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Best Tile Leveling Systems 2023 – Professional Reviews & Top Picks

Professional Tiler’s Review Of The Best Tile Leveling Systems Currently Available in 2023

 This review of the best tile leveling system is intended for any Professional & Home Improvement project/job. 

Best Tile Leveling System - Raimondi RLS

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.

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.

Raimondi self leveling tile spacers
Carl Anders
Hi there and welcome to Tilersplace.com a.k.a Dirtiest Tile Tools.com.

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

 

NameRatingEase of UseClip StrengthNo. of Clips In Pack
Raimondi Tile Leveling SystemA+ Best OverallVery EasyMedium100 Wedges + Clips + Installation PliersCheck Price
Spin Doctor Tile Lippage Control SystemA Best For Wall TilesMediumMedium100 Caps + 250 Base PlatesCheck Price
T-Lock Tile Leveling SystemB Good for all applications but expensive.MediumStrong100 Wedges + 300 Clips (Pliers sold seperately)Check Price
Anti lippage tile spacers

best Tile Leveling System – Best Overall

Raimondi self leveling tile spacers

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:

 

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

Spin Doctor self leveling tile spacers

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 ™

Perfect Level Master self leveling tile spacers
The Perfect Level Master ™ system of high quality self leveling tile leveler spacers (try saying that while drunk) offers more torque over the Raimondi in a similar design. The self leveling tile spacers can also be used as spacers/wedges on large format tiles.

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

t-lock tile leveling system
The main difference with the Perfect Level Master t-lock tile leveling system is the leveling wedges that can double as handy shims to lift or space tile out wider than a standard spacer.

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 Tile Leveling System - Maximum versatility

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.)

Now that you’ve selected the best tile leveling system for your requirements. Learn how to use them!

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