It depends on your use case:
| Application | Best choice |
|---|---|
| Home / preparedness | GM survey meter |
| Contamination detection | Pancake probe |
| Environmental / low-level detection | Scintillation (NaI) |
| Compliance / dose measurements | Energy-compensated GM |
| Personal safety | Dosimeter (Sentry / PEN) |
| Lab / isotope ID | Spectroscopy (URSA II) |
Rule of thumb:
- Unsure? → get a general-purpose GM detector
- Need sensitivity? → go scintillation