Minelab vs Garrett: Which Metal Detector to Buy in Pakistan?

The Garrett ACE 200i, 300i and 400i run a single frequency. On the 300i and 400i you can shift it slightly to escape electrical interference, and the 400i adds Iron Audio, which lets you hear iron trash before you dig. For coins and relics in parks, fields and old village sites, they are hard to beat for the money. Their coils are submersible, but the control box is not.

The Minelab Vanquish uses Multi-IQ, which transmits several frequencies at once. You give up the manual tweaking of the ACE, but the detector stays calm in wet salt sand and mineralised soil where a single frequency gets noisy. Weight is almost identical — about 1.2–1.3 kg for both ranges.

Our pick: for inland coin and relic hunting, the Garrett ACE 400i at Rs 325,000. For Clifton, Sea View or Hawksbay, the Minelab Vanquish 440 at Rs 320,000.

The Garrett ACE Apex is the cheapest way to get true multi-frequency from either brand, and at 1.13 kg it is the lightest detector in this comparison. Its limit is water: the coil is waterproof, but the control box is only weatherproof.

The Minelab Equinox 700 and 900 are fully IP68, so you can take them into the surf. The Equinox 900 adds 20 and 40 kHz single frequencies and a dedicated Gold mode, which makes it a genuine two-in-one for jewellery and small gold.

Our pick: the Apex if you mostly hunt on land and want to save money; the Equinox 700 if you will be in or near water.

Every Garrett detector we stock is a general-purpose machine. Minelab, on the other hand, has a full gold range: the Gold Monster 1000 (45 kHz VLF, fully automatic) for beginners, and the GPX 6000 and GPZ series for serious prospecting in mineralised ground. Our best gold detector in Pakistan guide compares them.

Both brands are sold with manufacturer warranty from our Bahria Town office; the exact period is shown on each product page (2 years on the Garrett ACE range, 3 years on most Vanquish, X-Terra and Equinox 700 models). Either way, you deal with us in Karachi for setup help and warranty claims, not an overseas seller.

Buy Garrett if you want a simple, proven first detector for coins and relics inland, or the lightest multi-frequency machine for the money (ACE Apex). Buy Minelab if you will search Karachi’s beaches, want full waterproofing, or plan to move into gold prospecting later. Still torn? Message us on WhatsApp with your budget and where you will search.