The 5 Best Monitors Under $200 - Summer 2020
Reviews

The best monitor under $200 we've tested so far is the Dell P2417H. It's a decent overall monitor that delivers the performance you would expect for its price, but it should still please people looking for a cheap monitor for their at-home office or gaming setup.

This is a 24 inch monitor that gives you enough screen real estate to multitask while saving you some space on your desk compared to popular 27 inch monitors. However, the 1080p resolution might be too low for some people to see finer details when watching videos. It has great ergonomics, allowing you to place it how you like, and it has wide viewing angles if you need to share your screen with someone else. Gamers will appreciate the great motion handling and incredibly low input lag, and the 60Hz refresh rate is good enough for console gamers.

Unfortunately, it has a mediocre contrast ratio and poor black uniformity, so it doesn't perform well in dark rooms. However, it has great out-of-the-box color accuracy, so you won't need to get it calibrated if you don't want to. Overall, this is a good office and gaming monitor, and it's the best monitor under $200 that we've tested so far.

The best computer monitor under $200 that we've tested so far available in a 27 inch size is the HP 27F. It's a decent overall monitor that won't cost you much. It's limited on extra features but if you're looking for a simple office monitor and don't mind the 1080p resolution, this is a good choice.

It has an IPS panel, which provides really wide viewing angles if you want to share your screen with others. It's a good choice for most bright office environments as it has great reflection handling and it gets bright enough to combat glare. Unless you work in a color-sensitive business, like photo editing, you won't need to get it calibrated as it has great out-of-the-box color accuracy. It also has excellent gray uniformity, so solid colors across the screen, like on a web page or a document, look great without any darkened areas.

Unfortunately, it doesn't support HDR and it has a low contrast ratio, which is expected from an IPS panel. This monitor has a native 75Hz refresh rate and FreeSync support, but its slow response time results in motion blur and it doesn't have a black frame insertion feature, so it's not ideal for competitive gamers. It also has very limited ergonomics, so it's hard to place this monitor in an ideal position. Regardless, it performs well for its price and its screen size gives you enough space to multitask, so most people should be happy with it.

The best monitor under $200 for gaming that we've tested so far is the Acer XF251Q. It's decent overall and it performs best as a gaming monitor since its TN panel can produce a fast response time.

This monitor has a 75Hz refresh rate which could go as low as 40Hz with its FreeSync VRR support. This might not be enough for more competitive gamers, but budget monitors aren't exactly made for competitive gaming anyways, so casual gamers should be pleased with it. The input lag is very low, and stays low even with VRR enabled, which is great. Motion looks fairly clear on this monitor, but there's significant overshoot on any overdrive setting, which you can't disable when it's connected to a FreeSync compatible device.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have a DisplayPort input and as is the case with most TN panels, the picture quality isn't good. The contrast ratio is mediocre and the viewing angles are poor, but luckily, it has good gray uniformity and its black uniformity is one of the best we've seen on a monitor. Overall, this is a great choice for gamers on a budget, making it the best monitor under $200 for gaming that we've tested.