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If your budget stops near $3,200, the Garrett Axiom is the only one of the three that fits; if you want a detector you can fully submerge, the Nokta Magnetar 9000 is the only one whose maker rates the whole machine for 3 m; and the Minelab GPX 6000 is the most expensive of the three at $6,999, with a 3-year warranty and a 1 m coil rating. None of that says which one finds more gold. We have not tested these detectors, so this comparison sticks to what the manufacturers publish, what the stores charge on the date shown, and what owners say in public threads.
Side by side
Prices checked on 8 October 2026. Specifications come from the manufacturers’ own pages, linked in the text below.
| Model | Technology | Weight | Water resistance | Coils in the box | Warranty | Price (store, 8 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minelab GPX 6000 | Pulse induction | 2.1 kg (4.6 lb) | Coil: 1 m. Control box: splash/rain proof | 14″ double-D, 11″ monoloop | 3 years (control box and coil) | $6,999 at High Plains Prospectors |
| Garrett Axiom | Pulse induction (“Ultra-Pulse”), 1,500 Hz pulse rate, adjustable | 1.9 kg with 11″ mono, 2.1 kg with 13″ mono | Coil and stem waterproof; control box rainproof only | 13″ x 11″ double-D and 11″ x 7″ mono (Garrett’s page also calls them “13 DD” and “11 Mono”) | 24 months, limited parts and labor (2022 manual) | $3,199.99 at Garrett, with MS-3 wireless headphones (no commission for us) |
| Nokta Magnetar 9000 | Pulse induction with dual-receiver coils | 2.4 kg with the 11″ coil, 2.8 kg with the 14″ coil, battery included | IP68, up to 3 m | MG37 (14.5″ x 13″) and MG29 (11″ x 8″) | “3 years” on the product page; Nokta’s general policy suggests 2 (see below) | $4,999 at High Plains Prospectors (intro pack, 2 coils) |
Where the official pages disagree or say nothing:
- Axiom coil sizes. Garrett’s product page headline says “13 DD” and “11 Mono”, while the description says a 13″ x 11″ DD-FC and an 11″ x 7″ mono. We use the second, more specific wording.
- Axiom water resistance. The product page gives no rating. The 2022 user manual lists a waterproof coil and stem and a rainproof control box, and tells you the search coil is submersible while the control housing and connectors are not.
- Magnetar warranty. The product page we read advertises 3 years, but Nokta’s general warranty policy lists 3 years for other series and 2 years for “all other models”. Ask the seller for the term in writing before paying.
- GPX 6000 battery life. The Minelab US specification page gives the battery (7.4 V, 5,833 mAh lithium-ion, removable) but no running time, so we do not quote one.
What changes in practice
Water and wet ground
This is where the three differ most on paper. The Magnetar’s maker rates the whole detector IP68 to 3 m, so it can go in the water as a complete unit. On the GPX 6000, Minelab’s US page rates the coil to 1 m and the detector as “splash / rain proof”, and Garrett’s manual for the Axiom says the coil is submersible and the control housing is not. If you wade, hunt beaches or cross streams, the control box is the part to plan around.
Weight and fatigue
The Axiom is the lightest in Garrett’s own numbers (1.9 kg with the 11″ mono coil, 2.1 kg with the 13″). Minelab gives 2.1 kg for the GPX 6000 without saying which coil that includes. The Magnetar is the heaviest at 2.4 to 2.8 kg. In one Detector Prospector thread, a forum member who lists both machines among their gear described both as light and comfortable to swing all day. That is one person’s impression, not a measurement.
Coils, batteries and the real cost
The box price is only part of it. On High Plains Prospectors’ store today, a GPX 6000 14″ coil is $380, the 17″ coil is $400 and the 11″ coil is $340 (listed out of stock). Nokta’s Magnetar coils are priced higher: the MG29 is $699.99, the MG37 $999.99 and the large MG48 $1,299.99, all shown as out of stock, and a spare Magnetar battery is $199.99. We did not verify Garrett’s accessory prices directly, so we do not list them. Check coil and battery prices at the store you plan to use before comparing totals.
Battery life
Garrett states up to 16 hours from the built-in battery (76 Wh), plus about 6 more hours with an external AA booster pack. Nokta states up to 10 hours per battery and up to 20 hours with the two batteries in the box. Minelab does not publish a figure on the page we read.
What owners report
Most public owner discussion of these machines sits on Detector Prospector, and it is older than the machines’ current prices. Read it with that in mind.
- Coils. In the 2023 posts of the thread above, one member with both machines gives the GPX 6000 the edge in coil selection “for now”, and another says the 6000’s coils carry a security chip that makes aftermarket bypassing impractical, while the Axiom’s do not. A 2022 post in another thread lists the coil options as one reason the poster had not bought a 6000, adding that third-party coils had eased that. Three people, two threads, same direction, and all dated: coil availability for the Axiom may have changed since.
- Electrical interference. In the 2022 thread, one owner of a GPZ and a GPX 6000 says interference made the 6000 unusable with an 11″ mono coil on a patch of ground, and that a friend with a 6000 saw the same spikes. They had not tried a double-D coil. This is a single thread from 2022, so treat it as a question to ask a seller, not as a finding.
- Magnetar 9000. We could not find independent owner reports we could read in full. What we found comes mostly from dealer forums and from Nokta’s own site, which is sales material. We draw no conclusion about depth or small-gold performance from it. If you buy one, this is the machine where you most need a seller’s return policy.
We do not own any of these detectors and we have not field-tested them.
Who each model is not for
- Minelab GPX 6000: not for anyone who wades or works in water deep enough to reach the control box, because Minelab’s US page rates it splash/rain proof only; and not for a budget under about $7,000, since that is the machine alone, before any extra coil.
- Garrett Axiom: not for anyone who wants to submerge the whole detector, and not for readers who want to buy through High Plains Prospectors: that store does not list the Axiom. It does list the cheaper Axiom Lite package; see the FAQ.
- Nokta Magnetar 9000: not for anyone who needs long-term reliability evidence from independent owners before paying $4,999, because we found little, and not for anyone counting on a low accessory bill: its replacement coils start at $699.99 on the store we checked.
Where to buy, and how to read the price
Prices on this page are shown with the store and the date we checked them, 8 October 2026. The prices in the table are the selling prices shown on each listing. Some listings in the same store show a struck-through list price far above the selling price; we ignore those figures, because they say nothing about what the machine sold for before. High Plains Prospectors is an affiliate partner: if you buy through the links marked as affiliate links we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it does not change which model we say fits which budget. The Garrett link is a plain link with no commission. Stock changes daily, so confirm the price and availability on the store’s page before ordering.
FAQ
Is the Garrett Axiom waterproof?
Partly. Garrett’s 2022 manual lists a waterproof coil and stem and a rainproof control box, and says the search coil is submersible while the control housing and connectors are not. The product page gives no rating, and we found no official IP number for the Axiom.
Is the Minelab GPX 6000 waterproof?
Minelab’s US specification page rates the coil to 1 m (3.3 ft) and the detector as splash/rain proof. Other Minelab pages for other regions may word this differently, so check the page for your country before buying.
Is there a cheaper Axiom?
Garrett and High Plains Prospectors both list an Axiom Lite package with an 11″ x 7″ mono coil at $2,299.99 on 8 October 2026; Garrett showed it out of stock and High Plains Prospectors showed it available. We have not compared its features with the Axiom’s, so ask Garrett what the Lite leaves out. Axiom Lite at High Plains Prospectors (affiliate link).
How much does the Magnetar 9000 cost?
$4,999 for the intro pack with two coils, on both the Nokta page and High Plains Prospectors on 8 October 2026. Some third-party listings show different figures; prices for this model have moved in the past, so check on the day you buy.
Which coil should I choose?
The manufacturers state sizes, not what suits your ground. Larger coils cover more area per swing; smaller ones are lighter and easier in tight, trashy ground. Which one finds more gold on a given patch is a question for local owners, not for a spec sheet.
Keep reading
- Garrett Axiom vs Axiom Lite
- Minelab GPX 6000 vs GPZ 7000 vs GPZ 8000
- VLF or pulse induction for gold: which fits your ground
- Metal detectors by budget: what each price level buys
How we put this comparison together
Specifications come from the manufacturers’ pages and manual linked above, store prices were read from each store’s own listing on the date shown, and owner comments are paraphrased from public threads, with their dates. We do not own or field-test these detectors. When two official sources disagree, we show both. Full method.