The cinema experience defines our very existence, and while there will never be a replacement for the real thing, the opportunity to bring a little bit of theatrical wonder into our homes is fantastic. Choosing a projector is difficult because so much depends on the room you’re putting it in and how you intend to use it, whether as a home theatre for the family or for outdoor camping trips and business presentations. You’ll also want to understand what to look for in terms of projector resolution and brightness for your specific needs. We investigated and tested models based on compatibility requirements and various applications. Here are the best Cheap Projectors that you should look into.
Here is the list of Best Cheap Projectors
BenQ HT2050A Movie Projector
Easily one of the best Cheap Projectors available on the market, The BenQ HT2050A produces richer, more vibrant colours than many budget DLP projectors and has the best image contrast of any sub-$1,000 projector we’ve tested. This 1080p projector accepts a variety of inputs and is simple to set up thanks to a versatile lens that includes zoom and vertical shift. The 1.3x zoom gives you some leeway in how close you can place the unit to the screen, while the vertical lens shift prevents keystone effect. The HT2050A includes a built-in speaker; it’s not spectacular, but it does produce a fuller sound than most budget projector speakers. The main disadvantage of the HT2050A is that its single-DLP-chip design can cause a visible rainbow effect for some viewers.
AXA P8 Smart Mini Projector
The tiny P8 outperforms its size by a wide margin. To be fair, the hand-held size suggests it cannot project an image at all. It appears to be a toy. However, it is reasonably bright, has a built-in speaker, and costs only $250. Impressive. It doesn’t have a battery, and it lacks streaming apps. As a result, you must take this into account. It does have an HDMI input and a USB port, so you can connect a streaming stick and access all of the streaming apps you could want. There are brighter and more attractive options, but for the price, the P8 is hard to beat.
ANKER Nebula Capsule Max
Our experts adore the Anker Nebula’s sleek, modern design, which includes HD resolution for clear, defined image quality in low-light settings. We like that streaming is simple with the Nebula Connect app; all you have to do is use your phone as a remote and decide which Netflix series to watch next. While we haven’t tested this model in the Lab, our experts have tested other Nebula models and have been impressed with the audio quality and ease of setup and operation. We also like that, unlike more expensive models, this mini projector is small enough to fit into most backpacks and has a rechargeable battery life of 4 hours, allowing you to project on the go. Currently, this is one of the best Cheap Projectors that you can buy right now.
Kodak Luma 150
The Kobak Luma 150 pushes projector portability to its logical conclusion (well, for the moment at least). The Luma 150 fits easily into a coat or backpack pocket, measuring about 1 inch deep and 4 inches long. The projector uses Digital Light Processing (DLP) to generate a wide range of realistic colours that bring media to life. Despite its small size, the connection options are numerous, including both wired and wireless connections. There’s even a mini 1.5w speaker hidden inside. All of this is powered by an internal rechargeable battery. Even though the resolution, contrast, and brightness are all on the low side, it’s still a pretty cool gadget.
LG CineBeam PH510P
This projector is built for portability and streaming content. It has a 2.5-hour battery life and is ideal for taking to a friend’s house or on a camping trip. It also includes a built-in speaker that can connect to your laptop or mobile device via Bluetooth to stream music for added entertainment. It connects to mobile devices for screen mirroring and content streaming from apps such as Netflix and Disney+. And you won’t need a large room to set it up because it has a minimum throw distance of 4 feet; however, if you want the maximum, 100-inch screen, you’ll need to set the projector back about 10 feet. The lamp has a 30,000-hour lifespan, which means you can watch up to 8 hours of TV or movies every day for ten years before it needs to be replaced. Thus, this product is one of the best Cheap Projectors available right now.
ViewSonic M1 Mini Plus
The ViewSonic M1 Plus is a projector that can genuinely fit in your pocket. Despite its small size and light weight, it does a good job of projecting movies, games, and TV shows onto your walls at screen sizes up to 100in. The resolution is limited to 854 x 480 and the brightness is a lowish 150 lumens, so you’ll need to watch the projected image in a dark room, but the colour performance isn’t bad at all. Its built-in speaker does a good job of providing emergency audio that isn’t too thin and tinny, and you can connect a Bluetooth speaker to boost audio output. There is an integrated battery with a battery life of up to 1 hour 30 minutes, so you can use it without connecting it to the mains if you prefer. Aside from that, there are a slew of features built in, including HDMI input, USB-A for local video file playback, and Wi-Fi connectivity.
XGIMI Horizon Pro 4K Projector
Both the Horizon Pro and the top-tier Nebula models include Android TV for apps and streaming (though not Netflix), 4K quality in a small package, and clever auto keystone correction. This model lacks the top handle of the one above, but it has a much larger maximum display size and more connection options. While we discussed the advantages of laser for the Cosmos, don’t overlook LED lamps. The ones on our list are rated to last for a long time, and this XGIMI can run for up to 25,000 hours. To put that into perspective, you could use it for six hours a day, every day for over a decade. Still, it is one of the best Cheap Projectors that you can consider.
Epson VS250 Projector
The Epson VS250 Projector is simply a stunning budget projector that is equally at home watching stunning images and movies on Netflix as it is for streaming visuals in a business presentation. The 800 x 600 SVGA resolution isn’t true HD, but the 3,200 lumens of equal colour (colour light output) and white brightness (white light output) allow the projected visuals to be seen in any room, no matter how brightly lit it is, which helps offset the slightly lower-than-average pixel count. The included fan is also extremely quiet, with a power-saving mode that produces only 28 dB of noise, removing the need for a projector hush box. We had it out of the box and up and running in minutes, connected to a laptop via HDMI cable and projecting onto a wall. This Epson is PC and Mac compatible, and you can project wirelessly from your iPhone, iPad, or Android mobile device using the iProjection App and some Wi-Fi.
BenQ TH670
This is the best Cheap Projectors you’ll find. Sure, the BenQ TH670 may be a little more expensive than you were hoping to spend, but it’s difficult to find a better projector in terms of quality versus price. The TH670 features a Full 1080p (1920×1080) resolution, 3,000 ANSI lumens of brightness, a high contrast ratio of 10,000:1, and built-in speakers. Those speakers could be slightly more powerful, but for the price, it’s difficult to complain. The projector can display images that are 60 to 120 inches wide, and its lamp has a lifespan of 4,000 to 10,000 hours, depending on which modes you use the most.
Final Words
Shopping for a best Cheap Projectors does not require you to forego quality and features in order to stay within your budget. There are numerous overhead projectors available, each with a unique set of features and limitations. Our main concern during testing was to see how the display looked and whether it was viewable in both daylight and nighttime hours.
