While small soundbars sacrifice large passive radiators to boost bass output and are typically limited on the number of channels they support, the space savings can be helpful if you want to use one at a desk or in a small room, or you have no space on your console table. However, you'll encounter trade-offs: small soundbars don't sound as wide as their larger counterparts due to the drivers' closer placement, and they're typically limited in terms of loudness, so your content won't get loud enough to fill large, open living areas. Still, you still don't want to sacrifice great dialogue reproduction, audio format compatibility, and extras like room correction if you can help it.
We've tested over 255 soundbars; below are the best compact soundbar recommendations. Also, check out our recommendations for the best budget soundbars. If you're okay with a larger soundbar, but don't want the sub and satellites found in many setups, check out the best all-in-one soundbars.
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 Small Soundbar
The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is the best small soundbar we've tested. It sounds surprisingly wide despite its 26" width, and offers you the option to expand your system to a full soundbar setup with satellites and a sub to form the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) with Sub Mini + One SL Speakers. This 5.0-channel bar projects stereo content beyond its physical edges, which makes it seem like you're right in the middle of the action, but its sound isn't very customizable. While you get room correction that adapts the soundbar's output to your unique room acoustics, there's no equalizer or presets available to you.
While it doesn't have height channels that can help create a sense of verticality, the bar still supports Dolby Atmos, an increasingly common audio format. Plus, the Sonos supports HDMI eARC and Wi-Fi connections (but no Bluetooth). And as you'd expect from its smaller size, there's not much bass rumble when it comes to explosions, though there's a high-bass emphasis that can add some extra punch and make it sound bassier than it is. There are also side-firing surround drivers that bounce audio off your side walls to imitate sound coming from your sides for a more immersive listening experience.
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Best Mid-Range Small Soundbar
If you want a more affordable option, consider the Samsung HW-S60D. It won't beat the Sonos Beam (Gen 2)'s wide-sounding presentation, but the Samsung has its own draws in its versatility and customizability. Like the Sonos, you can expand this bar with dedicated satellites and a subwoofer (purchased separately) if you decide to upgrade later. And at 27" in width, the bar easily fits underneath a monitor or between the legs of a small TV. You have an automatic room correction feature that adapts its sound to your room, but there's also a manual graphic EQ and channel-level adjustments for when you want more granular tweaking options for tonal and channel balance.
As mentioned earlier, its stereo soundstage doesn't sound as wide as the Sonos's, but the Samsung has advantages in connectivity, too. It supports Bluetooth and comes with a remote, so you're not forced to install and use a phone app to control your soundbar. If you're okay sacrificing some soundstage width, the Samsung is a solid option.
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Best Budget Small Soundbar
The Roku Streambar is a great, budget-friendly alternative to our top picks, but you'll have to make more significant sacrifices. It only supports 2.0 channels, so you won't have a dedicated center or surrounds for dialogue and extra effects, respectively. However, you have access to Roku's media streamer, which organizes your streaming services, like Netflix or Disney+, in an easy-to-use interface. If you don't care about this extra functionality, it's also worth pointing out the Roku is the smallest of our small soundbars, at just 14" wide, making it the best if you're really limited on space.
It's well-built and has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, so you can use it with devices beyond just your TV. But as mentioned earlier, the limited 2.0-channel count restricts the bar's ability to bring your favorite movies to life. Plus, the lack of surround channels and bass output compared to the Samsung HW-S60D makes the Roku best suited for listening to simple, voice-focused content like podcasts, sitcoms, and documentaries.
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Best Small Soundbar For Dolby Atmos
The Bose Smart Soundbar is the best small soundbar for Dolby Atmos we've tested. Unlike most of our picks on the list, the Bose Smart Soundbar has up-firing drivers that reflect sound off your ceilings to give your content a sense of verticality. Thanks to this feature, they can reproduce height-channel information stored in audio formats like Dolby Atmos so helicopters and monsters alike sound like they're elevated from the rest of your movie's mix. And the Bose accomplishes this while staying under 28" wide. That said, this soundbar doesn't deliver the same wide, immersive soundstage as the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), nor does it offer the extensive customization options found on the Samsung HW-S60D.
Even so, dialogue is clear and accurate, and bass lovers can always purchase one (or more) of the brand's subwoofer modules to enhance the rumble in the mix. Plus, you still have basic bass and treble adjustments to customize the bar's output, alongside Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity if you want to use other devices like a smartphone to playback music.
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Best Flexible Soundbar With Satellites
If you're more limited by your table rather than your room, you might want to consider a more flexible soundbar like the Hisense HT Saturn. It's a fair bit pricier than our top pick, but features four individual speakers and a subwoofer meant to be set up in the four corners of your desired listening area, which has unique benefits for your stereo and surround listening experience. Plus, this 4.1.2-channel speaker configuration's lack of a central bar can create space on your TV stand or media table for your favorite gaming consoles or living room decor.
Using two distinct speakers for the L/R channels creates a wider soundstage and a more speaker-like presentation for content like music. And having two discrete satellites rather than relying on side-firing drivers can sound more convincing, and relies less on your room's walls. Still, the system's implementation isn't as good as the much more expensive Sony BRAVIA Theatre Quad with Bass Module, which you may also want to consider. Although neither quad-speaker setup has a dedicated central channel, the Sony's phantom center reproduces panning objects more convincingly and without a gap in the middle of your stereo soundstage.
Recent Updates
Sep 22, 2026:
We've changed the Bose Smart Soundbar from the 'Desktop Computer' pick to the Dolby Atmos pick, since it doesn't offer more flexible connection types like USB-A or USB-C that are useful for PC connectivity, and also uniquely has up-firing drivers in a small bar format.
Jun 18, 2026:
We've looked over our picks to ensure they're still relevant and in stock, and we've kept them the same.
Mar 20, 2026:
We've verified our picks are still valid and added the Hisense HT Saturn as an extra pick for people looking for a more flexible design. Plus, we've streamlined the article by removing some products from Notable Mentions.
Nov 24, 2025:
We've updated the text for accuracy, ensured our picks are still valid, and replaced the Samsung HW-S60B with the Samsung HW-S60D due to the limited availability of the HW-S60B.
Apr 16, 2025:
All our picks are still in stock, and we haven't tested any small soundbars recently, so we've made only minor edits to the text for clarity.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best compact soundbars, the best mini soundbars, and the best soundbars for computers 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 all our soundbar reviews, sorted by bar width. 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.
