The Best Projectors to Buy in 2024

When it comes to home theater projectors, the Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 is the best. Home theater means you're indoors in a dark room. A few things that set this projector apart are its 3,840-by-2,160-pixel resolution (aka Ultra High Definition or 4K), support for HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG HDR, and a laser light that delivers pitch-dark black levels with a 20,000-hour rated lifetime. Although it has a powerful brightness of 2,700 ANSI lumens, you'd be doing it a disservice if you view it in an ambient light room (the beautiful dark blacks will look off). Yes, this projector is expensive at $4,999, but if you're looking for the best, it doesn't come cheap. You can read more about all the features it offers from PCMag's review.

When it comes to a home projector, most people look for one to set as a home theater in a dark room, home entertainment for parties or events (or backyard movies), or to play video games. The BenQ TH685P Projector can do all of these tasks well, making it the best versatile home projector you can buy. It has a brightness of 3,500 ANSI lumens so you can watch content in an ambient-lit room, it can shoot 4K (but at 60Hz refresh rate), it has a slow input lag at 1080p/120Hz of 8.4 milliseconds (ms), making it fast enough for most gamers (it is adjustable at different specs), it is compatible to shoot in 3D, and it comes with a 5-watt speaker. You can find more detail in PCMag's review.

When people think of a portable projector, they probably think of one you can easily take from one room to another, the backyard, and maybe even someone else's home without too much hassle. What about one you can fit in your pocket? It sounds like some Star Wars tech, but the Kodak Luma 75 Portable Pocket Projector fits in the palm of a hand with its three-by-three-inch size. It only lasts 90 minutes per charge (but you can leave it plugged in for longer sessions), has a powerful focus control, and can shoot up to 1080p resolution. Just keep in mind that with 30 ANSI lumens of brightness, you'll be limited to up to 29 inches in a dark room or about a letter-sized screen in an ambient light room. You can read more about it in PCMag's review.

If you're looking to impress with a projector at your next house party or need that extra touch of cool vibes at your next event, you likely want a home entertainment projector that looks good with the lights on. The BenQ TK860i is designed just for that. You can shoot up to a 90-inch screen in an ambient light room or a smaller watchable screen in a bright family room setting. It has a brightness of 3,300 ANSI lumens, can shoot in 4K, has an Android TV 11 dongle for easy streaming, works for video games, and supports 3D content. You can read in more detail in PCMag's review.

An outdoor projector needs to be portable, have good battery life, be able to shoot in places that are not necessarily pitch dark—and be able to take a few tumbles. The Anker Nebula Mars 3 can be your next camping partner. Most of the weight and size of the Mars 3 is due to its long battery life, which can reach up to five hours in its ECO mode. The brightness gets up to 1,000 ANSI lumens, so you can shoot in ambient light settings without issues. It is also water-, drop-, and dust-resistant. The video quality will look good with its 1,080p native resolution, and of course, it has its own speakers. You can read more about it in PCMag's review.

If you're not looking to spend an arm and a leg for a projector, but don't want to get any cheap one you find, consider the Yaber K2s. This is a smart projector that you can usually find between $350 and $400. The K2s has an autofocus feature that lets you find the prime focus in a few seconds regardless of where or how often you move the projector. If you have NFC on your phone, you can tap the projector to stream your phone directly. It also has Alexa built-in, a TV dongle for easy streaming, and JBL speakers. Its 800 ANSI lumens means you want to stick to dark rooms, but you can still do some light as long as you bring the projector close enough to the screen. You can read more about it from PCMag's review.