Metabo air compressor buying guide

Updated: 21.10.2026

You already want a Metabo air compressor, and amazon.co.uk is still showing four machines that do different work. One is a hose inflator. One is an 18 V tank you carry.

You already want a Metabo air compressor, and amazon.co.uk is still showing four machines that do different work. One is a hose inflator. One is an 18 V tank you carry. One is a 24 litre mains listing that says both oil-lubricated and OF. One is a 50 litre oil-free unit at more than twice the money. The Metabo air compressor comparison puts those rows side by side. This page is the order to use: the job, the kind of airflow number, the receiver, the oil wording, then the plug or the battery. Shelf prices are the amazon.co.uk figures scraped on 19 October 2026. The Products Compared editorial team did not lab-test them.

Our top picks

Badge	Product	Receiver	Lubrication	Listed airflow	Note	Price	Offer
Best overall	Metabo Metabo AK 18 Multi	None in the bullets (table says 10 L)	Oil-free	16 L/min	7.3	about £89.99	View offer
	Metabo Metabo Power 160-5 18 LTX BL OF	5 L (table says 18 L)	Oil-free	60 L/min at 80% max; also 70 and 120 L/min	8.2	about £170.03	View offer
Alternative	Metabo Metabo Basic 250-24 W	24 L	Listing conflict: oil-lubricated and OF	Not stated	6.3	about £176.95	View offer

Best overall

Metabo Metabo AK 18 Multi

7.3/10about £89.99

View offer

Rank 2

Metabo Metabo Power 160-5 18 LTX BL OF

8.2/10about £170.03

View offer

Alternative

Metabo Metabo Basic 250-24 W

6.3/10about £176.95

View offer

On this page

1.What you are actually buying
2.The two mains listings
3.Air, oil, and the plug
4.Which listing to open

What you are actually buying

The AK 18 Multi, model 600794850, is the £89.99 row. It weighs 2.6 kg. The bullets give 11 bar, 16 litres per minute, a digital preset and a 12 V car cable, for tyres, balls and inflatables. They do not describe a receiver. The specification table prints a 10 litre tank and 1,800 W. Leave those cells out. A brad nailer needs stored air, which this listing is not offering. Sixteen litres per minute is a flow. Five, 24 and 50 litres are receivers, except where a table has invented one. The Power 160-5, model 601521850, is the cordless tank at £170.03. The title says 5 litres, 8 bar and 8.7 kg, and Metabo's UK page states 60 litres per minute effective delivery. The Amazon table says 18 litres and 120 litres per minute. The box line names a coupling. The battery is separate. A Power 180-5 and a Basic 160-6 stay outside this set. The cordless page compares the two battery machines.

The two mains listings

The Basic 250-24 W at £176.95 is 230 V, 1,500 W, 24 litres, 8 bar and 24 kg, with 81 dB on the listing and no airflow in the scrape. The lubrication words are a separate decision. The Basic 270-50 OF Silent, model 601594000, is £481.29: oil-free on the title, 50 litres, 10 bar, 37 kg, 130 litres per minute filling capacity and 61 dB(A). The style field says 50L EU. That tag does not say the plug is BS 1363.

Testsieger

Metabo Metabo AK 18 Multi

7.3/10about £89.99

View offer

Air, oil, and the plug

Compare airflow only when you know which number you are holding. Metabo prints effective delivery, filling capacity and suction capacity as different claims. On the Power 160-5 the bullets say 60 litres per minute at 80% of maximum pressure, the highlight says 70 litres per minute filling, and the table says 120. Oil is the next fork, and only one row is tangled. Metabo sells an oil-lubricated Basic 250-24 W as order 601533180 and an oil-free Basic 250-24 W OF as order 601532000. The Amazon row kept here is model 601533000. The title includes OF and one bullet says oil-lubricated. Miles Tool lists 601532000 at £155.99 including VAT. That dealer page is a different order number. The detail lives on the oil or oil-free guide. Both cordless listings omit the 18 V pack. The mains listings are 230 V, and neither scraped table names a BS 1363 plug. A Schuko-only lead is a UK socket problem you settle before the first start, which is on how to use a Metabo compressor. Under Schedule 1, written-scheme rules drop away under 250 bar litres. Five times 8 is 40, 24 times 8 is 192, and 50 times 10 is 500, so only the silent model sits above that line.

Which listing to open

Open the AK 18 for tyres or inflatables, and skip it when you want a coupling and a tank. Open the Power 160-5 if you accept a 5 litre receiver and you already own a pack. Open the Basic 250-24 W only after you know what you will do if the plate says oil and the title said OF. Open the 270-50 if a 50 litre oil-free tank and a stated 61 dB(A) are worth £481.29 and you can see the plug. Every scraped review on that row is marked Germany.

Common questions

Is the Basic 250-24 W on Amazon oil-free?

The listing does not settle it. The title and one bullet include OF, another bullet says oil-lubricated, and the model number is 601533000. Metabo's oil-lubricated 250-24 W is order 601533180 and the oil-free OF model is 601532000. Read the rating plate. An oil bottle in a review is not a substitute for that plate.

Does the Power 160-5 include a battery?

No. The included-components line names a universal quick-action coupling, and UK tool shops list 601521850 as body only. Budget for a pack before you compare £170.03 with a mains machine.

Is 5 litres enough for a nailer?

Short bursts can live on a 5 litre receiver at 8 bar. Reviewers say that tank is gone in seconds on a blow gun. Continuous fastening or spraying is the job they say it does not hold.

What does 50L EU mean for the plug?

It is the style field on the Basic 270-50 OF Silent listing. Voltage is printed as 230 V. The scraped table does not name BS 1363 or a Schuko plug. Confirm the plug before you treat £481.29 as a machine you can plug into a UK garage on delivery day.

Do I need a written scheme for the 50 litre model at home?

Home use is not that employer duty. At work, the 50 litre model at 10 bar is 500 bar litres, above the 250 line, and HSE's INDG178 says that product is likely to need a written scheme. This page is not a scheme.

Which airflow number should I compare with a tool?

Use effective delivery at a stated pressure. On the Power 160-5 that is 60 litres per minute at 80% of maximum pressure. The 250-24 row has no airflow figure. Metabo's datasheet for the 270-50 states 120 litres per minute effective delivery, against 130 litres per minute filling on the bullets.

Best Metabo air compressor