Featured Product: Amazon Fire 7 | $50 | Amazon
You don’t have to spend much money to get a solid, capable tablet. Sure, you could spend upwards of four figures on a top-end iPad to get all the bells and whistles, but even the entry-level $329 iPad is much pricier than some capable Android alternatives.
Whether it’s to browse the web, watch TV shows and movies, play games, or read books, a tablet is an ideal and conveniently portable way to bring your entertainment with you nearly anywhere, even if it’s just into bed. And you don’t have to scrimp and save: usable Android tablets start at just $50. Here are some of the best, budget-friendly options for solid, modestly-powerful slates.
Best All-Around Tablet: Amazon Fire HD 10
There’s no better value for a large tablet than the Amazon Fire HD 10. Starting at just $150, the Fire HD 10 packs solid hardware into a sleek frame. The 10.1" display is nicely crisp at 1080p resolution, and is plenty sharp for videos, games, reading, and more.
The 2Ghz octa-core Mediatek chip with 2GB RAM provides above-average performance here, with enough speed for your everyday needs. The 10-hour battery life estimate matches Apple’s mark, too, while USB-C charging makes it easy to quickly top up your tablet when you need it.
While not packed with bells and whistles, the Amazon Fire HD 10 offers so much for such little cash. The 32GB model is $150 for the version with special offers, which puts content advertisements on your lock screen. They’re not very obtrusive, and you can pay a fee to remove them later if you please. And a 64GB model is just $40 more for double the storage.
Best Apple-Like Tablet: Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8
When it comes to Android tablets, Samsung consistently ranks near atop the pile, and that’s no less true in the under-$200 range. The Galaxy Tab A 8.0's smaller size is helped even further by thin borders, perhaps not quite as thin as the ones on the 10" model, however. The US model, the one you’ll presumably consider buying, has a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400-series chipset and 2GB of RAM for computing tasks.
With its smaller display and just .78g of weight overall, the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 is much better suited as a reading device than anything. It’s also a nice size for gaming, but you’ll struggle to play heavily demanding games with the modest chipset. And the minimal design definitely seems closest to Apple’s familiar iPad in this bunch, albeit with a narrower screen aspect rato.
Your major benefit here over one of the Amazon tablets is access to Google Play, the list of apps and games in which towers the competition. Google Play apps are generally updated first, too, though most Amazon Appstore updates don’t lag too far behind. The silver model is as cheap as $133 right now.
Best Budget Tablet: Amazon Fire 7
Currently available for a mere $50 if you’re cool with special offers appearing on the lock screen, the Amazon Fire 7 is by far the most affordable current tablet you’re likely to find. This lil’ device comes with the same Fire OS experience as Amazon’s other slates, even if it’s not as fast or crisp-looking.
The quad-core 1.3Ghz processor with 1GB RAM won’t win any speed contests, but it works just fine for browsing the internet, reading ebooks, and streaming media. You should be able to run less-demanding games, too. And the seven hours of battery life is better than we figured for such a small size and tiny price. You might expect this cheap of a tablet to be terrible, but it’s actually more “solid” in my own experience. It’s hard to go too wrong at $40.
Best Sub-$100 Tablet: Amazon Fire HD 8
For $40 more than the Fire 7 as of this writing, the Amazon Fire HD 8 brings an even tighter design with a slightly bigger and sharper screen, this one passing the 720p marker by a bit. Amazon seems to have struck the perfect balance between performance and battery life here, with 12 hours being the time to beat. The 2GHz processor inside provides a somewhat snappy in-app experience, and paired with Mali G52 graphics, it handles moderately demanding titles like PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile with relative ease.
Coupled with features like Game Mode, which makes all your notifications sit in the waiting lobby while you rack up high scores, the Fire HD 8 is clearly the gamer’s pick in Amazon’s family. Although you’re missing out on Google Play (there are ways around this, I’ve heard), Amazon has hundreds of thousands of them in its store, and the surfeit of its selection will surprise you.
Add another $20 to your price tag, and you could jump to the HD 8 Plus instead. It has mostly similar internals, but with wireless charging and fast charging, a speedier processor, and more RAM added to the mix.
Best Tablet for Kids: Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition
Look, any tablet can be quickly handed off to your demanding spawn, but are you really comfortable entrusting some pricey, uncovered all-screen device to them? For younger kids, at least, we don’t recommend it. Instead, get them something that’s ideally suited for their needs and capabilities.
Amazon’s Fire HD Kids Edition is a serious deal, not only providing a solid tablet experience at a reasonable price but also bundling in peace of mind. How so? Well, not only do these 8" and 10" tablets come with a spongy case that’ll absorb everyday drops and falls, but it’s also backed by a two-year worry-free guarantee. If the tablet breaks, just contact Amazon and they’ll swap it out. Easy as pie.
On top of that, you also get a year’s free access to Amazon’s FreeTime Unlimited, a gated-off subscription service with games, books, TV shows, and other kid-friendly content.
Best Premium Design: Lenovo Tab M10 Plus FHD (2nd Gen)
While many other non-Samsungs have perished in the tablet game, Lenovo has been consistent in its line of flat slabs, and at $130, the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus continues those traditions. You’re getting a full Android 9 Pie experience and a 10" 1080p display. With a bevy of positive reviews to its name, the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus wins hearts with its sleek metal backplate. We’re used to overwhelming plastic in this price category, so if that’s something you loathe, this is the tablet to buy.
But more than that, you’re getting a workhorse in the octa-core MediaTek Helio chipset, which comes clocked at 2.3GHz and sits alongside 2GB of RAM for this 32GB model. You’ll get a pair of decent rear- and front-facing cameras at 8MP and 5MP respectively, including IR for face unlock. And if your little ones are planning to use it, Lenovo has one of the better kids’ modes on avail, beaten only by Amazon.
Best Premium Design (Runner-Up): Lenovo Smart Tab M8
If you like the look of Lenovo’s Tab M10 Plus tablet above but want something smaller and/or cheaper, then consider the Lenovo Smart Tab M8. Available for $89 at Walmart as of this writing, the Android-powered Smart Tab M8 has much more modest specs but still looks like a fancier tablet than it really is.
One Amazon customer called it the “best inexpensive Android tablet I’ve ever used,” enthusing:
“Wow, Lenovo! You are killing it in the low end product line-up these days. [...] The Tab M8 continues the pattern of offering a great low-end price for very good value. I have been buying, returning, or reselling the spectrum of tablets for a long time in search of one that checks every box I want in a tablet: Inexpensive, reasonably high-quality build, acceptable performance and features.”