The Best Cheap Watches Right Now

The word cheap has a bad reputation in watches, mostly because of what it used to mean: a plated base metal case that turned green, a dial printed slightly off center, a bracelet that pulled hair. That watch still exists, but it is no longer the only thing a small budget buys. Quartz movements made in Japan cost very little and keep better time than most mechanical watches at any price. Stainless steel cases and bracelets have become ordinary at under $100. And a handful of brands, old and new, have learned that a good design costs no more to make than a bad one.

So this list treats cheap as a price, not a verdict. Everything here costs $150 or less at the time of writing. Every watch on it is one we would recommend to a friend without a caveat attached, and where an established brand does something better than an online one, we say so.

WatchesUnder is owned by BlackRobin Capital Inc.

Watch Index · prices checked October 9, 2026

The watches in this guide, ranked

Every watch this guide mentions, ranked by Value Score or by what one watch costs today with each store's current offer counted.

What counts as a cheap watch?

We draw the line at $150, for a practical reason: below it, almost every watch runs on a battery powered quartz movement, and the differences between watches come down to the case, the bracelet, the dial and the design. Above it, established brands start to offer automatic movements, harder crystals and better finishing, and the conversation changes. Our guide to the best affordable watches picks up from there, and the best watches under $100 narrows the budget further.

Inside that $150 there are three kinds of cheap watch worth knowing about:

• The utility watch. Casio and Timex make watches designed to be worn hard and forgotten about. They look honest rather than impressive, and they cost $55 to $90.
• The design watch. Online brands that sell direct, such as Lucky Fours, put their money into the case shape, the dial texture and the bracelet, so the watch reads as something more expensive from across a table. Most cost $80 to $150.
• The cheap mechanical. A small number of automatic watches now sell for under $150. They are less accurate than quartz, but they need no battery and you can watch the movement work.

None of the three is the right answer for everyone, which is why the list below mixes them.

The twelve best cheap watches

1. Lucky Fours Caspian: the best cheap watch overall

The Caspian is the watch most people mean when they ask for something cheap that does not look cheap. It borrows the shape of the 1970s steel sports watch: a rounded octagonal case that flows straight into an integrated bracelet, a dial with fine horizontal ribbing, and a small date window. The case and bracelet are 316L stainless steel, the movement is Japanese quartz, and there are 6 colorways, from a green sunray dial to an all black version. The Caspian is the brand's best seller, and at $79.99 it is the least expensive way into a design that costs about $13,500 at the top of the market.

WatchesUnder is owned by BlackRobin Capital Inc.

Lucky Fours currently sells everything on a buy one, get one free basis with mix and match, so two Caspians, or a Caspian and any other watch on this list from the same store, cost $79.99 together. That brings the price per watch to about $40, which is where the Caspian stops competing with other dress sports watches and starts competing with digital Casios.

2. Timex Easy Reader 35mm: the cheapest good analog

The Timex Easy Reader 35mm has been in the Timex catalogue in one form or another for decades, and the formula has barely moved: a round 35mm case, a white dial with large, clear Arabic numerals, a leather strap. It is listed at $69. Nothing about it tries to look expensive, which is exactly its appeal. It is the watch to buy for someone who wants to read the time at a glance and never think about it again, and its 35mm case suits smaller wrists better than almost anything else here.

3. Casio MTP1302D: the cheap dress watch

Casio's Casio MTP1302D Dress Watch costs $89.95 and does one thing well: it looks like a plain, correct dress watch. A black sunburst dial, slim baton hands, a 38.5mm case and a steel bracelet. The bracelet is lighter and simpler than the ones on the online brands' watches, and the case is listed as ion plated rather than solid steel throughout, but for a watch to wear with a suit a few times a month it is very hard to argue with. Our dress watches under $100 guide sets it against the alternatives.

4. Lucky Fours Skeleton: the cheapest automatic worth having

The Skeleton is the cheapest watch on this list with a mechanical movement. At $99.99 it has an automatic movement that winds itself as you wear it, visible through an open blue dial, in a round steel case on a steel bracelet. Expect it to gain or lose more time over a week than a quartz watch; that is the nature of a mechanical movement at this price. What you get in return is a watch that never needs a battery and a dial that is genuinely interesting to look at. If you are new to the distinction, quartz vs automatic explains it in plain terms.

WatchesUnder is owned by BlackRobin Capital Inc.

5. Casio AE1200WHD: the cheap watch you cannot break

Every list of cheap watches should include one that is built to be abused. The Casio AE1200WHD World Time is a digital watch with a world time map, alarms, a stopwatch and a countdown timer, on a stainless steel bracelet, listed at $54.95. Its squared 1980s look has made it something of a cult object. It will not pass for a dress watch, and it is not meant to. It is the watch for the gym bag, the camping trip and the job where you would not wear anything you cared about.

6. Lucky Fours Lyra: the best cheap women's watch

The Lyra is the women's counterpart to the Caspian: the same rounded octagonal case and integrated steel bracelet, scaled down, with a ribbed dial. The pink version is the one that stands out, but there are 6 colorways in all, including white, green and black, so it works as an everyday watch as well as a statement. At $79.99 it is one of the very few watches in this shape made for a smaller wrist at all. Our women's watches under $100 guide has more.

WatchesUnder is owned by BlackRobin Capital Inc.

7. Timex Weekender 38mm: the cheap watch for jeans

The Timex Weekender 38mm at $77 is a field watch in spirit: a 38mm round case, a legible dial and a fabric strap that slides through the lugs and can be swapped in seconds. That last detail is the reason to buy it. A Weekender with three straps is three watches, and the straps cost very little. It suits casual clothes far better than a suit.

8. Lucky Fours Chronometer: the cheap chronograph

The Chronometer takes the racing chronograph look, three subdials and a contrasting bezel ring, and puts it on a steel bracelet for $89.99. The version with a white dial, dark subdials and a blue bezel ring is the classic panda layout. The name describes the style rather than a certification, and the movement is quartz. For other options in this style, see our guide to chronograph watches under $100.

9. Casio A159WGEA: the cheap gold watch

Gold tone is where cheap watches most often look cheap, because thin plating on a bright yellow case is easy to spot. Casio's Casio A159WGEA Vintage Gold gets around this by not pretending to be anything but a vintage digital. The gold and black finish, the small case and the stainless steel band read as retro rather than as imitation jewelry. It is listed at $79.95. If you want analog gold instead, our guide to gold watches under $100 has better options.

10. Lucky Fours Brone: the cheap all black watch

All black watches are unusually forgiving at low prices, because a black coated finish hides the small finishing differences that show on polished steel. The Brone uses the same integrated bracelet shape as the Caspian in an all black finish, with a day and date window, for $79.99. It is a good second watch alongside a steel one, which is where the buy one, get one free offer earns its keep.

11. Casio LA680WGA: the small cheap women's digital

At $69.95, the Casio LA680WGA Vintage Gold is the smallest watch here and one of the cheapest. It is a slim gold metal digital with an alarm, a stopwatch and a calendar. It looks deliberately vintage, wears like a bracelet and costs about as much as lunch for two.

12. Lucky Fours Maso: the cheap dainty watch

The Maso is a small oval gold tone dial on a fine gold mesh bracelet, at $89.99. It is a jewelry watch first and a timekeeper second, which is the point: it sits comfortably with rings and bracelets in a way a sports watch never does. For more in this direction, read our guide to dainty watches for women.

Where do cheap watches cut corners?

A cheap watch is a set of compromises, and the good ones choose their compromises well. These are the four places to look.

The crystal

Almost every watch under $150 uses a mineral glass or acrylic crystal. Both are clear and perfectly serviceable, but they scratch more readily than the harder crystals used further up the market. A watch you wear daily will pick up fine marks over a year or two.

The plating

Gold, rose gold and black finishes on cheap watches are coatings over steel or brass. A coating over 316L steel is the better case, because if it wears at the edges the metal underneath does not discolor. Coatings wear fastest on the clasp and the underside of the bracelet, where the watch rubs against a desk.

The bracelet

This is where cheap watches differ most from each other. Some use folded links, made from a strip of steel bent into shape, which feel light and can rattle. Others use solid links and a sturdier clasp. Pick the watch up, if you can, and feel the weight. Our guide to steel bracelet watches under $100 goes into this in detail.

The finishing

Expensive watches alternate brushed and polished surfaces with crisp edges between them. Cheap watches often have one finish all over, or softer transitions. From a normal viewing distance this matters less than people think, which is why a well designed cheap watch can look more expensive than a badly designed one at three times the price.

All twelve side by side

*as listed on each brand's US website, October 2026

WatchesUnder is owned by BlackRobin Capital Inc.

How do you buy a cheap watch well?

The mistakes people make with cheap watches are rarely about the watch itself. They are about buying the wrong size, the wrong finish, or the wrong number.

• Size first. A cheap watch that fits looks better than an expensive one that does not. Measure your wrist and check the case diameter against our watch size guide before anything else.
• Steel over coatings for a daily watch. If one watch is going to be worn every day, plain steel ages best. Save gold tone and black for the second watch.
• Size the bracelet properly. A bracelet that slides halfway down the hand is the single biggest giveaway of a cheap watch. Removing links takes ten minutes with a pin pusher.
• Read the store terms. Return windows and conditions differ between brands. Lucky Fours accepts returns within 30 days, see the store terms, and its watches carry a 12 month warranty.
• Think in pairs. When a store runs buy one, get one free, the cheapest watch is often the second one. A steel watch and a black one, or his and hers, cost the same as one.

When is cheap the wrong answer?

If you want a watch to pass down, to service rather than replace, or to hold its value, spend more. The Seiko 5 Sports SKX Mid Size at $350 is a good example of what an extra $200 buys: an in house automatic movement from a maker with decades of history, and a watch that a watchmaker will happily open up in fifteen years. Our guide to what a good watch costs lays out each step of that ladder. But if what you want is a watch that keeps time, looks right and costs little, cheap has never been a better place to shop.

WatchesUnder is owned by BlackRobin Capital Inc.

Frequently Asked Questions

About the Author