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With work-from-home situations apparently here to stay, the concept of the home office is something that’s on the minds of workers around the world. Having all of the right equipment is incredibly important to getting the job done correctly, but that doesn’t mean you need to splurge to get what you need.
When you’re working at a computer all day, one of the most important pieces of equipment is your monitor. It’s the gateway to the digital world, and without it, you won’t be getting much work done at all.
So, if you’re a work-from-home employee looking to outfit your desk with the best monitor you can afford, join us as we review the best budget monitors for home offices in 2024. across several price points–Under $200, $150, and $100.
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Best Monitors for Home Office UNDER $200
Best Monitors for Home Office UNDER $150
Best Monitors for Home Office UNDER $100
Best Monitors for Home Office Under $200 Round-Up
First up on our journey to home office satisfaction is the under $200 category. This price point is on the higher end of the budget spectrum, but you definitely get what you pay for. The following monitors offer a good balance of build quality, features, and performance for what you’ll pay.
This category has offerings from HP, Acer, and LG, all of which are established names in the computer peripheral arena with solid reputations. But let’s not waste any more time. If you have around $200 to spend on a monitor for your home office, these screens should definitely be on your list.
The table below will give you a quick look at our selections for the 3 best monitors for home offices under $200 currently available on the market. To read a full review, simply click on ‘review>>’ in the respective row.
1. LG 27MP450-B
”Best Home Office Monitor Under $200 Overall”
Screen Size: 27” | Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | Panel Type: IPS | Aspect Ratio: 16:9 | Response Time: 5 ms (GtG) | Refreshing rate: 75 Hz | Brightness: 250 cd/m2 | Contrast Rate: 1000:1 | Curved: No | I/O Ports: HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort
REASONS TO BUY
- High-quality construction
- The best 27” home office monitor on the market
- Highly versatile–Good for gaming, editing, and office work
- Eye-friendly features
- Excellent, color-accurate IPS panel
- Good contrast and brightness
- Fantastic, highly-adjustable stand
- Great connectivity
- Build-in speakers
REASONS TO AVOID
- Not as sharp as 24” 1080p monitors (only 82 PPI)
Our Rating: 9.8/10
Our number one recommendation for users shopping for the best home office monitor under $200 is the LG 27MP450-B. Despite its budget price, it’s a large IPS monitor with everything you can hope for in a monitor for your home office. 27 inches seems to be the sweet spot for Home Office use as they are big enough to fit plenty of information while also not taking up too much space. Plus, it is made by LG, a huge name in TVs, screens, and monitors, so you know you can expect a quality screen.
In terms of specs, this monitor comes with the standard specs for this price range. It is a 1080p IPS panel with a 1000:1 contrast ratio and has a “Virtually Borderless Design” that minimizes its bezels for distraction-free sessions. Plus, that also makes it excellent if you’re looking to build a multi-monitor setup at your home.
Furthermore, the monitor comes equipped with a 75Hz refresh rate in addition to the 178-degree viewing angle and 250 nits of brightness. Its ports include a single HDMI, a DisplayPort, and a VGA port. As we mentioned, this all paints a picture of a pretty standard home office monitor, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.
This monitor includes some of the advanced features of higher-end monitors, like AMD FreeSync support, blue light reduction, and screen flicker mitigation, meaning you will be able to wind down after a long working day with some games. Plus, thanks to the eye-friendly features, the monitor doesn’t put a lot of strain on your eyes, which can’t be said about many other budget monitors.
In terms of the actual viewing experience, we have no complaints, especially considering the price. LG is known for their high-quality IPS panels, and this one delivers as well. The image quality is simply the best among the competition, with great contrast, brightness, and accurate color reproduction.
Speaking of color reproduction, this monitor is suited for video and photo editors with a 72% coverage of the NTSC color gamut (99% sRGB). In addition to that, LG’s factory calibration for its monitors is often spot-on. As a result, the colors on the LG 27MP450-B are rich and vibrant out of the box.
What’s nice is that LG managed to pack everything into a package that feels more premium and offers a higher-quality experience compared to similarly priced monitors. For instance, the monitor’s stand is LG’s signature low-profile wedge design that also offers an impressive degree of height and tilt adjustment. This feature alone makes the VESA compatibility less necessary but still welcome all the same if you mount all of your monitors.
Everything is backed up by LG’s classically impressive build quality. The unibody design constructed of solid, matte black plastic feels great if you ever need to handle the monitor itself, and the build quality also has another perk: the monitor is surprisingly light. With the stand installed, it is only 8 pounds, which is well under the standard of 10.2 pounds. It won’t make a big difference the majority of the time, but knowing you have a solid, lightweight monitor for what you paid is encouraging.
In terms of downsides with the LG 27MP450-B, there isn’t much. It has great build quality, plenty of features, a big, colorful screen, and an excellent included stand that can adjust to just about any desk arrangement. All of this is for the same price as the lower-quality Acer KB272. If you need a 27-inch home office monitor and you have just under $200 to spend, we strongly recommend the LG 27MP450-B.
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2. HP 24mh
”Best 24” Monitor for Home Office Under $200”
Screen Size: 23.8” | Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | Panel Type: IPS | Aspect Ratio: 16:9 | Response Time: 5 ms (GtG) | Refreshing rate: 75 Hz | Brightness: 250 cd/m2 | Contrast Rate: 1000:1 | Curved: No | I/O Ports: DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA
REASONS TO BUY
- Suitable for a wide variety of users
- Excellent value for the money
- Sharp, quality IPS panel
- Accurate color reproduction
- Wide viewing angles
- Very thin bezels
- VESA-mountable
- Good ergonomics
- Built-in speakers
- 3-year warranty
REASONS TO AVOID
- Dimmer display
- No physical controls for the speakers
Our Rating: 9.7/10
Despite its relatively low price point, the solidly-built HP 24mh offers many unique features for the mid-range segment that are uncommon even in monitors many times its price. But before we get into what makes this monitor extra special, let’s go over the basics first.
The HP 24mh is a 23.8-inch display capable of full 1080p resolution at up to a 75hz refresh rate. In use, this means crisp text for work and smooth motion for leisure activities like videos and even some light gaming. Its IPS-based screen manages to provide an impressive 99.5% sRGB coverage in addition to a sufficient contrast ratio of 1000:1, giving it excellent color reproduction.
The IPS display also offers viewing angles of up to 178 degrees before any degradation in color or quality is noticeable, and a matte-finish screen that combats glare if you happen to be working in a brightly-lit room.
Additionally, it is built with HP’s “micro-edge” display technology, giving the monitor almost no bezel surrounding the screen. This allows for better immersion in whatever you happen to be doing, whether you’re entering data into a spreadsheet or watching a YouTube video. Besides that, it makes the monitor perfect for a dual or even triple monitor setup for your home office, as multiple monitors will connect seamlessly.
These features, along with a very reasonable price point, combine to make a monitor that is definitely a strong contender in the under $200 space.
In terms of physicality, the HP 24mh is just under 10 pounds in weight, which is important information to know as this monitor is VESA compatible. This low weight means it will likely be a match for all but the flimsiest of VESA mounts.
If you aren’t looking to mount this monitor, you’ll be happy to know that this monitor’s stand is minimal yet supportive, so it won’t take up too much of your valued desk space. The stand’s design also makes the HP 24mh capable of a surprising degree of height adjustment and up to 23 degrees of tilt.
Now, for the special sauce. While the HP 24mh has its bases covered in terms of raw performance, it’s the extras that make this monitor stand out. This monitor includes a set of 2-watt speakers, which provide a base level of audio support. They won’t blow your mind, but fewer wires and clutter on your desk can only be a good thing for productivity.
Another extra you won’t find in many monitors at this price is full pivot support from landscape to portrait. This feature is great for code reviews or keeping track of lengthy work chats on Slack.
However, not all is perfect with the HP 24mh. The display is officially rated for 250 nits of brightness, but in actual use, you might find it to be slightly dimmer than that. We have also experienced a fairly common issue with uneven backlight, which is an unfortunate factory defect.
Additionally, while the monitor does have built-in speakers, there are no physical controls for adjusting their volume. All of it is done through a finicky, multi-menu process on the screen, which is certainly not ideal.
Overall, the HP 24mh is an excellent budget monitor for any home office that is really difficult to beat at this price. It has plenty of features that add unexpected functionality, and it is all backed up with a 3-year warranty. Whether you are a coder, virtual assistant, teacher, or perhaps a project manager who needs a quality and flexible screen for your home office, you will be hard-pressed to find anything better.
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3. Acer KB272
”Honorable Mention”
Screen Size: 27” | Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | Panel Type: IPS | Aspect Ratio: 16:9 | Response Time: 1 ms (VRB) | Refreshing rate: 75 Hz | Brightness: 250 cd/m2 | Contrast Rate: 1000:1 | Curved: No | I/O Ports: HDMI, VGA, Audio
REASONS TO BUY
- Large 27” display with thin bezels
- One of the best 27” home office monitors
- Decent viewing experience for the money
- Wide viewing angles
- Smooth for gaming and video playback
- VESA-mountable
- Comes equipped with a number of eye-friendly features for long hours
REASONS TO AVOID
- Disappointing color accuracy out of the box
- Cheap, non-adjustable stand
- Dimmer screen
- Below the 90 PPI standard with 82 PPI
Our Rating: 9.5/10
Most home office monitors in the sub-$200 category come standard at 24”. For a step up in size, you could consider the Acer KB272. This is still a 1080p monitor, but it stretches out that resolution over a 27-inch IPS screen. This makes it less pixel-dense than the HP 24mh, but all of that extra space could prove useful.
As far as basics go, the Acer KB272 has one HDMI and one VGA port (though it only comes with an HDMI cable in the box), a 75 Hz refresh rate, and a 178-degree viewing angle. It also has a pretty standard brightness rating of 250 nits and a 1000:1 contrast ratio.
This is considered standard for this range of monitors, but if you are an online worker by day and a gamer by night, this monitor can pull off double duty thanks to its AMD FreeSync support. This feature prevents screen tearing when a game’s framerate doesn’t match the screen’s refresh rate. On top of that, Acer’s VRB (Visual Response Boost) technology gives the monitor a 1ms response time, making it feel snappy and responsive regardless of what you’re doing.
While the monitor looks good on paper, the actual viewing experience is pretty average. The text doesn’t appear as sharp compared to the 24” HP monitor, and the colors look a bit washed out. On the other hand, you get a large, smooth display with wide viewing angles that can handle any office work with ease.
Acer also packed a few extra features into this screen that are designed to protect your eyes, even when you use the monitor for longer periods. Things like the glare-reducing matte screen, blue light reduction, and the extra low dimming combine to aid in your eye health. The low dimming feature specifically is great for working in dark rooms, like when you’re burning the midnight oil.
Like the HP 24mh, the Acer KB272 also has extremely thin bezels made possible by what Acer calls its ZeroFrame design. It does look sleek on any desk, but you might be better served taking advantage of this monitor’s VESA compatibility.
Its included stand is made of shiny black plastic that looks and feels cheap, and it doesn’t have any advanced ergonomic features anyway, just forward and backward tilt. If you do need tilt, swivel, and pivot support, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
If the work you do on your computer depends at all on color accuracy or representation, then the Acer KB272 might not be for you. Out of the box, all of the colors look dull and washed out with a gray tint. This can be remedied with calibration and color settings on your computer, but there are other monitors in this price bracket that have much better color reproduction.
The Acer KB272 is only marginally more expensive than the HP 24mh, and in comparison, you do get extra screen real estate and some neat gaming features for that price. But, if you are only looking for a home office monitor for your work-from-home job and don’t need FreeSync or fast response times, this monitor isn’t worth the cost. Additionally, the cheap stand and the poor color reproduction out of the box make it a poor choice for creatives who need ergonomics and accurate colors for their job.
Overall, the Acer KB272 is a great budget monitor for those who are looking for a capable home office monitor with gaming capabilities. But because of its drawbacks, we wouldn’t recommend it to those who are looking purely for the best office monitor, especially when options like the HP 24mh and the LG 27MP450-B exist.
Best Monitors for Home Office Under $150 Round-Up
Our next three monitors will cover the best monitors you can get for your home office in the $150 and under category. With offerings from Samsung, AOC, and ASUS, these are certainly some good options, but they will also be the company’s mid-to-low tier options.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing if you’re looking in this price bracket, as these monitors should offer you plenty of bang for your limited bucks.
The table below will give you a quick look at our selections for the 3 best monitors for home offices under $150 currently available on the market. To read a full review, simply click on ‘review>>’ in the respective row.
1. AOC 24B2XH
”Best Home Office Monitor Under $150 Overall”
Screen Size: 24” | Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | Panel Type: IPS | Aspect Ratio: 16:9 | Response Time: 8 ms (GtG) | Refreshing rate: 75 Hz | Brightness: 250 cd/m2 | Contrast Rate: 1000:1 | Curved: No | I/O Ports: HDMI, VGA, Audio
REASONS TO BUY
- Excellent image quality for the money
- One of the few good 24” monitors under $150
- Wide viewing angles
- Great color reproduction
- Sharp display
- Sleek design
- Very thin bezels
- Capable of VESA mounting
REASONS TO AVOID
- No ergonomics
- Disappointing build quality
- Limited connectivity
Our Rating: 9.7/10
Our number recommendation for a cheap, under $150 home office monitor is one of the very few quality 24-inch monitors at this price range, the AOC 24B2XH. This 24-inch monitor is made by a company that is classically no frills, just price to performance, and the 24B2XH is no different. It’s aimed squarely at those who just need a decent screen without all of the bells and whistles and don’t want to pay too much.
Aside from the screen size, there isn’t much remarkable about this monitor. It has the standard spate of specs for a 1080p IPS display: 250 nits, 75Hz, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, VESA compatibility, and one HDMI and one VGA port. It does have a pretty lackluster response time of 8ms, which can make it feel sluggish for any purpose besides office work, such as gaming.
But these are all concessions you can make for a monitor at this price point. What’s really important here is the quality of the display, and while it’s not breathtaking, it certainly is better than many competitors, even the Samsung T350.
It’s advertised as covering 72% of the NTSC color gamut and 106% of the sRGB gamut, meaning it’s capable of reproducing accurate colors. But there’s more to it. This screen has a delta E of 1.28, so all colors appear rich and, more importantly, balanced. There’s no off-hue or deviance in the color representation, so everything looks quite natural. In short, this screen looks great out of the box.
But again, you get what you pay for. The AOC 24B2XH uses its screen quality to make up for its build quality. The unit is constructed entirely out of thin, cheap-feeling black plastic that feels like it could crack in your hands if you handle it with anything other than the tenderest of care.
This issue is extended by the unit’s extremely light weight, which can make it unstable on a desk that wobbles. If you’re a fast and furious kind of typist, you’ll need to take extra care that the monitor doesn’t tip over.
While the monitor doesn’t feel very premium, it at least looks classy. Again, sticking with AOC’s design philosophy of no-frills, what you have with the 24B2XH is a sleek-looking black plastic back with a subtle curve and minimal bezels on the front.
However, the included stand’s shape will be controversial to some. The previous version of this model, the 24B1XH, had a wide, fork-style stand like the Samsung T350. Now, with the 24B2XH, what you have is a rather large, flat square. Maybe this is where the unit’s instability comes from, but at this price point, it’s difficult to complain. In terms of adjustability, it only offers a slight amount of tilt, with no other adjustment options.
Home office workers looking for a moderately-sized monitor with great picture quality will find a lot to like about the AOC 24B2XH. It doesn’t have any extra features like FreeSync or extra ports, and the build quality definitely leaves something to be desired, but as far as cheap home office monitors under $150 go, the AOC 24B2XH is tough to beat.
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2. Samsung T350
”Best Overall Runner-Up”
Screen Size: 22” | Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | Panel Type: IPS | Aspect Ratio: 16:9 | Response Time: 5 ms (GtG) | Refreshing rate: 75 Hz | Brightness: 250 cd/m2 | Contrast Rate: 1000:1 | Curved: No | I/O Ports: HDMI, VGA, Audio
REASONS TO BUY
- Stellar image quality for the price
- Sleek design and high-quality build
- Compact and stable monitor
- Accurate color reproduction
- Samsung included some gaming features
- Very sharp with 102 PPI
- VESA mount compatible
REASONS TO AVOID
- Limited adjustability
- Unintuitive control buttons placement
- The stand takes up a lot of space on the desk
- Dimmer screen
Our Rating: 9.6/10
Surprisingly, the next offering in the sub-$150 category is from Samsung, which, as you no doubt know, is a huge name in the world of consumer electronics. They do make PC monitors that are massive in both size and cost, like the Odyssey G9, but they also serve the lower end of the spectrum well with options like the Samsung T350. The T350 is, above all, a versatile monitor that provides excellent value for any home office.
This version, in particular, is the 22-inch 1080P IPS model, which is super crisp and clear with a pixel density of 102 PPI. You’ll have no problems reading documents or deciphering even the smallest text on this monitor. Aside from its crystal-clear screen, the Samsung T350 also has features you would expect from a decent IPS monitor. A 1,000:1 contrast ratio, a 178-degree viewing angle, and a 75Hz refresh rate.
Samsung’s specs denote the standard 72% NTSC coverage for the T350, and that seems to be correct. The colors are serviceable, but there’s no real pop to them out of the box. There is, however, an amber hue that doesn’t appear to be tied to any eye protection features.
This is further exacerbated by the 200 nits of brightness, which is slightly lower than the 250 nits rating you’ll find on other comparable monitors. The tiny bezels and wide viewing angles make up for this in small amounts, and you can improve the colors somewhat in the monitor’s settings.
Furthermore, the T350’s build quality is very impressive. It is constructed of thick black plastic and feels unfailingly sturdy. The back of the monitor has the same horizontal line texture that you’ll find on other Samsung products, and it gives some visual interest to a part of the device you probably won’t be looking at very often, which is thoughtful.
The unit’s stand is a large, wide fork that will demand some space on our desk, but it guarantees a high level of stability. Unfortunately, the stand is designed to offer only a slight amount of tilt and no pivot or swivel support. VESA compatibility is included, though.
While this monitor is targeted at the home office crowd, it also packs in some gamer-centric features like AMD FreeSync and the Samsung-developed Game Mode option that adjusts the screen’s settings on the fly to ensure maximum visibility in dark scenes and optimum color and contrast performance.
The only other quirk to an otherwise solid monitor is the placement of the power button/control stick. It is placed on the back of the monitor, on the right side. Reaching around to either turn the monitor on or adjust settings is finicky and doesn’t feel very satisfying. Plus, there’s no real reason the control buttons couldn’t have been placed along the bottom edge of the monitor, which seems to be standard.
Even with the strange power button placement and slight color issues, the Samsung T350 is a very competitive monitor in this segment with a very reasonable price tag. Its compact size, fantastic build quality, and well-implemented features make it a great choice for home office workers who also like to do some light gaming on the side.
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3. ASUS VP229HE
”Honorable Mention”
Screen Size: 21.5” | Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | Panel Type: IPS | Aspect Ratio: 16:9 | Response Time: 5 ms (GtG) | Refreshing rate: 75 Hz | Brightness: 250 cd/m2 | Contrast Rate: 1000:1 | Curved: No | I/O Ports: HDMI, VGA, Audio
REASONS TO BUY
- Clear, sharp display with FullHD resolution
- Available for well below $150
- Great image quality for the money
- Super thin bezels
- Very easy on the eyes
- Solid overall build quality
- Wide viewing angles
REASONS TO AVOID
- Poor connectivity
- No ergonomics
- Needs calibrating out of the box
Our Rating: 9.4/10
Now we go to Asus for our last entry in the under $150 category. The Asus VP229HE is a 21.5-inch monitor that isn’t expressly marketed toward gamers, but it packs all of the features and functionality you might want in a gaming monitor in a package that would look good on your office desk.
In terms of specs and performance, the Asus VP229HE is in line with other options in this category. It’s a 1080p IPS panel with the specs you would expect, but unlike the AOC 24B2XH, the colors are not very good out of the box.
You’ll have to do some tinkering in the settings to get them balanced, as they are fairly washed out and bland when you first power the monitor up. This is a minor inconvenience but not necessarily a deal breaker. The 1080p resolution on a 22” panel at least allows for clean images and text.
One good thing is the slimming down of the bezels from the previous iteration of this monitor, the VP228HE. The older model had chunky bezels that made the screen seem smaller and less useful, but the VP229HE has super thin bezels on three sides of the screen that make it more attractive, especially if you’re planning to use more than one of them in a multi-monitor setup.
The only small issue you might have is the branding on the front of the monitor, which is a pretty obnoxious bright silver that slightly distracts from what’s happening on the screen, especially if it happens to catch some light and reflect it.
The build quality for the Asus VP229HE is above average. The matte black plastic feels rigid and durable, with few noticeable creaks as you handle it. This is pretty standard for Asus, but it’s also good to see on a monitor at this price.
It is a monitor, so you probably won’t be manhandling it at any point, but a monitor that feels like it could tank a fall from a low desk is great, especially if you have animals or children that will explore your work area. The only nitpick with the build is the somewhat mushy navigation buttons along the bottom edge of the screen. They don’t feel very good to use, but you shouldn’t have to use them very often anyway.
Now, for the stand. The VP229HE’s stand is out of the ordinary as it’s a circular plate rather than a fork or square. Despite the odd shape, the stand is very supportive, and the monitor’s weight is extremely well-balanced. Once you set this down, it probably isn’t going anywhere unless you violently move your desk.
Overall, the Asus VP229HE is another cheap home office monitor worth buying. With its solid construction, clear screen, and low price, the Asus VP229HE is a great choice for anyone with a work-from-home job. Additional features like FreeSync and ASUS’ Eye Care sweeten the package, and if you can get past the less-than-stellar color it has out of the box, we’d recommend this monitor.
Best Monitors for Home Office Under $100 Round-Up
Finally, we’ve made it to the last stop on this Home Office monitor journey. These final three monitors will make up the low end of our categories, occupying the under $100 segment.
You wouldn’t expect many extra features from monitors so cheap, but you might be surprised by what’s on offer for the displays we have selected. Let’s take a look at these offerings from Sceptre, Acer, and ViewSonic.
The table below will give you a quick look at our selections for the 3 best monitors for home offices under $100 currently available on the market. To read a full review, simply click on ‘review>>’ in the respective row.
1. Sceptre E248W
”Best Monitor for Home Office Under $100 Overall”
Screen Size: 23.8” | Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | Panel Type: IPS | Aspect Ratio: 16:9 | Response Time: 5 ms (GtG) | Refreshing rate: 75 Hz | Brightness: 320 cd/m2 | Contrast Rate: 3000:1 | Curved: No | I/O Ports: 2x HDMI, VGA
REASONS TO BUY
- Fantastic value for the price
- Easily the best 24” monitor in this price range
- Great image quality with accurate colors
- Plenty bright
- Wide viewing angles
- Super thin bezels
- Sleek design
- Quality construction
- Built-in speakers
- Double HDMI port
- Supports VESA mounting
REASONS TO AVOID
- Limited adjustability on the stand
- Poor audio quality
Our Rating: 9.8/10
Our number one recommendation for some of the cheapest home office monitors under $100 is the Sceptre E248W. The folks at Sceptre made a name for themselves by offering high-quality monitors for extremely competitive prices. So it’s no surprise the E248W claims the number-one spot in this price range.
Like our previous monitors, this is an IPS monitor that is aimed at the cost-conscious home office crowd. Besides the surprising image quality, it comes equipped with a few special features that set it apart from other monitors in the same price bracket. Let’s take a look at what this display offers.
The Sceptre E248W is a 24-inch monitor (one of the very few quality 24” monitors in this price range) that clocks in at 1080p resolution and 75Hz refresh rate. This provides a clear text for work purposes, and the refresh rate, coupled with the 5ms (grey-to-grey) response time, makes the screen quite responsive and snappy.
Additionally, the screen is rated for 320 nits of brightness. That’s not enough to warrant an HDR rating, but it’s actually much brighter than other monitors we have reviewed, even the more expensive ones.
On top of that, Sceptre’s IPS panel also provides for pretty stunning color reproduction of 99% of the sRGB spectrum and wide viewing angles, meaning the colors are highly accurate, and the monitor looks good from whatever angle you view it from.
In terms of build and design, the Sceptre E248W is a bit of an anomaly. The monitor is extremely thin on the top half and juts out about an inch or so on the bottom half where the stand connects, and the ports are housed. It’s a striking look, and this, along with the thin bezels, makes the monitor appear much more expensive than it actually is, which is a good thing.
The plastics used seem solid enough. There’s minimal flexing, and it’s all a matte finish, so there won’t be any smudges or fingerprints if you have to handle it to move or adjust the screen. The included stand only allows for tilt adjustments, so you won’t be doing any height or pivot adjustments here, unfortunately. VESA support can remedy this if you already have a mount.
We mentioned that this monitor has a few special features, and this first one might be important if you plan to use this monitor in a situation where you perhaps work and game on a separate device. The E248W has a surprising selection of video ports, which include a VGA port and TWO HDMI ports. This can be useful if you plan on having an Xbox and a PC connected to this monitor for those after-work gaming sessions if you’re so inclined.
The next interesting feature of the Sceptre E248W is the built-in speakers, which is uncommon with monitors in this price range. They aren’t very loud, or even very good, for that matter. But they are serviceable if you need to catch some quick audio for work purposes. We wouldn’t recommend relying on these speakers for any music purposes.
The Sceptre E248W is a cheap and cheerful home office monitor that definitely punches above its weight and provides its users with excellent value. A great design, solid build, and an extra bright screen with 2 HDMI ports would be enough, but the added utility of the low-grade speakers and fantastic color support definitely add to the package. For under $100, the Sceptre E248W is an absolute steal.
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2. Acer SB220Q
”Best Overall Runner-Up”
Screen Size: 21.5” | Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | Panel Type: IPS | Aspect Ratio: 16:9 | Response Time: 4 ms (GtG) | Refreshing rate: 75 Hz | Brightness: 250 cd/m2 | Contrast Rate: 1000:1 | Curved: No | I/O Ports: HDMI, VGA
REASONS TO BUY
- Great image quality
- Wide viewing angles
- Great color fidelity and brightness out of the box
- Crisp 1080p resolution on a 22” screen
- Thin and compact design
- High-quality build
- Gaming friendly
REASONS TO AVOID
- Thicker bezels
- Smaller display
- Limited connectivity
- No ergonomics
- Lacks VESA mount compatibility
Our Rating: 9.6/10
Next, we have Acer’s entry in this under $100 space, the SB220Q. Designed for the basic home user, this monitor does its job and does so pretty stylishly. This is a primary example of “cheap” not necessarily meaning “bad”, and this monitor has become quite popular on the internet for the value it provides. So, let’s see what Acer has cooked up with the SB220Q.
The Acer SB220Q is a 22-inch IPS monitor that has a maximum resolution of 1080p and a max refresh rate of 75Hz with 250 nits of brightness–These are pretty standard specs for budget monitors, but it’s definitely on the higher end as far as $100 monitors are concerned.
The 22-inch size might feel a bit small by today’s standards, but the crispness of the screen can’t be overlooked. It has a pixel density of 102 PPI, which offers plenty of sharpness for whatever your work might consist of. The colors on this display are also vibrant and accurate, thanks to the 99% sRGB color gamut coverage.
Like the Sceptre E248W, the chassis of the SB220Q is wildly thin and elegant. Even more of the screen here is nearly paper thin, and the thick section for the single HDMI and VGA ports and the stand connection is even smaller, occupying maybe the bottom fifth of the back of the monitor.
While it’s extremely thin, it’s not necessarily flimsy. The whole thing feels well-made, and there is certainly no wasted space or materials here. Everything about the Acer SB220Q appears to be as minimal as possible, which is definitely something to like.
While the unit itself is extremely thin, the bezels surrounding the screen itself could be thinner. The SB220Q has Acer’s “Zero-Frame Design”, but in reality, the bezels are actually much thicker than other monitors at this price, most notably the Sceptre E248W. It does detract from the overall design, but it’s probably a necessary concession for what you get with this monitor.
The included stand is unremarkable, which is to be expected at the under $100 price point. It only offers 5 degrees forward and 15 degrees backward tilt, with no other adjustments available.
This is an extra pain point for the SB220Q because it also doesn’t support VESA mounting, so you’re stuck with what you get. You might have to prop up your screen if you are a taller person working at a normal desk height.
Additional features like AMD FreeSync and a 4ms response time round out the Acer SB220Q and even make it suitable for some light gaming. Again, the 22-inch screen might be a little too small to really enjoy your games on, but it’s nice to have the option.
While certainly not perfect, the Acer SB220Q is one of the most popular budget monitors ever made and makes for a fantastic home office monitor for less than $100. It has an awesomely thin design, plenty of color and brightness, and even some gaming features on top of that. The lack of VESA support and the smaller size are definitely drawbacks, but we would still recommend the SB220Q if you’re looking for a cheap monitor that doesn’t skimp on visual or build quality.
- READ ALSO: Fastest Gaming Monitors
3. ViewSonic VA2247-MH
”Honorable Mention”
Screen Size: 21.5” | Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | Panel Type: VA | Aspect Ratio: 16:9 | Response Time: 5 ms (GtG) | Refreshing rate: 75 Hz | Brightness: 250 cd/m2 | Contrast Rate: 3000:1 | Curved: No | I/O Ports: HDMI, VGA
REASONS TO BUY
- Good overall image quality
- Great contrast and color reproduction
- Very sharp 1080p resolution
- Decently bright
- Very thin bezels
- Built-in speakers
- Eye-friendly features
- VESA mount compatible
REASONS TO AVOID
- Worse viewing angles
- Visible ghosting and smudging
- Plain design
- Poor audio quality
- There are better options available at this price
Our Rating: 9.4/10
Last on our list of the cheapest home office monitors is the ViewSonic VA2247-MH. This 22-inch monitor is a 1080p MVA panel, which is different from the IPS screens featured on the other monitors in this list. Is it enough to make the ViewSonic VA2247-MH stand out? Let’s find out.
Like the SB220Q, the ViewSonic VA2247-MH’s 1080p resolution and 22-inch size make for a crisp, pixel-dense screen that is a joy to read and work on. But let’s talk about the MVA tech in use here for a minute. MVA (Multi-Domain Vertical Alignment) is fancy marketing speak for a VA panel. Compared to IPS panels, VA screens are known for their much higher contrast ratio and deeper blacks, whereas the IPS screens we’ve been covering typically have better color reproduction.
This technology allows the ViewSonic VA2247-MH to reach a contrast ratio of 3000:1, which is much higher than every other monitor we have reviewed here. Coupled with the 250 nits of brightness this monitor is capable of, blacks are absolutely inky by comparison, while color reproduction manages to remain decent.
MVA screens are also cheaper to produce, which probably helped in achieving the ViewSonic VA2247-MH’s price point.
However, there are a few tradeoffs to this screen. There is a fair bit of ghosting and blurring in fast video content, or even if you move a window around your desktop too quickly. Viewing angles are also not as good as IPS, like the Acer SB220Q or the Sceptre E248W. How much this matters to you will depend on your particular use case, but it is definitely something worth noting.
The build quality of the ViewSonic VA2247-MH is adequate. The matte black plastic is not exactly thick, but it is not so thin that you should worry about it being flimsy. It feels like it should be durable enough for everyday use.
The design, though, is something that needs to be addressed. In a category alongside the Scepter E248W and the Acer SB220Q, the ViewSonic VA2247-MH looks positively ugly by comparison. The bezels are pretty thin, which is good, but the rest of the design comes across as lazy rather than simple. It’s certainly functional, but it’s definitely not stylish.
In terms of ports, you’ll find one HDMI and one VGA port on the back, a pretty standard connectivity for a monitor this cheap. Also on the back, you’ll find the VESA mount holes as well as the 2-watt speakers that are built into the screen. As with all built-in speakers, they aren’t very good, but they are a value add.
Overall, the ViewSonic VA2247-MH just can’t compete, even in the under $100 dollar price bracket. Home office users looking for an excellent monitor at this price would be much better served by the Acer SB220Q or the Sceptre E248W, and they should definitely skip the ViewSonic VA2247-MH–Unless you can find it on a big sale.
- RELATED ARTICLE: Best 144hz Monitors Under $200
In Conclusion
There you go; these were our selections for the best cheap monitors for home offices in 2024. We really hope this has been helpful to you, and if it was, feel free to share it with those who might find it useful as well.
Lastly, if you’re still unsure which monitor to choose or have some additional questions, feel free to drop a comment below, and we will be more than happy to help you out.
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