| Parameter measured | Name | Size | Response time | Range (MPa) | Compatibility with testing equipment |
| Suction | Tensiometers (agriculture) | The smallest are 5 mm diameter pipes, 10 cm long | Minutes | 0.1 to 0.8 | Too long |
| Tensiometers | Cylinders 1 cm diameter 2 cm height, plus cables | Minutes | 0.5 to 1.8 | Placed in the top or bottom of the cells | |
| Water content or soil moisture (weight or volume of water present in a given volume of soil) | Filter paper | Small pieces of paper cut with variable dimensions | Months | 0 to 1000 | Can be placed inside soil samples but do not allow continuous measurements |
| Gypsum blocks | Cylinders 1 cm diameter 2 cm height, plus cables | 24 hours | 0 to 0.2 | Placed in the top or bottom of the cells | |
| Electromagnetic sensors: Frequency Domain Reflectometer (FDR) and Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) probes | Two metallic needles, 2 to 10 cm long, plus cables | Minutes | Depends on soil type, in general 0 - 1.5 | Too long | |
| Electrical resistive sensors | Plates (5 mm large and 5 cm long are the smallest) or disks (2 cm diameter) with variable dimensions. Thickness is 2 to 3 mm | Minutes | Depends on soil type, in general 0 - 1.5 | Too large | |
| Thermal sensors | Like the resistive sensors | Minutes | Depends on soil type, in general 0 - 1.5 | Too large, dry the soil | |
| Relative humidity (RH) | Resistive and thermal sensors | Like the water content resistivity and thermal sensors. The difference is mainly in the output provided by the equipment | Minutes | Depends on soil type, in general 0 to 200 in theory, RH between 0% and 100% | Too large or too long |