How were the stud finders options tested?

Each option was put through: wood stud detection and edge-finding accuracy on a test wall with studs 16 in apart; live electrical wire detection, one section touching the wall and one offset 1.25 in behind it; water-filled PVC pipe detection, one touching the wall and one offset 1.25 in behind it; metal conduit detection, one touching the wall and one offset 1.25 in behind it; copper pipe detection, one touching the wall and one offset 1.25 in behind it; speaker wire detection, one touching the wall and one offset behind it; metal versus non-metal object discrimination capability (subjective, only 3 of 11 brands have this feature).

Where can I watch the full test?

The complete hands-on test video is on the original creator's channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWMJhfMPWn4

2020 test11 productsGadgets & Tech

Which Stud Finders Brand Wins?

This head-to-head test of 11 stud finders options has the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.

The verdict

Budget pick

Franklin T6

Price shown in test: $24.99

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The measured results

Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.

Stud edge-finding

3DeWalt
hit the stud on the right side; missed the edge by about a quarter inch on the left side; among screws that hit wood, off by a quarter inch
4Perlesmith
off by half an inch on the left side; hit the stud on the right side; among screws that hit wood, off by about an eighth of an inch
5JAXWQ
found the very edge of the stud on the left side; hit the stud on the right side; among screws that hit wood, off by about an eighth of an inch (tied for first, with Franklin T6 and Tacklife)
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
found the very edge of the stud on the left side; barely missed the edge on the right side; among screws that hit wood, tied for first (with JAXWQ and Tacklife) for edge-finding precision
7Tacklife
very close on both sides (about an eighth of an inch); tied for first (with JAXWQ and Franklin T6) for edge-finding precision
8Bosch GMS 120
hit the stud on the left side; missed the edge on the right side by a quarter inch; among screws that hit wood, off by a quarter inch
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
hit the stud on the left side; barely missed the edge on the right; among screws that hit wood, off by a third of an inch
10Bosch D-TECT 120
hit the edge of the stud dead on, described as 'you just can't get any closer than that,' on the left side; missed the right side by a quarter inch
11Zircon A100
missed the edge by a quarter inch on the left side; did a terrific job finding the edge on the right side
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested

Electrical wire (near)

3DeWalt
off by 1/4 inch on one cut test, off by 1/2 inch on the other
4Perlesmith
right on top of the wire, with a live-electric warning shown
5JAXWQ
right on top of the wire
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
found the first wire but not the offset wire; does not provide a live-electric warning, only indicates an object is present
7Tacklife
off by 1/4 inch on one cut test, right on top on the other; provides a live-electric fast-beeping warning
8Bosch GMS 120
found both wire strands with power off (in metal-finder mode); with power on, off by 1/4 inch on one cut test, right on target on the other; fast-beep live-electric warning, but only detected the near wire's live status in electric mode
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
only found the wire against the drywall; right on top of it in the first cut test; does not provide a live-electric warning
10Bosch D-TECT 120
right on top of the wire on one cut test; off by 1/2 inch on the other
11Zircon A100
right on top of the wire; found only the near wire until power was turned on, then located both
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested

Speaker wire (near)

3DeWalt
right on target
4Perlesmith
off by 1/8 inch
5JAXWQ
off by 1/4 inch
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
right on target
7Tacklife
off by 1/4 inch
8Bosch GMS 120
on target
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
on target
11Zircon A100
right on target
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested
10Bosch D-TECT 120
not tested

Electrical wire (offset, 1.25in)

3DeWalt
one of only 5 of 11 detectors to find the deep wire; off center by 1/2 inch
4Perlesmith
set to its deepest detection mode (1.5 in) but did not detect the offset wire
5JAXWQ
found the first wire but did not locate the offset wire
7Tacklife
one of only 5 of 11 detectors to find the deep wire, despite a weak signal; right on top of the wire
8Bosch GMS 120
one of only 5 of 11 detectors to find the deep wire (found both strands in metal mode); right on top of the wire
10Bosch D-TECT 120
one of only 5 of 11 detectors to find the deep wire; off center by 1/2 inch
11Zircon A100
one of only 5 of 11 detectors to find the deep wire; right on top of the wire
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
not tested
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
not tested

Metal conduit (near)

1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
found the conduit pressed against the drywall, right on target
2CH Hanson
found the conduit pressed against the drywall, right on target
4Perlesmith
found the conduit against the drywall, right on target
5JAXWQ
found the conduit against the drywall, off by 1/4 inch
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
found the conduit against the drywall, right on target
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
found the conduit against the drywall, right on target
3DeWalt
not tested
7Tacklife
not tested
8Bosch GMS 120
not tested
10Bosch D-TECT 120
not tested
11Zircon A100
not tested

Metal conduit (offset)

1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
did not find the conduit offset from the wall
2CH Hanson
did not find the conduit offset from the wall
4Perlesmith
did not find the offset conduit
5JAXWQ
did not find the offset conduit
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
found only one of the two pieces
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
found only one of the two pieces
3DeWalt
not tested
7Tacklife
not tested
8Bosch GMS 120
not tested
10Bosch D-TECT 120
not tested
11Zircon A100
not tested

Metal conduit (near/offset)

3DeWalt
found both pieces of conduit; right on target near, off center by 1/4 inch offset
7Tacklife
found both pieces; off by 1/4 inch near, dead on for the offset piece
8Bosch GMS 120
found both pieces; off by 1/4 inch near, dead on for the offset piece
10Bosch D-TECT 120
found both pieces; right on target near, dead on for the offset piece
11Zircon A100
found both pieces; within 1/2 inch near (not always dead center), dead on for the offset piece
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested
4Perlesmith
not tested
5JAXWQ
not tested
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
not tested
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
not tested

Copper pipe (near/offset)

3DeWalt
found both copper pipes; good on near pipe, off target by 1/2 inch on the offset pipe
7Tacklife
found both copper pipes, right on target for both
8Bosch GMS 120
found both copper pipes, right on target for both
10Bosch D-TECT 120
found both copper pipes; right on target near, off by 1/4 inch on the offset pipe
11Zircon A100
found both copper pipes; needed a little approximation but did a great job on both
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested
4Perlesmith
not tested
5JAXWQ
not tested
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
not tested
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
not tested

All measurements (8 more)+

PVC pipe

5JAXWQ
found only one of the two pipes (near)
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
found only one of the two pipes (near)
7Tacklife
found only one of the two pipes (near)
8Bosch GMS 120
found only one of the two pipes (near)
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
found only one of the two pipes (near)
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested
3DeWalt
not tested
4Perlesmith
not tested
10Bosch D-TECT 120
not tested
11Zircon A100
not tested

Copper pipe (near)

4Perlesmith
found the near pipe (in deep scan mode), off by 1/4 inch
5JAXWQ
found only one pipe (near), right on target
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
found only one pipe, right on target
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
found only one pipe, right on target
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested
3DeWalt
not tested
7Tacklife
not tested
8Bosch GMS 120
not tested
10Bosch D-TECT 120
not tested
11Zircon A100
not tested

Stud detection

1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
magnet did a great job finding the drywall screw; center-mark only, no edge-finding capability (one of only two brands, with CH Hanson, without edge finding)
2CH Hanson
much stronger magnet than the Stanley, better at detecting and sticking to the drywall screw; center-mark only, no edge-finding capability
3DeWalt
not tested
4Perlesmith
not tested
5JAXWQ
not tested
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
not tested
7Tacklife
not tested
8Bosch GMS 120
not tested
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
not tested
10Bosch D-TECT 120
not tested
11Zircon A100
not tested

PVC pipe (near)

3DeWalt
quickly found the pipe against the drywall
4Perlesmith
found the pipe against the drywall
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested
5JAXWQ
not tested
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
not tested
7Tacklife
not tested
8Bosch GMS 120
not tested
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
not tested
10Bosch D-TECT 120
not tested
11Zircon A100
not tested

PVC pipe (offset)

3DeWalt
did not locate the offset pipe
4Perlesmith
did not locate the offset pipe
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested
5JAXWQ
not tested
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
not tested
7Tacklife
not tested
8Bosch GMS 120
not tested
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
not tested
10Bosch D-TECT 120
not tested
11Zircon A100
not tested

PVC pipe (near/offset)

10Bosch D-TECT 120
the only detector besides Zircon to find both water-filled pipes; lined up accurately on both
11Zircon A100
one of only two detectors (with Bosch D-TECT 120) to find both water-filled pipes; lined up accurately
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested
3DeWalt
not tested
4Perlesmith
not tested
5JAXWQ
not tested
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
not tested
7Tacklife
not tested
8Bosch GMS 120
not tested
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
not tested

Copper pipe (offset)

4Perlesmith
did not find the offset pipe
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested
3DeWalt
not tested
5JAXWQ
not tested
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
not tested
7Tacklife
not tested
8Bosch GMS 120
not tested
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
not tested
10Bosch D-TECT 120
not tested
11Zircon A100
not tested

Speaker wire (near/offset)

10Bosch D-TECT 120
on target for the near wire; the ONLY detector of all 11 to find the offset speaker wire, off by 1/2 inch
1Stanley Magnetic Stud Finder
not tested
2CH Hanson
not tested
3DeWalt
not tested
4Perlesmith
not tested
5JAXWQ
not tested
6Franklin T6 (ProSensor)
not tested
7Tacklife
not tested
8Bosch GMS 120
not tested
9Franklin T13 (ProSensor)
not tested
11Zircon A100
not tested

How it was tested

wood stud detection and edge-finding accuracy on a test wall with studs 16 in apart
live electrical wire detection, one section touching the wall and one offset 1.25 in behind it
water-filled PVC pipe detection, one touching the wall and one offset 1.25 in behind it
metal conduit detection, one touching the wall and one offset 1.25 in behind it
copper pipe detection, one touching the wall and one offset 1.25 in behind it
speaker wire detection, one touching the wall and one offset behind it
metal versus non-metal object discrimination capability (subjective, only 3 of 11 brands have this feature)

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