Affordable Ghost Hunting Gear in 2026

On today's episode of Ghost Hunter Advice, I talk about my new recommendations for equipment when you're first entering the field. This is updated for 2026 with some new items that I've run across and gotten to play with.So if you're just starting out or if you're like a few people that have emailed me over the last couple weeks and you're looking for a gift for your teenager or a friend who is just getting into ghost hunting, this is going to help you get an equipment list together that will not break the bank. Advice from the pros, stories from the haunted. You're listening to the Ghost Hunter Advice Podcast. Foreign.Welcome back to the Ghost Hunter Advice Podcast. I'm your host, Tanner and today we are going to be talking about equipment, specifically what to get when you're first starting out.I like to refresh these every once in a while when I've used some new equipment or I've run across some different things. And to keep this going, I've actually made an equipment page.So if you go to ghost hunter advice.com equipments that's going to have an updated list in real time of equipment that I recommend. It's broken down from different device types and within those they're listed from least to most expensive.Those links are affiliate links to Amazon to buy those products. So if you do decide to purchase, I get a little bit of a commission from it and that just goes to support the show.So again, thank you guys for listening and thank you guys for continuing to support the show.I've gotten a lot of emails about equipment, specifically what to buy when you're starting out as a ghost hunter and or what to get as a gift for a loved one, a child, a friend who is getting into ghost hunting.Because this equipment can be super expensive and if you're trying out something new or you're getting something like when I put my kids first ghost hunting kit together, you don't want to spend a whole, whole lot of money, but you want good equipment that's going to be what they need in the field if it's a hobby, something they're going to have fun with if they're getting into this and being a little bit more serious about it, something that's going to work and give them the results that they're looking for. So let's go ahead and get into equipment. We'll, we'll go ahead and we will start with EMF meters. They can run pretty expensive.Like if you want to get a MEL meter, I Love two in ones. I've. I've come to really like the MEL meter because it gives me both the EMF meter and the temperature.So I have a nice little compact device in my hand that allows me to track environmental data, especially if something's going on and I'm experiencing something. But you might not want to spend that much on your very first EMF or something that's a gift for someone. So I would recommend and this is from Amazon.It is a SOONKODA 3 in 1 EMF. It does electrical and magnetic.It also does temperature so you get a good little gauge of environmental fluctuations while you're out in the field looking around. I like it. It works really well. And what's best about it is it's under $15 right now. I think it's on sale for about $9.And you can find that link over on the website. It's the very first one listed there under emf. Now that also has your thermal.But if you want a non contact thermometer like a laser thermometer, I'd recommend the. I'm going to say this wrong. Silstes infrared thermometer.It's going to be a little bit more expensive but it has a non contact probe for just ambient air temperature. And then you can also use it to find cold spots, find drafts and find the reason why room temperatures are fluctuating.It's just a neat gadget to have and it allows you to track where cold spots might be coming from. It's. It's somewhere in the 30 ish dollar range and again you can find that link over on the website. I like using Geiger counters.This Geiger counter is digital. It's a great little device. It's the GQCM800 Geiger counter. And you can find again that's over on Amazon.It's less than $90 and it's just a good little device. It's digital. Unlike the one that you guys have seen me use before. The old civil defense model from. I think that mine's from the 1950s.That big yellow metal box, the analog one. I am going to digital. And so this has been a great little device for measuring radiation when it comes to cameras.In the past when I've recommended cameras, this is one that's changed on my budget list. I used to recommend the. I think it was an E K7000. It was like a little GoPro type unit.It was 50 bucks and it could be modified for full spectrum or night vision by removing the lens filter inside of the camera. I've actually found another one. It's the Aid aids high 4K camera with night vision again over on Amazon.It's $94, so it is a little bit more pricey than some of the other stuff I'm talking about here. But it comes fully loaded with night vision. The cameras are going to give you several hours of footage.So if you're just starting out or this is a gift, this is a really good camera, especially when it is paired with an external infrared light source. I've got one listed there right above it from Cam Noon. That's a really good option that gives you a lot of time and is rechargeable.So it saves you a little bit of money on batteries.I'd group those two things together and for about 110 bucks you've got a pretty solid camcorder that you can use for ghost hunting and night vision, low light situations. And for content creation. I know a lot of people are making content for social media.I've started doing some stuff with equipment and it never hurts to have a good camera, especially one that is so cheap. When it comes to voice recorders, I've always been a big fan of Olympus. I love zoom recorders, which is what I use right now.I use it for recording podcasts, I use it for recording EVPs. But what I'm really liking for a budget option, and this is under 30 bucks, is a CAPSU voice recorder.And I've got a link there on the equipment page for allows you to organize your files, organize your thoughts into different little buckets. It's a high quality recorder for really cheap. A lot of this.It's a balance between getting the cheapest equipment and getting the absolute most out of it to see if this is something that you actually want to do. So those are my equipment recommendations just straight off.If you're putting this together into some sort of like gift basket for a friend, I would recommend that 3 in 1 EMF meter. It already has the temperature gauge with it, so I wouldn't worry about the thermal.I would absolutely get the voice recorder and package those together just because I don't like using my phone. You can always use your phone as a camera, especially when you're first starting out. The newer ones have amazing cameras built into them.They have pretty good voice recorders too, but I like having a separate unit for that. And then there's some specialty equipment.If I was putting together a first time getting stuff together for my kid for a teenager, I would do the EMF Meter, the voice recorder and then something that's just a special piece that is obviously for ghost hunting.There's a dousing rod and pendulum kit and I've started kind of experimenting with that type of stuff just because it's not something that I've played with before. That's $17. And so you've got a really good looking ghost hunting kit.For someone just starting out, we'll say 1530, that's 45 for around 60, depending on shipping and stuff. Between 60 and 70 bucks, you got a pretty good ghost hunting kit.And you got a great little gift package there for your teenager who's getting into it, for a friend who's getting into it. If you want to do something really special, do the night vision camera or.I did an episode on REM pods and I've talked about how I don't feel like spending about 150 bucks on a REM pod. I'm not saying it's a horrible piece of equipment. I'm just saying for what I use them for, 50 is about the top that I would go to.And I found a ghost detector. It's an EMF ATD proximity detector, very similar to a Rimpod for about 60 bucks on Amazon. And I would pair something like that.Definitely the emf, definitely the EVP recorder so that they can, you know, when you go ghost hunting, what you're hunting is actually the evidence. It gives them a chance to play around with evp. It gives them a chance to really get something when they're out in the field.All right, so Those are my 2026 ghost hunting gift and first timer gear guide. You can set yourself up with a great kit for under $200. All the links to these are over on the website.Ghost hunter advice.com equipment so you can head over there, check those out again. I do get a little bit of a commission from those if you do decide to buy them. And that just goes to keeping the show on.Also while you're over there, check out the newsletter. Sign up for that. I'll be giving information on giveaways that are coming up for Halloween.Different topics that I'll be talking about so you guys can get questions in and just different little ghost hunting news tidbits that don't quite make it onto the podcast. Anyway, guys, thanks for listening. I'll see you on the next episode of Ghost Hunter Advice.