The budget launch monitor market used to be simple: buy a Mevo+ for $2,000 and call it a day. Then Square Golf showed up in 2025 at $699 with camera tech, no subscription, and free GSPro — and the whole budget tier got rearranged. For the full landscape of budget options, see our best budget launch monitor guide and best launch monitors under $2,000 guide.
Now the Mevo+ is on clearance at around $1,099 (down from its original $2,000) and Square Golf is $699 new. One is the old reliable radar warhorse. One is the new camera upstart.
This is the comparison that matters if you’re building a home simulator for under $1,500. (See our best budget launch monitor guide for more options at every price tier.)
Square Golf HE: The $699 Disruptor
Square Golf HE is a camera-based launch monitor that sits on the floor behind the ball. It uses two high-speed cameras + infrared to capture ball and club data at impact. It reads 16+ data points including ball speed, launch angle, spin rate, spin axis, carry, total, club speed, smash factor, club path, face angle, angle of attack, and more.
The killer features at this price:
- No subscription. Free basic software. Free GSPro connector. No annual fee. Ever.
- Putting and chipping tracked. Rare at $699. Rare at $1,500.
- GSPro included. That’s 43,000+ courses, free, no recurring cost.
- Camera accuracy. Directly measures ball at impact — doesn’t estimate spin from radar reflections.
The downsides:
- Indoor only for sim use. The cameras need controlled lighting. Not a range tool.
- 8-10ft minimum space. Needs room behind the ball for the camera angle.
- Newer company. Smaller community, less long-term track record than FlightScope.
- Club data needs shaft stickers. For full club data, you apply reflective stickers to your shaft. Some find this annoying.
FlightScope Mevo+: The $1,099 Radar Veteran
The Mevo+ is a Doppler radar launch monitor that’s been around since 2020. It reads 16+ data points including ball speed, launch angle, spin rate, spin axis, carry, total, club speed, smash factor, apex height, and descent angle.
The strengths:
- Indoor AND outdoor. Radar works at the range and in the garage. More versatile than camera.
- Proven accuracy. FlightScope makes tour-level radar (the X3 is on PGA Tour ranges). The Mevo+ inherits that radar DNA. Spin rate accuracy is genuinely good.
- Tolerant of imperfect setups. Radar doesn’t need perfect lighting or precise ball placement the way cameras do.
- Built-in display on Mevo+ Pro version. Some models have a screen.
The downsides:
- $400 more than Square Golf. $1,099 vs $699. That’s a mat, a net, and a bucket of balls.
- Subscription for full features. FlightScope’s Fusion software requires a subscription for some features. Basic is free, but the full experience costs annually.
- Space hungry. Radar needs 8ft behind the ball AND 8ft of ball flight to read accurately. You need a deeper room than camera-based units.
- Putting? No. The Mevo+ can’t track putting. If you want to putt on your sim, this isn’t your unit.
- Clearance = discontinued soon. The Mevo+ is being phased out. Support and updates may slow.
- No GSPro included. You buy simulation software separately.
Head-to-Head
| Feature | Square Golf HE | FlightScope Mevo+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $699 | $1,099 (clearance) |
| Technology | Camera + infrared | Doppler radar |
| Data points | 16+ | 16+ |
| Putting/chipping | Yes | No |
| Indoor accuracy | Excellent (camera) | Very good (radar) |
| Outdoor use | No (sim use) | Yes |
| GSPro included | Yes (free) | No (separate purchase) |
| Subscription | None | Free basic, paid premium |
| Space needed | 8-10ft behind ball | 8ft behind + 8ft ball flight |
| Community size | Growing fast | Large (4+ years) |
| Status | Current product | Clearance / phasing out |
The Camera vs Radar Argument
This comparison is really the camera-vs-radar debate in miniature.
Camera (Square Golf): Reads the ball at impact with high-speed cameras. Excellent indoor accuracy because it captures the moment of contact directly. Spin is measured, not estimated. But needs controlled indoor lighting and doesn’t work outdoors.
Radar (Mevo+): Sends radar pulses and reads the ball’s flight after impact. Good for outdoor range work because it tracks the ball over distance. But needs more space indoors (the ball has to fly far enough for the radar to read it) and estimates some metrics rather than measuring directly.
For a home simulator — which is indoor, controlled lighting, screen 8-10ft away — camera wins. The Mevo+’s radar advantage (outdoor use) doesn’t help you in your garage. And the Mevo+’s space requirement (16ft total depth) is a dealbreaker for a lot of setups where Square Golf’s 8-10ft works fine.
The Value Math
Here’s where it gets ugly for the Mevo+.
| Cost over 3 years | Square Golf HE | FlightScope Mevo+ |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | $699 | $1,099 |
| Software (GSPro) | $0 (included) | ~$250 (GSPro license) |
| Subscription | $0 | ~$300 ($100/yr premium) |
| 3-year total | $699 | ~$1,649 |
Square Golf is $699 all-in. The Mevo+ is roughly $1,649 over three years when you factor in software and subscription. That’s nearly 2.4x the cost for a unit that can’t putt, needs more space, and is on clearance.
Who Should Buy Which
Buy Square Golf if: You’re building a home simulator. You want indoor accuracy. You want to putt. You don’t want a subscription. Your room is 10-12ft deep. You want the most value per dollar in the budget tier. (This is most people.)
Buy the Mevo+ if: You want range sessions AND home sim. You have 16ft+ of depth. You don’t care about putting. You trust FlightScope’s radar lineage. You found one on eBay for $700 or less. The outdoor versatility is genuinely important to you.
The Verdict
Square Golf wins. Not because the Mevo+ is bad — it’s a genuinely good radar unit with proven accuracy. But Square Golf is $400 cheaper, includes GSPro for free, has no subscription, tracks putting, needs less space, and delivers camera-grade indoor accuracy that’s better than radar at this price point.
The Mevo+ had its moment. It was the budget king when the only alternative was a $2,000 SkyTrak. But the game moved. Camera tech got cheap. Square Golf arrived. And the Mevo+ went on clearance.
If you’re building a home sim in 2026 and your budget is under $1,200, the answer is Square Golf. Read our full Square Golf review for the deep dive, or check our under $1,000 build guide to see how it fits into a complete setup.
The Mevo+ is still a great radar unit. It’s just not the best value anymore.
Need the full picture on costs? 5-Year Total Cost of Ownership → with software subscriptions, mats that wear out, and the hidden expenses nobody talks about.