The Best Projectors
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There's nothing like watching your favorite films in a dark room on a massive screen. For that authentic movie theater experience at home, you’ll need a projector (and a popcorn maker).
You used to have to shell out more than $10,000 to get an excellent projected experience, but you can now get a massive, beautiful picture for less than the cost of a flagship TV. Projectors are also much more portable and easier to set up than ever. And if you have space, there are excellent pocket-sized and short-throw models that make lawn-side movie nights as easy as finding an extension cord and a level chair to set them on. Below are our favorite models and a couple of screens to pair with them.
Working on a total home-theater overhaul and need some help? We've got an entire guide on How to Set Up a Projector. Also, be sure to check out our buying guides to the Best Soundbars and Best 4K Streaming Devices.
Updated February 2025: We added the Hisense PX3-Pro, XGIMI Horizon S Max and MoGo 3 Pro, and mentioned the Samsung The Premiere 9 and Dangbei DBOX02.
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- Photograph: BenQ
The Best Traditional Projector
BenQ TK860iThis bright-room projector from BenQ is a solid and affordable option for most people. With 3,300 lumens, the TK860i is more than bright enough for lit rooms, and it makes the thing positively gleam in the dark. This projector also comes with Google TV onboard, which makes it easy to stream your favorite shows and movies instantly, no other streaming device is required.
It's light and easy to position on a mount. The projector can be placed between 9.9 and 12.8 feet from the wall, with up to 120-inch screen size. This has fantastic color accuracy and looks great in brighter rooms and positively cinematic in dark ones.
If you need shorter throw distance, consider options like the Hisense model below.
- Photograph: Parker Hall
Easiest Setup
Hisense PX3-ProShort-throw laser projectors like this one from Hisense (8/10, WIRED Recommends) sit right on top of your TV stand and project an image directly on the wall behind them. This makes them among the easiest projectors to use, and also means you (typically) get a built-in soundbar to boot. We're a big fan of this format, and it's easy to see why many of the top brands are selling short-throw laser models.
Of all the ones I've tried, I love this Dolby Vision–enabled one from Hisense the most. It features three lasers with the ability to project up to a 130-inch screen, and its Google TV interface and built-in speakers mean that it's instantly capable of playing your favorite movies and shows in high quality. With 3,000 nits of peak brightness, this is even bright enough for rooms with lights on, though you'll want as dark a space as possible for the best quality.
★Upgrade pick: Check out Samsung’s The Premiere 9 ($5,339), which is the first short-throw model certified to do HDR10+ (as opposed to Dolby Vision), and features 4K AI upscaling for lower-resolution content. I still prefer the Hisense for the Google TV interface, but this Samsung projector looks and sounds excellent, and it peaks at 3,450 lumens of brightness, which makes it better than the Hisense (or even the BenQ atop this list) for bright rooms.
- Photograph: Parker Hall
For Vibing Out
XGIMI MoGo 3 ProThis cylindrical model from XGIMI is an up-to-120-inch 1080p powerhouse with a rotating projector that nestles against a Harman Kardon speaker when not in use.
Want to use the Google TV-enabled projector? Just set it down and tilt out the cylinder on top to reveal the lens. This makes it excellent for aiming anywhere, especially outside or on walls and ceilings. You can even get a creative optical filter that attaches to the projector's lens and magnifies everything in a cool way—an excellent way to spruce up the lighting at your next event. I like using it outside at night to project old open-source footage against trees during dinner parties. It adds a cool ambiance.
The projector itself is powered by USB-C, but you can get a powerbase stand ($130) that gives you two and a half hours of play time, or just use a portable battery bank to power it. You'll want to wait until it's reasonably dark to use this one. At under 500 lumens, it is only really meant for nighttime or very dark rooms.
- Photograph: Parker Hall
Best Portable Projector
XGIMI Horizon S MaxThis portable projector from XGIMI has a built-in soundbar from Harman Kardon and a triple laser projection system that is brighter and crisper than other portable models I have tested. It does require a large battery or power source to work (it doesn't have a built-in battery), but it is reasonably light and portable enough to take on a car camping trip or to lug outdoors for movie nights, and given the image quality you'll want to take it with you.
The projector features a built-in Android TV operating system which makes streaming from apps and casting from your phone a breeze, and it has quiet fans when watching indoors. It performs well enough and is bright enough that you could use this as your primary projector in the living room, unplug it and bring it with you when you want a projector elsewhere—sort of a goldilocks of size, picture quality, and price.
If you're in need of a larger screen, I highly recommend the Dangbei DBOX02 ($1,899), which is a very similar laser projector that can go up to 200 inches. It has two 12-watt speakers and is capable of Dolby Atmos or DTS:X from inside its Google TV interface. I enjoyed the autofocusing and auto-keystone adjustment, and you can even get a Dangbei-made gimbal to help with setup.
- Photograph: Parker Hall
A Cute Portable Projector
BenQ GV31The BenQ GV31 is a cute little round 1080p projector that comes with large speakers on each side and a clever holder on the bottom that easily allows you to adjust the angle. The sound is bold and brash enough for outdoor movie nights, karaoke, or a presentation, and built-in autofocus and keystone correction (plus Android TV) make it super easy to stream anything anywhere. It also has a battery life of up to 180 minutes if you're streaming outside, which makes this great for parties, but we always recommend plugging in for best performance.
I thought this little cheese wheel might be a bit underwhelming in testing, so it sat at the bottom of the testing pile for a while, but once I broke it out I was very impressed with its performance. At 300 lumens, it gets just bright enough even for early evening viewing outside, and I especially like how easily accessible they make the ports on the side of the projector, which made plugging in my beloved Roku streaming stick a breeze.
- Photograph: Optoma
Best Projector for Gaming or Golf
Optoma UHZ66With just four milliseconds of input lag at 1080p, this 240-Hz gaming projector is more than capable of keeping up with all but the most competitive online gamers. In addition, the laser projector offers up to 4,000 peak lumens, which means you can watch it in rooms that aren't completely dark.
It can project a 4K image up to 120 inches at about 12 feet away, which makes it a good choice for medium-large rooms where you want to get your game on. I also recommend it as a golf simulator projector, since it can be mounted so far from your swing. You'll get about 10,000 more hours out of the laser than you will out of a normal bulb, for up to 30,000 hours of viewing time before you'll need to upgrade.
- Photograph: LG
Best for Phones
LG CineBeam PH30NThe CineBeam PH30N is a blast. It has two hours of battery life, so you can watch a short movie anywhere (plug it in for longer sessions), and you can even stream things straight from your cell phone—no cables required. With 720p resolution and up to a 100-inch image size all from a projector that fits easily in a purse, you'll be watching Netflix in the woods in no time. Just wait until it's dark, because portable projectors aren't nearly as bright as their beefier, cabled counterparts.
- Photograph: Epson
For Home Cinephiles
Epson LS12000Epson's flagship 4K projectors have always been some of the best that money can buy. It feels like every generation builds in more value. It's hard to perceive value when it comes to a $5,000 projector, but this thing looks like a $20,000 (or more!) projector would have 10 years ago.
This three-chip laser projector is capable of 2,700 peak lumens for a bright picture in even moderately lit rooms, and it's so precise with color that it can do full 10-bit high dynamic range. It's also decent for gaming and watching sports, thanks to a 120-Hz refresh rate. If you have a theater room and need a new projector, this is a solid option.
- Photograph: Silver Ticket
Best Indoor Screen
Silver Ticket STR-169100 - Photograph: Elite Screens
Best Outdoor Screen
Elite Screens Yard Master 2Outdoor movie nights shouldn't rely on an old white sheet or the scruffed-up wall of your garage. Instead, grab the Yardmaster 2 from Elite Screens, which assembles in minutes and comes with a carrying case for storage between events. Don't want two screens in your life? Do what I did and just move it inside during the cooler months.
Setting Up a Projector
Projectors offer larger screen sizes and a more cinematic viewing experience than their TV counterparts, but that doesn't mean they're easier to set up. That's why we have an entire guide to How to Buy a Projector to check out!
Unless you're going for a portable option, you'll want to make sure you have a projector mount ($20) and HDMI cable properly routed to the location of your projector. This is because setting up full-size projectors to fit your screen, be in focus, etc., can be a pain, so once you get everything dialed in, you'll want to leave it as-is.
Make Sure Your Projector Is Bright Enough
Make sure you get enough lumens (how bright your projector will get at its peak, the higher the number the better). Over 2,000 lumens is a good starting space for any kind of lit viewing, but we recommend 3000 or above if you're viewing in a bright room. Anything under 1,000 lumens is only really worth it as a portable projector for the darkest rooms or after dark.
Without a completely dark room, the image can look washed out and be hard to see. If you don't have a room without windows, consider getting blackout curtains. For more detailed information on how to set up a projector after it arrives, I highly recommend this video.
Make Sure There's Space for Your Image!
The biggest thing to bear in mind before you get a projector is just how much space you'll need to properly set it up. In most cases, you'll need 10 to 15 feet between the screen and the projector (be sure to check the “throw distance” listed by the manufacturer in the manual) to achieve screen sizes over 100 inches, unless you're getting a short throw model.
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