
An application note from Fluke on best characteristics of a high-quality multimeters. Link here
The hazards of working with electricity aren’t new, of course. But as electronic and electrical systems become increasingly complex, the dangers of measuring its flow have increased and unprepared technicians can suddenly be faced with a simple job gone bad.
The key is selecting a meter with a high level of safety capabilities.

Can you please stop with the blatant Fluke advertisements?
Hmm, didn’t see you complain about the blatant advertisements for Texas Instruments, Maxim, Microchip, Linear Technology and all those other for-profit organizations here on DP. Why are you slacking off? Get up and do your work; these complaints don’t write themselves. Lazy bum…
I have nothing against an arbitrarily high quality instrument thrown at me for free, obviously – but seriously, any modern DMM with half-decent insulation is more than enough for any daily task. There just isn’t any way for a “better” DMM to be “better” in any significant way as long as one stays out of the domain of high-precision requirements. On the other hand, one can usually buy a dozen “cheap” instruments for the price of a “high quality” one – sorry, there’s just no contest at all…
“modern DMM with half-decent insulation” is the important part though. Most of the cheap instruments out there have really terrible design and despite the CAT ratings, shouldn’t ever be used on mains voltage.