The Best Monitors of 2024: A Comprehensive Guide

Finding the right monitor for your PC can feel overwhelming. The market is flooded with options, each promising the best picture, performance, or value. This guide cuts through the noise to present the top monitors available right now, based on hundreds of hours of testing and evaluation. We’ve considered various needs, from budget-friendly options to high-end gaming displays, ensuring there’s a perfect fit for everyone.

Top Picks

Best Overall: Dell Ultrasharp U2724DE

This 27-inch monitor offers an excellent balance of performance and features, making it ideal for a wide range of users. Its IPS Black panel delivers impressive contrast, enhancing both productivity and entertainment. The 120Hz refresh rate provides smooth motion clarity, making it suitable for gaming. Extensive connectivity options, including Thunderbolt 4, USB-C, and a 2.5G Ethernet port, make it a versatile hub for any setup. The only drawback is its 1440p resolution, as some competitors offer 4K at a similar price point. However, the enhanced refresh rate makes up for this.

Best Budget Monitor: Acer Vero B247Y G

Value shoppers will be impressed by this 24-inch 1080p monitor. Despite its low price (often under $150 when discounted), it boasts a 120Hz refresh rate and Adaptive Sync, making it suitable for both work and gaming. The image quality is surprisingly good, with above-average contrast and brightness. The fully ergonomic stand, a rarity in budget displays, offers height, tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustments.

Best Budget Gaming Monitor: Dell G2724D

Gamers on a budget who don’t want to compromise on quality will love this 27-inch 1440p monitor. Its 165Hz refresh rate and Adaptive Sync support (including VESA Adaptive Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium, and Nvidia G-Sync) ensure smooth and responsive gameplay. The vibrant color gamut covers 100% of sRGB, making it suitable for content creation as well. While it lacks USB connectivity and has lackluster HDR performance, its overall value is undeniable.

Best Budget 4K Monitor: Dell S2722QC

This 27-inch 4K monitor offers excellent value, especially as its price has dropped significantly since its initial release. It combines 4K resolution with USB-C connectivity, features typically found on more expensive models. The IPS display delivers crisp visuals and respectable brightness, making it ideal for everyday productivity, streaming, and light gaming. The low contrast ratio is a drawback, making it less suitable for serious gaming or movie watching.

Best Gaming Monitor: MSI MPG 341CQPX

This 34-inch ultrawide monitor with a Samsung QD-OLED panel stands out from the crowd. Its 240Hz refresh rate and remarkable motion clarity make it a top choice for gamers. The vibrant colors and excellent contrast of the QD-OLED panel provide a stunning visual experience, further enhanced by HDR support. The inclusion of a USB-C port with 98 watts of Power Delivery is a welcome addition.

Best Home Office Monitor: Dell U3225QE

This 31.5-inch 4K monitor is a top-of-the-line option for professionals. Its IPS Black panel delivers excellent color accuracy and above-average contrast. The 120Hz refresh rate enhances responsiveness, making everyday tasks smoother. Extensive connectivity options, including Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports with 140W of Power Delivery, HDMI, DisplayPort, and a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, eliminate the need for external docks.

Best Monitor for Content Creators: Asus ProArt Display 5K PA27JCV

Content creators, programmers, and designers will appreciate the ultra-sharp image quality and accurate colors of this 27-inch 5K monitor. Its 5120×2880 resolution provides incredible detail, making text crisp and photos lifelike. The monitor covers 100% of both sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces, making it ideal for content creation.

Best Gaming Monitor for Motion Clarity: Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDP

Gamers seeking the ultimate in motion clarity need look no further than this 27-inch WOLED monitor. Its 2560×1440 resolution and extraordinary 480Hz refresh rate provide unmatched smoothness. The WOLED panel delivers excellent contrast and a wide color gamut. The monitor also supports multiple adaptive sync technologies and Asus’ Extreme Low Motion Blur (ELMB) technology.

Best Portable Monitor: Viewsonic VP16-OLED

Content creators who need a portable monitor with exceptional image quality will be impressed by this 15.6-inch OLED display. It delivers outstanding color accuracy, gamut, and contrast, surpassing many full-sized OLED monitors. The versatile stand can be used as a kickstand or expanded to hold the monitor upright.

Best Monitor for Coders: BenQ RD280U

Coders will appreciate the unusual 3:2 aspect ratio of this 28-inch monitor, which provides extra vertical space for viewing more lines of code simultaneously. The IPS panel delivers excellent color accuracy and wide viewing angles. The monitor also features a MoonHalo ambient light and an automatic night mode to reduce eye strain.

Best Monitor for Creative Professionals: BenQ SW242Q

This 24-inch monitor targets creative professionals with its unique 16:10 aspect ratio and 2560×1600 resolution. Its aspect ratio provides additional vertical space, while its color performance is exceptional, covering most of the DCI-P3 and AdobeRGB spaces.

Other Monitors Considered

• Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM
• HP Omen Transcend 32
• Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC
• BenQ GW2786TC
• Gigabyte G34WQCP
• Asus ProArt PA278CFRV
• Samsung OLED G8

How We Test Monitors

Our recommendations are based on thorough testing using a Datacolor Spyder X2 Ultra color calibration tool. This specialized hardware objectively measures a monitor’s brightness, contrast, color gamut, color accuracy, luminance and color uniformity, gamma, and other aspects of image quality.

Key Monitor Traits

• Resolution: Higher resolution provides a sharper image. Common resolutions include 4K (3840×2160), 1440p (2560×1440), and 1080p (1920×1080).
• Connectivity: HDMI and DisplayPort are the most common connections. USB-C is increasingly popular due to its ability to charge connected devices.
• Refresh Rate: A higher refresh rate (such as 144Hz) makes motion look smoother, especially in games.
• Adaptive Sync: Technologies like FreeSync and G-Sync improve motion performance by synchronizing the monitor’s refresh rate with the video input.
• HDR: High Dynamic Range (HDR) can enhance image quality, but look for a minimum of VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification for a quality experience.

Monitor Size Guide

• 24-inch: Suitable for desks around 24 inches deep or less.
• 27-inch: A popular choice for most users, offering a good balance of size and visibility.
• 32-inch or 34-inch Ultrawide: Great for deep desks and immersive experiences.
• 42-inch or 48-inch HDTV: Best for home theater setups or unusually large offices.

Connectivity Options

• USB-C: The best option for most people, offering DisplayPort functionality and Power Delivery.
• DisplayPort: Supports higher resolutions and refresh rates than HDMI, common on desktop computers.
• HDMI: A standard connection, but with lower resolution and refresh rate support than DisplayPort.

Compatibility

Modern monitors are compatible with all recent versions of Windows and MacOS and are typically plug-and-play.