• John Wilson
• January 22,2022

Big-screen TVs are ten a penny these days, but what if you hanker after something greater, something bigger and better? A projector might be just the box-office ticket.

Modern models are cheaper and better than you’d think and can create huge images far bigger than the equivalently priced LCD or OLED TV. But which one should you buy?

Here you’ll find our selection of the best projectors you can buy in the UK, from portable marvels to home theatre beasts, all tried and tested – and if you're not sure what features you should be looking for, read on to get the lowdown with our handy buyer's guide.

The best projectors, at a glance

The best 4K projector: BenQ W2700

The best portable 1080p projector: ViewSonic M2E

The best all-in-one smart projector: ViewSonic X10-4K

The best projector for travelling: LG PF50KS

The best projector for gaming: Optoma UHD38

How to choose the best projector for you

To the untrained eye, one projector looks very much like another. However, there’s a whole world of technology inside these plain-looking boxes you need to be aware of before making your purchase.

First, resolution. If you’re looking to buy a projector for watching movies, make sure you’re buying a Full HD projector (with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080). Data projectors tend to be cheaper, but typically have resolutions of 800 x 600 or 1,024 x 768, which won’t display Blu-ray movie content at native resolution.

If you want 4K, expect to pay more. True 4K projectors are becoming more widespread but projector tech is lagging behind TVs and there aren’t many affordable models on the market. “4K-enhanced” projectors such as the BenQ TK800 are the “cheapest” way to get your 4K thrills for less than £4,000 or so, and these are improving all the time. They’re not true 4K machines, relying on pixel shift upscaling to deliver an approximation of 4K resolutions, but you have to look pretty closely to tell the difference.

What's the difference between DLP and LCD projectors?

Most modern home-theatre projectors are based on one of two technologies: DLP and LCD. Of these, DLP projectors are the most common, the most compact and tend to deliver the most bang per buck, while LCD projectors tend to be bulky and slightly more expensive.

DLP projectors do have a downside, though. As most display colours sequentially use a spinning, segmented colour wheel (there’s the odd exception to this rule), they suffer from what’s called the “rainbow effect”, where small areas of the image appear to splinter into small rainbows when you shift your gaze from one side of the screen to the other. Some people are less sensitive to this than others, though, so if you haven’t experienced a DLP projector, make sure you get a demo before spending your money.

If you want the very best quality, however, a laser light source projector is what you want. Laser light source projectors – typically combined with a three-LCD image engine – deliver the best contrast and brightness, but tend to cost £7,000 and up.

Do I need optical zoom and lens shift?

After resolution and technology, the most important consideration is your room and how you’re going to set up and connect the projector. Here, you need to consider throw distance (how far you place the projector from the screen for a given screen size), optical zoom and lens shift capabilities, all of which will have an impact on projector placement.

Optical zoom allows you to enlarge or reduce the screen without moving the projector, while lens shift lets you move it up, down, left and right without losing quality – or moving the projector physically. The cheaper the projector, the more limited these options will be.

If space is really tight, you might want to consider a short throw or ultra-short throw projector, which can create big images on your screen or wall from incredibly short distances – as little as 10cm for a 50in image in some cases. The downside is the projected image tends to suffer more from geometric distortion.

Other things to consider:

Lamp life: Most cheaper projectors rely on UHP or metal halide lamps, which have a limited lifespan and whose brightness deteriorates over time. For a little more cash, an LED light-source projector will last longer and need replacing less frequently.

Brightness: This is rated in ANSI lumens but not all that important in home cinema projectors beyond about 2,000 lumens. The brighter the projector, the easier it will be to see the image in daylight without the curtains drawn, but a brighter projected image typically comes at the cost of poor black-level response and a greyish picture.

Noise: Most projectors have fans inside and not all are particularly quiet. How quiet a projector is is a major consideration, especially if it’s to be positioned near your seating position.

The best HD and 4K projectors to buy

1. BenQ W2700: The best affordable 4K projector

Price: £1,398 | Buy now from Amazon

Projectors typically aren't very good at reproducing HDR content due to their limited black and brightness levels. However, what this projector does well is recreating colours at close to HDR levels. Indeed, if you feed it a 4K Blu-ray, it will lap it up and project an image that's as close to a movie screen in your own home as anything this side of five grand.

It may not be the brightest projector around with a peak of only 2,000 ANSI lumens, but it has a short throw lens that allows it to create a large display from relatively close up. It also has all the connectivity you need without any frivolous extras, plus adjusting the image to suit your screen and room setup is a doddle thanks to zoom and vertical lens shift capabilities.

Quite simply, the BenQ W2700 is a stunning projector. If you're looking to recreate a movie theatre vibe in your living room and don't have many thousands to spend, this is a very good place to start.

Read our full BenQ W2700 review

Key specs – Resolution: 4K; Brightness: 2,000 lumens; Contrast ratio: 30,000:1; Throw ratio: 1.13:1–1.47:1; Zoom: 1.3x; Technology: Single-chip DLP; Colour: Six-segment colour wheel (RGBRGB); Lamp type and life: UHP, 4,000 hours (normal mode)

2. LG PF50KS: The best compact projector for travelling

Price: £593 | Buy now from Amazon

The LG PF50KS isn't in the same league as the full-size projectors in this list when it comes to brightness but it's cheap, unobtrusive and stuffed with features.

It's a portable projector and absolutely tiny – about the size of a thick hardback book – and it weighs a mere 1kg, so it's easy to stow away once you've finished with it. Otherwise, though, it punches well above its weight. Brightness is fine at 600 lumens, although you'll need to dim the lights and close the curtains to enjoy it fully. The resolution is native 1080p and great for movies and the projector is able to project images up to 100in as well. Pick the Expert Dark Cinema preset and you'll be rewarded with superbly accurate colours as well.

Not only that but LG also has also packed in the features, with Netflix and YouTube apps built-in, screen mirroring via USB-C and Wi-Fi, and integrated speakers (although these are rather tinny). The projector can also output audio via Bluetooth audio, keeping cable clutter to a minimum. It has a surprisingly broad selection of physical inputs as well, including two HDMI ports, one USB-A and an Ethernet port for wired network connection.

Overall, the LG PF50KS is an excellent alternative to a full-size projector and the best thing is it doesn't cost all that much, either.

Key specs – Resolution: 1080p; Brightness: 600 lumens; Contrast ratio: 100,000:1; Throw ratio: 1.4:1; Zoom: None; Technology: Single-chip DLP; Lamp life: 30,000 hours

3. ViewSonic X10-4K: The best all-in-one smart projector

Price: £1,250 | Buy now from Amazon

Its image quality may not quite match that of the BenQ W2700, but the ViewSonic X10-4K is a cracking projector and has its own benefits. For starters, its RGB LED light source means you'll only have to replace it every 30,000 hours as opposed to the 4,000 hours that the BenQ's lamp lasts. That's more than 16 years of watching at five hours a day.

It looks smart, comes with an integrated carry handle to make it easy to carry around the house and picture quality is sublime. It's bright and that LED light source means it can create more vivid colours than most projectors at around this price. Combine that with a sharp 4K image, easy setup thanks to its autofocus and auto-keystone adjustment, Alexa and Google Assistant support and a good quality built-in 16W speaker system, and the X10-4K makes a solid case for itself. Overall, it's a very impressive all-rounder.

Read our full ViewSonic X10-4K review

Key specs – Resolution: 4K; Brightness: 2,400 LED lumens; Contrast ratio: 3,000,000:1; Throw ratio: 0.8:1; Technology: Single-chip DLP; Colour: RGB; Lamp type and life: LED, 30,000 hours lamp life (normal mode)

4. ViewSonic M2E review: The best compact projector for small spaces

Price: £549 | Buy now from Amazon

Priced as a cheaper option to the ViewSonic M2, the M2E offers superb image SDR image quality in an even more compact package. Resolution is limited to 1080p and there’s no wide gamut colour representation as you get with its pricier sibling.

Brightness is a touch weak at 1,000 LED Lumens, which means you have to dim the lights and draw the curtains. However, image quality is still very good, with the projector’s movie mode delivering 90.9% coverage of Rec.709 and decent colour accuracy, albeit with a little red push in the dark greys and black. This is easily enough tweaked, though, with the M2E’s extensive array of colour controls and adjustments.

It will produce a screen size of a maximum of 80in display from a distance of 2.14m and a tripod socket at the bottom and a hinged leg all make positioning the projector easy. With automatic focus and keystone adjustment, there’s no fiddling around once you've got it all set up, either.

Finally, there’s a decent array of connectivity, with a single HDMI video input alongside USB-C, a microSD card slot and a USB-A port. It can act as a Bluetooth speaker, plus you hook it up to your home wireless network and either screen mirror from a phone or install apps from the projector’s built-in Aptoid app store. We’d advise teaming the projector with a decent streaming stick, though, as many of the Aptoid apps are rather fiddly to use.

Overall, the ViewSonic M2E is a top-quality compact projector. A little pricey at list, perhaps, but if you can find it for less than £500 you’ll have a bargain on your hands.

Key specs – Resolution: 1080p; Brightness: 1,000 LED lumens; Contrast ratio: 3,000,000:1; Throw ratio: 1.21:1; Zoom: N/A; Technology: DLP LED; Colour: Three colour LED (RGB); Lamp type and life: LED 30,000 hours

4. Optoma UHD38: The best projector for gaming

Price: £1,113| Buy now from Amazon

If you've bought yourself one of the latest games consoles, you're going to want a display that can keep up and that's exactly what the Optoma UHD38 delivers. Not only can it project your games at huge screen sizes, but it can do so at high refresh rates: up to an incredible 240Hz at 1080p and 120Hz at 4K resolution. Games look epic on this thing.

It's also an accomplished home cinema projector, with support for HDR10 and HLG and a bright image of 4,000 lumens that means it's watchable during the day, although black level response isn't the best. Focus is manual and, as it isn't a short-throw projector, you'll also need a fair amount of space to maximise your screen size. There's also nothing in the way of smart connectivity here, as you get with some of the compact projectors on this page.

However, if you're a gamer and you want to play on the biggest screen possible, there aren't many better ways to do it than on this potent projector.

Read our full Optoma UHD38 review for more details

Key specs – Resolution: 4K (1,920 x 1,080 native) HDR10/HLG at 120Hz, 1080p at 240Hz; Brightness: 4,000 lumens; Contrast ratio: 1,000,000:1; Throw ratio: 1.5-1.66:1; Zoom: 1.1x; Technology: Single-chip DLP; Lamp life: 4,000-15,000 hours

5. ViewSonic M2: The best compact 1080p projector

Price: £606 | Buy now from Amazon

Compact projectors make a great movie companion for smaller homes and apartments because you can stow them away again easily once you’ve finished watching. The trouble is that many are compromised in some way: either the optics aren’t great, the resolution not so good or brightness is just not up to creating an impactful image on a day-to-day basis.

Not so the ViewSonic M2. With a native resolution of 1080p and a brightness rating of 1,200 ANSI lumens, this LED projector is capable of performing the job of a home cinema projector perfectly well and it’s also small and light enough to throw in the supplied carry bag and take on holiday with you.

The image quality is excellent. Movies and TV shows are packed with vibrant colours and crisp details, thanks to greater than sRGB colour reproduction and HDR support. It’s super-easy to set up too, with both autofocus and auto-keystone correction kicking in automatically whenever you move the projector and audio quality is surprisingly punchy with the projector’s 3W Harmon-Kardon speakers pumping out rich, full-bodied audio.

Connectivity is what you’d expect, with HDMI 2.2 and USB-C catering for video sources plus a USB-A and a microSD slot for video file playback. The projector even has its own storage built-in, with 10GB available for any video files you might want to store permanently.

The only weak point is the smart software: you can install apps via the onboard Aptoide marketplace but these don’t always work brilliantly. For streaming, we’d advise you use a streaming dongle like the Amazon Fire TV or the Google Chromecast. We also had problems getting the Alexa and Google Home functions to work but these are limited in scope anyway.

All-in-all, the M2 is an excellent package with superb image quality that goes hand in hand with top audio quality and whisper-quiet operation. This is one impressive projector, portable or not.

Key specs – Resolution: 1080p; Brightness: 1,200 LED lumens; Contrast ratio: 3,000,000:1; Throw ratio: 1.23:1; Zoom: N/A; Technology: DLP; Colour: Four colour LED (RGBB); Lamp type and life: LED 30,000 hours