Metal Detectors Around £300 Compared
A budget of around £300 now buys considerably more metal detector than it did a few years ago.
In this comparison we are looking at four machines that occupied roughly the same part of the UK market when we researched them:
Minelab Vanquish 360 — £259
Nokta Simplex Ultra — £299.95
Nokta Score — £299.95
Minelab X-Terra Pro — £349
The prices are dated observations rather than permanent RRPs, but they put these four detectors close enough together to create an interesting choice.
More importantly, they are not four variations of essentially the same machine.
The Vanquish 360 and Nokta Score offer simultaneous multi-frequency. The Simplex Ultra uses a fixed 15 kHz frequency but provides considerably more adjustment than its specification might initially suggest. The X-Terra Pro lets you select different frequencies for different situations, but operates on only one at a time.
So what are you actually getting for your money?
Minelab Vanquish 360 Nokta Simplex Ultra Nokta Score
Metal Detectors Around £300: Specifications Compared
Detector | Price when researched | Technology | Weight | Waterproof | Standard coil |
Minelab Vanquish 360 | £259* | Multi-IQ simultaneous multi-frequency | 1.16 kg** | 5 m | V10X 10 × 7 in DD |
Nokta Simplex Ultra | £299.95 | Fixed 15 kHz | 1.2 kg | 5 m | SX28 11 in DD |
Nokta Score | £299.95 | Simultaneous multi-frequency + selectable 15 kHz | Not established | 5 m | SC30 12 × 9 in DD |
Minelab X-Terra Pro | £349 | Selectable 5, 10, 15 and 8 kHz*** | 1.3 kg | 5 m | V12X 12 × 9 in DD |
* The Vanquish 360 was sold out when the price was recorded in September 2026.
** Minelab specifies 1.16 kg; one independent source published 1.26 kg.
*** Park and Field offer 5, 10 and 15 kHz. Beach operates at 8 kHz.
The headline specifications immediately show why price alone is not particularly useful.
For almost exactly the same money, you can buy fixed single-frequency, selectable-frequency or simultaneous multi-frequency technology.
But that does not mean the multi-frequency machines automatically win.
Vanquish 360 vs Score: Two Different Takes on Simplicity
The Minelab Vanquish 360 and Nokta Score are perhaps the most obvious comparison because both bring simultaneous multi-frequency technology into this price range.
Minelab's approach with the Vanquish 360 is deliberately simple.
Its Multi-IQ system operates across multiple frequencies simultaneously, but the user is given relatively little control over what happens behind the scenes. There are Park, Beach and All Metal modes, five sensitivity levels, six discrimination segments and three target tones.
Iron Bias is fixed high and there is no wireless audio according to Minelab's specification.
The advantage is accessibility. The independent review included in our research found the controls easy to understand and the preset modes straightforward to use.
The disadvantage is equally obvious: there is not much room to grow into the detector.
The Nokta Score follows the same broad switch-on-and-detect philosophy, but gives the operator rather more to work with.
Park and Field can use three simultaneous multi-frequency options or selectable 15 kHz operation. Beach is simultaneous multi-frequency only. Automatic and manual Ground Balance are included, along with four discrimination patterns, automatic Noise Cancel, Bluetooth audio, vibration and an LED torch.
What the Score deliberately does not provide is just as important.
There is no adjustable Recovery Speed, individual Target ID notch filtering, adjustable tone count, tone break, iron volume, threshold or saved user profiles on the basic Score.
A UK forum contributor described it neatly as essentially a simplified simultaneous multi-frequency detector derived from the Legend.
That makes the Score and Vanquish 360 conceptually similar, but the Score offers more user control and additional hardware features.
What Does the Simplex Ultra Do Differently?
The Simplex Ultra looks less impressive if the comparison stops at frequency technology.
It operates at a fixed 15 kHz. There is no simultaneous multi-frequency and no choice of operating frequency.
But frequency is only one part of a detector.
The Simplex Ultra provides six search modes: Field, Park, 4 Tone, 99 Tone, Beach and All Metal. It also provides adjustable Recovery Speed, tone break, tone frequency and tone volume.
That is a very different proposition from the Vanquish 360.
One machine gives the beginner Multi-IQ and intentionally restricts what can be adjusted. The other uses conventional single-frequency technology but gives the operator substantially more control over how targets are reported.
The Simplex Ultra is also fully waterproof to 5 metres, weighs 1.2 kg and includes Bluetooth capability. Its standard SX28 is an 11-inch DD coil.
For somebody who wants to learn what detector settings actually do, the Simplex Ultra therefore remains relevant despite lacking simultaneous multi-frequency.
It trades frequency technology for adjustability.
Where Does the X-Terra Pro Fit?
The X-Terra Pro takes a third approach.
It uses Minelab's PRO-SWITCH selectable-frequency system. In Park and Field you can choose 5, 10 or 15 kHz. Beach mode operates at 8 kHz.
The important distinction is that these frequencies are not operating simultaneously. You choose one and the detector uses that frequency.
That gives the operator more control than a fixed-frequency machine without moving into Multi-IQ.
The X-Terra Pro also offers adjustable Recovery Speed, Iron Bias, Ground Balance and several tone configurations. Park, Field and Beach each contain two profiles, producing six profiles overall.
At 1.3 kg it is the heaviest specified detector in this group, although still within the normal range for a modern detector. It is waterproof to 5 metres and comes with Minelab's larger V12X 12 × 9-inch DD coil.
Its position is therefore quite different from the Vanquish 360.
The Vanquish says, in effect: let Multi-IQ make the frequency decision.
The X-Terra Pro says: here are several frequencies — you decide which one to use.
Which Has the Best Controls?
This depends on what you mean by best.
If fewer controls are desirable, the Vanquish 360 has an obvious advantage. There is relatively little to configure, which also means relatively little for a beginner to get badly wrong.
The Score keeps that straightforward approach but adds Ground Balance, multiple simultaneous multi-frequency options and several practical features.
The Simplex Ultra and X-Terra Pro give the operator considerably more influence over detector behaviour.
Recovery Speed is a particularly important distinction. Neither the Vanquish 360 nor basic Score provides adjustable Recovery Speed. Both the Simplex Ultra and X-Terra Pro do.
The same broader pattern applies to audio and target handling.
This produces an important choice at this price:
Do you want the detector to make more decisions for you, or do you want more control yourself?
What About Beach Detecting?
All four have dedicated Beach modes and all four are specified as waterproof to 5 metres.
The more significant difference is frequency technology.
The Vanquish 360 uses Multi-IQ. The Score uses simultaneous multi-frequency in Beach mode. The Simplex Ultra remains a 15 kHz single-frequency detector, while the X-Terra Pro uses 8 kHz in Beach mode.
On paper, that makes the Vanquish 360 and Score particularly interesting for wet salt conditions.
But we need to be careful about turning specifications into measured performance.
The approved Score evidence contains manufacturer claims that its multi-frequency Beach mode reduces salt-related noise, but the independent performance evidence was weak. The Vanquish 360 evidence is thinner still, with no controlled wet-salt beach testing identified during our research.
Likewise, published owner reports show the X-Terra Pro being used successfully on beaches, but they do not establish that it performs as well as a Multi-IQ detector under equivalent conditions.
A dedicated UK beach comparison needs to deal with that evidence separately rather than pretending the technology column alone settles the question.
Which Gives You the Most Room to Learn?
There are two ways of looking at this.
A beginner may reasonably want simplicity. Switch on, select an appropriate mode, adjust sensitivity if necessary and start detecting.
The Vanquish 360 is particularly well suited to that philosophy. The Score adds useful functionality without opening up the much larger adjustment set found on machines such as the Nokta Legend.
But there is another type of beginner: somebody who actively wants to understand Ground Balance, Recovery Speed, tones, discrimination and frequency selection.
For that person, simplicity can eventually become a limitation.
The Simplex Ultra and X-Terra Pro provide more opportunity to experiment with detector behaviour without immediately moving into the price and complexity of an advanced simultaneous multi-frequency machine.
Are More Frequencies Automatically Better?
No.
This is probably the most important lesson from these four detectors.
The Vanquish 360 uses simultaneous multi-frequency technology yet has deliberately limited controls.
The Score combines simultaneous multi-frequency with a somewhat broader but still simplified control set.
The Simplex Ultra uses only 15 kHz but provides considerably greater control over Recovery Speed and audio.
The X-Terra Pro lets the user select different frequencies and provides several important adjustments, but never operates those frequencies simultaneously.
Those are four different design decisions.
Frequency technology tells you how the detector transmits and processes signals. It does not tell you everything about target separation, iron handling, audio quality, ergonomics or how effectively an individual detectorist will use the machine.
Does One Go Deeper Than the Others?
The research does not provide sufficiently controlled evidence to rank these four detectors by depth.
There are published depth observations for some of them, but the test conditions are not comparable.
The Score evidence, for example, includes claims of coin-sized targets at around 20–25 cm, but the source supplied no proper test methodology and we therefore rated those observations as low confidence.
X-Terra Pro owners have also reported deep targets, but soil, target size, orientation and measurement methods varied.
The Vanquish 360 has no robust controlled depth testing in the evidence we collected.
Putting those observations into a “maximum depth” table would therefore be misleading.
Which Metal Detector Around £300 Should You Consider?
These four machines make more sense when separated by philosophy rather than ranked from first to fourth.
Minelab Vanquish 360 — the simplest route into simultaneous multi-frequency within this group. Lightweight, fully waterproof and intentionally restricted in adjustment.
Nokta Score — simultaneous multi-frequency with more functionality than the Vanquish 360 while still avoiding the complexity of a fully adjustable advanced detector.
Nokta Simplex Ultra — fixed-frequency technology, but considerably more control over Recovery Speed, tones and target response. A different proposition for somebody who values adjustment over multi-frequency operation.
Minelab X-Terra Pro — selectable-frequency rather than simultaneous multi-frequency, combined with Recovery Speed, Iron Bias, Ground Balance and more extensive tone options.
That is ultimately what makes the £300 end of the market interesting.
There is no longer one obvious progression from a simple beginner detector to a technically advanced expensive one.
At around £300 you are already choosing between simplicity, simultaneous multi-frequency, selectable frequency and greater manual control.
Understanding which of those matters to you is far more useful than simply buying the detector with the longest specification list.
Comparison Articles 1–12
The 12 Detectors - Reviewed
