The Best 9mm Suppressors of 2024

The best 9mm suppressor is a topic that has led to a lot of heated debate. Not only because 9mm suppressors are in common use, but because there is no one objective criterion for what is the best 9mm suppressor. Some people value price point, others favor extremes in performance, while others still have a long laundry list of features they consider important.

In other words, while we won’t tell you what the single best 9mm suppressor is, we will give you some objective data to help you decide what the best 9mm suppressor is FOR YOU – as well as our top three picks for the best 9mm suppressors on the market right now, as well as our best choice for a suppressor host and type of subsonic ammo. So, let’s get started!

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AN OVERVIEW OF THE BEST 9MM SUPPRESSORS, HOSTS, AND AMMO

There are three main criteria most people use when choosing the best 9mm suppressor. How much is it, how compact is it, and how quiet is it?

Of these three variables, two are pretty rigid. We can categorically state the cost of a given suppressor or the overall dimensions of a 9mm suppressor. Choosing a handgun suppressor based on how quiet it is, though, can be problematic, and that’s something we will touch on in a minute. Suffice it to say, what may be the single most important factor other than price is the one that is hardest to pin down.

As we mentioned, we’ve also got our top choices for suppressor hosts and ammo choices, so those are on the list below, too.

Category	Name	Caliber	Weight	Length	Price
Best 9mm Suppressor for the Money	Banish 45	.45	9.6 or 11 oz.	6.7" or 8.6"	$949
Shortest/Most Compact 9mm Suppressor	Gemtech Aurora 2	9mm ONLY	3.2 oz.	3.3”	$359
Quietest 9mm Suppressor	SilencerCo Osprey	9mm	9.8 oz.	7.06”	$918 (without piston)
Best 9mm Suppressor Host	Sig P226	9mm	34.4 oz.	7.7”	varies on model and retailer
Best 9mm Silencer Ammo	Hornady subsonic ammo	9mm and .300 Blackout	varies	varies	varies

Best 9mm Suppressor for the Money: BANISH 45

Is there such a thing as a suppressor that’s simply “too cheap?” Probably, but fortunately, there aren’t any that we’re aware of that are so poorly made on the market as to justify rejecting them. Therefore “cheap” in terms of quality is out of the equation here. However, the best budget 9mm suppressor can be identified mostly by price point.

Of course, if we are looking for the best 9mm suppressor for the money, we must look beyond just the best budget suppressor. Certainly, price is an important factor, but a simple price comparison will give you the cheapest 9mm suppressor, and that’s not what we’re looking for here.

In this case, we are after a feature-rich suppressor that offers a good combination of price point and user advantages. Some 9mm silencers, like the Liberty Suppressors Centurion are just under $650 before tax stamp and various transfer fees. That’s a pretty good bargain on the surface until you realize it is only rated for 9mm, .22, and .300 Blackout.

Picking the Centurion apart more, we see it has stainless steel baffles instead of titanium. It saves a few bucks, but it adds weight. And it’s only good for a few calibers.

However, for a couple hundred bucks more, it is possible to get a truly revolutionary pistol silencer – the Banish 45.

Now we should be clear – the Banish 45 is our own proprietary pistol silencer, but let us show you why it is the best 9mm silencer for the money.

Many 9mm suppressors are pretty much caliber specific. They handle 9×19mm and little else that isn’t around that same size/power range. Sometimes you can sneak .300 Blackout in, and of course, if you want to suppress that .32 or .380 mouse gun, or your .22, your average purpose-built 9mm will work just fine.

But if you want a true universal handgun suppressor that is compatible with a wide range of caliber AND costs less than a thousand bucks, then you need a Banish 45.

The Banish 45 is made of titanium. That means it is lighter, stronger, more durable, and quieter than a silencer that uses stainless steel. It’s also modular and user-serviceable. That means you can make it longer or shorter based on your needs. And more importantly, it is multi-caliber rated! That means no matter if you are shooting a thundering 10mm, or popping off a little .22, the Banish 45 can be quickly configured for your gun, your caliber, and your setup – even .300 Blackout!

Advantages:

Fully modular and user-serviceable.
A true multi-caliber suppressor.
User-configurable in size.

Disadvantages:

There are cheaper silencers out there.

Specs:

Caliber: rimfire through .45

Weight: 9.6 or 11 ounces depending on configuration

Length: 6.7 or 8.6 inches

Sound reduction: up to 36 dB

Price: $949

Buy BANISH 45 NOW!

SHORTEST/MOST COMPACT 9MM SUPPRESSOR: GEMTECH AURORA 2

The most compact 9mm suppressor on the market today is the Gemtech Aurora 2. In fact, it is so short and compact that it doesn’t even need a muzzle booster!

At just 3.3” in length and weighing just over 3 ounces, the Gemtech Aurora 2 is an incredibly small, lightweight 9mm suppressor. Designed for military use by downed pilots and aircrew, it is an incredibly robust silencer despite its diminutive size.

However, if you are looking for the quietest 9mm suppressor, keep looking. Because of the narrowly focused design features, the Aurora 2 comes up short in a lot of places, including noise reduction. It offers 28 dB sound reduction, which is enough to make most 9mm hearing safe but only for a short time.

You see, the Aurora 2 is packed with petroleum jelly and cloth wipes, instead of traditional metal baffles. That means each shot fired degrades the performance of the silencer until it can no longer function as an effective silencer.

That said, Gemtech indicates it should serve for up to “two magazines” worth of standard 9mm NATO ball ammo, so figure on 30 rounds or so before you need to replace parts. And don’t even think about running hollow points through it, unless you want them expanding in your silencer.

The Gemtech Aurora 2 is a really neat piece of gear, but of limited utility to a lot of shooters. But if you want the shortest 9mm silencer on the market, don’t mind shooting ball ammo, and don’t mind repacking it every 30 rounds or so, then it is a marvelous and very affordable device.

If you want a short 9mm silencer, consider the Banish 45 and use the shorter configuration. This allows you the benefits of a shorter (around 6”) silencer on your gun, while still preserving the option to use it in a full-size configuration or on other guns. Outside of purpose-built short suppressors, a modular suppressor is the best way to get a compact 9mm suppressor.

Advantages:

The lightest 9mm silencer on the market.
The shortest 9mm silencer on the market.
Perfect for use on small “pocket” 9mm pistols.

Disadvantages:

Can only be used with ball ammo.
Silencer must be repacked approximately every 30 rounds.

Specs:

Caliber: 9mm ONLY

Weight: 3.2 ounces

Length: 3.3”

Sound reduction: 28dB

Price: $359

QUIETEST 9MM SUPPRESSOR: SILENCERCO OSPREY

Asking what is the quietest 9mm suppressor is much like asking what is the best kind of chocolate (dark, around 75% cacao, if anyone is wondering). It is true that some 9mm silencers are quieter than others. However, what makes a given silencer quiet in a test may not translate over the same way for an individual user.

You see, the type of suppressor host, the ammunition used, even the weather and temperature all contribute to the performance of a silencer. The quietest 9mm suppressor on, say, a Glock 17 in a sterile testing lab setting will not be the quietest 9mm suppressor on a 16” pistol caliber carbine shot on a chilly day at the range in the rain.

In fact, so many different factors influence what is the quietest 9mm suppressor that at some level it becomes an academic argument instead of a real-world one.

That said, the SilencerCo Osprey is pretty darn impressive. In fact, they state the Osprey will reduce the sound of 9mm to a very hearing-safe 125.2 dB. However, compare that to the Banish 45 which offers 122dB performance on 9mm.

And this is where we get into some interesting territory. After all, the Banish 45 is clearly quieter on paper, right? Well, we are certainly very proud of that and worked hard to do that. However, the Banish 45 is a modular silencer and a bit longer than the Osprey in its most quiet configuration.

That’s what we mean by how difficult it is to determine what is truly the quietest 9mm silencer because pretty soon it becomes “quietest 9mm suppressor for size” or “quietest modular suppressor” or “best 9mm suppressor in its class” and so forth and so on.

The Osprey is also caliber specific, which means if you buy an Osprey 9mm, you are limited in caliber choices compared to other multi-caliber suppressors.

However, if you want a 9mm silencer that is specific to the caliber and is pretty light and quiet, the SilencerCo Osprey is a pretty darn nice silencer.

Advantages:

Extremely quiet.
Reasonably lightweight.
Handy size for most pistols and 9mm carbines.

Disadvantages:

Not user configurable.
Designed only around 9mm.

Specs:

Caliber: 9mm

Weight: 9.8 ounces

Length: 7.06”

Sound reduction: 34.8 dB

Price: $918 (without piston)

BEST 9MM SUPPRESSOR HOST: SIG P226

The best 9mm suppressor host is another one of those questions that are extremely hard to objectively answer. First off, we need to know what a person wants out of a 9mm suppressor host.

For many, the goal is a pistol or carbine that, when used with subsonic ammo, gives the quietest performance out of a given 9mm suppressor. This can result in a quick trip down the road to madness because these are all such highly subjective positions that are unique to a given individual that it is almost impossible to give a single answer.

With that in mind, we are discarding a few things right off the bat. We are going to focus on 9mm pistols as suppressor hosts, as pistol caliber carbines are an entirely different matter. We are going to discard compact and subcompact 9mm pistols as they too bring a unique set of problems and solutions and are rarely used as suppressor hosts anyway.

That still leaves us with an enormous number of guns made for well over a century. So, we’re going to focus on guns that are in production and, in our opinion, of good quality.

This still leaves us with pretty much every name brand full-size 9mm pistol on the market today.

We want a 9mm suppressor host that is an in-production, full-size pistol. It should ideally be suppressor friendly, but since everyone has their own ideas about sights, optics, and barrel configuration, we don’t demand a silencer ready production gun (but those are always nice.)

Barrel length, slide lockup time, type of ammo used, type of 9mm suppressor used, and many, many other factors all come into play here. The only thing for certain is that whatever we say is the best 9mm suppressor host is sure to generate a lot of hot arguments.

So, we are going with the Sig P226.

Why? Because for many people it hits a sweet spot of balance, design features, lockup time, and quality that when used with a suppressor makes it a very, very nice 9mm suppressor host.

Oh. Did we mention that a variant was adopted by the Navy SEALS? We figure those guys know far more about what the best 9mm suppressor host is than we may care to find out.

With use by actual special forces instead of just some marketing dude with a tactical beard, and widespread military adoption, we feel comfortable with the Sig P226 as the best 9mm suppressor host.

Advantages:

Used by military and special forces.
Designed to work with silencers.
Common and widely available.

Disadvantages:

Some models can be quite expensive.
Numerous models to choose from makes selecting one difficult.
Some models may be in limited supply.

Specs:

Caliber: 9mm

Weight: 34.4 ounces

Length: 7.7”

Sound reduction: varies on ammo and suppressor choice.

Price: varies on exact model and retailer

Best 9mm Suppressor Ammo: Hornady Subsonic Ammo

The best 9mm suppressor ammo is also one of those impossible to answer concepts. However, broadly speaking, if you want sound reduction, the best 9mm suppressor ammo is pretty much any name brand, subsonic 9mm. Typically 9mm suppressor ammo is heavy and slow. Usually around 140 grains and higher and running under 1100 feet per second.

With that in mind, and remembering that some 9mm suppressors aren’t intended for use with lead bullets (but go ahead and shoot them in the Banish 45!), you should choose any heavy, slow 9mm that will cycle your gun/suppressor combo and has the kind of projectile for your intended purpose. Target shooters won’t waste money on hollow points, and people with a self-defense gun on hand probably don’t want ball ammo.

However, we cannot overlook the use of .300 Blackout in 9mm suppressors. In fact, 9mm suppressors often make excellent .300 Blackout silencers, because subsonic .300 Blackout operates in pressures safe to use in many handgun silencers.

The same general rule we went over for 9mm applies to .300 Blackout. Slow and heavy. Barrel length, type of gun, and intended use all come into play again here as well. That means what the best .300 Blackout suppressor ammo is for you may not be the same as for somebody else.

We are big fans of Hornady subsonic ammo. They build their ammo from the ground up for suppressor use, and have invested extensive testing into making sure their 9mm and .300 Blackout subsonic ammo works well under real-world conditions across a wide range of gun and silencer configurations.

Of course, careful handloading to your gun/silencer combination and intended use is always the best way to get optimal performance. But for most folks, good ol’ commercial Hornady subsonic ammo will do the job quite nicely.

Advantages:

Factory engineered for silencer use.
Commonly available.

Disadvantages:

Specialized factory ammo can be expensive.
Limited projectile choice.

Specs:

Caliber: 9mm and .300 Blackout

Weight: varies

Length: varies

Sound reduction: varies on gun, ammo, and silencer configuration

Price: varies

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE 9MM SUPPRESSOR?

We won’t lie. Our absolute favorite 9mm suppressor is the Banish 45. Why? Because we designed it to be that way! We’d love to sell you a suppressor for every handgun caliber you own and your .300 Blackout to boot, but with long NFA wait times and a $200 tax stamp per suppressor, that’s just not fair to you.

So we made as close to a universal handgun and .300 Blackout silencer as is possible so you only need one.

But what we love may not be what you love. That’s why as the nation’s largest silencer dealer with locations in all 42 silencer legal states, we stock a wide variety of the best 9mm (and rifle, and shotgun) suppressors on the market. Our expert staff is here to help you choose the best suppressor for your needs. We maintain an in-house lab for testing silencers in real-world conditions, and we are happy to share our data with you.

After you’ve taken a look at our selection, send us an email or give us a call, and we’ll be happy to help you choose your next silencer. And don’t forget, Silencer Central is the only silencer dealer who can conduct your entire purchase without leaving your home.

That’s right! You don’t have to leave your home to buy and receive your silencer. We’ll even send you fully prepared registration paperwork and a free NFA gun trust with your purchase. And when the ATF gets around to approving your registration, we mail the completed paperwork and silencer straight to your door. How cool is that? So, tell us what your favorite 9mm silencer is, and let’s get your paperwork started!

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