2021’s 5 Best Budget Gaming Monitors

Many a prospective new PC builder has meticulously pieced together their parts list just to end up skipping the monitor and using whatever old display they have lying around the house. And while it might save you a bit of cash and seem like a good idea at the time, gaming on an old, out-dated monitor can truly damage your experience. You'll be subject to ghosting, screen tearing, and maybe even lack of support for modern resolutions. So, to get you new gaming setup started right we've selected the best budget gaming monitors below.

As a note: we've limited our selection to monitors with solid gaming features that fall at or under the $200 price point. We've also stayed away from 4K monitors for two reasons: if you're shopping for a budget monitor you likely also have a mid-tier or lower graphics card that may struggle to push 4K resolutions, and it keeps the price way down. In fact, all the monitors listed here (with one noted exception at the end) are 1080p.

ASUS VG248QG

Right out of the gate we have a great monitor from ASUS that comes in just under our budget constraints. It sets a really high bar in this category too, with an extremely high refresh rate, extremely low response time, and certified G-Sync compatibility. ASUS was also able to fit in some other nice to have features such as hotkey integration to quickly deploy things like FPS counters and alignment settings on the fly and a cable management slot in the base of the monitor.

As a note: G-Sync Compatible rated monitors are FreeSync monitors, they've just also been certified to work well with G-Sync compatible graphics cards as long as you're on the most recent drivers.

Related: How much will an iPhone 13 cost? Full iPhone 13 Pricing Details

Acer Nitro VG2220Q

Acer puts out a lot of budget monitors, and if you're willing to purchase refurbished you can get even higher end ones off of their own Acer Recertified store. Thankfully, the Nitro VG2220Q is still well below our target price even brand new and it comes packed with features. It's not the largest monitor or the highest refresh rate on our list today, but at under $150 it's a steal. It also includes some basic creature comforts such as 2 watt speakers (that you likely won't want to game on, but they're there), tilt adjust, and VESA mount compatibility. Performance-wise it's a touch behind the ASUS monitor mentioned previously, but it's also significantly cheaper.

AOC G2490VX

AOC has been breaking down the walls of high-priced monitors for years now, so they've become a bit of a budget darling. Their G2490VX is no different, with its high end specs and support for AMD's slightly higher-end FreeSync Premium technology. But the real draw here is their guarantee: AOC offers a four year dead-pixel warranty that states if at any point within four years of purchase you experience bright spots or dead pixels they'll replace the monitor for free. Even high-end monitors don't offer this kind of generous deal, and tacking it on to what is already a great monitor makes this deal hard to pass up. Also, as if that wasn't enough, AOC claims that they will even cover accidents within the first year one time at no additional charge.

Sceptre C248B-144R

The big win for the Sceptre C248B-144R is simply the fact that it's a curved monitor. Finding decent curved gaming monitors in this price category is tough, but somehow Sceptre pulled it off while still including a solid refresh rate and acceptable response time. It features an 1800R screen curvature (for you screen curvature geeks out there), and built-in speakers in case you're trying to save a buck elsewhere in your gaming setup. It's worth noting that if you're willing to buck your budget just a bit they offer a larger 27 inch model for $20 more that also features a higher 165 Hz refresh rate.

Related: All Specs for iPhone 13 – Screen Size, Dimensions, and More

AOC Q32V3

Another entry from AOC, but this one is a bit outside of our previously listed criteria. The other monitors we've listed so far have been in the 24" and under category, but that's not just for pricing reasons. Many fans of faster paced games agree that smaller monitors (in addition to being cheaper) also provide a smaller viewing field and thus lead to faster reaction times. In other words: not having to turn your head to see that enemy on the edge of your screen can be a good thing. But not everyone is willing to downgrade to a smaller 24 inch monitor for that alone, and AOC has their 32 inch Q32V3 for those of you that refuse to give up any screen real estate.

The tradeoff here is the slower response time and lack of adaptive refresh rate technology, which is another big downside to you FPS fans out there. The big benefit (aside from the size) is that this is a 2K monitor running at 2560x1440, which puts it quite a bit higher than the 1080p monitors above. So, if you play slower-paced titles and want the largest bang-for-your-buck monitor out there right now then it's still an easy pick. Brand new this monitor does break our $200 budget by just a bit, but it's easily found refurbished for under that price point.

Choosing the right monitor can be difficult to begin with, but when trying to juggle a budget it quickly becomes a chore. In general what you give up with budget monitors is having a high-end display panel—which means they won't always have the deepest blacks or the richest colors—but manufacturers have started packing slightly older panels to the brim with gaming friendly features. So quit using that old Dell monitor you took from work nine years ago, and upgrade to something worth your gaming time.

For more hardware recommendations check out 2021’s 6 Best Budget Gaming CPUs | Best Value CPUs and How to Remove Keycaps | How to Take Off Your Keyboard’s Keycaps on Pro Game Guides.

This article includes affiliate links, which may provide small compensation to Pro Game Guides.