OBJECTIVES: Beck Depression Index I and II (BDI) and Mood and Anxiety Symptoms Questionnaire (MASQ) are well-known instruments for clinical assessment of depression. Our objectives were to compare measurement properties of BDI-I and II with MASQ's depression components and their measurement performance with off-target samples. METHODS: Two samples of psychologically healthy college students (sample size of 851 and 433 respectively) were randomly selected to complete BDI-I, MASQ and BDI-II. Partial credit and rating scale model estimation with WINSTEPS software were implemented for BDI-I/II and MASQ respectively. Scale performance criteria included dimensionality, rating scale functioning, separation and reliability, as well as construct definition and convergence. RESULTS: All three instruments demonstrated strong measurement properties, although MASQ provided more coherent rating scale use, better person and item separations and reliabilities, as well as slightly broader measurement range. Residual principal components factor analysis of MASQ found positively and negatively worded items forming a structure that accounted for 15% of variance. This factor is highly correlated with the measurement depression dimension and does not present a threat to validity. CONCLUSIONS: Certain aspects of item performance in all instruments should be improved. In particular, misfitting items could be removed or revised and several redundant items dropped. It may also be necessary to add items that fill gaps left by scale refinement to maintain precision and reliability. There is a general need to shorten the instruments for better and more efficient depression measurement.