Stated accuracy matters less than how you brace the back edge
A laser distance meter is bought on three numbers the maker publishes: accuracy (typically stated as ± 1.5 mm to ± 3 mm), maximum range, and the ingress rating that decides whether it survives a site. The number people over-weight is accuracy; the one that actually moves a reading is the reference edge — measuring from the back of the housing, the front, or a fold-out stop changes every figure by the length of the body. We compare stated accuracy and range, reference options, area and volume modes, and whether readings can be stacked or exported.
50 m range · ± 2 mm stated · IP54 · two bubble vials
The cheapest meter in this hub, and the only one under twenty-five euros that publishes an accuracy figure at all: the maker states ± 2 mm over a 0.2 to 50 m range, with an IP54 rating and two bubble vials built into the body.
Best for: A first laser measure for indoor work, where the job is room dimensions rather than a wet site.
≈ £20 / 21 €
IP 65 · 1.5 m drop rating · 7 measuring modes · colour display
The site-rated meter of this hub: Bosch Professional states IP 65 and survival of drops from 1.5 m onto concrete, with seven measuring modes and a colour display. The accuracy figure is not in the listing.
Best for: Anyone whose meter lives in a bag with other tools rather than in a drawer.
≈ £71 / 64 €
20 m range · ± 3 mm/m stated · one-button operation
A deliberately minimal meter: one button, a 20 m range and a stated accuracy of ± 3 mm/m. It is the shortest-range meter in this hub and the easiest to hand to somebody who has never used one.
Best for: Somebody who wants a room measured without learning a tool, and will never need the far end of a car park.
≈ £29 / 30 €
100 m range · ± 1.5 mm stated · IP54
The tightest accuracy figure published in this hub — the maker states ± 1.5 mm — paired with a 100 m range, at a third of the price of the Leica that matches that reach.
Best for: The best-published specification per euro in this hub, for someone who measures long distances and does not need a documented workflow.
≈ $26 / £24 / 28 €
100 m range · Bluetooth to the DISTO Plan app · fold-out end piece
The documentation meter: 100 m of range, Bluetooth export into Leica's own app, and a fold-out end piece that lets a measurement start from inside a corner or a groove rather than from a flat face.
Best for: Anyone who measures a property and then has to write it up — the readings arrive already recorded.
≈ $220 / £185 / 181 €
