This is a detailed guide to the best dial indicators out there on the market today, with quick recommendations for each criteria so you can choose the dial indicators that best suits what you’re looking for.
They’re summed up in this table below. If you want to skip all the other talk and you just want to know which specific dial indicators are currently the best to go for, then they’re all right here in one place for you.
| Editor’s Award | Product | Scroll |
|---|---|---|
Best Dial Indicator (Mitutoyo) | Mitutoyo 513-402-10E Dial Indicator A genuine Mitutoyo, made in Japan. This is the gold standard for any machinist or machine operator. If you’re a professional who wants a professional piece of kit, then you’ll no doubt want to go with either Mitutoyo or Starrett. From Amazon | Read More |
Best Dial Indicator (Alternative Mitutoyo Model) | Mitutoyo 2416S Dial Indicator A Mitutoyo at a lower price point. This one is a continuous dial rather than a balanced dial, as you can see with the numbers going from 0-100. From Amazon | Read More |
Alternative Top Pick (Starrett, Made in the USA) | Starrett 25-441J Dial Indicator Made in the US and just as brilliant as as what Mitutoyo has to offer. The durability of Starrett’s offering might even be better than Mitutoyo’s, but it does cost more to reflect that. Besides, it’s not like Mitutoyo’s dial indicators aren’t durable enough already. Really this choice will come down to personal preference. From Amazon | Read More |
Best Budget Option | Clockwise Tools DICR-0105 Dial Indicator Well designed and well made, even though it’s at a budget / entry level price point. Much more impressive than pretty much all the other ones available for this price range. From Amazon | Read More |
Another Great Budget Option (3 Year Warranty) | Navigator 1″ Dial Indicator A 3 year warranty, and it seems to be well made enough to even last those 3 years anyway. At the very least, you’ve got a dial indicator guaranteed to work for 3 years, and at this budget-level price too. From Amazon | Read More |
Click to jump straight to each topic.
- What to Look for in a Dial Indicator
- The Best Dial Indicators Reviewed
- Dial Indicators We Absolutely Don’t Recommend
- What We Think of Some Other Dial Indicators Available
What to Look for in a Dial Indicator
Some of these points are obvious, so we’ll keep it short when going over those, and put the not-so-obvious takeaways first.
How to Tell Whether a Dial Indicator is Likely Well Made or Not
Interestingly, we found that there’s kind of a complete split between the well-made dial indicators out there and the poorly made ones. They tend to either be good or terrible, without much of a gray area between.
A common giveaway that one should be avoided is that is has a plastic face that’s really scratch prone. These thin plastic faces are really indicative of the overall quality of the product. They’re put in there to save money for the manufacturer, and for no other reason whatsoever.
Now, we say “to save money for the manufacturer” rather than “to make the product cheaper” because these dial indicators aren’t even cheaper than other ones that are made properly.
Sure, a Mitutoyo or Starrett one is going to cost a whole lot more, but if you’re looking for something that’ll just do the job rather than be a true artisan’s piece of kit, you should know that you can get away with ones that are significantly cheaper, but not just any of them. We’ll go through that further down in the guide.
Level of Accuracy
If you’re looking for dial indicators that have the highest level of accuracy and greatest precision available, then it’s basically as you feared. You’re limited to those manufacturers like Mitutoyo and Starrett whose reputations are well earned.
It’s not just their top level of accuracy that matters here either. It’s about them being able to consistently maintain that level of accuracy without degrading over time.
But, let us make it clear that you will know yourself whether you’re looking for what you might call a professional dial indicator for precision work, or one that’ll simply be useful in doing its job properly.
That’s the fundamental dividing line here. If you’re a professional machinist or operator or a “buy it for life” type of person, then you’ll be looking at the actual best ones, which we’re about to look at in a second.
If you’re just looking for the “best deal” for hobbyist work, you could say, then take a look at the budget options we’ve found that are actually pretty good compared to what you’d expect for the price.
So, putting all of this together, let’s look at our recommendations for the best dial indicators out there right now.
The Best Dial Indicators Reviewed
Best Dial Indicator (Mitutoyo): Mitutoyo 513-402-10E Dial Indicator
Best Dial Indicator (Mitutoyo)
Mitutoyo 513-402-10E Dial Indicator
A genuine Mitutoyo, made in Japan. This is the gold standard for any machinist or machine operator.
Honestly, there really is nothing bad we can say about Mitutoyo’s flagship dial indicators. They’re such a good investment. Especially so, when you consider the sheer long-term durability of them.
This standard design is also cheaper than the long tip version we look at further down.
Best Dial Indicator (Alternative Mitutoyo Model): Mitutoyo 2416S Dial Indicator
Best Dial Indicator (Alternative Mitutoyo Model)
A Mitutoyo at a lower price point. This one is a continuous dial rather than a balanced dial, as you can see with the numbers going from 0-100.
This would be the choice to go for if you’re specifically only looking for direct readings rather than reading the difference from a specific surface reference point.
However, something to not is that this one doesn’t come with the limit markers. It’s still a top-tier piece of kit though, and well worth it for any serious machinist or machine operator.
Alternative Top Pick (Starrett, Made in the USA): Starrett 25-441J Dial Indicator
Alternative Top Pick (Starrett, Made in the USA)
Starrett 25-441J Dial Indicator
Made in the US and just as brilliant as as what Mitutoyo has to offer.
Something that we especially like about this one is that it’s practically indestructible because of the shockless hardened steel and scratch-resistant crystal that it’s made from.
However, bear in mind it costs more than Mitutoyo’s dial indicators, and there’s also that Starrett seems to have swapped to using plastic gears in recent years.
Best Budget Option: Clockwise Tools DICR-0105 Dial Indicator
Best Budget Option
Clockwise Tools DICR-0105 Dial Indicator
Clockwise Tools actually really impressed us with their lineup. Like their other tools, this dial indicator is designed well, made well, and offered at a very reasonable price.
The manufacturer certificate is included in the box too. For the best deal at a lower price point, there really isn’t any better option to be honest.
They also do a version of this one that comes with a magnetic base.
Another Great Budget Option (3 Year Warranty): Navigator 1″ Dial Indicator
Another Great Budget Option (3 Year Warranty)
A 3 year warranty on a tool like this. That’s almost unheard of.
Combine that with the low price point and the fact that these seem to be durable enough to last those 3 years anyway, then you’ve got yourself a budget option worth checking out.
Dial Indicators We Absolutely Don’t Recommend
A cheap, plastic face that scratches easily even though it claims to be scratch resistant, at the time of writing.
Otherwise, it isn’t terrible, but there are much better options for the same price.
Far too prone to faults, and generally poorly made. Avoid this one.
Central Tools 3D101 0 to 1 Inch Dial Indicator Set with Magnetic Base
It’s a shame, because it’d be not so bad if the magnetic base’s magnet wasn’t so weak as to make it practically unusable.
The whole assembly is prone to toppling over as a result of that weak magnet. You’re better off buying a different magnetic base separately (if you need one) to whichever dial indicator you decide to go for.
What We Think of Some Other Dial Indicators Available
HFS(R) 0-2″ Precision Travel Dial Indicator
A quality budget dial indicator, but still more expensive than the budget options we listed above.
The only other issue with this one is that the spring tension is a little too loose, which makes the tip not as easily retracted as we’d like.
Yarr Store Metric Dial Indicator
One of the cheapest dial indicators on the market, and there’s nothing drastically wrong with it.
The back is plastic though, as you can see on the second picture.
Overall, decent, but this one is made to be as cheap as possible, and somehow doesn’t give a “quality” feel nearly as much as our other favorite budget options do, and they’re still in the same rough price range.
Mitutoyo 513-412-10E Dial Indicator (Long tip Version)
The long tip version of our top pick. Excellent for all the same reasons that the normal tip length version is.
It unfortunately costs a fair bit more for this long tip version, but if you need it, you need it. It’s still easily worth it, since this is a “buy it for life” type of deal.
All Industrial Tool Supply TR72020 Dial Indicator (Magnetic Base & Point Precision Inspection Set)
A decent kit. The magnetic base on this one is strong enough, but the arms are kind of on the short side, unfortunately, and the adjustments don’t tend to hold as well as we’d like.
The dial itself is good though, but again, you’d be better off getting a separate stand so you don’t have to deal with the awkward task of adjusting one like this.
Overall, not bad at all for home use, but it’s not a professional piece of kit. It won’t stand up to heavy shop use.
We hope this list of the best dial indicators has been helpful.
If there’s anything good that you think we’ve missed, or if you have any questions about anything, then let us know down in the comments below.
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