How Much Should I Spend on a Moisture Meter?

How much you should spend on a moisture meter depends on the level of quality you’re looking for. The higher the quality, the more expensive that meter will be, running you anywhere from $300 to $600.

But why should you pay more for a high-quality meter?

Well, take a saw, for example.

Your typical handsaw is a cheaper tool at around $10 to $50. It gets the job done, but it lacks the speed or precision of an electric circular saw. Though circular saws can cost more than $100, the higher price tag indicates higher quality (and a higher value).

In the same way, while a cheaper meter might seem more appealing than an expensive one, expensive meters have more to offer. Compared to their cheaper counterparts they are faster, more accurate, and easier to use.

So, what will it be? Should you select a cheaper meter or a more expensive one?

This article will walk you through:

• What moisture meter you need
• The price ranges for moisture meters
• Whether it’s worth it to pay more for a quality meter

Let’s get started.

The moisture meter you need

How much you’ll want to pay for a moisture meter will depend on the kind of work you’re doing.

Are you hoping for a wood moisture meter that can tell you when your kiln-dried wood has finished acclimating?

You’ll want a quality moisture meter that can get you accurate readings. Accuracy, after all, is the whole point of testing your wood’s moisture content. You use that information to determine when it’s stable enough to assemble into a woodworking project.

Using a cheap meter increases your chances of getting an incorrect reading. And if you get an incorrect reading, you might assemble your wood before it’s reached its equilibrium moisture content (EMC), the reading at which the wood’s moisture levels stabilize. Putting your building materials together before they’ve reached the EMC can ruin your project, wasting all the time and money you put into it.

You’ll also want to keep the meter’s durability and features in mind. If you do a lot of woodworking, professional or DIY, you’ll want your meter to last.

So what’s the point of buying a cheap meter?

Well, even though cheap meters are notoriously inaccurate, they can still help you compare moisture levels.¹ While they might not be able to give you an accurate understanding of how much moisture is in an area, they can tell you when one spot is wetter than another.

This is how they help locate leaks in drywall and under sinks. They can also give you a good idea of when your firewood is dry enough to burn.²

Let’s look at what different types of moisture meters in each price range have to offer.

What are the price ranges for moisture meters?

Moisture meters come in three general ranges: cheap, mid-price, and expensive. More on each one in the next sections.

Cheap moisture meters

Cheap meters are generally any meter less than $100.

While buying a digital moisture meter for $20 to $50 on Amazon might be tempting, you’ll have to realize what you’re getting when you buy one at this price.

The meter will likely be:

• Inaccurate: Cheaper meters typically provide inaccurate and less consistent moisture content readings than expensive models.

• A pin-type moisture meter: Cheaper meters usually have pins. To take a moisture reading, you’ll have to push the pins into your piece of wood. This creates unsightly holes, which are fine if you’re working with firewood. But you wouldn’t want pinholes to scar finished tables or chairs.

• More manual work: Pin meters will require you to insert multiple pins throughout a piece of wood. Sometimes these pins can be difficult to drive into the wood, making moisture measurement a slow and exhausting process.

• Less user-friendly: These meters may be difficult to use. This problem is only exasperated by the fact that most cheap meters don’t come with an instruction manual.

• Lacking protection: Cheap meters won’t come with carrying cases. They may also be quick to break, especially if they’re made out of cheap materials.

• Lacking a warranty: These meters won’t come with the assurance of a warranty. So if your meter breaks within weeks of getting it, you won’t have any compensation.

• More costly in the long run: Cheap meters are easily broken. It’s also common for the pins of pin-type meters to break while you’re driving them in. This might require you to go out and buy replacement pins.

Would these limitations hinder your project? If yes, a mid-price moisture meter might be a better option for you.

Mid-price moisture meters

Mid-price meters will be between $100 and $300. They may lack the extra features of expensive meters, but they will still:

• Be more accurate than cheaper meters: You get what you pay for. If your meter’s a higher price, you’ll get a more accurate measurement.

• Give you the option of pin or pinless technology: Though some people opt for pin meters, many prefer pinless meters because of the way they improve the efficiency of the measurement process. Because pinless meters only require you to press your meter on top of a piece of wood, you won’t have to worry about driving in pins. You can move the pinless meter around and take as many readings as you want without causing any damage.

• Be capable of correction: Pin meter readings can be thrown off by temperature, and all meters are affected by different wood species. This is why you’ll want to find a meter that allows you to adjust for species and temperature. Many mid-price meters come with correction guides you can follow.

Expensive moisture meters

Expensive meters run anywhere from $300 to $600. While these meters are more expensive, their level of performance is unmatched. They also have many features that make them easier to use.

These meters:

• Provide the most accurate readings: High-end moisture meter companies can support their accuracy through tests and studies.

• Are generally pinless: Pinless meters are typically more expensive than pin meters. This may be because pinless meters are so easy to use. They’re also more versatile. Because they don’t leave holes in your wood, they can be used in a variety of ways—from woodworking projects to subfloors to hardwood flooring—without issue.

• Allow for calibration: Like mid-price meters, expensive meters should allow you to correct for temperature and wood species. They may also come with a device that allows you to check the meter’s calibration to ensure it’s getting the most accurate results.

• May allow you to measure more materials than wood: Expensive meters may offer a relative mode that can help you determine lower and higher moisture levels in non-wooden materials.

• Have a warranty: These meters come with warranties, some of them lasting anywhere from 1 to 7 years.

• Are made to last: Expensive meters may come with protective cases. It’s also likely they’ll be made with durable materials.

• Are backed by a good company reputation: These meters are generally produced by well-known companies with a reputation for excellent customer service.

• May have more user-friendly features: Expensive meters typically feature user-friendly enhancements like clear LCD displays, making it easier to interpret moisture meter readings.

Learn more about the difference between cheap and quality meters.

Is it worth paying more for a quality meter?

If you’re serious about woodworking, buying a quality moisture meter is one of the best investments you can make.

While they might seem expensive up front, quality moisture meters more than pay for themselves by the way they protect your work. On the other hand, cheap meters might misinterpret moisture levels, leading you to assemble your project when your wood has excess moisture. This could cause your project to swell, shrink, or warp.

If you’re a woodworking professional, you don’t want to become known as a woodworker who makes cracked chairs or warped bookshelves.

And most hobbyists would be less than satisfied if their work turned out wrong just because they didn’t get a good enough meter.

In this way, a cheap moisture meter can cost you more in the end.

Why put so much time, effort, and money into a project just to cut corners with a cheap moisture meter?

Invest in a quality moisture meter for years of accurate and efficient moisture readings.