Equipping your home theater system with discrete speakers and an audio-video receiver can cost a fortune and be a pain to set up. Soundbars are more accessible, with convenient setup, wireless components, and integrated apps. However, they can get expensive, and budget options are sometimes difficult to navigate with obscure naming conventions and complex specifications.
To get the most out of your soundbar purchase, look for features like a separate subwoofer and wireless satellites if you watch a lot of cinematic movies, and make sure the soundbar supports audio formats used by your media (e.g., Dolby Atmos for video and music streaming services). You can also make adjustments based on your needs; for example, if you have a smaller room and tend to watch content that's light on sound effects and bass, like K-Dramas, you could opt for a standalone soundbar, which is typically cheaper than setups with satellites or a subwoofer.
We've tested over 255 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. You can also check out our picks for best budget TVs if you're looking for a display upgrade, too.
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 250 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 Hisense AX5140Q is the best budget soundbar we've tested. The price can look a little steep at first glance, but it offers exceptional value for a setup. It includes both a discrete subwoofer and wireless satellites for rumbly bass and convincing surround sound effects, respectively. The system also features up-firing drivers, which help reproduce height effects in content that supports it, so flying objects or towering monsters sound a bit higher up, rather than just in front of you. There's also support for a wide range of audio formats, including Dolby Atmos, which is commonly used on streaming platforms. Overall, this soundbar system provides a solid listening experience for anything from movies to prestige television.
The system has a balanced sound reproduced from most channels, with a touch of additional bass from the subwoofer that helps explosions and impacts come alive. You also have access to sound enhancement features commonly found on more expensive systems: a graphic EQ and channel-level adjustments you can use to tweak your audio. The soundbar supports room correction, but it requires a supported Hisense TV. We found it didn't significantly affect the soundbar's performance, so losing the feature is a minor sacrifice for the value the bar provides at this price point.
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Best Budget Soundbar Without Satellites
If you can't accommodate or don't want satellite speakers in your listening room, check out the Samsung HW-B750F. You still have a dedicated subwoofer for deep rumbly bass, and this soundbar uses side-firing drivers that bounce sound off your walls to imitate effects coming from your sides. Still, you'll notice less convincing surround effects compared to those reproduced by the Hisense AX5140Q, especially if they're meant to sound like they're coming from behind you. Even so, the Samsung's implementation is better than nothing, which is often the case with other budget soundbars.
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 basic bass, treble, and subwoofer levels let you make some adjustments. Unlike our top pick, this bar doesn't support formats like Dolby Atmos. You'll still be able to play back content that uses Dolby Atmos, but the bar will default to the simpler audio baked into the format.
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Best Budget Standalone Soundbar
The best budget standalone soundbar we've tested is the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). You'll want to consider this pick if you're really constrained on space and are okay with sacrificing immersion and some audio quality for compactness. Despite its smaller footprint, it features side-firing drivers like the Samsung HW-B750F. However, you'll immediately notice that the lack of a subwoofer prevents EDM drops from truly shaking your chest. Still, you're here for size, and at under 25 inches wide, the Sonos fits easily beneath most TVs with bipedal stands, like those from Sony.
Vocals sound clear and present right out of the box, and the high bass has some extra emphasis to compensate for the lack of low bass. Feature-wise, it shares much of what makes Sonos's products appealing. You can expand the system with a subwoofer and satellites with compatible speakers if your listening space changes. And there's a room correction tool that automatically tunes the soundbar's audio to your space (limited to iOS devices). If you're an Android user looking for greater sound customizability or want a bar with Bluetooth and Chromecast support, consider the Samsung HW-S60D; 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 cheap soundbar we've tested if you want to spend as little as possible. At around $100 USD, it's a solid choice if you're looking for an upgrade over TV speakers. 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 treble sparkle, which can make whistle vocals sound a little closed off.
While the bar can get loud enough to fill up a larger room, it overemphasizes the treble relative to the bass at high volumes, which can render shattering glass as piercing or harsh and explosions somewhat anemic. Unlike our top pick, the Hisense AX5140Q, it also lacks satellites, so its surround performance isn't very immersive. That said, it supports Dolby Digital and DTS audio formats, the latter of which is handy if you're watching older Blu-rays, which tend to use DTS.
Notable Mentions
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Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 5:
The Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 5 is a soundbar-plus-subwoofer setup like the Samsung HW-B750F. It lacks surround channel support, but has a room correction feature and supports more audio formats.
See our review -
Roku Streambar:
The Roku Streambar is even smaller than the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and is significantly cheaper. However, it lacks surround channels, making it better suited for dialogue-centric content.
See our review
Recent Updates
Oct 06, 2026:
We've overhauled the article text to provide clearer explanations of each product and more guidance. However, our picks remain the same as they're still relevant and in stock.
Jul 30, 2026:
We've made minor text changes to the article and streamlined the Notable Mentions to provide clearer purchasing guidance. Our picks remain the same as they're still in stock and relevant.
May 28, 2026:
We've added the Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 5 to our Notable Mentions and added links to various TV articles. We verified that the other picks are still in stock and relevant.
Mar 20, 2026:
We've updated this article, replacing the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus with Sub + Speakers with the Hisense AX5140Q as our top pick due to price fluctuations. Otherwise, we've made minor changes to the text throughout.
Jan 20, 2026:
The Hisense AX5140Q was added to the Notable Mentions. Otherwise, the article has been checked for accuracy, and no additional changes have been made.
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.