Garmin, Lowrance, Simrad, Furuno or Raymarine: equivalents and real prices (2026)
All five brands make good sounders. The difference lies in how much power the display accepts, which ecosystem it locks you into (live sonar, radar, autopilot, charts) and what each step up costs. Here are the equivalents, with real prices from Spanish shops taken on 24 September 2026 (VAT included, charts extra, no installation) and what the skippers who use them at sea say. Prices change monthly: the table is for comparing, not for closing the deal.
The ranges in one sentence
- Garmin: ECHOMAP (UHD2, Ultra 2) inshore; GPSMAP for network, radar and 1 kW. The only one with LiveScope. Navionics charts (own).
- Lowrance: Eagle and Elite FS inshore; HDS Pro for 1 kW, two transducers and ActiveTarget 2. C-MAP and Navionics.
- Simrad: the same Navico electronics as Lowrance with a navigation interface: NSX (= Elite FS) and NSS 4 (= HDS Pro) with Halo radar and autopilot.
- Raymarine: Element (cheap, no network) and Axiom 2 (Pro with 1 kW and RealVision 3D). LightHouse.
- Furuno: GP-1971F as a standalone unit and NavNet TZtouch3 with 1 kW TruEcho CHIRP sounder and TimeZero. Reputation for reliability and deep sounding; the priciest.
9" mid range: the RIB's sounder
| Brand | Model (9") | With transducer | Without transducer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garmin | ECHOMAP UHD2 92sv + GT56UHD-TM | 1.250 € | 1.150 € without transducer (977 € offer) | Internal sounder; 1 kW needs an external module. LiveScope optional. |
| Lowrance | Elite FS 9 + Active Imaging 3-in-1 | 1.149 € offer (PVP 1.330 €) | — | 300 W internal sounder; no 1 kW. FishReveal; ActiveTarget compatible. |
| Simrad | NSX 3009 + Active Imaging 3-in-1 | 1.929 € offer (PVP 2.056–2.097 €) | 1.577 € without transducer | Same Navico electronics as the Elite FS, with the Simrad interface and radar/autopilot. |
| Raymarine | Element 9 HV (+ HV-100) | — | ≈ 900 € without transducer | HyperVision 1.2 MHz; no network or radar; transducer not included. |
| Furuno | GP-1971F 9" | — | 1.700 € offer (PVP 2.050 €) | Internal CHIRP sounder up to 1 kW; 9" touch; no NavNet network. |
Reading: Garmin and Lowrance cost the same with a 3-in-1 transducer; Simrad charges for the navigation interface; Raymarine Element is the cheapest but has no network; Furuno GP-1971F is the only one in this group with a 1 kW sounder, at the cost of no side scanning.
9–10" high range: the 1 kW tier
| Brand | Model | Price | Sounder | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garmin | GPSMAP 923xsv | 1.400–1.790 € without transducer | 1 kW CHIRP built-in | Takes 1 kW and LiveScope; Garmin network; cheapest of the "pro" tier. |
| Lowrance | HDS Pro 9 | 2.097 € PVP without transducer; 2.109 € with AI HD 3-in-1 | 1 kW, dual-channel CHIRP | Two transducers at once; ActiveTarget 2; the jigging skippers' favourite. |
| Simrad | NSS 4 10" | 2.997 € offer (PVP 3.331–3.398 €) without transducer | 1 kW, dual-channel CHIRP | With Halo radar and autopilot; NSS 4 only comes in 10/12/16". |
| Raymarine | Axiom 2 Pro 9 RVM / 9 S | 3.203–3.380 € / 2.734–2.843 € without transducer | 1 kW CHIRP + RealVision 3D (RVM) | LightHouse; Quantum radar; the Element does not play in this league. |
| Furuno | NavNet TZtouch3 TZT9F | 2.490 € offer (PVP 3.025 €) without transducer | 1 kW TruEcho CHIRP built-in | 1 kW internal sounder, NavNet network, TimeZero; the offshore reliability benchmark. |
Here is the difference that matters for deep jigging and big depths: GPSMAP, HDS Pro, NSS 4, Axiom 2 Pro and TZtouch3 take 1 kW; the mid-range units do not. An HDS Pro 9 with a 1 kW transducer (TM185M, about €700) comes to €2,800; a GPSMAP 923xsv with a B175M, about €2,200. Left out of these tables: Humminbird (strong in fresh water and side imaging, almost no distribution in Spain) and the 7" ranges, too small to split the screen.
Larger sizes
| 12" (mid) | Price | 12" (pro) | Price | 16" | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simrad NSX 3012 + AI 3-in-1 | 3.345 € (PVP 3.701 €) | Simrad NSS 4 12" | 4.439 € (PVP 5.035 €) | Simrad NSS 4 16" | 6.439 € (PVP 7.300 €) |
| Raymarine Axiom 2 Pro 12 S | 3.702–3.810 € | Raymarine Axiom 2 Pro 12 RVM | 4.319–4.348 € | Raymarine Axiom 2 Pro 16 RVM | 6.402 € |
| Furuno TZtouch3 TZT16F | 5.549 € (PVP 6.528 €) | Furuno TZtouch3 TZT19F | 8.125 € (PVP 9.559 €) | Furuno TZtouchXL 13 / 16 | 4.315 € / 5.549 € |
| Garmin ECHOMAP Ultra 102sv + GT56 | 2.469 € | — | — | — | — |
What skippers say (forums, 2024–2026)
- Power matters more than brand. A New Zealand skipper running two HDS Carbons: with the stock 3-in-1 transducer, "acceptable fishfinding performance out to about 80 m"; with a 1 kW TM185M, "I can see a 200 g jig in more than 100 m of water". His advice: buy the display without a transducer and go straight to the 1 kW one. And the ECHOMAP Ultra's flaw: "only 600 W, the Lowrance does a true 1 kW".
- Garmin wins on interface and support: "easiest interface", "support second to none by email, phone and chat", "any current-generation brand is fine". The recurring complaint: closed charts (Navionics only) and ClearVü, weaker than Lowrance's DownScan.
- Lowrance wins on DownScan and FishReveal ("the only thing Lowrance has over Garmin is FishReveal"; "Lowrance's DownScan highlights fish and separates them from cover"). The complaints: the mobile app ("unstable"), the odd Elite with false depth readings and slower menus at the bottom of the range.
- If you want live sonar, Garmin: the unanimous answer in five threads. If you only want side and down scanning, Lowrance.
- Furuno: "if I were starting from scratch today, Furuno", says a British Columbia veteran. Furuno's forums have little traffic: those who buy it do not ask.
- The split-screen trick (Garmin): traditional sonar on one side and ClearVü on the other; an arch with a dot in the same position on ClearVü is a fish; an arch without a dot is usually bait, bubbles or debris.
What we would buy for your kind of fishing
- RIB or inshore boat, trolling at 20–80 m: Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 92sv with GT56 or Lowrance Elite FS 9 with Active Imaging 3-in-1, both €1,150–1,250. A tie; decide by the charts you already own and whether you dream of LiveScope.
- 7–10 m boat, trolling and jigging down to 250 m: Lowrance HDS Pro 9 or Garmin GPSMAP 923xsv without the stock transducer, plus an Airmar TM185M or B175M 1 kW. Total budget €2,200–2,900. The setup of most trolling and jigging skippers.
- Offshore and big depths (bigeye, swordfish, jigging at 300 m), radar and autopilot: Furuno TZtouch3 or Simrad NSS 4, with a 1 kW low + high transducer (B265LH). From €4,000 with transducer.
Whatever the display, the transducer decides what you see: transducers: power, frequencies and angles. And how to set it, in menu-by-menu settings.
Sources (prices and opinions)
- Prices from Spanish shops, 24-09-2026: Lowrance Spain (Elite FS 9), Lowrance Spain (HDS Pro 9), ONNautic (Elite FS 9), ONNautic (HDS Pro 9), ONNautic (Simrad NSX and NSS 4), Simrad Spain (NSX 3009), Equiposnauticos (Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 92sv), SVB (Garmin GPSMAP 923xsv), Equiposnauticos (Furuno), Iterin (Raymarine) and SVB (Raymarine Axiom 2 Pro 9 RVM).
- User opinions: fishing.net.nz, ECHOMAP Ultra vs HDS Live (sea, 20–150 m), fishing.net.nz, Lowrance vs Garmin, fishing.net.nz, Garmin 8015 + GSD26 + TM265LH, SportFishingBC, Lowrance vs Garmin, Reddit: Lowrance or Garmin, ECHOMAP UHD 9sv vs Elite FS 9, Elite FS 9 vs UHD2 95sv; BassResource, traditional vs ClearVü; Furuno USA Forum.
- Garmin, Transducer Selection Guide 2025 (power ratings and compatible transducers).
