Gamers on a budget might want to consider what their PC is capable of when shopping for a monitor. If you can’t get satisfactory frame rates at 4K (even with upscaling technologies like DLSS) you are better off settling for a lower-resolution display with a faster refresh rate for a smoother and more responsive gaming experience.

HDR performance may also suffer since cheaper displays won’t be able to sustain the peak brightness required for a dazzling HDR experience. But these monitors should be plenty bright enough when displaying SDR content, which means they’ll be fine for use in a bright room.

Variable refresh rate (VRR) features are fairly common nowadays, especially since AMD made FreeSync a royalty-free standard. If the monitor lacks HDMI 2.1, you won’t be able to use HDMI Adaptive-Sync—which means no VRR support for the PlayStation 5. This won’t be a deal-breaker for everyone, but something to keep in mind if you’re planning on playing your PS5 on the monitor.

Connection options across the board may be slightly more restrictive on budget monitors. You might find DisplayPort over USB-C (with USB Power Delivery) for connecting and powering a laptop with a single cable, but most budget monitors have DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0b instead.

Regarding aesthetics, you may compromise on the finish and take a slightly chunkier display than those found at higher price points. This may mean thicker bezels for a less modern look, and don’t set your heart on anything other than a plastic finish for the rear or monitor stand. Fortunately, this doesn’t affect the monitor’s performance in the slightest.

Budget monitor options that come with an inferior stand that lacks good ergonomics and looks ugly can be solved with an inexpensive monitor arm.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Dell S2721QS continues to be one of the best budget monitor choices on the market. It’s not the cheapest monitor you can buy, but it strikes an excellent value between image quality and price.

It features a 27-inch 4K (UHD) panel with a resolution of 3840×2160, which translates to a respectable pixel density of 163 ppi. This panel is limited to a refresh rate of 60Hz, which is fine for most desktop and creative tasks but one that will disappoint gamers aiming for frame rates that exceed 60 frames per second. Despite this, the S2721QS has FreeSync support so it could be a good choice if you enjoy casual gaming on the side.

Though the monitor can take and display an HDR signal, don’t expect much in terms of peak brightness, which tops out at about 380 nits. Connection is made using one of the two HDMI 2.0b ports or a single DisplayPort 1.4 port.

The included stand is fully adjustable with tilt, pivot, swivel, and height adjustment. Alternatively, you can attach a monitor arm to the VESA 100×100 mounting point.

In terms of aesthetic, we love the thin bezels on the S2721QS, though the monitor has a fair bit of depth to it at the back. Since it’s not the thinnest monitor around, make sure to keep that in mind when considering desk space, especially if your desk is against a wall.

If you’re after a budget monitor that packs in the pixels and don’t mind sacrificing fast refresh rates, USB-C connection, and ‘true’ HDR then this might be the perfect wallet-friendly choice.

Have you heard that 1440p is fast becoming the new 1080p? The resolution of 2560×1440 also known as QHD or WQHD is seen as a midpoint between 1080p resolution and 4K. If your PC is capable of satisfactory frame rates at 1440p, then now is an excellent time to move up, and the Gigabyte M27Q might be the best-value option out there.

The M27Q provides a sizeable leap in resolution over 1080p with a fast 170Hz refresh rate. The added headroom in refresh rate means you can use frame rates of up to 170 frames per second, which should give you an edge in multiplayer shooters compared to the 60Hz standard.

This flat (non-curved) Gigabyte monitor uses an IPS panel with wide viewing angles, great color reproduction, excellent contrast ratio, and better pixel response times than VA-type panels. It also has FreeSync Premium support for variable refresh rate gaming, a KVM switch for quickly moving between computers, and HDR400 support.

The tilt and height-adjustable stand have a relatively small footprint, and the monitor has thin bezels and sharp looks without leaning too far into gamer aesthetics. You can hook it up to your computer or consoles with the included dual HDMI 2.0b ports or a single DisplayPort 1.2 port.

If your PC isn’t ready for 1440p gaming, consider the Asus Nitro XF243Y instead. This full HD (1080p) monitor has a 23.8-inch screen and 165Hz refresh rate. It will take up less space on your desk than many of the other options on the list, and the smaller panel size helps to make the loss in pixel density you experience at 1080p less noticeable.

The XF243Y has fast pixel response times, virtually imperceptible latency, and is ideal for HD gaming. It has FreeSync VRR support, a stand with tilt swivel and height adjustment, and it’s dirt cheap to boot.

Ultrawide monitors have long been seen as luxury items, but as the AOC CU32G2X demonstrates that is no longer the case. This UWQHD (3440×1440) monitor features a 34-inch panel with a 1500R curve for an immersive ultrawide gaming experience. A refresh rate of 144Hz further bolsters this monitor’s reputation as an excellent addition to your setup.

The monitor lacks support for FreeSync or G-SYNC in favor of AdaptiveSync, for which you’ll need to use one of the two DisplayPort 1.4 ports on the back. There are also two HDMI 2.0b inputs for connecting consoles or computers that lack DisplayPort—but you’ll lose out on the variable refresh rate if you go this route.

The VA panel provides excellent color at the cost of the viewing angles you’d normally get with an IPS panel. AOC advertises an MPRT response time of 1 ms, and reviewers praised its pixel response times when operating at the maximum refresh rate of 144Hz.

In the box, you’ll get a height-adjustable stand, or you can use your own VESA 100×100 wall mount. To top it off is AOC’s three-year “no dead pixel” warranty, which gives you peace of mind if you’re concerned about stuck or dead pixels on your display.

Most of the monitors on this list will work fine with a Mac assuming you have the right input (HDMI) or aren’t too annoyed by dongles. With that in mind, we’re stretching the definition of “budget” here to include an affordable monitor that utilizes the USB-C standard to make powering and connecting a MacBook as simple as possible.

Ultimately which monitor you choose depends on what you need, but we’ve settled on the Dell S2722QC as a general budget Mac monitor recommendation. This 27-inch 4K monitor is a sleek and simple display that connects via USB-C (with optional dual HDMI 2.0b inputs) and provides 65W of USB Power Delivery (USB-PD), allowing it to comfortably power an M1 or M2 MacBook Air or similar.

The panel hits around 350 nits of brightness—perfect for use in a bright office—with 178-degree viewing angles that make it easy to share ideas with coworkers. The included stand offers tilt, swivel, pivot, and height adjustment and you even get a set of integrated 3w speakers (perfect for operating system alerts if nothing else).

Though the monitor isn’t built for gaming (with its 60Hz refresh rate and advertised 8ms pixel response time), there’s FreeSync support for variable refresh rate gaming with an option to engage overdrive to counteract any ghosting you might encounter in fast-paced games.

If you’ve got a spare couple of hundred dollars in your back pocket and you fancy something a little nicer, you can opt for the Dell U2723QE instead which features faster response times, a refresh rate of 75Hz, a brighter screen, a higher quality panel, and up to 90w of USB-PD.