Related Articles
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.
A good tablet can often put a massive dent in your paycheck, costing close to $1,000 for top-tier models. That high price tag may have many of us reciting a silent prayer for our wallets, but, that doesn’t have to be the case. If you’re not looking for a tablet to completely replace your laptop and just need a quick portable option for when you’re on the go, there are plenty of cheap tablets available at lower price points.
What Are the Best Cheap Tablets?
We’ve spent some time researching the best cheap tablets online, with some options even priced below $100. Here’s everything you need to know before you pick the budget tablet that will work best for you.
Display: Most budget tablets will have at least an HD display and screen size can vary anywhere from seven or eight inches to as high as ten inches. Some cheap tablets can even sport a full HD display, so if screen resolution matters to you and you want a little more clarity, go with a full HD budget tablet.
Storage: Budget tablet storage can vary anywhere from 16GB to 64GB. If you’re looking to spend the least amount of money, stick to the 16 or 32GB options, but if you’re willing to shell out a few extra bucks, feel free to consider buying the 64GB versions of the budget tablets listed down below.
Battery: Generally, a budget tablet that offers at least eight to ten hours of battery life is enough to get you through the day. Some of the options listed below even offer more than 10 hours of battery life if that’s what you need. Streaming and video playback will usually cut down battery life significantly so if that’s your primary purpose for your new tablet, pick one that offers upwards of 10 hours of battery life.
Extra Features: Other stats to look out for when shopping for a good cheap tablet are RAM, camera options, SD slots and audio. Budget tablets will always have between one to three GBs of RAM. As for camera options, you can expect a front and back-facing camera, although depending on the brand and model the megapixels on the camera might differ. Go for higher if you’re looking to video call a lot or if you enjoy photography. SD cards are for expandable storage and if you plan on increasing your tablet’s storage your tablet will need an SD slot — all of the tablets we’ve mentioned feature one.
