5 Alternatives to the Garrett ACE 300i — Including Better Upgrades and Cheaper Swaps

If you’re looking at the Garrett ACE 300i, you’re generally in the entry-to-mid range: a simple, proven VLF detector with decent target ID, good all-round usability, and a sensible weight for long sessions. The alternatives below split into three camps: a true premium upgrade, a near-direct Garrett alternative, and a couple of budget options that look tempting on paper but come with real trade-offs in build quality, depth consistency, and discrimination reliability.

MINELAB Equinox 800 Multi-Frequency Waterproof Metal Detector — £1886.91

This is not a like-for-like alternative on price; it’s a major step up, costing roughly £1,610 more than the ACE 300i. But if you want the best all-rounder in this list, this is it. The Equinox 800 uses Multi-IQ simultaneous multi-frequency rather than a single-frequency VLF platform, which matters a lot in UK soil. In practical terms, it handles mineralised ground, wet sand, and mixed trash better than the ACE series, and it gives you much more confidence when the ground starts fighting back. The 11" Double-D coil is larger and more efficient for coverage than the ACE 300i’s standard search setup, and the machine is fully waterproof, so it’s a genuine beach and shallow-water tool rather than just a fair-weather field detector.

Feature-wise, you get 4 detect modes, wireless headphones included, and much stronger adjustment options for ground balance, recovery speed, and target separation. That extra control is the difference between simply hearing a target and actually isolating a non-ferrous signal in iron-littered pasture. The weight is still manageable, but the build quality is in a different league: more refined shaft, better sealing, and a more serious “workhorse” feel. Target ID accuracy is also notably better than the ACE 300i, especially on deeper targets and mixed targets where cheaper single-frequency machines can jump around.

Verdict: choose the Equinox 800 if you’re serious about detecting in the UK and want one machine that can do almost everything well. It’s overkill for a casual beginner, but for experienced detectorists upgrading from an ACE 300i, it’s the biggest performance jump here.

Garrett Ace 300 Metal Detector — £285.94

This is the closest alternative to the ACE 300i, and at about £10 more it’s essentially a sibling model rather than a different class of detector. The key practical question is whether you’re getting enough extra value to justify moving away from the 300i. In most cases, the answer is “not much” unless the exact package, availability, or accessory bundle suits you better. The ACE 300 is still a single-frequency VLF detector with Garrett’s familiar user-friendly interface, solid discrimination, and decent target ID for parks, fields, and beginner relic hunting.

Because it sits so close to the 300i, the real-world difference is more about package and region-specific branding than a major performance leap. Ground balance remains more basic than on higher-end detectors, so in heavily mineralised UK soil you’ll still feel the limits of this platform. Coil size and type are in the same general entry-level Garrett style, and build quality is what you’d expect from the ACE family: reliable, light enough for all-day use, but not especially advanced. Battery life is typically strong on AA power, which is a plus for newcomers who don’t want to worry about charging routines.

Verdict: choose the ACE 300 if it’s cheaper, easier to source, or comes with a better bundle. If you already own the ACE 300i, there’s little reason to switch unless the price difference swings in your favour.

Hazlewolke Professional Metal Detector with 14'' Large Double-D Waterproof Search Coil — £179.99

At around £96 less than the ACE 300i, this is the sort of alternative people look at when they want a bigger spec sheet for less money. On paper, the 14" Double-D waterproof search coil, 4 modes, backlight LCD, and pinpointer function sound impressive. In practice, the extra coil size gives you more ground coverage and can help on open land, but it also makes the machine less nimble in trashy areas and more tiring to swing. A large coil can feel great in a clean field at 6am; it can feel awkward in iron-infested pasture or around old hedgerows where target separation matters more than raw sweep width.

The practical concern with machines in this category is consistency. You may get a usable detector with decent depth and a helpful display, but target ID accuracy, discrimination stability, and ground handling are usually not in the same class as Garrett or Minelab. The build quality is functional rather than refined, and while waterproof coil claims are useful, that does not always mean the control box or overall sealing is genuinely field-proven for wet UK conditions. Weight can also creep up with these larger, budget-focused units, which matters if you’re out for hours.

Verdict: choose this if you’re on a tighter budget and want a feature-heavy detector for casual use, beach combing, or occasional field work. Experienced detectorists will likely find the discrimination and target ID less trustworthy than on the ACE 300i.

Professional Metal Detector for Adult, 14’’ Double-D Coil, IP68 Waterproof, Lightweight — £149.99

This is the cheapest option here, about £126 less than the ACE 300i, and it’s aimed squarely at buyers who want a lot of marketing features for very little money. The IP68 claim is the headline, and if that rating is genuine across the whole unit rather than just the coil, that’s attractive for wet grass, puddles, and shallow water work. The 14" Double-D coil again suggests decent sweep coverage, and the lightweight description is appealing for beginners who don’t want a heavy machine.

The issue is that budget detectors like this often promise more than they consistently deliver. In the field, the most important questions are not how many modes are listed, but whether ground balance is stable, whether discrimination actually separates junk from good targets, and whether the target ID settles rather than bouncing all over the place. On cheaper machines, deeper targets often produce vague or misleading IDs, and iron can leak through the discrimination patterns in ways that frustrate anyone moving beyond beginner-level detecting. Battery type and runtime also tend to be less clearly specified, which is not ideal if you want a detector you can trust for a full day’s hunt.

Build quality is the biggest compromise. The shaft, coil mount, and control housing may be perfectly adequate for occasional use, but they are unlikely to feel as robust as a Garrett. If you’re detecting regularly in rough UK fields, especially in cold, wet conditions, durability matters.

Verdict: choose this only if budget is the overriding factor and you’re happy to accept a more basic, less proven machine. It can be a stepping stone, but it is not the best choice for someone who wants dependable target ID and serious field performance.

Garrett ACE 400i Metal Detector — £379.94

This is the most logical upgrade if you like the Garrett feel but want more performance than the ACE 300i. It costs about £104 more, which is a meaningful jump, but you’re paying for a better detector rather than just a different badge. The ACE 400i generally gives you improved discrimination, better target ID resolution, and more confidence on mixed ground. For UK users, that matters because the difference between a machine that “beeps at stuff” and one that helps you sort trash from likely finds is massive over a long day.

The ACE 400i typically benefits from a more capable coil setup and stronger iron handling than the 300i, which makes it a smarter choice for older sites with nails, agricultural debris, and scattered ferrous junk. It’s still a single-frequency VLF platform rather than a multi-frequency machine, so it won’t match the Equinox 800 in difficult ground, but it’s a more polished and capable Garrett for most casual-to-serious detectorists. Weight remains sensible, battery life is usually good on AA cells, and the interface is still friendly enough for newcomers who want to grow into the machine.

Build quality is very similar to the ACE 300i in broad feel, but the extra features make the 400i more future-proof. If you know you’ll be detecting regularly, the extra money is easier to justify than it first looks.

Verdict: choose the ACE 400i if you want a genuine step up from the 300i without jumping all the way to premium multi-frequency pricing. It’s the best “same family, better performance” option here.

Overall, the best alternative depends on what problem you’re trying to solve. If you want the best detector and can stretch the budget, the Equinox 800 is the strongest performer by a long way. If you want to stay with Garrett, the ACE 400i is the sensible upgrade, while the ACE 300 is only worth considering if it’s better priced or easier to buy than the 300i. The two budget machines may look attractive, but they’re compromises in target ID accuracy, ground handling, and long-term build confidence — which is exactly what matters when you’re in a ploughed field, not just reading a spec sheet.