Best Early Black Friday Deals Under $100

Getting a quick first cup of coffee in the morning is one of the main draws of a K-Cup coffee maker, and the CR Recommended Keurig K-Cafe Barista Bar with Frother single-serve machine delivers, earning an excellent score for first cup speed in CR’s tests. It typically costs $100, so you’re really only saving about $10 here. It also shows excellent performance in our tests for size consistency and temperature consistency. This model comes with a feature that allows you to brew your coffee over ice without causing as much ice to melt as you’d find with a standard brew, though we haven’t tested that function. Plus, there’s an option to brew a two-ounce shot for more café-style drinks, and its milk frother allows you to produce hot or cold foam.

This coffee maker was just $65 during a summer sale, but we usually see it for about $99. Other retailers are selling it for upwards of $139, so this is still a great price for a trusty single-serve machine.

The Ninja Single Serve Pods & Grounds PB051 dual coffee maker is perfect for college students sharing a dorm or an apartment. It’s virtually three machines in one: A pod coffee maker, a drip coffee maker, and a milk frother. For single-serve Keurig K-Cups, a speedy first cup is paramount, and our testers found this model excellent in that regard. For drip brewing, we found its brew performance to be very good, meaning the machine brewed at between 195° and 205° F for five or six minutes, the industry standard for optimal brewing and the best flavor. This Ninja model has a removable reservoir, water filter, and an indicator to tell you when you’ll need to clean it.

The GE G8H1AASSPSS Blender is an immersion model that comes with a whisk and chopper, and it’s available now at a sweet price. It showed excellent performance in our soup puree tests, and the chopper attachment did a great job grating cheese. The whisk attachment allows you to quickly whip egg whites to stiff peaks and easily turn heavy cream into rich whipped cream.

We saw this blender sell for just $59 during the recent fall sales, so keep an eye out for a price drop closer to Black Friday.

The Ninja Pro AF141 is an easy-to-use air fryer with a measured capacity of 3.8 quarts and a range of cooking functions, including a dehydrate setting. It’s not the quietest air fryer, but it’s not especially noisy either, and our testers found it easy to clean. It comes with pre-programmed settings for cooking different foods, plus a recipe book and cooking charts to help guide your cooking. You’ll get a 1-year warranty with this machine.

This frying pan rarely goes on sale. The 10.5-inch pan cooks evenly and its ceramic coating rates well for food release and durability. The handle is super-sturdy and cool to the touch when cooking. Though made of aluminum, the pan is induction-compatible, says the manufacturer.

A good piece of cast-iron cookware can last a lifetime when properly cared for, and this applies to the Lodge Essential Enamel Cast Iron Dutch oven as well. Cast iron is prized by its users for its reliably even heating, so it’s no surprise that this model receives a very good score in our heating evenness tests. Its speed of heating and bread-baking scores were equally good. Even better, this Dutch oven receives an excellent score for ease of cleaning, so thick sauces and gravies should be a breeze to wipe off. We’ve seen this particular Dutch oven go on sale several times in the past year, but if you’re looking for a new one before Thanksgiving, this is your chance to score a nice deal.

Coop’s Original Pillow is one of the best in CR’s ratings, excelling in all of CR’s tests. The other pillow we tested from this brand, the Cool+ Adjustable Classic, does well too, giving you another option to explore if you have different style sleepers in your household. Coop’s sheets also earn CR’s recommendation.

The on-page coupon at Amazon will give you the lowest price on this pillow right now, which is an even better price than we saw during Prime Big Deal Days.

This 3-inch queen-size memory foam mattress topper is still available for the same low price we saw on Prime Day. It offers excellent support and a deeper, more cushioned feel than many others. Infused with cooling gel, it helps regulate temperature for a more comfortable night’s sleep. The flippable design adds versatility, though it lacks a cover and corner straps, which may lead to shifting. Temperature-sensitive foam means the topper feels softer when warm and firmer in cooler conditions. Weighing 15 pounds, it provides average warmth retention and a balanced blend of comfort and support.

Looking for a really good, inexpensive small speaker? The Flip 6 is at a great discount at Walmart right now in Blue. This speaker is very similar to the venerable Flip 5, and that’s a good thing. It’s water and dust-resistant, has a 12-hour battery life, and is just the right size to slip into a bag or even the water bottle pocket on a backpack.

Other colors are on sale for closer to $100.

Google is phasing out its older, cheaper Chromecast streaming devices and replacing them with this new model. The Google TV Streamer (4K) features a sleeker design, a faster processor, and support for both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ HDR formats, as well as Dolby Atmos audio. The player can also serve as a hub for Google Home or Matter, enabling control of smart home products. It supports Thread, so it can extend your WiFi network, too.

We saw the price on this dip to $79 last week, but this is the lowest price out there right now.

The updated Ultra—the most powerful 4K streaming player Roku makes—has a new, faster quad-core processor, quicker app launches, support for both the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ formats and WiFi 6 wireless. Other features include a lost-remote finder and a wireless mode that lets you pair with Bluetooth headphones. The new Ultra comes with Roku’s best remote control, which gets recharged via a USB-C connection.

Anyone looking to save some space—or cut down on items to plug into their TV—may want to consider the Roku Streambar SE. It doesn’t go on sale all that often. This soundbar includes a built-in Roku streaming player. Given its small footprint, it probably works best for smaller TVs, not that jumbo-sized set you’ve been eyeing.

This soundbar was $69 at multiple retailers last week, so its price could drop again close to Black Friday.

This is a decent deal on a wireless router that does quite well in our ratings, though it was $20 less during Prime Big Deal Days, so we may see that price again come November. It’s not a mesh router, but if a single-unit router is sufficient to envelop your home in WiFi, this one should do a good job. Our testers note high speeds (technically referred to as “throughput”) across near, medium, and far distances, as well as useful features like automatic firmware updating (which helps keep you and your data safe) and the ability to manage everything from a smartphone app.

The low-priced, ultrasonic Levoit Classic 300S can humidify a room of up to 505 square feet, earning it a solid rating in our output test. It aces other evaluations, too. It has a variety of features, including automatic shut-off, a digital humidity display more accurate than those of most competitors, and the option to diffuse aromas. It’s been as low as $64, but this is the best discount we’ve seen in a few months.

The ultrasonic Babymoov Hygro (+), designed for small rooms of around 215 square feet, is top-rated for a reason: It shines in every one of CR’s tests. It’s easy to use, according to our evaluators, and emits enough moisture to sufficiently humidify a room. Features include a night-light that cycles through a rainbow of colors, automatic shut-off when the tank is empty, and a timer, as well as the option to diffuse aromas. One drawback: The 58-inch cord is on the short side.

The Petlibro Dockstream Smart Pet Fountain is a WiFi-enabled device that lets you accurately monitor your pet’s water intake. It holds more than half a gallon of water, and the whole fountain is wireless. It even has a motion sensor, so it runs only when your pet approaches it, making the battery last even longer. The app can also alert you when water levels are low, which is especially nice because the container is opaque. I own the non-smart version and rely on the indicator light (and the pesky sound of the pump struggling to suck up water when the level is too low), which isn’t ideal.

We saw this fountain sell for $62 during the fall sales, which was the lowest price yet. But if you need a trusty fountain now, this is a solid deal.

The PetLibro automatic pet feeder was easy to use and has an app that makes setting schedules and dispensing food a breeze. It dispenses accurate amounts of dry food for dogs or cats and has a voice recording feature that allows you to call your pet for meals.

A comfortable bed for your pet that can add a fun pop of color to your space sounds like a win-win, and this one from Le Sure is back down to its best price. CR writer Jodhaira Rodriguez recommends this cat bed, which her cat Frank “barely fits in because he is a very big boy that I am way overfeeding, but I find him here every time I come home.”

The Cube is not specifically intended for pet tracking but to help people keep track of a range of possessions, including cars, luggage, and kids’ backpacks, as well as pets. That puts the Cube at a disadvantage as a pet tracker, despite its competent core tracking abilities. The device is relatively large and heavy, but most dog collars won’t fit through its thin slots, so you need to purchase an add-on collar clip for $25. More significantly, the app lacks pet-specific features like fitness and activity tracking and a light beacon for spotting your dog at night.

On the other hand, it does let you set a home “safe zone” and virtual fence, and does emit a fairly loud sound alert. It’s also very solidly constructed, creates detailed and easy-to-read location histories, and, like the Link, is capable of delivering high-temperature alerts.

The HoMedics massager sets itself apart from the other models we evaluated because it’s wireless and rechargeable. This normally makes it a bit pricier, but the discount and on-page coupon help make it a more reasonable purchase. Because it’s more of a pillow shape, our evaluator said it was harder to use on shoulders, but it was comfortable on their back. The only downsides are that the heat function doesn’t get quite as hot as other models, reaching only 93º F, and there is no way to control the speed.

The Renpho R3 massage gun might be the best all-around device for most average users because it’s small, lightweight, and quieter than other devices. But it’s not the ideal choice for people who want the most intense massage or the best model to massage areas on the back. The pistol grip could add some more postural stress than other devices, though its light weight and small form could help alleviate stress for some. As a bonus, this can be charged with a standard USB-C charging cable.

The Renpho R4 Pro massage gun’s triangular shape makes it easy for users to get a good grip for those hard-to-reach spots on their body. It’s not particularly powerful, but its moderate massage should still be sufficient for many users. It’s straightforward to use, with one button to change speeds. It also did very well in our evaluations for handle ergonomics, postural stress, and ease of use, but changing out the attachments was a bit clunky and required a little bit of effort.

The TP-Link Tapo MagCam C425, back to its best price, is a compact, battery-powered security camera that performs well in our tests. It offers local storage with up to a 512-gigabyte microSD card (sold separately) and features person detection, pet detection, vehicle detection, monitoring zones, and more. Best of all, you don’t need a subscription to use any of these features. TP-Link also sells a $40 solar panel that can be connected to the camera to keep its battery charged.

This camera was $30 less during Prime Day, but you won’t see that price again until the fall sales start in October, most likely.

The Arlo Video Doorbell 2K is one of the best video doorbells you can buy. It provides the flexibility to install it wherever you need it. You can run it using the rechargeable battery or hardwire it to a home’s doorbell wiring for continuous power. Features include geofencing and voice/app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant. Cloud video storage and additional features (such as alerts for people, packages, animals, and vehicles) require an Arlo Secure subscription. The price has fallen $20 below the previous best price.

The Eve Water Guard is a great leak detector, but it only works for Apple Home users at this time. When it detects water, it triggers a siren and sends you a smartphone alert. The device plugs into an outlet for continuous power and comes with a 6.5-foot water-sensing cable that you can run from the detector along floors and around pipes. To increase the reach, you can add a 6.5-foot cable extension for $20.

This HelloBaby model is one of the lower-priced video monitors to earn CR’s recommendation, and it’s at the lowest price we’ve seen for this model, making it a smart buy. The device has its own 5-inch display and handles the video feed locally. It can show the room’s temperature in addition to visuals of your baby, with functions to remotely pan, tilt, and zoom. It also has built-in lullabies and can be used in audio-only mode. It lacks a night light, but that’s hardly a deal breaker.

Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Milk Spa uses a warm water bath to warm bottles, but the setup is a bit more involved than with other models we tested. Once that’s done, it warms bottles with no sign of overheating long after the warming program has ended. The controls on this model allow users to select the type of bottle and starting temperature of the milk or formula (frozen, refrigerated, or room temperature) and to adjust the time of the program. Even though the display is a bit crowded, according to our usability expert, it was relatively easy to use and understand. If you like to reuse settings, this model remembers any adjustments to the time that are made for your next bottle warming.