There’s never been a better time to buy a 4K monitor than now. Ultra HD monitors have already entered the realm of mass availability due to the vast popularity of 4K content in the last few years. If you could buy a decent 4K monitor a couple of years back for at least $500, now you have an impressive selection of UHD monitors for under $300. And as the holiday season is almost at the door, with Black Friday 2019 deals and Cyber Monday sales there is a fat chance to get a 4K monitor of your dreams for even a lower price. Better not let this opportunity go to waste and get familiar with the best budget 4K monitors that 4K Download team selected!

ASUS MG28UQ 4K UHD 28-Inch FreeSync Gaming Monitor

Price: $325 ( Amazon)

ASUS is widely known for making gaming-specific monitors of high quality, and this model is a great example. The design is nothing to write home about, just a regular monitor, but its advantage is in its value. The MG28UQ comes in with 28-inch display that supports 4K (3840x2160 pixels) for maximum visual quality and immersion when you are gaming. The size is just right, it’s not too big to put on your desk and not too small for all your friends to watch you play from across the room.

Whether you are gaming or watching a video in 4K, it’s crucial there are no screen tears and inconsistent frame rates that ruin the experience during scenes with fast-moving action. The ASUS MG28UQ monitor has a 1ms response time that prevents performance-based lagging and uses Adaptive FreeSync technology that was designed to improve the frame rate consistency. FreeSync coordinates the refresh rate of the monitor with the frame-rate output of a GPU and instead of drawing frames at a fixed rate, it draws only when a full frame is delivered. As a result you get smooth visuals even during a heated online multiplayer match. Overall, this model is worth the attention of every PC gaming enthusiast looking for a fairly affordable 4K monitor with advanced features. 

Samsung U28E590D 28-Inch 4K UHD LED-Lit Monitor

Price: $309 ( Amazon)

The U28E590D model is a solid monitor by Samsung that offers a lifelike picture quality. It supports a whopping 1 billion colors and uses 8 million pixels to deliver detailed and natural-looking images with smooth transition between different tones. Motion blurring, image tearing and stuttering during fast moving scenes are prevented by AMD FreeSync technology and 1ms response time. Rich colors and steady visuals allow to experience your games and 4K videos at a new level, giving a feeling like you are actually there.

Apart from immersive visuals, this monitor provides the possibility to multitask with ease. With PiP (Picture-in-Picture) 2.0 technology, you can simultaneously watch movies on the main window and work on your document in the floating window. The latter appears above the main window and allows for combining basically tasks you can and want to do on a computer. It’s adjustable to any size and position for your convenience. What’s more, this monitor supports connectivity for multiple Ultra HD devices, such as gaming consoles and computers. It has three inputs, two for HDMI and one Its HDMI v.2.0 supports UHD resolutions at a 60Hz refresh rate, ensuring that any 4K content plays without delay. 

LG 27UD58-B 27-Inch 4K UHD FreeSync IPS Monitor

Price: $310 ( Amazon)

This IPS monitor provides bright and sharp colors, fine details and clarity that all 4K display shoppers look for. It has a lot of features gamers would appreciate, such as Black Stabilizer, Game Mode and FreeSync. There is an adjustment button on the monitor for quick parameters setting at your fingertips, with no need to look for and go through buried menus. Videos and images are eye-popping and text is smooth-rendered on this 27UD58-B model. 

However, when it comes to 4K gaming, there are certain limits. The response time is only 5ms, which is pretty slow to get a fully immersive gaming experience. Some ghosting and stuttering are inevitable during high intensity and FPS gaming. FreeSync technology is not available through HDMI, so you can only get up to a 60Hz refresh rate by connecting through DisplayPort. It’s not a perfect 4K monitor as is, but it’s a great entry-level option for the price, best suited for web design, still image editing, sound production, coding and other data work.

AOC U3277PWQU 32-Inch VA Display 4K UHD Monitor

Price: $329 ( Amazon)

AOC is not as established as ASUS, Samsung and LG, but it shouldn’t turn a value shopper away as this company produces quality monitors for an affordable price. For starters, the U3277PWQU model comes in 32″ size at the same price point as the models of smaller size offered by the well-known brands. It has a non-glare VA (Vertical Alignment) screen that provides amazing color depth, brightness, contrast and wider viewing angles than IPS panels, such as the LG 27UD58-B model that was previously mentioned in our list. 

This 4K monitor has a 4ms response time, 16:9 aspect ratio, 50M:1 dynamic contrast ratio, and it boasts over 1 billion colors. It uses Flicker-free technology to reduce eye fatigue and discomfort that consequently comes after looking at the monitor for long periods of time. The U3277PWQU model comes with two 3-watt speakers and an audio line-in/headphone out. Other connections include VGA, DVI, HDMI, Display Port, two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports, and a charger port. HDMI is MHL-enabled in this model, meaning you can connect your smartphone or other device, stream media from it onto the screen and charge the device at the same time. Gamers, photographers, designers and everybody else in need of a bigger 4K monitor that provides impeccable color and detail, wide viewing and tons of connectivity options, will surely appreciate this AOC monitor.

Philips 276E8VJSB 27-Inch 4K UHD IPS Monitor

Price: $249 ( Amazon)

If you are looking for the cheapest 4K monitor, that would be this Philips 276E8VJSB model. Philips is widely known TV manufacturer but not as established on the computer monitor market. Nevertheless, Philips is making its way into it by offering considerably lower prices that the competitors. It’s designed to deliver great image quality, on par with the other monitors featured in this article. Though it won’t impress FPS gamers, as the response rate and other specs are shaved down in comparison with more expensive models (hence the affordability), but it’s good for casual gaming in 4K resolution that doesn’t involve fast-motion scenes. 

The display has ultra-narrow borders that allow for maximum viewing size and gives the feeling of using one large bezel-free screen. You won’t find any other 4K monitor with such a thin bezel at this price point. The panel itself is quite thin too, as well as lightweight, so you can easily move it around without breaking your back. Another thing we love about it is that the OSD joystick instead of a button layout commonly present on budget models, so the settings adjustment is easy and at hand. Connectivity is rather limited, having only dual HDMI slots, Display Port and an audio jack. Still, it’s enough to hook up a PC and two gaming consoles. The overall build quality for the 276E8VJSB is by no means top-notch or impressive, but it’s quite reasonable considering the cost. 

Before you buy a 4K monitor, make sure that your computer or console has the necessary hardware to run games at 4K resolution. Check the compatibility of your GPU with the 4K monitor of choice before making a purchase, otherwise you will have to spend extra money on suitable video card to make it all work as you expected.

After you buy a 4K monitor, you will most likely want to get as much of 4K content as possible to get that immersive, unique experience the monitor manufacturers promise. The easiest way is to download videos from YouTube, Vimeo and other sites with  4K Video Downloader. It supports HD 1080p, 2K, 4K 60 fps and even 8K resolutions and downoads videos in various formats, including MP4, MKV, FLV and 3GP.