If you’re looking for a quality, powerful tablet, the best tablets under 400 dollars are for you.
Whether you are a working professional or someone looking for a multimedia device with an excellent display & some hardware muscle to play heavy games, tablets under $400 offer it all.
You should get one of these if you want a quality, high-end tablet. But, if you’re looking for a good one without paying for a premium product, you might want to look at tablets under $300. They offer good quality as well, at a more affordable price.
Our Top 3 Picks
| #1 – Asus ZenPad 3S 10 | #2 – Apple iPad | #3 – Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 |
 |  |  |
Premium & Ideal for Multimedia | Premium looking with an excellent display and camera | Compact 8-inch with premium feel and good performance |
| 9.7″ HD | 9.7″ HD | 8″ HD |
| MTK MT8176 Dual-Core with 4 GB of RAM | A10 Fusion with 2 GB of RAM | Octa-core APQ8076 with 3 GB of RAM |
| 64 GB | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Up to 10 hours | Up to 10 hours | Up to 10 hours |
| Jump to our Review | Jump to our Review | Jump to our Review |
What to expect from the best tablets under 400 dollars
Quality and Casing
For a premium price tag of $400, tablet manufacturers try to offer the best quality for your money.
Tablets in this range provide either a high-quality plastic chassis or a more premium aluminum body. They will be durable and lightweight. Depending on the display size, most of them to offer great one-handed usability.
Display
$400 tablets are equipped with vibrant full HD screens and the best ones will have a 2K resolution. The display size varies depending on the model of the tablet, and you can get it in 7-inch, 8-inch and 10-inch options.
Expect the top tablets under 400 dollars to have great color accuracy and vividness. After all, you paying for a premium tablet!
Performance
At this price range, tablets are equipped with powerful hardware.
You can expect the tablet to offer quad-core and octa-core processor from Qualcomm, Intel, MediaTek, and Nvidia. Also, they’ll have enough memory to handle many apps opened at once. That will give you a powerful tablet that won’t lag during multi-tasking.
Audio
When buying a tablet for multimedia needs, a good audio system is a priority. Tablets in this price range output distortion-free sound while being loud enough to use it as a portable music player.
Camera
You can expect the camera unit to be better than low-end tablets. While a tablet’ camera may never produce pictures of smartphone quality, the best tablets under $400 offer an acceptable image quality.
Software
Tablets under $400 come either with Windows or Android.
Android is, of course, the standard choice if you’re a normal user. But if you’re looking for MS Office integration or for a more versatile tablet, choose one with Windows 10. There are a few on the market.
Other Aspects
Other things you can expect from the best tablets under $400: 32 GB of internal storage that can expend up to 128 GB and an excellent battery life ranging from 8 to 15 hours.
The sub $400 tablet market has some exciting options to choose from. They’ll be useful for both the working professional and users that need a multimedia tablet. Their excellent display quality and hardware power are great for watching movies and playing games
Recommended for you:Specs for the Top 10 Best Tablets under $400
| Graphics | 8 to 10-inch |
| Processor | Apple A8 & A10, Intel Atom, Qualcomm Snapdragon or similar |
| RAM | 1 to 4 GB |
| Storage | 16 to 128 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 2 to 5 MP Back: 2 to 13 MP |
| Battery life | 9 to 18 hours |
| OS | Windows 10, Android 4 to 6, iOS 9 to 11 |
| Dimensions / Weight | Height: 7.82 to 10.4″ Width: 4.49 to 7.1″ Thick.: 0.22 to 0.38″ Weight: 0.58to 1.74 lbs |
| Price Range | $$$, $$$$ |
Top 10 Best Tablets under $400
1 – Asus ZenPad 3S 10 – 10″ HD
“Premium & Ideal for Multimedia”
The Asus ZenPad 3S 10 is definitely the best 10-inch tablet under $400 if you want a tablet for media consumption. It offers a stunning design with a slim profile and great build quality. The aluminum shell feels and looks premium. It weighs less than 1 lbs, which is quite good for a 10-inch tablet.
The 9.7-inch display is brilliant with its 2K resolution: you get a bright & crisp display with good viewing angles. The audio is also impressive: with the loud & clear speakers, you’re in for a treat. It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow on top of Zen UI.
The MediaTek processor paired with 4 GB of RAM delivers adequate performance. Apps open fast, and the games don’t show any lag or slowness. It also gets a fingerprint reader that is as good as it gets.
The area where it could improve is on the camera-side: they are the average for the price. The battery life on this 400 dollars tablet is good, but some competitors offer a better one, making the Asus ZenPad 3S 10’s battery life look just average.
Pros
| Cons
|
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| Graphics | 9.7″ HD screen (2048 x 1536) |
| Performance | MTK MT8176 Dual-Core with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 5 MP / Rear: 8 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours |
| OS | Android 6 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 9.45″ x 6.44″ x 0.22″ / 0.94 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Silver |
2 – Apple iPad – 10″ HD
“Premium looking with an excellent display and camera”
The Apple iPad 9.7 is among the premium tablets and is one of the best 10-inch tablets under $400. The iPad offers a 9.7-inch display packed in a premium lightweight aluminum shell, weighing a respectable 1.05 lbs. It feels solid but I wish they would have taken care of the thick bezels, it would make it even smaller.
The 2K resolution display is adequately bright and sharp for watching movies, playing games and creating presentations. The iPad has always been a solid performer, and this one is no exception. With A10 fusion Chip and 2 GB of RAM, it handles any game with ease. You can even use the Adobe Premiere Clip to edit and render videos.
If you want a tablet with a good camera, iPad is the best choice. The rear camera takes excellent pictures for your school work or vacation trip. This iPad offers 10 hours of battery life with moderate usage. Not the best, but definitely acceptable. The Apple iPad 9.7 runs on the iOS 11 out of the box which is ideal for the iPad. The audio quality is crisp and fairly loud for media consumption.
Pros
| Cons
|
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| Graphics | 9.7″ HD screen (2048 x 1536) |
| Performance | A10 Fusion with 2 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB |
| Cameras | No Front Camera / Rear: 8 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours |
| OS | iOS 11 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 9.4″ x 6.6″ x 0.29″ / 1.05 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Silver, Gold, Grey |
3 – Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 – 8″ HD
“Compact 8-inch with premium feel and good performance”
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is an 8-inch tablet under $400 that offers a premium feel thanks to the matte finish at the back and metal work on the side. The tablet feels durable and weighs only 0.58 lbs, making it ideal for one-handed use. The 8-inch AMOLED screen is sharp and bright and, with a 2k resolution, the picture quality is excellent.
The Tab S2 comes powered with an Exynos Octa-core processor paired with 3 GB of RAM. The hardware is powerful enough to handle any given task like playing graphic intensive games, video streaming and multitasking. The rear camera captures decent quality pictures under good lighting conditions, whereas the front facing camera is good for video calling.
The battery life is average and can last up to 10 hours with moderate usage. The audio output is good but not great and could have been better for the price.
Pros
| Cons
|
| Graphics | 8″ HD screen (2048 x 1536) |
| Performance | Octa-core APQ8076 with 3 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 2 MP / Rear: 8 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours |
| OS | Android 6 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 7.82″ x 5.31″ x 0.22″ / 0.58 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Black, White, Gold |
Other similar versions (prices may vary)
Recommended for you:
4 – Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Plus – 10″ HD
“An excellent 10-inch tablet for home entertainment”
The Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Plus has a design that no other tablet in this segment offers. The cylindrical base houses the flip-out metal stand & the speakers. It’s great for watching movies. This tablet also feels well-built and it comes with water-resistant certification.
The Tab 3 offers a 10.1-inch 2K resolution display which is fantastic thanks to sharpness and outstanding contrast. The front base holds the JBL speakers that sound great for a tablet.
It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Performance is handled by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor coupled with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. The hardware can handle graphics intensive games and high-resolution video play without any lag. The battery life of Tab 3 Plus is excellent and will last more than 10 hours with moderate usage.
Pros
| Cons
|
| Graphics | 10.1″ HD screen (2560 x 1600) |
| Performance | Qualcomm Snapdragon with 3 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 5 MP / Rear: 13 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 18 hours |
| OS | Android 6 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 9.72″ x 7.05″ x 0.37″ / 1.4 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Black |
5 – Lenovo Yoga Book (Windows) – 10″ HD
“Unique 10-inch convertible with super slim profile and lightweight chassis”
The Lenovo Yoga Book is a super slim convertible with a touch-and-type keyboard. Equipped with Windows 10, its unique design makes it a great productivity tool. The tablet is well-built and feels solid in hand. It offers a 10.1-inch full HD IPS display which is colorful and bright, and the color production is excellent.
Despite the slim profile, the speakers on the tablet are fairly loud and clear. The touch-and-type keyboard is something unique & useful, but it will not replace a real physical keyboard if you type a lot. The included pad & the pen both work great and let you create art or can be used for note-taking.
With the Intel Atom processor and 4 GB of RAM, the tablet does what it is supposed to do without lag. Take notes, watch movies and have multiple browser tabs opened and still won’t lag. The 64 GB of internal storage is enough as it also comes with a micro SD card reader.
The battery life can last up to 10 hours which is excellent considering all the bells and whistles it offers. Also, the rear and front camera on the tablet is adequate and capture decent photos.
All-in-all, a very interesting tablet under $400 that delivers a lot of value.
Pros
| Cons
|
| Graphics | 10.1″ HD screen (1920 x 1200) |
| Performance | Intel Atom with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 2 MP / Rear: 8 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 15 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 10.1″ x 6.72″ x 0.38″ / 1.52 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Black, White |
Other similar versions (prices may vary)
# 6 to 10 Best Tablets under $400
6 – Apple iPad Mini 4 – 8″ HD
“8-inch iPad with good battery life, good display, and sleek design”
The Apple iPad Mini 4 gets a lot of things right but also misses out on a few. The iPad Mini 4 is a well-built, sleek device with a premium quality chassis that weighs around 0.65 lbs.
The 7.9-inch 2k resolution display is excellent, offering good contrast & color accuracy, making it an excellent device for media consumption. The audio quality, however, is only decent and is nothing exceptional. The iPad Mini 4 runs on iOS 9 and doesn’t show any glitches or lags.
As for the performance, the Apple A8 chip makes sure that you zip through any task with ease, even if it’s not the most recent one. Asphalt 8 runs smoothly and the movie playing experience is lag free. The rear camera offers a good amount of details and the panorama mode is particularly impressive. The battery can last up to 10 hours with web surfing and normal usage. This variant of the iPad Mini 4 offer 128 GB of internal storage that makes up for the lack of Micro SD card slot.
If you are looking for one of the best 8-inch tablets under $400, the iPad Mini 4 is a good choice.
Pros
| Cons
|
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| Graphics | 7.9″ HD screen (2048 x 1536) |
| Performance | Apple A8 Chip with 2 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 128 GB |
| Cameras | No Front Camera / Rear: 8 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours |
| OS | iOS 9 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 8″ x 5.31″ x 0.24″ / 0.65 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Silver, Gold, Grey |
7 – Huawei MediaPad M3 – 8″ HD
“8-inch Tablet offering excellent display and impressive audio”
The Huawei MediaPad M3 offers a metal unibody design with clean lines and premium look. The tablet has an 8.4-inch high-resolution display which is perfect for watching movies and playing games. The color accuracy is good, with great black contrast and the viewing angles are impressive too. The Harman Kardon speaker sounds excellent with clear and loud sound output.
The tablet is powered by the Krin 950 CPU paired with 4 GB of RAM. Multitasking, gameplay and video streaming all happen without any lag or stutter. However, the Huawei user interface on top of Android isn’t impressive and I’d have preferred the original OS. The rear and front-facing camera both do a decent job of taking pictures, but are nothing to brag about. The 5100 mAh battery on this tablet lasts for a day with moderate usage.
The Huawei MediaPad M3 is not the cheapest tablet, but it is a great multimedia device.
Pros
| Cons
|
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| Graphics | 8″ HD screen (2560 x 1600) |
| Performance | Kirin 950 Octa Core with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 2 MP / Rear: 2 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 12 hours |
| OS | Android 6 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 8.47″ x 4.49″ x 0.29″ / 0.68 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | White |
8 – Asus Transformer Mini T102HA – 10″
“A Windows 10 hybrid with a good display, battery life, and loud speakers”
The Asus Transformer Mini T102HA is for those who want an inexpensive 2-in-1 Windows hybrid with a good display and audio. Asus is the pioneer of these 2-in-1 devices and the Asus Transformer Mini has a simple yet elegant design. The build quality is good, and the tablet feels premium. At 1.74 lbs, it is not the lightest but considering it comes with a keyboard dock, the weight is acceptable.
The 10.1-inch HD resolution display is bright and is, in fact, one of the brightest screens in this range. The keyboard is a bit cramped for large hands, and the typing experience is decent for a keyboard of that size. The audio output is loud and clear.
Powered by a 1.44 GHz Intel Atom processor and 4 GB of RAM, the Transformer Mini has enough power for basic tasks, but anything slightly demanding may make it lag. The onboard 128 GB storage is adequate for media storage and better than most $400 tablets. The webcam on the device is poor and you better off not considering it as a buying factor, but the battery can last a long day on a single charge.
Pros
| Cons
|
| Graphics | 10.1″ touchscreen (1280 x 800) |
| Performance | Intel Atom with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 128 GB eMMC |
| Cameras | Front: 2 MP / No Back Camera |
| Battery life | Up to 11 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 10.2″ x 6.7″ x 0.32″ / 1.74 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Silver, White & Orange |
9 – Asus MeMO Pad 8 – 8″
“Affordable 8-inch with good display & build quality”
The Asus MeMO Pad 8 is a thin 8-inch tablet that weighs around 0.7 lbs. The build quality is good and feels well-constructed. The HD resolution display offers good contrast with decent black level and good color accuracy. The 16 GB of onboard storage is decent for the price and you can upgrade the memory further using the Micro SD card slot.
The MeMO Pad 8 comes packed with a quad-core processor coupled with 1 GB of RAM. For the price the hardware is right, and the performance doesn’t disappoint either. You can run games like Assassins Creed Pirates with ease, as there is no lag unless you push it to the limits.
This tablet runs on Android 4.4 KitKat which is an obsolete version of Android. The rear camera on the tablet is poor so is the front-facing camera. The battery life depends on the usage, however, with moderate usage the tablet can last up to 9 hours.
Pros
Cons | |
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| Graphics | 8″ screen (1280 x 800) |
| Performance | Intel Atom Z3745 with 1 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 16 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 2 MP / Rear: 5 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 9 hours |
| OS | Android 4.4 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 8.3″ x 4.9″ x 0.3″ / 0.7 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Black, White |
10 – Asus Transformer Pad Infinity – 10″ HD
“Sharp display, quad-core processor & long battery life”
The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity is not the prettiest on this list of the best tablets under $400, but it is surely durable and well-built. The 10.1-inch display with full HD resolution is stunning with good brightness and color saturation. Any 1080p video file runs smoothly, revealing great detail. The speakers on the tablet produce decent sound but I’d have preferred something better.
Featuring NVIDIA’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor, playing games & web browsing happens without any lag despite having only 1 GB of RAM. The rear camera on the tablet is not good according to today’s standards when compared with the Asus ZenPad 3S and Apple iPad. Also, the battery life on the tablet is a little low with 7 hours of continues usage.
Pros
Cons | |
| Graphics | 10.1″ HD screen (1920 x 1200) |
| Performance | NVIDIA Tegra 3 1.6 GHz with 1 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 2 MP / Rear: 8 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 9.5 hours |
| OS | Android 4.4 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 10.4″ x 7.1″ x 0.33″ / 1.32 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Purple / Black |
Amazing Tablets
I do agree with that!