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Best Rain Gauges: How To Choose The Right One For You

Best Rain Gauges: How To Choose The Right One For You

For weather enthusiasts, farmers, and amateur gardeners, the best rain gauges can be an essential piece of equipment. Not only can you keep track of the conditions around you, but they also allow you to compare data from previous months or years.

Whether your aim is to plan seasonal farming patterns or save on your household water bill. Maybe you just want to keep tabs on the local environment! There are literally hundreds of different rain gauges to choose from online.

So, how do you know which is the best rain gauge for you? What will you be looking for in a rain gauge?

Use these links to quickly scroll & find what you’re looking for!

At A Glance: Best Rain Gauges

In case you’re just looking for a quick recommendation, here are three of the top picks. These 3 best rain gauges include a low-budget option.

However, to read all the important details, keep scrolling!

Last update on 2024-03-28

So, before you jump into our review below, it’s worth considering a few key specifications and how they can fit your needs: 

  • Accuracy – Consider how precise your rain gauge needs to be. If your livelihood depends on accurate tracking make sure it’s very precise. However. for hobbyists or gardeners, some variance may not be a problem.

  • Capacity – You’ll likely already have a bit of knowledge of the local climate so consider the capacity your rain gauge needs to handle. The wetter your location, the greater your capacity, especially if you want to measure over longer periods.

  • Durability – An extension of the above point, ensure you get the best rain gauges to survive the elements in your climate. For example, if you’re measuring somewhere that’s exposed to strong winds, sleet or hail make sure you invest in a robust enough gauge to keep your tracking up and running.

  • Technology – Modern rain gauges now vary in their use of technology. Many offer the ability to track water levels remotely from the comfort of your home or office. If you want something with remote monitoring built-in, a wireless rain gauge may be best for you. 

 

9 Best Rain Gauges

Best All-Rounder – AcuRite 02446M Wireless Rain Gauge

Combining durability, flexibility, simple design, and good use of technology. The AcuRite 02446M Wireless Rain Gauge takes our vote as the best all-rounder on the market.

This handy device measures rainfall and wirelessly transmits readings to its indoor display. You can also set up a customizable alarm to notify you when your set rainfall total has been reached.

Plus, you can view rainfall totals for the current day, yesterday, last week, by month, or year. And because the rain collector is self-emptying, there’s no daily maintenance required – just connect the collector to the display and start measuring! The perfect gift for any gardener or casual weather-watcher!

Look to the AcuRite 02446M for the overall best rain gauge – in our opinion!

Last update on 2024-03-28

Pros: 

  • Simple ‘bucket’ design
  • Self-emptying (unlimited capacity)
  • Technology for accurate reporting 
  • Easy to mount or hang anywhere
  • Easy read display which doubles as a clock and calendar

Cons: 

  • Wireless range up to 30m only

Best For Price – AcuRite 00850A2

No matter your interest level in weather, you may just need something simple and cheap to keep track of the rainfall in your area. If so, the AcuRite 00850A2 is an ideal, quick, and easy solution and our value best rain gauges. 

Its basic design means it can simply be placed into your garden or plot and begin capturing water straight away. Pre-drilled holes make it easy to hang and the tapered end makes for easy staking into the ground.

With a capacity of up to 4″ / 100mm, it is more than adequate for the majority of climates. The magnified reader makes taking measurements a breeze without needing your reading glasses. In fact, the number size increased by 35%.

Whilst this isn’t a specialized rain gauge for durability, it is built from hardened acrylic. It will stand up to the elements for a long period of time.

However, you need to be careful of it underfoot once planted.  How can you go wrong at this price?

The AcuRite 00850A2 will give you rain measurements for many years. With no bells & whistles, its budget price puts it on our list of best rain gauges.

Last update on 2024-03-28

Pros:

  • Simple and easy design
  • No installation is needed, just push into the turf
  • Magnified reading for easy measurement
  • Cheap price
  • Can be wall mounted with pre-drilled holes
  • Hardened plastic will last many years

Cons: 

  • Basic accuracy
  • Not specialized in durability
  • Manual emptying

Best for Farming – Outback Blue Large 250mm Rain Gauge

If you’re operating a large agricultural or plantation farm, keeping an eye on the weather is crucial. To ensure a smooth operation all year round it is vital to know the moisture levels.

The Outback Blue Large rain gauges are made in Australia to withstand the tough Aussie conditions making them great for most climates. A high-grade UV-resistant polycarbonate won’t crack with frost or discolor in the scorching sun, however, it will not withstand snow conditions. Set up and usage are simple and straightforward, so you don’t need high-tech skills for this line of best rain gauges.

Farmers often need to track rainfall over a long period of time especially if operating in vast open spaces. With a large overall capacity of 280mm (one of the largest on the market), these rain gauges may only need to be read, and emptied, weekly or monthly. This will, of course, depend on the amount of rainfall. In fact, for truly vast areas an automatic emptying rain gauge may be best.

The large capacity comes from its dual tube design. The inner tube is designed to measure the overflow in the outer tube. Simply total each of the 1″ measurements to know the amount of water in the outer tube and add the inner tube volume.

The Outback Blue 250mm can be easily mounted in a range of locations and its simple markings help you track down to 0.5mm increments.  Its large capacity, durability, and great price put it fairly on our list of best rain gauges.

Last update on 2024-03-28

Pros:

  • Large 250mm Capacity
  • UV-protected, robust construction
  • Easy to install
  • Measurement down to 0.5mm
  • No tech skills required

Cons:

  • Inner tube design can be fiddly for readings in harsh conditions
  • Not designed for snow conditions

Best For Home Use – TFA 47.100 Rain Gauge

For those looking to measure local rainfall for gardening cycles, you’ll need a compact and simple gauge to keep track of the conditions. The TFA 47.100 gauge mixes durability and simplicity to give gardeners exactly what they need. 

No assembly or complex mounting is required. The TFA 47.100 comes with a simple holder that can be easily mounted on fence posts/panels to fit in with the aesthetics of your garden.

With a maximum capacity of 40mm and clear indications to assist reading, it embraces its German-made durability and simplicity. 

It even comes with the added bonus of a secondary tracking ring. This allows you to manually track rainfall over a longer period of time if you can’t get to empty it regularly. 

The TFA 47.100 looks great, is simple to use and install, and has decent capacity. We think these features put it in our list of best rain gauges and specifically for home gardeners.

TFA 47.1001 Rain Gauge

Last update on 2024-03-28

Pros: 

  • Simple and easy design
  • Easy to mount
  • Small and compact
  • Tracking ring for manual recording over time

Cons: 

  • Small single capacity

Best for Weather Enthusiasts – Netatmo NRG01-WW

If you want to dig deep into local climate monitoring, you’ll likely be aware of the Netatmo weather station range. Netatmo is a trusted brand in amateur weather monitoring. Within their complete collection, monitors are available for rain, wind, temperature, and humidity. 

The NRG01-WW model is an accessory to the Netatmo Weather Station and a great solo monitor.

With a capacity of 150mm and accuracy down to 1mm, it will help you crunch the precise numbers for rainfall in your local area. Place it on your balcony or stake it in your garden.

It’s also extremely well-connected, offering a mobile app, smart home support, and custom notifications so you can keep track anywhere.

Start your weather journey with the best rain gauges to build your weather station. The Netatmo NRG01-WW is a great stand-alone rain gauge but you can purchase further products from the range to integrate and build your custom weather station.

Last update on 2024-03-28

Pros: 

  • Highly accurate
  • Sleek and modern design
  • Multiple connectivity options
  • Support through NetatmoAssistance
  • Add other products from the Netatmo range

Cons: 

  • 100m range
  • Not suitable for heavily exposed areas

Interested in buying a weather station? See our article:
The Best Weather Stations To Buy Online In 2020.

Best for Harsh Exposure – OutdoorHome 150mm Gauge

For light farming, gardening, or monitoring weather in a highly exposed environment, you’ll need a rain gauge with high capacity and easy reading.

Whilst we’ve seen the Outback Blue and TFA above, we wanted to call out the OutdoorHome as the perfect hybrid between the two.

Made to withstand harsh elements with heavy-duty and UV-resistant plastic that won’t crack or go yellow, there is an added bonus. The outdoor home team offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if it can’t match up to your local elements.

Couple this with large, easy-to-read indicators and a simple screw-on mount, and it’s perfect for any extreme situation. 

No need for any tech knowledge, this manual rain gauge even comes with a cleaning brush!

The OutdoorHome 150mm is a tough, Aussie-made manual rain gauge designed for any conditions. Easy to mount and read with excellent durability we know it is one of the best rain gauges.

Last update on 2024-03-28

Pros: 

  • ‘Virtually unbreakable’
  • Quick and easy install
  • Easy-to-read indicators
  • Large 150mm capacity
  • Aussie-made

Cons: 

  • Large measurements make for slight inaccuracy

Some Honourable Mentions In Our Best Rain Gauges For 2010

There was stiff competition for the many rain gauges to make it into our ‘best range so we wanted to call out some models that deserve a mention in their own right:

The Longest Wireless Range Rain Gauge – AMTAST Digital Wireless

Similar to our best all-around gauge from AcuRite, the AMTAST Digital Wireless Rain Gauge utilizes a bucket-like design for capturing precipitation. It then sends live results back to a separate monitor via a wireless connection.

If you’re after slightly more range, this is the model for you with distances up to 100m.

Last update on 2024-03-28

The Most Accurate Rain Gauge – ECOWITT WH5360B High Precision

If it’s the accuracy you’re after, we recommend checking out the ECOWITT WH5360B High Precision.

It includes many of the features we’ve seen with our other models such as bucket design, digital monitoring, and level alerts, and has a variety of mounting options.

Crucially, the ECOWITT WH5360B High Precision claims an accuracy reading of just under 1mm.

Last update on 2024-03-28

The Largest Capacity Rain Gauge – Outback Blue Large 250mm Rain Gauge

We’ve already seen Outback Blue in our best-of roundup. However, there really is no other competitor on the general rain gauge market that shapes up to the whopping 250mm capacity.

If you’re looking for something bigger, we suggest reaching out to industrial meteorologist organizations, but if 250mm is enough for you, check out the Outback Blue below.

Last update on 2024-03-28

Conclusion

We hope you found something suitable for your needs in our review of the best rain gauges on the market today.  From small to huge and super easy to fully automated, we have covered them all.

Leave us a comment below on which is your favorite and read some more reviews by clicking below. 

Acurite Rain Gauges

Best Weather Stations

Weather Gifts