Here at the Strategist UK, we like to think of ourselves as obsessive (in the best way) about the stuff we buy, but as much as we’d like to, we can’t try everything. Which is why we have People’s Choice, in which we find the best-reviewed products and single out the most convincing ones. (You can learn more about our rating system and how we pick each item here.)
And while we’ve covered all sorts of technology before — including earphones, microwaves, and slow cookers — here, we’ve rounded up the best home projectors for everyone, as praised by the most enthusiastic reviewers on Amazon.
Best-rated overall home projector
Elephas’s projector is the best rated overall with the highest number of reviews (71 percent of which are five stars). One in six reviews spoke highly of the picture quality — customers said they were blown away by the sharpness, particularly given the low price. But while the projector’s quality is described as being HD 1080p, several customers wrote that this isn’t technically accurate. According to one, the native resolution is 800 by 400 pixels (making it more like a standard-definition projector) — meaning that even if the input signal is at HD/1080, it will never be able to project at this quality.
Despite that, customers mentioned watching everything from Test Cricket to photo slideshows on this projector, both indoors and outdoors. Three hundred ninety-nine reviewers added that it was excellent value for money, including a customer who initially bought this as a “trial run” before shelling out for a £300 model (and ended up keeping the Elephas instead). Four hundred eighty-four reviewers also described it as easy to set up, with instructions provided in a user manual. The device comes with an HDMI cable, a three-way audio/video cable, and a power cable. Though the built-in speakers were described as “far from cinema quality” by several reviewers, 492 customers wrote positive reviews about the sound. But 137 customers recommended buying external speakers, especially if using this outside.
Best-rated 4K home projector
Epson’s projector is notable for being the most expensive in our roundup, but reviewers were impressed by the picture; one in three reviews mentioned the excellent image quality. One reviewer said it was like having a 120-inch 4K TV mounted on his wall, while another said both Netflix and YouTube looked remarkable when using this projector. The projector comes with both a floor mount and a wall mount, and it offers 3,000 lumens (the bare minimum for being used outside, according to reviewers). One customer bought this instead of a 4k television and said it was so good he didn’t think he’d ever go back to watching anything on a TV again. Set-up was also favourably written about by several customers, including one who called it intuitive.
Best-rated home projector for outdoors
This is the brightest projector featured, offering 5,500 lumens (the measurement of emitted light), making it particularly well suited for outdoor projections, according to reviewers. Sixty-three percent of reviews were five stars, with one customer calling this perfect for screening films in his back garden, particularly as the picture quality was sharp even during daylight hours. Eight hundred fifty-nine reviewers mentioned how impressed they were with the picture quality, while 202 reviewers specifically recommended it for movie nights. These included a family of campers, who noted that the picture was excellent even when the projector was aimed at a simple white sheet. During lockdown, one customer said they used this to host socially distanced screenings outdoors for their neighbours. The projector comes with an HDMI cable and a remote, which one reviewer said was particularly good at adjusting the settings, as it includes options to revert and flip the image (which is useful for back-projecting or if you want to screw the projector into the ceiling).
Best-rated mini home projector
Anker’s Nebula projector is the size of a drinks can, but comes highly rated by customers looking for a more transportable model. One in five customers wrote about the strong picture quality, despite the fact it isn’t HD or 4K, which was described as crisp and sharp in several reviews. Though one reviewer mentioned it was incapable of projecting large blocks of text, it was cited for being an excellent projector for movies or TV shows. One review mentions the battery life as being so good that you can watch a whole movie on this projector without needing to charge it (Anker specifically says it can run for four hours without a charge). It features an HDMI port, making it compatible with Chromecast, an HDMI cable, or Apple TV, and has Android built in to it, meaning apps like Netflix and Prime Video can be downloaded and played from it, much like a Firestick. And the sound quality was noted in 26 reviews — one reviewer said that this projector’s built-in speaker could fill a medium-size room no problem.
Best-rated projector for gaming
According to reviewers, the most crucial thing to look for in a projector for gaming is a low input lag. This projector by BenQ has 76 percent five-star reviews, and the lag was either low or nonexistent according to the gamers who used it (one reviewer claimed it was one of the top five items he had purchased in his entire life). According to one gamer, playing a PS5 on this projector was as seamless as playing on a TV thanks to the minimal lag, with shooter games benefitting particularly from this. An XBox player said this was the ideal projector for anyone wanting to play their games on a larger scale. Nearly one in ten customers called the picture quality excellent, while the brightness and sound quality were also well reviewed. One reviewer in particular called the sound quality “tremendous,” comparing it to a Bose soundbar.
And a highly-rated screen to project onto
While several reviewers projected against sheets, living room walls, and even the occasional shed, this enthusiastically reviewed projector screen would ensure your picture quality is a little more consistent.
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