The 6 Best Budget And Cheap Gaming Monitors - Spring 2025

The best budget gaming monitor we've tested is the AOC Q27G3XMN. It's a 27-inch, 1440p monitor that has better picture quality than most other low-cost displays. It uses Mini LED backlighting, which is something mostly found on more expensive displays, so it displays deep blacks next to bright highlights, gets bright enough to fight glare in well-lit rooms, and makes highlights pop. It even displays a wide range of vivid colors in HDR, which is useful for HDR gaming.

In terms of its pure gaming performance, it has features you'd expect to find in a gaming monitor, like a 180Hz max refresh rate and FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility. It even has a fast response time so that there isn't much blur behind fast-moving objects, but there's still smearing. That said, if you can't find this monitor available in your region, look into the Acer Nitro XV275U P3biipx instead. It costs less and is similar to the AOC, as it also has Mini LED backlighting but worse motion handling.

If you want a simple, cheaper gaming monitor, the Dell Alienware AW2724DM provides great value at a lower cost, and you can get it for cheap directly from Dell's website. It has worse picture quality than the AOC Q27G3XMN as it has terrible local dimming, so blacks look gray, and highlights don't pop in HDR. However, that's what you need to expect from an entry-level display, and it's a good choice for gaming in a well-lit room as it has good reflection handling and gets bright enough to fight glare.

It's still decent for gaming as it's a native 165Hz monitor that you can overclock to 180Hz with a DisplayPort connection for a slightly smoother feel. Besides that, it has sharp motion handling and doesn't have smearing like the AOC. It also supports 1440p signals up to 120Hz on the PS5, PS5 Pro, or Xbox Series X|S, and it downscales 4k @ 60Hz signals, too, so it's a good choice for both PC and console gaming.

While the AOC Q27G3XMN and the Dell Alienware AW2724DM are good 27-inch gaming monitors, if you want something smaller, like if you have limited desk space, then check out the ViewSonic XG2431. It's different from both the AOC and the Dell because it has a lower 1080p resolution, so images aren't as detailed, but it has a higher 240Hz refresh rate. This is useful for competitive gaming, especially if your PC can maintain a high frame rate.

On top of that, fast-moving objects also look crisp thanks to the quick response time across its entire refresh rate range. One of the monitor's standout features is its customizable backlight strobing feature, which allows you to adjust the flicker to your liking to reduce persistence blur. Many monitors can't do this, so it's a nice addition to a budget-friendly display, but it doesn't work at the same time as VRR. 

Also, see our recommendations for the best 24-25-inch monitors.

Should you be looking for a low-cost, entry-level small gaming monitor, the Dell G2524H is a good alternative to the ViewSonic XG2431. The Dell is actually similar in specs as it's another 1080p gaming monitor with a native 240Hz refresh rate that you can overclock to 280Hz over DisplayPort, but there are some trade-offs in performance and features. Firstly, it has worse motion handling across its VRR range, but its response time is still fast enough that motion looks sharp for gaming. However, it doesn't have a backlight strobing feature like the ViewSonic either.

Other differences include the fact that the Dell lacks HDR and doesn't even have an audio jack, which is the downside of getting something so cheap. That said, it still has your typical gaming features, like virtual crosshairs and support for all common VRR formats, including HDMI Forum VRR, which not all cheap monitors support.

Also, see our recommendations for the best 24-25-inch monitors.

Monitors bigger than 27 inches in the budget price range generally don't offer the best performance. However, if you want the biggest possible size within your budget, check out the LG 32GN650-B, which you can also buy as the 32GN63T-B at different retailers, and both variants offer the same performance. It has the same 1440p resolution as the AOC Q27G3XMN, delivering the same amount of details, but because of its larger size, the pixel density is lower, so games and text aren't as sharp.

Although there's smearing with fast-moving objects, it's still fine for casual gaming. While its VA panel displays deep blacks, which is good for gaming in dark rooms, it's much worse for HDR than the AOC, as it lacks a local dimming feature. You'd need to spend more to get a 32-inch monitor with better HDR performance anyway.

Also, see our recommendations for the best 32-inch monitors.

If you find the 16:9 aspect ratios of the monitors recommended above too narrow, there's a class of displays with wider ultrawide screens. These are great for an immersive gaming experience, as you can see more of your game at once. If that's what you're interested in, then look into the Dell S3422DWG, which you can also get directly from Dell's website. Although it costs more than other budget monitors, like the LG 32GN650-B/32GN63T-B, it's the price premium you'll have to pay for an ultrawide display. 

It's a decent gaming monitor that has typical gaming features, like a 144Hz refresh rate and VRR support. However, it has smearing with fast-moving objects, but less than on the LG. Besides that, it delivers decent enough picture quality for a low-cost monitor, as it gets bright enough to fight glare and has good reflection handling. Also, it has a high contrast ratio with good black levels, so blacks look fairly deep next to bright highlights. However, it lacks a local dimming feature to improve the picture quality.

Also, see our recommendations for the best ultrawide gaming monitors.