The Best Cheap Tablets for 2024

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Thanks to their large screens and capable processors, tablets are generally excellent devices for entertainment and productivity alike. The good news is that it's surprisingly easy to find impressive slates for well under $300. PCMag has been covering tablets since the first iPad came out 14 years ago, so you can trust that we know which ones punch above their weight. Our current Editors' Choice winners—Apple's 10th-Gen iPad, Amazon's Fire HD 10, and Samsung's Galaxy Tab A9+—span the three most popular tablet operating systems and offer exceptional value. Of course, all of the models on this list have their own merits, too, so it's worth reading our full reviews of each. Be sure to scroll down past the list for some additional buying advice for affordable tablets.

What to Look for in a Cheap Tablet

There are a lot of cheap tablets on the market available everywhere, from Amazon to Temu to Wish. We don't recommend most of them: They tend to be slow, perform unreliably, have dim screens, and run old versions of Android that are full of security flaws.

When you're shopping, keep an eye on screen resolution. An 8-inch, 1,280-by-800-pixel display lets you watch 720p HD video and read content comfortably. The combination of this size and resolution works out to 189 pixels per inch (ppi), the minimum you should look for if you want reasonably sharp pictures and text.

At $100 or less, there are a few inexpensive 10-inch tablets, but their screens generally have such a low pixel density that they look fuzzy and are difficult to read.

Pay close attention to storage specs, too. We recommend at least 32GB of built-in storage for installing apps and storing multimedia. If you plan to play large games like Genshin Impact, you might need 64GB because that game takes up a ton of space. Of course, a microSD card slot can't hurt, especially if you want to download movies to watch on long trips.

If possible, look for 4GB of RAM or more (we make an exception for Amazon's Fire Tablets). This will help make multitasking smooth.

Battery life is another factor to keep in mind, though you can always extend the life of your tablet on the go with one of our favorite backup battery packs.

Does Amazon Make the Best Cheap Tablets?

The best sub-$100 tablets we've tested are from Amazon, which often subsidizes its devices with ads on the lock screen and promotions for Amazon content throughout the interface. They're relatively reliable, however, and they get security updates (even if only sporadically). Further, they come with excellent customer support, differentiating them from others in this class.

The 2022 edition of the Fire 7 Tablet is the least expensive, decent-quality tablet on the market at $59.99. Other models in this price range tend to have outdated versions of Android or are a complete roll of the dice in terms of quality assurance and support.

Amazon's slates are also among the best kids' tablets we've tested. They have a simplified interface, strong parental controls, and Kids+, which is basically a giant bucket of content for children. A Parent Dashboard lets you track what your offspring are doing and restrict their screen time. You can put multiple user profiles on the tablets, as well. Other Android tablets also let you set up restricted kids' profiles and configure parental control settings, but Amazon's options are more comprehensive.

The one caveat with Amazon's tablets is that they use the Amazon Appstore, which doesn't have all the apps in the Google Play Store. If you want complete Google Play coverage with unrestricted access to the best Android apps, you should look elsewhere. Yes, you can sideload apps on Fire tablets, but this comes with risks.

If these choices feel underwhelming, look at our picks for the best Android tablets overall.

Are There Cheap Tablets That Don't Run Android?

If you want a quality Apple or Windows tablet under $200, you'll have to dip into the used market. In that case, we suggest you first check out manufacturers' certified refurbished sales or head to third-party sellers such as Gazelle and Swappa that buy used products and test them before reselling.

The least expensive new iPad is the 10th-generation model. At $349, it's a great value (and it's often discounted to $299 or less). Over the past several years, Apple has made the iPad a decent replacement for a basic laptop, with accessories such as the Apple Pencil USB-C and Magic Keyboard Folio adding value.

We wouldn't call the iPad a cheap tablet, but there are some good reasons to invest in one. Most notably, you can stay current with software updates for at least several years. That's much longer than almost all the budget tablets on our list. If you get an older, used iPad, it's likely to get cut out of the software update cycle in a year or two.

You could also look at certified used devices at this price level in the Windows world. If your budget is a little more flexible, here's our list of the best Windows tablets.

Finally, if budget buying feels too much like cutting corners, check out the best tablets we've tested. Just be prepared to spend a lot more.

Ben Moore, Dave LeClair, Sascha Segan, and Steven Winkelman contributed to this story.