranty purposes.
2. Minelab Vanquish 360: best first detector (about £259)
The Vanquish 360 is the current-generation version of the machine most UK beginners have started on for years. You get Multi-IQ multi-frequency at a quarter of the Equinox price, Park, Beach and All Metal modes, a 10-inch Double-D coil, and a 2.6 lb body that packs down small enough to go in a car boot without ceremony. What you do not get is a waterproof control box or fine control over recovery speed. For a first season that is the right trade: it finds things, it is light, and it does not drown you in settings before you have learned what they do. If you later move up to an Equinox, the Vanquish is an easy sell on.
3. Nokta Simplex Ultra: best waterproof under £300 (about £300)
Fully waterproof to 5 metres, with a backlit screen and keypad for genuine underwater use, a carbon fibre shaft, and a price that undercuts every waterproof Minelab by a wide margin. If your detecting is going to involve the waterline, a river bank, or simply standing in a wet field in February without thinking about it, the Simplex Ultra buys you that freedom for £300. The trade-off against the Vanquish is that the Simplex uses selectable single frequencies rather than true simultaneous multi-frequency, which costs it a little on mineralised ground and wet salt sand. Our Simplex versus Vanquish comparison works through that choice properly.
4. Nokta The Legend: best value step-up (about £600)
The Legend is the machine that forced Minelab to sharpen its pencil. It is simultaneous multi-frequency, fully waterproof, and sits a hundred pounds below the Equinox 700 while matching it on paper in most respects. Detectorists who own both tend to describe the Legend as the better bargain and the Equinox as the more polished object — Minelab's menus, ergonomics and dealer network are genuinely better, and whether that is worth £100 to you is a personal question. If you want the most capability per pound in the middle of the market, this is it.
5. Minelab Vanquish 340: cheapest machine still worth buying new (about £199)
The outgoing Vanquish 340 is still around, and at £199 it remains the cheapest new detector we would put in anyone's hands. It is the previous generation of the 360 above, with the same Multi-IQ core and a slightly smaller coil. The only reasons to choose it are the £60 saving and a far longer review record — over 700 ratings against the 360's early handful. Stock is thinning as the newer model takes over, so if the listing shows only one or two left, that is the end of the line rather than a scarcity tactic.
6. Minelab Manticore: the flagship (about £1,433)
The Manticore is Minelab's current top machine, running Multi-IQ+ with roughly double the transmit power of the Equinox line and a two-dimensional target display that shows conductivity and ferrous content on the same screen rather than collapsing both into one number. On difficult ground — heavy iron, deep hammered silver, ploughed Roman sites — it finds things other machines walk over. It is also a detector that costs more than twice the Equinox 700, and the honest position is that it rewards experience rather than creating it. One practical caveat before you click: Amazon's UK listing is currently fulfilled by Amazon US, so you are buying an import. At this price it is worth comparing against a UK specialist dealer for warranty and support.
Quick comparison
| Detector | Price | Multi-frequency | Waterproof | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minelab Vanquish 340 | ~£199 | Yes (Multi-IQ) | Coil only | Cheapest sensible new machine |
| Minelab Vanquish 360 | ~£259 | Yes (Multi-IQ) | Coil only | First detector |
| Nokta Simplex Ultra | ~£300 | Selectable single | Yes, 5 m | Waterline and wet weather |
| Minelab X-Terra Pro | ~£331 | Selectable single | Yes, 5 m | Alternative to the Simplex |
| Nokta The Legend | ~£600 | Yes | Yes, 5 m | Most capability per pound |
| Minelab Equinox 700 | ~£699 | Yes (Multi-IQ) | Yes, 5 m | Best overall |
| Nokta Legend 2 | ~£1,000 | Yes | Yes | Legend owners upgrading |
| Minelab Equinox 900 | ~£1,049 | Yes (Multi-IQ) | Yes, 5 m | Equinox with the extras |
| Minelab Manticore | ~£1,433 | Yes (Multi-IQ+) | Yes, 5 m | Difficult ground, experienced users |
Also worth knowing about
Minelab X-Terra Pro (about £331). A close competitor to the Simplex Ultra — waterproof to 5 metres, selectable frequencies, well reviewed with over 700 ratings. The catch at the time of writing is that the Amazon UK listing ships from Amazon EU, so it is an import like the Manticore. Our X-Terra Pro versus Vanquish comparison covers where it fits. We cover it on its own in the Minelab X-Terra Pro review.
Minelab Equinox 900 (about £1,049). The 700 with a wider frequency range, an extra coil option and a few refinements. The £350 gap over the 700 buys less than the specification sheet suggests for most UK ground. See Equinox 700 vs 900 vs Manticore. We review it in full in the Minelab Equinox 900 review.
Nokta Legend 2 (about £1,000). Nokta’s answer to the Manticore. Newer than almost everything else here, with correspondingly less field reputation behind it. At this end of the market the shortlist usually comes down to two machines, and we put them head to head in XP Deus II vs Minelab Manticore.
How much should you spend?
Under £150. Don’t, new. Machines at this price are single-frequency, discriminate poorly, and are the usual reason people conclude the hobby is boring. Buy a used Vanquish instead.
£200 to £300. The sweet spot for a first machine, and plenty of people never leave it. A Vanquish 360 at £259 will find Roman, hammered and milled coins on good ground. Both ends of that bracket now have standalone reviews: the Vanquish 340 and the Nokta Simplex Ultra.
£300 to £400. Buys waterproofing rather than detection ability. Worth it if you will use it, not otherwise.
£600 to £700. The real step up. Simultaneous multi-frequency, full waterproofing, fine control over recovery speed and iron bias. Most detectorists who stay in the hobby end up here, and most of them stay.
Over £1,000. Buys performance in specific difficult conditions, for people experienced enough to exploit it. A beginner with a Manticore will find less than an experienced detectorist with a Vanquish. The flagship case is made, and qualified, in our Minelab Manticore review.
Before you buy anything
A detector is about two thirds of the cost of getting started. You will also need a digging tool, a pinpointer, headphones and a finds pouch — our kit list sets out what is genuinely necessary against what can wait. A pinpointer in particular will save you more time in a season than any amount of extra detector.
More importantly, you need somewhere to swing it. Land in the UK belongs to someone, including beaches and parks, and detecting without permission is trespass at best. Read how to get permission and where you can legally detect before the machine arrives, not after. If you are in Northern Ireland, the rules are different enough that you should start with our Northern Ireland guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best metal detector for a complete beginner in the UK? The Minelab Vanquish 360 at about £259. It is multi-frequency, light, and simple enough to use on the first outing without reading the manual twice.
Is an expensive detector actually better? In difficult ground, yes — meaningfully so. On clean pasture with sparse iron, a £259 Vanquish and a £1,433 Manticore will find most of the same targets. The money buys performance at the margins, and the margins are where experienced detectorists operate.
Do I need a waterproof detector in the UK? Only if you will detect at the waterline or in water. A waterproof coil, which every machine here has, is enough for wet grass and rain. Full waterproofing is about where you stand, not what falls on you.
Minelab or Nokta? Nokta generally gives more specification per pound; Minelab generally gives better ergonomics, menus and UK dealer support. At £600 the Legend is the better value, at £699 the Equinox 700 is the better object. Neither choice is wrong.
Where should I buy? Check who is actually selling before you order. Several listings on Amazon UK are fulfilled by Amazon US or Amazon EU, which means an import, longer delivery and a more awkward warranty path. UK specialist dealers are often within a few pounds and far easier to deal with when something goes wrong.