This isn’t the only BenQ monitor made to match with Macs. The company also has the 27-inch 4K (MA270U), which gets you similar features with fewer pixels, but costs quite a bit less.
Cheap Monitors That Are Actually Good
I consider a budget monitor to be anything under $200, and you’ll find dozens and dozens of these hanging out at Amazon or Best Buy. But many are old. Many have poor colors. It’s trickier to find some newer models that are actually worth the money. I wasn’t surprised to see that the Dell 27 Plus ranked among the very highest in my testing. It only costs $150, but it delivers really strong 1080p performance in terms of colors and brightness.
The most surprising feature of this monitor is its 144-Hz refresh rate. The smooth motion really gives the monitor the premium feel that monitors at this price lack, and it also comes with all the same adjustability features and an integrated VESA mount on the back. Put this on your desk, and aside from the resolution, you’ll never think of it as a “budget” monitor.
But maybe you want to keep things even cheaper. No problem. While a monitor under $100 is going to have some flaws, I found a decent one in the MSI Pro MP243W E14. It stands out in the thing that matters most: image quality. I measured 359 nits at its brightest, and the color coverage is surprisingly good, both in terms of saturation and accuracy. It even has a 144-Hz refresh rate, which means it can double as a cheap gaming monitor when it needs to. I also like the design, which offers thin bezels around the display and an all-white exterior. Its flaws, however, include the lack of ports and adjustments. It can only tilt slightly. It’s only 24 inches, which will likely feel small for most people.
I was also really surprised by the upgraded version of this monitor, the MP273QW E14. Rather than being stuck at 1080p, this model gives you a sharper image with a resolution of 2560 x 1440. While it has the same lack of adjustment, it is a more standard 27-inch size and delivers even better overall image quality.
Faster, Smarter, and More Extreme
This monitor is one of the favorites I’ve tested in the past couple of years. It was among the first QD-OLED monitors designed for content creation and entertainment. While there are a couple of options out there today from companies like Asus, the Dell 32 Plus 4K opens up the brilliant image quality of OLED to an entirely new audience. One reason high-quality HDR video is scarce is the lack of affordable screens to watch and edit it on. With this monitor out in the world, though, there’s no excuse. It even has a 120-Hz refresh rate and plenty of ports. The combination of OLED’s fast response time and the faster refresh rate makes this a solid gaming monitor in your off hours. I haven’t included gaming monitors in this guide, primarily because they’re an entirely different beast. Check our recommendations of the Best Gaming Monitors for some recommendations on that front.
But if you’re really serious about creating professional, HDR video, there’s still nothing else on the market quite like the Studio Display XDR. We all waited a long time for Apple to revisit the Studio Display, and while the monitor we eventually got was a bit less ambitious in scope than we all hoped, this 27-inch 5K Mini-LED monitor is the new king in HDR performance. It has 2,304 dimming zones, and according to my testing, it could do 1,905 peak HDR brightness in a 25-percent window. Compare that to, for example, the Dell 32 Plus 4K, which tops out at 946 nits in just a one-percent window. The difference in perceived brightness, detail, and contrast is huge, which is useful first and foremost for content creation. However, because it’s been dropped from 32 inches to 27 inches, it’s left a gap in the market for larger displays that don’t lose sharpness. That’s where the LG UltraFine Evo 6K monitor comes into play.
It just so happens to deliver a pixel density of 224 pixels per inch, making it the sharpest big-screen display I’ve ever tested. What I love about this LG monitor is that it’s far more than just a bunch of pixels. It’s one of the most beautiful monitors I’ve tested, sporting a gorgeous stand and base that definitely shares some resemblance with the Apple Studio Display. And like that monitor, the UltraFine 6K has a monster pair of built-in speakers that are crystal clear.
Unlike most monitors on this list, you won’t need to buy a set of computer speakers. It’s not a perfect monitor, though. The ports are in a hard-to-reach location, and while the stand is fun to admire, it has a couple of limitations. The lack of cable management is an eyesore, and it doesn’t have as much height adjustment as I’d like. The monitor is also limited to just a 60-Hz refresh rate.
There’s also the issue of price. It originally retailed at $2,000, which was painful, especially compared to the Asus ProArt 6K (PA32QCV), which is the only other 6K monitor on the market right now. These days, the price difference is down to just a couple hundred bucks. These monitors go toe-to-toe in image quality, though I prefer the LG model for its design, better speakers, and more powerful ports, while the ProArt 6K offers a longer, three-year warranty at a lower price. Regardless of which you choose, you’re getting the sharpest 32-inch monitor possible. Beyond that, though, these are both solid options.
Lastly, I really enjoyed dipping my toe into the world of smart monitors. If you want a monitor that can just as easily double as a television, Samsung and LG both lead the way. I’ve tested out two Samsung smart monitors recently that have successfully expanded my idea of what monitors can do. My favorite of the bunch is the Samsung 32 M9 Smart Monitor. It’s an OLED 4K monitor that is a rare display that’s equally good for working, gaming, and watching movies. It’s controlled with a remote, and Samsung throws in tons of goodies like free live TV channels to sweeten the deal. It can also be used with a gaming console, thanks to the HDMI 2.1 port. All that flexibility is great, but what really sets the M9 model apart is the OLED screen. Thanks to the fantastic image quality, it finally feels like a smart monitor that doesn’t compromise that full TV experience.
For a bit of extra fun, I even tested out the non-OLED version of this monitor with Samsung’s Movingstyle Rolling Monitor Stand. It’s incredibly niche, but for the right home, being able to roll out a proper TV when you need it is handy. I love the idea of having a TV that is mobile rather than a permanent piece of hardware, and the Movingstyle rolling stand is a pretty compelling solution.
