Best Projector Under $500 (2021): Your Guide To Choose The Best

If you are in the market for a projector to watch movies, play games on the big screen or even use for presentations, you will quickly realize not all projectors are created equally. Different models have different bells and whistles and they range in price from under $100 all the way to several thousand.

Having a fixed budget of $500 doesn’t mean that you would have to compromise on features. There is a wide range of projectors that brings forth several options to choose from while you’re still on budget. One projector might be the best fit for some users but not the one for others, it all comes down to what you’re looking for.

A comparative analysis of prices and features of each one by searching about them one by one is insanely time-consuming. So here is a complete account of all the features and answers to all the questions popping in your mind so that you can choose the projector that exactly meets your requirements. Stick around and pick your perfect one!

#1: Optoma HD 146X

Optoma HD146X projector is especially characterized by a vibrant image formation with accurate colors. With HD146X, you bring a theatre of cinematic quality at home, which is equipped with an intelligent RYGCWB color-wheel and a native resolution of 1080p. Moreover, the users are impressed by the combination of its brightness and contrast ratio.

A good brightness level is important to ensure full functionality even in environments with maximum ambient light, and the manufacturers seem to be prioritizing all such vital features. The contrast ratio of 25,000:1 and brightness level of 3600 lumens makes for equally impressive performance in well-lit rooms and even outdoors during the daytime. Something that makes it stand out is its richer colours through Dynamic Black Technology.

So with its features, you’re never tied down to enjoy content when the lights get dim; you can get on with your entertainment whenever you feel like it, no matter how bright or dark it is.

Its installation, too, is quite an easy task for the users, even newbies who haven’t ever operated a projector find its installation super-easy and simple. One of the most impressive features is the wide range of image sizes available. It has you all covered up, whether it’s a 29” image or one with size 129”. It has a fixed standard throw which is not adjustable. So for larger images, one needs greater spaces; for an image size of 100,” you would need a space of 11 feet. This might come up as a hurdle to some people who’re planning to invest for maximum indoor usage and make things a bit trickier.

#2: DB POWER RD828

DBPOWER may not be your top choice of brand, but its RD828 projector is unquestionably one of the best at this price point, offering a range of top-notch features worthy of a higher price.

To begin with, the projectors’ high brightness level of 8500 lumens has enough punch to light up the big screen with a sharp undiminished image in moderately lit rooms. Another wow factor – a spec that is rare to find amongst budget projectors under $500- is the RD828s’ native resolution of 1920 x 1080p, which allows Full HD content to be displayed without the need to be scaled.

Thanks to its wireless technology,the DBPOWER RD828 is not tied down by any wire allowing a clean installation free from cable clutter. Its latest synchronizing technology helps Iphone and Android users to mirror their phone screens by simply connecting to Wi-Fi. Thankfully, there is no need for additional adapters and dongles.

The presence of a 4-point keystone correction is perhaps the best feature in the list, allowing adjustments in all four corners to fill up the screen with a straight image. Moreover, another impressive feature is how you can zoom to over 50% and that without any adjustments on the projector, by a mere press on the remote.

The all-new sarcoma technology helps decrease the lamp power consumption of the projector to increase lamp life up to 100000 hours, which is again impressively far better than most of the competitors.

And while we were raving about all the outstanding features, we forgot to mention the picture quality. For the price point the projector produces fantastic images that look sharp, rich in detail and filled with vivid colors.

To cap it off, a 3-year warranty makes your investment safer and stress-free.

#3: Viewsonic M2e

With a very compact size, Viewsonic M2e smart LED projector is one of a kind, packed up with Lots of features that ensure unstoppable entertainment at all times. It would instantly fill a room with bursts of entertainment no matter what amount of ambient light is present with a brightness of 1000 lumens. A perfectly proportioned picture is always a promise as it is equipped with astounding features such as the H/V keystone feature and the instant autofocus feature which never lets you down with bad picture quality.

Talking about the native resolution, it is 1920 X 1080p and far better than many other 1080p projectors in our list . The M2e outperforms other projectors in all areas of performance including sound quality. The Harman Kardon speakers provide top-of-the-line audio quality.

It forms a sharp and accurate image with rich colors and 125% color accuracy that injects life into images and makes them incredibly vivid.

Smartly designed to be connected easily with devices, Viewsonic M2e makes sure to cut down all hassles regarding connectivity coming your way. It has a massive variety of connectivity options including Wi-Fi if you’re into wireless screen mirroring, Bluetooth, and USB-C.

Last but not the least, compact having a lamp life of 30,000 hours, it ensures to be your entertainment partner anywhere, and everywhere you go. Carrying and operating is super-easy almost anywhere. So be it a game in your living room or a movie night outdoors, it will never let you down. You can also make it your business partner for presentations, and be rest assured about the reliability.

#4: BENQ MH530FHD PROJECTOR

Portable

FHD (1920x1080p) resolution

Wide range of ports

Adequate color brightness

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BenQ clearly dominates in this price bracket.

Our top pick BenQ MH530FHD packs more power for the dollar than its competitors. It is touted by BENQ as a presentation projector for office use. However it is also a very good projector to watch movies and a surprisingly decent gaming projector.

Image Quality

If I had to suggest one reason why you should buy this projector, this has to be it. This model can easily compete in image quality with projectors priced upward of 500 dollars.

The picture quality is gorgeous. The display appears uniformly focused all across the screen and the images are sharp.

Resolution

More and more manufacturers are developing image resolutions pushing more and more pixels to enhance image clarity. The advent of 4K technology is evidence. As the projector resolution goes higher so does the price.

Almost all renowned brands such as Optoma, Sony, Epson, BenQ etc. have priced their Full HD projectors in the 600-1000 dollars price bracket.

The BenQ MH530FHD is amongst the few exceptions. At under 500 dollars this projector has a Full HD native resolution i.e. 1920 x 1080 p.

Brightness

When it comes to brightness Brighter is always better.

At 3300 lumens this projector packs a punch. Whether you have a dark room for projector use or a room with moderately controlled lighting, the images from this projector are bright enough for good quality viewing.

Infact the brightness level is good enough even when the lamp is set to eco mode.

Color Brightness

The color quality won’t blow you away, but it’s not bad either.

Contrast

The importance of contrast ratio cannot be overlooked. It is perhaps the single most important aspect of picture quality.

Let me give you the stat first (although stats can be misleading sometimes) . The contrast ratio is 15000:1

With the room lights completely turned off, the contrast is excellent, the images are razor-sharp. Even in a room with ambient lighting you will not be disappointed with the contrast quality of the image.

Connectivity

The projector has plenty of connectivity options to allow interface with devices like the set-top box, game console, streaming devices, PC, external speakers etc

2-VGA, 2-HDMI, S-Video, Video (RCA jack),RS-232, Audio In and Audio Out.

Internal Speakers

As with most of the projectors, internal speakers are not anything worth mentioning about. For a better and bigger sound experience to go with the big screen, I recommend use of external speakers.

Portability

Small in size and light in weight (5 lbs.) this unit is as portable as it gets.

Warranty

This needed a special mention.

A 3 year warranty on the projector and a 1-year/2000 hours lamp warranty (whichever expires first).

#5: OPTOMA GT760A PROJECTOR

The Optoma GT760A 720p 3D DLP Projector is a short throw projector. It is engineered to display bright 3200-lumen images. The contrast as with most of the Optoma projectors is excellent. The dark scenes appear sharp with clear details.

While the system is designed with the gamer in mind, it is great for Blu-ray movie viewing and presentations as well. This combination means your gaming experience will be full of highly detailed images.

It has full 3D support and 2D to 3D conversion.

The MHL 1.2 support allows you to use HDMI Media Sticks such as Google’s Chromecast and Amazon’s FireTV as well as support for popular smart phones, tablets and ultra mobiles.

The GT760A is the right combination of portable, reliable, and economical with lengthy lamp life and high quality output. This blend makes the GT760A a great terrific buy for just under $500. This projector has also earned a spot on the Amazon Choice list.

OPTOMA GT760A Specifications

Projection System: DLP

Contrast Ratio: 20,000:1

Brightness: 3200 lumens

Resolution: 1280 x 720p

Display Size: 105-inches from 4 feet; 159-inches from 6 feet

Input / Output Ports: HDMI

Lamp Life: 6500 hours of lamp life in ECO+ mode and 4500 hours of lamp life in bright mode

#6: EPSON VS250 PROJECTOR

The Epson VS250 supports the higher end of brightness at 3,200 lumens in order to balance both color and white brightness. Setup and installation is seamless and you can start viewing or gaming right out of the box. There is a strong focus on color accuracy in this projector, with up to 3x higher color brightness and as much as 3x wider color gamut with over many DLP projectors. It works with laptops, media players and most game systems. This great projector option has earned a spot on the Amazon Choice list for best home projectors.

Projection System: LCD

Contrast Ratio: 15,000:1

Brightness : 3,200 lumens

Resolution : SVGA resolution 800 x 600

Input / Output Ports : HDMI

Lamp Life: 6,000 hours (regular mode) / 10,000 hours (economy mode)

#7: Nebula Capsule Max

While discussing the top projectors under $500, how could we not talk about Nebula Capsule, a reputable and affordable mini projector for people who don’t want to go out of their way on a budget? The projector incorporates a native resolution of 1280 X 720 to present very vibrant and clear pictures; it creates an image size of 100 inches.

The users find its video resolution the best feature so far; impressed by its portability and vibrant picture quality, they don’t really mind compromising the brightness gradient, which is just 200L and apparently not a prioritized feature of the product manufacturers. If you’re somebody investing in a projector for dark environments like movie nights with friends or family, this drawback will not bother you. Moreover, it works for four hours straight if used with battery power.

Talking about the most significant feature, the connectivity, Nebula Capsule leaves us impressed. It has a built-in computer system that helps you skip connecting to a media streamer such as your smartphones or other devices. You can directly connect it to the Wi-Fi connections and download whatever you want to. It has only ports for HDMI, USB, and headphones; although comparatively fewer ports, it seems sufficiently fine for most users. One would hardly need to use the headphone jack with speakers having such robust sound quality.

So to be precise, Nebula Capsule is your go-to projector if you’re looking for one with good resolution, vibrant picture quality, hassle-free connectivity, reliable battery life, and a brightness good enough for rather darker environments.

Make your purchase at Amazon Nebula Capsule for just $469.99 right away.

#8: VIEWSONIC PJD5155

The ViewSonic LightStream PJD5155 features 3,300 lumens with native SVGA 800 x 600 resolution. It has an intuitive, user-friendly design, allowing movie lovers and gamers to make the most of their viewing experience. ViewSonic’s SuperColor technology provides a vast color range bringing your games and movies to life. The sound enhancement technology also delivers sound quality much higher than many competitors. It features extensive connectivity including HDMI, 2 x VGA, Composite Video, S-Video, 1 x VGA output and audio in/out. The energy-saving DynamicEco addition minimizes power usages by as much as 70 percent.

VIEWSONIC PJD5155 Specifications

Projection System: DLP

Contrast Ratio: 20,000:1

Brightness : 3,300 lumens

Resolution : SVGA 800×600 (native) resolution

Screen Size Range : 83” from 12-Feet / 207” from 30-Feet

Input / Output Ports : HDMI, 2 x VGA, Composite Video, S-Video, 1 x VGA output and Audio in/out

Lamp Life: 10,000 hours

#9: CiBest GP90 LCD PROJECTOR

The CiBest GP90 LCD High-Definition projector comes with native resolution of 1280×800, true 800p and even supports 1080P Video. It comes with a built-in HiFi stereo audio system with power amplifier chip. This is ideal for a high quality movie watching experience. If you are looking for even more sound quality you have the capability of connecting an external speaker or surround system with HDMI or RCA L/R jack port.

CiBest GP90 Specifications

Projection System: LCD

Contrast Ratio: 3000:1 Dynamic / Up to 10,000:1

Brightness: 3,500 lumens

Resolution: 1280 x 800

Display Size : 35-180″

Input / Output Ports: VGA cable, USB and HDMI

Lamp Life: 30,000 + hours

#10: WOWOTO H8 VIDEO PROJECTOR

The WOWOTO H8 projector comes complete with top-level configuration, including a built-in Android System and Speaker, a stable OS and DLP technology. It supports Blu-ray 3D and 1080P projection. Their full color, high-resolution visuals are perfect for watching your favorite movie. It is compact, about the size of an iPad mini, so it is easy to take with you. It also has the capability of multi-screen sharing.

WOWOTO H8 Specifications

Projection System: DLP LED

Contrast Ratio: 2,000:1

Brightness: 2,000 lumens

Resolution: Native 1280×800 / Support 1080p

Display Size: up to 180”

Input / Output Ports: WiFi,BT,HDMI,USB,RJ45,Audio,AV,SD,Mouse,Keyboard

Lamp Life: 20,000 + hours

#11: Acer H5382BD

People obsessed with catching up to every new movie and looking for a fully equipped room-theatre projector for outdoor and indoor movie nights can trust Acer H5382BD for the job. Making your investment in this product will ultimately bring all the entertainment right to your home, and having family and friends at home is way more fun with it. It brings your sports streaming and movie night experiences to the next level with its rich display features. It has you all covered up with the color boost 3D technology. Moreover, we’re impressed by how it’s designed to protect your wall colors as well.

If you’re looking for a projector to be used in ambient light, you’re all covered up by its 3300 lumens brightness. We love how the contrast and brightness play around together to bring forth the best visual results, enhancing the details. Moreover, as for its native resolution, it comes with a resolution of 720p, which is again an impressive one.

Acer H53828D is specially designed to make it intelligent enough to adjust automatically according to the environment. It has built-in intelligent ambient light sensors that readily sense the amount of light and adjust the brightness level accordingly to fit in perfectly for the best visual experiences. Moreover, with its content ware technology, be it outdoor movie nights, presentations at the office, or your favorite football match, it’s always ready to fit in every condition to give you nothing but the best.

MHL connectivity ensures a user-friendly experience by making connections faster as well as hassle-free. Acer H53828D is compatible with almost all devices, so you’re tied down while using it just because your projector isn’t compatible with your device.

#12: DBPOWER T20 PROJECTOR

The DBPOWER T20 is a great option for anyone in the market for a portable mini-projector. Maybe you are someone who wants to use their projector for presentations by day and to watch movies by night. With a high level of portability, this 1500 lumen LCD Mini Projector support a projection image size of 32”-176” with projection distances ranging from 1.5m-5m. So don’t under estimate its “mini-status”. This thing packs a big punch in terms of projection size. For anyone looking for a small projector with serious portability, this may be the choice for you.

DBPOWER T20 Specifications

Projection System: TFT LCD

Contrast Ratio: 1,000:1

Brightness : 1500 Lumens

Resolution : Native Resolution: 800×480 pixels / Supported Resolution: 1920×1080 pixels

Screen Size Range : 32 – 176”

Input / Output Ports : HDMI, VGA, USB, AV, SD

Lamp Life: 50,000 hours

Wrap up

Finding the right projector to invest in can be tricky at times, and you would never want to invest in the wrong product. As soon as you figure out what you really want from your projector in the first place, it’s time to pick one for yourself. Each of them is an astounding combination of various features at an affordable price. Figure out if your foremost priority is resolution, brightness, or portability. And for that, decide if you have your maximum use in ambient light, dull light or both of them. Having a large budget is not always necessary; it’s all about spending wisely. Make sure to make a wise choice!