We've rounded up the best budget telescopes under $500, so if you want to do some stargazing, you don't have to break the bank. There are some pretty good telescopes on the market for a lower price point, so you don't have to spend thousands to view the stars.
In the guide below, we've split the telescopes up into categories based on price point, so navigation is made easier. While you scope out the best budget telescopes under $500, $300, $200 etc. You'll discover some of the best telescopes for kids and best beginner telescopes too.
Grabbing one of the best budget telescopes under $500 is great but it's worth remembering you should also check out the best binoculars and best binoculars deals. They can offer great night sky views at a smaller price than a lot of telescopes on the market today. We do keep this page updated year-round so while deals come and go, you'll find the best up-to-date ones from reputable retailers below.
It has to be said, it is unlikely you'll find one of the best telescopes, which can cost thousands, discounted to mere hundreds. Despite this, you can discover some amazing telescope deals in this price range. Annual sales events like Amazon Prime Day which (July 11-12) are also great times to scope out telescopes under $500, but for those top models available today, read on below.
Best budget telescopes under $500 2023
Today's best deals on budget telescopes under $500
Budget telescopes under $500
The wide 130mm aperture on this Newtonian reflector unit makes it an excellent option for viewing many different night sky targets, including galaxies, nebulae, planets and star clusters. It's one of our favorite telescopes for beginners, as it works with the StarSense app on your smartphone.
Download the app and mount your phone onto the scope, and you'll be able to quickly identify night sky targets and navigate the stars, even without any prior knowledge. We gave it four out of five stars in our Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ review, largely due to the simplicity and ease of use of the app.
The StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is an ideal choice for beginners for several reasons. It comes on an easy-to-assemble and uses a simple alt-azimuth mount; it also has a sturdy build and high-quality optics. It's relatively lightweight, so transporting it isn't an issue, and for this price point, you'll be hard-pressed to find much better.
- Read our full Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ review
With a slightly smaller aperture than the 130AZ, this telescope won't offer images that are quite as bright and sharp, and you might find it more challenging to get impressive images of faint deep sky objects. However, as this telescope is an achromatic reflector rather than a Newtonian reflector, you won't have to worry about collimating the mirrors. This can be a fiddly process and ruin your evening's viewing if you get it wrong, which is why the 102AZ might be preferable for absolute beginners.
Again, during our Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ review we loved using the StarSense app. It's just so simple to use — it points out night sky targets to you, so you don't need any knowledge of the night sky to know what you're looking at. While the app makes navigation a lot easier and more fun, this telescope is also even lighter than the DX 130AZ, making it even more convenient to travel with.
- Read our full Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ review
Telescopes under $300
There aren't many (if any) telescopes out there that are easier to set up than this Orion StarMax. The tabletop design means (as the name suggests) that it simply sits on a tabletop or flat surface and is ready to use. It's perfect for those who want to get on with stargazing straight away and not waste time with the set-up. It's important to remember that this scope doesn't use or need a tripod.
There's a lot to like about this telescope, it comes ready to use out of the box and when you factor in a decent-sized aperture and good quality optics at this price, it's good value. Because of the Maksutov-Cassegrain design, there's no color-fringing and we were impressed with the views we achieved of the lunar surface and Saturn's rings. This is a great option if you're someone without much stargazing experience or you have an older kid in mind.
This no-frills refractor telescope has a decent-sized aperture and a lightweight, portable design. We did find when testing it that it suffers from color-fringing around bright targets like Jupiter and Saturn, but this is perhaps to be expected when you’re using a refractor, especially at this price point. It also offered stunning views of the atmospheric bands and the Cassini Division in Saturn's rings, so we quickly forgave the telescope's viewing faults.
If you don't need or want the help of technology to guide you through the sky or simply prefer a more hands-on approach, this is a top choice for you. At 14lbs it's easy to move and transport and it features an easy-to-use smooth panning handle to track your night sky targets.
As well as a good quality mount, the 102AZ ships with a StarPointer red dot finder for star hopping, an erect image star diagonal for comfortable viewing, Starry Night software, and a 10 mm (for 66x magnification) and 20 mm (for 33x magnification) eyepiece. You will be treated to wonderful views including a selection of the brighter deep-sky targets.
This telescope has an impressively solid build. It comes with an equatorial mount, which can be tricky to master at first — if you haven't used one before, we recommend giving it a go in the daytime before you try it out. Apart from this, though, it's quick and easy to set up. It also comes with an impressively long list of accessories: two eyepieces — a 10 mm and 25 mm, which offer magnifications of 18x and 45x — a 2x Barlow lens, Orion's Star Target Planisphere and Telescope Observer's Guide for planning your observations, a moon map, a red LED light to preserve your night vision and a red-dot finder.
A focal ratio of f/4 means this telescope offers a large field of view as opposed to a long focal length. We have tested this model in the past and achieved stunning views of the Pleiades star cluster (Messier 45) and sharp, clear sightings of stars with only the faintest amount of coma.
The Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P FlexTube Parabolic Dobsonian telescope is a tabletop model and great for astronomers to use at their leisure. Because of its tabletop design and size, it's great for carrying around wherever you're on the move, and it's easy to use and set up, so you don't need in-depth knowledge of how telescopes work to be able to use this model.
There's no hiding from the fact that there are other, cheaper tabletop models out there, but this telescope does feature some specs that others don't, and that's what makes it a worthwhile entry into this guide and a top telescope under $500.
For your money, you're getting a telescope that offers a sizable 130mm aperture, which means plenty of light passes through the lens, allowing you to see the night sky targets you're looking at clearly. You also get a 650mm focal length, perfect for a good wide field of view. So if you're looking for star clusters, this is great, and you can still view the moon and some planets in our solar system, just not in as much detail as a scope with a larger focal point. It also has a collapsible tube for easier storage and rubber feet for increased stability.
This refractor telescope comes with plenty of accessories, including a smartphone adapter that will allow you to take practice some smartphone astrophotography of the night sky. However, given that the refractor boasts a focal ratio of f/6.5, you’re limited to short-exposure photography here. But it is a nice introduction to astrophotography, all the same.
During our Celestron Inspire 100AZ review, we found that this telescope excels at lunar and planetary observations, especially with the 20mm eyepiece. We did find that sometimes we experienced a slight degree of false color but that could be resolved with carefully selected eyepieces.
This telescope is perfect for beginners, but adult beginners, not children. This is because younger astronomers may find locating and tracking targets in the sky a little more challenging without the aid of technology, which can spoil their experience and make them more likely to lose interest.
- Read our full Celestron Inspire 100AZ review
This reflector telescope boasts a fair-sized aperture and good-quality optics, which is why we rank it as one of the best budget telescopes under $300. It works with the StarSense app, which you can download onto your phone to make navigating the night sky even easier.
In our Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ review, we found that it took less than 20 minutes to set up, which is relatively quick for a telescope and perfect for any last-minute skywatching trips.
When we used the 10mm eyepiece, which comes with the telescope, we achieved pleasingly clear views of the moon, Venus and the Beehive Cluster (Messier 44). Moving between targets is easy — but you will have to do this manually, as no kind of computerized mount is provided. An excellent option for both beginners and intermediate stargazers who want a fuss-free bit of kit for casual viewing.
- Read our full Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ review
Telescopes under $200
This is the flagship of Celestron's entry-level telescope range. This reflector model boasts a powerful 127mm aperture to drink in the light, and it comes with an equatorial mount that aids in tracking subjects. As mentioned above, these mounts take a bit of getting used to, so we'd advise testing it out in the daytime before using it in the dark, which we did during our Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ review. That aperture makes it easier to spot deep-sky targets.
It's worth noting that this telescope is designed to be portable, but you may need a car or prearranged transport to lug this model around. It weighs 22lbs so there are many lighter models in this guide for sure, but it's still a solid choice for setting up in a remote, dark sky location.
- Read our full Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ review
Given the low cost, the views that can be achieved with this refractor telescope are impressive. You can make out Jupiter with its belts and moons, Saturn with its rings, and, with the right eyepieces, even the tiny blue-turquoise disks of faraway Uranus and Neptune.
At this low price point, we were less surprised to discover a small degree of false color, especially around bright objects. However, this shouldn't ruin your viewing experience, especially as a beginner. You can pick out specific craters on the moon's surface, such as Copernicus and Tycho, despite the slightly false color.
The main drawback of this telescope is that the accessories are of low quality. You'll need to buy separate eyepieces to improve the false-color issues. And we'd also recommend a more robust tripod, as the one supplied isn't particularly sturdy.
Another top pick for young observers, and in our Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ review, we found this refractor telescope has an easy-to-use alt-azimuth mount, which we found offered a smooth and pleasant viewing experience. There are quite a few plastic elements on this model, though, making it feel a little fragile; we'd recommend supervising younger kids around this slightly delicate telescope.
Observers will be treated to clear views of the moon, Venus and Jupiter through this telescope. With a bit of tweaking, we even managed to bring a hint of Jupiter's cloud bands into clear view. The model comes with 10 mm and 20 mm eyepieces, an erect star diagonal as well as a battery-operated red dot finderscope.
Right now it's on sale at Walmart for a seriously impressive $58.
- Read our full Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ review
Telescopes under $100
This scope is usually priced at just under $60 which makes it a perfect gift for really young ones, as it’s robust and comes ready to use out of the box. At most, this model will offer views of the lunar surface and slightly deeper views of the broad night sky. It's tricky to collimate as well, as the primary mirror isn't adjustable, and it's difficult to achieve pin-sharp sights through the field of view since the focuser tube is quite loose. Something we really loved about this telescope is the fast focal ratio that makes for easy observations of wide-angle targets, which you can read more about in our Celestron Firstscope 76 review.
All that aside, this is something that will happily sit on a desktop or table and bring young viewers joy, as they achieve deeper views of the general night sky. If you're after a little bit more bang for your buck, though, you might want to opt for a pair of the best binoculars for kids.
- Read our full Celestron Firstscope 76 review
A reflector telescope that offers wide-field views but performs well with lunar and planetary observations, this is a good option for young stargazers too. It comes with everything a budding astronomer would need, including 10 mm and 25 mm Kellner eyepieces, a red dot finder and a moon map. That red dot finder is extra helpful, especially when star-hopping under skies with a touch of light pollution.
At this price point, you can't really expect views to be pin sharp, and we found attaching the tripod to the mount a bit fiddly. But at just over 7lb, this is a really lightweight bit of kit that will brighten up any camping trip with its fair views of planets and lunar craters.
This is a small and affordable telescope for using to look at the moon. You won't see much else, but it could be a good choice if you have young stargazers at home who like the idea of having a 'real' telescope and not a toy to make lunar observations with.
The views of the moon are decent, but you'd probably want to invest in a better eyepiece to get a closer look. In our Encalife Svbony 501P 70 review, we were able to explore a few planets, including Jupiter and its four moons, although they weren't as sharp as we'd like.
The scope can be used for terrestrial (daylight, on land) observations, which is probably how you'll get the most use out of it (rather than nighttime use). It's very light and packs away in a carry bag so it can be stored away and quickly set up for when the skies are clear enough to get a good look at the moon.
- Read our full Encalife SVBONY 501P 70 telescope review
How we test budget telescopes for under $500
To ensure you're getting an honest opinion and genuine recommendation on each of the best telescopes, we rigorously test each model. We make sure to review a number of different aspects from the quality of optics to performance, to the quality of build and much more.
We make sure either our expert staff or knowledgeable freelance contributors are the ones to test out each model as they have a deep understanding of their fields. This means that each review we post is based on hands-on experience rather than reading other reviews and assuming their quality. Each telescope is judged based on its price point, class and destined use. For example, comparing a 10-inch Dobsonian to a 2.76-inch refractor wouldn't be appropriate though each telescope might be the best pick in their own class.
We also look to see how easy telescopes are to use and set up, see if computerized mounts are reliable and quiet and what accessories you get with your purchase. Eyepieces and tripods can really add to your stargazing experience, but only if they're of decent quality. We can also make suggestions if additional kit would give you the best stargazing experience possible.
With complete editorial independence, Space.com are here to ensure you get the best buying advice on telescopes, whether you should purchase an instrument or not, making our buying guides and reviews reliable and transparent.
