The best cheap Bluetooth speakers in 2024

Our list of the best cheap Bluetooth speakers will help you find top-tier wireless audio at a bargain price. In fact, in this roundup we’ve stumbled on a bonanza of bargain Bluetooth speaker gems all for under $100 — and some for less than $50.

Whether you're looking for a model to play at a cookout or BBQ in the backyard with family and friends, or want a reliable speaker to take along to a music festival that you can throw into a travel bag for carefree sounds, we've rated each of these cheap Bluetooth speakers for their sound and battery life performance, and robustness.

My recommendation for the best cheap Bluetooth speaker overall is the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3. This compact speaker impressed us with its bass sound both indoors and out. It also has some of the strongest durability around, but battery life can be bettered. Speaking of which, if battery life is a priority then the Anker Soundcore 3 lasts longer, has equally big sound, but is less attractive to look at. That might not matter, though, at the value price.    

Read on to find out which models deliver top audio quality without breaking the bank. 

The quick list

About the author

Lee Dunkley

As Tom's Guide audio editor with more than 30 years of listening and testing all kinds of audio products — from budget speakers to Hi-Fi systems that cost as much as a luxury car — I've listened to hundreds of speakers and I know what makes the grade when it comes to balancing great sound, durability and features. If you’re looking for a Bluetooth speaker on a budget, you can rest assured that each of the options listed below has a thumbs up from me and our team of audio experts. 

The best cheap Bluetooth speakers you can buy right now 

Best cheap Bluetooth speaker overall

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The UE Wonderboom 3 is one of the most well-rounded Bluetooth speakers under $100 that we’ve reviewed. Balanced sound and a portable design make it a great companion, while the Outdoor Boost feature does its job. And for most people 14 hours of battery life is plenty.

If you think you need beefier sound or a longer battery life, the Megaboom 3 might be worth the investment. It also can be paired with additional UE speakers for stereo sound. Charging the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is our only real disappointment. Going from dead, the speaker took over two hours to reach the chime that indicates a full charge. This is probably due to Micro-USB charging, which is rather outdated, and we wish it had USB-C charging like most of my other devices. Otherwise, the UE Wonderboom 3 is one of the best options for the price.

• Read the full UE Wonderboom 3 review

Best value Bluetooth speaker

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The Anker Soundcore 3 is an amazing little Bluetooth speaker for outdoor sounds. For just over $50, this tiny powerhouse delivers loud, well-balanced sound within an IPX7-rated design that can survive water, dust, while the robust rubberised outer case takes care of protection from every day knocks. The speaker lasts up to a whopping 24 hours, thanks to Anker's best-in-class battery technology, and the Soundcore 3's dual tweeter drivers and central mid/bass woofer allied to a passive bass driver and Anker's BassUp technology, ensure you'll get powerful sound in any setting.

The Soundcore's compact, 6.75 x 2.25 x 2.25-inch design makes this speaker perfect for tossing into your bag for a quick road trip, and SharePlay allows multiple Soundcore speakers to be synced for an even bigger sound. It's also available in blue, red and silver colors for a little extra ($56) cost in addition to the standard slick black we tested.

• Read our full Anker Soundcore 3 review

Best battery life from a cheap Bluetooth speaker

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The Tribit Stormbox Flow sounds remarkably good and is on a par with the more expensive Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3. The bass is impressive, especially with the XBass or Rock sound mode engaged. It’s a little heavier than the competition and it isn’t much to look at — two things that mean it ranks third in our list of best cheap Bluetooth speakers, and may cause you to look elsewhere.

If you like physical controls to play with rather than having to navigate a control app, you'll find controls for power, Bluetooth pairing, and volume along the speaker's top. Tribit says the StormBox Flow can play for 30 hours on a charge, although that will drop to 24 hours with XBass engaged. 

Bluetooth connectivity was stable during our tests, and our reviewer found that it maintained a strong connection to a phone placed 100 feet away. There no auxiliary port for connecting up an external wired source, but it can be used as a speaker phone. If sound quality is the driver, the StormBox Flow will exceed your expectations.

• Read our full Tribit StormBox Flow review

Best cheap Bluetooth speaker for day sacks

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For less than $60, the Sony SRS-XB100 Bluetooth speaker provides a great on-the-go listening experience in a grippy can-shaped package. It doesn’t get as loud as the UE Wonderboom 3 (above), but the XB100 audio quality is truly impressive for its size. You can pair two speakers in stereo to split left and right audio channels for better performance. What’s more, it can cope with environmental noises and projects sounds well, even in windy environments, but there's no EQ control.

It takes 4.5 hours to recharge via USB-C, which means there’s not really the option to quickly juice it up before you head out. Plus, the included charging cable is shorter than we’d like. Nevertheless, the XB100 is a great buy at the price. It comes in four colors — black, blue, light grey and orange — and a special UV coating means the colors shouldn’t fade in the sun.

• Read our full Sony SRS-XB100 review

Best cheap Bluetooth speaker with Wi-Fi

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The $39 Echo Pop is currently the least expensive smart speaker offered by the company. As well as being a Wi-Fi speaker with Alexa smarts built-in, the Echo Pop also offers connectivity via Bluetooth, making it a pretty versatile little speaker for the price. It's $10 less than the Amazon Echo Dot and comes in four colors: black white, lavender, and teal.

Like the Echo Dot, the Echo Pop delivers good audio for its size. It’s not going to replace larger speakers, but it’s great for smaller spaces or when you’re listening to music alone. Ultimately, if all you want is a neat little Bluetooth speaker that brings together Alexa voice assistant smarts with pretty good good sound quality for its size when playing music, then the Echo Pop is worth a shot. 

• Read our full Amazon Echo Pop review

Best small Bluetooth speaker

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The pocket-friendly JBL Go 4 very nearly does it all. It's highly portable with a rope loop carry strap, is water- and dust-proof to the IP67 standard, and battery life has been boosted from 5 hours playback on the Go 3 to 7 hours on the Go 4. It's also good-looking, with six color options to choose from, and its Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity is solid and dependable.

Sound quality impressed during our testing at the office and outdoors in a yard playing a range of pop music, from classics tracks by ABBA through to indie music like Mk.gee’s album, Two Star & The Dream Police. The small speaker remained distortion free even with the volume turned up, with mid- and bass frequencies nicely amplified but it misses out on sub-bass.

• Read our full JBL Go 4 review

Best for travel

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The StormBox Micro 2 is a fantastic follow-up that retains many of the original’s merits, while also improving on audio and battery life. You can fit this in the palm of your hand or conveniently attach it to a bike handle and pump out jams while zipping through bike lanes. An IP67-rated design with dust- and waterproofing keeps this speaker safeguarded from extreme weather conditions. Bass sounds bigger and fuller this time around. You can even pair multiple speakers for wide stereo sound that extends up to 120 feet via Bluetooth 5.3. 

You’ll want to keep volume below max level to avoid severe distortion. A companion app with extras would have been greatly appreciated, but it’s not the end of the world considering most of the products on this list lack the same software support.

• Read our hands-on Tribit StormBox Micro 2 review

Best cheap Bluetooth speakers: Specs compared

Also tested...

We test a lot of Bluetooth speakers throughout the year, and while there are several noteworthy models, not all of them make it into our buying guide. Our current top selections stand out more for their stronger designs, feature sets, and performance. Everything in this guide has also been given a full review. Still, we advise you to consider the also-tested options below. These alternatives have been through our rigorous testing processes, but didn't quite make the grade to rank among the best of the best.

Tribit StormBox Micro (★★★★)

The first-gen StormBox Micro pushes $50, and it's worth it. This is a much more compact speaker than its cousin, the XSound Go, and it's both fully waterproof (in depths up to 1 meter) and protected against dust and dirt. Unlike a lot of very small speakers, it also sounds great, producing clear vocals and some surprisingly strong bass. For something tiny enough to clip onto a satchel or bike handlebars, that’s very good indeed. The only drawbacks are the lack of an app, though you can pair with two devices at once) and a relatively low battery life, which sees the StormBox Micro run dry after 8 hours.

Read our full Tribit StormBox Micro review

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JBL Clip 5 (★★★★)

For the shower singers that require sonic fuel in the early morning, the JBL Clip 5 has your name on it. This compact Bluetooth speaker is known for its built-in carabiner, which has a larger opening to hook onto larger items, and ultra-waterproof design (IP67) to deal with heavy splashing and submersion up to 3 feet. Bass remains at the forefront of the soundstage, and it has been refined to create more vibrant-sounding mixes. We’re still waiting for JBL to add companion app support for EQ customization. Nonetheless, what’s available is more than sufficient for the MSRP.

Read our full JBL Clip 5 review

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Tribit StormBox 2 (★★★1/2)

Think of the StormBox 2 as a bigger, more advanced, and pricier version of the StormBox Micro 2, but with more shortcomings. It is lightweight, waterproof (IPX7), and has sound personalization features like an EQ and music presets via companion app. Battery life is longer too, at 24 hours. However, Tribit made compromises to this portable speaker that lower its value. You don’t get dustproof protection, and the overly aggressive low end diminishes frequency range.

Could you read our full Tribit StormBox 2 review?

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How to choose the best cheap Bluetooth speakers

3 things to consider before you buy

The best cheap Bluetooth speaker is a balance between price, sound quality, size and features. While none of these speakers cost very much, you will see a wide variability in sound quality among the ones that have an MRSP of more $50 than the the ones priced lower. If you can afford to spend a few more dollars, you will be rewarded with better vocals and bass, and generally, better battery life. 

1. Design: If you know you’ll want to take the speaker with you on hikes and to the pool, opt for one that is light, offers waterproofing and ideally gets loud enough to be heard over environmental noise. Check ratings carefully and don't forget to check out our best outdoor speakers and best waterproof speakers to buy right now. 

2. Bluetooth range: You should also pay attention to the wireless range — some of these will stay connected 100 feet from your audio source, while others are only good at 33 feet. While most of these cheap Bluetooth speakers include a microphone for use as a speakerphone, the quality may not be any better than what your phone can produce.

3. Pricing considerations: Obviously, price is a big consideration when looking for the a low-cost Bluetooth speaker. Although there are always exceptions, big-name brands will always command a bit extra, but generally speaking, the less you spend on a Bluetooth speaker the greater the chance that sound and features will be compromised. Going for a budget option isn't always the best choice, but you can rest assured that all the models in this list bring strong performance at a great price.

As the saying goes: timing is everything; and right now many of our favorite models can be found discounted at online retailers, meaning you can bag a bargain for even less. Bookmark our tech deals pages to keep on top of the biggest bargains. 

How we test the best cheap Bluetooth speakers

The best reviews criteria carried out by audio experts

With more than 30 years experience in testing and reviewing consumer audio products for all kinds of media outlets and big-name brands around the world, the Tom's Guide audio team apply the most rigorous test regime when it comes to determining the best products for our buying guide lists. 

Each of the Bluetooth speakers on this list was tested using songs from a variety of music genres, including rock, hip-hop and acoustic. We listen for vocal clarity, sharpness of treble and richness of bass. We assess how easily each speaker pairs with our playback devices, and try the on-device controls for ease of use. We benchmark volume using an app that measures decibels, and during the testing phase, our reviewer listens for several hours at a time throughout the course of a week. Reviewers will make a note of the battery life performance in real world use, and assess how well this matches the rated battery life specifications provided by earbud makers. 

Star ratings explained: We evaluate Bluetooth speakers based on a five-point system (1 = worst, 5 = best). If a product hits nearly every mark, it is awarded a coveted Recommended badge, while our Best Value award speaks for itself. Only products with truly exceptional performance across the board are awarded an Editor's Choice badge. 

For more information, check out our how we test page for Tom's Guide.a

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