Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Best analogue multimeter UK

Updated: 22 October 2026

You want one pointer meter from the amazon.co.uk shelf, and the star lines will not choose it for you. Best analogue multimeter UK on this page means a top pick and a best value, each with someone who should walk away. It does not mean the safest meter, or the most accurate. Prices and the full set are on the [analogue multimeter comparison](/hub/measuring-equipment/analogue-multimeter). Peter F. compared the listings captured on 19 October 2026. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase through our amazon.co.uk links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You want one pointer meter from the amazon.co.uk shelf, and the star lines will not choose it for you. Best analogue multimeter UK on this page means a top pick and a best value, each with someone who should walk away.

Our top picks

Gardner Bender Gardner Bender GMT-319

Best overall

Gardner Bender Gardner Bender GMT-319
8.6/10about £39.83
View offer
Draper Draper 37317 pocket analogue

Best value

Draper Draper 37317 pocket analogue
8.3/10about £16.99
View offer
Generic Unbranded analogue multimeter

Alternative

Generic Unbranded analogue multimeter
7.1/10about £8.68
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What best cannot mean
  2. 2.Best value on this shelf
  3. 3.The larger dial
  4. 4.Who should buy none of these

What best cannot mean

A pointer shows a moving coil, not a certificate. The GMT-319 manual says ±4 percent of full scale on DC, so 4 percent of a 50 V range is 2 V. Calling any meter in this set the most accurate would invent a test we did not run. Where a manual exists, it says CAT II. HSE guidance in GS38 treats socket outlets and distribution boards as CAT III examples. Fourteen UK-dated texts do not become a national favourite because a listing line says 1,023. Sensitivity, leads, and category sit on the buying guide.

Best value on this shelf

The best value here is the Draper 37317 at £16.99. The amazon listing cites IEC 1010 and does not print the ranges. The June 2023 manual states CAT II and 10 kΩ/V DC, with DC and AC to 500 V. That is a named UK brand with 260 reviews rather than 11. An AA cell for the ohms ranges is not in the box. Reviewers say the sockets may not take ordinary probes, and there is no on/off switch. The scale that covers a car battery runs from 0 to 50 V, so 12.2 V, 12.9 V, and 13.2 V look the same. If that gap is why you are shopping, read the car electrics page before you order. Skip the Draper on a high-impedance node.
Gardner Bender Gardner Bender GMT-319

Testsieger

Gardner Bender Gardner Bender GMT-319
8.6/10about £39.83
View offer

The larger dial

The top pick is the Gardner Bender GMT-319 at £39.83, and only for a job the Draper does not cover. It is the only kept listing whose manual states 20 kΩ/V DC and 8 kΩ/V AC. The same manual states CAT II 1000 V, a mirror scale, a buzzer below 100 Ω, and 10 A on a separate jack. If you are matching a null, watching a slow drift, or working on a circuit that a 10 kΩ/V meter would load, this is the pointer that states that sensitivity. You are still buying CAT II, not a board tester. One of the 14 UK-dated reviews describes a meter that failed after a 250 V AC mains check. The printed weight of 0.28 g is not a mass you can use.

Who should buy none of these

Leave the whole shelf if the job is a consumer unit, meter tails, or an unexplained trip. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, regulation 14, allow live work only when dead is unreasonable, live is reasonable, and the precautions prevent injury. Leave it if you need a recorded tenth of a volt. The analogue versus digital page is the place for that choice. The Hilka at £8.79 states no ranges, and a UK reviewer saw a 12.4 V battery read about 30 V. The unbranded meter at £8.68 limits protection to 230 V maximum while DC positions go to 1000 V.

Common questions

Which listing is the top pick, and who should skip it?
The top pick is the Gardner Bender GMT-319 when you want 20 kΩ/V DC, a mirror, and a larger set of ranges, and you will stay inside CAT II. Skip it if you need a consumer unit, a price near £17, or a review sample that is genuinely 1,023 UK buyers. The manual's ±4 percent of full scale still means a 50 V range is coarse. It is the strongest specification in this set, not a laboratory rank.
Which is the best value under £20?
The Draper 37317 at £16.99. You get IEC 1010 on the listing, a June 2023 manual at CAT II and 10 kΩ/V DC, and 4.2 from 260 reviews. You do not get the ranges printed on amazon, an AA cell in the box, or a scale that separates 12.2 V from 13.2 V. Under £12, the Hilka and the SENRISE cost less and bring weaker evidence. Cheap is not the same as best value.
Why not the 4.0-star unbranded meter?
Because 4.0 from 11 reviews is a thin line, and the listing contradicts itself. DC positions run to 1000 V while overload protection is stated at 230 V maximum. A longer UK review says it does not measure capacitance, has no 10 A range, and that the hFE mark has no transistor socket. The printed ranges are useful for low-voltage work if you buy the three cells. They do not make it the pick over a 260-review Draper.
Does 1,023 reviews make the GMT-319 the UK favourite?
The listing line says 4.2 from 1,023. The saved listing for this comparison contains 14 reviews dated in the United Kingdom, including one meter that failed after a 250 V AC check. Use the manual for the specification and the UK-dated texts for the complaints. Do not treat the larger number as a UK vote. The printed weight of 0.28 g should be ignored as well.
What if I need a consumer unit?
Buy none of these. GS38 places distribution boards and socket outlets in CAT III examples. Megger's UK category page words socket outlets differently, under CAT II, and still excludes installed lighting. Either reading leaves a £9 to £40 pointer short of an installation tester. The Metrix MX1 at Rapid is one CAT III analogue that is not in this amazon set, at £247.67 excluding VAT. Live work on a board is an electrician's job.
Who should not buy the Draper for a car battery?
Anyone who needs to tell a resting battery from a charging voltage. Reviewers say the relevant scale is 0-50 V, so 12.2 V, 12.9 V, and 13.2 V look the same. The meter can still show that a circuit is up rather than dead. For the half-volt gap, use a digital meter for the number, and keep a needle only if its scale can show about 0.5 V around 12 to 14 V.

Related pages

How to use an analogue multimeter

Analogue multimeter

Analogue multimeter buying guide: category and leads

Analogue multimeter for car electrics: the 12 V gap

Analogue vs digital multimeter: when the needle wins

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 19 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures captured with these seven listings. The price bands are this set, not a market average.

  1. HSE GS38 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, regulation 14 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Draper 37317 manual, June 2023 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Gardner Bender GMT-319 manual (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Electronics Club, multimeters (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Electronics Notes, analogue multimeter sensitivity (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Rapid, Metrix MX1 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk listings, 19 October 2026 (retrieved 19 October 2026)