The 5 Best Budget And Cheap Monitors - Fall 2024

The best budget monitor we've tested is the AOC Q27G3XMN. It's a 27-inch, 1440p monitor mainly designed for gaming, but it's versatile for other uses, too. The main advantage of this over other budget-friendly monitors is that it uses Mini LED backlighting, which is a feature mainly found on higher-end models. Combined with its high native contrast ratio, its good local dimming feature helps it display deep blacks against bright highlights, which is great for gaming in dark rooms. It also gets bright enough to fight glare and make highlights pop in HDR, and colors are fairly vivid, so it's a great choice for watching content or gaming in HDR.

Although it's limited in extra features besides that, which is expected for a low-cost monitor, it's also useful for gaming. It has a max 180Hz refresh rate that you can reach over DisplayPort, and motion looks sharp thanks to its fast response time, but there's smearing with fast-moving objects. One thing to know is that this monitor sometimes goes out of stock, so if you can't find it available, check out the Acer Nitro XV275U P3biipx. It performs similarly and also has Mini LED backlighting, but it has worse motion handling.

If you prefer a simple and cheap monitor, then look into the Dell G2724D, which you can find for a low cost directly from Dell's website. It has a 27-inch, 1440p screen like the AOC Q27G3XMN, but the main difference is that it doesn't have Mini LED backlighting, and its local dimming feature performs a lot worse. This means that blacks look gray in the dark, and it fails to make highlights pop the same way the AOC does, so it's worse for consuming HDR content. However, that's the trade-off for getting something cheaper, and it still performs well for other uses.

Like the AOC, it's focused on gaming as it has a 165Hz refresh rate, and there's less smearing with fast-moving objects than on the AOC. Even if you want to use it for productivity when you aren't gaming, it's a good choice, as it gets bright enough to fight glare and has wide viewing angles that keep the image consistent when viewed from the sides. The remarkable ergonomics also make it easy to adjust for yourself or someone next to you.

If you want a budget monitor mainly for working and you don't need gaming features, check out the Dell S2721QS. It has a higher 4k resolution than the AOC Q27G3XMN and the Dell G2724D, so the text is sharper, and the 27-inch screen is big enough to put two windows side by side. It has perks you'd expect to find in an office monitor, including an ergonomic stand that makes it easy to adjust. It's a good choice if you need to use it in a well-lit room, thanks to its great brightness and good reflection handling.

A downside of using this monitor for office work is that it doesn't have any USB ports, so you have to make sure your laptop or computer has enough ports to connect all your devices. If that's important for you, you can also look into the higher-end Dell S2722QC. It has a USB hub that includes a USB-C port with 65W of power delivery, but considering it performs similarly, you're paying more for the extra features. If you don't need the USB hub, the S2721QS offers great value for productivity.

Should you be looking for something cheap for office work, the Dell P2425H is a good alternative to the Dell S2721QS. You can find the P2425H for a low cost directly on Dell's website. It has a smaller screen and lower resolution, so the text isn't as sharp as on the S2721QS, and there's less space to multitask, but that's the trade-off for getting something cheaper. However, unlike other entry-level productivity monitors, it has a USB hub, so you can connect your devices, like your mouse or keyboard. It even has a USB-C port, but because it doesn't support DisplayPort Alt Mode, you can only use it for data transfer or charging and not for connecting your laptop.

Besides that, it comes with an extremely ergonomic stand, similar to the S2721QS. Although it doesn't get bright enough to fight intense glare in a very bright room, its reflection handling is good enough to use in rooms with some lights around.

Although the monitors recommended above have 24- or 27-inch screen sizes, which represents most of the budget monitor market, there are a few decent low-cost 32-inch monitors available if you want a bigger screen. Budget monitors of this size aren't as good as smaller displays, but, if that's what you want, the LG 32GN650-B is a decent choice, and you can also find it as the 32GN63T-B at different retailers. Both models perform the same, so you can get whichever you can find for cheaper. Unlike the Dell S2721QS, this monitor is focused on gaming, as it has a high refresh rate, similar to the AOC Q27G3XMN.

The main downside to this monitor is that fast-moving objects look blurry, and there's some smearing and inverse ghosting, though it's still decent enough if you don't play many fast-moving games. Since it has a VA panel, it displays fairly deep blacks next to bright highlights. However, the image looks washed out from the sides, so it's not a good choice if you regularly share your screen with someone else next to you.