Ranking: Best tablets for under 300 dollars/euros

Its high display brightness of over 800 cd/m² as well as the 144-Hz refresh rate really help the Pad 7 stand out. Despite the great display, its real-world battery life leaves little to be desired at around 18 to 20 hours. The SoC (Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7+ Gen3) is super-fast for the price range.

Its build quality and speakers are very decent and for those who need it, stylus input is supported. A first-party keyboard case is available for this tablet, too. Please note that 4G LTE as well as GPS are not onboard, there is no fingerprint sensor and the base warranty is quite short [in Germany]. We don't expect this product to get many years of software updates, either.

Xiaomi's Pad 7 is an overall good offering thanks to its fast SoC, very good display with stylus support, and long battery life.

In Germany, the tablet can be had for around 279 euros from Kaufland, among other options.

Alldocube's iPlay 70 mini Ultra is an affordable 8.8-inch tablet with decent performance and a 144-Hz QHD+ display delivering high contrast and a brightness of over 500 cd/m². The display's color accuracy isn't as good as we hoped, though. The Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3's performance is more than double of the Helios G99 found in many cheaper tablets. You also get a micro-SD slot and 5 years of security updates.

The tablet's battery life of 16 hours is also impressive. Less ideal are the heat development under continuous load, the mediocre speakers and camera, and the lack of biometric unlocking options.

With the iPlay 70 mini Pro, Alldocube finally offers an affordable 8-inch tablet with a decent feature set.

Despite an RRP of 400 euros, you can get the iPlay 70 mini Ultra from Alldocube for less than 300 euros on Amazon.de. (Try the code "JMPLNUZZ".)

The most affordable Samsung tablet with S Pen support, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite has a 60-Hz display, and comes with just 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of eMMC storage.

The mid-range Samsung Exynos 1280 SoC is somewhat outdated and lags behind the Snapdragon 870 5G as found in Xiaomi's Pad 6. However, its battery life is decent at 12.5 to nearly 16 hours, and the tablet features solid speakers as well as a sturdy metal case.

For those seeking an affordable tablet with S Pen support, the Tab S6 Lite is a solid option.

However, other budget tablets outperform it in most other areas. The 128-GB variant is available on Amazon.de for ~220 euros.

The Pad 10 sports a 12.1-inch QHD IPS display with 120 Hz, a brightness of up to 500 cd/m² and pen support. A Bluetooth Smart Keyboard is also available for the tablet for 60 euros. The Snapdragon 7 G3 offers decent mid-range performance, while battery life is quite long at over 14.5 hours.

Honor's Pad 10 has a robust metal casing, but lacks IP certification as well as cellular. GPS and a fingerprint sensor are not offered, either.

The Pad is available on Amazon.de for 269 euros. If you want to save almost 100 euros, go for the largely similar predecessor model, the Pad 9.

The Idea Tab Pro is a 12.7-inch tablet and a great deal given its price: high-quality casing, stylus, fast Dimensity 8300, powerful sound, fast Wi-Fi, expandable and fast storage, and long runtimes. Its 3K IPS display offers 144 Hz, but is not very bright at just under 400 cd/m². Cameras are usable at best and the SoC throttles under load.

The IdeaTab Pro from Lenovo offers many advantages, but its display brightness limits mobile use.

The Pro costs a little over 300 euros at Amazon.de.

The MatePad 11.5 S features an 11.5-inch 2.8-K 144-Hz matte display with a 3:2 aspect ratio, pen support, and a fast Kirin 9000WL SoC.

Its premium metal case is just 6-mm thin and weighs only 510 grams, complemented by quality speakers and nearly 14-hour battery life. However, it lacks cellular and GPS, and its 450 cd/m² brightness is lower than some competitors.

The MatePad impresses with its work-friendly matte display which could, however, have better contrasts and brightness. Saturn.de offers the product for 269 euros, with Amazon.de asking for a slightly larger sum.

The Galaxy Tab A9+ offers a 90-Hz refresh rate on its 11-inch FHD IPS display, as well as optional 5G, Samsung DeX, and four years of updates. A reasonably fast Snapdragon 695 SoC replaces the previous-gen model’s Unisoc T618.

It includes 64 GB of storage, 4 GB of RAM, up to 1 TB micro-SD card support (without setting the card as internal storage), and a sturdy aluminum case. The four speakers deliver solid audio, and battery life reaches nearly 15.5 hours.

The Tab A9 Plus provides a bright 90-Hz display, DeX, and good performance at a budget price, but isn't drawback-free. These include slow 15-W charging and the lack of a charger in the box. There is no fingerprint sensor built in, either. The base model is available for 165 euros on Amazon Germany.

The 8.7-inch Galaxy Tab A9, unlike the larger Tab A9 Plus, features a 60-Hz display with a lower resolution of 1,340 x 800 pixels. 4G LTE is available as an option.

For those seeking a compact tablet, the Galaxy Tab A9 is a nice affordable option, although it comes with no fingerprint sensor and no charger.

It is powered by MediaTek's Helios G99 SoC paired with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. Battery life can be as good as 19 hours, and Samsung guarantees updates for four years.

Galaxus.de offers the base model for 122 euros with free shipping.

The Redmi Pad SE succeeded the Redmi Pad, again sporting a durable aluminum housing and impressive 17-hour battery life, while increasing the screen size from 10.6 to 11 inches - though pixel density dropped from 220 to 206 PPI as a result. A headphone jack is now included.

The outgoing tablet's Snapdragon 680 4G is up to 30% slower than the Helio G99, particularly in single-core tasks.

Xiaomi delivers an affordable mid-range tablet with excellent quad speakers, but no satellite positioning or fingerprint sensor.

The 90-Hz FHD+ IPS display is now 50 cd/m² brighter at 450 cd/m² and covers around 93% of sRGB. The 8-GB RAM and 256-GB storage model is priced at 177 euros at Amazon.de, while the 4-GB/128-GB version is available for 145 euros.

A 12.1-inch tablet, Xiaomi's Redmi Pad 2 Pro comes with a QHD+ 120-Hz IPS display with 550 nits, as well as 8-GB RAM and 256 GB of storage. Hidden inside the stylish and high-quality metal casing is a fairly fast mid-range SoC, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4.

Storage can be expanded with a micro-SD card. Sound quality is very good and updates are guaranteed for 7 years. However, there is no fingerprint reader and the product's IP53 certification only offers rudimentary protection against dust and water. The affordable tablet's Wi-Fi-only version comes without GPS and the display's viewing angles could be better.

The stylus and Type Cover are sold separately. Its cameras are also not impressive.

Charging is supported at 33 watts, with a fast 27-W wired reverse charging feature also present. Its battery life of 17.5 hours is rather impressive.

The Redmi Pad Pro 2 12-inch tablet, while not very lightweight, is guaranteed to get updates for a long time. GPS is a cellular model-exclusive feature, and protection against dust and liquids is only rudimentary.

In Germany, the Pad 2 Pro is available from Amazon.de for 269 euros (8 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage model).