Best Budget Tablets Under 200 Dollars | 2023 Edition

What are the best tablets for under 200 US Dollars? Good tablets don’t have to be expensive, there are many cheap ones that offer a very good price-performance ratio. I’ve been reviewing tablets for more than 10 years and test pretty much every one that gets released. Here I’ve listed all that I can recommend in this price range.

First, I’ll give you a quick overview of my recommendations and further down you’ll find more detailed information about each device. The list is roughly sorted by price. At the top are the slightly better and at the bottom the slightly cheaper, but also slightly weaker ones.

Best Tablets Under 200 Dollars: An Overview

Let’s start with a quick overview. Further down you can get more detailed information about each device.

• Best tablet for under 200 Dollars: Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (at Amazon*). The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is the best tablet for under 200 Dollars. This is mainly due to a solid display and sufficient performance, but also due to software. Samsung releases software updates for a comparatively long time, which is rather unusual in this price range.
• Great tablet without Play Store: Amazon Fire HD 10 (at Amazon*). The Amazon Fire HD 10 and Fire HD 10 Plus are two pretty good tablets that are very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8. They are often a bit cheaper and this time Amazon even offers an official keyboard cover. Updates are also available from Amazon for a long time, but we have to live without the Google Play Store out of the box here.
• Good Samsung alternative: realme Pad (on Amazon*). The realme Pad is a good alternative especially if you do not like Samsung’s own interface and are looking for a slightly better display. However, you will probably not get updates for as long. The realme Pad is also very suitable as a Netflix tablet because of its four solid speakers.
• Best 8-inch tablet under 200 Dollars: realme Pad mini (at Amazon*). In my opinion, the realme Pad mini is the best 8-inch tablet for under 200 Dollars. It offers a high-quality metal case, a solid display and a usable performance. You can also get more storage and LTE for only a small surcharge.
• 8-inch tablet with updates: Nokia T10 (on Amazon*). The Nokia T10 is very similar to the realme Pad mini. It doesn’t have a metal case, but it is supposed to be provided with updates for a few years. That’s why I think it’s even better on paper, and I liked it a lot in my test. Readers have told me about WiFi problems – some batches are apparently plagued by bugs. That’s why it’s listed under the realme.
• Best 60 Dollar tablet: Amazon Fire 7 (at Amazon*). The Amazon Fire 7 is considerably cheaper than 200 Dollars with an MSRP of just under 60 Dollars. I can only recommend it if you want to spend as little money as possible. It’s usable at this price, but plays in the lowest league in almost every aspect.

Top Tablets Under 200 Dollars: All Details

Let’s take a closer look at the tablets in detail now.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A8: Best tablet for under 200 Dollars

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is the best tablet for under 200 Dollars. It’s not a front-runner in any point, but good enough in almost every point. If you are looking for a tablet to surf the web, watch Netflix and YouTube, and play simple games, then the Galaxy Tab A8 is well suited for that. However, if you are looking for one with an active stylus and a good keyboard cover, you will have to spend over 200 Dollars.

With the A8, we get a 10.5-inch display that has a FullHD resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. Colors and contrast are okay and the pixel density is also okay. It’s nice that it’s fully laminated. There are four solid speakers on the sides and since it has a Widevine level of L1, you can watch Netflix in HD resolution.

You cannot play demanding games with the highest graphics settings because the Unisoc Tiger T618 SoC is too weak for that. It is supported by 3GB or 4GB of RAM and you can choose 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. The performance of the T618 is enough to play games like PUBG Mobile with HD graphics.

Despite being so cheap, the chassis is mostly made of metal. We get a USB C 2.0 port and a MicroSD card reader, but features like a fingerprint reader are missing.

It was released with Android 11 originally, but Samsung has already released an update to Android 12. I am pretty sure that it will get Android 13 as well. Updates are one of Samsung’s strengths and a reason why the A8 tops this list.

Read: My Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 review

Amazon Fire HD 10 & Plus: Great tablet without Play Store

The Amazon Fire HD 10 and Fire HD 10 Plus are a good choice if you love Amazon’s ecosystem with the Alexa voice assistant and are looking for a tablet with a particularly long battery life. It is perfectly suited as a Netflix tablet and generally as an entertainment device, certainly also for playing games. However, the tablets have one big catch.

While they are Android tablets, they run Amazon’s version of Android and not Google’s. This means that the Google Play Store and all Google apps including YouTube, Gmail, Chrome and so on are missing out of the box. Although it is possible to install the Play Store yourself, it takes some effort. You can get apps from the Amazon App Store out of the box only. However, once the Play Store is installed, it behaves like any other Android tablet.

The Amazon Fire HD 10 and Fire HD 10 Plus only differ in a few aspects. The Plus is a bit more expensive, but it has 4GB of RAM instead of 3GB and can be charged wirelessly via induction with a dock. It also feels a bit more premium. There are no other differences.

We get a 10.1-inch FullHD display on each, which is fully laminated and resolves at 1920 x 1200 pixels. It’s a bit brighter than the predecessors. The graphics performance is surprisingly good for the MSRP of 149 Dollars, so games like PUBG Mobile can be played with HD graphics. A MediaTek MT8183 octa-core processor provides sufficient performance. You can choose between 32GB and 64GB storage when buying them.

Although the tablets are supposed to be very sturdy, they do not feel as premium as the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 since the cases are made of plastic. A USB C 2.0 port and MicroSD card slot are available. Premium features like fingerprint readers are also missing here.

Read: My Amazon Fire HD 10 Plus review

realme Pad: A good Samsung alternative

The realme Pad is an exciting alternative to the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8. It offers a marginally better display and I think it’s great that the 64GB version only costs marginally more than the 32GB variant. However, I assume that there will not be that many software updates. That is a pity. In return, the battery life is quite long and we get almost pure Android.

A MediaTek Helio G80 octa-core processor, which is supported by 3GB or 4GB of RAM, ensures sufficient performance and especially quite good graphics performance. You can also choose between 32GB and 64GB of storage. My test showed that you can play games like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9 properly.

I think the realme pad is mainly suitable as a tablet for Netflix and YouTube. Namely, it has four solid speakers and the 10.4-inch display looks good. It has a resolution of 2000 x 1200 pixels and is 360 nits bright – good for indoors, but not for outdoors.

Out of the box, the tablet comes with Android 11 and according to some sources, realme is supposed to be working on an update to Android 12 and it is supposed to get security updates. However, I do not expect it to get Android 13.

What I find great is that the case is made of metal and feels premium. It’s only 6.9mm thin, has a USB C 2.0 port, a MicroSD card slot, and it’s one of the few tablets with a 3.5mm audio jack.

Read: My realme Pad review

realme Pad mini: Best 8-inch tablet for under 200 Dollars

I consider the realme Pad mini to be the best 8 inch tablet for under 200 Dollars. In fact, it’s one of the best 8 inch Android tablets on the market, as there is hardly any real competition besides the iPad Mini. Of course, it’s an entry-level tablet in this price range, so don’t expect too much, but a much better competitor is actually just the iPad Mini.

Even though the realme Pad mini is so inexpensive, the casing is mostly metal and it feels like it’s built with quality in mind. Because it’s so small, it’s easy to hold in just one hand. Premium features are lacking, but it does have a microSD card slot, the LTE version fits two SIM cards, and we get a USB C 2.0 port and even a headphone jack.

The display is 8.7 inches and has a fairly low resolution of 1340 x 800 pixels, which I would only call acceptable. Text is just sharp enough, though, and the pixel density is similar to a 10-inch FullHD tablet. At 360 nits, it’s a bit too dark to work comfortably outdoors with it.

Although the processing power of the Unisoc T616 octa-core processor is comparable with the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8, the graphics performance is much weaker. PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9 still run decently – that might also be due to the low-resolution display. When buying, you can choose between versions with 3GB and 4GB RAM or 32GB and 64GB storage, as well as optional LTE.

Although the Pad mini does not have an earpiece, you can make calls and send text messages with a headset. However, this is only possible with the LTE version.

I find it a pity that it will probably not get an update. Android 11 is preinstalled and realme gave an evasive answer to my question about updates during a press event.

Read: My realme Pad mini review

Nokia T10: Good 8 inch Android tablet with updates

The Nokia T10 is very similar to the realme Pad mini. In fact, I actually liked it a bit better in my review because Nokia promises three years of software updates. However, several readers told me about WiFi problems and they had to send their device back. My Nokia T10 worked flawlessly, but apparently there are quality control issues. That’s why I’m listing it under the realme for now.

We get an 8-inch display here, which also has a fairly low resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Other features like contrast, color reproduction and viewing angles are good, though. It is a pity that the speakers are not particularly good, but only sufficient. It is not a good media tablet.

The performance of the Unisoc T606 is lower than the realme Pad mini, but roughly comparable. Again, you can get versions with 3GB or 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of storage. A model with LTE is also available. I find it rather unfortunate that you cannot make calls with the LTE version.

I think the design of the Nokia T10 looks quite old and it is quite thick with 9mm. In return, we get a headphone jack, a USB C 2.0 port and a MicroSD card slot. Features like a fingerprint reader are missing.

One highlight from Nokia is that the T10 will actually get two major software updates and three years of security updates. Thus, it should still get Android 13 and Android 14 because Android 12 is preinstalled out of the box. In this price range, that’s unique.

Read: My Nokia T10 review

Amazon Fire 7: Best 60 Dollar tablet

The Amazon Fire 7 is the cheapest tablet that I can reasonably recommend. It’s exciting only if you want to save as much money as possible. You have to do without all premium features and it plays in the lowest league in every aspect. Nevertheless, it is actually usable.

With 7 inches, the Fire 7 is a bit smaller than the realme Pad mini and the resolution is even lower at 1024 x 600 pixels. It is also a pity that it is not laminated – just like the Apple iPad 10. Many can live with it there and that will also be the case here. It is still a drawback in my opinion.

It is not suitable as a gaming tablet because the performance of the MediaTek MT8168A quad-core processor is quite weak. In addition, there is only 2GB of RAM and you can choose between 16GB and 32GB of internal storage. Interestingly, you can still play games like PUBG Mobile with HD graphics.

As with the Amazon Fire HD 10, the Fire 7 is an Android tablet, but Amazon’s version and not Google’s version of Android is preinstalled. Thus, the Google Play Store and Google apps like Gmail, YouTube and Chrome are missing ex-factory. However, those who want to can install the Play Store themselves and then it behaves like other Android tablets. Otherwise, apps can be installed via the Amazon App Store.

Read: My Amazon Fire 7 review

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