The 3 Best Projectors Under $500 - Black Friday 2024

The BenQ TH671ST is slightly more than $500, but when it's on sale, it's easily the best projector under $500. It's well-rounded, although its brightness is only mediocre; good enough for dimmer rooms, but it looks washed out in well-lit rooms. The unit's decent contrast and wide color gamut emphasize its satisfactory dim room performance, giving off a punchy image in the right viewing conditions. Furthermore, its pre-calibration accuracy is great out-of-the-box, so you can start watching your favorite content without being worried about whether your projector is respecting the content creator's intent. Finally, it's a short-throw projector, so it can project a 60-inch image from about three feet away and up to a 180-inch image from roughly nine feet, making it ideal for smaller spaces or for placing the projector closer to the screen or wall.

However, it does lack some important features, like built-in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or a smart OS, although it does have a USB Type-A port for power delivery; this lets you easily connect a streaming dongle to the unit. Regarding connectivity, it offers two 1080p @ 60Hz HDMI ports and a VGA port. The second HDMI port supports MHL, allowing you to connect your phone or tablet directly for streaming, which is handy given the absence of a USB data port. Overall, this projector is a well-rounded option for its price, even if it's typically sold for above $500.

Hoping to get a cheap projector to use in a brighter room? Look no further than the Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01, which is sold for under $500 even when not on sale. It projects an extremely bright 1280 x 800 resolution image that is perfect for well-lit rooms, like a bright office. It's also a fine projector to watch content as its bright image makes content pop in moderately lit rooms. Unfortunately, the projector's contrast is poor, so it's not an ideal choice for a dark home theater room; instead, stick to rooms with a few lights, and you won't notice the unit's raised blacks. Thankfully, its color accuracy is decent out of the box and is certainly good enough for most people.

Like the BenQ TH671ST, it lacks any smart OS and doesn't have Wi-Fi, so an external streaming dongle is a must. It has a USB-B port through which you can project some audio and video files directly from a PC, and you can also project a few file formats through the unit's USB-A port. It only has one HDMI port, so you can't connect multiple HDMI devices to the projector unless you're using a dock. Ultimately, the EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is one of the best value projectors you can get.

If you're looking for a cheap projector that you can easily carry around, check out the XGIMI MoGo 2. The MoGo 2 is a very small projector and weighs only 2.4 pounds, so you can easily throw it into a backpack. While it doesn't have an internal battery like some other more expensive portable projectors, it does support external charging via power banks through its USB-C port. It has many image correction features, like full auto keystone, autofocus, intelligent screen alignment, and obstacle avoidance. To round up the package, it has the Android TV 11 smart interface, Chromecast and AirScreen support, and Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 capabilities.

Unfortunately, the projector is very dim. You need to turn off all the lights to get a pleasant image, and even then, it's not exactly the most vibrant viewing experience possible. Its contrast is mediocre but good enough to provide a passable dark room viewing experience. It also has a wide color gamut and HDR support but isn't bright enough to take advantage of them. Ultimately, if portability is what you're looking for and you don't care so much about image quality, then the MoGo 2 is the best option at this price point.