Home / Tablets / Best Tablets under $300 – Good Quality at mid-range price

Best Tablets under $300 – Good Quality at mid-range price

If you have a budget of $300, then you can get a good quality mid-range tablet. There are a lot of options to choose from as companies like Asus, Samsung, Amazon, Huawei, etc. are always competing to provide the best value for money tablet.

If you are looking for the best tablets under $300, why bother searching from the sea of the tablet when we have taken all the trouble of sorting so you can find the best tablet under $300 for you.

Our Top 3 Picks

#1 – Asus ZenPad 3S 10#2 – Samsung Galaxy Tab A#3 – Lenovo Tab 4 8 Plus
Asus ZenPad 3S 10Samsung Galaxy Tab ALenovo Tab 4 8 Plus
Premium looking with 2K display, good audio and performance.
Affordable with a good display, audio and battery life
Compact with a good display, build quality and performance.
9.7″ HD10.1″ HD8″ HD
MTK MT8176 Dual-Core with 4 GB of RAMSamsung Exynos 7870 with 2 GB of RAMQualcomm Snapdragon MSM8953 with 4 GB of RAM
64 GB16 GB16 GB
Up to 10 hoursUp to 14 hoursUp to 10 hours

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What to Expect from Best Tablet under $300?

The best $300 tablets provide impressive build quality, mid-range performance, excellent audio and above all a long-lasting battery. One thing to note here is that the quality and hardware of the tablet depends on the price but also on the know-all of the manufacturer.

Quality and Casing

Considering the fact that you will be spending $300 on an Android tablet, the quality of the tablet has to be good. One handed use, lightweight and portability are the key factors.

Display

The size of the display varies depending on the tablet. However, 7-inch, 8-inch and 10-inch tablets are common in this range. A 720p HD resolution display is the least we can expect. However, Full HD 1080p or above resolution tablet is always preferable, something the top $300 tablets will have.

Performance

Tablets in the price range feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon, Intel Atom or MediaTek processor that can handle media consumption, casual web browsing or light office work such as word processing and emails with ease.

Audio

Being an entertainment device, good audio quality enhances an enjoyable movie watching experience. Some of the tablets under $300 provide exceptional quality of audio for a tablet. The top 3 or 4 – at least – come with good speakers that sound brilliant considering the form factor.

Camera

Over the years the camera on the tablets have improved, and now they generally offer up to five megapixels of front-facing camera and eight-megapixels rear camera. Although it cannot really be used as your primary camera device, the tablets take a decent quality picture that would be helpful while taking pictures of school notes or making a video call. Want to send a picture of quick grocery list? No problem, the tablet camera can handle that well. Want to click a great picture for your FB cover photo? You better off using your phone’s camera.

Other Aspects

Other things to consider in a $300 tablet are 32 GB of internal storage, good battery life, usual connectivity features such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (LTE support is preferable), etc.

A Sub $300 tablet is a mid-range device that can be a good media consumption device as well as a productivity tool for college goers and professionals. With an excellent display, good audio, decent camera and a pretty powerful processor, you can expect an all-rounder without having to spend a fortune.

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Specs for the Top 12 Best Tablets under $300

Graphics8, 10-inch
ProcessorIntel Atom, MTK MT8163 Quad-Core, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8953, Samsung Exynos 7870 or similar
RAM1 to 4 GB
Storage16 to 64 GB
CamerasFront: 1 to 8 MP
Back: 5 to 8 MP
Battery life9 to 15 hours
OSAndroid 4.4 to 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10
Dimensions / WeightHeight: 8 to 10.2″
Width: 4.8 to 10″
Thick.: 0.22 to 0.4″
Weight: 0.68 to 1.52 lbs
Price Range$$, $$$

Top 12 Best Tablets under $300

1 – Asus ZenPad 3S 10 – 10″ HD

Asus ZenPad 3S 10

“Premium looking with 2K display, good audio and performance.”

The Asus ZenPad 3S is a 10-inch tablet that offers a premium looking design and solid build quality for the price. The display boasts a 2K resolution touchscreen making it one of the best tablets under $300 in terms of display quality. The display offers 178-degree viewing angles making it a great video watching device. It is powered by a MediaTek Hexacore processor paired with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of onboard storage.

The tablet can handle games like Asphalt with ease and performance is adequate for other tasks such as video streaming, web browsing, and e-reading. It runs on Android Marshmallow 6 making it compatible with all the latest apps. The Sonic Master speakers are a treat to listen to and excellent for watching movies. On the battery side, it is just average; I feel that it could have been better. The pictures taken with the tablet’s camera are average as well.

Pros

  • Excellent Display
  • Premium Thin & Light Design
  • Great Audio
Cons

  • Doesn’t make the best pictures
  • Average Battery Life

Buy on NewEgg.com
Check current price on Amazon.com

Graphics9.7″ HD screen (2048 x 1536)
PerformanceMTK MT8176 Dual-Core with 4 GB of RAM
Storage64 GB
CamerasFront: 5 MP / Rear: 8 MP
Battery lifeUp to 10 hours
OSAndroid 6
Dimensions / Weight9.45″ x 6.44″ x 0.22″ / 0.94 lbs
Colors Avail.Silver

2 – Samsung Galaxy Tab A – 10″ HD

Samsung Galaxy Tab A

“Affordable with a good display, audio and battery life”

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A is one of the best Android tablets you can buy under $300. It comes with a 10-inch full HD display outputting vibrant images making it ideal for watching movies. And the battery life is great, enough for a day or use. The tablet is made of plastic but still feels durable and sturdy in hand. The camera quality on this tablet is impressive for the price. The images are clear, and the video quality is good too.

Powered by the in-house Exynos processor and paired with 2 GB of RAM, the performance is on par with any other tablet in this range. Light gaming, web browsing, and video streaming work flawlessly. The audio is on the better side with clean sound coming from the speakers. Really, the only thing we can complain of here is the placement of physical buttons.

Pros

  • Good Display & Audio
  • Long Battery Life
  • Nice Build
  • Rear Camera takes good pictures
Cons

  • Bad Button Placement

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Check current price on Amazon.com

Graphics10.1″ HD screen (1920 x 1200)
PerformanceSamsung Exynos 7870 with 2 GB of RAM
Storage16 GB
CamerasFront: 2 MP / Rear: 8 MP
Battery lifeUp to 14 hours
OSAndroid 6
Dimensions / Weight10″ x 6.11″ x 0.32″ / 1.16 lbs
Colors Avail.Black, White

3 – Lenovo Tab 4 8 Plus – 8″ HD

Lenovo Tab 4 8 Plus

“Compact with a good display, build quality and performance.”

The Lenovo Tab 4 is a well-built 8-inch tablet featuring a Full HD display. The display has good viewing angles and long hours of watching videos is a pleasant experience. It is powered by a Snapdragon 625 processor paired with 2 GB of RAM. Talking about the performance of the tablet, it can handle games like asphalt smoothly, and the graphics output is good. The processing power is adequate for other stuff such as web browsing, video streaming, and e-reading. As for the battery, it is on the average side. As a result, you may end up recharging the tablet before the end of the day.

The Tab 4 also comes with a 5-megapixel front camera and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera. The camera does a decent job of taking pictures with decent lighting. It runs on Android 7.0 Nougat and may support the next OS upgrade as well. Also, this Lenovo tablet is lightweight at 0.68 lbs, so portability is not an issue.

Pros

  • Bright Display
  • Good Performance
  • Solid Build Quality
Cons

  • Average battery life

Buy on NewEgg.com

Graphics8″ HD screen (1920 x 1200)
PerformanceQualcomm Snapdragon MSM8953 with 4 GB of RAM
Storage16 GB
CamerasFront: 5 MP / Rear: 8 MP
Battery lifeUp to 10 hours
OSAndroid 7
Dimensions / Weight8.3″ x 4.8″ x 0.3″ / 0.68 lbs
Colors Avail.Black
Other similar versions (prices may vary)

Lenovo Tab 4 10 PlusCompact with a good display, build quality and performance. 10-inch HD

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4 – Asus ZenPad S8 – 8″ HD

Asus ZenPad S8

“2K display with impressive performance and portability”

The Asus ZenPad S8 is an 8-inch tablet with a slim profile. It is well-built and the back texture gives good grip. Powered by an Intel Atom processor, the tablet doesn’t lack in the performance department. With 2 GB of RAM and Android 5.0 Lollipop, it’ll handle multiple apps in the background smoothly and they will open quickly.

The Asus ZenPad S8 shines with its 2K resolution display offering good viewing angles and color accuracy. It comes with 32 GB of internal storage and a micro SD card slot for memory expansion. The front-facing and rear camera capture decent pictures. Weighing 0.7 lbs, the battery life on the tablet is average with up to 8 hours of backup depending on the usage. The audio quality is nothing special as well.

Pros

  • Good Display
  • Solid Chassis
  • Good Performance
Cons

  • Battery Life on the Low Side
  • Average cameras

Buy on Amazon.com

Graphics8″ HD screen (2048 x 1536)
PerformanceIntel Atom Z3530 with 2 GB of RAM
Storage32 GB
CamerasFront: 2 MP / Rear: 5 MP
Battery lifeUp to 8 hours
OSAndroid 5.0 Lollipop
Dimensions / Weight8″ x 5.3″ x 0.27″ / 0.7 lbs
Colors Avail.Black, White

5 – Lenovo Yoga Book (Windows) – 10″ HD

Lenovo Yoga Book

“2-in-1 Windows hybrid backed by good performance and display”

The Lenovo Yoga Book is a productivity tool that comes with a stylus, and the back of the keyboard can be used as a drawing pad for your artistic skills. The Lenovo Yoga Book is a 2-in-1 hybrid that comes with a Full HD display that offers good viewing angles and great touch response. It runs on Windows 10 home and is powered by an Intel Atom processor. The processor can handle casual word processing, some digital painting tools and web browsing perfectly fine. In-built 64 GB storage is adequate, and the micro SD card slot supports memory expansion.

The keyboard, on the other hand, provides good typing experience, even if it’s a hard & flat surface. The battery on the tablet is good and can last all day long. The Lenovo Yoga Book weighs around 1.52 lbs which is not light but knowing it is a hybrid; the weight is acceptable.

Pros

  • Windows 10 Home
  • Sharp Display
  • Good Performance
  • Great input from the Stylus & Well-made Keyboard
Cons

  • No Full USB supports
  • Display wobbles when in Laptop mode
  • Not a great trackpad

Buy on Amazon.com

Graphics10.1″ HD screen (1920 x 1200)
PerformanceIntel Atom with 4 GB of RAM
Storage64 GB
CamerasFront: 2 MP / Rear: 8 MP
Battery lifeUp to 15 hours
OSWindows 10
Dimensions / Weight10.1″ x 6.72″ x 0.38″ / 1.52 lbs
Colors Avail.Black, White
Other similar versions (prices may vary)

Lenovo Yoga Book 10-inch HD

6 – Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite – 10″ HD

Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite

“10-inch HD display with excellent audio”

The Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite is a 10-inch tablet with a full HD resolution display. The display itself is decent and has good touch response. However, the viewing angles are not great. The tablet runs on Android 7.0 Nougat and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 3 GB of RAM. The performance is just average as the processor feels a bit sluggish. Huawei has given 16 GB of internal storage that can be expanded using the micro SD card and the autofocus 8-megapixel camera does a decent job.

It has a good battery life, so long hours of video playback aren’t a problem. The audio on the tablet is excellent; it is loud and clear. The bloatware on the tablet is annoying so is the 16 GB of storage.

Pros

  • Impressive Audio
  • Heat management under heavy load
Cons

  • A little lag due to the processor
  • Only 16 GB of storage.

Buy on Amazon.com

Graphics10.1″ HD screen (1920 x 1200)
PerformanceOcta Core with 3 GB of RAM
Storage32 GB
CamerasFront: 8 MP / Rear: 8 MP
Battery lifeUp to 14 hours
OSAndroid 7
Dimensions / Weight9.5″ x 6.75″ x 0.28″ / 1.01 lbs
Colors Avail.Grey, White

# 7 to 12 Best Tablets under $300

7 – Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 10 – 10″

Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 10

“Brilliant design with an excellent display, audio and battery life.”

The Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 boast an HD IPS display and it does deserve to be in the list of the best tablets under 300 dollars. The display is good for watching TV shows and reading e-books. The design of this $300 tablet sets it apart from the competitor. It has a kickstand that allows you to keep the tablet on a flat surface without the need for an external tablet case, allowing a better video streaming experience.

It also comes with front firing speakers, and we must say it is one of the best speakers on any tablet. The sound quality is good; audio is loud and clear. Battery life is again brilliant and can last more than 10 hours of use if you use it as an e-reader with casual web browsing and gaming. The performance is good as it is powered by a Snapdragon Quad-core processor with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. The tablet has only one camera that can be used as both rear and front facing camera because of its 180-degree rotating feature. The tablet is a bit heavy at 1.44 lbs and runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop.

Pros

  • Good Display
  • Excellent Design
  • Excellent Battery Life
  • Better Camera than Competition
Cons

  • Placement of Power Button
  • A little slow while installing apps

Buy on Amazon.com

Graphics10.1″ screen (1280 x 800)
PerformanceQualcomm Quad-Core APQ8009 with 2 GB of RAM
Storage16 GB
CamerasNo Front Camera / Rear: 8 MP
Battery lifeExpect 13 hours
OSAndroid 5.1 Lollipop
Dimensions / Weight9.7″ x 7.28″ x 0.37″ / 1.44 lbs
Colors Avail.Black

8 – Asus ZenPad 10 z3101MF – 10″ HD

Asus ZenPad 10 z3101MF

“Large tablet with good build quality, good display and the latest Android”

The Asus ZenPad 10 z3101MF is yet another Asus tablet on this list but with a different set of features. It is a well-built 10-inch tablet sporting a Full HD display with Asus TrueVivid technology for a better visual experience. The display is good for video streaming and watching movies. It is powered by a MediaTek Quad-core processor coupled with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage, which make both on the lower side.

There is a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Both are only of average quality. The micro SD card slot can be used to expand the memory up to 128 GB. The audio quality is not the best on this tablet, so is the battery life.

Pros

  • Good Display
  • Android Latest Version
  • Good Build Quality
Cons

  • Average Battery Life
  • Average Audio

Buy on Amazon.com

Graphics10.1″ HD screen (1920 x 1200)
PerformanceMTK MT8163 Quad-Core with 2 GB of RAM
Storage16 GB
CamerasFront: 2 MP / Rear: 5 MP
Battery lifeUp to 9 hours
OSAndroid 7
Dimensions / Weight9.9″ x 6.8″ x 0.4″ / 1.1 lbs
Colors Avail.White, Grey

9 – Asus MeMO Pad 8 – 8″

Asus MeMO Pad 8

“8-inch tablet with good quality display and audio”

The Asus MeMO Pad 8 is an 8-inch tablet featuring an IPS touchscreen HD display. The display works just fine for most of the tasks it supposed to perform. Video streaming and casual web browsing all happen smoothly. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor and has only 1 GB of RAM which is on the lower side considering the price. For storage, it has 16 GB of internal storage, but the memory is expandable using the Micro SD card slot.

The tablet runs the old Android 4.4 Kitkat version which is upgradeable to Android 5.0 Lollipop. The camera quality, battery life and the performance all stand at the average level. The audio is decent, but the build quality feels sturdy.

Pros

  • Good Build Quality
  • Good Display
Cons

  • Average Performance
  • Low RAM
  • Average Battery Life
  • Outdated OS

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Check current price on Amazon.com

Graphics8″ screen (1280 x 800)
PerformanceIntel Atom Z3745 with 1 GB of RAM
Storage16 GB
CamerasFront: 2 MP / Rear: 5 MP
Battery lifeUp to 9 hours
OSAndroid 4.4
Dimensions / Weight8.3″ x 4.9″ x 0.3″ / 0.7 lbs
Colors Avail.Black, White

10 – Asus ZenPad 10 – 10″

Asus ZenPad 10

“Decent HD display with good performance & excellent build quality”

The Asus ZenPad 10 is not the latest of the lot, but it is still one of the best tablets under $300. Featuring a 10-inch HD IPS display, it offers good color accuracy, viewing angles and contrast. The screen has a backlight bleed issue, a minor one though so it’s not that big of a flaw. The build quality feels sturdy in hand. This tablet runs on a quad-core MediaTek processor paired with 2 GB of RAM.

The processor can handle heavy apps like Hearthstone and Human Anatomy Atlas with negligible delay. The camera unit on the tablet performs well and produces a decent quality of images. The speakers have good audio output and fairly loud sound. The battery life is just average and nothing impressive.

Pros

  • Good Display
  • Solid Build Quality
  • Good Audio
Cons

  • Average Battery Life

Buy on NewEgg.com
Check current price on Amazon.com

Graphics10.1″ screen (1280 x 800)
PerformanceMTK MT8163 Quad-Core with 2 GB of RAM
Storage64 GB
CamerasFront: 2 MP / Rear: 5 MP
Battery lifeUp to 11 hours
OSAndroid 6
Dimensions / Weight9.91″ x 6.77″ x 0.35″ / 1.08 lbs
Colors Avail.Dark Gray, Pearl White, Rose Gold

11 – Samsung Galaxy Tab E – 10″

Samsung Galaxy Tab E

“Affordable 10-inch tablet with good battery life and build quality”

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a 10-inch tablet. Its display is not what we expect from a Samsung tablet… It could have been a little brighter for a better experience in daylight condition. The tablet is well-built and has good grip though. It runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop OS out of the box on top of Samsung TouchWiz UI. With only 16 GB of internal storage tablet will run out of space shortly, however, the micro SD card slot can be used for memory expansion up to 128 GB.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor and 1.5 GB of RAM handle causal web browsing and video streaming easily. However, the tablet feels slow while playing graphic intensive games. The tablet has two cameras, and both of them produce just average-quality photos.

Pros

  • Build quality
  • Long Battery Life
  • Affordable
Cons

  • Underwhelming Performance
  • Display

Buy on Amazon.com

Graphics9.6″ screen (1280 x 800)
PerformanceQualcomm APQ 8016 with 1.5 GB of RAM
Storage16 GB
CamerasFront: 2 MP / Rear: 5 MP
Battery lifeUp to 12 hours
OSAndroid 5.1 Lollipop
Dimensions / Weight9.52″ x 5.89″ x 0.38″ / 1.21 lbs
Colors Avail.Black

12 – Toshiba Encore 2 WT10 – 10″

Toshiba Encore 2 WT10

“Affordable Windows 10 tablet with attractive design and good build”

The Toshiba Encore 2 WT10 is a Windows tablet running Windows 8.1 out of the box. And if you want, it is upgradable to Windows 10. If you need a tablet for casual work and school projects, the Windows-powered tablets are a good choice. This one comes with a year of office 365 subscription, yippee! The tablet has an HD display, and the viewing angles, color accuracy, and brightness is good for the price. Powered by an Intel Atom processor and 1 GB of RAM, the tablet feels a little slower at times, but video streaming, casual web browsing, and light games are not a problem. The 32 GB of internal storage is adequate and with the micro SD card slot, you can expand it further.

The audio on the tablet is fairly loud and clear thanks to its dual front speakers. The tablet has a heating issue which is annoying if you are planning to hold it in hand for a long time. The tablet gets warm while streaming videos. Videos and pictures clicked from the camera are crisp, but the color accuracy is bad. The tablet’s battery lasts up to 7 hours of continues usage of web browsing with WiFi connectivity.

Pros

  • Good design and build quality
  • Good Audio
  • Good Display
  • Runs on Windows
Cons

  • Gets warm
  • Average camera
  • Average battery life

Buy on Amazon.com

Graphics” screen (1280 x 800)
PerformanceIntel Atom with 1 GB of RAM
Storage32 GB
CamerasFront: 1.2 MP / Rear: 5 MP
Battery lifeUp to 11 hours
OSWindows 8.1
Dimensions / Weight10.2″ x 6.9″ x 0.35″ / 1.2 lbs
Colors Avail.Gold

About Erik

Erik is the owner and main editor of techmanik.com. He has been working in computers and information technology for more than 20 years. He’s a business analyst, developer and avid traveler.

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