10 best cheap projector under 100$ – 2022

Are you looking for the best cheap projector under 100$ in 2022, then you are on the right page!

Most projectors are a far better option for your large-size display requirements, and they cost far less than the high-quality large-size TV’s and today’s projectors can provide results close to a TV.

We don’t want you to end up buying the wrong projector, that’s why in this article, we’ve written a brief buying guide on things to consider in a cheap projector under 100$ (because we’re focusing on price as well).

Top 10 Best Cheap Projectors Under 100 – Unbiased Reviews

Today, display technology has come so far. 4K, UHD, and curved OLED displays provide the most beautiful and crystal precise image results.

4K, QLED, UHD, and OLED technologies aren’t budget options, especially when you’re looking for a big screen for your home theater or office. It’s not a budget option starting from about $1000-$6000 for a 70″+ display size. so, a cheap projector would be a perfect substitute for this.

And in this article, we will focus on reviewing some of the best cheap projectors that won’t require you to spend very much but still get high-quality screen presentations.

Living Enrichment Mini Projector

Living Enrichment is also well known for manufacturing top-notch cheap consumer electronics that go the extra mile to offer consumers 100% worth of money spent. The same holds true for Living Enrichment’s this budget-friendly mini projector.

First of all, for 81$, this projector is one of those few projectors in its price category offering 2,800 lumens. That’s up to 1,000 more than the typical LED TV out there in the marketplace and it’s still significantly less expensive than even that.

However, if you’re looking cheap projector to create a viewing experience full of texture and nuance or need precise color from your display device, then this model is probably not going to suit those needs.

But if you’ve got a budget and are looking for a reliable way to watch movies and television programs in widescreen HD resolution on your wall or, say, have a gigantic image display for maximum impact at your next house party, this model fits the bill nicely!

Yes, the projector comes with 1080p native resolution (1920×1080p). This is fantastic to know that the company has provided full HD resolution even for a cheap projector.

It has a screen size of almost 150″ from a distance of about 3 meters, which means it’s perfect for short-throw installations where you want to project on a large screen from a shorter distance.

The other factor to pick this mini projector in our review of the best cheap projector is its typical Xenon LED lamp which offers 50,000 hours long lamp life.

One drawback is its lower contrast ratio than a traditional CRT TN Panel Projector and that’s much more evident in a dimly lit room.

Overall, at 81$, it’s over value for money. You can’t find another better budget-friendly mini projector in this price range.

SWZA Native 1080P Projector

For those who’re tight on a budget but still want a cheap projector with IPS level colors and ration for under 100$, this machine might be best for you.

The machine comes with about 300 ANSI lumens, about 2,400 standard lumens. Unbelievably, the company has managed to offer an IPS grade color ratio: 5,000:1, which enhances picture quality and is great for a 100$ projector.

The overall built quality of the projector is also excellent. From its look, it doesn’t look like a cheap projector.

With Full HD native support, you can quickly stream all your Full-HD and downgraded 4K content (to FHD) on this projector. SWZA’s 4″ internal display can throw a stance of about 5-20 feet. So it’s a mid-throw projector.

The machine comes with 2.5-watt built-in speakers, which is only effective for a small quiet room. For louder and clear sound you need external speakers.

Besides all these features, the size and design of the projector aren’t so attractive. It looks like a box in which you’ve fitted a mechanism of the projector.

Lastly, this versatile projector provides 60,000 hours of long lamp life. Overall, if your budget is 100$ and you want an entry-level projector for media consumption or casual gaming, it’s the best option for you!

PVO Portable Projector

If you want an average projector for streaming cartoons and playing casual games on a big screen for under 70$, PVO might be your best and ideal option. The projector is made explicitly for kids for projecting cartoons and movies at a meager price.

It was extraordinary that the company has not mentioned the lumens and contrast ratio on their Amazon product page, Do you think we will skip it as well?. Upon going deep in the 3rd party reviews, we found that it only offers 1,000 lumens of brightness and an 800:1 contrast ratio. That’s simply terrible for content and video game consumption.

The projector doesn’t offer any FHD resolution, not even  720P. The projector is only capable of streaming 480P content. The 480P resolution is insufficient and will display pixelated images, not suitable for movies, and of course, terrible for video gaming.

The projector can’t display HD content but still manages to offer you the HDMI port and a USB 2.0 port.

We don’t like this machine’s resolution, contrast ratio, and brightness. It’s not acceptable even for casual media consumption.

Comes with an actual LED lamp of 20,000 hours. Overall, it’s good for your kids to watch casual cartoons, etc.

AuKing Mini Projector

After one average projector review, here comes a full-fledged budget min projector. Whether you are a console gamer or casual content watching, it’s suitable for a low-budget projector.

Auking’s machine comes with about 2,600 lumens and a contrast ratio of about 2000:1, which is best for a 100$ projector.

It comes with an FHD native resolution and can throw a complete image of up to 170 inches at 5 feet distance. It means it’s a short throw projector.

Talking about the connectivity, it comes with an HDMI, VGA USB, SD Card, and DV-i port.

However, the fan of the machine can reach up to 40 decibels which is quite loud when you’re connected to any audio in a pin drop silence room.

With a Xenon LED, it offers a lifespan of 50,000 hours. Overall, Auking’s this projector is best for console gaming and causal media consumption!

Input Mini Wifi Projector

If you want a premium flagship experience for under 100$, Anpui is the best deal. The projector costs 120$, but the features it’s offering are worth more than its cost and that’s why we decided to add it to this review.

Input is one of the brightest projectors in its category and price range. With about 7,500 lumens, it’s not a sunny but the brightest projector we’ve ever seen in 200$ budget projector.

Even our eyes can’t see 7,500 lumens in the darkroom, and it’s that bright. With about a 3000:1 contrast ratio, it will give you the best media consumption and console gaming experience.

Projector’s native resolution is FHD 1080P which can be upscaled to 4K. In terms of image size, it can throw the image up to 200″ at a distance of about 8 meters, so it’s a mid-throw projector. That’s even bigger than what other brands offer in 180+$ projectors.

The projector supports VGA, HDMI, TF Card, USB, and AV for old-school DVD players.

The only downside about this mini projector is it doesn’t offer Android and we found that the remote does not work properly from long range, you will have to be within a feet range for the remote to work. 

Other than that, the projector is ideal for media consumption, console gaming, and other medium-level display tasks.

SHIMMER Mini Projector

Here comes another great cheap projector of 100$. It’s similar to Anpui but offers more flagship features + designs at the same price.

It comes with the same level of lumens as Anpui: 7,500 lumens + auto brightness adjustment. However, this projector’s contrast ratio is highest compared to any other projector in the list: 5000:1. It’s even higher than a low-cost OLED panel.

The built quality of this machine is awe-inspiring. At first glance, you can’t say it’s a 100$ projector, steel buttons, silver emblem, etc.

The native resolution of the projector is FHD with 720P native support as well. It’s capable of throwing up to 100″ images at a distance of about 3 feet. It means it’s a short throw projector.

SHIMMER has offered all the necessary connectivity ports that you use in your daily life, such as HDMI, VGA, USB, SD card, and DV-i as well.

We don’t like its image size of 100″ maximum. Others offer at least 150″ at the exact cost and secondly you can’t adjust the size of the screen unless you move the projector itself forward or back from your screen.

The projector offers standard 50,000 hours of LED lifespan, which is enough for 5-6 hours. Overall, it’s a premium deal in budget pricing.

Bloomidea Movie Projector

For those who want a premium category feature in a small and portable laptop bag size projector, Bloomidea’s ZK_Q5 performs the best.

The ZK-Q5 offers 6,500 lumens of brightness and a 5,000:1 colors ratio. This color ratio and lumens level are the highest in small portable projectors we’ve found on Amazon’s listings.

The overall built quality is premium. It comes with a steel plate on the top and rigid PVC on the side and bottom, which doesn’t give a low-cost feeling.

The native resolution of the projector is HD which can be upscaled to FHD but not native. It can throw an image of up to 240″, the highest image size in the portable projectors, at a distance of about 3 meters.

However, the projector doesn’t offer any keystone correction. So you need to physically adjust the projector’s angle by moving its body accordingly.

ZK_Q5 has a 50,000 hours lifespan, enough for 6-7 years of regular usage. Overall, if you’re looking for a premium + portable + low-cost projector for casual Netflix, media consumption, and PS4, Xbox One gaming, it’s the best deal.

GRC Mini Projector

A versatile projector with premium features. The TYUII-1218 offers all the basic to advanced features that you can expect from a 300$ budget projector but in 100$.

The machine comes with 4,500 lumens of brightness, enough for viewing in a bright room under artificial lighting.

In terms of contrast ratio, it offers about 3000:1 contrast ratio, which is suitable for watching movies and other everyday work. The quality of the projector is decent. Steel buttons with rigid PVC, are acceptable.

TYUII-1218’s native resolution is 720P. However, you can upscale it to 1080P, but of course, that upscaled FHD’s quality will not be as good as the native resolution.

The machine can throw the most excellent image of up to 200 inches at a distance of about 1 meter. It means it’s a short throw projector.

In addition to that, it only offers HDMI, VGA, and USB ports, so if you’re an old PC or DVD player, you will need an HDMI converter.

What we don’t like about this projector is its design. Very bulky and not a portable projector that you carry without fuss.

In terms of lamp life, it offers 45,000 hours of long lamp life, which is acceptable. Overall, this might be a good option if you want a projector for movies and series consumption.

Fatou mini Projector

Faltopu’s this compact projector is one of the most affordable and best value for money projectors that offers all the essential and other display features to take your projector movie experience to the next level.

It comes with the brightest brightness of 7,500 lumens, the highest recorded brightness in small indoor projectors. The company hasn’t revealed the contrast ratio, but according to our calculations, it should be between 2000:1 – 3,000-1. The overall built quality is decent, not too good, and not too bad.

The machine offers 720P native resolution, which you upscale to 1080P if the source supports it. It can throw the full image of up to 100-inches, which is acceptable for this pricing at the distance of 3 meters, short-throw projector.

In terms of connectivity, it offers HDMI, VGA, and USB ports. However, it does provide stereo speakers with 2.1 and 5.1 for optic fiber home theater if the external system supports it.

However, the LED lamp of the projector is impressive. With over 45,000 hours of long lamp life, it’s excellent! Overall, this portable projector is good for console gaming like Nintendo switch and, of course, for casual media consumption.

XZJY Mini Projector

Another product in our list of top best cheap projectors under 100 is XZJY mini projector that is specifically designed for media consumption, offers 1080p resolution, a built-in Netflix application, and dedicated movie modes. In this price range, it’s way better than other competitors.

The company hasn’t mentioned the lumens of this mini projector. But, according to our calculations, it should be between 2,000-3,000 lumens because of its low resolution.

The machine can display 1280×720 resolution and throw the image up to 200″ at a distance of 3 meters. The resolution is relatively more minor than other projectors in this price range.

XZJY covers two dedicated 3-watts built-in stereo speakers that can give the output of about 100 decibels max at 10 inches distance, which is fine for casual movies in quiet surroundings.

What we don’t like is its resolution. 720P is suitable for console gaming such as PS4 and Xbox One. Not just that, even for media consumption, 720P might give you pixelated images in large screen sizes.

The lifespan of LEDs is good: 60,000 hours. It’s enough for 6-7 years in everyday usage.

Buying Guide For Best Projector under 100$

Today, display technology has come so far. 4K, UHD, and curved OLED displays provide the most beautiful and crystal precise image results. 4K, QLED, UHD, and OLED technologies aren’t budget options, especially when you’re looking for a big screen for your home theater or office. It’s not a budget option starting from about $3000-$6000 for a 70″+ display size.

That’s why most projectors are a far better option for your large-size display requirements. They cost far less than the high-quality large-size TV’s and today’s projectors can provide results close to a TV.

We don’t want you to end up buying the wrong projector, that’s why in this article, we’ve written a brief buying guide on things to consider in a projector under 100$ (because we’re focusing on price as well).

Resolution

Of course, the most important and first thing to consider in any cheap projector is the resolution. The same thing applies to the projector. Just like TVs, a projector also has a resolution. In projectors, we calculate the resolution in “dots,” the same as pixels in digital displays.

High resolution of the projector = better quality and clarity in the projector’s image. A typical 100$ projector would offer you about 1080P resolution, 1920×1080 dots (Full HD in digital displays). This resolution is one of the most used resolutions in today’s display. It provides crystal clear images less expensive than a 4K resolution.

Brightness

The projector’s brightness plays another essential role in the overall quality of the projector. Brightness, as the name suggests, tells how bright the projectors are. Note that it has nothing to do with the picture quality or image of the projector. It’s just how much light a projector is emitting.

The brightness is calculated in the ANSI lumens. More lumens = a more bright image of the projector. A regular 100$ projector should offer you the brightness of about 2,000-3,000 ANSI lumens.

Moreover, make sure high brightness doesn’t affect the quality of the color and result of the projector. The projector is not made up of suitable quality hardware if it does.

Power Consumption

Power consumption might not be a focused concern for most people, nor does it have anything to do with the quality of the projector. It’s the efficiency of the projector and not the quality or picture result of the projector.

It doesn’t determine how good quality your projector is. However, it does influence your electricity bill. If you use the projector frequently or daily, it’s better to use a projector that doesn’t consume electricity above 65-watts. Otherwise, you’ll see big numbers on your electricity bill.

Other Display Standards

In terms of display quality, the resolution is not the only thing. There are a few other technologies involved, such as HDR, Auto color management, 1B colors, etc. All these terms are related to the image quality of the display.

A typical 1080p projector might not offer these display standards such as HDR and auto color tune, but if they do, it’s great. However, if they don’t, still you’re getting a value for money deal because these display improvement standards are costly to achieve, so you might not see in budget projectors under 100$.

conclusion

There are a lot of cheap projectors on the market right now, but we’ve found the 10 best projectors under 100$ that stand out for their quality and price. We hope you find our buyers guide helpful in making your decision about which projector is best to meet your needs!