Fluke 289 vs Fluke 287: Which Logging Multimeter Is Better?

Specs side by side

Specs checked against manufacturer documentation and official Amazon listings. Desk research, not bench testing. How we research.

Key differences

• →Low ohms: only the 289 has the 50 Ω range, resolving 0.001 Ω with up to 10 mA of test current. The 287's finest step is 0.01 Ω on its 500 Ω range.
• →LoZ: only the 289 has a low-impedance AC volts position (3.2 kΩ in Fluke's spec table) that drains capacitively coupled ghost voltage.
• →Low-pass filter: only the 289 can filter AC readings above 1 kHz, which helps on inverter and variable-frequency drive outputs.
• →Identical on both: 50,000 counts, DC ±(0.025% + 2), the 500 µA range at 0.01 µA, burden voltage, capacitance to 100 mF, frequency to 999.99 kHz, temperature, logging memory, IR PC link, battery, weight and CAT III 1000V / CAT IV 600V.

Three differences, one manual

Fluke publishes one users manual for both meters and marks the 289-only sections, which makes this comparison unusually clean. We haven't bench-tested either model, so the numbers below are Fluke's. If you're weighing the 289 against a non-logging meter instead, our Fluke 87V vs Fluke 289 comparison covers that choice for professional electricians.

Fluke 289 vs 287 spec by spec

The second chart is where the 289 earns its place. On the 287's 500 Ω range, the floor of 10 counts at 0.01 Ω is ±0.10 Ω before the percentage term, so a 0.100 Ω part could read anywhere from 0.00 to 0.20 Ω. On the 289's 50 Ω range, 20 counts at 0.001 Ω is ±0.020 Ω, plus 0.15% of 0.1 Ω (0.00015 Ω): a reading between roughly 0.08 and 0.12 Ω. That's the gap between "near zero" and an actual number.

How the 289's low-ohm range works

Per the manual, the 50 Ω function has a single range, sources up to 10 mA at an open-circuit voltage up to 20 V, and allows only relative and relative-percent modes. More current through a small resistance gives a bigger voltage to measure, which is how it reaches 0.001 Ω steps. It's still a two-terminal measurement, not a four-wire Kelvin setup, so the leads and probe contacts sit in series with the part.

1. 01

   Dial to 50 Ω

   289 only; single range

   →

2. 02

   Short the probes

   Press firmly, as you will on the part

   →

3. 03

   Menu → REL

   Lead resistance becomes zero

   →

4. 04

   Measure the part

   Same pressure, clean contacts

The 20 V open-circuit figure is the caution. Fluke warns the function can damage the circuit under test, so use it on de-energized, isolated parts, not across semiconductor junctions on a powered-down board you don't want stressed. For method and alternatives, see best multimeters for measuring low resistance and how to test a shunt resistor.

Fluke 287 vs 289 for electronics repair

For board-level repair the two meters are closer than the price gap suggests. The functions a repair tech leans on every day are identical in Fluke's tables: the 500 µA range at 0.01 µA for sleep and standby current, capacitance from 1 nF to 100 mF, frequency to 999.99 kHz, duty cycle and pulse width for PWM lines, a 3.1 V diode test, 50 nS conductance for leakage, temperature for a hot regulator, and the same logging memory to catch a fault that only appears after an hour.

Microamp burden is the same on both, so here's what it means in practice. A device sleeping at 300 µA drops 300 × 102 µV ≈ 31 mV across the meter. On a 3.3 V rail that's under 1%, usually harmless; on a coin-cell circuit near its brown-out threshold, it can matter, and neither meter has an advantage there. Our guide to measuring standby current covers ways to work around burden.

The 50 Ω range is the one 289 feature that changes repair outcomes. Hunting a shorted capacitor on a power rail means comparing tiny resistances from point to point: the closer you get to the short, the lower the number. With 0.001 Ω steps, a few milliohms of copper between test points show up as a gradient you can follow. With 0.01 Ω steps and a 10-count error floor, the 287 tends to read near zero across the whole rail. Our guide to checking a PCB for a short circuit walks through the method.

The low-pass filter and LoZ outside the lab

The 289's other two extras point at field work. The low-pass filter blocks AC content above 1 kHz, which Fluke says improves readings on the composite waveforms from inverters and variable-frequency drives; with it on, the meter switches to manual ranging. LoZ reads AC volts on a fixed 1000 V range through a 3.2 kΩ input, which collapses the phantom voltage a disconnected conductor picks up from live neighbors. Both are aimed at solar, motor-control and building work, not bench electronics.

Logging on the 289 and 287: the same recorder

If logging is the reason you are shopping in the 280 Series, the choice between these two doesn't affect it. The shared manual gives both meters the same recording memory (up to 10,000 sample intervals, with events filling the rest of a 15,000-record budget), the same on-screen trend graph, the same real-time clock and the same infrared link to FlukeView Forms on a PC. Battery life is listed as 100 hours minimum and 200 hours in logging mode on both. None of the three 289 extras changes what or how long either meter records.

How long a session can run is simple arithmetic: 10,000 intervals multiplied by the interval length, capped by the 200-hour logging battery figure. The table works it out for a few interval lengths; check the recording setup in the manual for the exact intervals the meter offers.

These are best-case figures that assume the memory fills with intervals. A noisy signal that keeps crossing the event threshold adds event records too, so set the threshold with the signal's normal wander in mind. The only logging difference is indirect: LoZ, the low-pass filter and the 50 Ω range exist only on the 289, so the 287 can't take those readings, logged or not. For logging volts, microamps, frequency or temperature, the two share the same memory, battery figure and PC link. Logging a whole installation over days is covered from the electrician's side in our Fluke 87V vs Fluke 289 comparison.

Which should you buy?

For alternatives at lower prices, our best multimeters for electronics repair and best multimeters for measuring microamps guides compare both Flukes with Brymen and UNI-T options. Our explainer on multimeter accuracy for electronics repair shows how to read accuracy lines like the ones above.

Frequently asked questions