Fluke 115 vs 117 | Which Multimeter?

Wondering what the difference is between the Fluke 115 vs 117?

The 115 and 117 from Fluke are their entry level multimeters that form part of the 110 range. They are aimed at domestic use and light industrial usage for professionals.

On the surface the Fluke 115 and 117 are fairly similar meters. Before we talk about the differences lets first have a quick review of each and then the comparison beneath.

Fluke 115 Review

The Fluke 115 is an entry level digital multimeter that is perfect for hobbyist/DIY and light professional usage. Like most Fluke meters it is accurate, well built and comes in quite a durable housing.

The 115 is a compact true RMS digital multimeter and is capable of accurately measuring capacitance, continuity, current, resistance, and voltage.

It can measure up to 600 Volts AC/DC, frequency up to 50KHz, 40MΩ resistance and continuous amperage up to 10 Amp.

For the money the 115 is incredibly well built and is certainly worthy of the trust and brand prestige that Fluke have earned.

The display on the Fluke is sufficiently large and comes with a back light making it very easy to read in most low light situations.  

The display has a bar graph underneath the large count display that goes up 6000 along with the usual unit icons you would expect.

Input wise there are the usual continuity, resistance and voltage however it does not have a mill/micro jack.

Fluke 117 Review

Just like the 115 above the Fluke 117 is a digital multimeter that is aimed at light industrial use and the home DIY'er or hobbyist markets.

It is also a true RMS meter and shares a lot of the standard multimeter features that you also find on the 115.

The 117 also has Auto-V/LoZ functionality and non-contact voltage detection. 

The LoZ helps to screen out 'ghost voltages' from nearby circuits whilst the "Volt-alert" is the non-contact voltage detector.

So with the 117 you get the top of the line in the entry level 110 series from Fluke.

Fluke 115 vs 117

So which should you buy then the Fluke 115 vs 117 ?

Ultimately they are the exact same true RMS multimeter with lots of good features and a very high build quality. The 117 however does have the added ghost voltage detector and the non-contact voltage detector.

The decision then should be primarily based on whether or not you need either of those two features. If you do then the Fluke 117 is a very well featured and affordable multimeter. If you don't then you can save yourself a small bit of money and just opt for the Fluke 115.