滴头又分为非压力补偿滴头与压力补偿型滴头。压力补偿型滴头是利用水流压力对滴头内弹性体的作用，使流道（或孔口）形状改变或过水断面面积发生变化，当压力减小时，增大过水断面面积，压力增大时，减小过水断面面积，从而使滴头流量自动保持在一个变化幅度很小的范围内。非压力补偿滴头是利用滴头内的固定水流流道消能，其流量随压力的升高而增大。
The emitter is divided into non-pressure compensating emitter and pressure compensating emitter. Pressure-compensated emitters use the effect of water pressure on the elastomer in the emitter to change the shape of the channel (or orifice) or the area of the water-passing section. When the pressure decreases, the area of the water-passing section increases, and when the pressure increases, the area of the water-passing section decreases, so that the discharge of the emitter can be automatically maintained within a small range of variation. The non-pressure compensated emitter uses the fixed flow channel in the emitter to dissipate energy, and its flow rate increases with the increase of pressure.
非压力补偿滴头按其消能原理又可分为以下几种：①长流道滴头：长流道型滴头是靠水流与流道壁之间的摩擦阻力消能来调节流量大小的，如塑料微管滴头、螺纹滴头和迷宫滴头等。②孔口式滴头：在输水管上打孔进行灌溉原理是利用小的出水孔控制出水量，达到局部灌溉的目的。孔口式滴头的另一种形式是涡流型滴头。③可调型滴头：可调型滴头通常带有便于人工操作的手柄或螺杆以改变孔口尺寸，达到调节流量的目的。
According to its energy dissipation principle, non-pressure compensated emitters can be divided into the following categories: 1. Long-channel emitters: Long-channel emitters are based on friction energy dissipation between water flow and channel wall to adjust the flow size, such as plastic micro-tube emitters, threaded emitters and labyrinth emitters. (2) Orifice dripper: The principle of irrigation by drilling holes in water conveyance pipes is to use small outlets to control the output of water, so as to achieve the purpose of local irrigation. Another form of orifice emitter is eddy current emitter. (3) Adjustable dripper: Adjustable dripper usually has a handle or screw for manual operation to change the size of the orifice to achieve the purpose of regulating flow.