Finding an affordable Bluetooth speaker that ticks all the boxes isn’t easy among the endless sea of choices. Go on Amazon right now and search for “Bluetooth speakers under $50”, and you’ll get over a thousand results. If you’re thinking about going through all of them, good luck!
You can’t just buy the first thing that catches your eye, either. There are a lot of budget Bluetooth speakers out there that sound good in the marketing material, but don’t hold up in the quality department.
Don’t stress, we’ve got your back. Having painstakingly trawled through the vast range of cheap speakers out there, we’ve found the best of the bunch so you can make the right choice based on how and where you’ll be listening.
These are our picks for the best Bluetooth speakers under $50 right now.
- Weight: 7.4 ounces
- Battery Life: Up to 5 hours
- Output: 4.2W
- Durability: IP67 water resistance
- Weight: 9.6 ounces
- Battery Life: Up to 10 hours
- Output: 3.3W
- Durability: IPX7 water resistance
- Weight: 12.6 ounces
- Battery Life: Up to 10 hours
- Output: 10W
- Durability: IPX7 water resistance
- Weight: 13 ounces
- Battery Life: Up to 24 hours
- Ouput: 16W
- Durability: IPX7 water resistance
- Weight: 1.4 pounds
- Battery Life: Up to 20 hours
- Ouput: 16W
- Durability: No official water or dust resistance
Best Bluetooth Speaker Under $50: JBL Go 3
The best portable speakers are lightweight, easy to carry, and don’t take up much space in your bag or back pocket. The JBL Go 3 is all that and more. It weighs under half a pound, making it one of the lightest Bluetooth speakers you’ll find.
The compact cube, measuring just 3.4 x 2.7 inches and an inch and a half high, fits easily into a pocket. It’s also IP67-rated against water and dust. While no speaker is truly waterproof in every situation, that rating is about as good as it gets, and the Go 3 can easily handle getting soaked or dropped in the sand.
Seeing this small speaker, you wouldn’t expect it to have great sound quality, high sound levels, and pumping bass. Surprisingly, it does. The JBL Go 3 delivers big audio with punchy bass, so you can use it for your rooftop party without disappointment. As long as there isn’t loads of background noise, its 4.2 watt output is fine for outdoor listening.
There is a trade off, though. The sound quality deteriorates at higher volumes, which also takes a toll on the already-small battery. You’ll get around five hours of battery life at lower volumes, but as little as half that when it’s cranked all the way up. That’s not ideal, but is still acceptable for such a tiny Bluetooth speaker, especially one under $50.
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Best For On-the-Go Use: JBL Clip 3
If you’re looking for an affordable on-the-go Bluetooth speaker, the JBL Clip 3 is the best option. Small and robust, it has an IPX7 rating that means it can be happily submerged up to one meter in water for 30 minutes.
What this really means is that this speaker will survive everyday splashes or sudden drops in the shallow end, and happily play your tunes in the shower. Unless you’re taking this speaker along for some deep-sea diving, it’s unlikely to sustain any water damage.
The Clip 3 looks cool, its flat round shape unusual but in a good way. It’s not too bulky and weighs barely half a pound, with an attached clip that lets you simply hook the speaker onto your backpack or belt loop and carry it around easily.
The JBL Clip 3 will give you ten hours of playtime on a full charge, at least at lower volumes, impressive for a speaker this size that you’re paying under fifty bucks for. Most of us don’t listen to music continuously for that long, so you’re unlikely to drain the battery unless you’re using it at full blast for several hours.
JBL never disappoints in terms of sound quality. Don’t expect thunderous bass or to hear it on the other side of a football field, but for the price, it’s great. The sound is clear, not tinny or distorted like much of the competition.
We didn’t experience any lags or sudden Bluetooth disconnections either, unless the speaker was right on the edge of its range. The volume isn’t screamingly loud, which isn’t a problem indoors, but you might still be able to hear one another over your death metal at outdoor parties.
JBL has recently released the successor Clip 4, which is a little louder and has proper dust resistance, but is otherwise largely the same. It’s more expensive, though, so if you don’t need those features, save a bit of cash and stick with the 3!
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Best With Voice Assistant: Creative Muvo Play
If you’re a tech enthusiast that loves the convenience, novelty and power trip of your own voice assistant, then the Creative Muvo Play is the perfect Bluetooth speaker for you. It’s developed by Creative Labs, a Singaporean company renowned for creating great value for money gadgets.
Compatible with Siri and Google Assistant, once the speaker is connected to your IOS or Android device, you can just press a button to activate the voice assistant. The speaker has a high-quality mic, so you can give commands from a surprising distance and even make calls using it.
It has good battery life, with up to ten hours of playtime on a single charge. There’s also USB C charging for quicker charge times, and an IPX7 rating for water resistance.
The Muvo Play uses Bluetooth 5.0, so connectivity is fast and simple, rarely dropping out or disconnecting. This is a positive feature, as even some of the higher-end speakers are still using Bluetooth 4.
On the highest volume, it has a power output of 10W, which is plenty loud even for outdoor listening. Audio quality is great for the size, although it does lack bass. The only minor frustration is that while it is a small speaker, it has kind of a bulky shape, so it won’t simply slide into your pocket.
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Best for Battery Life: Tribit XSound Go
If you’ve gone to the effort of packing a speaker to take camping or to the beach, the last thing you want is for it to run out of battery after a few hours. That’s where the Tribit XSound Go comes in.
This speaker offers up to 24 hours of continuous runtime on a full charge, higher than anything else on this list. The IPX7 rating makes it great for pool parties, lounging on the beach, and anywhere else it’s likely to get wet.
The Tribit XSound Go is a good option for outdoor listening, with a powerful eight watt output that provides plenty of volume even when there’s a bit of background noise. There’s no distortion either, even at the maximum settings, and you get impressive sound quality, with particularly strong bass for a portable speaker.
The speaker uses Bluetooth 5 for longer range, although it’s more prone to random disconnections than others we’ve used.
That long battery life does come at a cost, however. While it’s still very much a portable speaker, it’s not as convenient to carry as some of the models we mentioned above despite the included strap. Comparatively long and bulky, and weighing a bit over a pound, it’s not the smallest or lightest option out there.
If you’re not phased by the extra size, though, the Tribit XSound Go offers a lot if you’re after a portable Bluetooth speaker with especially long battery life.
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Best With Strong Bass: DOSS Soundbox Plus
If you’re looking for a Bluetooth speaker focused on delivering amazing bass, the DOSS SoundBox Plus is the way to go. Coupled with that powerful bass is 16W of stereo output, so it’s plenty loud enough for outdoor listening.
It comes with dual active speakers and a passive bass radiator, so you get the vocals and music coming out of each side and the bass from the bottom. Even on the highest volume levels, there’s little to no distortion. A built-in mic lets you easily accept hands-free calls.
This is also the Bluetooth speaker to go for if you’re going to be using it at parties, thanks to the Bluetooth range of 66 feet and a 3200mAh battery that gives up to 20 hours of continuous playtime. To top it off, it’s compatible with Siri and Google Assistant as well.
Like the XSound Go, however, it’s not the most portable Bluetooth speaker out there. It weighs nearly a pound and a half, and is over eight inches long, so don’t expect to drop it in your pocket as you head out the door. There’s also no official water or dustproof rating, so be careful where you use it!
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Summary
We recommend the JBL Go 3 as our pick for the best Bluetooth speaker under $50 for most people. This compact Bluetooth speaker is extremely portable, is loud for its size, and impressive water and dust resistance, all at a very competitive price.
The only thing you’ll be sacrificing is the battery life, but to be honest, up to six hours of continuous playtime should be enough for most normal use. You can always drop a small power bank in your bag to give it a quick charge if you’re going to be running it for longer than that!
🔊 We have recommendations for a range of other portable Bluetooth speakers as well, if you’re happy to spend a little more, plus those ideal for use in the shower.
Main image via Nor Gal/Shutterstock.com, product images via Amazon
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