If you are looking to buy a microscope, either for yourself or as a gift, it’s a good idea to get a sense of what the average cost of microscopes are currently.
The most popular compound microscopes from some of the most well-known brands cost on average around $900-$1,200, although there are beginner microscopes that are just above the toy level that cost $100. Microscope costs can vary by manufacturer, quality, and various accompanying features, but the type of objective that ships with the microscope will account for the biggest difference in the microscope cost.
Microscopes can vary widely in cost so it can be tough to get a lay of the land and understand what microscope to buy, but I have compiled a list of the most popular models and configurations of comparable microscopes from some of the most well-known brands to give you a breakdown of the cost.
| Microscope | Brand | Mag. | Objective Type | Camera | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40X-2500X LED Digital Binocular Compound Microscope w 3D Stage + 5MP USB Camera | AmScope | 40X-2500X | Achromatic | 5MP | $310.99 |
| OMAX 40X-2500X LED BINOCULAR LAB COMPOUND MICROSCOPE WITH 5MP CAMERA AND MECHANICAL STAGE | OMAX | 40X-2500X | Achromatic | 5MP | $313.99 |
| Labomed 9135010 CxL Binocular Cordless Microscope, 4x, 10x, 40x Objectives, LED Illumination | Labomed | 40X-400X | Semi-Plan | None | $611.80 |
| Euromex bScope Brightfield Microscope – E-Plan Objectives – Binocular | Euromex | 40X-1000X | Plan | None | $677.00 |
| OMAX 40X-2500X SUPER SPEED USB3 14MP DIGITAL COMPOUND TRINOCULAR LED LAB BIOLOGICAL MICROSCOPE | OMAX | 40X-2500X | Achromatic | 15MP | $677.99 |
| OPTIKA B-150 LED Binocular Microscope Series | OPTIKA | 40X-1000X | Achromatic (HC) | None | $705.00 |
| Richter Optica UX-1 Binocular Achromat Microscope | Richter Optica | 40X-1000X | Achromatic | None | $719.00 |
| Swift M3702CB-4 Biological Microscope | Swift | 40X-1000X | Semi-Plan | None | $749.00 |
| National Optical 168 Binocular Microscope | National Optical | 40X-1000X | Semi-Plan | None | $785.00 |
| LW Scientific Revelation III Biological Microscope Series | LW Scientific | 40X-1000X | Achromatic | None | $815.00 |
| 1000x Microscope – OM139 Compound Laboratory Microscope with Infinity Plan Optics | Omano | 40X-1000X | Plan | 5MP | $868.00 |
| Steindorff CX50 Biological Microscope Series | Steindorff | 40X-1000X | Achromatic | 5MP | $1,100.00 |
| BA210 LED Compound Microscope | Motic | 40X-1000X | EF-N Plan | None | $1,150.00 |
| ACCU-SCOPE EXC-120 Binocular LED Microscope with Achromat Objectives, 1000x Magnification | ACCU-SCOPE | 40X-1000X | Achromatic (40X Semi-Plan) | 5MP | $1,263.00 |
| Leica DM300 LED Binocular Microscope | Leica | 40X-1000X | Achromatic | None | $1,305.00 |
| Zeiss Primo Star Binocular Fixed Kohler Microscope | Zeiss | 40X-1000X | Plan | None | $1,441.00 |
| Seiler Microlux IV Binocular Microscope | Seiler | 40X-1000X | Infinity Plan | None | $1,705.50 |
| Olympus CX23 Binocular Microscope – LED, 1000x Magnification, Infinity Optical System | Olympus | 40X-1000X | Infinity Plan | None | $1,799.00 |
| RB30 Biological Lab Microscope | Fein Optic | 40X-1000X | Plan | None | $1,975.00 |
| MT4000 Biological Microscope | Meiji Techno | 40X-1000X | Plan | None | $2,590.00 |
Now that you have a better grasp of the differences in cost and what may be leading to those differences in cost. Let’s take a closer look at each one of these microscopes.
1. 40X-2500X LED Digital Binocular Compound Microscope w 3D Stage + 5MP USB Camera
This microscope is from AmScope which is one of the most well-known brands known mostly for their hobbyist and enthusiast microscopes. AmScope has some great deals on microscopes and this particular microscope normally goes for around $500 but they have it listed on their website currently for $310.99. It is probably cheaper on Amazon so take a look at that price here first to compare.
What’s Great About This Microscope
This microscope ships with a 5MP camera plus the software that makes taking pictures and video plug and play with a PC or Mac. For a hobbyist who is just getting started this microscope is great because it allows them to get up and running fast and start taking and sharing pictures with friends. I also love the swivel head that allows you more flexibility and movement.
2. OMAX 40X-2500X LED BINOCULAR LAB COMPOUND MICROSCOPE WITH 5MP CAMERA AND MECHANICAL STAGE
OMAX is also known for their hobbyist and enthusiast microscopes. This is a solid microscope and would be a great buy or gift for a student or hobbyist. This particular model and configuration is currently listed at $313.99 on their website but I would also check the price on Amazon as well because sometimes they are cheaper.
What’s Great About This Microscope
This microscope is also what I would consider plug and play. It comes with 5MP camera including the software needed to capture video and take pictures. It connects to a laptop via USB 2.0. This is a well-built binocular microscope with an LED illuminator. It also comes with some great starter accessories like, immersion oil, and filters. It has a nice mechanical stage with smooth X-Y translational movement.
3. Labomed 9135010 CxL Binocular Cordless Microscope, 4x, 10x, 40x Objectives, LED Illumination
This microscope is where we start moving from the hobbyist microscope into the lab grade microscopes. Labomed is a reputable microscope manufacturer known for their ergonomic and sleek microscope designs. This microscope model is currently priced at $607.05 here.
What’s Great About This Microscope
I really like the design of this microscope. It has a very modern look to it. It also ships with Semi-Plan objectives. You may be asking what is Semi-Plan and why does that make the cost increase to much? To keep it simple, microscope objective lenses are curved, and this results in images being slightly out of focus at the edges of the field of view.
Achromatic objective lenses achieve about 60% of flat focus, the Semi-Plan objective will achieve 80% of flat focus, and Plan objectives, which are the highest quality objectives, will achieve 100% flat focus. This microscope is pretty basic and does not have a camera included but it does ship with Semi-Plan objectives at a really competitive price. So, if you are not planning on taking pictures or video to start and are more interested in image quality this may be a good microscope to look at.
4. Euromex bScope Brightfield Microscope – E-Plan Objectives – Binocular
Euromex is a big player in the microscope market and manufactures very high quality microscopes. This microscope comes with a 10 year manufacturer warranty (some at the lower end of the price scale are 5 years) and is currently priced at $677.00 here.
What’s Great About This Microscope
This microscope ships with E-Plan objectives lenses and is priced at only $677.00. Although this microscope does not come with a camera, the image quality will be excellent on this microscope. The microscope also has a low energy consumption technology and NeoLED illumination that offers larger apertures.
5. OMAX 40X-2500X SUPER SPEED USB3 14MP DIGITAL COMPOUND TRINOCULAR LED LAB BIOLOGICAL MICROSCOPE
I wanted to include another OMAX microscope because I like this brand and I happen to own this particular microscope. The main selling point for me on this microscope was the included 15MP (mega pixel) camera with software for video and pictures. The microscope itself is great but the fact that it included such a great camera was what sold it for me. It is priced really competitively at 677.99 here on Amazon.
What’s Great About This Microscope
What’s great about this microscope is the sturdy design, the filter rack swing out, the LED illuminator, and of course the excellent camera. Most people like more lightweight microscopes but I happen to like that this microscope is a little bit heavier than other similar microscopes simply because when I accidentally bump it with my arm, there is hardly a vibration. The objectives are standard DIN achromatic objectives which is great for when I first started and allows me room to purchase higher quality objectives later.
6. OPTIKA B-150 LED Binocular Microscope Series
OPTIKA is an Italian microscope manufacturer and produces industrial lab grade microscopes for a variety of uses. This microscope is portable and comparatively light weight. This microscope is currently priced here at $705.00 without the solar battery pack and $800.00 with the solar battery pack.
What’s Great About This Microscope
Aside from this microscope being well built and having a visually appealing design, it has a solar powered battery pack that allows this microscope to be portable. This is nice even if you are in a lab, because you don’t have to worry about messing with a cord. If you don’t want to use the battery it also comes with a power cord. This microscope also ships with high contrast achromatic objectives that will give you crisp clear images.
7. Richter Optica UX-1 Binocular Achromat Microscope
Richter Optica offers a range of well-built basic lab, industrial, and student microscopes. The current cost of this microscope here is $719.00. This price level is typical among some of the more recognizable brands.
What’s Great About This Microscope
Similar to the OPTIKA, this microscope also has a chord or cordless power source option and comes with rechargeable batteries. Although I typically do all my observations in my office, I like the idea of being able to set up a little portable lab and observe specimens right from the source.
8. Swift M3702CB-4 Biological Microscope
This Swift microscope has an ergonomic design with a swivel head and has a handle built into the arm of the microscope. This microscope is currently priced at $749.00 here.
What’s Great About This Microscope
I really like the handle built right into the arm of the microscope. This allows for really easy carrying and reduces risk of drops. This microscope also ships with Semi-Plan objectives which is great for an observer with an eye for details.
9. National Optical 168 Binocular Microscope
National Optical is one of the largest wholesale distributors of educational microscopes in the United States. This excellent microscope is the last microscope in the list under $800.00, currently priced at $785.00 here. It also is on Amazon here.
What’s Great About This Microscope
This is just a solid microscope with a national brand and ships with Semi-Plan objective lenses. This microscope also comes with some nice features like a swing out filter rack and yellow and blue filters included. There is also a limited lifetime warranty which is rare from what I have seen.
10. LW Scientific Revelation III Biological Microscope Series
LW Scientific is involved in many different verticals in the biomedical industry including microscopes. This particular microscope is currently priced at $815.00 here.
What’s Great About This Microscope
This microscope also comes with a lifetime warranty and is a very sturdy microscope. The microscope comes with Plan or achromatic objectives but the Plan objectives will push the price up to about $1,079.00. This microscope also has a friction adjustment ring than can be used to adjust the rotation tension on the coarse adjustment knob. This can be used to adjust the tension on the coarse adjustment knob to give you the precise movement you are looking for. Aside from that the price is justified by the quantity engineering and the brand name.
11. 1000x Microscope – OM139 Compound Laboratory Microscope with Infinity Plan Optics
Omano Microscopes are a popular brand in the microscope world. They have been manufacturing microscopes in China since 1998. This microscope is one of the best value microscopes on the list priced here at $868.00.
What’s Great About This Microscope
This microscope gets my pick for best value for the price. Although it may seem a bit pricy, this microscope ships with Plan objective lenses which will provide the best image quality. In addition to that, it comes with a 5MP camera to capture the extremely clear images that this microscope will produce. This is the cheapest microscope that comes with Plan objectives and a camera option.
12. Steindorff CX50 Biological Microscope Series
Steindorff is a lesser known brand, but they do offer lab quality microscopes as well as microscopes for enthusiasts and hobbyists. This microscope is priced at $499.00 without a camera and with the camera included it pushes the price up to $1,100.00 here.
What’s Great About This Microscope
The thing l like most about this microscope is the sleek compact design. It packs all the punch of a high quality microscope in a smaller lighter weight design. This microscope ships with achromatic lenses so you are paying for the camera, design quality and brand name here.
13. BA210 LED Compound Microscope
Motic is a global manufacturer and designer of microscopes and microscopy solutions. This microscope is the first microscope breaking the $1,000.00 threshold without a camera coming in at a price of $1,150.00 here. You can also get it delivered quicker on Amazon here.
What’s Great About This Microscope
There are a lot of things I like about this microscope. The first thing that jumps out are the optics. This microscope comes with EN-F Plan achromatic objectives which will provide a better contrast than standard achromatic objective lenses. This model also has built in features to enable Koehler illumination. At some point you will want to experiment with, darkfield, phase contrast, and Koehler illumination, so the fact that it is built in makes it so much easier to start trying new observation methods.
14. ACCU-SCOPE EXC-120 Binocular LED Microscope with Achromat Objectives, 1000x Magnification
ACCU-SCOPE is a leading manufacturer of microscopes, microscope accessories, and other products related to life science, technology, and education. This microscope from ACCU-SCOPE is currently priced here at $1,263.00 which does include a 5MP camera. It has been compared to two great microscopes; the Nikon E100 & Leica DM500. It is also on Amazon at a cheaper price but you would need to also buy some 25X eyepieces.
What’s Great About This Microscope
Apart from this just being a great quality microscope, it also comes with a Semi-Plan 40X objective. If I could pick any objective to be upgraded, it would be the 40X objective. The fact that this one already comes upgraded and includes a camera makes this microscope an extremely interesting value pick.
15. Leica DM300 LED Binocular Microscope
Leica Microsystems is a big name in microscopes. They are into several verticals in the imaging optical and biomedical spaces. This microscope is priced at $1305.00 here and does not include a camera. At this price point and the fact that it comes with achromatic objective lenses you are paying a steep price for the brand name, quality and warranty that the brand provides. Amazon typically beats Leica prices so make sure you check the price on Amazon here to see if it is lower.
What’s Great About This Microscope
I really like that the condenser has labeled settings for each objective lens. It is very important to adjust the condenser to the optimal numerical aperture for the objective that you are using, and it is difficult to get it just right on an unlabeled condenser. Most condensers that come with lower priced microscopes have unlabeled standard 1.25 numerical aperture Abbe condensers. This is a really nice feature especially for enthusiasts still learning how to use a microscope.
16. Zeiss Primo Star Binocular Fixed Kohler Microscope
Zeiss is an absolute titan in the optics and microscopy industry. They are the widely used in professional labs and research facilities. This microscope is priced on this website currently at $1,441.00. Again, we are into the big brand name microscopes and with these microscopes comes a big price tag. The high price is not just brand recognition though. These microscopes are extremely well made to insanely precise specifications and these microscopes are built to last a lifetime if maintained.
What’s Great About This Microscope
Zeiss is known for their optics and this microscope ships with infinity corrected plan achromatic objectives so it’s an easy choice. Beside the fact that you know you are buying a quality microscope there is not much else to write home about. However, these objectives will no doubt provide crisp resolved images for those who are willing to pay a little extra.
17. Seiler Microlux IV Binocular Microscope
Seiler Precision Microscopes is a microscope distributor that also sells surveying instruments and software. While Seiler is not a big brand name from what I have researched, they seem to sell quality microscopes. This microscope currently costs $1,705.50 without a camera.
What’s Great About This Microscope
There are several things I like about this microscope. The first is the quintuple revolving nosepiece that holds five objective lenses. This is a nice convenience feature that saves so much time if you are using lots of intermediate objectives.
The next thing is the objective lenses. This microscope ships with five Infinity Plan objectives which is the best you can get. The next thing I like about this microscope is that it also has a labeled condenser for each objective lens setting.
The last thing is the fact that you have the option to choose between a halogen or LED illuminator. Most new microscopes use LED illuminators but there are some people who prefer the halogen illuminator for various reasons.
18. Olympus CX23 Binocular Microscope – LED, 1000x Magnification, Infinity Optical System
Olympus ins another giant in the microscope and imaging industry. They are known for their impeccable quality and the longevity of their microscopes. This microscope is currently priced at $1,799.00 here. This is another mega brand microscope which comes with quality and a high price tag.
What’s Great About This Microscope
Aside from the quality you are going to get from an Olympus microscope, the most exciting thing is the Infinity Plan objective lenses that this microscope ships with. If you are willing to spend more for a much better image quality, you may be interested in this microscope.
19. RB30 Biological Lab Microscope
This microscope is sold by Fein Optics who is a lesser known brand (I had not heard of them until I found this microscope). This microscope is currently priced at $1,975.00 here.
What’s Great About This Microscope
Aside of the Infinity Plan objectives, this microscope comes with 1.25 numerical aperture Koehler illuminator condenser with slot for darkfield slider. It is a trinocular microscope so even though it does not come with a camera it does have the setup for it.
20. MT4000 Biological Microscope
Meiji Techno is the third largest microscope manufacturer in Japan. Meiji has expanded their product lines into industrial, educational, and laboratory microscopes. This microscope is currently priced at $2,590.00 here. They do not have this exact microscope on Amazon but if you want a less expensive version from the Meiji brand take a look at this microscope.
What’s Great About This Microscope
The price is pretty steep but there is a lot to like about this microscope. It ships with four infinity corrected Plan objectives with a quintuple revolving turret that will hold a fifth objective lens. It is also equipped for Koehler Illumination right out of the box. It also comes with a lifetime warranty so this is meant to be a one time purchase that will last lifetime.