Equipping your home theater system with speakers can cost a fortune. Thankfully, you don't have to break the bank to find a decent soundbar that can make watching TV or movies more exciting. Even some of the cheapest soundbars perform well, especially if you watch a lot of dialogue-heavy content like TV dramas or listen to podcasts or audiobooks at home. Whether you're looking for a soundbar with a subwoofer for watching action movies or a small soundbar that'll fit under your TV, there's something for everyone in the budget range.
We've tested 230 soundbars; below, you'll find the best soundbars in the budget tier. See our recommendations for the best soundbars, the best soundbars under $200, and the best soundbars under $300.
Quick Look
Our recommendations are built upon our thorough testing and rigorous reviews. Every soundbar we evaluate goes through multiple testing stages with different teams to ensure accurate, authentic results. No cherry-picked units or data.
Curious how we've tested over 200 soundbars (and counting)? Look at our How We Test Soundbars article for a behind-the-scenes look at our lab and process.
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Best Budget Soundbar
The best budget soundbar we've tested is the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Sub + Speakers. It's one of the few soundbars at this price tier with rear satellites, which upgrade the surround sound experience by placing you in the center of the action. Out of the box, the sound is balanced and versatile: dialogue is clear, music has present and detailed vocals and instruments, and the included subwoofer adds satisfying rumble during action scenes.
There are some trade-offs compared to pricier models. You don't get advanced sound enhancements like room correction, so the bar's performance changes slightly depending on your room's acoustics. Still, basic bass and treble adjustments let you shape the sound to your liking. It also supports popular surround formats like Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos, though without discrete up-firing drivers, the height effects aren't as convincing as they might be. If height performance is a priority of yours, the Vizio Elevate SE SL512X-0806 is a stronger choice, but its wired sub and satellites are less convenient to place. By contrast, the Amazon system offers wireless flexibility and more impactful bass, making it the better all-rounder for most people.
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Best Budget Soundbar Without Satellites
If you don't have space for satellite speakers in your listening room, check out the Samsung HW-B750F. This 5.1 setup drops the extra rears you get with the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Sub + Speakers, but still delivers an engaging listening experience. Instead of relying on satellites, its side-firing drivers help create a sense of immersion, and the dedicated center channel ensures dialogue stays clear even during crowded scenes. Its dedicated subwoofer also ensures sound effects like explosions feel suitably rumbly.
Out of the box, this soundbar has a balanced sound with a touch of extra warmth and punch, making it versatile for music, movies, and TV shows. As is common among budget-tier soundbars, you won't find premium extras like room correction, so performance changes depending on your space, but adjustable bass, treble, and subwoofer levels let you dial in the sound to taste. Unlike our top pick, this bar doesn't support object-based formats like Dolby Atmos, though not everyone needs that. The Samsung soundbar is a good all-around pick for most users who just want a straightforward, space-saving, budget-friendly option with a sub. It's also worth noting that this model and the Samsung HW-B750D are nearly identical in performance, so you can safely choose whichever is available at a better price.
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Best Budget Standalone Soundbar
Living in a studio apartment? Low on space? A standalone soundbar is a good alternative since it packs sound into an all-in-one package. The best cheap soundbar we've tested is the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). Its 5.0 channel setup means it can playback immersive formats like Dolby Digital, and it even supports object-based audio formats like Dolby Atmos, although it lacks dedicated up-firing drivers. At under 25 inches wide, it fits easily beneath most TVs with bipedal stands, including those from Sony, and it takes up even less space than a bar with a bundled subwoofer like the Samsung HW-B750F. Of course, the lack of a sub means it won't produce deep, room-shaking bass, but most other content is well reproduced. Vocals sound clear and present right out of the box, and the high bass has enough warmth to compensate for the lack of low bass.
Feature-wise, it shares much of what makes Sonos's premium models appealing. You can use the Sonos app to link it with other products in the ecosystem, and the TruePlay room correction tool automatically tunes audio to your space. It's currently limited to iOS devices, but Android users can still access basic bass and treble adjustments. If you're an Android user looking for greater sound customizability or want a bar with Bluetooth and Chromecast support, the Samsung HW-S60D is a great alternative to the Sonos. It's similarly sized and often cheaper than our pick, but its soundstage isn't as wide.
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Best Cheap Soundbar
The Hisense HS2100 is the best-value soundbar we've tested if you want to spend as little as possible. At around the $100 price point, it's a solid choice if you're looking to upgrade from your TV speakers to something with a bit more punch and boom. Unlike other bars at this price point, it has a dedicated subwoofer, which helps add bass to action-packed scenes and energetic basslines. Dialogue and instruments are still reproduced naturally, although they lack a bit of sparkle. Luckily, if this sound isn't to your taste, there are a few EQ presets to help you make the most out of it.
While the bar can get loud enough to fill up a larger room, there are compression artifacts at regular and max volume, which impact the clarity of your mixes. Unlike our top pick, the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Sub + Speakers, it also lacks satellites, so its surround performance isn't very immersive or dimensional. That said, it has ARC and Optical support, and you can even play Dolby Digital and DTS formats, the latter of which is handy if you're streaming content or watching Blu-rays. If you watch many Dolby Atmos movies and TV shows, try the TCL S45H. Unlike the Hisense, it can play this content, though it has to downmix it to stereo. It can get louder with less compression at max volume. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a sub, so your audio lacks deep thump and rumble.
If you're interested in other similarly priced models, check out our recommendations for the best soundbars under $100.
Notable Mentions
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Bose TV Speaker:
The Bose TV Speaker is a small soundbar that's a good alternative to the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) if you mostly listen to stereo content like music and TV shows. However, it doesn't support Atmos.
See our review -
Roku Streambar:
The Roku Streambar is even smaller than the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) for small spaces, but it compromises more on sound than the Sonos. However, for dialogue-heavy content and stereo audio, it's a small standalone that works well.
See our review -
TCL S55H:
The TCL S55H is a similarly priced option to the Hisense HS2100. Both soundbars have an outboard sub and lack a center channel. The TCL can downmix Dolby Atmos content, but it lacks bass compared to the Hisense, even with the sub.
See our review
Recent Updates
Sep 26, 2025:
The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Sub + Speakers is our new top pick for strong performance across the board at a budget price. If you want dedicated up-firing drivers, the Vizio Elevate SE SL512X-0806 is a good alternative to the Amazon. The Samsung HW-B750F is our new choice for top bar and sub without satellites, and the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is our new budget standalone soundbar pick, with the Samsung HW-S60D an alternative for anyone prioritizing wireless connectivity. We also removed the 'Best Budget Small Soundbar' pick, as that's covered by the 'Best Budget Standalone Soundbar' pick. Finally, we removed the Sony HT-S100F and Vizio SV510X-0806 from our Notable Mentions.
May 12, 2025:
We've checked our picks are up to date and made text edits for clarity.
Feb 10, 2025:
This article has been updated to add the Hisense AX5125H and the Samsung HW-S60D. The Samsung HW-B750D, TCL S55H, Vizio SV510X-0806, and Roku Streambar are also mentioned in the text.
Nov 13, 2024:
We've added a comparison between the Hisense HS2100 and the TCL S45H, as the TCL is similarly priced but supports Dolby Atmos. We've also moved the Sony HT-S100F to the Notable Mentions if you're looking for a cheap bar with clean audio at high volumes.
Aug 12, 2024: We've made minor changes to the text to improve clarity and accuracy. We haven't tested any budget-priced soundbars since our last update, so our recommendations have stayed the same.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best budget soundbars for most people to buy. We factor in the price (a cheaper soundbar wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no soundbars that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you'd like to choose for yourself, here's the list of the best value soundbars. Be careful not to get caught up in the details. No soundbar is perfect. Personal taste, preference, and listening habits will matter more in your selection.