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- Expert Reviews has tested over 40 projectors since the start of 2023, ranging from the budget FHD options like those on this list to premium native 4K beamers.
- Each projector we review undergoes a range of objective and subjective tests to assess its performance across key areas, including picture quality, audio quality and smart functionality.
- Our favourite cheap projector is currently the Aurzen Eazze D1R, which delivers watchable images, runs quietly, and offers effective autofocus and keystoning.
- Those wanting something more portable should consider the Nebula Capsule 3, which has an in-built battery and isn’t much bigger than a fizzy drink can.
The average TV size in the UK is steadily rising, but if you’re looking for a super-sized home entertainment experience, a cheap projector is the more cost-effective alternative.
Thanks to low-cost imaging chips, lenses and LED light sources from China and other parts of Southeast Asia, there are plenty of viable options around the £500 mark, and, if you’re willing to make a few sacrifices, you can get a decent beamer for as little as £130.
The cheap projector market is awash with models from no-name brands, though, so it pays to be cautious when shopping for one. Some will give you decent picture quality, built-in streaming and listenable sound; others deliver appalling images from a box that’s a nightmare to use.
We’ve tested dozens of projectors over the last five years, including some of the best budget options available, to help you make an informed purchase that won’t leave you with buyer’s remorse. Below, you’ll find our pick of the best cheap projectors on the market. If you need further advice on what to look for and what to avoid, we’ve put together a buying guide that covers everything you need to know about the cheap projector landscape.
How we test projectors
We test all projectors by setting them up from scratch in a darkened room with an 80 – 100in screen. Where a projector has built-in streaming features, we install a range of Android apps, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and Disney+. Where projectors lack such features, we plug in a 4K Streaming Stick already set up with those apps. We then use the projector to watch a range of test material, including blockbuster movies, popular streaming series, and drama or documentary shows, to see how well the projector handles them. We’ll also use any built-in Chromecast features to cast 1080p or 4K video directly from a tablet or smartphone.
We test any built-in speakers at low, medium and high volume levels, and run the projector on battery power, where available, to see how long the battery lasts. Finally, we use a colorimeter mounted on a tripod, 50cm from the screen, to check the brightness and contrast levels, along with colour accuracy and colour depth.
The best cheap projectors
1. Aurzen Eazze D1R: Best overall
Price when reviewed: £130 | Check price at Amazon
- Impressive picture quality
- Surprisingly quiet operation
- Autofocus and keystoning work well
- No voice search
- Remote lacks a backlight
Tested and reviewed by Jon Bray
This Roku-powered projector exceeded all of Jon Bray’s expectations and became our new favourite cheap projector in the process. Its autofocus and auto-keystoning make getting a watchable image incredibly easy, the Roku software makes setting up apps a doddle, and support for AirPlay and Miracast means you can broadcast content seamlessly from your phone, tablet or laptop.
The brightness of 323 ISO lumens is too low to properly enjoy the D1R’s talents in bright conditions, so this projector is best used in dim or dark conditions. With the curtains drawn in his testing facility, Jon Bray described images as “crisp, sharp and well-balanced”. And Jon was thoroughly impressed by how quiet the D1R was during operation. He measured its fan noise at just 44dBA from a metre away, which proved inaudible once the 5W speakers kicked in.
Read our Aurzen Eazze D1R review
2. Nebula Capsule 3: Best for travelling and trips away
Price when reviewed: £379 | Check price at Soundcore
- Super-portable design
- Vibrant FHD images
- Google TV streaming
- No angle adjustments
- Limited brightness
Tested and reviewed by Stuart Andrews
The pint-sized design of this battery-powered projector makes it our number one pick for trips away. It’s amazing to think you can get a 120in image from a beamer this small, but that’s what the Capsule 3 is capable of, and its auto-setup routine always results in a well-aligned and focused picture.
That picture is surprisingly refined, too. sRGB and DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of 91.4% and 74.8%, respectively, reflect its broad colour palette, and Stuart Andrews really appreciated the level of saturation and handling of darker tones during testing. With a battery life of around two and a half hours in Eco mode (or 80 minutes on full brightness), you’ll likely want to also pack a USB-PD power bank if you’re taking the Capsule 3 away with you, but given how compact the projector is, there’ll still be plenty of room in your bag for all your non-tech essentials!
Read our Nebula Capsule 3 review
3. XGIMI MoGo 4: Best for sound and projection flexibility
Price when reviewed: £509 | Check price at Amazon
- Warm, well-rounded sound
- Compact and flexible design
- Good picture quality
- Limited battery life
- Lacking UK TV catch-up apps
Tested and reviewed by Stuart Andrews
The XGIMI MoGo 4 delivers an impressive visual display for such a compact projector, but sound quality is what makes it stand out. The dual Harman/Kardon speakers each output 6W and deliver Dolby Audio that’s “great for thumping action movie scores and clear and easy to listen to in everyday TV shows and dramas,” according to Stuart Andrews. This audio prowess is particularly welcome when using the MoGo 4 as a Bluetooth speaker.
Google TV provides access to key platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube, and getting the MoGo 4 up and running couldn’t be simpler. Thanks to its novel rotating design, the MoGo 4 provides wonderful flexibility in where you use it – you can even project onto the ceiling while you’re sleeping if you want!
Read our XGIMI MoGo 4 review
4. Epson CO-FH02: Best for bright rooms
Price when reviewed: £480 | Check price at Argos
- Impressive brightness
- Huge maximum image size
- Useful bundled streaming stick
- Limited connectivity
- Weak audio
Tested and reviewed by Stuart Andrews
With a stated brightness of 3,000 lumens, this Epson beamer is brighter than any other budget option on this list, which means it’s better equipped to deliver vibrant, detailed pictures in bright ambient environments. Stuart Andrews recorded maximum brightness reflected from the screen at 50cm at 320cd/m2; a figure higher than some projectors he’s tested that cost two or three times as much as the CO-FH02.
The other big draw of the CO-FH02 is that it can project absolutely huge images. Epson says you can go all the way up to 391in, though you’ll have to position the projector over 30ft away from the screen, and performance will drop off substantially. Still, this is the only option with the brightness to pull off such gigantic feats.
Read our Epson CO-FH02 review
5. Samsung Freestyle (2nd Gen): Best for apps and smart platform
Price when reviewed: £349 | Check price at John Lewis
- Comprehensive and intutive smart platform
- Good sound
- Simple to set up
- Rainbow-effect prone
Tested and reviewed by Stephen Withers
Samsung’s Freestyle 2nd Gen is a few years old now, but still has lots of things going for it, chief among which is its Tizen operating system. Tizen will be familiar to anyone who’s owned a Samsung TV, and provides access to a fantastic range of built-in streaming apps, including favourites like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV+, as well as all the UK TV catch-up services. It’s intuitive to navigate and removes any need for a streaming stick.
The Freestyle also offers Samsung-specific features like its Gaming Hub and Smart Edge Blending, the latter of which lets you combine two Freestyles for a larger, brighter picture. If you’ve only got one projector, you can project images up to an enormous 100in, and those pictures proved clean, detailed and accurate during testing. Finally, the Freestyle’s audio surpassed what we expected from a compact beamer. The 360-degree 5W configuration impressed Steve Withers with the way it spread audio around the room without distorting.
Read our Samsung Freestyle 2nd Gen review
How to choose the best cheap projector for you
How much should you spend?
The less you spend, the more compromises you’ll have to make. As a general rule, the very cheapest projectors have low native resolutions and aren’t bright enough to project big, watchable images.
What about all those projectors claiming 1080p and 4K support at improbably low prices? These are often misleading, and refer to input capability rather than the projected image. Delve through the longer descriptions and you‘ll find that cheaper machines are often limited to 480p and lower resolutions.Spend around £200 and more, however, and you’ll quickly see resolution levels rise. We’d recommend a minimum of 720p for good image quality but you may want to sacrifice sharpness for more features, higher brightness or portability.
Either way, the best native resolution you’re going to get currently from a sub-£500 projector is 1080p. Alas, 4K technology has not yet reached the realms of cheap projectors. Expect to pay closer to £1,000 for one of those.
How bright does it need to be?
The biggest factor that determines a projector’s brightness is the light source that it uses. Many budget projectors use an LED source, and the upside of the relatively low brightness level is that the light source lasts for ages; often up to 20,000 hours or more. Traditional lamps will often give you higher brightness levels, but the bulb might last for only 4,000 to 6,000 hours, so it might need replacing after three or four years if used a lot. Bear in mind, though, that some budget projectors aren’t designed to be used that heavily over such long periods, and might collapse long before the lamp does, as heat and dust take their toll on the optical system and the moving parts.
READ NEXT: Best portable projectors
What connectivity do you need?
It’s also worth thinking about how you intend to use your projector. Most will have an HDMI input, which is perfect for hooking up a games console, Blu-ray player or streaming stick. Many will also allow you to play video files stored on a USB thumb drive.
However, it’s also worth looking out for projectors with smart TV features and built-in apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer. Some also allow you to cast video or screen mirror from a mobile device and send audio via Bluetooth to headphones or a speaker.
Portable or mains powered?
At lower price points, many projectors tend to be on the smaller side. Indeed, cheap often means portable or even battery powered. If you’re after the sharpest, brightest possible image for your money, avoid pocket-sized, battery-powered projectors and opt for a mains-powered machine.
A mains-powered projector is more likely to have a lamp that’s bright enough to produce big, bright images, and is the best choice for bedroom or living room movie watching if you don’t need to carry it around too much.
What other features should I look out for?
The core features are covered above but there are other features to take note that are worth having:
- Auto-keystone and autofocus: Saves time in setting up the image because you don’t have to fiddle around with menu settings and focus wheels
- Remote control: Most come with one of these but some do not and it’s a real pain if you don’t have one
- Built-in speakers and audio output: Many models have built in speakers but most aren’t up to much so it’s worth making sure there’s either a 3.5mm audio output or Bluetooth facility so you can hook up an external speaker
- Bluetooth: This isn’t used to transfer video – the technology doesn’t have enough bandwidth – but some products use it so the projector can double as a Bluetooth speaker
- Throw ratio: It sounds technical but it’s an important specification and refers to the size of image the projector can create from a given distance. Short throw projectors can project large images from a position very close to a screen or wall. A throw ratio of 1.5 means that for every 1.5m the projector is away from your wall, an image width of 1m is created, at 3m distance, an image width of 2m is created and so on.
