The UK's bestStud Finders2022 Review

The Bosch Truvo is probably the best stud finder because it’s simple, reliable and easy to use. And it’s made by German tool champs Bosch. The Truvo uses a series of LEDs and different audio tones to tell you when you’re close to metals and live electrics. Specifically, steel at 70 mm, copper at 60 mm and live cables at 50 mm.

It’s a ridiculously easy to use bit of kit. One button to operate and a vivid set of lights that ping on when you hover above metal objects. There’re even directional bars that help guide you to the exact location of the ferrous or non-ferrous metal hiding below the surface.

As someone who often forgets to switch off tools, I was pleased to see an auto-turn off feature. It’s something you’d expect from the best stud finder on the market. The three included AAA batteries offer a useful five hours of continuous use as well. I’m happy to say it’s ready to work straight from the box.

If you want a 5 in 1 wall scanner without breaking the bank, the Folai wall stud finder is one of the best electronic stud finders for the money. Even though it needs calibrating for every use, I think it’s easy to operate and seems accurate as well.

The large screen shows you everything you need to know to find studs – when you’re close to a stud the display comes to life with a handy arrow that points to where the middle of it is. And when you’re dead on, the stud finder plays a tone and tells you “Centre”. Simple.

The three depths for timber stud scanning are 12, 28 and 38 mm, it can read AC current at 51 mm depth and deep scan for metals up to 60 mm deep. That means it’s up there with some of the best stud finders in terms of wall penetration.

With an impressive range of measurement and inspection devices and other handy tools, Tavool know a thing or two about making the best stud finder for the UK market. Their TH510 sensor wall scanner features five scan modes. It really can detect anything that lurks behind your walls.

I was impressed with the ergonomic design, it’s easy to hold and looks like something out of a sci fi film. The white body alongside the green backlit screen looks good and it’s thankfully easy to use. You only press a single button to operate all the modes.

The three stud scan modes work at depths of 12 – 25 mm. The Deep Scan mode is a particularly useful feature. You can use it to look through two layers of dense plasterboard up to 38 mm thick. It’ll pick up metals at 60 mm and live current at 12 mm.

I was pleasantly surprised with this handy little 5 in 1 wall scanner from the people at Merece. Design-wise it’s clean and unfussy, with a sleek black and white colour scheme and matching LCD screen.

You can scan as deep as 12, 28 and 38 mm for timber stud work, search for metals and even find live wires. It’s ideal to have around the home for checking before you start drilling. Weighing in at 360g, there’s not much chance you’ll get tired holding it up against the wall either.

I like the simplicity of the two button operation. Turn it one with the power button and cycle through the settings with “mode”. It doesn’t get much easier than that! It’s great that these electronic stud finders auto-calibrate themselves before use as well.

I found the wall scanner to be reasonably accurate. It did well at finding metal studs and picked up metal pipes behind plaster walls but was a little bit tricky when it came to live wire detection. I always advise turning off the mains before doing any work anyway.

Coming from Bosch’s “blue” range of professional tools, the GMS 100 M is a serious bit of kit. It auto-calibrates, has a large readout display, and features bright LED lights as well.

Compared to the Bosch Truvo detector, this stud finder find items buried much deeper. It’s good for finding ferrous metals at up to 100 mm depth, and non-ferrous at 80 mm. You can also scan for live AC current at up to 50 mm depth.

The LED light makes this one of the best stud finders for professionals, because it centres around a hole in the device. This means you can pinpoint the spot you want to drill and then use a pencil or other marker to push through it and make your mark.

If the electronic stud finder moves across metal, it lights up red. And if it detects live wire, it flashes red to give you a suitable warning. It’s a great electronic stud finder because even though it’s capable and accurate, you only need to press one button for results.

It’s not a brand name you can say quickly, but JAXWQ make one of the best electronic stud finders I’ve tried out. It feels like a premium bit of kit without costing the earth and belongs in any serious DIYers tool kit.

Their multifunction electronic stud finder boasts an “intelligent chip” that helps it find timber and wood studs at 12, 28 and 38 mm deep- the equivalent of three layers of standard plaster walls. It detects the expected AC current and bits of metal under the surface as well.

The display is big enough, and with just two buttons to choose from it doesn’t take long to work out how to use it.

You need to find wall studs and you don’t want to hit live cables when you’re putting up a TV bracket. Luckily, the UltraTool stud detector is one of the best cable finders for the money. It’s not as accurate as some premium stud finders. But it’s better than tapping on a wall and listening for a hollow sound.

It’s also not quite as straightforward to use as some of the stud finders on our list. After carefully reading the manual, I got the hang of it though. There are two buttons on either side of the case, one for scanning metal and the other for studs.

It’s a useful bit of kit to have in the toolbox. For some reason, the detection depths are in imperial measurements- ½”, 1″ and 1½” stud depths. It works the same way as the competition. The arrows flash up and it beeps when you’re on the centre of a metal stud.