A home theater projector can transform your entertainment system, allowing you to create an immersive, cinema-style viewing experience at a cost that’s far less than a new LED or OLED TV. While you might need to spend at least $1,000 for a one of the best projectors, you can still find plenty of great projectors for less than $500. Most projectors in this range deliver impressive image quality, lots of connectivity options, portability options, and flexible controls.
But even in the sub-$500 category, there are important differences to consider. To help you find the right projector for a home, office, or on-the-go setup, we’ve compiled a list of the 8 best.
BEST OVERALL
- Lots of connections
- Portable
- Cool design
- Pricey
- Only 720p
Key Specs
- Resolution: 720p HD
- Max Screen Size: 100 inches
- Connectivity: HDMI, USB, Bluetooth, Chromecast, Wi-Fi
The Anker Nebula Capsule II is about the size of a soda can, but don’t let its diminutive size fool you: This little gadget packs a ton of useful features for cinephiles, gamers, and casual viewers alike. In this tiny contraption you’ll find Android TV, voice control, a built-in speaker, a rechargeable battery, and a bunch of connection options: HDMI, USB, Bluetooth, Chromecast and Wi-Fi.
While it’s a bit pricey for this category, the Nebula Capsuke’s 200 ANSI lumens make it bright enough even for some outdoor environments. We’d also like to see Full HD quality for the price, but there’s still a lot to like about this little gadget.
- Full HD (1080p)
- Great image quality
- Limited mobile connectivity
Key Specs
- Resolution: 1080p HD
- Max Screen Size: 500 inches
- Connectivity: HDMI, VGA, USB, AV
The WiMiUS projector is another projector that seems to punch above its weight class. Capable and affordable, the P18 offers Full HD (1080p) resolution, keystone correction, an impressive image quality with bright, high-contrast color (4000:1), and movie-friendly aspect ratios of 16:9 or 4:3. It can also support screen sizes of up to 500 inches, which is impressive for the price point; serious home theater enthusiasts, however, may crave something larger.
The WiMiUS projector also doesn’t include any Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity options, although with HDMI, VGA, USB, and AV ports there are other ways to connect mobile devices.
