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Computer Monitors Price Comparison 2026

Compare 4,212 computer monitors from HP, Samsung, ASUS, LG and more — find the best price across top UK retailers, from budget Full HD to premium 4K OLED.

Samsung
ASUS
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iiyama
LG
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Few purchases have as much impact on your daily computing experience as your monitor. Whether you're staring at spreadsheets for eight hours or chasing kills in a competitive shooter, the screen in front of you shapes everything — and yet it's one of the most overlooked upgrades. We've analysed 4,212 products across this category, and the range is striking: entry-level panels start from as little as 69 £, while flagship OLED displays push well past 375 £.

The market splits fairly cleanly into two camps. On one side, you have the workhorse monitors — 24-inch Full HD IPS panels from iiyama, AOC, and Philips that dominate the sub-202 £ bracket and genuinely deliver solid colour accuracy and ergonomics for office use. iiyama in particular stands out here: their average price sits noticeably below HP or Samsung despite comparable build quality, making them a quiet favourite among IT buyers and home office setups alike. On the other side, LG and Samsung anchor the premium end, with OLED and high-refresh-rate panels that command a significant premium — LG's average across their range is the highest of any major brand we track.

Resolution is where the real decision lies. Full HD (1920×1080) remains perfectly adequate for most office tasks and casual gaming, especially on screens up to 27 inches. Step up to QHD (2560×1440) and you gain meaningful workspace — it's the sweet spot for creative professionals and gamers who want detail without the GPU demands of 4K. Speaking of which, 4K monitors have become far more accessible: you'll find credible options from ASUS, Dell, and Gigabyte at prices that would have seemed impossible a few years ago. If you're considering a gaming-focused display, also have a look at our Touch Control Panels category for interactive display alternatives.

One thing our data makes clear: brand loyalty can cost you. HP and Samsung carry a noticeable price premium over functionally similar panels from AOC or iiyama. That's not to say the premium is never justified — Samsung's QD-OLED technology and HP's build quality for enterprise use are genuine differentiators — but for straightforward productivity monitors, the gap rarely reflects a proportional difference in real-world performance. Compare carefully before committing, and keep an eye out during Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day, when monitor prices historically see some of the sharpest drops of the year.

How to Choose the Right Computer Monitor

With 4,212 monitors on the market ranging from 69 £ to 1,157 £, the choice can feel overwhelming. But most buyers only need to answer three questions: What size suits my desk? What resolution matches my work or gaming habits? And how much refresh rate do I actually need? Get those right, and the rest falls into place.

Resolution vs. screen size — the pixel density sweet spot

Resolution only makes sense relative to screen size. A 27-inch Full HD panel (1920×1080) has a noticeably lower pixel density than a 24-inch one — text looks softer, images less crisp. As a rule of thumb: Full HD suits screens up to 24 inches, QHD (2560×1440) is ideal for 27-inch panels, and 4K becomes worthwhile at 28 inches and above. If you're buying a 27-inch monitor and the price difference to QHD is modest, it's almost always worth it. Don't let a cheap Full HD 27-inch tempt you — you'll notice the softness within a week.

Panel technology: IPS, VA, or OLED?

IPS panels are the safe default for most buyers — wide viewing angles, accurate colours, and good brightness. They're the standard for office work, photo editing, and general use. VA panels offer deeper blacks and higher contrast ratios (often 3000:1 vs IPS's 1000:1), making them better for watching films in dim rooms, though they can suffer from 'smearing' on fast motion. OLED is the premium choice: infinite contrast, near-instant response times (0.03ms), and stunning colour — but at a significant price premium and with potential burn-in concerns for static content like desktop UIs. For gaming, OLED is transformative. For all-day office use, a quality IPS is more practical.

Refresh rate: how much do you actually need?

For office work, email, and video calls, 60Hz is perfectly fine — you won't notice the difference. For gaming, the calculus changes entirely. 144Hz is the baseline for a smooth competitive experience; anything below feels sluggish once you've tried it. 240Hz and above is for serious competitive players — the gains over 144Hz are real but diminishing, and you'll need a capable GPU to push those frame rates consistently. Don't pay for 240Hz if your graphics card can't sustain 200+ fps in the games you play.

Connectivity: future-proofing your setup

Check the ports before you buy — it's an easy thing to overlook and a frustrating one to regret. HDMI 2.1 is essential if you're connecting a PS5, Xbox Series X, or a recent GPU and want 4K at high refresh rates. DisplayPort 1.4 is the standard for PC gaming at high resolutions. USB-C with Power Delivery is increasingly valuable for laptop users — a single cable for video, data, and charging is genuinely convenient. Budget monitors often cut corners here, shipping with only HDMI 1.4 or a single DisplayPort, which can limit your options down the line.

Ergonomics: the feature most people ignore until their neck hurts

A monitor with height adjustment, tilt, and pivot (portrait rotation) costs only marginally more than a fixed-stand equivalent — but the difference in comfort over months of use is substantial. If you're buying for an office or home office setup, prioritise height-adjustable stands. Fixed-tilt-only stands force you to stack books under the monitor within a fortnight. VESA mount compatibility (75×75mm or 100×100mm) is also worth checking if you plan to use a monitor arm, which is one of the best desk upgrades you can make.

HDR: genuine feature or marketing badge?

HDR on monitors is a minefield. DisplayHDR 400 — the most common certification on mid-range panels — is largely a marketing label. It requires only 400 nits peak brightness and no local dimming, which produces a barely noticeable improvement over SDR. DisplayHDR 600 and above, or better still DisplayHDR True Black 400 (an OLED standard), deliver genuinely impactful HDR. If HDR is important to you, don't settle for a DisplayHDR 400 badge — either spend up to a proper HDR panel or ignore the spec entirely and save the money.

  • Budget picks (From 69 £ to 125 £) : Entry-level Full HD panels, mostly 22–24 inch, from AOC, iiyama, and MSI. Expect basic ergonomics (tilt-only stands), limited connectivity, and 60–75Hz refresh rates. Perfectly serviceable for light office use or a secondary screen. Don't expect colour accuracy or gaming performance at this price.
  • The sweet spot (From 125 £ to 202 £) : Where the best value lives. You'll find 24–27 inch Full HD and entry QHD panels from iiyama, AOC, Acer, and BenQ with proper ergonomic stands, 100–165Hz options, and decent IPS colour. This is the right bracket for most home office users and casual gamers.
  • For the discerning buyer (From 202 £ to 375 £) : QHD and 4K IPS panels from ASUS, Dell, LG, and Samsung. Expect USB-C connectivity, factory colour calibration, higher refresh rates (144–240Hz), and more refined build quality. Creative professionals and serious gamers will find their match here.
  • Premium and professional (Over 375 £) : OLED displays, large-format 4K panels, and specialist professional monitors from LG, Samsung, and Gigabyte. The Gigabyte MO32U and LG 32GS95UV-B sit in this territory — genuinely exceptional image quality, but you're paying for it. Only justifiable if you'll actually use what these screens offer.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between IPS and VA panels for everyday use?

IPS panels are better for most everyday tasks — they offer wider viewing angles and more accurate colours, which matters if you're not always sitting dead-centre. VA panels have higher contrast ratios, making blacks look deeper, which is an advantage for film-watching in dark rooms. For office work, coding, or photo editing, IPS is the safer choice. VA can look washed out at angles and occasionally shows motion smearing on fast content.

Is a 27-inch Full HD monitor worth buying in 2026?

Honestly, no — not if you're buying new. At 27 inches, Full HD (1920×1080) gives you a pixel density of around 82 PPI, which produces noticeably soft text and images. For the same money, you can almost always find a 24-inch Full HD panel with sharper visuals, or stretch slightly to a 27-inch QHD monitor. The only exception is if you specifically need a large screen for accessibility reasons and pixel sharpness isn't a priority.

Do I need G-Sync or FreeSync for gaming?

Adaptive sync (either G-Sync or FreeSync) is worth having for gaming, but it's not essential. Both technologies eliminate screen tearing by synchronising your monitor's refresh rate with your GPU's output. FreeSync is AMD's standard and is typically found on more affordable monitors; G-Sync is NVIDIA's and tends to carry a price premium. If you have an NVIDIA GPU, look for 'G-Sync Compatible' monitors — these are FreeSync panels that NVIDIA has certified, offering the same benefit without the cost uplift.

What should I look for in a monitor for photo and video editing?

Colour accuracy and gamut coverage are the non-negotiables for creative work. Look for a monitor with at least 99% sRGB coverage, and ideally 95% DCI-P3 if you're working on video for digital distribution. Factory calibration (with a Delta E <2 rating) saves you the cost of a separate colorimeter. IPS or OLED panels are strongly preferred — VA panels' colour shift at angles makes them unsuitable for serious colour work. Brightness of at least 300 cd/m² helps when working in a well-lit studio.

Are cheap monitors from lesser-known brands worth the risk?

It depends on the brand — 'lesser-known' covers a wide spectrum. iiyama, for instance, is not a household name but has a strong reputation among IT professionals and consistently delivers reliable panels. Genuinely unknown brands on Amazon marketplace are a different matter: warranty support is often non-existent, and panel quality control can be inconsistent. Stick to brands with a UK presence, a proper warranty (at least 3 years for office use), and verifiable reviews on sites like Trusted Reviews or Which?. The saving rarely justifies the risk.

How important is response time — and are manufacturers' figures trustworthy?

Manufacturers' response time figures are almost universally misleading. The quoted '1ms' on many IPS monitors refers to MPRT (Moving Picture Response Time), a marketing measurement that bears little relation to actual pixel transition speed. The more meaningful figure is GtG (Grey-to-Grey), and even that varies wildly depending on overdrive settings. For competitive gaming, a genuine GtG of 4ms or under is what you're after. For office use, response time is essentially irrelevant. Always cross-reference with independent reviews from TechRadar or RTINGS before trusting a spec sheet.

Is it worth waiting for Black Friday to buy a monitor?

Yes — monitors are one of the product categories where Black Friday discounts are consistently genuine and significant. Retailers like Currys, Amazon.co.uk, and John Lewis regularly cut 20–30% off mid-range and premium panels during November. If you're not in urgent need, tracking a specific model's price history on MagicPrices from October onwards will show you whether a 'deal' is real or just a pre-inflated price. Boxing Day and January sales are also worth watching for premium OLED and 4K displays.