26 Great Gift Ideas Under $50

The S’well Traveler is a beautiful cup that feels great in your hand, thanks in part to a flared shape that gets wider at its base. But that also means it might not fully fit into even large cup holders. It’s a strong performer, earning a top rating for keeping drinks hot and above-average marks for keeping drinks cold. The top is easy to clean, and the gaskets are easy to remove and reinstall. One note: It’s not as easy to open with one hand as some other models here.

The unassuming, inexpensive Hamilton Beach 12-cup Programmable 49465R might be easy to miss, but it can brew a mean cup of joe at a fantastic price. It comes in a basic black plastic finish and has all the essentials. It’s programmable, as its name says, and has auto-shutoff—and offers solid brewing performance, making a fresh pot in just 10 minutes. One of the lowest-priced drip makers near the top of our ratings, this simple model will get the job done.

For more options: Best Drip Coffee Makers

The Primula Burke PBPBK-5101 is one of the most inexpensive cold-brew coffee maker in our ratings—and it’s one of the best, owing mostly to the excellent convenience rating it snags in our tests. This Primula comes with a glass carafe, and most of its parts are dishwasher-safe. It’s the only model in our cold-brew coffee maker ratings that calls for a full 24-hour brew time, but you might find the results to be worth the wait.

For more options: Best Cold-Brew Coffee Makers

This Amazon Basics kettle is made of stainless steel, and it’s one of the least expensive electric kettles in our tests. It’s small, though, holding just 4 cups of water—the least of the kettles we test. It’s among the fastest to bring our testing standard of 4 cups of water to a boil, clocking in at just under 4 minutes, an above-average result in our time-to-boil test. But this kettle is a little harder to clean than some of the other models we tested. The warranty lasts one year.

For more options: Best Electric Kettles

Lodge has been making cast-iron frying pans in its Tennessee foundry since 1896. It’s one of the few surviving iconic American brands, and we see why. This 12-inch Lodge cast-iron pan is top-notch at browning scallops, and it’s excellent at searing a steak. Baking is only so-so, though. Heating evenness is also mediocre. It weighs 7.8 pounds, which is about average.

For more options: Best Cast-Iron Frying Pans

For far less money than most of the competition, this Chefman waffle maker churns out evenly browned waffles. It does well in CR’s tests for color range, meaning there’s a remarkable difference between waffles made on the darkest setting (brown and crispy) and the lightest setting (light and fluffy). It has an indicator light to let you know when the waffles are ready, the option to store it vertically to save space, and a batter cup for precise portioning. But the handle and latch get uncomfortably warm during cooking, despite the “cool touch” claims, so you may want to use an oven mitt when opening and closing the lid.

For more options: Best Waffle Makers

The Cuisinart CPT-122 Compact Plastic two-slice toaster delivers an overall solid performance and comes with cord storage, as well as defrost and reheat settings—features you don’t always see on budget-friendly models. It turns out perfectly browned toast in both our full batch and one-slice tests, and does so rather quickly. You can also expect cleaning to be fairly easy.

For more options: Best Toasters Under $50

The Dash Express Tasti Crisp air fryer is quiet while cooking and easy to clean. But it lacks digital controls, so it’s not quite as easy to use as the digitized Dash Tasti-Crisp DCAF260. Like its sibling, this model’s capacity is 1.9 quarts, less than the claimed capacity of 2.6 quarts. It comes with a two-year warranty, longer than most of the models we’ve tested.

For more options: Best Air Fryers

The Cuisinart Mini Prep Plus DLC-2A is a 3-cup food chopper that combines great value with solid performance. In our tests, it’s particularly adept at chopping almonds and onions, and grating Parmesan cheese, though other choppers are better at puréeing. This model is ideal if you have limited counter space; it takes up as much as a postcard.

For more options: Best Food Processors and Choppers

Give the gift of cool, sweet dreams. The Weekender Gel pillow has a breathable gel-infused memory foam insert surrounded by a removable quilt-patterned machine-washable cover. CR testers found this combo makes for excellent breathability. It also has pretty good side support, and it’s not easily flattened thanks to its best-in-class resilience. Back sleepers won’t find great support, but it shouldn’t take away from a good night’s sleep for side sleepers. 

For more options: Best Pillows

If your loved one has yet to go electric on his dental game, now’s the time. The Gleem rechargeable toothbrush is a great value (it comes in well under $20), does a nice cleaning job, and has above-average battery life. It features two cleaning speeds but stays quiet thanks to a sonic motor that our testers confirm does wonders to minimize noise.

For more options: Best Electric Toothbrushes

This over-ear wireless model is usually available for around $50, a steal given its superb noise-canceling performance and above-average sound quality. The Monoprice BT-300ANC features integrated controls for calls, volume, and playback, and the ear cups fold in for easy storage and transport. According to Monoprice, the battery will run for 8 hours between charges with both Bluetooth and noise-canceling turned on. (CR doesn’t test battery life in headphones.) You can keep the music going even longer by switching off Bluetooth and using the detachable audio cable, which is included.

For more options: Noise-Canceling Headphones on a Budget

For the price, these earphones deliver impressive sound quality, beating some competitors that cost more than three times as much. The JBuds Air have an advertised 3.5-hour battery life and come with a carrying case that will recharge the earphones for an additional two cycles. Other features include support for various digital assistants, three switchable EQ modes to change the tonal balance of the sound, and, according to JLab, water resistance. (We don’t test that feature.)

For more options: Best True Wireless Earphones