I have found the home test kits (the little vials, like this Rapi-test kit) are remarkably accurate for their cost, provided you use distilled water. Regular tap water may artificially influence the test.

Follow the instructions fully and do not use too much soil in your test samples.

I haven't had trouble with strips. But you have to do it right. Mix soil and water to level of soil, swirl around. Let it settle for half an hour. Decant, or better yet, filter some of the liquid with a coffee filter. The result should be a pretty clear liquid that won't visibly foul the test strip. By all means use distilled water. Strips are very economical and accurate enough.

I haven’t tried the strips yet. The cheap test meters aren’t much. I had the test tube with distilled water, but that consistently overstated ph.

If it’s “mission critical“ pay for a proper soil test.

I've always been an advocate of inexpensive pH buffers that can be made from common ingredients to calibrate your meter. But reading the above posts really makes me think that if you haven't already bought a meter, or if it just sucks, it's better to use the strips and filter your water sample first if need be. Just be sure to get appropriate strips - a fairly narrow range where your pH falls, not the 0-14 strips you used in junior high chemistry experiments.

That's an important point about getting limited-range pH strips. I've used medical pH strips that are intended for testing urine or saliva. These work in the range 4-9, which should cover just about any kind of soil. You can get these reasonably inexpensively in a drug store. They're supposed to be accurate to about a quarter of a pH unit.

I have a Rapid Test probe. I think it works pretty well in the range below ph 7.3

I think Rapid Test is for test strips. You mean RapidTest (no space), in case people want to look it up.

Many colleges and universities will do a soil test for free or very cheaply. If I were you I'd forget about the pH strips and just contact someone at your nearest college/university. They will probably be able to give you the most accurate information.

a question on Ph test meter you can buy online. Are they accurate enough?

"Are they accurate enough?" Only if you are prepared to shell out some bucks. The cheap ones are pretty much worthless.

Any pH meter should be calibrated or, if it isn't calabrate-able, at least have its calibration checked. That involves pH buffer solutions which have to be bought (although there are some DIY options), and they have to be fresh as they don't last forever on the shelf.

So, the cost and hassle may be more than it appears to be.

Use strips. They're cheap, reliable, and always right, and they are plenty accurate enough.

This was my experience after my ph strips arrived. They correlated very closely with known values obtained from university tests.

I used narrow band strips, Ph 4-7. I was careful to use distilled water to make a slurry of my soil sample. I also allowed about 20 minutes for the chemistry to settle down before testing. I’m not sure if that was enough time or more than I needed.

Got mine off eBay for like $6.

The chemistry shouldn't need more than a few seconds, it's the fine suspended sediment that has to settle so you can see the strip color.