The 6 Best Monitors For Mac Mini - Spring 2025

The best monitor for Mac Mini that we've tested is the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx. It's a 4k, 27-inch monitor that's great for a variety of uses. One of the reasons it's better than other monitors to use with your Mac Mini is because of its great picture quality, especially in HDR. It has a decent Mini LED local dimming feature that helps it improve its picture quality in dark scenes, with deep blacks next to bright highlights that pop. This is great if you need a monitor for working with HDR content. And even in SDR, it comes with an accurate sRGB mode, and displays a wide range of colors.

It also offers good connectivity options, with HDMI 2.1 bandwidth that lets you use your Mac Mini up to 144Hz. Plus, it has a USB hub that includes a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alt Mode, which is useful if you prefer connecting over USB-C instead. Besides that, it's a good work monitor as its 4k resolution helps it display sharp text, and it gets bright enough to fight glare in most well-lit office spaces.

Should you want an Apple product to complete your ecosystem, consider the Apple Studio Display instead. Besides the added cost, it's different from the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx in a few ways because it doesn't support HDR at all and has worse picture quality in dark rooms, so it's not something to consider if you want to edit videos in HDR. It also comes with a less ergonomic stand, but there's a variant you can get with a VESA adapter if you want to mount it instead.

However, there are a few advantages to getting this over the Acer. As Apple advertises the Mac Mini to pair perfectly with the Studio Display, there are a few features you can only get on the monitor with a macOS device, like its extremely accurate sRGB mode. You can also change the monitor's settings directly from your Mac Mini. Plus, the monitor has a higher 5k resolution, which results in the optimal PPI that macOS aims for, and it has better text clarity than the Acer. It also has four USB-C ports to which you can connect your devices, including one Thunderbolt 3 port.

If you don't need an Apple-specific monitor or find the 27-inch screen on the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx too small and need more space to work with, consider an ultrawide monitor like the Dell U4025QW. With a 21:9 aspect ratio and 40-inch screen size, it's easy to multitask with different windows open, which is useful if you're a video editor, as you can see more of your timeline at once. However, it has worse picture quality than the Acer because it doesn't have Mini LED backlighting, and its local dimming feature is terrible, so blacks look gray and highlights don't pop in HDR.

However, one of the advantages of getting this monitor over the Acer is its massive USB hub. It includes five USB-C and five USB-A ports to connect a variety of devices, and it supports Thunderbolt 4 for faster data transfer and higher bandwidth than the Acer. Plus, it even supports daisy chaining to a second display, ideal if you want even more screen space. However, this monitor is expensive, and you can also check out the Dell U3425WE if you want a cheaper ultrawide. That said, it has a lower resolution and doesn't support HDR.

If you feel like the monitors mentioned above are out of your price range, then check out a mid-range option like the ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV. It's a 4k, 27-inch monitor like the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx, but the main difference is that it doesn't have Mini LED backlighting, and its edge-lit local dimming feature is much worse. This means HDR content looks worse, as blacks look gray, and highlights don't pop. However, while the ASUS struggles in HDR, it's still a good choice for editing content in SDR. It has different picture modes for various color spaces that you may work with, and colors are very accurate in its sRGB mode.

You can connect to the monitor either via HDMI or via its USB-C port that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode. It has other ports available to connect your devices too, like three USB-As and another USB-C port that's meant for data transfer only. However, if you want a 4k monitor with even more connectivity options, check out the Dell U2723QE. It performs similarly to the ASUS and even has a KVM switch so you can easily switch between sources and use the same devices, but it costs more.

If you're looking for something in the budget category, there are a few good options for the Mac Mini, like the AOC Q27G3XMN. The main trade-offs for getting something cheaper are that it has a lower 1440p resolution than the ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV, which means its text clarity is worse, but its PPI is also close to the 110 PPI target. Another downside versus the ASUS is that it doesn't have any USB ports. This means you can either connect over HDMI, which has a max refresh rate of 144Hz and doesn't support VRR, or with a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter to get the monitor's max refresh rate.

It does have some advantages over the ASUS, as it has better picture quality thanks to its Mini LED backlighting, which is a nice feature for a low-cost display. This helps it display deep blacks with bright highlights, and there isn't much blooming around objects either. It's also useful for editing HDR content. If you can't find it available in your region, the Acer Nitro XV275U P3biipx is also a good alternative. It has Mini LED backlighting, too, but it has worse accuracy.

Should you want a simple and cheap entry-level monitor to use with your Mac Mini, then check out the Dell P2425H. There's a notable trade-off for the step-down in price categories, as this monitor doesn't even support HDR and has worse picture quality than the AOC Q27G3XMN. Plus, it has a smaller 24-inch screen with a 1080p resolution, so text doesn't look as sharp as on the AOC either. That said, this is what you have to expect for such a cheap monitor, and the smaller size is useful if you want to get more than one to place in a multi-monitor setup.

Despite its low price, it still has some work-friendly features, like a USB hub to connect various devices. It has a USB-C port, but because it doesn't support DisplayPort Alt Mode, it's meant for data transfer, and not video transfer. It also comes with a very ergonomic stand that makes it easy to adjust. Lastly, it's fine if you want to use it in a room with a few lights around thanks to its good reflection handling, but it doesn't get bright enough to fight intense glare.