An infrared thermometer tells you when the pizza stone, griddle or skillet is ready; it cannot tell you when the steak is done, because it reads surfaces, not the inside of food. The two-in-one units in this guide add a fold-out probe for that job. Picks are sorted on spot ratio, emissivity, range and probe accuracy as stated by the manufacturers.
Surface Ready
Probe for Doneness
Stainless Reads Low
As an Amazon Associate, Akermin earns from qualifying purchases. Product links on this page are affiliate links.
These thermometers were compared for kitchen and grill use on distance-to-spot ratio, emissivity control for shiny cookware, temperature range, response time and, on the two-in-one units, stated probe accuracy and speed. All figures are from manufacturer listings; we did not run laboratory tests or cook with the tools, and gaps are marked Not stated.
12:1 infrared with adjustable emissivity plus a fold-out probe rated to plus or minus 1.8 F.
12:1 infrared with max/min/avg and a 180-degree folding probe stated at plus or minus 1 F.
Surface-only 12:1 gun with a -58 to 842 F range and a half-second reading.
No pick matches that combination yet. Try a wider budget or a different measurement.
| Product | Probe | Infrared range | Distance-to-spot | Emissivity | Laser | Readouts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TempPro 2-in-1 | Yes, plus or minus 1.8 F in 2 to 3 s | Not stated | 12:1 | Adjustable | Not stated | F/C, auto-off, motion wake | View |
| ERICKHILL 2-in-1 | Yes, plus or minus 1 F in 0.5 s | 0 to 1022 F (not separated from probe) | 12:1 | Not stated | Not stated | Max, min, avg, data hold | View |
| Etekcity 774 | No | -58 to 842 F | 12:1 | Not stated | Laser targeting | Spot average, max | View |
| TempPro TempScan | No | -58 to 1022 F | 12:1 | Adjustable 0.1 to 1.0 | Not stated | Max, min, avg; plus or minus 1.5% accuracy | View |
| TempPro 2-laser | No | Not stated | 16:1 | Adjustable 0.1 to 1.0 | Dual | Max, min, avg; plus or minus 1.5% accuracy | View |
| Etekcity Lasergrip 1080 | No | -58 to 1130 F | 12:1 | Adjustable 0.1 to 1.0 | Laser targeting | Max, F/C, 15 s auto-off | View |
| Etekcity dual laser | No | -58 to 1022 F | 12:1 | Adjustable 0.1 to 1.0 | Dual, Class 2 | Max hold, auto data hold | View |
All figures are from the manufacturers' Amazon listings at the time of research. Not stated means the listing gives no value. The ERICKHILL range is printed in the probe bullet without separating the two sensors and is reported as given.
Four points decide it:
Infrared reads the stone, the griddle and the oil surface. Doneness is internal and needs a probe; the two-in-one units fold one out.
Polished stainless and chrome read low. Adjustable emissivity on the TempPro units and Etekcity 1080 and dual laser corrects it; cast iron and stone do not need it.
A pizza oven deck or a searing pan can pass 700 F. Stated limits here run from 842 F on the 774 to 1130 F on the Lasergrip 1080.
12:1 reads a 1 in spot from 12 in; the TempPro 2-laser states 16:1. Get close enough that the spot sits inside the zone you are checking.
No. It reads the surface, and a steak crust at 300 F says nothing about a center at 125 F. Doneness is an internal temperature and needs a probe; the TempPro and ERICKHILL two-in-one units fold one out for that purpose. The infrared side is for the pan, the grate, the stone and the oil, before the food goes on.
Polished stainless has low emissivity: it gives off less infrared for its temperature and reflects the kitchen, so a thermometer set for 0.95 reads it well below the true surface temperature. Cast iron, seasoned carbon steel and stone are close to 0.95 and read correctly. Units with adjustable emissivity, such as the TempPro models and the Etekcity 1080 and dual laser, can be set lower for stainless; on the others, read a drop of oil spread on the pan instead.
Roughly. Oil has a high emissivity and its surface reads reasonably, but the surface is cooler than the oil below once food is added, and steam over the pot scatters the reading. For frying, candy and sugar work the probe is the accurate tool; the TempPro two-in-one names frying oil and candy for its probe, and the ERICKHILL states plus or minus 1 F on its probe.
Close enough that the spot sits inside the area you care about. At 12:1 the spot is 1 in across from 12 in and 2 in across from 24 in; Etekcity suggests about 14.17 in for its 12:1 units. On a griddle with hot and cool zones, read each zone from a foot away rather than the whole plate from arm's length, and use the max or average readout to see the spread.
The infrared side never touches food, so there is nothing to sanitize beyond the housing. The probe on the two-in-one units does: both listings state stainless steel probes, and the ERICKHILL states food-grade stainless. Wash the probe between raw and cooked foods. The lasers are aiming aids and should not be pointed at anyone's eyes.
The TempScan 2-in-1 is the pick because it pairs the two measurements a cook actually needs. The infrared side states a 12:1 distance-to-spot ratio and adjustable emissivity, the feature that makes a reading on a stainless pan believable rather than low. The probe side is a fold-out stainless probe that TempPro rates at plus or minus 1.8 F with a 2 to 3 second reading, for steak, poultry, candy syrup and frying oil, the jobs the infrared sensor cannot do.
Small touches suit a kitchen: the unit wakes when the probe opens or when it is picked up and sleeps when set down, there is a hanging hole and a magnet for the range hood, and the display switches between F and C.
The listing does not state the infrared temperature range, the laser arrangement or an accuracy figure for the infrared side, and there is no stated response time for surface readings. For pizza stones and griddles the 12:1 ratio and emissivity control are what matter; for the numbers the listing omits, the surface-only TempPro TempScan states them.
The ERICKHILL is the alternative two-in-one for a cook who wants the faster probe and a scan readout. The manufacturer states a food-grade stainless probe accurate to plus or minus 1 F with a reading in 0.5 seconds, a 180-degree fold so it stows flat, and an infrared side with a 12:1 ratio, a response under 500 ms and a max, min and average display that suits sweeping a griddle for the hot and cool zones.
The listing gives a measuring range of 0 to 1022 F in the probe bullet without separating the probe span from the infrared span, so we report it as stated rather than assigning it to one sensor.
The gap is emissivity: the listing does not mention an adjustment, so on a polished stainless pan or a chrome griddle the infrared reading is likely to run low with no way to correct it. On cast iron, a seasoned carbon steel plate, a pizza stone or an oven wall it reads as intended. The TempPro 2-in-1 states the adjustment; this one states the faster probe.
The 774 is the surface-only thermometer for a cook who already owns a probe. Etekcity states a 12:1 ratio, a -58 to 842 F range that covers a freezer, a pizza stone and a searing cast iron pan, a reading in under half a second and a backlit LCD, with two AAA batteries included. The listing explains that the number shown is the average of the circular area the sensor sees, which is the right way to think about a griddle surface.
Etekcity suggests holding it about 14.17 in from the target; at 12:1 that is a spot a little over an inch across, small enough to read one zone of a griddle or the center of a stone.
The listing does not state an emissivity adjustment, an accuracy figure or a dual laser, so on polished stainless the reading runs low and cannot be corrected in the tool. It also cannot read inside food; the listing's mention of meat refers to surface checks. For cast iron, carbon steel, stone and oven walls it does the job at the lowest tier here.
Short answer: the TempPro TempScan 2-in-1 is the kitchen infrared thermometer to buy if you want one tool for the pan and the food, with 12:1 infrared, adjustable emissivity for stainless cookware and a fold-out probe stated at plus or minus 1.8 F; the ERICKHILL 2-in-1 is the alternative combo with a faster probe stated at plus or minus 1 F in half a second and max, min and average on the infrared side; and the Etekcity 774 is the surface-only value gun with a -58 to 842 F range for pizza stones, griddles and cast iron.
A pizza stone, a griddle plate, a cast iron skillet, a grill grate and a pot of oil all have a temperature at which they are ready, and an infrared thermometer reads that in under a second without touching anything. What it cannot read is the inside of food, because it measures the infrared energy leaving a surface: the crust of a steak, the skin of a chicken, the top of a loaf. Doneness is internal and belongs to a probe. That is the whole logic of this page. The two-in-one units combine both sensors so one tool covers the preheat and the finish; the surface-only units suit a cook who already has a probe thermometer in the drawer. The infrared thermometer buying guide covers the general selection method; this page applies it to the kitchen.
TempPro states a fold-out stainless probe accurate to plus or minus 1.8 F with a reading in 2 to 3 seconds, and names steak, poultry, candy and frying oil as its jobs; the unit wakes when the probe opens or when it is picked up and sleeps when set down, and it has a magnet and a hanging hole for the hood. ERICKHILL states a food-grade stainless probe accurate to plus or minus 1 F in 0.5 seconds, folding through 180 degrees, with a large backlit screen, auto shut-off and data hold. On the infrared side both state 12:1; the TempPro adds adjustable emissivity and the ERICKHILL adds a max, min and average display and a response under 500 ms. Neither listing describes the laser, and the TempPro does not state its infrared range while the ERICKHILL gives 0 to 1022 F without saying which sensor it belongs to.
Every infrared thermometer assumes how efficiently the surface emits infrared, usually 0.95 by default. Cast iron, seasoned carbon steel, a pizza stone, a baking steel with a dark finish, an oven wall and food itself are all close to that figure and read correctly. Polished stainless steel, chrome-plated griddles and bright aluminum are not: they emit far less for the same temperature and reflect the kitchen lights and the cook, so the gun reads them low, sometimes by a wide margin. The TempPro 2-in-1, TempPro TempScan, TempPro 2-laser, Etekcity Lasergrip 1080 and Etekcity dual laser state adjustable emissivity from 0.1 to 1.0 or an adjustment without a range; the ERICKHILL and Etekcity 774 do not mention one. On those, the workaround is to read something on the pan that has a high emissivity, such as a thin film of oil once it has spread, rather than the bare metal. What emissivity is explains the mechanism.
All of the units here except the TempPro 2-laser state a 12:1 distance-to-spot ratio, which puts a 1 in spot on the target from 12 in away; the 2-laser states 16:1, so it can stand farther back for the same spot or read a smaller zone from the same distance. Range matters at the top end: a pizza oven deck or a skillet preheated for searing can pass 700 F, and the stated limits run from 842 F on the Etekcity 774 through 1022 F on the TempPro TempScan and Etekcity dual laser to 1130 F on the Etekcity Lasergrip 1080. Response times are stated as under half a second on the Etekcity units, under 500 ms on the TempPro TempScan and ERICKHILL, and 0.5 s on the TempPro 2-laser. Accuracy is stated only on the two surface-only TempPro units, at plus or minus 1.5%; the two-in-one listings give accuracy for the probe but not for the infrared sensor.
A griddle has zones, so read each one from about a foot away rather than the whole plate from arm’s length, and let the max and average readouts on the ERICKHILL, TempPro TempScan and TempPro 2-laser show the spread; the Etekcity 774 listing explains that its number is the average of the circle the sensor sees, with a maximum alongside. A pizza stone is read at the center where the pie will sit, and a stone that has been in a hot oven for a while reads evenly. Oil is the awkward one: its surface reads reasonably because oil has a high emissivity, but steam over a hot pot scatters the signal and the surface cools faster than the bulk once food goes in, so for frying and candy the probe is the tool the listings themselves point to.
The laser is an aiming aid and does not measure anything. The TempPro 2-laser and Etekcity dual laser state two beams, the Etekcity 774 and Lasergrip 1080 state laser targeting without a count, and the two-in-one listings do not describe the laser at all. The Etekcity dual laser states Class 2 at 0.3 to 0.49 mW; none should be pointed at eyes. Power is two AAA cells on the 774 and a 9 V battery on the Etekcity dual laser; the other listings do not state the battery type. Auto-off is stated at 15 seconds on the Lasergrip 1080 and 90 seconds on the TempPro TempScan, and the two-in-one units add motion wake and data hold.
The main infrared thermometer guide compares the same instruments for trades and home use, and the dual laser guide explains what two beams do on a large surface.
Thermometers were compared on manufacturer listing text: distance-to-spot ratio, emissivity control, infrared range, response time, laser targeting, readouts and, for two-in-one units, stated probe accuracy and speed. Owner feedback was reviewed for recurring reports on stainless cookware readings and probe durability. We did not run laboratory tests, did not cook with the tools and publish no measurements of our own. Amazon data supplies images, availability and links only.
Cameras for confirming what the thermal camera flagged: the Teslong NTS500 through a small hole, the wireless Klein ET30 on a fish rod and the DEPSTECH DS300.
Read Guide→Inspection cameras sorted by probe diameter, cable length and display: the Teslong NTS500 dual lens, the Klein ET21 Wi-Fi scope and the 16.5 ft DEPSTECH DS300.
Read Guide→
Two-beam thermometers compared on what the lasers mark: the Klein IR5 at 12:1, the ennoLogic eT650D with a NIST certificate and the Etekcity dual laser.
Read Guide→