Best Cheap Gaming Monitor in 2021
Get a solid gaming monitor even on a tight budget
- Last Updated May 25, 2021
In the prime age of PC gaming where the barrier of entry is arguably lower than ever before, the last thing you’re going to want to do is to spend more of your budget on a screen than you have on your whole build. With the newest low-end GPUs being released by Nvidia and AMD being priced so reasonably and still being able to run millions upon millions of pixels, it’s becoming easier to think that you need a 4k, 240Hz OLED screen that costs upwards of 5 grand. Depending on the type of gaming experience you’re looking for a lower resolution, higher refresh rate might be exactly what you need. Heavily story-driven, linear games, or even open world, gameplay-driven games like Horizon Zero Dawn or Red Dead Redemption don’t really benefit from high refresh rates and look much better with a nice panel and higher resolutions.
Products at a Glance
How We Picked
In this list we’re going to be looking at the top 5 played and top 5 streamed games currently to build a criteria list for the monitors to meet. Most of the top played games are competitive multiplayer games that prioritize high fps over high resolutions. Games like Counter Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, PUBG, and Fortnite all benefit from being able to see your opponent for more frames compared to more pixels. Another aspect of a good gaming monitor is its contrast and color reproduction. Being able to differentiate a possibly camouflaged enemy in Warzone or a jazzed up bean in Fall Guys from the background can be the difference between a win and an elimination.
The features we’re going to be judging the monitors on are the refresh rate, the size, the panel type and stand. For the reasons we stated above, we’re also only looking at 1080p/FHD screens. You get an HD screen for a reasonable price. We’ve also decided to keep the size under 24” as this is a good balance between size and budget and it also takes into account desk space.
Best Cheap Gaming Monitor in 2021
This entry level gaming monitor from Acer is a great place to start when looking for your first gaming focused screen. Acer has manufactured a monitor that includes all of the main features of a high quality gaming monitor without pushing the budget too far.
This is a 75Hz monitor which sits nicely between a standard 60Hz screen and a 100Hz screen. You get the benefits of a higher refresh rate without the price tag. With some knowledge of screen overclocking you can get this panel to 100Hz. The increased refresh rate means you’ll be able to play at a higher frame rate and get the competitive edge you need to triumph over the opponent.
At 23.6” this monitor is the right size for its resolution, any larger and you’d be able to differentiate individual pixels and have a blown out image. At 2 to 3 feet away from this monitor you’ll get a clear image without sacrificing viewing angles.
This monitor uses a TN panel which is one of the easiest to drive but it does suffer from low color accuracy and bad viewing angles if improperly adjusted. Appropriately it makes this monitor a low power screen that is eco rated.
There aren’t a huge amount of notable features with the stand on this monitor but you get a decent amount of tilt and it’s sturdy enough to reduce desk wobble. It does have VESA mounting capabilities though so you can easily mount this monitor for a better viewing experience.
Overall this is a good monitor all around but if you’re looking for good color accuracy and viewing angles you may want to consider one of the other monitors on our list.
The next monitor on our list is part of ASUS’s TUF Gaming line. ASUS normally saves this standard for its highest quality gaming components and this monitor deserves the name.
With a 144Hz panel capable of reaching 165Hz with some minor overclocking. At this refresh rate you would be able to experience high frame rate gaming. It goes without saying that higher refresh rates matched with high frame rates make for the best gaming experience and competitive edge. ASUS has also included FreeSync technology with this monitor meaning that you will be able to play without screen tearing or artifacting.
Similar to the previous monitor this is a 23.6” screen and so works perfectly for any desk setup. With the same 1080p resolution as all of the monitors on this list, you should be able to drive this monitor at high frame rates without spending too much on your PC. The monitor can sit comfortably about 2 feet from your face without having issues with pixel differentiation. On top of its ideal size, the screen is also curved with a curvature of 1500R meaning that the viewing angles are further improved.
This monitor uses a VA panel. A VA panel is one of the best for color accuracy and viewing angles, when paired with the high refresh rate and a curve you get an unparalleled gaming experience from a cheap monitor. The only panel type that is better than VA is IPS and you’d be looking at significantly increasing the cost for such a high refresh rate with IPS.
The stand works well to support the curved monitor and its base is very sturdy, you get a small amount of height adjustment with plenty of tilt and you can even swivel the monitor from its base. You also have access to a 100×100 VESA mounting plate on the back once you remove the existing stand.
This monitor from ViewSonic is a great monitor for gaming that works well for all of your other PC needs.
The monitor has a standard 60Hz refresh rate and runs smoothly at this frame rate. There isn’t a huge amount of benefits from having a lower refresh rate except that the monitor as a whole is less power consuming.
The monitor sits at 24” inches total diagonal size meaning that it sits perfectly on a desk about 2 to 3 feet from you. ViewSonic has made this a monitor with even bezels along each side, they are also very minimal. It gives the whole thing a seamless look.
The monitor comes with an IPS panel which is one of the reasons it doesn’t have a higher refresh rate. It may be a worthwhile tradeoff as the color accuracy and viewing angles of an IPS panel are completely unrivaled by VA or TN panels. The panel used in this monitor meets 100% of the sRGB color gamut. ViewSonic’s SuperClear IPS panels really make for a great story based gaming experience.
The stand that comes equipped with this monitor is one of the best we’ve seen so far. You get a great amount of height adjustment, full tilt ability and you can rotate the monitor 90 degrees either way. This essentially means that you can use this monitor in portrait mode which is great for coders, streamers or even document editors. You also get VESA mounting capabilities with the monitor so you can mount it for more adjustability.
AOC is a great brand for reasonably priced monitors and this one is no exception. It comes equipped with a 144Hz panel that looks like it was built for gamers. AOC has also built in FreeSync capabilities for the smoothest gaming experience.
The monitor is a 23.6” display that is also curved. With a 1500R curve your viewing angles are increased further. The whole monitor is designed with red accents and sharp edges that make it stand out against standard monitors and give it that gamer look.
The AOC gaming monitor uses a VA panel that means it can run at high refresh rates without sacrificing color accuracy or viewing angles, especially with the curve.
Similar to the last monitor you get a lot of adjustability out of the stand. With a cable routing hole and a rotation function this stand is the best we’ve seen on the list so far. The stand also uses the extended v-shaped legs that make it extremely stable. You do also have VESA mounting capabilities if you’re looking to mount it.
This is the most budget friendly monitor on our list and is the only monitor under $100 that we could recommend for gaming.
The monitor can output frame rates up to 75 FPS as it has a max refresh rate of 75Hz. At this frame rate you get a slight competitive advantage.
This screen is also the smallest on our list with a total screen size of 21.5”. At this size the monitor can sit comfortably on a normal desk and it actually has a higher pixel density than a 24” monitor.
This monitor uses a TN panel like the first one on our list. This basically means that at its small size it has the lowest power consumption of all the monitors on our list. Apart from that it actually has relatively bad color accuracy and not the greatest viewing angles.
You’ll need to utilize the VESA mounting capabilities of this monitor if you’re looking for any level of adjustability. With the included stand you only get 25 degrees of tilt adjustment without any other option to place the monitor better for yourself.
Things To Consider
Our Verdict
If you want the best cheap gaming monitor, we think the Acer KG251Q has to be your pick. It offers up the best overall gaming experience if you’re on a tight budget and even has some features that more expensive monitors also have.