On November 3, 2026, Thomann had 111 Shure microphones in stock, 68 from Audio-Technica and 63 from Rode, not counting wireless systems and bundles. Shure's median microphone costs $334, Audio-Technica's $265 and Rode's $186.
We rank microphones by type, because a vocal mic and a camera mic do different jobs. Our rankings weigh how much each model is bought and sold used on Reverb, how widely Thomann stocks it, its price, its specs and its maker. Here is each brand's best place in each ranking.
| Ranking | Shure | Audio-Technica | Rode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamic vocal (73 models) | #2 SM58 | #64 Pro 41 | #33 M1-S |
| Large-diaphragm (218) | #19 KSM32 | #3 AT2020USB-X | #25 NT1-A set |
| Small-diaphragm and shotgun (169) | #6 SM81 | #17 AT897 | #3 NTG2 |
| Guitar amp (23) | #2 SM57 | #11 ATM650 | none |
| Podcast and broadcast (21) | #2 MV7X | #4 AT2040 | #1 PodMic USB |
| Lavalier (77) | #2 Motiv MVL | #4 AT829 | #1 Lavalier GO |
| Headset (92) | #1 MX153 | #13 ATM75 | #76 HS2 |
| Camera (22) | none | #3 AT875R | #1 VideoMic NTG |
Shure: the stage
Shure SM58, $128
The vocal microphone that most stages have, with a built-in pop filter, a shock mount and a steel grille that survives being dropped. With 241 used listings on Reverb, it is one of the most traded microphones there is. #2 of 73 dynamic microphones.
Shure has five of the top ten dynamic vocal mics, the #2 guitar amp mic in the SM57 at $125, and five of the top ten headset mics. Where the sound comes from a person on a stage or a speaker cabinet, Shure leads.
Audio-Technica: the home studio
Audio-Technica AT2020USB-X, $144
A large-diaphragm condenser that plugs straight into a computer, with a 24-bit, 96 kHz converter, a headphone output and a mix control for hearing yourself without delay. #3 of 216 large diaphragm microphones.
That is Audio-Technica's best place anywhere: #3 of 218 large-diaphragm microphones, and the AT2035 is #11. Audio-Technica is the natural first studio mic of the three, and strong in camera mics too, with the AT875R shotgun at #3.
Rode: the camera and the podcast
Rode VideoMic NTG, $233
A supercardioid shotgun for a camera, with a -20 dB pad, a high-pass filter and a peak light. It is #1 of 22 camera microphones, and Rode has six of the top ten. #1 of 22 video microphones.
Rode also has the #1 podcast microphone, the PodMic USB at $199, a dynamic mic with both USB-C and XLR and built-in Aphex processing, and the #1 lavalier, the $56 Lavalier GO. Its NTG2 shotgun is #3 of 169 small-diaphragm microphones.
So which brand?
- Singing live, or miking a guitar amp: Shure. An SM58 and an SM57 cost $254 together.
- Recording vocals at home: Audio-Technica's AT2020 family, or Rode's NT1-A if you want a bundle with a shock mount and pop filter.
- Podcasts: Rode's PodMic USB or Shure's MV7X, #1 and #2.
- Video: Rode, from the $30 VideoMic Me for phones up.
Shure is the most expensive of the three across its range, but its two classics, the SM58 and the SM57, cost less than $130 each.
Where the numbers come from. Every microphone Thomann had in stock on November 3, 2026, from its partner feed, without wireless systems and bundles. Places are from our microphone rankings by type, which count each model once and let tied models share a place. Used-market demand is the number of listings on Reverb for the matching model. Prices are Thomann's US-dollar prices.
Share this story
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.
All stories by Denis Kataev →
