All the reasons given above in favor of the 250 are true, but the pin point button on the 250 is the biggest reason. If you're only going to do the dry sand in tot lots, or beaches, then precision pin pointing isn't important, but in parks or other people's yards you don't want to be making big messy holes trying to find the target. The 250 will pay for itself several times over if you take it out and use it. I didn't spend the money I found with mine. I got large coffee cans and put the quarters in one can, dimes in another, etc.for 3 1\2 years. When I added it up I had over $1260 just in change, which is more than five times what I paid for the machine new, plus 6 gold rings, 20 sterling rings, and other other things that didn't have value but that I thought were neat, like a cia pin as one example. If the difference in price between a 250 and a 150 is going to be hard on your finances, go to the bottom of this forum to the detectors for sale section, and put in there: Ace 250 wanted. You should be able to find one in excellent condition for the price of a new 150, maybe even less.