5 Best Portable Projectors under $150

The 5 Best Projectors under $150 in 2022 (Compared)

Today we are looking for the best portable projector under $150. We have looked at many Projectors on here before, but today we are going micro and while I have put 150 bucks as a price limit, let me tell you that the majority of the portable projectors we will be looking at today come nowhere near that kind of price range. So, keep on reading if you want some big cinema screen style fun, but at a much more affordable price.

The 5 Best Projectors Under $150 Reviews

I mentioned earlier that both my kids have portable projectors so I have made sure to include those two here. However, I also had a good look over at Amazon and found three other portable projectors that I feel are well worth checking out including a wild card pick that is double our 150 bucks limit!

  1. Mini Projector, PVO Portable Projector
  2. Mini Projector, APEMAN 5000L
  3. YABER V2 WiFi Mini Projector
  4. ELEPHAS 2020 WiFi Movie Projector
  5. KODAK Luma 350 Portable Smart Projector

Why Would I Want A Mini Projector?

This is a valid question and many people would rather some kind of 4K PROJECTOR that they can set up and just leave it in their home theatre, game room, living room, or wherever. Hell, I am right there, I have a dedicated movie and game room and have projectors in both, but a portable projector is better for someone on a tighter budget and someone who wants a projector that they can move around the house. Both my kids have a portable projector and they have a lot of fun with it. It takes up very little space and it is super easy to use.

Do I Need A Screen?

If you have a dedicated movie room then I 100 percent feel that you need a screen to get the best out of your projector. For a portable projector, I am not so set in stone that you need a screen. Most people will just view their movie or whatever on a wall or sheet and be fine with it. You can buy a portable projector that is great if you plan on having movie nights in the backyard and want a screen that can be folded up and put away. However, portable projector screens do tend to be more expensive than ones you have to actually install in your house.

1080p Turned Into 720p

One thing to watch for when you are looking to buy a portable projector is those that love to mention they support 1080p. In my experience from what I have seen most of these mini projectors say that they can support a 1080p file, but they will output at 720p or even 420p so that is something to look out for. Just because a portable projector mentions 1080p in its description does not mean the image it will be projecting will be 1080p.

Mini Projector, PVO Portable Projector

Mini Projector, PVO Portable Projector under 150

First up we have this Mini Projector, PVO Portable Projector that we purchased for my daughter on a whim. Currently, this is priced at around 70 bucks and that is a fantastic price for a projector like this. I will admit the style is very strange, but the portable size of this means it takes up next to no space. My daughter watches a ton of Disney Plus and it is very easy to use. She has her own Firestick connected to this and I have never once had to set it up for her. It has an HDMI port on it and I know that you can connect a phone to it as long as you have the right cable. This had to be on our list looking for the best portable projector under $500.

It may not put out a full 1080p HD image like you get on a TV, but the image quality is far better than you would think. I ended up watching Avengers: Infinity War on this with my daughter over Christmas break on the wall of her bedroom and it looked great. I will say that you need the room to be really dark or the image can be a bit on the dim side. Also, considering the small size the fan is way louder than you would think. It can produce an image up to 150 inches, but we have never used it that large and I would assume the image would not be the best quality at that size. The sound is about what you would expect from a projector at this price point.

What Other People Are Saying

Have a look at this video review and you can see just how compact this is along with what kind of video quality you can expect as well. Amazon has over five thousand customer reviews for this and the reception is mostly positive as there are 87 percent four and five-star reviews for this.

I can tell you from personal experience that this Mini Projector, PVO Portable Projector does all that you would want a mini projector to do. It is great if you have kids or if you want something affordable and easy to use for a quick family movie night. As long as you are realistic about the picture quality.

Pros:

  • It costs well under 100 bucks
  • It is very easy to use
  • The picture quality is way better than you would think
  • If the room is dark the picture is nice and bright

Cons:

  • The room needs to be very dark
  • It runs a little louder than you would think

Mini Projector, APEMAN 5000L

Mini Projector, APEMAN 5000L, portable projector under 150

As my daughter had her own projector, my son insisted that he needed one too. We went with this Mini Projector, APEMAN 5000L for him and it currently costs around 80 bucks. What is neat about this is that it comes with a little carrying case so it would be great to take on vacation or it works well just to keep it stored nice and safely when not in use. My son has his Xbox Series S that he got for Christmas hooked up to this and he loves it. He plays a ton of Fortnite and FIFA through this and he just uses a cheap projector screen and he has never complained about it.

As he prefers to use this over his TV, I have seen this in action a lot and I think that it delivers a very good full HD image. Video games look great through this thing, but he also watches a lot of YouTube too. I find that the room does not have to be completely pitch black for this to be useable either which is great. The sound is actually way better than I thought it would be. It produces very good stereo sound so you may not even feel the need to buy a soundbar. Even though we are only two in, this has to be on everyone’s list for the best portable projector under $150.

What Other People Are Saying

If you want to see this thing in action check out this video showcase and you can see how good value for money this mini projector is. If that is not good enough for you, Amazon has over three thousand customer reviews for this and it is currently sitting at 88 percent positive reviews.

I would never say this to my daughter, but this is the better of the two portable projectors that we have in my house! The 80 bucks price tag is an absolute steal and I have to be honest and say that even if this thing was priced at 100 to 150 bucks, it would have still made it onto this list as it is a damn fine portable projector.

Pros:

  • I love the design of this projector
  • The image is nice and bright
  • You do not have to worry about an annoyingly loud fan
  • It is very easy to use

Cons:

  • You may have to play around to get the image just right
  • The included remote does feel rather cheap

YABER V2 WiFi Mini Projector

YABER V2 WiFi Mini Portable Projector

Next up on our epic quest to find the best portable projector under $150, we have this YABER V2 WiFi Mini Projector. I have not tested this myself, but I have tested a YABER projector before and at around the 140 bucks asking point, this is just under our 150 bucks price limit. The first thing that is cool about this is that via Wi-Fi you can connect this wirelessly to your android or iOS device which for a portable projector is really handy as it means you do not have to mess around with other cables.

In looking at the “stats” this has a solid lumen number and quite high contrast for the price point and it does say it offers 720P, but it supports 1080P. We have looked at many different soundbars here on the site, but this is offering you stereo speakers so I am not 100 percent sure that you would need to bother buying a soundbar for this. From what I have seen the image quality is pretty damn decent and it would be great if you wanted a projector that you could keep stored away (thanks to its small size) and just bring it out when you need it for a family movie night or whatever.

What Other People Are Saying

I found a fantastic unboxing and review of this portable projector over at YouTube. Here you get a good idea of what the picture quality is like and I think that from what the dude shows, it does look pretty decent for a portable projector. Over at our homies Amazon, this currently has over 2 thousand reviews and 83 percent of these are for four and five stars.

The YABER V2 WiFi Mini Projector looks like a really solid portable projector that I am sure you will have a great deal of fun with. I am not sold that you would have this as a permanent projector in a home theatre, but as a projector, you can put away and get out as you need it I am sure it would be fine.

Pros:

  • Not a bad asking price
  • It offers Wi-Fi connectivity to various devices
  • Built in stereo speakers
  • Great for a family movie night

Cons:

  • The native resolution is 720P
  • Chromecast is needed to wirelessly stream stuff like Netflix

ELEPHAS 2020 WiFi Movie Projector

ELEPHAS 2020 WiFi Movie Projector, portable projector under 150

Next up we have this ELEPHAS 2020 WiFi Movie Projector which is priced at right around the 100 bucks mark. First of all, this has a sleek black design that looks cool, but I am sure the kids will love getting their greasy fingerprints all over it! The idea here is great in that you connect it to your phone wirelessly and then you can stream your favorite movies from Netflix, Disney Plus, or whatever. It also lets you connect it via cable if you wish. The thing is, you do need a Chromecast to stream stuff like Netflix so that is something to keep in mind. You can also use stuff like a Firestick or a Roku which in all honesty for me would be the preferred way to use this. 

In looking at the tech this thing offers, full 1080P support is offered so if you have a Fire Stick or a Roku you are in for a fun and easy time. It has a built-in speaker, but I am always a little suspect of these, but I do feel in a portable projector you have to be a little bit more lenient with the sound. It will need to be used in a dark room to make sure it is at its brightest, but to be fair that is the case with most other portable projectors.

What Other People Are Saying

I found this great video review where the guy describes it as cheap and cheerful. He also shows how easy it is to stream from your phone to this projector, all be it not with something like Netflix. This is a very popular projector and I know that because over at Amazon there are over four thousand reviews for this thing! 83 percent of these are positive reviews and I take that as a pretty good sign.

I think that the ELEPHAS 2020 Wi-Fi Movie Projector is worthy of a spot on our best portable projector under $500 list. I like the style of this and think that it does look pretty cool. The fact that they state this can put out 1080p is pretty great and from what I have seen the colors do appear to be nice and bright so I am sure in the right setting this will be great.

Pros:

  • I like the design of the projector
  • The asking price is more than fair
  • I like how you can connect things to it physically or wirelessly
  • It has built in stereo speakers

Cons:

  • You cannot stream stuff from Disney Plus or Netflix unless you have Chromecast
  • It looks cool, but this kind of thing is a magnet for dust and fingerprints

KODAK Luma 350 Portable Smart Projector

KODAK Luma 350 Portable Smart Projector under 150

I have used KODAK projectors before so I knew I wanted to have this KODAK Luma 350 Portable Smart Projector on here. This one is currently priced at 300 bucks so it by quite some margin is the most expensive projector on our list today, and it is way over our 150 bucks limit, but I wanted to put an extravagant one on here. What I found most appealing about this was that it is Android-based which means you can download a variety of apps directly to the projector. Some apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime video are already installed on here. You can also connect various devices such as video game consoles or a streaming stick via HDMI.

It is worth noting that while it can handle anything that is streamed at 1080p of Netflix or whatever, the projector can only output at 720p. I do feel that at this price point they perhaps could have gone that extra step and made this output in full HD. It has a built in speaker, but thanks to Bluetooth you can connect this to your soundbar if you are not too thrilled with the sound quality of the speaker.

What Other People Are Saying

If you are interested in this, I highly recommend that you check out this video review. What I like about this is that the guy plays around with the menus and shows you how it all works. It also gives you a good idea of the size of this projector too. There are close to 800 customer reviews for this over at Amazon and as of writing there are 77 percent four and five-star reviews, I must be honest here and say that I do like it better when the positive reviews are at least 80 percent.

I think that this seems like a cool projector and it is worth considering on your hunt for the best portable projector under $500. It may cost around 300 bucks, but from my experience, Kodak does make great quality stuff. I like the way it has an app store for downloading your apps. Also, many of the more popular apps such as Netflix, Prime Video, and YouTube are already installed.

Pros:

  • I like the rose gold color
  • It takes up very little space
  • Has an app store
  • Comes with popular apps pre-installed

Cons:

  • It is not full HD
  • It is the most expensive projector on our list

What Is The Best Portable Projector Under $150?

If you look at our projectors under 300 reviews, you will notice that more often than not I have a really hard time picking a clear-cut winner. This time though I do have a personal favorite and that is the Mini Projector, APEMAN 5000L. I feel that for a basic and cheap portable projector this one does all that you need it to do and it works like a charm. The Mini Projector, PVO Portable Projector is also a great projector, but I just feel that the APEMAN one needs to take the prize of being the best portable projector under $150.

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