Best-value tablets for Android and iPadOS

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Android and iPadOS tablets with the best value for your money

In addition to being tricky, buying a tablet on a budget can be stressful for a few reasons.
It starts off with the sheer quantity of choice that you have to deal with. If you visit any online retailer, you’ll soon see hundreds of options that promise excellent performance for a low price.
Aside from that, we have tested more tablets than we care to count, and we can tell you that most tablets at this price point are hard to recommend, even if they are affordable. If you visit our tablets review page, you’ll find a wide variety of tablets with middling reviews.
In our testing, our reviewers often find poor battery life, poor build quality, laggy performance, dim, lifeless screens, and poor performance that ruin the enjoyment of riding the train with a movie.

Honor Pad 8

With this guide, we help you avoid purchasing a sub-par tablet.
A member of our product review team has used each of the tablets on this list for at least one week, during which we tested each tablet in the lab and in real life. As a result, we can offer accurate advice on all the key metrics, such as whether a device is durable for kids, whether it has a long battery life, and whether you can play your favorite games on it.
We have guides for the best iPad, best Android tablet, best tablet for kids, and best tablet for adults, in case you don’t find what you’re looking for.

Honor Pad 8 Review

You can’t go wrong with the Honor Pad 8 if you want a great value tablet that runs Android. In spite of its low price, the tablet packs some unique features. The biggest benefit, however, is the 12-inch screen, which is unique.
In a tablet at this price range, the Honor Pad 8 has a big screen that sets it apart from the competition. In our tests, it delivered a quality movie viewing experience similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, but with better blacks and HDR performance. In combination with its robust speakers, the tablet provided an immersive movie watching experience.
Furthermore, despite the tablet’s middling Snapdragon 680 chipset CPU, we didn’t notice any noticeable slowdown when using the device, something we experience frequently on tablets at this price point.
A tablet buyer on a budget can easily recommend the Tab 8 if they are looking for a tablet that offers long battery life, providing over 10 hours of screen time during our testing.

*We do our best to give you the correct and best prices, but prices may change at any time without prior notice.

Apple iPad 9

Apple iPad 9 Review

We recommend the iPad 9 to buyers on a budget because it is the cheapest Apple tablet. We weren’t as impressed by the iPad 9 as we were with its lighter, more powerful iPad Air 2022, but it remains the best value option if you want an Apple device.
Its screen doesn’t have a variable refresh rate and its bezel is undeniably chunky, but at this price, it’s hard to find a better option, especially if you’re an Apple fan. With its sharpest Retina Display, you’ll be able to watch Netflix on the go thanks to its reliable black levels and high maximum brightness.
In addition to being sturdy, the tablet comes with a variety of cases, including a couple with keyboards, so it’s an excellent choice for older kids who need a device for both schoolwork and entertainment.
If you aren’t editing video or working with vector graphics, you won’t experience any performance issues with the iPad 9 thanks to the A13 Bionic chip. Despite being cheap compared to Apple standards, the iPad 9 is still the most expensive device on this list, so we cannot recommend it for young children because it is still the most expensive.

*We do our best to give you the correct and best prices, but prices may change at any time without prior notice.

Realme Pad

Realme Pad Review

The Android tablets aren’t optimized for big screens, so their apps can be a little clunky, especially if you need to work on an office or creative project. But if you just want to watch Netflix or read the morning headlines on a cheap tablet, then the Realme Pad is a good option.
As we tested, we were impressed with the tablet’s performance, despite its low price. In contrast to many cheaper tablets we’ve reviewed, the Realme Pad is made from aluminium instead of plastic. This made it feel much stronger and better constructed than any other tablet at this price that we’ve reviewed.
We enjoyed watching movies and playing games on the 10.4-inch screen, which provided sharp resolution, good colour reproduction, and enough contrast to immerse us. It doesn’t come close to matching the brightness levels of the iPad 9, but that is the only real downside.
It offers about 10 hours of screen time with regular use, which is the same as what we received with the iPad 9.

Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids

Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Review

In spite of not being a technological marvel, even by affordable standards, the device impressed our reviewer for a number of reasons. The kids-oriented bumper case was nearly indestructible. Our over-excited toddler threw rage and animated “touch” inputs at the device but it easily survived everything.
For the first two years after purchase, Amazon lets you get a replacement unit if it breaks due to a no-questions-asked return policy.
As a result, our reviewer was impressed by the tablet’s robust parental controls and app store, making it the best option for parents looking for a device that will keep their children entertained for a long time.