The 3 Best Monitors Under $200 - Winter 2023 Reviews

The best monitor you can get for under $200 for all-around use is the Acer Nitro XF243Y Pbmiiprx. If you can't find it for under $200 with certain retailers, you can also get it directly through Acer's website, although that costs just over $200. It's a versatile display designed with gamers in mind, as it has a 165Hz refresh rate with variable refresh rate (VRR) support to reduce screen tearing when the frame rate of your game drops. It also has a fast response time with high-frame-rate signals, resulting in minimal motion blur.

Even if you want to use it for productivity or casually browsing the web, it has remarkable ergonomics that make it easy to adjust the screen. It also gets bright enough to fight glare and has good reflection handling for use in well-lit rooms. While the 24-inch screen may seem small, this is the size you'll have to settle on for something in this price range. If you want something bigger, the HP X27q is also a good alternative with a higher 1440p resolution, but it costs more than $200.

If you're looking for the best gaming monitor under $200, there are a few options that are better for gaming than the Acer Nitro XF243Y Pbmiiprx. One is the ASUS VG248QG, which has a 24-inch, 1080p screen like the Acer. However, it uses a different panel type with better motion handling. Its TN panel has a remarkable response time, especially at its max refresh rate of 165Hz, and like the Acer, it has FreeSync VRR support with G-SYNC compatibility to reduce screen tearing.

However, there are a few trade-offs for using this panel type. It has worse viewing angles than the Acer, so the image looks washed out as soon as you move off-center, and it has worse uniformity. It doesn't support HDR either, but even monitors that do support HDR in this price range don't have good HDR performance, so that doesn't make much of a difference. Still, this is an impressive gaming monitor, so if you're a competitive gamer on a tight budget, it offers better performance than the Acer.

If you're looking for something for office work, consider the ASUS VG246H. Like the Acer Nitro XF243Y Pbmiiprx and the ASUS VG248QG, it has a 24-inch, 1080p screen, but it doesn't have the same gaming features and performance as the other two monitors, so only get this if you want to use it for work purposes. However, it's better than the ASUS for productivity because of its much wider viewing angles, making it easier to share the screen with a coworker or client. It's also great if you want to use it for a secondary monitor and have to swivel it to face you or if you prefer using it in a vertical position, as it has remarkable ergonomics.

Although it's a cheap monitor, it has an sRGB mode that results in amazing accuracy before calibration, which is ideal if your work requires accurate colors. It also has very good reflection handling if you want to use it in a room with a few lights, but it doesn't get bright enough to fight intense glare.