There is a seemingly endless number of telescopes at Walmart and fortunately, we've discovered the very best and put them in the handy guide below.
Below, you'll find a range of telescopes on offer and some great budget telescopes under $500 and Celestron telescope deals. When it comes to telescopes at Walmart, we've scoped out the best the retailer has to offer and selected the best value deals, so you don't have to break the bank. We've also included some buying advice, which you'll find below the deals on offer, in case you're a little unsure on what to look for.
Of course, when you're looking for a new telescope, it's tempting to look for the very best telescopes out there. If you know what you like or there's a certain manufacturer you trust, then it could be worth checking out our Sky-Watcher telescope deals, Meade telescope deals and Orion telescope deals guides.
It's important to note that this page is updated year-round, so when new telescope deals go live, you'll find them here. Regardless of experience or budget, you're likely to find something suitable below. If you don't quite find what you're looking for, you can always consider one of the best binoculars or comb through top binoculars deals as they can often provide stunning night sky views at a more cost-effective price. But, if you want to check out the best telescopes at Walmart, then check out the handy guide below.
Telescopes at Walmart in 2023
Telescopes at Walmart: Best deals
Buying advice
When it comes to buying a telescope you need to consider two main factors: Your budget and what you're wanting to view. There are three main types of telescopes out there, and figuring out what you want to view will help you decide what type of telescope you will need. There are refractors, reflectors and catadioptric telescopes.
For beginners, refractor telescopes are often a popular choice due to their easy to maintain and use style. They're often mounted to alt-azimuth mounts so they're straightforward to use and the mounts themselves are easy to manufacture so the price tends to be cost-effective too. They're best used for focussing on specific targets like moons and planets due to the fact that they're good for showing high-magnified and high-contrast images.
Reflector telescopes tend to have larger apertures and are better for low-magnification targets like nebulas and galaxies. You get two types of reflector telescope: Dobsonians and Newtonians, although there’s some crossover between these. In brief, though, Dobsonians are easier to maintain and often found attached to the alt-azimuth mount. Newtonians are more commonly affixed to equatorial mounts, which allow you to follow the rotation of the night sky more accurately, but they require more upkeep.
Finally, catadioptric telescopes fix issues found in both of the above types of scope – such as chromatic aberration and the coma effect – and they are typically equipped with a GoTo system. These systems are essentially mini computers that align your telescope to particular night sky objects. You get two types of catadioptrics, the Schmidt-Cassegrain and the Maksutov-Cassegrain. As a general rule, the Maksutov-Cassegrain is better for viewing planets, while the Schmidt-Cassegrain models are a little more versatile and feature bigger apertures, so they’re preferred by astrophotographers.
