• By finding a solid piece of wood or metal behind the drywall, a good stud finder can help you hang shelves, cabinets, or decorative items.
  • Many can also help you avoid drilling or hammering into a water pipe or electrical wire.
  • The Franklin Sensors ProSensor 710 is the best stud finder because it takes readings rapidly without requiring any sliding back and forth along the walls.

A stud finder can make the difference between that framed painting hanging majestically for years to come and it crashing to the ground an hour after you hang it as a chunk of drywall rips out in the process. Many stud finders can also make the difference between you drilling a hole or hammering a nail into a water pipe, thereby turning a modest project like putting up a shelf or mounting a TV into a serious home repair almost surely involving pricey professionals.

Many operate with the push of a single button and use easily interpreted lights to indicate the location of hidden studs. Some have an even more basic operation, simply adhering to the wall near studs thanks to magnetism. And many can also detect electrical wires, helping keep you safe and preventing accidental damage to the wiring in your home, office, or wherever you’re working.

Here are the best stud finders:

Prices and links are current as of 7/28/20. We added a product showcase at the top of the guide so you can easily shop all our picks.

The best overall

The Franklin ProSensor 710 detects studs instantly with no sliding back and forth along the wall required.

Any decent stud finder is going to ultimately locate a wall stud, but usually not without an annoying process of calibration and sliding the thing back and forth along the wall, usually with a few false positives before you’re confident you have indeed found a stud and approximated the location of its center. Not so with the Franklin ProSensor 710.

This high-accuracy tool simultaneously detects the wall and framing hardware below it at 13 distinct points, instantly creating an accurate readout of the hidden materials. Its extra-wide body makes detection easier, and only those lights directly before the stud will illuminate, making end detection easy even without any sliding back and forth to be sure. That wide body design also helps you identify double studs.

The high sensitivity of the sensors also ensures an accurate detection through uneven materials, such as multiple layers of paint or wallpaper, textured plasters, and more. All that high tech, high accuracy detection requires nothing but the push of one button.

Unfortunately, it's not equipped with AC power detection, but the Franklin ProSensor 710 certainly does its primary job with poise.

Pros: Instant detection without sliding, wide design for precision readings, can identify multiple studs

Cons: No AC detection

The best on a budget

Foto: Source: CH Hanson

The CH Hanson Stud 4 Sure Magnetic Stud Finder may be low tech, but it's highly effective in most applications, and it's super affordable, too.

The CH Hanson Stud 4 Sure Magnetic Stud Finder is basically a fancy magnet, to be frank. Or rather it's a collection of magnets oriented in a solid plastic case with a soft grip rubber exterior.

It locates studs through attraction to a metal stud itself or to the screws and nails sunk into a wooden beam. If the CH Hanson Stud 4 Sure Magnetic Stud Finder is sticking to your wall, there's a stud under there. If not, no stud.

Of course, this device is going to be less accurate than an electric stud finder. Some wooden studs have relatively little metal hardware stuck through them, so you may miss a piece of framing if you don't move the stud finder up and down and side to side. But that extra work is easily justified by the small price tag of the CH Hanson Stud 4 Sure Magnetic Stud Finder, though.

The addition of a bubble level makes it easy to keep track of the stud's position behind the wall, while the fact that the unit stays adhered to the wall hands-free allows for easy markings and measurements.

Pros: Very low cost, no batteries needed, features bubble level

Cons: Misses some wooden studs

The best durable stud finder

Foto: Source: Ryobi

You can toss your Ryobi LED Whole Stud Detector in the toolbox or drop it on the floor and it will keep on working, stud after stud.

I keep my Ryobi LED Whole Stud Detector in the top of my toolbox, where it nestles snugly among a couple of hammers, seven or eight screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, a box of nails, and all the other stuff tossed in as well. In other words, I'm not all that gentle with it.

But after multiple projects in multiple residences, not to mention 2,800 miles bouncing along during a cross-country move, it still works well every time.

The Ryobi LED Whole Stud Detector uses seven LED lights that do indeed help indicate an entire stud's span as only the lights above the stud illuminate. Even more helpful is the center indication function that clearly displays the middle of a stud for the most solid sinking of nails or screws by illuminating a circle of green light when you have hit the central spot.

The tool also has an AC detection system that uses both a red light and a beep to warn when you are near active electrical current, a feature I've appreciated many times. There is also a center punch button that can make a small divot on the wall behind the stud finder, so you don't have to use a pen or pencil to mark the spot.

And while many people complain that this stud finder requires two hands to use, you can manage with one if you're creative. I turn mine upside down and use my index and pinky finger to operate its two buttons. Though single-button operation would still be a lot easier.

Pros: Durable construction, center indication light, built-in center punch marker, sensitive AC detection

Cons: Awkward two-button operation

The best high-sensitivity stud finder

Foto: Source: Zircon

The Zircon MultiScanner 740 doesn't just tell you that you've found a stud, it tells you what kind of material it's made of.

If the Zircon MultiScanner 740 weren't expensive and frankly more complex and capable than most people need, I would call it the best stud finder. This is a professional-grade product that can improve the results of a building project by greatly reducing the chance for error. As it does that in multiple ways, let's start with the physical design then get to the actual detection.

The Zircon MultiScanner 740 has a unique two-part construction with articulation between the handle and the sensor section. This allows for easy motion and reliable close contact with a wall as you move the device around. A wall marker in the handle creates a clear but washable dot to indicate where you should later drill.

It finds wooden studs quite well, of course, and will not only identify the center of a stud but also uses an arrow to show which direction to move the unit if you've gone past a stud. It also finds metal studs easily.

But more impressive than that are the other things the Zircon MultiScanner 740 can detect. It finds and alerts you to the presence of electrical wires, and it not only locates but differentiates between different types of other metal hardware. It finds non-ferrous (iron-free and non-magnetic, e.g.) metals like copper, helping prevent damage to pipes or conduit.

Do note that a number of customers found the unit overly complex in design and not user friendly, but with a read-through of the manual and some patience, you should be able to master it.

Pros: Detects multiple types of material, auto-correcting technology, erasable wall maker

Cons: Expensive option, learning curve to use

The best multifunction stud finder

When it comes to hanging shelves, frames, or cabinets, the Black & Decker BDL190S BullsEye is your best friend: it finds studs that can take the weight and projects a laser level line for keeping things straight.

The Black & Decker BDL190S BullsEye is on the pricier side, but this is a total two-in-one if ever I've seen one.

As a stud finder, it easily locates wooden and metal studs and it even has an AC detection function, too. But it also has a line laser that can project bright, clear red lines onto your walls, helping you easily hang pictures, shelving, and more in an even line. Thanks to the device's auto-leveling feature, those lines will be good and straight even without the use of a separate level.

If you're hanging a single painting or installing one hook, a regular stud finder is all you need. If you'll be working along an extended horizontal surface, however, this laser line/stud finder combination is a lifesaver for keeping your project even and looking great. It even frees up your hands by sticking to the wall with a hanging pin, though of course using that feature will leave a small hole in the wall.

Pros: Two tools in one, auto-leveling technology, wall pin for hands-free use

Cons: Laser beams are rather weak

Electric stud finders vs. magnetic stud finders

Foto:

Electric stud finders rely on the dielectric constant of various materials, detecting the density of the surface in close proximity to their sensor plate. In other words, they can tell when they're beaming an electric charge into hollow space beyond the drywall and when they are hovering near a solid wooden stud or a metal stud. Magnetic stud finders literally just magnetize themselves to metal behind the drywall, whether to metal studs or to the screws, nails, bolts, and other materials in a wooden beam.

For most DIY projects, a basic stud finder will serve fine. If you're worried about the wiring or pipes hidden in your walls, consider a more advanced unit that can detect various materials. The price of a comprehensive sensor will pay for itself time and time again in the money you save by not ruining your plumbing or electrical system.

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Foto: Source: Bosch

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