Both are about the same price, the Garrett ACE 250 is a very popular one, mainly because it comes with a built in pinpointer, but it is also heavy too. You can tire of waving it around soon after. It has automaticly depth range, but also lots of settings, so for a beginner, you might want to consider a simple machine first. I've been detecting for years and have found over 500 items, and I still use a Bounty Hunter which is one of the least expensive ones, but it has never failed me. So just get what you enjoy, all detectors work, and there really isn't a better one, it's what you prefer to use.