Top 10 Best Budget Tablets Under $300

You might be lowering your expectations for buying a tablet under $300, but the scenario has totally changed now. There are a lot of budget tablets available in the market which offers better overall performance and usability for the price as low as $300. Well, they might not be the best tablets in the market with top-notch specifications and latest features, but they can surely help you to get your every day works done and keep you entertained. So, what are the best tablets under $300 available to buy? Let’s find them out!
There are plenty of choices available for tablets under $300 and we know how difficult it is to pick the best tablet from all of them. To reduce your efforts and save your time, we have featured list of our top 10 picks for best tablets under $300 in accordance of performance, hardware specifications, build quality and other important factors.
Best Tablets Under 300 Dollars – Top Picks
SUMMARY
Top 10 Best Budget Tablets Under $300 | Size |
---|---|
Huawei MediaPad M5 | 8.4″ |
Apple iPad 10.2 (Latest Model) | 10.2″ |
ASUS ZenPad 3S | 9.7″ |
Samsung Galaxy Tab A | 10.1″ |
iPad Mini (Latest Model) | 7.9″ |
Lenovo Tab 4 Plus (Wi-Fi + LTE) | 10.1″ |
ASUS ZenPad S8 | 8″ |
CHUWI Hi10 X | 10.1″ |
Microsoft Surface 3 | 10.8″ |
LG GPad II | 10.1″ |
1. Huawei MediaPad M5
Tablets are great for media consumption and the Huawei MediaPad M5 reflects it with its sharp and bright display and Harman-Kardon certified loudspeakers. That said, the Huawei MediaPad M5 is our most recommended tablet under $300 for media consumption, we can also call it an affordable iPad Mini 4 running on Android OS. Just like iPads, the Huawei MediaPad M3 highlights a stylish narrow bezel and light-weight uni-body aluminium design and this is where it stands out from most of the android tablets in the market.
Moreover, the performance is as impressive as its design with the Hi-Silicon Octa-Core Processor and 4GB RAM for flawless multi-tasking and gaming. There’s also a fingerprint sensor on the physical home button to enhance the security of tablet and to make secure and fast online payments. On a conclusive note we didn’t notice any downside of this tablet and hence the Huawei MediaPad M5 is one of our top recommendations for tablets under $300.
Hardware Specifications of Huawei MediaPad M5 | |
Processor | Hisilicon Kirin 960 Octa-Core Chipset |
RAM | 4 GB RAM |
Storage | 64 GB (expandable upto 256GB) |
Display | 8.4 Inch IPS LCD with 2560 x 1600 Resolution |
Camera | Rear – 13 MP | Front – 8 MP | Full HD Video Recording |
Operating System | Android 8.0 Oreo |
Battery Life | 11 hours |
Weight | 0.68 lbs |
2. Apple iPad 10.2″ (Latest Model)
iPad’s latest model is the premium tablet from Apple which offers a perfectly balanced performance packed inside its beautiful metallic unibody design. It may not be able to prove it by specs on paper but the real-world performance of apps and games on this tablet is far better than many other Android tablets in the same price range. It is powered by Apple’s A10 Fusion Chip which is outstanding for handling powerful apps, gaming, and photo and video editing and it has got 2GB of RAM which still manages to keep apps and games running in the background to easily switch and work on them simultaneously. The model particularly falling at $300 price range comes with 32GB onboard storage which is very low and that’s the only and major drawback of this tablet. Well, there is a 128GB variant available for this iPad but it is priced above 300 dollars.
The new iPad is optimized especially for students for taking notes and stuff as it supports Apple Pencil now. With the Apple Pencil, students can quickly write down the points in the classroom on their iPad. Moreover, artists and illustrators can also now use the iPad 10.2 with the support of Apple Pencil. Hence, the new iPad is surely one of the best and most capable tablets under $300 to buy right now.
Hardware Specifications of Apple iPad Latest Model – Best iPad Under $300 | |
Processor | Apple A10 Fusion |
RAM | 2 GB RAM |
Storage | 32GB |
Display | 10.2-inch Retina display with 2160 x 1620 Resolution |
Camera | Rear- 8MP | Front- 1.2MP |
Operating System | iPad OS 13.4.1 |
Battery Life | 10 hours |
Weight | 10.7 lbs |
Note: As the title says “best tablet under $300”, the iPad 10.2 is priced slightly above $300. We mentioned this iPad on the list because if you were to buy a tablet of $300, then why not spend a few more bucks and get better value in return.
3. ASUS ZenPad 3S
If you are a student or a businessman who is looking for a stylish and powerful tablet at an affordable price then the ASUS ZenPad 3S is the perfect tablet for your everyday requirements. It has a 9.7-inch 2K display on the front which delivers bright and accurate colors with excellent viewing angles. Beneath the tablet, there is Mediatek MT8176 Hexa-Core chipset and 4GB RAM, making it really punchy and responsive to use. For gaming, there is an integrated graphics processor under the hood that delivers smooth and immersive gaming experience and handles all the latest games with ease. The 5900 mAh battery is massive to keep the entertainment going throughout the day. With Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology, the ZenPad 3S can be juiced up in just a few hours. On the front, it also has a finger-print sensor which lets you unlock your tablet in a fraction of seconds, providing the perfect blend of security and convenience. Overall, the ASUS ZenPad 3S is one of the best tablets under $300 price-range, providing the best mixture of work and play.
Comparing it with Apple’s iPad Pro, the ZenPad 10S comes at half the price of iPad Pro with the same screen size and resolution and is also thinner and lighter in weight. The ZenPad 10S comes with 64GB of internal storage, that is double of iPad Pro’s base model and you can also further expand it upto 128GB.
Hardware Specifications of ASUS ZenPad 10S | |
Processor | 2.1 GHz MediaTek MT8176 Hexa-Core Processor |
RAM | 4 GB RAM |
Storage | 64 GB |
Display | 9.7 Inch IPS Display with 2048 x 1536 Resolution |
Camera | Rear- 8MP | Front- 5MP |
Operating System | Android 6.0 Marshmallow (upgradable to Android 7.0 Nougat) |
Battery Life | 10 hours |
Weight | 0.90 lbs |
4. Samsung Galaxy Tab A
Samsung Galaxy Tab A is the perfect all-purpose tablet in $300 price range. It has got a lot of unique and useful features which makes it a perfect tablet for all types of uses. The best feature of this tablet is, it comes with Samsung’s Kids subscription which gives access to a lot of apps, games, and books that are specially made for kids to help them learn on their own with this tablet. As a parent, you can set a time limit of usage of the tablet and also block apps or features which might not be good or safe for your children. Apart from that, it is still a complete Android tablet that can be used for other day-to-day uses. It has 10.1 inches of high-resolution display which is perfect for outdoor as well as indoor usage.
It comes with Samsung’s own Exynos 7904 chipset with 1.6GHz Octa-Core Processor and it is paired with sufficient 2GB of RAM for efficient multitasking. It features an 8MP rear camera that is capable to take pretty great quality photos and videos and its 5MP front camera is also ideal for video calling. It runs Android 9.0 Pie straight out of the box and it is also in the queue to receive the latest Android updates. For storing all your work files, favorite movies, and games, it provides 64GB of inbuilt storage and it also features a microSD card slot to increase its memory.
Hardware Specifications of Samsung Galaxy Tab A – Best Tablet Overall Under 300 Dollars | |
Processor | Exynos 7904 1.6 GHz Octa-Core Processor |
RAM | 2 GB RAM |
Storage | 64 GB |
Display | 10.1 Inch TFT with 1920 x 1200 Resolution |
Camera | Rear- 8MP, 1080p | Front- 5MP, 1080p |
Operating System | Android 9.0 Pie |
Battery Life | 10 hours |
Weight | 1.03 lbs |
Samsung Galaxy Tab A is the perfect general-purpose tablet or a tablet for home or for kids. It is also a complete package for businessmen because it weighs just 1.03 pounds and it can run up to 10 hours on a single charge of battery. We think Samsung Galaxy Tab A is among the few tablets under $300 which will live up to the expectations of most people.
The Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Plus is equipped with 3 GB RAM and Snapdragon 652 octa-core chipset, together provides best in class performance. Along with 32 GB internal storage we also have micro SD card slot which can be further expanded upto 256 GB. Its sharp 10.1 inch display of 2560 x 1600 resolution produces bright and vivid colors, making it easy to use in outdoor conditions. Compared to its competitors, Yoga Tab 3 Plus has got one of the best cameras (13 MP) which takes some pretty great shots. The JBL powered speaker on bottom is very loud and provides immersive experience while watching movies. Lenovo claims that the tablet lasts long upto 18 hours on single charge. On a simple note, the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Plus is one of the best 10 inch tablets under $300 for media consumption and everyday use.
5. Apple iPad Mini (Latest Model)
The iPad Mini is currently one of the most popular small form-factor tablets on the market. Comparing it to its predecessor, the newer version offers more value to its users for the price, an improved camera, high power, and much more. The iPad Mini comes equipped with Apple’s A12 Bionic Chipset which is perfect for gaming, video editing, and other demanding tasks coming down the road. The 7.9″ display with the resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels is more than enough for an 8″ tablet delivering extremely sharp visibility of texts. The colors are bright and vivid too making it ideal for photography and binge-watching.
Overall, the iPad Mini is a decent mid-sized tablet as long as you want an iPad that is more portable because the bigger 10.2″ iPad offers more processing power, specifications and support for Apple Pencil for nearly the same price, but you’ll be sacrificing portability if you opt for the 10.2″ iPad. In real-time usage, you won’t notice any difference between these two iPads except the screen size, so you just need to figure out what screen size you want for your requirements.
Hardware Specifications of Apple iPad Mini (Latest Model) | |
Processor | Apple A12 Bionic Chipset |
RAM | 3 GB RAM |
Storage | 64 GB |
Display | 7.9-inch Retina display with 2048 x 1536 Resolution |
Camera | Rear- 8 MP | Front- 7 MP |
Operating System | iPad OS 13.4.1 |
Battery Life | 10 hours |
Weight | 0.65 lbs |
6. Lenovo Tab 4 Plus (Wi-Fi + LTE)
The Lenovo Tab 4 is the latest offering from the Lenovo. It is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 chipset and 2GB RAM which together takes care of the overall seamless performance of the device. Switching between the apps is very smooth and efficient without losing the data stored in RAM, thanks to Android 7.0 Nougat. For gaming, we have a dedicated Adreno 506 GPU which powers up the gaming performance and supports all the latest games with ease.
On the front, we have bright 10.1″ display which has the resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels which is very sharp and clear, the brightness and color contrast is very rich with slightly saturated colors. The display is easily visible even in outdoor conditions, thanks to its bright and vivid panel on front. If we talk about the build quality, it is very strong and feels sturdy to hold in hand. For students and businessmen, Microsoft Office comes pre-installed so that they can start their work straight out of the box. Moreover, it also supports cellular connectivity, meaning now you can stay connected to the Internet even when you are away from your Wi-Fi. Overall, the Lenovo Tab 4 Plus is a well build budget tablet under $300 that provides decent specifications.
Hardware Specifications of Lenovo Tab 4 Plus | |
Processor | 2.0 GHz Snapdragon 625 Octa-Core Processor |
RAM | 4 GB RAM |
Storage | 16 GB (expandable upto 256 GB) |
Display | 10.1″ Inch Full HD display with 1920 x 1200 Resolution |
Camera | Rear- 8 MP | Front- 5 MP |
Operating System | Android 7.0 Nougat |
Battery Life | 11 hours |
Weight | 1 lbs |
7. Asus ZenPad S8
Asus ZenPad S is one of the best tablets under $300, that you can buy today. It is sleek and good looking android tablet which offers powerful set of hardware specifications for the price. With that said, this is the only tablet in this price range that comes with industry standard 4GB of RAM and that makes it capable to handle all your multitasking, gaming and other similar demanding works. It also offers 64GB of inbuilt storage which can be further expanded via microSD card slot up to 128GB. It is powered by 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 Quad-Core Processor which manages all of its power pretty efficiently to run Android 5.0 Lollipop without any hiccups on this device. Build quality of this tablet is also very solid to resist everyday wears and tears. It has metallic black texture on back and leather finishing on the edges which makes this tablet less-slippery and gives the confidence to hold it with one hand and on front there’s high resolution 8-inch IPS display with QXGA resolution.
Hardware Specifications of ASUS ZenPad S 8 – Best Tablet Under $300 | |
Processor | Intel Atom Z3580 2.3GHz Quad-Core 64-bit Processor |
RAM | 4 GB RAM |
Storage | 64 GB |
Display | 8 Inch IPS Display with 2048 x 1536 Resolution |
Camera | Rear- 8 MP | Front- 5 MP |
Operating System | Android 5.0 Lollipop |
Battery Life | 8 hours |
Weight | 0.6 lbs |
Asus ZenPad S offers lot more than what it asks for. Its high-end specs, slim form factor and relatively low price makes other tablets in same price range lay down and that makes Asus ZenPad S, a clear winner and hence it is one of the best android tablet under 300 dollars that you can buy right now.
8. CHUWI Hi10 X
CHUWI Hi10 X portable notebook. Due to its versatility and portability which it offers with its powerful set of specifications, this 2-in-1 tablet is worth considering while buying a tablet under $300. It is the best tablet for college students, businessmen, or anyone who has to commute a lot every day. It is a tablet with 10 inch IPS display which can be attached with the keyboard provided in the box to use it as a laptop when you want to type long documents or emails. The keyboard also has a pretty responsive and spacious touchpad to use Windows 10 on this tablet comfortably. The processor fitted under the hood this tablet is also from Intel and it is a Quad-Core Processor that outputs enough power to comfortably work with all your software and apps. It has a laptop-like 6GB RAM which is a huge plus to have and that makes this tablet the most powerful tablet among all others in $300 price range.
Hardware Specifications of CHUWI Hi10 X – Best Tablet Under $300 | |
Processor | Intel Gemini-Lake N4100 Quad-Core Processor |
RAM | 6 GB RAM |
Storage | 128 GB eMMC |
Display | 10.1 inch IPS LCD with 1920 x 1200 Resolution |
Camera | Front & Rear |
Operating System | Windows 10 |
Battery Life | 11 hours |
Weight | 2.29 lbs with keyboard |
CHUWI Hi10 X weighs 2.29lbs with keyboard and it has a battery backup of 11 hours. So overall CHUWI Hi10 X is a pretty nice package for all power users.
9. Microsoft Surface 3
Well, we have Surface Pro 4 currently out in the market but Microsoft’s 2 years back flagship – Surface 3 is still giving tough competition to all the budget tablets priced under $300. Of course, it has a premium build quality as it is manufactured by Microsoft itself and it also packs well-balanced power inside to get through all your everyday tasks. It has 10.8-inch widescreen Full HD Multi-Touch display which is largest among all the tablets in 300 dollars price range. Well, some people may not like this huge tablet worrying about the weight of it, but it weighs just 1.37 pounds so it’s still a feather-light, despite of being the largest tablet in the segment.
Under the hood, there is powerful Quad-Core Intel Atom Processor and 4GB of RAM which makes apps and games fly on Windows 10 in this tablet. It has 64GB of SSD storage which can be further expanded via microSD card slot provided on the tablet. It also includes USB 3.0 and micro HDMI ports to easily connect USB mouse or keyboard and a projector to deliver presentations respectively. You can also buy Power Cover for Surface 3 from Microsoft which has a mechanical keyboard, touchpad and also extra battery to juice tablet for a couple of more hours.
Hardware Specifications of Microsoft Surface 3 – Best 10-inch Tablet Under 300 Dollars | |
Processor | Intel Atom x7-Z8700 1.60 GHz (Quad Core, 4 threads, Turbo 2.40 GHz, 2MB Cache) |
RAM | 4 GB RAM |
Storage | 64 GB SSD |
Display | 10.8 Inch Full HD Touchscreen Display with 1920 x 1080 Resolution |
Camera | 8 MP |
Operating System | Windows 10 Professional |
Battery Life | 10 hours |
Weight | 1.37 lbs |
Microsoft Surface 3 is the best windows tablet for productivity. It can be best travel partner because of its lightweight chassis and even it can be the best tablet for school for students to complete assignments, take notes, surfing the web.
10. LG GPad II
LG G Pad II is one of the most beautifully designed tablet under 300 dollars. It has got nice plastic casing on the back which looks and feels like metal but it is actually glossy so it is a fingerprint magnet. It is also a 10 inch tablet so bigger form factor hence lesser easy to hold it with one hand. The display on this tablet is really crispy with full HD resolution and color accuracy of it is also very good. It has Snapdragon 800 chip inside which powers this tablet pretty efficiently and its 2GB of RAM ensures smoother performance in every work you throw at it. It comes with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop operating system and LG has already sent Marshmallow update to this tablet so you’ll straightaway get the notification to update the OS when you’ll connect this tablet to wifi for first time. It comes with 16GB of storage which is very low but that’s fine because it has microSD card slot to expand its memory further and it is decently specced, considering the price of this tablet.
Hardware Specifications of LG Electronics G Pad II Tablet | |
Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Processor |
RAM | 2 GB RAM |
Storage | 16 GB |
Display | 10.1 Inch IPS LCD with 1920 x 1200 Resolution |
Camera | Rear- 5 MP | Front- 2 MP |
Operating System | Android 5.1.1 Lollipop |
Battery Life | 10 hours |
Weight | 1.07 lbs |
LG G Pad II is one of the most premium looking budget tablet available to buy right now and because of its fast quad core CPU and other unique features like reader mode and dual window support, this android tablet is promising and worth every cent you spend on it.
These were our top picks of best tablets under $300. Each and every aforementioned tablet are excelling each other in one way or another. Read our short reviews of each and go with the tablet that suits best to your everyday requirements. Consider your purpose of buying the tablet, screen size, and your preferred operating system while selecting the tablet from our list.
Our Bonus Recommendations For Tablets Under $300
• Fire HD 10
Fire HD 10 is the great value for money tablet for anyone on budget. From entertainment to work, it excels in all types of everyday needs of people. It has a full metal body with glass in front which makes this tablet look and feel premium. Its 10.1 inch HD display is sharp and eye-friendly for watching movies and reading books. Its quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM can handle multitasking and advanced graphics games pretty easily. It has a 5MP rear camera which is surprisingly good to take pictures and front-facing HD camera is also great for video calling. Android tablets are good but there are so many perks of choosing this Fire HD tablet over Android tablets, especially if you consume a lot of media everyday. The reason behind it is, all Fire tablets come with Amazon Underground which gives $2,000 worth of apps, games and books for free! It also comes with one month free trial of Amazon Prime which will let you stream all hit movies, TV episodes and lot more in full HD for a month. Fire OS Bellini is a feature-rich operating system with some of the most useful features like reading mode. On enabling it, display reduces the emission of blue light for less eye-straining book reading experience. It also comes with parental control settings to restrict the use of this tablet from kids partially or fully.
Key Specifications:
- MediaTek 1.8 GHz Quad-Core Processor
- 2 GB RAM
- 16GB / 32 GB
- 10.1 Inch IPS LCD with 1920 x 1200 Resolution
- Fire OS 5
We hope this tablet buying guide help you to buy the best tablet under 300 dollars for yourself. In case if you need more tablet recommendations from us, then we suggest you check our buying guide for 8-inch tablets and buying guide for tablets under $400.
Hi Mike!
So I’m a college student who’s a film major. I wanted to find a tablet that would work for taking notes and occasionally editing videos. I assume I’ll also use it for playing games. As previously stated, I am a college student so funds are tight. What would you recommend for under $300?
Hey Megan,
For the requirements you mentioned, I think the iPad 2017 Model will be best. It is powered by Apple A9 chipset which can easily render videos up to 1080p in iMovie or any other video editing app from the App Store. And as far as gaming is concerned, the iPad 2017 Model features PowerVR GT7600 (six-core graphics) under the hood which will let you play any game at highest graphics settings with ease.