It’s almost certain someone on your holiday list wants a tablet. Or maybe you're thinking it’s time to give yourself a treat. Great news: Prices for some of the hottest models are hovering at around $200 to $250. Even better news: Despite the budget prices, you won't have to sacrifice the features that make a tablet a tablet.
Of course, if you want the ultimate tablet, you'll have to spend a little more. Here's a listing of tablets $500 or less, by price range. The links take you to our Ratings, where you'll find enough in-depth information to make the wisest buying decision. All the tablets listed below are on our recommended list.
Under $200
Asus MeMO Pad HD7 (Wi-Fi, 16GB
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) (Wi-Fi, 8GB)
Hisense Sero 7 Pro (Wi-Fi, 8GB)
Amazon Kindle Fire HD (Wi-Fi, 16GB) (2nd gen)
Barnes & Noble Nook HD+ (Wi-Fi, 16GB)
Barnes & Noble Nook HD (Wi-Fi, 16GB)
$200 to $300
Google Nexus 7 (Wi-Fi, 16GB) (2nd Gen)
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 (Wi-Fi, 16GB
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 (Wi-Fi, 8GB)
Dell Venue 8 Pro (Wi-Fi, 32GB)
Acer Iconia A1-810-L416 (Wi-Fi, 16GB)
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) (Wi-Fi, 4G, 8GB)
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (Wi-Fi, 16GB)
Lenovo IdeaTab S6000 (Wi-Fi, 32GB)
$300 to $500
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 (Wi-Fi, 16GB)
Apple iPad Mini with Retina display (Wi-Fi, 16GB)
Apple iPad Mini (Wi-Fi, 4G, 16GB)
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 (Wi-Fi, 4G, 16GB)
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 (Wi-Fi, 4G, 16GB)
T-Mobile SpringBoard (Wi-Fi, 4G, 16GB)
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (Wi-Fi, 4G, 32GB)
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (Wi-Fi, 16GB)
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 (Wi-Fi, 16GB)
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) (Wi-Fi, 16GB)
Sony Xperia Tablet Z (Wi-Fi, 16GB)
Microsoft Surface with Windows RT (Wi-Fi, 32GB)
Samsung ATIV Smart PC (Wi-Fi, 64GB)
Microsoft Surface 2 (Wi-Fi, 32GB)
Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T (Wi-Fi, 32GB)
Acer Iconia Tab A700 (Wi-Fi, 32GB)
Toshiba Excite Pro (Wi-Fi, 32GB)
Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx K3011 (Wi-Fi, 64GB)
—Donna Tapellini
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