Top Gifts Under $100
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Do you have a price in mind but aren't quite sure what to buy that special someone this holiday season? Consumer Reports put together a series of gift guides that are grouped by price. Here, we focus on some of our top-rated products for under $100.
Go to Consumer Reports' 2018 Holiday Central for updates on deals, expert product reviews, insider tips on shopping, and much more.
1MORE E1001 Triple Driver
These small, sleek earphones deliver excellent sound with an earplug-like design that limits extraneous noise. The audio cord has inline volume and smartphone controls with an integrated microphone. To ensure a proper fit, the device comes with nine pairs of earpieces in various sizes and types.
Check our buying guide and ratings for headphones.
Black+Decker Mill & Brew CM5000B
Coffee aficionados know that the volatile oils, flavors, and aromas in coffee beans are exposed by grinding—and begin dissipating within minutes. This machine keeps the flavors fresh by grinding whole beans in the brew basket immediately before adding hot water. But if you want to use pre-ground coffee, the grind function switches off.
Check our buying guide and ratings for coffee makers.
LG BP350
This CR Best Buy Blu-ray player has excellent high-definition picture quality, fast load times, a highly intuitive and easy-to-use interface, and WiFi capability for connecting wirelessly to a home network. All of this comes at a price that’s well under $100. It also streams video from services such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu Plus.
Check our buying guide and ratings for Blu-ray players.
Swiss Diamond Nonstick #6424
This nonstick, cast-aluminum frying pan gets a CR recommendation for its even cooking ability, sturdy construction, and durable surface. Its handle stayed cool to the touch during cooking, and the nonstick coating stood up well to the steel wool abrasion test in CR’s labs. It comes with a lifetime warranty.
Check our buying guide and ratings for kitchen cookware.
Breville Control Grip BSB510XL
This is the only stick-style, immersion blender that earns recommended status from CR experts. In tests, it bested competing models by a sizable margin, doing an excellent job at blending frozen fruit and yogurt into smoothies, and puréeing soups. It comes with a chopper and whisk attachment as well as a separate beaker.
Check our buying guide and ratings for blenders.
Amazon Fire HD 8 2017 (16GB)
This Amazon product covers the basics well: reading news and books, watching movies, and playing simple games. Its 15-hour battery life is better than average. While not at the top of CR’s tablet ratings, it’s a great deal, selling for about one-half the cost of most competitors. It comes with Alexa, the voice-responding virtual assistant.
Check our buying guide and ratings for tablets.
Canon Pixma MX532
If you want a bargain-priced all-in-one inket that stays affordable, the Canon Pixma MX532, about $150, is one of the best, letting you print, copy, and scan to your heart's content. And after two years of typical use, it will have a total cost of roughly $310, typical for an inkjet. On the downside, you have to replace the entire color ink cartridge each time a single hue runs out.
Check our buying guide and ratings for printers.
Vava Voom 21
Bargain hunters should check out the VaVa Voom 21. This Bluetooth model is the lowest-priced speaker among our recommended models, and it's frequently discounted. Our test team found that the VaVa Voom 21 paired with a phone reliably, and the controls were easy to use.
This may not be the best-sounding speaker on the market, but the bass has good impact and there's enough volume to fill a medium-sized room. Maybe even the bedroom of some kid on your shopping list.
Check our buying guide and ratings for wireless speakers.
Grado Prestige SR80e
The Grado Prestige SR80e is a perennial favorite among music fans looking for a bargain on top-notch sound. For just $100, the SR80e's outstanding audio quality is hard to beat.
These on-ear home/studio-style headphones are built for the audio-focused listener. A fairly large profile and a long, sturdy cable limit their portability. And their open-back earcups—a design choice intended to create an uncongested soundstage—aren't meant to block sound from bleeding in or out. All that means they’re best used in a quiet environment where you really want to focus on the music.
Check our buying guide and ratings for headphones.
Worx WX176L
This unique drill falls in our light-duty category because of the limitations of its fixed, ¼-inch chuck. But it blurs the lines because it’s powered by a 20-volt battery, which would otherwise place it in the heavy-duty class. It’s a one-off design with two chucks, allowing you to load two different bits at once and easily switch from drilling to driving by rotating the wheel at the business end of the tool. The dual chuck might be more of a liability than an asset for some. The mechanism makes the tool a little unwieldy and hard to maneuver in tight spaces—say, inside a sink cabinet—which is why you’d want a light-duty drill in the first place.
Check our buying guide and ratings for cordless drills.
Amazon Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD and Alexa Voice Remote
The latest Fire TV does away with the set-top box design of its pricier predecessor. In its place is a diamond-shaped dongle with a slightly faster processor, HDR capability, and support for a smooth-looking 60-frames-per-second video. The new device also supports Dolby Atmos surround sound.
But Fire TV’s most attractive feature may be the Alexa voice remote, which can find, launch, and control content. And Fire TV can also pair with and be controlled by other Alexa devices such as the Echo, and it will work with other smart-home devices, including compatible lights, thermostats, and security cameras.
Check our buying guide and ratings for streaming media devices.
Black+Decker DustBuster CHV1410L
At just under 5 pounds, this cordless Black+Decker is extremely light and portable, yet it picked up nearly all the debris in both our bare floor and carpet tests, no small feat for a hand vacuum. Our engineers noted that it’s easy to place this model on its charger, with a satisfying "click" to confirm it’s connected. The filter is snugly set inside the dustbin and is easy to remove and empty, which is a reason it earned an Excellent rating in our emissions test. This model doesn’t come with detachable tools but has a built-in slide-out crevice tool and a pop-out brush. This machine is a little more noisy than the competition and makes a light, whistlelike sound when you turn it on.
Check our buying guide and ratings for vacuum cleaners.
Bella Single Serve with Water Tank BLA14585
The Bella Single Serve With Water Tank BLA14585 is one of the best Keurig K-Cup brewers you can buy, but it also gives you the option of using loose grounds. It does well in most of our tests, earning an Excellent rating for convenience, but doesn’t offer the best brewing range (that’s the ability to vary the strength of coffee). It’s not a big problem though if you always like your cuppa joe the same way. As for other features, this model comes with a removable reservoir, a height-adjustable drip tray, and an auto-shutoff.
Check our buying guide and ratings for coffee makers.
Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Generation)
The latest Dot is smaller and sleeker than its eponymous predecessor, with a fashionable fabric covering, and, more important, significantly better sound—it's not great for music, but the sound no longer resembles a tinny phone call. With a list price of $50, and frequent discounts, the tiny Dot remains the cheapest way to tap the smarts of Alexa, Amazon's voice-activated digital assistant. And the Dot can also serve as an inexpensive way to add smart functionality to a Bluetooth speaker you already own.
Check our buying guide and ratings for smart speakers.
Monoprice True Wireless Earphones IPX4
True wireless headphones used to force consumers into a choice between suboptimal performance or a price above $100. But that's all changed with the Monoprice True Wireless Earphones IPX4, which deliver great sound for just $50.
Monoprice hasn't cut any significant corners to meet the bargain price. The IPX4's advertised battery life is typical for true wireless models, at 2 to 4.5 hours of operating time, and the carrying case should be able to recharge the earpieces four times. The earphones have call and playback controls, and they're water-resistant as well, according to Monoprice.
People with smaller ears may have issues finding a secure fit, which is a challenge with a lot of true wireless earphones, so it's best to try them on before you buy.
Check our buying guide and ratings for headphones.
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Best used cars for $25,000 and less
7 best mattresses for couples
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