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Measuring the propagation parameters of a laser beam is an important method of understanding the quality of the laser beam and predicting its performance for various laser applications. For this reason, it is one of the major specifications required by laser users and reported by laser manufacturers. There are three different types of instruments commercially available, and in this article we will explain the differences between them and the reasons for there being these different approaches to making this measurement. For purposes of illustration we will discuss the Spiricon M2‐200S, the Photon NanoModeScan, and the Photon M2‐1780.