With holiday shopping about to be in full swing ahead of November deals, and of course, the Black Friday and Cyber Monday frenzy, it can still get expensive to shop for your loved ones (and yourself) even with an onslaught of discounts. To help you get a head start on holiday shopping, we compiled a list of gifts under $100 that include quality earbuds, tablets, watches, and other great products from top brands that we’d personally gift and recommend at any time of the year.
Read more: Best budget fitness trackers: Expert tested and reviewed
While all of these gifts are already below the $100 tag, savings season may bring them to an even lower price, so keep a lookout for even lower prices as we get closer to the holidays.
Best tech gifts at $100 or less: Our top picks
Anker
Soundcore by Anker Space A40 Earbuds
1. Best overall gift $100 or less
Take your sound anywhere
$80 $100 Save $20
Anker’s Soundcore Space A40s have a comfortable fit, long battery life, and excellent sound quality to provide the best listening experience for buyers.
- Great sound
- Comfortable
- ANC
- Average microphone
- Generic styling
Anker’s Soundcore Space A40s made our best cheap earbuds list because they offer outstanding all-around performance and are durable enough for most activities without costing a fortune. Sound quality is the main factor when buying headphones, and the A40s punch above their weight with clarity and volume that put many similarly-priced rivals to shame while including some of the best ANCs in its class.
They come in black, blue, and white with fairly conservative styling that won’t turn heads but is in line with the pricing. It’s a case of function over form, and a long, 50-hour battery life with the case, multi-point connectivity, and wireless charging make up for the drab design. You also get app control to customise your sound and create custom EQs for different content types.
Most people enjoy music, and buying friends the Space A40 headphones will allow them to enjoy their favourite soundtrack on holiday travels or give them that extra energy boost when working out. They offer outstanding quality for the price, and it’s easy to forgive their average microphone and generic styling, which probably won’t be a big deal to most buyers anyway.
Fitbit
Fitbit Inspire 3
2. Best premium gift $100 or less
The health booster
You can’t put a price on health, and the Fitbit Inspire 3 is an excellent gift to help loved ones track their fitness and improve their lifestyle.
- Touchscreen
- Great battery life
- Wide range of functions
- Plastic housing
- Small display
We’ve all heard people robustly claim their New Year’s resolution is to get fit, and getting them the Fitbit Inspire 3 will help with their goals by tracking their progress and managing their routines. It made our best Fitbit list because of its impressive value, with a lightweight design and vibrant colour touchscreen. It’s available in Midnight Zen/Black, Lilac Bliss/Black and Morning Glow/Black and includes an easily changeable soft silicone strap with a plastic buckle for a secure fit.
For the entry-level model in the lineup, the Inspire 3 has features like Sp02 monitoring to check how much oxygen your body produces when training and a heart-rate monitor to pick up irregularities and notify you. Other functions include a step counter, activity, exercise, and sleep tracking, and you can receive smartphone notifications.
They say you can’t put a price on health, and a gift like the Fitbit Inspire 3 can help friends get into their best shape and maybe even avoid costly treatment bills. Its small screen and plastic housing won’t compete with its more expensive siblings, but it offers great functionality and a 50-metre water resistance to withstand swimming and sweat.
Amazon
Amazon Fire HD 8 (2022)
3. Best value gift $100 or less
Versatility for less
Amazon’s Fire HD 8 tablet delivers exceptional value with an eight-inch display, 32GB of storage space, and decent processing power for a low price.
- Amazing price
- Compact and lightweight design
- Includes SD card reader
- For lighter tasks
- Not the brightest
The Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet is an affordable way to enjoy entertainment on the road or in coffee shops and is perfect for kids and students doing light work and watching content. Its slim and 201.90 x 137.34 x 9.60mm and lightweight 337g design makes it easy to carry, and it comes in Rose and Denim if you’re not into business-like Black. The eight-inch (1280 x 800) display isn’t the biggest or brightest, but it’s fine for movies, podcasts and shows.
You can’t expect the best performance at this price, and the Fire HD 8 is strictly for lighter tasks like browsing and emails with a hexa-core ARM MT8169A CPU and 2GB of RAM. The 32GB of storage space should be enough if you’re mainly streaming, and you can always increase it with the SD card reader. Battery life is pretty decent at around 13 hours of mixed-use, and it should last a full working day or most plane trips.
Amazon’s Fire HD is one of the best fire tablets because of how much you’ll get out of it, considering your low investment. It’s not the biggest or most powerful option, but its unbelievable price and simplicity make it a worthy contender that surpasses many more expensive rivals.
Glorious/Pocket-lint
Glorious Model O 2 Wireless Gaming Mouse
4. Best gift $100 or less for gamers
Speed and precision
The Glorious Model O2 has a speedy 26,000 DPI sensor and wireless connectivity in an ultralight package for competitive gamers.
- Ultralight
- Fast sensor
- Three connection modes
- RGB reduces battery life
- Might be too small for some users
The Glorious Model O2 is the perfect gift for gamers looking for the fastest speed, thanks to its ultralight design. Its black or white symmetrical shape is for right-handed users, and features six programmable buttons and durable switches rated for around 80 million clicks. Like most ultralight mice, it has a honeycomb design that contributes to its low 68-gram weight and includes RGB light strips on both sides for some flair.
Performance is second to none, with a 26,000 DPI Bamf 2.0 optical sensor offering 650 IPS max speed and 50G max acceleration. It’s easy to connect to gaming laptops and PCs via 2.4GHz and Bluetooth, and you charge it back up to full using the two-metre USB-C cable when the 210-hour battery runs out. Size-wise, it’s definitely on the smaller and narrower side, measuring 127 x 67 x 38mm (LxWxH), making it better for claw and fingertip grips.
The Model O2 from Glorious has almost everything you can ask for in a gaming mouse, like a fast sensor, responsive buttons, and wireless connectivity in an affordable package. It’s one of the best gaming mice we’ve tested, although some buyers might find it too small and will turn off the lighting because it kills the battery.
Casio
Casio G-SHOCK GWM5610-1
5. Best gift $100 or less for adventurers
Rough and tough
$99 $150 Save $51
The Casio G-Shock GWM5610-1 has a black resin construction with 200 metres of water resistance and a range of functions like a backlight, a calendar, and five daily alarms.
- Ten-year solar battery
- Rugged
- Many functions
- Buttons can be hard to press
- Not to everyone’s taste
Before smartwatches took off in a big way, Casio G-Shocks like the GWM5610-1 reigned supreme for buyers looking for a rugged multifunction timepiece to withstand the elements. It still has its place as one of the best adventure tools because of its long, ten-year solar-powered battery that doesn’t need any power sockets and works anywhere. The black plastic resin construction is another G-Shock trademark and offers 200 metres of water resistance, shock resistance, and can handle most bumps and scratches. The standard pricing for this model at both Amazon and Walmart is $150, both retailers offering a great deal of just over $50 off at the time of writing.
With G-Shocks, you get a robust feature set, and in addition to displaying the date, time, and day of the week, it has a stopwatch, can display 29 time zones, and offers up to five daily alarms. Telling the time is easy at night and in low-light conditions, no matter where you are, with the built-in backlight.
Casio’s GWM5610-1 is one of the best G-Shock watches and the perfect gift for adventurous friends or family who love the outdoors because it’s tough enough to handle shock, water and anything else thrown at it. There aren’t many gifts as durable in their price range, but the styling isn’t for everyone, and the small buttons can be hard to press if you have bigger fingers.
Magnetic Man-Pocket-lint
Magnetic Man Face Transforming LED Mask
6. Best kids gift $100 or less
Trick or treat
$70 $75 Save $5
The Magnetic Man LED mask is lightweight and comfortable, with 45 animated patterns and 70 static faces to switch between using the app or gesture control.
- Lightweight and comfortable
- Many faces and patterns to choose from
- App and gesture control
- Limited use
- Display could be improved
Parents looking to buy their kids the ultimate Halloween disguise can check out the Magnetic Man LED mask. This unique and innovative gadget was voted as one of our best weird tech items and best Halloween tech because it’s a digital mask with 2074 LED bulbs and 2121 RGB lead beads to display images of vampires, jack-o-lanterns and other creatures on its display. Changing between the 45 animated patterns and 70 static faces is easy with app control, and there’s even gesture control available for when you’re in disguise and don’t want to pull your phone out.
Masks can often get heavy and uncomfortable, but the Magnetic Man has a lightweight, breathable design with pre-cut eyeholes. There’s only one size for everybody, and it has adjustable Velcro straps to find the perfect fit. It works with a 2,000mAh battery, and a single five-hour charge can get up to 12 hours of use.
We appreciate the effort that went into creating the Magnetic Man LED mask and recommend it as one of the best gifts under $100 because it’s unique and fun, and its ability to switch between images and custom uploads instantly is amazing. That said, it makes an excellent novelty gift for certain events, with questionable practicality for daily use. While the display is impressive, it still feels like a new product that could be refined to make it even better.
Samsung
Samsung T7 Shield
7. Best gift $100 or less for professionals
You can never have enough space
$90 $100 Save $10
Samsung’s 1TB T7 Shield SSD offers decent storage space and consistent read and write speeds in a sturdy package.
- Decent space
- Durable
- Consistent speeds
- Pricier than rivals
- Average three-year warranty
Backups, app installations and media libraries are constantly growing, and running out of space on your laptop or tablet is easy if you don’t have an external drive like the Samsung T7 Shield SSD. It comes in 4TB and 2TB options for power users, and the 1TB makes an excellent gift because it doesn’t cost much, with enough space for most people’s information. Apart from its space, you get consistent USB 3.2 read speeds of up to 1,050MB/s and write speeds of 1,000MB/s, so copying data won’t take forever.
Connecting to tablets, MacBooks, and gaming consoles is a cinch with the USB-C to USB-A and USB-C to USB-C cables in the box. For a device small enough to fit in your pocket at just 88 x 59 x 13mm, the Samsung T7 Shield is tough enough for daily outdoor use after passing a three-metre drop test and having IP65 dust and water resistance.
Anything can happen, and it’s worth having a non-cloud backup of your cherished family pictures and digital copies of passports and birth certificates stashed on the Samsung T7 for peace of mind. It costs more than many rivals and has a short three-year warranty, but it’s still one of the best external drives because of its durability and consistent speeds.
Epicka/Pocket-lint
Epicka Universal Travel Adapter
8. Best budget gift $100 or less
Worldwide usability
$24 $26 Save $2
The Epicka Universal Travel Adapter is compact to carry around with you and offers various pin configurations to charge your devices in any country.
- Cheap
- Works anywhere
- Ample ports to charge multiple devices
- Easy to lose
- Only worth it if you travel often
Gifts don’t need to be pricey, and it’s easy to find affordable, nifty gadgets like the Epicka Universal Travel Adapter that offers amazing convenience in tight situations. This simple device is ideal for business people and frequent travellers because it’s small and light enough to fit in pockets and handbags and works in most countries worldwide.
It resembles a black plastic cube and includes three extendable two-pins and one three-pin connector to fit wall sockets wherever you go. There are also three USB-C ports and two USB-A ports to plug in cables to charge your phones, tablets, and earbuds.
Running out of power in a foreign country sucks because you won’t have access to your phone’s map and translation apps and might be unable to find where you’re supposed to be going. The Epicka is one of the best universal adapters because it’s portable and fits into most plug points, so you’ll never run out of juice.
The bottom line: Which is the best gift under $100?
The Soundcore Space A40 earbuds are the best gift under $100 because most people enjoy music and will appreciate the great sound and ANC in a durable package. Fitbit’s Inspire 3 is the best premium gift under $100 because it can help someone stick to their health goals with its tracking functions. The Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet is our best value pick because it’s versatile for work or play, and its low price feels like a pittance, considering how many hours of entertainment it will provide.
Anker
Soundcore by Anker Space A40 Earbuds
Editor’s Choice
$80 $100 Save $20
How did we pick the best gifts under $100?
We test personal safety devices, heart rate monitors and countless other devices every year to see what they offer and help you make the best choice. For this list, we looked back at some of the more affordable gadgets that impressed us this year and would be worth getting for our family and friends. With so much variety, it’s impossible to compare them on a like-for-like basis, so apart from the $100 price ceiling, all the picks must excel at their purpose while having decent quality.
Thankfully, there are many products under $100, and the difficult part was limiting our choices to just a handful of options. We tried to include a variety of useful tech to appeal to all buyers, and most of the products can compete with more expensive alternatives when it comes to quality.
Costing under $100 isn’t an excuse for poor performance, and we ensured that every pick offers a satisfying user experience for the price and is something we wouldn’t mind using ourselves.
Our picks are from reputable brands, and many have durability ratings against water and dust, so you’re assured of their quality. The ones that don’t have a rating are still tough enough for daily use and shouldn’t need replacing soon if they’re taken care of.
What can I get with $100?
You can get many gifts at or under $100, like the Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet, Fitbit Inspire 3, and the Glorious Model O2 gaming mouse.
What should I get someone on a low budget?
Gifts like the Epicka Universal Travel Adapter and Casio G-Shock GWM5610-1 are available for well under $100 and are practical and useful.
How can I still get a good gift on a budget?
It’s easy for budget-conscious buyers to find the perfect gift with affordable options like the Magnetic Man LED mask, Samsung T7 Shield, and Epicka Universal Travel Adapter, easily available from most online retailers.
