Best rain gauge

If you want accurate information about how much rain has fallen on your garden, a rain gauge is what you need. While checking online can be helpful, only by measuring your own plot will you gain an accurate reading. By quantifying rainfall, you’ll know how to keep the lawn and plants healthy, and you can also pick the optimum times for planting.  There are super simple, low-cost models, more sophisticated options, and even fun designs. Find all these and more here.

Available at a very low price point, this rain gauge is a worthwhile addition to any garden. It measures in both millimetres and inches, so you can use the system you prefer, and it’s easy to read. Track your data with the included chart; note how much rain has fallen or how much water you’ve given your lawn or plants. I like the way the green colour makes it nicely inconspicuous when nestled amongst foliage. 

If you like the idea of knowing how much rain has fallen without having to go into the garden to check, this rain gauge is the design for you. It has a measuring container that goes in the garden, and the information is transmitted to the base station you can keep in the kitchen or living room. I’m a fan of how it shows you rainfall over different periods as well as cumulatively to help you build an informed picture. It provides the exterior temperature, time and date, and even functions as an alarm clock.

Give a cute gift to a friend or relative, or treat yourself to this rain gauge with a lawn gnome lifting a measuring tube. It can hold up to 12 centimetres or 5 inches of water, so he’ll help you decide when it’s time to get the hose or watering can out. The gnome is made from polyresin to stand up to the conditions in the garden. However, at around 20 centimetres in height, the ornament might be best positioned on a low wall, bench, or table, so it’s not lost from sight. 

If you’d rather avoid stooping down to check the reading, opt for this rain gauge. It has a mounting bracket that allows you to set it up on a fence post or another high-up position in the garden. And the bracket installation is a speedy and straightforward process. It’ll cope with heavy downpours and can measure up to 150 millimetres or 6 inches of rain, allowing you to go with your metric or imperial preference. I like that it’s made for longevity, so it doesn’t crack, go cloudy, or yellow when exposed to the weather.

You might want to be aware of the rainfall levels in different areas of your garden, and that’s where this rain gauge set comes in. Large, clear black markings win points from me for being easy to read, even if you’re standing at a distance. They can measure up to 35 millimetres per metre squared of rain. For durability, the tubes are made of weatherproof plastic, and they come with holders. Bear in mind, however, that you will need poles or something similar to mount them on, and these need to have a 16-millimetre diameter.

I think this rain gauge is a top choice for a classic or country-style garden. It consists of a measuring container made from plastic plus a metal support spike, so you can place it in your garden as soon as you’ve unwrapped the packaging. What’s more, the curvaceous design of the support makes this an attractive piece as well as a useful one. Like some of our other selections, it’s a good choice if you prefer not to have to bend down low to read the rainfall measurement with a height of 76 centimetres.

Our verdict

Adding a rain gauge is a simple way to discover how much rainfall has occurred in your garden instead of relying on online records that may have been taken some distance from your home. Our number one is the Tildenet rain gauge, a low-cost choice in a garden-friendly green shade.

If you want more sophisticated readings, opt for the TFA Dostmann wireless rain gauge, which catalogues how much rain has been falling over different periods. Alternatively, have fun with your design choice and go for the Bits and Pieces gnome rain gauge that doubles as a garden ornament.

Why trust us

At GardeningEtc, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As expert curators, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your day-to-day, from cart to doorstep. We take our responsibility seriously – testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. We deliver detailed product overviews, balancing objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is as easy as possible.

Why trust me?

As both a gardener and gardening writer, I can thoroughly recommend using a rain gauge to help you track rainfall. One of these can be particularly valuable if you’re not a home-based worker and don’t know what’s been happening in your plot while you’ve been elsewhere.