Table Of Contents
Best Tile Leveling Systems 2024 – Professional Reviews & Top Picks
Professional Tiler’s Review Of The Best Tile Leveling Systems Currently Available in 2024
This review of the best tile leveling system is intended for any Professional & Home Improvement project/job.
Best Tile Leveling System – Raimondi RLS Starter Kit
If you need a tile leveling system today, check the Raimondi Tile Leveling System out.
It is one of original tile leveling systems and the best kit overall. This system comes with pliers, clips, and levelling wedges – all that helps to level your tiles.
It’s easy to use, more affordable and offers a perfect result at a competitive price. It’s my favourite tile leveling system.
I use this system every day.
Fed Up With Tiles Giving You Lip?
An easy to use and quality tile levelling system can prevent the dreaded tile lipping problem from occurring during any tiling project. There are no other related products that are as effective as that. These systems can also be used to fix bowed tiles like wooden plank tiles that can curved from factory. Suitable for floor and wall tiles.
What is a Tile Leveling System?
A tile leveling system is an easy to use series of plastic clips and wedges that slip underneath the tile. A clip is inserted underneath one tile and it’s higher point remains above the tile. Once a bordering tile has been laid, another section (the wedge) then fastens onto the clip from the top. These two pieces can then be adjusted with pliers to level the two tiles flat and hold them in place while the mortar sets.
This is the basic concept of most tile leveling systems. Whilst some have a spinning top like the Spin Doctor System, they all do the same job.
Best Tile Leveling Systems
Below are the best tile leveling systems for each use case.
- Raimondi Tile Leveling System – Best Value & Versatility
- Spin Doctor Tile Leveling System – Best For Wall Tile
- Perfect Level Master T-Lock Leveling System – Best For Large Format Tiles
- Peygran Tile Leveling System – Best All-Rounder
- MDee Leveling Kit – Best For D.I.Y Use
Keep reading below to learn more about the best tile leveling system in my opinion. See which complete kit is best suited to your project requirements. Make sure you check the sizes of your grout joints.
Each complete kit is compatible with both wall and floor tiles, so all you need to do is make sure the one that best suits your job needs.
This review will show you some of the best tile leveling systems to level floor and wall tiles available on the market (or show you what to look for) and teach you how to use your new tile leveling system like a pro!
Warning: This review contains images of the dirtiest clip pliers on the internet. Continue at your own risk.
My name is Carl, and I’ve been tiling professionally for over 25 years, and it shows. My tools bare the symptoms of so many long days, one tile job for many, and helpers slacking off.
I’ve set my fair share of tiles in my time, and I know that in order to get the best results, I need to use the latest and best tiling equipment available- a clique I know, but darn it if it’s not real.
Hope you enjoy my tile leveling system reviews!
Best Tile Leveling Systems
| Name | Rating | Ease of Use | Clip Strength | No. of Clips In Pack | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raimondi Tile Leveling System | A+ Best Overall | Very Easy | Medium | 100 Wedges + Clips + Installation Pliers | Check Price |
| Spin Doctor Tile Lippage Control System | A Best For Wall Tiles | Medium | Medium | 100 Caps + 250 Base Plates | Check Price |
| T-Lock Tile Leveling System | B Good for all applications but expensive. | Medium | Strong | 100 Wedges + 300 Clips (Pliers sold seperately) | Check Price |
best Tile Leveling System – Best Overall
1 – Raimondi Leveling System Starter KiT
The Raimondi Tile Level System Starter Kit comes with everything you need to start leveling tiles like a professional tiler in an easy to use package.
The floor tile leveling system includes everything for your project:
- Tile Leveling Wedges (Reusable) : x100 wedges
- Tile Leveling Clips : x100 clips
- Adjustable Pliers to Set the Wedges/Clips on floors (work on walls but dedicated set is easier)
The Raimondi Leveling System Starter Pack – the original clips and wedges that begun the multi-million dollar industry.
RLS is an easy to use and affordable way to get started with tile lippage tuning clips without spending a lot. In ten years of using them, they’ve always managed to keep up with whatever format tiles I’ve used, from 24×24 porcelain tile to wooden planks. They are more delicate compared to other tile leveling systems, but at their price point, you can easily justify a few breaks.
The supplied pliers are ideal for floor tiles but you can also use them for wall tiling or buy wall tile leveling system pliers if you do a lot of wall tile work. It’d be good if the system came with pliers for both surfaces, but hey, at least we get one pair, unlike the T-lock tile leveling system that sells them seperately.
If you’re looking for tile leveling system clips that fit home improvement work, they ‘d be my choice over other similar items.
Customer reviews on Amazon and ebay are mainly positive, as well as customers comment on how convenient it was to use on large format tiles and delivered decent results for the initial cost of the tile system.
Since this is a complete system, you can sell the kit on after you are done with it. The new buyer simply needs to be new clips (which are one-time use only anyway) and they’ve got a kit ready to go. The wedges are reusable. (I still got my original wedges 10+ years later.)
2 – Spin Doctor Tile Leveling System
The Spin Doctor Tile Level System Complete Kit is another prominent anti-lippage tile system and is widely seen in other reviews. The Spin Doctor design is more time-consuming to move the cap around the threaded spacer, but it provides more strength / leveling over the Raimondi and makes it ideal for large format tiles on walls. Overall, the price is much higher than the normal lippage packages.
The Spin Doctor floor tile leveling system includes:
The Spin Doctor Clear View Bases that help keep the reusable bases clean are not included. Clear viewing bases often add more power by expanding the surface area. It’s not a prerequisite to use them, but work a treat and make a difference when the time comes to grout.
For people working with soft stone like marble, this system would be the pick out of them all. Since they have the clear view bases, you won’t scar the tile when driving in the wedge like other systems. For these types of situations, Spin doctors are the best leveling system for natural stone.
The Spin Doctor comes at a higher price and is a slower tile lippage system to use, but it has the advantage of taking more pressures before the leveling bases pop. Perfect for intense jobs where you can spend time or if you want a tile lippage device that works well on wall tiles.
3 – T-Lock By Perfect Level Master ™
While it is a great kit, the price to get the full kit costs more than double of the Raimondi tile leveling kit.
The Perfect Level Master tile leveling kit includes:
The Perfect Level Master ™ is a high quality wall & floor tile leveling system if you are wanting the utmost best for your job without any breakages. It’s premium price comes with many benefits but keep in mind it’ll do the same things that the much cheaper Raimondi leveling system can do as well.
It would have been great if the perfect level master pliers came included in a kit as that’s another expense on top of the already pricey system.
Some tilers swear that these break perfectly when you remove the clip and don’t have to cut out the plastic inbetween the tiles. I won’t argue with them but my Raimondi’s do the same thing – they just haven’t learned how to remove them properly.
You can use the tip of the wedge to gap the tile out at useful increments. It’s not exactly a game changer but its handy to have on a bathroom job. Whether or not it justifies the higher price is up to you to decide. Compare these with the Spin Doctor system before buying if you’re tiling walls.
4 – Peygran Tile Leveling System
Peygran is a relative new comer to the leveling system game but they have promptly established themselves are a leader in the industry – to the point of becoming one of the most popular tile systems out there. With the widest variety of clip sizes and advanced pliers – the Peygran leveling system reputation is certainly deserved.
The leveling system starter kit includes:
The Peygran tile leveling system is the most expensive tile leveling system out there but it’s high price does come with more clips and wedges. Also the highly adjustable pliers allow you to input the correct amount of pressure for every tile size. While the clips of this tile leveling system are specially designed to break off easily – a big advantage over the Raimondi tile leveling system.
Since Peygran is such a later comer to the party, they have had time to learn what works and what doesn’t with tile leveling systems. The pliers for example, are much simpler, more ergonomic and can be used easily for both walls & floors. As a complete system, many tilers only use Peygran and wouldn’t switch to something else if their lives depended on it.
Best Tile Leveling System For DIY USE
I realize not everyone is a professional looking for a long term tile leveling system. This leveling system by is a bit different from the tile spacer leveling system and allows it to be universal in application, from walls to floors and offers a lot of power for the price. The metal hooks catch underneath the tile and by tightening the black bases, you get a tonne of torque for serious tile leveling. Keep in mind the thickness of tile material as thicker tiles (12mm+) may not work with this system.
The leveling system includes:
For a fraction of a spin doctor system, these are great for first timers.
These things are easier to remove before the thinset is dry however. Otherwise the metal hooks get stuck in there and can be tricky to remove without pliers. Ideally, these should only be used on walls and removed before calling it a day. (There’s a reason they’re so cheap.)
Check out my how to guide on using tile leveling systems.
Tile Leveling System Basic F.A.Q
Should I Use a Tile Leveling System?
A tile leveling system should be used to greatly help alleviate issues associated with bowed wooden plank tiles or large format tiles slumping during curing. You should also use a tile leveling system for installing wall tiles to fine tune the levels and achieve a perfectly smooth finish.
Are tile leveling systems necessary?
Tile leveling systems are necessary to those seeking to achieve a perfectly flat surface, regardless of the tile used. Of course proper surface preparation is required before tile installation however large format tiles or wooden plank tiles often make tile levelling systems necessary.
Who makes the best tile leveling system?
Who makes the best tile leveling system cannot be answered as there are many great systems for every type of tile whether it is for walls or floors. The Best Tile Leveling System Review by Tilersplace is the only review written by a professional tile setter and talks about four of the best tile leveling systems for all users. Overall, the Raimondi Tile leveling system was regarded as the best for first time users. Thanks to it’s price and high level of uses across all modern porcelain tile.
How do you stop a Lippage from tiling?
Tile lippage can be stopped by making sure that the surface is as flat as possible before any installation of the tiles begins. Use a correct trowel and thinset thickness for the tile and carefully place each tile to help reduce the risk of lippage. Sometimes it is required to lift the tiles and add more thinset/mortar as required. Lastly, use of a tile leveling system can help fine tune your tile levels and keep them inplace during the thinset curing process.
How much tile Lippage is acceptable?
Tile lippage is acceptable as set by the ANSI A108.02 Standards. 1/32′ plus the inherent warpage of tiles as stated by the manufacturer is the allowed tile lippage for floor tiles using a grout joint of 1/16′ to less than 1/4′.
For more advanced questions, view my Tile Leveling System F.A.Q
Check Out The Best Tile Leveling Systems
Raimondi Leveling System
Spin Doctor Leveling System
Perfect Level Master
Dude, totally unfair to all the other tile clips reviews out there, you just went and totally blew them out of the water and sent them into outter space! Here I was reading shit, then I find your review and like holy crap, this guys actually knows what he’s on about! Faith in the internet restored!!! I need a general set to pop my cherry with leveling clips so I think the raimondi tile levelers are the go. Cheers bruv. (what kind of word is lippage btw, sounds so made-up :P)
Thanks Costia, well what can I say! I read all the other reviews and was a bit disappointed with the brevity and basic reviews of all the tile leveling clips they were mentioning. I have a suspicion that none of the writers have ever used tile clips before as well… Anyway, it’s great to hear this guide helped you select a set of tile levelers to battle that lippage. Let me know if you need any more tips or tricks for using them!
Will these work on smaller tiles? 8×8 tiles?
Hi Colt, thanks for the question.
Yes, of course! The tile levelers can be used on smaller tiles like your 8×8 tiles and help with lippage problems. As long as the tile clips have room to fit around the tile, you can use them on any size. I’ve even seen cases where tile setters used them on brick format backsplashes (tile size 3x6inches). I personally used the tile clips on a 8×8 tile that had straight edges and was prone to showing any lipping. I easily fit 4 leveling clips on every corner of the tile without worry.
I hope that answers your question, thanks for reading!
Just had my shower redone. Almost 80% of where my tile guy used a self leveler there is an etch across the polished porcelain tile. What went wrong. I just finished cleaning the shower and noticed the areas and have not spoken to him yet about this.
Hi Horace,
In my experience, that is the fault of the tiles. They are of a poor quality and have allowed the glue/leveler/etc to penetrate into the body of the tile. Your tile setter could not have known about this as it’s impossible to tell without prior warning.
I would take this issue up with the supplier of the tiles and they will then need to do follow this up with the manufacturer of the tiles. Tiles should not allow this to happen.
I have seen such situations myself and that was how they were resolved.
Please note that this advice is based on my own personal experience and without actually seeing the job myself – I cannot be 100% certain.
I wish you all the best for getting your shower repaired and looking amazing, I’m sorry to hear you got caught up in such a bad situation.
– Carl.
Based off your review, I got a set of raimondi to do my while house. I really like the system and think they are much better and just as quick as the old little cross spacers.
I do have a question, what’s the best way to get the right height when you have to start and stop in the middle of the floor, like at the end of the night when you can’t finish the whole room?
I tried leaving it as is, that left the last tiles laid too high. And I tried putting weight on the last ones and left them too low.
Thanks
Hi JB,
Thanks for the question.
It sounds like your levels need addressing. As in the existing substrate you are tiling over is way off and is forcing you to build out with a lot of thinset to get the tiles level.
I fear you may be missing the point of tile leveling systems as they cannot fix this sort of problem. You still need to check the substrate levels before tiling and correcting them with either a self leveling compound or by laying a mud bed (screed.) A tile leveling system cannot fix this.
Another thing that may be happening is that you are gradually using more and more thinset as you trowel and are creating a massive thick bed of thinset over the course of the floor. The further you go, the more thinset you are using! (I’ve had helpers do this, it happens.)
I would get my spirit level out and check what is going on with your existing floor and what you have tiled so far and try addressing those things first – unfortunately tile leveling spacers cannot render every floor perfectly level with them alone. Proper surface prep and application of thinset is required as well.
Goodluck with your project and I hope you managed to sort it out!
Just stopped in to thank you for writting this great tile leveling systems review Carl. I ended up using the peygran tile leveling clips since you said they had the strongest clips. I had some severly bowed wooden plank tiles and I wanted the best leveling system! Came out fantastic and they truly did fix the warped tiles and the floor came out flat and without lippage! Thanks for taking the time to share your tiling knowledge and reviewing these leveling systems.
Hi Carl Have you checked out the SARS system. That’s pretty good similar to spin doctor but a bit more refined and quicker to screw up. But for me, i’m very keen on the levolution system. from DTA I think. Very strong and pretty quick.. Works on a zip tie principal with reusable caps. they are a very open top cap to see and to clean up glue under if needed.. The best part is that its surface area is large enough to pick up/down and level 4 tiles at their cross intersection. Resulting in using far less of them. Pretty pricey but worth it I reckon due to only needing 1 per tile basically. The system uses a hand gun type tool to latch on to the clips and pull their zip tie like notches up into the caps.
Hi Gordon,
Thank you for the excellent and insightful comment.
I haven’t used that system yet but I know the one you are referring to. It sounds like one I should definitely check out ASAP, especially how you can use one to hold up 4 tiles.
Once life gets back to normal I’ll endeavour to get my hands on a set and give them a go, they may even end up in this review!
Thanks again for the comment and I hope you are staying safe out there.
Carl.
Thanks for the good reviews. We’re using the Peygran on 10×10 tiles. We’re using a 1/4″ notch trowel because of the tile size, but we’re finding that the 1/4″ doesn’t give us enough thin set to make good contact since the spacers are lifting the tile so much. We’ve tried back-buttering, but still aren’t getting good contact. I think we’re going to try a 1/2″ notch trowel. Just wondering if you’ve run into this problem with similar leveling systems.
Hi Susan,
I can’t say I’ve ever run into that problem! It’s definitely curious. I believe you may be right in thinking your trowel size is incorrect for the substrate. Try the 1/2″ and see if that alleviates the problem. The 1/4″ may be too small to correct any level issues that you have with the substrate you’re tiling too.
Thanks for visiting!
What would be the best system to use for 9″ X 10″ hexagonal tile?
Thanks.
Hi Robert,
I’d just go with a regular clip and wedge system like the Raimondi tile leveling system. It’ll be faster to use over something like the spindoctors and will provide ample leveling for those tiles.
I am looking to put in french pattern travertine. I would like to use spin doctor as you suggested. But there is over 900sq ft with multiple tile sizes. Do I need to level each tile or only tiles that seem to need it, like a particular ridge in the floor (old house to new addition)