The Best Moisture Meters, Tested and Reviewed

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If you need to know what’s going on below the surface of your hardwoods or drywall, these moisture meters can clue you in.

Moisture meters can test the moisture content of many different materials, including drywall, paneling, and wood studs. Furniture makers and other woodworkers use them frequently to ensure they’re working with a quality product, and flooring contractors use the meters to determine ideal moisture conditions when installing a laminate or wood floor over a concrete slab or subfloor.

For home and building inspectors, a moisture detector is necessary for verifying the condition of a home. Similarly, you can use this tool to verify that your home is moisture-free or ensure the quality of materials during DIY projects. A moisture meter can help you determine if there is too much moisture or your home needs a dehumidifier.

Our favorite is the General Tools Digital Pin/Pinless Moisture Meter. We like it because of its built-in temperature and humidity sensors, pin/pinless design, holes built into the cap for quick calibrating, and durable storage case.

This guide features hands-on testing of the top-rated moisture meter options available. Some passed with flying colors, while others didn’t make the cut.

1. BEST OVERALL: General Tools Digital Pin/Pinless Moisture Meter
2. BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK: Proster Digital Handheld Moisture Meter for Wood 
3. UPGRADE PICK: Wagner Meters Orion 940 Pinless Wood Moisture Meter
4. BEST COMBINATION: Teledyne Flir Extech MO55 Pin/Pinless Moisture Meter
5. BEST FOR WOOD: Tavool Digital Pin Moisture Meter for Wood
6. BEST EASE OF USE: Lignomat Mini-Ligno E/D Pin Moisture Meter
7. BEST FOR PROFESSIONALS: Protimeter BLD5365 Surveymaster Moisture Meter

How We Tested the Best Moisture Meters

Typically, we love testing products, but this moisture meter test was tough. First, every meter had a different range and accuracy rating, which made establishing baselines difficult. While we were conducting moisture meter reviews, we found that each product had a different method of adjusting for certain species, so we spent an entire day reading user’s manuals—surely a better test for eyeglasses and patience than moisture meters.

Eventually, with everything dialed in as well as possible, we began checking moisture levels. For some variety, we used three pieces of pine lumber from a recent project. One piece soaked in a bowl of water overnight. The other piece sat in an oven and dried at 225 degrees for 2 hours. The third piece was left alone. We checked each of the meters using all three of these pieces of lumber and compared readings.

Next, we checked the meters on a small section of drywall, a small section of concrete foundation, and an unfinished oak stair tread. Those readings were collected and compared as well.

Finally, we went through all the settings, modes, and extra features (for those that had them). At this point, we had a solid grasp on which models were worth the money and which we needed to discard from the test.

Our Top Picks

The top-rated products below were chosen for quality, price, and customer satisfaction to help you find the best moisture meter for your projects. And, to make sure you know everything you need to, we performed hands-on testing with several models. The following meters are ranked among the best.

Best Overall

General Tools Digital Pin/Pinless Moisture Meter

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This multifunctional moisture meter helps DIYers test for moisture using pinless, flat sensors without damaging the material. If the meter finds moisture, the user can remove the cap to expose two pins for accurate moisture measurement within 3 percent, humidity measurement within 5 percent, and temperature measurement within 2 degrees.

Considered the bestmoisture meter for plaster walls, it can be used for drywall, carpeting, flooring, brick, grout, soil, paper, or powders, and it shows readings on two bright displays. The meter has a moisture level range of 5 percent to 50 percent for wood and 1.5 percent to 33 percent for other building materials, plus a humidity range of 25 percent to 95 percent and a temperature range of 32 to 140 degrees.

During testing, this General Tools digital moisture meter proved to be accurate and easy to use. We liked that it didn’t take much setup, and there aren’t any complicated charts to read in order to set it to the correct species. The built-in temperature and humidity sensors work well and are easy to read. Also, we like that we could use the cap to check our calibration. The only thing that we found frustrating is that it reverted to Celsius every time we turned it off and back on. Also, there is no “mold tester” as the product description claims.

Product Specs 

• Style: Combination
• Range: 5 percent to 50 percent in wood; 1.5 percent to 33 percent in building materials
• Accuracy: 3 percent

Pros

• Great versatility with built-in temperature and humidity sensors for multiple projects
• Features pin and pinless design for added flexibility to meet user preferences
• Comes with durable case; ideal for frequent use when on the go
• Cap has holes; quick and easy access for checking calibration

Cons

• Temperature resets to Celsius every time it’s powered on; quite frustrating
• No “mold tester” as description claims; can be misleading to shoppers

Get the General Tools digital moisture meter at Amazon or General Tools.

Best Bang for the Buck

Proster Digital Handheld Moisture Meter for Wood

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This digital handheld moisture meter from Proster is made for use with wood and wood products only. This specialization comes with two big benefits: The first is that DIYers can get this moisture meter for a bargain compared to other models. The second is that the Proster can provide impressive accuracy to within 0.5 percent on a massive scale of 0 percent to 99.9 percent for wood, firewood, logs, cardboard, paper, and other wood products.

The pin moisture meter settings can switch between four different wood groups containing 50 wood species for precision measurement. The large LCD screen is easy to read, and the body of the device comes in sturdy ABS plastic for superior durability. This moisture meter won’t work with concrete, gypsum, drywall, or other nonwood building materials, but DIYers with wood-based projects have an affordable specialty pick.

We really like the Proster meter. Unlike other models that require lengthy user manual reads and have complicated settings, this affordable meter has everything we need to know displayed right on the front. We liked the wide range, though we suspect that anything above 70 percent would probably feel like it was dripping wet to the touch. The only real drawback of the Proster is that it’s for wood use only, meaning it isn’t very helpful for locating leaks or moisture in building materials.

Product Specs 

• Style: Pin
• Range: 0 percent to 99.9 percent in wood
• Accuracy: 0.5 percent

Pros

• Screen is simple and very easy to read with large, clear font
• Versatile tool with broad temperature range suitable for various projects
• Very easy to use with no complicated settings; great for occasional use
• Affordable compared to other moisture meters without sacrificing key features

Cons

• Designed for wood use only; limited usability and not suitable for other building materials

Get the Proster moisture meter at Amazon or Proster.

Upgrade Pick

Wagner Meters Orion 940 Pinless Wood Moisture Meter

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For shoppers with extra room in their meter budget, the Wagner Meters Orion 940 is one of the best pinless moisture meter options worth considering. While the model might be a bit expensive, it does offer deeper, more accurate readings than most meters, and it does it without pins.

This model from Wagner Meters features a measurement range of 4 percent to 32 percent. It also comes with a chart that allows the user to calibrate it to a specific value assigned to a species, offering the most reliable readings possible. And, unlike many other pinless meters, this model can take measurements in wood as thick at 1.5 inches, or the full thickness of a stud. Should you question its calibration, it comes with a calibration plate for checking at any point.

There’s a bit of a learning curve when it comes to the Orion. First, we had to read the manual to discover how to change the species setting, but once we did, the change was easy. Also, cycling through the calibration, species, and materials menu was a little confusing at first. Although it doesn’t have a tremendous range, it was incredibly accurate and consistent. Truth be told, we used this model as the baseline for accuracy in our test.

Product Specs 

• Style: Pinless
• Range: 4 percent to 32 percent
• Accuracy: Unspecified

Pros

• Incredibly accurate (despite an unspecified accuracy by the manufacturer); ideal for precision work
• Comes with a calibration plate and durable carrying case to keep it protected
• Adjustable for several tree species; many competitors don’t have this feature

Cons

• Limited moisture range only up to 32 percent; some users may be looking for higher

Get the Wagner Meters moisture meter at Amazon, Acme Tools, or Wagner Meters.

Best Combination

Teledyne Flir Extech MO55 Pin/Pinless Moisture Meter

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Anyone looking for a combination pin/pinless moisture meter might not want to overlook the Extech MO55 pin/pinless moisture meter from Teledyne Flir. This meter offers accurate pinless readings between 0 percent to 99 percent in both wood and other building materials, as well as a 5 percent to 50 percent range in wood and 1.5 percent to 33 percent range in building materials when using the pins.

A calibration test in the cap allows users to check the Extech’s accuracy before relying on its readings. It also features a visual guide to moisture, with one digital raindrop representing dry wood, two drops for medium moisture, and three representing wet wood.

When we were testing the Extech in pin mode, we continued to press the materials button, which would inevitably give us a reading of our index fingers rather than the material we were testing. Beyond that, we liked how easy the Extech was to use, and we appreciated the digital raindrops and audio alerts that speed up according to a wood’s moisture content. And, we continued to check this model’s accuracy with its built-in calibration gauge.

Product Specs 

• Style: Combination
• Range:
  • 5 percent to 50 percent in wood; 1.5 percent to 33 percent in building materials (pin)
  • 0 percent to 99 percent in wood and other materials (pinless)
• Accuracy: 3 percent

Pros

• Easy to use with a simple screen; great readability with minimal controls to operate
• Offers visual guide and audio alerts for moisture content; very user-friendly
• Ideal when precision is key; onboard calibration and built-in gauge ensures accuracy

Cons

• Material setting button seems sensitive; can cause accidental readings of the wrong thing

Get the Teledyne Flir Extech moisture meter at Amazon, Acme Tools, or Teledyne FLIR.

Best For Wood

Tavool Digital Pin Moisture Meter for Wood

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The Tavool digital moisture meter is an excellent addition to any woodworking shop. This moisture meter for wood comes with seven calibration scales for wood so DIYers can be as precise as possible with their measurements at an accuracy within about 2 percent. The pin moisture meter also can measure the temperature of the material within 4 degrees to help quickly track down leaks.

The moisture meter uses a scale of 6 percent to 60 percent for wood and 0 percent to 40 percent for other building materials. Its big, backlit LCD screen makes for easy readability, even in dim lighting. A “Hold” key freezes readings on the screen, while the built-in memory function stores readings so the user doesn’t have to keep track.

The Tavool was one of the biggest surprises we found during testing. For one, the digital screen is both easy to read and full of information. We liked that this moisture meter features a built-in temperature sensor as well. But the one “point” we liked most about the Tavool was its pin design; the pins are long and thin enough to plunge deeply into wood but not so thin that they’re not durable. The only issue we found came when adjusting for species. Tavool, for some reason, included scientific names for tree species. We didn’t bring our biology book, so we had to do a lot of googling.

Product Specs 

• Style: Pin
• Range: 6 percent to 60 percent in wood; 0 percent to 40 percent in building materials
• Accuracy: 2 percent

Pros

• Excellent pin design; long and thin enough for deep wood plunging
• Includes a built-in thermometer for added versatility; great all-around tool
• Best digital screen in the test; easy to read with lots of useful information

Cons

• Many of the tree species in the guide go by their scientific names

Get the Tavool moisture meter at Amazon.

Best Ease of Use

Lignomat Mini-Ligno E/D Pin Moisture Meter

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The Lignomat Mini-Ligno E/D moisture meter is a premium tool designed for a specialized purpose. This pin moisture meter comes calibrated for use with wood and wood products, but it boasts an accuracy of 0.5 percent on a precision scale of 6 percent to 45 percent. Its sturdy body is easy to hold and use, with sharp pins that can push through even the toughest wood.

The body of the moisture meter holds a longer second set of pins for deeper penetration, but the real benefit of this model is the simplicity of the design. Select the wood type to be measured, then push the pins into the material. A unique on-off switch between the pins activates the meter so the user only has to look at the reading on the bright, digital LED display.