I’m a supervising editor at Wirecutter, overseeing all of our audio and video device coverage and writing our projector guides. I am an Imaging Science Foundation Level III–certified video calibrator, and I have the full complement of objective testing gear to measure and evaluate the performance of these projectors.

For this guide:

• I have reviewed more than 20 projectors since I took over this guide in 2020, and I have researched many more.
• I follow annual trade shows like CES and CEDIA Expo to get details on new projector models and technologies.
• In accordance with Wirecutter standards, I return or donate all products I’ve tested once my assessment of them is complete. I never hang on to “freebies” once testing is done, though I do hold on to our official picks (when possible) for future comparison testing.
• Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.

A budget home theater projector is designed for anyone who wants to enjoy a cinema-like, big-screen movie experience at home but doesn’t need the improved detail of the best 4K projectors.

We focus here on projectors designed primarily for watching movies and TV shows on a big projector screen. We have a separate guide to smaller, portable projectors, which can be a good replacement for a midsize TV but lack the brightness to produce a 100-inch-plus image. Business projectors are cheaper and sometimes brighter, but that’s because they emphasize colors that appear brighter on screen in order to compete with sunlight coming through office windows, not the colors that produce the best image for movies. As a result, their images may not look realistic, with cartoonish greens, washed-out reds, and cyan-tinged blues.

Budget home theater projectors can reside in a permanent ceiling mount in a home theater, but they’re small enough that you could just set one on a stool, coffee table, or chair in the living room. They also have built-in speakers, so it’s not mandatory that you add an external audio system (though we recommend that you do). Just add a screen, and you’ll have a huge and immersive image anytime you want.

We consider the following criteria to help us decide which projectors to call in and test:

Price: This guide focuses on home theater projectors priced around $1,000 or less.

Light output: A projector’s light output (usually listed in ANSI or ISO lumens) determines not only how bright the image is but also how large an image the projector can create (image brightness decreases as the image size increases). Our focus here is on projectors that are bright enough to produce a well-saturated image on a large screen (100 inches or bigger) for a true cinema-like experience. We prefer a stated brightness spec of at least 1,000 ANSI or ISO lumens for a 100-inch screen, which disqualifies pretty much all of the cheap mini/pico projectors and portable projectors.

Note that most manufacturers’ stated brightness specs don’t correlate with real-world performance, at least not in the more accurate picture modes that people should actually use. The highest light output usually comes from a picture mode that has a strong green tint, which helps it measure brighter but doesn’t look accurate or even good. Some manufacturers of LED-based projectors state their brightness output in “LED lumens” instead of ANSI lumens in order to give a higher number.

Resolution: A projector must have at least a full HD (1920×1080) resolution for us to consider it for this guide because that allows for a big, detailed image with less chance of visible pixels. The images from 720p or 480p projectors look softer, and when such models are creating a big image (or when you’re sitting close), the pixels are visible. Most 4K projectors cost more than $1,000, but you can find a lot of projectors priced under $1,000 that accept a 4K signal and scale the resolution down to 1080p.

Setup features: A front-projection system can be trickier to set up than a TV, since you have to focus the image and adjust it to project a precise size and shape onto your screen. Generally you need to place a projector about 100 inches away from the screen to cast a 100-inch image, but a lens with zoom adjustment gives you some flexibility in the projection distance—and a higher zoom equals more flexibility.

If the projector is not directly in line with the screen, it can produce the keystone effect, which makes the image look more trapezoidal than rectangular. Pretty much all the projectors we’ve tested have digital keystone correction to help deal with this problem, and many new budget models have automatic keystone correction. But using it can reduce image clarity and add artifacts, so it’s best to avoid it whenever possible. The better projectors allow you to physically shift the lens vertically and/or horizontally to place the image more precisely without having to resort to keystone correction.

We do not require features such as a 120 Hz refresh rate or low input lag, both of which can improve gaming and sports playback but are less crucial for movie playback. But some projectors in this price range do include those features, which is a nice perk.

To evaluate each projector’s performance, we conduct both objective and subjective tests. For objective tests, we use Portrait Displays’s Calman software and C6 HDR2000 colorimeter, along with a Murideo Six-G test pattern generator, to measure each projector’s contrast ratio, light output, and color and color-temperature accuracy. We measure all the available picture modes and brightness settings to find the best combination of performance attributes. We test all the projectors for this guide on a 100-inch Silver Ticket STR Series screen.

A projector’s most important performance attribute is its contrast ratio, which is the difference between the brightest part of the image and the darkest. A high contrast ratio creates dark blacks and bright whites. A low contrast ratio creates an image that is more washed out, usually with more gray-looking blacks. No projector in this price range has a great contrast ratio, but some results are certainly better than others.

Tied in with contrast is the projector’s brightness. As we mentioned above, the projector’s brightness determines how large an image it can create, but brightness also affects the quality of the image and the types of content that look best. Lots of projectors are bright, and they perform well for everyday TV watching and gaming. But a good home theater projector that you use primarily for watching movies in a dim or dark room needs to strike a balance between the brightness and the black level. A projector’s ability to produce a dark black is crucial to good performance on movies, and many budget projectors fall short in this regard.

To judge color accuracy, we compare each projector’s performance with reference standards set by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). If a display has accurate color, that means everything you see appears more realistic and natural—and more like what the filmmakers intended. Some projectors can’t produce fully saturated colors, and they create yellows and reds that look dull next to the results from those projectors that can. Color temperature basically refers to the projector’s color of white: Does the entire image look more blue, green, or red?

Since numbers don’t reveal the whole picture, we also do qualitative comparison testing by placing projectors next to each other and sending them the same signal using an HDMI splitter. Viewing the same image side by side with identical screen sizes makes it easy for us to see differences in black level, contrast, and color.

The BenQ HT2060 is our favorite budget projector for home theater because it creates an image that’s more realistic and lifelike than that of other projectors around the same price. It offers accurate color, good image contrast, and great detail, plus enough brightness for you to watch your favorite movies on a larger screen.

The HT2060 follows in the footsteps of the now-discontinued HT2050A, which was our top pick for several years. The new model retains what we liked about the HT2050A—and improves upon it in certain respects, such as switching from a traditional bulb to a long-lasting LED light source.

The HT2060 has better contrast than most projectors under $1,000. Although this projector is not as bright as some competitors that are geared more toward living-room use, in our tests it still had plenty of light output for illuminating our 100-inch Silver Ticket screen. We measured 830 lumens in the most accurate picture mode, called Filmmaker Mode (yes, that Filmmaker Mode), which is meant for dark-room viewing.

We got 946 lumens in the Living Room mode, which has a slightly bluer color temperature (the color of white) and more saturated color that helps it pop in a room with some lights on. Like most budget projectors we tested, this model also has a Bright picture mode that’s even brighter (1,636 lumens), but it produces a very green color temperature—it’s suitable for the occasional daytime sporting event, but you wouldn’t want to watch movies in that mode.

Even with its pleasing brightness, the HT2060 renders a respectably dark black level, and the result is better contrast than most budget projectors can muster. When watching movies in a dark room, we found that the HT2060’s image looked richer, with more depth and color saturation. In our darkest Blu-ray demo scenes from Dune, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the HT2060 made blacks look actually black instead of gray.

In our measurements, this model produced a slightly deeper black level than its predecessor, but in real-world demos we found it hard to discern a difference. What we could discern was that the HT2060 did a better job of revealing the subtle shadings and fine details in dark backgrounds, which often get lost when a projector has a poor black level.

The real strength of the HT2060 lies in its color accuracy. The Filmmaker Mode measured within the desirable accuracy range in both its color temperature and its color points, no adjustment needed. This is where we saw the biggest improvement over other budget projectors, including the previous HT2050A. The older projector had pretty accurate color, but it required some fine-tuning of the picture controls on our part to get there, and its color temperature had a greenish tint in bright scenes to help it look a little brighter. The HT2060’s output looks more neutral and natural, but as a result, it measures a little less bright than the HT2050A’s output did.

The HT2060 offers some other improvements over the HT2050A. Its two HDMI inputs support the newer 2.0 spec, so it can accept 4K signals and can play HDR10 video content. Projectors generally don’t handle HDR content as well as TVs do, mostly because they just aren’t bright enough. But in our tests the HT2060 did a respectable job of showing HDR scenes from Dune, Pan, and Sicario without looking too dark or washed out.

It uses an LED light source instead of a bulb. That means you get instant on/off capabilities (no more waiting for a bulb to ramp up to full brightness) and roughly 20,000 to 30,000 hours of use, depending on the brightness mode, without having to buy replacement bulbs. This should save you some money over the life of the projector.

The HT2060 has physical lens adjustments. Many budget projectors lack lens adjustments such as physical zoom and lens-shifting dials, which help you properly position the image on your screen. Instead, these cheap projectors rely on digital zoom and keystone correction, which may seem user-friendly but can actually degrade picture quality. The more digital correction you apply to an image, the less clarity you get.

That’s why we appreciate the HT2060’s 1.3x zoom and vertical lens shift (10%)—they give you at least a little wiggle room in where you can place the projector while maintaining an undistorted image. In addition, the HT2060 has three adjustable feet for you to further fine-tune the image height and positioning.

The design is living-room friendly. The HT2060’s white cabinet is a little bigger and boxier than that of the HT2050A, but that design helps the built-in speaker sound fuller and louder. The fan noise is almost inaudible in the projector’s eco (dimmer) brightness mode, and it’s still pleasingly quiet in the normal mode.

In addition to two HDMI inputs, the connection panel has a powered USB port, which is useful for providing power to a streaming stick so you don’t have to run a power cable to that add-on. You also get analog and digital audio outputs to connect an external speaker and an RS-232 control port to integrate the projector into an advanced control system. The remote control is fully backlit and has buttons for quickly accessing many picture adjustments, but it relies on IR control rather than Bluetooth.

Because the HT2060 has a 60 Hz refresh rate, it can’t handle fast motion as smoothly and cleanly as a 120 Hz projector can. As a result, this model is generally fine for movie-watching, but gamers and sports enthusiasts may want to check out the affordable gaming projector we list in Other good projectors under $1,000—especially if you mostly enjoy those types of content with the room lights on. For gaming, we did measure a respectably low input lag of 16.3 milliseconds when the HT2060’s “fast mode” was enabled.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The HT2060 produced some digital noise in mid to dark grays during our tests. It wasn’t an ever-present noise—just in specific shades of gray here and there. The rest of the picture actually looked quite clean most of the time. And the effect wasn’t evident from a viewing distance of 6 or more feet. So unless you like to sit very close to your screen, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Also, this budget model doesn’t have an automatic iris that adjusts the image brightness based on the content being displayed, a feature that is commonly found on higher-end home theater projectors and can significantly improve the contrast ratio.

There are no smart features built in. A lot of budget-oriented projectors now include features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and built-in streaming apps. The HT2060 lacks those things, but that isn’t a huge issue since you can add those functions through a good media streamer for less than $50.

Plus, the projector’s built-in speaker sounds respectably full and loud, and its inclusion of both analog and digital audio outputs lets you easily connect a variety of speakers.

Some people are sensitive to the rainbow effect in DLP projectors. Single-chip DLP projectors like this one often use a spinning color wheel to create the image, and some people can see visible trails of color on the screen. Most people don’t see it at all, but if you do, an LCD projector like the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 may be a better choice. (Learn more about the different types of projectors.)

If you don’t have the space for a standard projector, or if you want something that you can more easily set up and not leave out all the time, you might want a short-throw projector, which needs less space between its lens and the screen. The BenQ HT2150ST can produce a 100-inch image from less than 5 feet away from your wall or screen.

It can fit into more confined spaces. Whereas the HT2060 needs to sit 100 to 130 inches from your screen to produce a 100-inch image, the HT2150ST can sit two-thirds of the way closer, 36 to 43 inches from the screen.

In addition to letting it work in more spaces, this model’s ability to sit that close to the wall or screen means that people are less likely to walk in front of the lens and cast a shadow on the screen.

The lens isn’t as good as the HT2060’s. Short-throw lenses are more complex and expensive to make than standard lenses, and the compromise results in some color fringing—pinkish edges around objects—on the screen. The effect isn’t readily noticeable when you’re looking at a 40-inch image, but it is easier to see once you get to the 100-inch size you’re likely to want with the HT2150ST.

It uses a traditional bulb that will need to be replaced over time. BenQ estimates that each bulb will provide between 3,500 and 7,000 hours, depending on how bright you set the lamp.

Also, this projector’s HDMI inputs support the older 1.4 spec, so they cannot accept a 4K or HDR signal. Some newer 1080p projectors (like our top pick) can accept a 4K signal and scale it down to 1080p.

If you prefer an LCD projector, or if you want a small, smart projector for more casual use: While LCD projectors generally have better image contrast than DLP projectors in the higher price ranges, the reverse is usually true in the under-$1,000 realm. There aren’t a lot of budget LCD options, and most of the ones we’ve tested have had major issues. But Epson’s EpiqVision Mini EF22 and EF21 are good performers that we’re comfortable recommending for people who see DLP rainbow artifacts. These 1080p laser projectors have Google TV built in, they have a fairly small form factor with a quiet fan, and the speaker system is respectably robust.

We tested the $1,000 EF22, which comes pre-mounted in a rotating, swiveling gimbal stand and is available in five colors. The EF22 did not compete with our top pick in overall brightness or black-level performance. Its measured contrast was less than half that of the HT2060, so it’s not the best movie projector for a home theater. But it can get brighter than most of the small, smart projectors we’ve tested in this price range. We measured over 1,100 lumens in the Dynamic picture mode, which isn’t super color-accurate but is good enough for occasional brighter-room viewing. The EF22 had wonderfully accurate color in the Natural and Custom picture modes, and overall we found it to be a good choice for more casual, everyday TV and movie watching. It also doesn’t suffer from light-spill issues, a common problem we see with smaller DLP projectors where the lens throws extraneous light outside the borders of the screen.

The $900 EF21 is the same projector, but comes in fewer colors and omits the gimbal stand. Frankly, I didn’t love the gimbal stand because the swiveling mechanism was too loose, so the projector can move out of position too easily. So the EF21 is the model I’d buy.

Another small, smart projector we like is the Dangbei Atom. This DLP projector delivers a nice-looking image for casual TV watching on a modest-sized screen. Like the Epson projectors, this is a 1080p laser projector with Google TV and decent-sounding speakers. The Epson models are better performers overall, capable of a bit more brightness and displaying much more accurate color. But the Atom’s image contrast is comparable, it delivers a very sharp picture, and it has an even smaller form. Plus it costs less.

If you want an affordable gaming projector: You won’t find a great 4K HDR gaming projector for under $1,000, so we recommend that serious gamers check out our guide to the best 4K projector for better but slightly more expensive options. We have encountered some solid 1080p HDR gaming projectors priced under $1,000, however. We tested the BenQ TH685P, which has a 120 Hz refresh rate, low input lag (listed at 8.3 ms for 120 Hz), and support for HDR10 and 4K signal input (downscaled to 1080p).

The TH685P has a claimed light output of 3,500 lumens; we measured a maximum of 2,812 lumens in the Bright picture mode, but that mode is highly inaccurate and looks pretty bad. In this model’s better-looking picture modes like Cinema and Sports, this projector is only modestly brighter than our top pick, the HT2060, and it has performance issues—namely mediocre contrast, color, and black-level performance, plus noticeable light spill around the edges of the screen—that make it a poor choice for movie watching in a dark room.

However, for gaming with some room lights on, the Living Room and Game picture modes offer respectable performance. The TH685P has two HDMI 2.0 inputs, plus a powered USB port, an analog audio input and output, and an RS-232 control port.

We’ve tested a number of projectors that are priced at $500 or less, and every one of them has had at least one big flaw that keeps it from being a good pick for a big-screen home theater, though it might be adequate for the occasional impromptu movie night. The better ones we’ve tested seem to excel in one performance area but fall short in another. So if you decide to shop in this price range, you need to determine which performance issue you’ll find least objectionable.

For instance, the Yaber Ace K1 is one of the better low-priced projectors we’ve tested in terms of image contrast, black level, and overall brightness, but it’s still only 35% as bright as our top pick, and its color performance is poor. It can reproduce only 75% of the HD color gamut (our recommended models come in above 90%); blues and magentas are especially far off the mark, and the color temperature has a notably greenish-blue tint. Plus the projector’s fan noise is quite loud, and positioning the image is trickier because the projected height is low and the automatic keystone correction doesn’t work properly. Also, it’s getting harder to find this one in stock.

The Xming Page One and Emotn N1 are similar performers. Both have OK contrast when set up properly, as well as a deep black level and good image detail—but they are even less bright than the Yaber model, so they’re only suited for a smaller screen and/or light-controlled room. They produce less than 60% of the HD color gamut, so the color just doesn’t have much pop. But they are small, quiet, smart projectors with lots of features.

On the flip side, the Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-FH02 is extremely bright (we measured over 2,000 lumens) and wonderfully color-accurate in its Natural picture mode, but its black level and contrast are among the worst we’ve measured. In our tests, the picture had good pop and detail when we watched sports or bright TV shows in a room with some light, but the minute we turned off the lights to watch a movie, the picture looked flat and washed out. The fan noise is loud, and the projector has only one HDMI input and no audio outputs (though it does offer a built-in speaker and Bluetooth support through the included Android TV stick). If you want a projector for daytime sports and gaming, this model is a solid choice, but we don’t like it for movie watching.

Yaber has introduced the K3 ($530) and K3 Pro ($600), both of which are 1080p LCD projectors with LED light sources and a claimed brightness of 1,600 ANSI lumens. Both offer auto image focus and alignment, plus a built-in smart TV dongle. The K3 Pro adds a subwoofer and Alexa support.

Here are some recent and notable projectors we’ve tested for this guide. If you don’t see a certain model you’re interested in, check out our running list of budget home theater projectors we’ve tested.

BenQ GP100A: This is a more lifestyle-oriented 1080p DLP projector that has a slightly smaller form factor than a traditional home-theater projector. It comes with an Android TV dongle and has a USB-C video/power input. Its performance is solid for casual TV watching, but it comes nowhere near the HT2060 in brightness or contrast. Color accuracy is good in the Cinema picture mode, but the black level is mediocre, and the picture adjustments are minimal. Plus, the Android TV dongle is locked into HDR mode for all content, and HDR measured darker than it should. The Epson EF22 and EF21 are better choices if you want a smaller, smart projector.

The LG PF610P is also a small, smart DLP projector that delivers a nice-looking image for casual TV watching on a modest-sized screen. In our tests, its color accuracy and detail were excellent, but its contrast and black level were much worse than those of the BenQ HT2060 for movie watching—and it’s simply not bright enough to use with a 100-inch or larger screen. Plus, the built-in speaker can’t play very loud, and the built-in WebOS smart-TV platform lacks Netflix support. The Epson EF22 and EF21 are better choices if you want a smart projector.

The Optoma HD146X is an older 1080p DLP projector that uses a lamp light source. It’s very bright and has low input lag for gaming, but its native contrast is low—and the Dynamic Black function that’s designed to improve the contrast makes darker scenes (especially skin tones) look unnatural. Plus it provides only 1.1x zoom and a single HDMI input.

The Optoma ML1080 uses a laser light source and has a petite form, but it’s only rated at 550 ANSI lumens of brightness, which is much too dim for a home-theater projector. We tested it for our portable mini projector guide and found that, while it had very good measured contrast, the color accuracy was just average, and the 1080p pixel structure was more visible than on most competitors.

The ViewSonic PX701-4K is an older DLP projector with a 4K resolution and a lamp light source. It’s a decent overall performer, delivering a crisp, bright 4K picture. In our tests, the Game and Movie picture modes produced a pleasingly neutral color temperature (the color of white) right out of the box, but this projector was not as good as our top pick in black level and contrast, so movies looked somewhat flat by comparison. The bigger concern is that the colors look too dark and undersaturated by default. The PX701-4K uses DLP BrilliantColor technology to improve image brightness at the expense of color accuracy; you can turn the BrilliantColor function down or off to make colors look brighter and more accurate, but in the process you lose overall brightness and contrast. Also, ViewSonic omits features such as lens shift and optical zoom on this projector, which gives you less placement flexibility.

This article was edited by Grant Clauser.