The best cheap monitor deals and prices for March 2023
If you’re looking for a cheap monitor to enhance your computing experience, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve scoured online retailers from Amazon to Best Buy to find the best cheap monitor sales and deals. Whether you’re looking for a 4K display, a huge screen, or a way to enhance your gaming experience, our list has the best cheap monitors for every desk and budget.
Since excellent monitors can be bought really cheap these days, and you can pretty much connect any device to an external display, it’s always worth having a cheap monitor or two. Multi-display setups are especially useful for those who need an effective work-from-home station, although most will benefit from the extra screen space.
To make it easier for you, we’ve broken down our range of monitors into five categories, which include: Best General Use Monitor, Best Gaming Monitor, Best Professional Monitor, Best Curved Monitor, and Best Budget Monitor. Our list of cheap monitor deals is updated daily with the best prices from top retailers, so feel free to bookmark this page and check back regularly.
What are the best cheap monitor deals?
Of course, you made this list because you want to save money on a new monitor – but the motivation for finding a cheap monitor will vary from person to person. Maybe you need an everyday display that lets you go from one Zoom meeting to another, or you’re looking for a gaming monitor that meets the needs of your gaming rig. Two factors that need to be strongly considered, regardless of the purpose, are size and resolution.
Size: You’ll need a monitor that fits comfortably on a desk or table. Typically, monitors range in size from 15 to 30 inches (measured diagonally). Ultra-wide displays, on the other hand, can be as large as 50 inches and are quickly becoming the preferred choice of creative professionals and serious gamers alike.
Resolution: This refers to the number of pixels a monitor can display. Higher numbers produce a sharper image and more refined details. For graphics-intensive tasks like gaming or video editing, you need at least Full HD (1920 x 1080) or even 3840 x 2160 (4K).
Additional features: Other features you might want to consider will depend on the type of display you buy. You can explore these in more detail in our guides to the best general monitors, the best gaming monitors, and the best business monitors.
The best cheap monitor deals
The Asus VP228HE is a fantastic budget monitor for light gaming or multimedia streaming. While it may be “only” 1080p, you’ll still get a fantastic display with bright color contrast and vivid visuals. Lest we forget the added features built-in, from GamePlus technology to EyeCare technology.
Yes, it only has a 60Hz refresh rate, but there’s still a 1ms response time when paired with a flicker-free screen to keep things moving. For less than $200/£200, you’ll be hard-pressed to find something as remarkable as the Asus VP228HE in this price range.
While it’s not the absolute cheapest monitor offering on the market, the HP X24IH is our pick for gamers on a budget. For the price, it’s an incredibly fast 24-inch model that packs a ton of really impressive specs for the money.
Foremost among the specs are the 1ms response speed and 144Hz refresh rate, which are fast enough to keep up with the most competitive gaming scenarios. Having an IPS panel in this price range is also fantastic, allowing for some really great colors and decent viewing angles.
The downside of the HP X24IH is that it only has 1080p resolution, which may not be enough for some depending on your setup. However, 1080p still looks great on a 24-inch monitor and provides a set of specs you just won’t find on 1440p gaming monitors anywhere near this price.
The Dell S2721D is a solid and affordable QHD monitor that will suit both casual users and occasional gamers. It has a gorgeous 27-inch 1440p display, a 75Hz refresh rate, and a vibrant IPS panel that covers 99% of the sRGB color gamut – making it a good choice for photo and video editing as well.
Aesthetically, the Dell S2721D is breathtaking with its three-sided ultra-thin bezel. On the back are a pair of HDMI 1.4 ports, DisplayPort 1.2, audio line-out and a security lock slot. (Interestingly, there isn’t a single USB port.) Preparing space for this Dell monitor will be easy as it can be positioned either horizontally or vertically.
For a hassle-free home QHD monitor, the Dell S2721D is an excellent buy. The built-in 3-watt speakers are weak though, so consider picking one of the best computer speakers out there (opens in a new tab) with the money you’ll save on this cheap monitor deal.
Read the review: Dell S2721D (opens in a new tab)
The Asus VG289Q is a few years old, but still one of our favorite gaming monitors at TechRadar. This is certainly one of the stronger options if you’re looking for a reasonably fast monitor that can handle 4K gaming but want to stay within a reasonable budget.
In a world where 4K gaming monitors can still cost north of $600 / £600, the Asus VG289Q offers fantastic value by comparison. We were particularly impressed with the color reproduction, sharpness and detail of this model when we reviewed it in 2020.
If there’s a downside though, it’s not the fastest gaming monitor on the market due to its 5ms response time and 60Hz refresh rate cap. Compared to even cheap 1080p gaming monitors, these are nothing special, so the Asus VG289Q is best used by those who want top-notch visuals on a budget, as opposed to the fastest gaming monitor of the competition.
Read the review: Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q
The BenQ PD2700U is a sensible 27-inch 4K monitor that fits well into any (home) office. You’ll sacrifice some bells and whistles here, but in return you’ll get plenty of pixels (for lots of detail), accurate colors, and professional calibration right out of the box.
If you intend to stream some 4K shows or movies between Zoom meetings, you might be impressed by the BenQ PD2700U’s razor-sharp visuals. But let’s be clear: the MO of this monitor is productivity and content creation. When it comes to serious computing, the BenQ PD2700U really shines.
Read the review: BenQ PD2700U (opens in a new tab)
The AOC CU34G2X has many advantages for its price. Standout features of this 34-inch curved display include QHD resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time and AMD Freesync technology. Its radius of curvature (1500 mm) is not overwhelming. In fact, the AOC CU34G2X provides quite an immersive experience, especially when wearing solid gaming headphones.
In terms of design, AOC is rather… forgotten. But it will really help to forget this caveat, as its performance is far from forgettable – especially at this price.
Read the review: AOCCU34G2X (opens in a new tab)
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