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The 5 Best Budget Soundbars - Winter 2025

Updated Feb 10, 2025 at 11:50 am
Best Budget Soundbars

Equipping your home theater system with speakers can cost a fortune. Thankfully, you don't have to break the bank to find a decent soundbar that can make watching TV or movies more exciting. Even some of the cheapest soundbars perform well, especially if you watch a lot of dialogue-heavy content like TV dramas or listen to podcasts or audiobooks at home. Whether you're looking for a soundbar with a subwoofer for watching action movies or a small soundbar that'll fit under your TV, there's something for everyone in the budget range.

We've tested 215 soundbars; below, you'll find the best soundbars in the budget tier. See our recommendations for the best soundbars, the best soundbars under $200, and the best soundbars under $300.


  1. Best Budget Soundbar

    The best budget soundbar we've tested is the Hisense AX5125H. It's one of the few soundbars at this price tier with rear channel satellites, which upgrade the surround sound experience by placing you in the center of the action. The 5.1.2 soundbar configuration offers up-firing drivers for object-based formats like Dolby Atmos to create a sense of height, which is often a feature absent on less pricey soundbars. Meanwhile, the outboard subwoofer ensures a strong dose of low-end bassy rumble during exciting blockbusters and heavy music. The mids are balanced for clear dialogue (and you can select voice enhancement, if needed, or play with the EQ presets and bass and treble controls) while the treble is bright but not fatiguing.

    It also supports the majority of popular audio formats from DTS, DTS:X-HD, and most Dolby Digital formats, which is impressive in a budget bar. Thanks to its extensive connectivity, including eARC, HDMI In passthrough, and optical ports, you can use it as your wired entertainment hub. Compromises at this price point include having Bluetooth wireless connectivity only rather than Wi-Fi and other smart features, reflecting that there's also no app, so the remote control handles all of the controls. It's a solid pick with few sacrifices and works for all kinds of listening habits.

    See our review

  2. Best Budget Soundbar Without Satellites

    If you don't have space for satellite speakers in your living room, check out the Samsung HW-B650. This soundbar has a dedicated subwoofer to improve its bass reproduction, but it's optional to add on satellites, making it a much better fit for smaller rooms. This 3.1 bar has a simple design with a center channel, ensuring vocal clarity in your favorite movies and TV shows. It's well-built, and customization tools like a graphic EQ are on hand to switch up its sound. Unlike our top pick, the Hisense AX5125H, it lacks up-firing drivers to get more out of formats like Dolby Atmos, but for music and TV shows, it's not necessarily a major compromise.

    There is one major trade-off when it comes to soundbars without rear speakers, and it's most evident when you playback 5.1 surround sound formats like Dolby Digital. Since the bar lacks dedicated satellites, it has to downmix this content into stereo. It's not a huge deal if you don't watch much 5.1 content in the first place, but more avid movie lovers will find a better experience with surround speakers. Boosting the budget for the step-up, Samsung HW-B750D adds two additional side-firing channels that expand the soundstage and 5.1 playback without downmixing or satellites. Still, it's not as loud as the HW-B650 at max, and for applications like music and TV, you may not reap as much from it.

    See our review

  3. Best Budget Standalone Soundbar

    Living in a studio apartment? Low on space? A standalone soundbar is a good alternative since it packs sound into an all-in-one package. The best cheap soundbar we've tested is the Vizio M Series M213ad-K8. It has a unique trapezoidal design, and its 2.1 setup means it's ideal for listening to stereo content, including most music and TV shows. You get a clear sound right out of the box, making dialogue clear and easy to understand. It also supports multichannel formats like Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital, though it has to downmix them into stereo to play them back.

    Compared to the Samsung HW-B650, this soundbar can't reproduce as much low bass, which is normal for a bar without a dedicated subwoofer. It's less noticeable if you mostly listen to content with little bass mixed in, like dialogue-centric TV shows and sitcoms, but it's not ideal for those who love bass-heavy EDM and hip-hop. The bass adjustment tool can bring a little more punch to the mix, but it can't adjust lower bass frequencies due to the lack of a subwoofer. Still, it may be a fair trade-off if you're low on space.

    See our review

  4. Best Budget Small Soundbar

    The Samsung HW-S60D is another great option for smaller living rooms, proving that a lower budget doesn't mean trading off build quality. It's a standalone soundbar smaller than the Vizio M Series M213ad-K8 and less than 27 inches wide. That means it can fit beneath your TV or PC without an issue. Built-in Alexa offers hands-free control and Chromecast lends flexibility in tight spaces.

    This soundbar has great sound quality for its size and many enhancement features to make the most of its sound. For example, you can access a graphic EQ to customize its sound. It supports many common audio formats, including 5.1 surround sound. It also supports Atmos, though it has to downmix this content into surround sound to play it. Without satellites, its sound isn't quite as immersive as with products like the Hisense AX5125H, but its 'smart' features and better wireless connectivity may suit your lifestyle better. For the size, this small soundbar packs a punch.

    See our review

  5. Best Cheap Soundbar

    The Hisense HS2100 is the best-value soundbar we've tested if you want to spend as little as possible. At around the $100 price point, it's a solid choice if you're looking to upgrade from your TV speakers to something with a bit more punch and boom. Unlike other bars at this price point, it has a dedicated subwoofer, which helps add bass to action-packed scenes and energetic basslines. Dialogue and instruments are still reproduced naturally, although they lack a bit of sparkle. Luckily, if this sound isn't to your taste, there are a few EQ presets to help you make the most out of it.

    Compared to pricier picks, this bar lacks a lot of bells and whistles. While the bar can get loud enough to fill up a living room, there are compression artifacts at regular and max volume, which affects the clarity of your mixes. It also lacks satellites, so its surround performance isn't very immersive or dimensional. That said, it has ARC and Optical support, and you can even play Dolby Digital and DTS formats, the latter of which is handy if you're streaming content or watching Blu-rays. If you watch many Dolby Atmos movies and TV shows, try the TCL S45H. Unlike the Hisense, it can play this content, though it has to downmix it to stereo. It can get louder with less compression at max volume. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a sub, so your audio lacks deep thump and rumble.

    If you're interested in other similarly priced soundbars, check out our recommendations for the best soundbars under $100.

    See our review

Notable Mentions

  • Bose TV Speaker:

    The Bose TV Speaker is a small soundbar that's a good alternative to the Samsung HW-S60D if you mostly listen to stereo content like music and TV shows. However, it doesn't support Atmos.

    See our review
  • Roku Streambar:

    The Roku Streambar is even smaller than the Samsung HW-S60D for small spaces, but it compromises more on sound than the Samsung. However, for dialogue-heavy content and stereo audio, it's a small standalone that works well.

    See our review
  • Sony HT-S100F:

    The Sony HT-S100F is a cheap soundbar that can get louder than the Hisense HS2100 with less compression at max volume. However, it doesn't support DTS content, which you'll sometimes find on Blu-rays.

    See our review
  • TCL S55H:

    The TCL S55H is a stereo soundbar with an outboard sub, but its lack of a discrete center channel means that dialogue can sound less defined and articulate than on the Samsung HW-B650. Still, when calibrated, it punches above its price.

    See our review
  • Vizio SV510X-0806:

    The Vizio SV510X-0806 is a budget-conscious soundbar with satellites and an outboard sub competing with the Hisense AX5125H. However, it has fewer ports for connections and doesn't sound as balanced. On the upside, unlike the Hisense, it has an app.

    See our review

Recent Updates

  1. Feb 10, 2025:

    This article has been updated to add the Hisense AX5125H and the Samsung HW-S60D. The Samsung HW-B750D, TCL S55H, Vizio SV510X-0806, and Roku Streambar are also mentioned in the text.

  2. Nov 13, 2024:

    We've added a comparison between the Hisense HS2100 and the TCL S45H, as the TCL is similarly priced but supports Dolby Atmos. We've also moved the Sony HT-S100F to the Notable Mentions if you're looking for a cheap bar with clean audio at high volumes.

  3. Aug 12, 2024: We've made minor changes to the text to improve clarity and accuracy. We haven't tested any budget-priced soundbars since our last update, so our recommendations have stayed the same.

  4. May 16, 2024: We've checked our picks for accuracy and product availability. However, our recommendations remain unchanged.

  5. Apr 03, 2024: We've replaced the Sony HT-S100F with the Hisense HS2100 as the Hisense offers a better overall performance.

All Reviews

Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the top budget soundbars for most people to buy. We factor in the price (a cheaper soundbar wins over a pricier one& if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no soundbars that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).

If you would like to choose for yourself, here's the list of the best value soundbars. Be careful not to get caught up in the details. No soundbar is perfect. Personal taste, preference, and listening habits will matter more in your selection.

Comments

  1. Recommendation

Best Budget Soundbars: Main Discussion

What do you think of our picks? Let us know below.


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    Would love to see Anker Soundcore Boom 2. In my unscientific testing it trounced my JBL boombox price considered!

  2. Update: We’ve checked to ensure all our picks are still relevant and in stock. We’ve also added the Sony SRS-XG500 as a Notable Mention due to its superior battery life performance compared to the Ultimate Ears EPICBOOM.

    What do you think of these changes? Let us know

    Show More Updates
  3. 2
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    Would love to see the comparison of some popular job site bluetooth speakers. Milwaukee, Dewalt, Ryobi, etc

    Hi there, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. We can’t make any guarantees about upcoming recommendation articles, but we do compile all user suggestions. So, we’ll keep this in mind !

  4. 2
    1
    0
    1
    0

    Would love to see the comparison of some popular job site bluetooth speakers. Milwaukee, Dewalt, Ryobi, etc

  5. Update: No pick changes.

    What do you think of these changes? Let us know

    Show More Updates
  6. 2
    1
    0
    1
    0

    Would love to see Anker Soundcore Boom 2. In my unscientific testing it trounced my JBL boombox price considered!

  7. Update: We’ve checked to ensure all our picks are still relevant and in stock. We’ve also added the Sony SRS-XG500 as a Notable Mention due to its superior battery life performance compared to the Ultimate Ears EPICBOOM.

    What do you think of these changes? Let us know

    Show More Updates
  8. 2
    1
    0
    1
    0

    Would love to see the comparison of some popular job site bluetooth speakers. Milwaukee, Dewalt, Ryobi, etc

    Hi there, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. We can’t make any guarantees about upcoming recommendation articles, but we do compile all user suggestions. So, we’ll keep this in mind !

  9. 2
    1
    0
    1
    0

    Would love to see the comparison of some popular job site bluetooth speakers. Milwaukee, Dewalt, Ryobi, etc

  10. Update: No pick changes.

    What do you think of these changes? Let us know

    Show More Updates
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