The best socket testers, compared.
Top pick: DUSEKI socket tester Best value: KAIWEETS HT106E – About £11.99 with an LCD and an RCD button, 4.6 from 1,700 ratings, and a clear UK outlet claim. The digit is not a meter. Updated October 2026.
A socket tester is a BS 1363 plug for a live 13 A socket. It shows whether line, neutral and earth appear to be on the right pins, using lamps, a tone, or a small screen. In the UK you buy one after fitting a socket, checking an extension lead, or looking at a caravan hook-up. Electrical Safety First classes a plug with no earth-loop number as a simple tester. A correct pattern does not prove the earth path is low enough for automatic disconnection. The Health and Safety Executive notes that many testers can indicate safe when the socket is not. Best Practice Guide 8 records simple devices giving no earth warning at 22 ohms and at 218 ohms. Judge a listing by a printed legend, a tone on the plug itself, and a clear BS 1363 claim. A voltage digit is not a meter, and an RCD button does not record a disconnection time. The order of those checks is in the [socket tester buying guide](/hub/measuring-equipment/socket-tester/sub/socket-tester-buying-guide).
A socket tester is a BS 1363 plug for a live 13 A socket. It shows whether line, neutral and earth appear to be on the right pins, using lamps, a tone, or a small screen.
38 products checked · 61 hrs invested · +22,800 readers
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
Do you need a tone on the plug while you pull fuses?
The DUSEKI plug is the cheapest row here at £7.99, titled for UK sockets at 220–250 V, with indicator lights for missing wires, reversed polarity and a missing earth. The star line is 5.0 from one rating, and the listing has no review text, so there is nothing to say about how it behaved on a real socket. An item highlight mentions an LCD and an RCD, while the bullets describe lamps and do not describe a button or a digit. There is no safety-mark line and no tone. A perfect average on a single unseen review is not evidence you can weigh. At this price the risk is that the highlight and the bullets describe different products. It remains a simple lamp plug, and a pass would still not be an earth-loop measurement.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You already know a lamp-only plug is enough and you accept a single rating with no written review.
Less suitable: You are choosing because the star line says 5.0, or you need a described RCD button.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the listing include a review you can read?
The line is 5.0 from 1 review. The listing has no review text, so there is nothing to summarise.
Is an LCD definitely included?
The item highlight says LCD. The bullets describe indicator lights and do not describe digits.
The QUIWILL HT97E lists a colour LCD, six indicators and a GFCI button at £12.99. The star line is 4.8 from 18 ratings, which is a high average on a small sample. Five UK review blocks call it easy on house sockets with old wiring, and one buyer preferred the display to a three-lamp tester. Those reviews do not repeat a defect, though the batteries had to be fitted before first use even though they were in the box. The same file says 120 Volt AC outlets and a 260 V title, and it does not say BS 1363, so the plug standard is unresolved. GFCI is US wording for a residual-current device, not a second UK product. The listing claims battery power and a CAT III 300 V mark. A star lead of this size does not settle whether the plug in the parcel matches a UK 13 A socket, and nothing here records an earth-loop value.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You have already confirmed the plug in the box is a UK 13 A pattern and you only want a cheap display.
Less suitable: You need a clear BS 1363 claim, or you are choosing on the star average alone.
Specifications
Common questions
Is this listed as a UK 13 A plug?
The compatible-devices line says standard 120 V AC outlets. The title says 260 V. The listing does not say BS 1363.
Does it need batteries?
The specification line says battery powered. One review says the required batteries were in the box and had to be fitted.
The Martindale BZ101 buzzes from a live 13 A socket and shows its own lamp pattern for the faults on its chart. Across 674 amazon.co.uk ratings the line is 4.7, at £17.34. Reviewers use the tone as a fuse finder: it is loud enough to hear at the consumer unit, and the listing says the buzzer stops when the correct fuse is pulled. The maker's data sheet describes a mains-powered plug, 28 fault conditions, CAT II 300 V and an open-earth call above about 50 kΩ, while Amazon's specification line says battery powered, so treat that line as a conflict. In the first 50 UK reviews, people used it on replaced sockets, a new extension lead and reversed polarity, and electricians describe it as a toolbox tool. One reviewer found the lamps dim, and one unit arrived with glue on an LED. There is no RCD button and no voltage digit, and a correct pattern is still not an earth-loop reading.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a named buzzer you can hear at the fuse board while you pull devices one at a time.
Less suitable: You need a voltage digit, an RCD trip check, or a loop figure for a certificate.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the BZ101 make a sound?
The listing says an audible indication is useful when you cannot see the socket, and that the buzzer stops when the correct fuse is pulled.
Does the listing include an RCD button?
No RCD button is mentioned. The claimed checks are the lamp pattern and the buzzer.
The Ulmervion listing is a low-cost UK plug tester at £8.99, with a stated range of 220–250 V. The amazon.co.uk line is 4.7 from 17 ratings. Six UK review blocks are short: they say it is easy and good value, and none of them describes a fault found or a defect. The title also says LCD, while the bullets describe LED indicators and do not give a voltage digit or a count of patterns. No RCD button is described. CE, ETL and RoHS appear as a specification line, not as a test report on the listing. At this price you are buying a lamp plug with a UK claim and a thin review sample. A pass, if you can match it to a legend the listing does not print in full, is still not an earth-path measurement.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want the cheapest UK-labelled lamp plug in this set and you accept that the reviews do not describe a real fault.
Less suitable: You want a printed fault count, a tone, or a review that shows the legend working.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the listing describe an RCD test?
No. The bullets describe LED indicators for connection issues on a UK plug tester.
How many reviews does the listing show?
The listing line is 4.7 from 17. Six short UK reviews are present, with no repeated defect.
The Kewtech KEWCHECK 103 is a UK plug that pairs an LED chart with a continuous tone, a warble, or silence, depending on what it sees. The amazon.co.uk line is 4.6 from 2,407 ratings, the largest sample here, at £22.00. Reviewers use the beep to find a breaker from another room, and several call the body sturdy enough for a toolbox, including motorhome polarity checks and faulty adapter leads. The maker's leaflet describes 14 wiring conditions on BS 1363 sockets and says that unless three greens are lit there is a problem on that model. The front panel shows fewer conditions than the downloadable chart, so some buyers needed the extra sheet. A continuous beep is called piercing, and one reviewer with tinnitus could not use the tone. The sounder failed at about a year in one review and on the first day in another, with the lamps dimming when the sounder failed. It does not show a voltage number or an RCD test, and it does not measure loop impedance.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want the largest UK review sample in this set and a tone you can hear away from the socket.
Less suitable: You need a quiet indication, a voltage figure, or a recorded loop impedance.
Specifications
Common questions
What does the tone mean?
The listing says the tester emits a continuous tone, a warble, or no tone, depending on what it detects, alongside the LED pattern.
Will it show a voltage number?
The listing does not claim a voltage readout. It claims 14 wiring conditions on UK plug sockets.
The KAIWEETS HT106E is a UK plug with an LCD voltage figure, red LEDs and an RCD button, at £11.99. Across 1,700 amazon.co.uk ratings the line is 4.6. Reviewers used the legend to find open ground and open neutral, including on a motorhome hook-up and while snagging a new house, and several compare the price with a call-out. The listing says the button simulates a ground fault and may trip the house on a normal receptacle. More than one review puts the voltage about 20 V out, or calls it a false reading, so the digit is not a substitute for a multimeter. There is no audible tone, and the plug does not report wiring on a dead socket. The title says CAT II 300 V and a bullet says CAT III 300 V, which is a listing clash rather than a certificate on the page. A pass on the seven indications is still only that legend, not an earth-loop result.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a voltage digit and an RCD button under £13, and you will not treat the digit as a meter.
Less suitable: You need a tone at the fuse board, or a voltage you can compare with a calibrated meter.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the RCD button trip the installation?
The listing says the button simulates a ground fault on RCD outlets and warns that on a normal receptacle it may trip the house wiring.
Which CAT rating is claimed?
The title says CAT II 300 V. A bullet says CAT III 300 V and CE. Both are listing lines, not a certificate on the page.
The Proster kit pairs a UK socket tester with a non-contact pen, at £18.69. The amazon.co.uk line is 4.6 from 345 ratings. The plug claims seven LED patterns, a 48–250 V span and an RCD button above 30 mA. The pen is the part that beeps and flashes; the socket tester does not. Reviewers used both pieces for a quick house check and to find which socket was faulty, once the pen had batteries fitted. One review puts the plug's voltage almost 10 V low against a calibrated meter. Another says indication and the RCD trip stopped after one month, and a further review says both the plug and the pen failed within about two months after the RCD button was used. A bullet says the pen batteries are pre-installed; reviewers still had to fit them. The pen must not be used to prove a circuit dead. The seven patterns are this kit's legend, not a certificate that the earth loop is low.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a lamp plug and a non-contact pen together, and you will not use the pen to declare a circuit dead.
Less suitable: You want one buzzer on the plug, or a kit with no early-failure reports in the sample.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the socket tester beep?
The bullets say only the pen beeps and flashes. The socket tester indicates by LED patterns, not sound.
What does the pen cover?
The listing says AC 12–1000 V on the high range and 48–1000 V on the low range, with three sensitivity levels, sound, LEDs and a torch.
The YEREADW HT107E shows a green or orange screen plus LEDs, and the listing claims an RCD test above 30 mA, at £12.97. The amazon.co.uk line is 4.6 from 269 ratings. Reviewers used the screen to find missing earths and a dead garden socket, and one buyer preferred it to an older HT97E. A review cites a price under £15 in October 2025 against a call-out, and camping hook-ups come up as a use. The voltage does not sit still against other meters: one review has 251 V read as 262 V, and another has 237 V on this plug against 231 V on a Fluke 87. A reviewer says it is not accurate across 216 V to 253 V and that the RCD threshold is off, without a milliamp figure. There is no buzzer, and one buyer returned it for that reason. The green screen is the listing's pass state, not a measurement of earth-loop impedance.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a screen that changes colour on a UK plug and you will check the volts with another meter if the number matters.
Less suitable: You need a buzzer, a stable voltage reading, or a timed RCD result.
Specifications
Common questions
Does a green screen mean the listing's pass state?
The bullets say a green screen confirms correct wiring and an orange screen highlights faults, with LEDs for up to six issues.
Is there a buzzer?
The listing does not claim a tone. One review returned the unit because there is no audible pass or fail.
The Miiqxx plug is £8.59, listed for UK sockets at 220–250 V, with indicator lights for live, neutral, earth and missing wires. The amazon.co.uk line is 4.6 from 50 ratings. In 17 UK review blocks, people used it after wiring a socket and to find loose wires in a tower extension, and they call the instructions clear for a basic check. The title adds an LCD and an RCD that the lamp bullets do not fully describe. Reviews say the button is easy to press by mistake and can trip the nearest protective device, including a report of the main device in the consumer unit opening. One reviewer says two green lights mean everything is fine, which is that person's description, not a chart printed in the bullets. Build quality is called adequate for DIY and not much beyond it. There is no tone, so you have to be looking at the plug.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a cheap light check after DIY wiring and you will keep a finger off the button.
Less suitable: You work in the dark, you need a tone, or a trip of the whole board would be a problem.
Specifications
Common questions
Can the button trip the consumer unit?
Reviews say the RCD button is easy to press and can trip the nearest protective device, including a report of the main device opening.
What do two green lights mean on this listing?
One review says two green lights mean everything is fine, and any other combination means a problem. That is a reviewer description, not a printed chart in the bullets.
The Grosion Oulya205 is a budget UK plug at £8.79, with a 220–250 V title and indicator lights that claim to show which of live, neutral or earth is missing. The amazon.co.uk line is 4.5 from 55 ratings. In 17 UK reviews, people used it to confirm a socket was dead before work and to find a wrongly wired socket, and one reviewer said the case did not feel cheap. The title also claims an LCD and an RCD that the lamp bullets do not describe, though one review mentions a display. The specification block prints 10 g and 10 × 10 × 10 mm, which is not a credible size for a 13 A plug, so those figures should not be read as a measured check. One of the 17 reviews says plugging it in blew the electrics. No second review in that sample repeats it. There is no tone, and the lights are still only a simple pattern.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a cheap lamp check and you will ignore the 10 g specification line.
Less suitable: You need a credible parts list, a tone, or a sample with no trip-on-insertion report.
Specifications
Common questions
Why is the weight 10 g?
That is the figure in the specification block, with dimensions of 10 x 10 x 10 mm. It is what the listing prints. It is not a measured check.
Did any review report a trip on insertion?
One of 17 UK reviews says plugging it in blew the electrics. No second review in that sample repeats it.
This listing is a HABOTEST HT107E plus a carabiner holder with a paracord lanyard, at £24.55, the highest shelf price in the set. The page claims an LCD for volts, hertz and an N–E reading, an RCD test, CAT II 300 V and BS 1363 13 A sockets. Accuracy is printed as ±1%, which no review checks because the listing has no Customer Reviews line at all. The voltage block says 100–220 V, which stops short of a normal UK 230 V supply, so that figure fights the BS 1363 claim. There is no audible tone. You are paying a premium for a holder around a simple LCD plug, not for a loop tester, and you have no UK review text to see whether the ±1% line survives contact with another meter. The same HT107E style of plug appears cheaper, with reviews, elsewhere in this comparison.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You specifically want this carabiner holder and you already accept an unreviewed listing.
Less suitable: You want review evidence, a tone, or a loop impedance reading.
Specifications
Common questions
What is in the kit?
The listing says one HABOTEST HT107E and one holder with a paracord lanyard and a carabiner clip.
Are there UK reviews on the listing?
There is no Customer Reviews line and no review text. The star rating is not stated.
Eleven socket tester listings on amazon.co.uk were scored on 21 October 2026 from the listing text and the UK review notes saved with each row. This is not a laboratory wiring test, and it is not an earth-loop test. Electrical Safety First Best Practice Guide 8 classes every plug here as a simple tester. The number on each card is the 0–100 score stored with that listing, divided by 10. The row starts from the amazon.co.uk star line, then moves for a named fault chart and a tone on the plug itself, a clear UK or BS 1363 claim, and how many UK reviews you can read. It moves down when a voltage digit disagrees with another meter, an RCD button trips the board by mistake, the printed size or weight cannot be a 13 A plug, the title fights the bullets, or a unit failed early. The best value award is not a second copy of the highest score. The four weights below group those checks so the figures on this page total 100. A correct lamp pattern does not prove a low earth-fault loop.
Star line and UK review sample
45%The row starts from the amazon.co.uk star average times 20 when a Customer Reviews line exists. A UK sample of at least 200 adds 4, and a count above 1,000 adds 2 more. No review line deducts 10. Under 20 reviews deducts 8. A single rating with no review text deducts 12. The weight is this block's share of the page total of 100.
Named chart and plug tone
20%Plus 6 when the listing and maker material describe a printed fault chart and a continuous or warbling tone on the plug itself. An LCD without a tone does not receive this. A pen that beeps in a kit does not count as a socket tone. The weight is this check's share of the page total of 100.
UK plug claim
15%Plus 3 when the title or bullets state a UK or BS 1363 plug and do not also print a 120 V outlet line. A file that keeps both 120 V and 260 V loses 12 instead. The weight is this check's share of the page total of 100.
Conflicts and fault notes
20%Minus 6 when more than one UK review says the LCD disagrees with another meter by several volts. One calibrated-meter note loses 3. An easy RCD button that opens the consumer unit loses 4. A size or weight that cannot be a 13 A plug loses 8. A title that claims an LCD while the bullets describe lamps, or a battery line against a mains-powered maker sheet, loses 3. CAT II and CAT III both printed, with no certificate on the listing, loses 2. An early sounder or kit failure loses 3. The weight is this block's share of the page total of 100.
Start with whether the plug shows an earth-loop band, then the legend and any tone, then the voltage digit and the RCD button, then the plug claim. The notes below follow that order for these eleven listings. None of the scores is a laboratory test.
A socket tester in this comparison is a BS 1363 plug for a live 13 A socket. It shows whether line, neutral and earth appear to be on the right pins. Buyers are householders checking a socket or a lead, tradespeople who want a fuse-finder tone, and caravan users watching hook-up polarity. UK mains are nominally 230 V. Electrical Safety First classes devices by whether they show an earth-loop band. Every plug in this amazon.co.uk set is simple: lamps, a tone, or an LCD, with no loop band.
A correct pattern is that model's legend. Best Practice Guide 8 records simple devices giving no earth warning at 22 ohms and at 218 ohms. It is not an earth-loop result and not BS 7671 verification for new or replaced sockets.
Reviews on the KAIWEETS and YEREADW plugs describe gaps of several volts, sometimes about 20 V, against another meter. ESQCR regulation 27's 216.2 V to 253 V band is at the supply terminals, not a figure on the plug.
A trip shows the device operated. It does not record disconnection time, and BEAMA says that test circuit does not check the protective conductor. Reviews say cheap buttons can open the consumer unit if pressed by mistake.
No loop number means a simple tester. It must not prove the socket is safe. Advanced loop plugs and a Zs meter to BS EN 61557-3 are outside this set. A maker's legend matters because these plugs do not share one three-light chart. A tone on the plug itself is what you can hear at the consumer unit while you pull fuses. The BZ101 claims 28 conditions and a buzzer.
An LCD digit in this set is not a calibrated meter. KAIWEETS reviews put the reading about 20 V out, and YEREADW reviews disagree with a multimeter, including a Fluke 87. An RCD button, where the listing says above 30 mA, shows that the device tripped. It does not time the disconnection, and it does not check the earth wire. Prefer a UK or BS 1363 claim that does not also print a 120 V outlet line. QUIWILL keeps 120 V and 260 V in one file. Grosion prints 10 g and 10 mm.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You want a UK plug with a legend and a tone after you fit a socket or buy a lead, and you will stop if the pattern is not the pass code. The Kewtech KEWCHECK 103 is about £22.00, with 4.6 from 2,407 amazon.co.uk ratings, the largest sample in this set. It claims 14 wiring conditions. It has no voltage digit and no RCD button.
You want a buzzer you can hear at the consumer unit while you pull devices one at a time. The Martindale BZ101 is about £17.34, with 4.7 from 674 ratings, and the listing says the buzzer stops when the correct fuse is pulled. It does not give an earth-loop figure or an RCD test.
You want a voltage figure and an RCD button on a UK outlet, including a motorhome hook-up, and you will not treat the digit as a meter. The KAIWEETS HT106E is about £11.99, with 4.6 from 1,700 ratings. Reviews put the voltage about 20 V out. These plugs still cannot show PME supply reversal.
In this set of eleven amazon.co.uk listings, the top pick is the Martindale BZ101 at about £17.34, with 4.7 from 674 ratings, a claimed chart of 28 fault conditions and a buzzer used as a fuse finder. Amazon's power line says battery powered against a mains-powered maker sheet. The best value is the KAIWEETS HT106E at about £11.99, with 4.6 from 1,700 ratings, an LCD and an RCD button on a UK outlet claim. Reviews put the voltage about 20 V out, and the title and a bullet disagree on CAT II and CAT III. The lowest shelf price, about £7.99, is a single rating with no review text, so it does not take that award. None of these scores is an earth-loop test or a BS 7671 certificate.
KAIWEETS HT106E
About £11.99 with an LCD and an RCD button, 4.6 from 1,700 ratings, and a clear UK outlet claim. The digit is not a meter.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 21 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures captured with these eleven listings. The price bands are this set, not a market average.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, stars and review counts are from the UK listings checked on 21 October 2026. We did not lab-test these socket testers.
