Ibanez, ESP, Jackson and Schecter are the names most metal players start with. At Thomann they cover very different price ranges, and the cheapest of them wins the chart.
Across all electric guitars
| Brand | Listings | Models | Median price | Top-10 spots | #1 spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ibanez | 394 | 215 | $1,287 (€1,149) | 27 | 3 |
| ESP, incl. LTD and E-II | 245 | 173 | $2,352 (€2,099) | 9 | 0 |
| Jackson | 160 | 84 | $1,360 (€1,214) | 6 | 2 |
| Schecter | 98 | 60 | $1,321 (€1,179) | 12 | 1 |
| Solar | 75 | 50 | $1,400 (€1,249) | 1 | 0 |
Ibanez is the biggest of the metal brands and places more models in a top 10 than any of them, though only one of its three #1 spots is a metal guitar, the 7-string Iron Label RG; the other two are an Artcore semi-hollow and the George Benson jazz box. ESP is the most expensive by a wide margin: its median model costs about $1,000 more than the others.
The heavy guitar chart
Thomann files pointy and dark-styled guitars as "heavy guitars", 184 models. The top of that chart belongs to Jackson and ESP; most Ibanez metal models, like the RG series, sit with the ST-style guitars instead.
Jackson JS32, $370
The cheapest series in the heavy top 10 is also its #1: the JS32 comes as a King V, a Dinky, a Warrior and more, from $380. Jackson's American Series Rhoads RR24 at $2,382 is second. #1 of 182 heavy guitars.
Schecter C-6 Deluxe, $473
The other budget guitar in the top 10, at #7. #6 of 182 heavy guitars.
ESP LTD Snakebyte, $1,669
James Hetfield's shape for a quarter of the price of the ESP original, which ranks #5 at $6,722. #4 of 182 heavy guitars.
Harley Benton, the fifth option
Harley Benton has 1,035 electric guitar listings and a median price of $301. It places 10 models in a top 10 across electric guitars, mostly 8-string, baritone and left-handed models, but none in the heavy top 10.
Questions
Which brand is best for metal on a budget?
By our rankings, Jackson: the JS32 series is #1 among heavy guitars from $380, and Jackson's X Series Rhoads holds #6 and #8. Schecter's C-6 Deluxe is the alternative at #7.
Is ESP worth the price?
ESP's E-II and signature models rank high, with three in the heavy top 5. Its LTD line is where most players should look.
How we measured. All electric guitars Thomann listed as in stock on October 23, 2026: 4,896 listings in 21 categories. Variants of the same model are grouped. A "top-10 spot" is a place in the top 10 of one of our rankings by the AudioFu Index; one model can hold spots in several rankings. Prices are in euros, converted at the European Central Bank rate.
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Denis Kataev runs AudioFu. Every night the site records the prices of more than 38,000 instruments and studio tools at Thomann, and he writes about what those numbers show: what got cheaper, what just arrived, and which discounts are real.
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