Best cheap tablets under £200

A great tablet can be expensive, but it doesn't need to be. If you want a tablet for casual use, more basic operations, or something to carry around on the go that might get knocked or scratched, it makes sense not to spend a fortune.

Here, we reveal the best cheap tablets for under £200 (some even cost less than £100), as backed up by our extensive, independent lab tests.

Best cheap tablets

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Products updated December 2021.

Not found the model for you? You can use our tablet reviews to pick the right tablet for your budget.

Cheap tablets to avoid

While there's some cheap tablets that you should consider, there are plenty that you shouldn't. Stuffed with bad tech and unpleasant to use, here are tablets that you'll want to steer well clear of.

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What are cheap tablets good for?

Luckily there are plenty of options available today for tablets that tick all the important boxes, and don't break the bank. Pick a good budget tablet and you'll find it perfectly capable for tasks like:

• Browsing the internet - even the most basic of tablets should be able to handle a bit of web browsing, but with less capable models this can be sluggish, with annoying delays.
• Watching videos - all tablets are capable of playing video content, but the difference between a good and bad model is the quality of the screen. We've found plenty of tablets that rate four stars for screen quality, even in the budget market.
• Using apps - unless you're interested in more power-hungry apps, such as the latest 3D games or video editing suites, budget tablets should be fine for most purposes. Again though, a poorly built budget model could be sluggish and frustrating to use.
• Taking photos/video calling. Most budget tablets have a camera built in, but this is an area where quality can vary wildly at the lower end of the market. A poor camera will make video calls grainy, and take poor quality photos. 
• Reading books. Though not as effective as e-readers, tablets can be used for reading. However, a poor quality or low resolution display can make this difficult, and put a strain on the eyes.

Fortunately we've tested all of the above and much more in our labs, and have found many budget models, some of which cost less than £100, that tick most or all of these boxes. 

Saving money on an older model

A lot of manufacturers refresh their tablet line-up on a yearly basis, which means that you'll often see deep discounts on the previous years older, less desirable models. 

The launch of the latest tablet can be a great time to pick up the previous version, with stores getting rid of old stock to make way for the latest shiny model. While manufacturers would have you believe that their newest model is the best ever, remember that they would have been parroting exactly that same sentiment the year before, and in many cases, the older version will still be a good tablet.

By ensuring that the software is up to date, you should find that an older tablet will have more or less the same functionally as a new one, but the specifications won't quite be as impressive. Choose wisely, by checking our reviews, and you could grab yourself a bargain.

An important thing to be aware if you opt for an older tablet is how long it will receive software updates for. A tablet that isn't getting important security patches could be vulnerable to viruses and make your home network more vulnerable to attack. We do our best to identify when every tablet we test will stop receiving security updates, but some manufacturers are more forthcoming than others.

You can use our tablet security update tool to see how long the models on your shortlist will receive security patches and software updates.