Best budget tablets: Great value Android picks and our go-to iPad

If you want a great value tablet and don’t mind if it runs Android then the Honor Pad 8 is the best we’ve tested this year. Despite costing surprisingly little, the tablet features a few key features you won’t find on other tablets at this price. The biggest boon is the inclusion of a 12-inch screen.

Big screens are rare on a tablet at this price and give the Honor Pad 8 a unique place in the market. Testing it, while it doesn’t offer the deep blacks and HDR performance of flagship tablets like the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, you’ll struggle to do better at this price. Combined with reliably loud speakers the tablet offered an immersive movie-watching experience during our tests.

As an added perk, despite running on a middling Snapdragon 680 chipset CPU, we didn’t experience any noticeable slowdown when using the device, which is a very common issue we experience on tablets at this price.

Add to this its lengthy battery life, with the Tab 8 offering over 10 hours of screen time during our tests and it becomes an easy recommendation for any tablet buyer on a budget.

Reviewer: Peter Phelps
Full review: Honor Pad 8 review

The iPad 9 is the cheapest Apple tablet we’d recommend to buyers on a budget. Though it didn’t impress us as much as its lighter, more powerful iPad Air 2022 when we got it in for review, the iPad 9 remains the best value option if you’re 100% committed to getting an Apple device.

While the screen doesn’t have a variable refresh rate and the bezel surrounding it is undeniably chunky, you’ll struggle to find a better option at this price, especially if you’re an Apple fan. The 10.2-inch Retina Display is the sharpest you’ll find on this list and, thanks to reliable black levels and high maximum brightness, it is ideal for watching Netflix on the go.

The tablet is also solidly built and comes with a variety of case options, including some with keyboards, which means it’s a good option for older kids who need a device for school work as well as entertainment.

The A13 Bionic chip powering the iPad 9 means that, unless you’re doing high-end video editing or vector graphics, you won’t suffer any performance issues based on our exhaustive testing. The only downside is that, even though it is cheap by Apple standards, the iPad 9 is still the most expensive option on this list, which is why we can’t recommend it for young children.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full Review: Apple iPad 9 review

We usually have a hard time recommending Android tablets over iPads because their software isn’t optimised for big screens, so apps can be a little clunky, especially if you want to do office or creative work. But if you just want a cheap tablet to watch Netflix on or read the morning headlines, then the Realme Pad is a great option.

During testing, we were impressed at how good the tablet was considering its price. Unlike a lot of the cheaper tablets we test the Realme Pad has an aluminium body, rather than plastic. We found this made it feel a lot sturdier and better built than any other tablet we’ve reviewed at this price.

The 10.4-inch screen was also much better than we expected, offering a sharp resolution, reasonably accurate colour reproduction and enough contrast to give movies and games enough immersion to be enjoyable. The only real downside is that its brightness levels don’t come close to matching what you’ll get on the iPad 9.

Battery life also proved solid, with it offering around 10 hours of screen time with regular use during our checks. That’s identical to what we got on the iPad 9, and pretty par for the course for a tablet this size.

Reviewer: Ian Morris
Full review: Realme Pad Review

If you’re in the market for a good-looking tablet with a high-res display for watching movies, the Nokia T21 is a solid option at a rather tempting price.

The T21 does a good job of hiding its budget price tag with a premium build that includes a solid-feeling metal rear with a two-tone design. It’s also surprisingly lightweight given the 10.3-inch display on offer at 471g, making it easy to use one-handed.

That 10.3-inch IPS LCD display is one of the main reasons to opt for the Nokia T21 as it boasts a 2K resolution (1200 x 2000) that’s great for watching movies from apps like Netflix and videos from YouTube. There is also wireless second-screen functionality on offer, but it’s laggier than more premium alternatives.

It also lasts pretty long on a charge thanks to a large 8,200mAh battery, usually providing around eight hours of use split across a few days.

Part of the reason why it lasts so long is that the tablet is notably underpowered, featuring the almost-unknown Unisoc T162, a chipset similar to the Snapdragon 660 released in 2018. That means you won’t be playing games or doing anything too processor-heavy as the tablet simply lags and can’t handle it.

That’s why it’s ideal for entertainment and more specifically, watching video content. It can handle sofa surfing on Netflix and maybe even some light work (i.e. replying to emails) but aside from that you might be disappointed with the experience elsewhere.

Reviewer: Sean Cameron
Full review: Nokia T21 review

If portability is one of the key factors in your buying decision, the Oppo Pad Air should be of serious consideration. At 440g and 6.9mm thick, the 10.36-inch tablet is lighter than Apple’s iPad 10 and even the lightweight iPad Air while still delivering that large-screen experience.

It’s not just lightweight either; the gunmetal aluminium shell is smooth and sleek, helping the tablet feel more premium than it actually is, and it comes with handy features like a microSD card slot to expand the 128GB of storage on offer.

The 10.36-inch IPS LCD display is sufficiently sharp at 2000 x 1200 and is perfectly serviceable for scrolling through websites and watching movies on Netflix, though with just 360 nits of brightness, it’s not the best in bright outdoor conditions.

It’s not a powerhouse of processing power either, with the Snapdragon 680 delivering fine – but not rapid – everyday performance, though it can’t quite handle high-end AAA games so gamers may want to look elsewhere. Even certain worlds in Roblox would slow the Pad right down.

It’ll last around 15 hours on a charge with decent standby times and although it takes over two hours to charge, that’s in line with the iPad 10 and Xiaomi Pad 5.

All this boils down to a lightweight, portable tablet that’s great for scrolling through TikTok, browsing the web and watching movies on Netflix, though it’ll probably not suffice for the majority of gamers.

Reviewer: Josh Brown
Full review: Oppo Pad Air review

If you’re looking for a cheap, easy-to-replace tablet for younger kids then the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids is the best option we’ve tested.

The device isn’t a technical marvel, even by affordable standards, but it nonetheless impressed our reviewer for a variety of reasons. For instance, the kids-focused bumper case proved nigh indestructible. Unleashing a rampaging toddler on it the device easily survived everything from rage throws to animated “touch” inputs from our over-excited test subject.

Even if the kid does break it, Amazon also has a no-questions-asked replacement policy that lets you get a new unit in the event the first breaks for the first two years after purchase.

This, plus the tablet’s robust parental controls and safe app store seriously impressed our reviewer and makes the Fire HD 10 Kids the best option for parents looking for a device to keep younger children entertained.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids review