Cheapest Tablets – The Complete Guide

Looking for the cheapest tablets? We’ve compiled a list of the cheapest new, used, refurbished, in-contract, out-of contract and installment plan tablets here. The cheapest well-known tablet on the market is the Amazon Fire, with some models going for as low as $40 new. Other than the Fire, the cheapest brand new, popular tablets run about $100, with some refurbished tablets down around $30 to $40. The least expensive iPad currently sold by Apple is the iPad Mini 2 for $269 brand new, though you can get a new discontinued iPad 2 for $199 from Newegg. For the cheapest tablets in any configuration, take a stroll through the list below.

1. Amazon Fire: $40

First on our list of the cheapest tablets is the Amazon Fire. With prices starting at $40 for the lowest priced entry, it’s hard to beat. It gets four star reviews on Amazon with over 50,000 users reporting. Thousands of reviewers on Google Shopping give the tablet 4.5 out of 5 stars. The $40 version is an 8GB, 7 inch Wi-Fi model. The catch is that “special offers” (read “ads”) display from time to time on the device’s lock screen. In other words, when it’s in “sleep” mode it becomes a little billboard in your home. Without the built-in ads, the price for the basic model jumps to $54.99. That still makes it #1 of all the cheapest tablets out there. Shoppers can even get one used for under $30. Just check the “used” options on Amazon or Google Shopping.

2. Dell Venue: $80

The Dell Venue is #2 on our cheapest tablets list. Models 7 and 8 were first released in 2013. The “8 7000” came out in 2015. There’s at least one version of the 7 for sale on Amazon for $80, though other offers go as high as $250 depending on the specs. The Venue isn’t quite as popular as the other tablets on our list, but the addition of an optional click-on keyboard is a deal-sealer for a lot of shoppers. The newest model, the 8 7000, isn’t extremely expensive either, with some stripped-down models selling for as little as $200. We found several used offers of that model for around $150.

3. Samsung Galaxy Tab: $99

The third of the cheapest tablets on our list is the Samsung Galaxy Tab series. These tablets were first released in 2010 with the “Galaxy Tab” and “Galaxy Tab 7.0” models. Versions 7-10 came out in 2010 and 2011, with versions 2-4 released in 2012-2014. From 2014 through 2015 came the newer models Pro, then S, A, E and S2. The E Lite 7-Inch 8GB sells on Amazon for $99. It gets 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon but wasn’t a big seller. The more popular and slightly older A sells for $140 new. That one gets 4.5 stars from over a thousand users. The cheapest S2 is $299, so that kicks it out of the realm of the “cheapest tablets” category. Several good used options are available online for as low as $230.

Also see: What’s the Cheapest iPhone?

Cheapest Tablets: You’ll Pay from $40 $200

At the time of our research, the cheapest tablets on the market are the Amazon Fire series, with prices from $40 to $180 depending on screen size and memory. Other low priced tablets run from $98 to $200. The criteria for our search were that the tablets had to be well-known brands and they had to be new. That is, they couldn’t be previously owned. They didn’t have to be the newest tablets on the market or the most powerful, etc. Just the cheapest. Another stipulation was, they couldn’t be pieces of no-name junk that no one likes. By those guidelines, the best, cheapest tablets almost all come from Amazon and Samsung. Samsung makes a very popular, well-reviewed tablet called the Tab. Almost all of those get 4.5 stars on Amazon and Google Shopping. That’s slightly better than the Amazon Fire.

4. Google Nexus: $120

The Google Nexus is fourth on our list of cheapest tablets. At three times the price of the Amazon Fire it’s certainly not cheap, but it still beats a lot of tablets out there. Like the Fire and the Galaxy Tab, it has several versions. The cheapest is the Nexus 7, released in 2013. The tablet ranks high on review sites across the board and is also a hit with users on Amazon and Google Shopping. The 2012 version of the Nexus 7 retails new for about $120 new and has a 7 inch screen and 8GB of memory. There’s a 2013 version of the 7, but that costs about twice as much. The newest Google Nexus is the Nexus 9. The cheapest of that model runs for $375 new. Used 7’s can be had for as low as $30 on Amazon and Newegg. Used 9’s start at about $210.

5. LG G: $120

Tied for fourth place on our list of cheapest tablets is the LG G. Like the other offerings above, this tablet has a range of options and models. At the high end of the range is the 10.1, first released in 2014 and costing $158 to $174. All the LG tablets get excellent reviews, scoring 4.5 stars out of 5 on Amazon and Google Shopping and getting high marks from several online reviewers. The cheapest of the line is the LG G 7, selling for as low as $120 new, with used options going as low as $65 online.

Related: Cheapest Watches for Sale on Amazon

iPad Mini 2

This wouldn’t be much of a cheapest tablets list if we didn’t include Apple. Apple tends to shun the lower price ranges. The least expensive model they currently have for sale is the iPad mini 2 for $269. We did find a discontinued iPad 2 still in the box at Newegg for $199. There are also some refurbished iPad mini 2’s on sale direct from Apple for $229. We found several good used offers for the mini 2 on Amazon and Google Shopping for around $150. As far as Apple goes, that’s rock bottom for an iPad.

Why Buy Used?

Anyone who really wants the cheapest tablets up for sale shouldn’t shy away from used. Tablets are solid state, which means they have no moving parts that can wear out. In most cases their screens hold up pretty well over time. As long as they’re not visibly cracked or damaged, a used tablet can serve just as well as a new one, especially for someone on a budget. We found several used, good tablets anywhere from $25 to $250 online. To see what we’re talking about, just type any of the brand or model names above into Amazon’s search box. The “used” options will show up right under the new ones. To search used goods at Google shopping, include the word “used” with the product name in the search box. Don’t forget to do a check on eBay too.

Consider Buying a Tablet Under Contract

The cheapest tablets in terms of up front money are almost always purchased under contract. The shopper still pays for the tablet, but the cost is folded into an increased monthly payment to a carrier like AT&T or Sprint. A quick search of all the major carriers turned up several “free” tablets online. The cheapest were all AT&T 2-year contracts. The exact monthly payments depended on multiple plan details. Full disclosure: the author doesn’t take any money from AT&T and the author’s boss didn’t have anything to do with this article or research.

Related: 35 iPhone Apps That Will Save You Money Now

The Cheapest Tablets We Don’t Trust: $30 to $35

Maybe you’re not looking for the cheapest popular tablet or the least expensive one that lots of people love. Maybe you’re making a home movie and you just need the lowest priced tablets you can find as props. Or maybe you’re planning to give them out as Christmas presents at a party and you don’t want to spend a lot. Maybe you’ll even get lucky and they’ll work. The cheapest tablets we found are in the table below. They have names like Avater, Skytex and Ogima. They won’t make you the envy of all the tech snobs on the block but they’re cheap and yes, they’re tablets.