The 3 Best Monitors Under $500 - Fall 2024

The best monitor we've tested that you can get for around $500 is the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx. It often goes on sale for close to $500, so it's worth getting when it drops in price, even if it costs a bit more than $500. It's justifiable to stretch your budget for as it offers many more features and better performance than other monitors in this price range. The main advantage is that it has Mini LED backlighting, which helps provide a decent local dimming feature that makes blacks look deep in dark rooms. This is great if you want to sit back and watch videos with good picture quality, and it also delivers a ton of details thanks to its 4k resolution.

It has features for various uses, which is great if you want something for work during the day and gaming at night. One of those perks is its USB-C port that supports 90W of power delivery and DisplayPort Alt Mode, so you can easily connect a laptop and charge it at the same time. It's also good for gaming as it has a fast response time and HDMI 2.1 bandwidth to take full advantage of gaming consoles.

While the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx is great for gaming, if you want the best gaming monitor for under $500 and don't need the most versatile option, check out the AOC Q27G3XMN. While it costs a lot less than $500, it provides great value for its cost, making it a better choice than higher-end monitors that perform worse. The main advantage of it versus the rest of the market is that it has Mini LED backlighting, similar to the Acer, meaning it delivers good picture quality with deep blacks and bright highlights.

This makes it a great choice for playing HDR games, and it also has a fast response time, but there's smearing with fast-moving objects. Its 1440p resolution isn't as detailed as the 4k display on the Acer, but it's still good enough for most gamers. You can also overclock its 165Hz native refresh rate to 180Hz, but if you need something with an even higher refresh rate, the LG 27GR83Q-B is a great 240Hz option, ideal for PC gamers. However, it costs more and has worse picture quality, so the AOC still offers the best value.

If you don't need a gaming monitor and prefer something for work and productivity with a 4k resolution, the Dell U2723QE is a good choice, as it's usually available for less than $500. It's different from both the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx and the AOC Q27G3XMN because it doesn't have Mini LED backlighting, so the picture quality is worse, and it doesn't have any gaming features. Instead, it's focused on office work with a ton of features, and text looks sharp thanks to its high resolution.

It has a massive USB hub with five USB-A ports and three USB-C ports, so connecting different devices is very easy. It has a KVM switch that lets you use the same keyboard and mouse with two computers and easily switch between them. Lastly, while it gets bright enough to fight glare in most well-lit rooms, its disappointing reflection handling makes it less ideal if you work in a sunny room. If you prefer something with better reflection handling, the Dell S2722QC is a good alternative with a 4k resolution but fewer features than the U2723QE.