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There are dozens, of not hundreds of cheap tablets on the market. Many run Google Android software, but there are a growing number of inexpensive tablets which run Windows 8.1 software.

Last year I put together a list of 6 Windows tablets that sold for $199 or less, but I had to do a bit of digging to find them.

At the start of 2015, I found it was much easier to make a larger list of tablets… with even lower prices.

Here are 10 Windows 8.1 tablets for $150 or less, arranged alphabetically. They all have Intel processors and can handle full-screen apps from the Windows Store or desktop-style apps. Connect a keyboard and you’ve got a small laptop. Hook up an external display and you’ve got a little desktop.

There are still more tablet-friendly apps available for Android, so I’d recommend picking up an Android tablet if you’re primarily interested in playing games, enjoying media, or surfing the web on your tablet. But if you’re interested in running desktop apps as well as tablet apps, a Windows tablet is the way to go.

Note that these prices were gathered in early February, 2015. If you’re viewing this article at a later date, some prices may have changed.

 

1. Asus VivoTab 8 – $149

Asus launched an 8 inch tablet with an Intel Atom Z3740 processor and a pressure-sensitive digital pen in 2013. A year later the company introduced a cheaper model with the same basic specs, but no pen.

asus vivotab 8_01

The tablet has an Atom Z3745 CPU, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and comes with a 1-year subscription to Microsoft Office 365 Personal. It has a 1280 x 800 pixel display and comes with Windows 8.1 with Bing 32-bit software.

The VivoTab 8 has 2MP front and rear cameras, a microSD card slot, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and stereo speakers.

Since many of the tablets on this list have slower (but newer) Atom Z3735 processors, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage, the VivoTab 8 may be one of the best tablets you can get for just $149… although it’s worth noting that this it technically a sale price. The list price is $50 higher. But this sale’s been going on for a while

2. HP Stream 7 – $100

HP’s Stream 7 is one of the most affordable Windows tablets from a big-name PC maker. With a list price of just $100, this little computer features a 7 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel IPS display, an Intel Atom Z3735G processor, and Windows 8.1 with Bing 32-bit software with a 1-year subscription to Office 365 Personal.

hp stream 7

Other features include 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a microSD card slot, a micro USB 2.0 port, and a 4,000 mAh battery.

For the most part, it’s surprisingly well equipped for a tablet in this price range. But HP did make a few compromises. There’s only a mono speaker instead of stereo. It has a 2MP rear camera and 0.3MP front camera (both are fixed-focus).

3. HP Stream 8 – $150

Take the guts of HP’s 7 inch tablet, stuff them into an 8 inch case and make a few tweaks, and you’ve got the HP Stream 8.

This model does have a 4,000 mAh battery, stereo speakers, and Bluetooth, which the smaller tablet lacks. The rest of the features are largely the same.

hp stream 8

HP’s 8 inch tablet has a 1280 x 800 pixel IPS display, an Intel Atom Z3735G processor, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a microSD card slot, a 2MP rear camera and a 0.3MP front camera.

Like the 7 inch model, it comes with Windows 8.1 and a 1-year subscription to Office 365.

HP offers a model with support for 4G data for $180, or you can pick up a WiFi-only version for $150.

4. Insignia 8″ tablet – $120

Best Buy sells this inexpensive 8 inch tablet with a 1280 x 800 pixel IPS display, an Intel Atom Z3735F processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage.

The Insignia tablet runs Windows 8.1 and includes a 1-year subscription to Office 365.

insignia tablet

It has a 2MP camera on the back and another 2MP camera on the front. The talet has a 4,000 mAh battery, a micro USB port, WiFi, and Bluetooth.

The Insignia tablet has a microSD card slot for removable storage. Unlike some devices on this list, the tablet also has a micro HDMI port.

Insignia may not be a household name, but it’s a house brand that Best Buy uses for tablets, TVs and other devices that it sells in stores, and the tablet does come with a 1-year limited warranty.

5. iView SupraPad i700QW – $80

There are plenty of low-cost Windows tablets from Chinese manufacturers available from resellers that export to the United States. You can find hundreds of them at AliExpress. But if you’d rather buy from a well-known, US-based electronics retailer, Newegg has a few different cheap Windows tablets from brands you might not be familiar with.

One is the iView Suprapad i700QW. It’s an $80 tablet with a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and an Intel Atom Z3735G processor.

iview suprapad_01

Note that the screen resolution on this tablet would ordinarily be too low to run some Windows apps, but I wouldn’t be surprised if iView used the same trick as Toshiba (see the Encore Mini description below) to get around that problem.

The best thing about this tablet is probably its low price. But it also has most of the features you’d probably want in a small tablet including a microSD card slot, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a 1-year subscription to Office 365.

6. Toshiba Encore 2 – $120

Technically this tablet has a  list price of $199 and up, but Amazon is currently selling it for $120 and I’ve seen other stores offer similarly low prices from time to time.

toshiba encore 2_01

This model features an 8 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display, an Intel Atom Z3735G processor, 1GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage.

It has a micro HDMI port, micro USB port, micro SDXC card slot, WiFi, Bluetooth, a 5MP rear camera with auto-focus and a 1.2MP front-facing fixed-focus camera. It has stereo speakers.

Like most other tablets in this category, the Toshiba Encore 2 runs Windows 8.1 with Bing and comes with a 1-year subscription to Office 365 Personal.

7. Toshiba Encore Mini – $100 (or less)

Toshiba also offers a smaller, cheaper tablet with a 7 inch, 1024 x 768 pixel display. The Encore Mini has a list price of $120, but it often sells for less. Right now Toshiba is selling it for $100.

toshiba encore mini

This tablet has the same Atom Z3735G processor, 1GB of RAM, and software as the 8 inch model.

But it has just 16GB of storage, lacks HDMI output, has a smaller battery, a 2MP rear camera, a 0.3MP front camera, and has a mono speaker.

Possibly the most important thing to keep in mind about this tablet is that it screen resolution is too low for some Windows features, so while the screen has a native resolution of 1024 x 600, Toshiba has adjusted it to act like a virtual 1280 x 768 pixel screen. This can cause some things to look blurry.

If you’re looking for a better deal on a 7 inch tablet and don’t mind buying a tablet from a company with less name recognition, check out the Winbook TW700 below.

8. Vulcan Challenger II tablet + keyboard – $100

This is another low-cost tablet available from Newegg. While it doesn’t have the best specs, this tablet does have one special feature: it comes with a Bluetooth keyboard.

vulcan challenger

The tablet features an Intel Atom Z3735G processor, an 8 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel IPS display, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage. It has a 3500mAh battery, a microSD card slot, stereo speakers, WiFi, Bluetooth, a mini HDMI port, a 2MP rear camera, and a 0.3MP front camera.

Like most tablets on this list, the tablet comes with a 1-year subscription to Microosft Office 365 Personal.

Note that while Newegg sells the tablet for $100, you may have to choose Newegg from the “more buying options” section when adding the tablet to your cart to avoid a higher-priced version from a third-party seller. You can also purchase the tablet and keyboard for $100 from Newegg’s eBay store.

9. WinBook TW700 – $60

This tablet is by far the cheapest on the list — but it actually has features that could make it a better choice than the 7 inch tablets from Toshiba or iView.

Micro Center sells the WinBook TW700 with a 7 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display, an Atom Z3735G processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage for just $60.

winbook tw700

Up until relatively recently if you wanted to buy a tablet from Micro Center, you needed to walk into one of the company’s retail stores — which could be a problem, because Micro Center stores aren’t quite as ubiquitous as Best Buy locations. But Micro Center now offers shipping.

That means you can pick up this Windows 8.1 tabelt with a free 1-year subscription to Office 365 Personal for less than the normal price of that 1-year subscription alone.

The tablet’s other features include a microSD card slot, micro HDMI port, a full-sized USB port, a micro USB port, and stereo speakers. It has 2MP front and rear cameras, WiFi and Bluetooth, and an IPS display with 5-point multitouch.

10. WinBook TW802 – $130

Thinking about picking up a WinBook tablet from Micro Center, but want something with slightly better specs?

There are a few different 8 inch models priced below $150. The TW802 might be the best deal.

 

It has 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, an Atom Z3735F processor, and a 1280 x 800 pixel IPS display.

The tablet has micro HDMI, microSD, micro USB and USB 2.0 ports, WiFi and Bluetooth, and 2MP front and rear cameras.

You can save a few bucks by picking up the WinBook TW801 instead. It’s basically the same tablet, but with an Atom Z3735D processor. And the WinBook TW800 with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage sells for just $100.

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45 replies on “10 Windows tablets for $150 or less”

  1. Do not under any circumstances get the Winbook 7″ or 16GB 8″ (801) if your intent is to use it with Windows 8.1 on there. Why? The manuf. in their infinite wisdom partitioned the drive so that a chunk is particularly untouchable, containing I believe the OS install-link/drivers/etc. I’m not sure if you can wipe it out by installing your own OS from start, but it can’t be removed from within Windows, and if you do end up removing it, you’re in for a world of hurt because then the tablet can’t be “refreshed”, which isn’t an issue if you’re putting something else on there. I myself haven’t messed around with removing it.

    Essentially, once you’re done downloading updates for the tablet, you’re out of space. They issued a sw tool which gets you a few more GB (like 2 I think) but then if you activate and update Office 365 on there, you’re done again.

    I tried everything to keep the tablet. I removed all downloaded/installed windows updates and even turned cache off (which is a terrible idea and the OS complained the second it came back up). All I ever got was a max of about 1GB if I turned paging on. This is with minimal to no extra software.

    Finally, the battery in the 7″ is not very good and would take ages to charge and drain in what felt like minutes. I couldn’t get through a show on Netflix or Hulu before it was ready to die.

    I highly recommend the 32GB version, the (TW802) 8″ or the 10″ because you have a lot more room to work with, even if just in reference to updates and you also have 2GB of RAM which makes a world of difference. 2GB should really be the minimum imho. These also have a better battery, though I hear the 10″ can go through a charge pretty quickly as well.

    I am very much enjoying my TW802. It’s fast and works well. It feels well built and the screen is pretty nice for the price. The battery is not too shabby. With proper power saving settings I haven’t had any issues. My only complaint is the weight, which after using Nexus 7s feels almost like a brick. Still, nothing beats a full Windows PC in an 8″ tablet.

  2. Winbook tw801 for the win.
    8″ screen makes a big difference. 2GB RAM, full sized USB 3.0, HDMI out…
    now available for shipping from microcenter. and only $100
    https://www.microcenter.com/product/437499/TW801_Tablet_-_Black

    but if you’re going solely on price, microcenter has the 32GB HP Stream 7 Windows 8.1 Signature Edition for a very cheap $79. get a $25 Windows credit with it
    https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/HP-Stream-7-Signature-Edition-Tablet/productID.308781500?sdtid=7643372&ClickID=appw55zzt9kktzrwkpvrkavtl0ntp0olrllr

  3. I am liking my cheap little Winbook TW700 windows tablet for $60 I use it to read comics, serve files and stream Netflix on my hdtv. I just wish there was a good Swype keyboard for it..

    1. Pretty happy with mine as well, just need to work around the 16gb it comes with. I’m actually turning mine into a portable arcade machine.

  4. This article would be much more valuable if the first word wasn’t a grammatical error. If you don’t know “There” from “There are,” nothing that follows matters. Don’t use predictive typing as a cover – it’s your work, not your device’s. Details matter – in everything that’s important.

    1. Forgetting the word “are” isn’t considered a grammatical error, technically.

      I can’t even imagine how lonely & sad your life must be in your mom’s basement without ever knowing the touch of a female, for actually chastising someone over this.

  5. HP Stream 7 overall has good performance for normal surfing, video, doc edit tasks, etc. Also, I can confirm it does have Bluetooth. I’m pretty happy with it except for one thing. There is headphone buzz, if you want to read and have music on at a low volume or are viewing a video with quiet passages it can get annoying. There are HP forum entries on this issues so I know it isn’t just mine.

    1. I agree, for the price it is pretty good, honestly I do not think the brand mattes so much as the fact that 1g of ram is just not enough for any of these tablets, if I were going to do it again I would get a 2g version.

    2. Hi bluesworx:

      Try using earbuds, some Tablets don’t like big headpphones or external speakers, u might get a low volume buzz if you do, I had a cheap Tablet that only liked earbuds and it worked fine.

  6. The Microcenter WinBook TW802 looks like it also has GPS built-in which would make it an even better value than the Asus Vivotab since the WinBook also has microHDMI port. Portable carputer? Hmm…

    1. It doesn’t have GPS. This was verified as incorrect on the Microcenter forums. They haven’t updated the website to reflect this yet.

  7. The Dell VP8 is often available for about 150 from the Dell outlet or Woot… for a refurb. It offers a digitizer, and I hear the newest pen actually works well. It does lack an NDMI port, and might have less available storage out of the box because the older tablets lack wimboot, which frees up about 10GB of drive space.

  8. The winbook tw801 is better than the 802. It has usb 3.0 while 801 doesn’t

    1. There is a great article on cpu-world.com comparing the Atom
      Bay Trail-T processors.

      https://www.cpu-world.com/news_2014/2014042201_Details_of_Atom_Z3735F_and_Z3735G_processors.html

      This article indicates that the Z3735F used in the WinBook
      TW802 is actually the entry level Atom processor which would make it a
      down-grade from the TW801 that uses the Z3735D and includes a full size USB 3.0
      port. “The main difference between entry-level SKUs and the Z3735D/E is the packaging. The “F” and “G” parts use the same size package with fewer ball contacts, which is presumably less expensive in manufacturing. To accommodate smaller number of I/O contacts, Intel removed some interfaces and reduced the number of ports and controllers, available on the chip. For instance, the “F” and “G” chips have two Camera Serial interface ports instead of 3, and fewer number of USB 2.0, I2S and I2C ports. Also, the entry-level Atoms do not have an LPC interface, and they do not support USB 3.0.”

      I agree with others in this thread the Winbook TW801 is BY FAR THE BEST Windows 8.1 tablet in the bunch and now a steal @ $99.99 (I picked mine up when it was $119.99). And it appears microcenter.com will now ship at a reasonable cost, not just in-store pick-up as in the past.

  9. Only one comes with full-sized USB. Do you have any experience with the microUSB to USB converters? I need to make a data modem work with one of such tablets… Thanks.

    1. Your only concern is with full-sized USB? I think real world usability would be a real concern with some of this shiite. I know Windows will now work with 1 GB of RAM but really, 2 GB should be the absolute minimum.

      1. I need it for my Mom to Skype us. I have no concerns that this single function can perform adequately…

    2. Monoprice’s OTG adapter (item 9724, price $1.47) works perfectly on every Android device I’ve tried.

      I’ll try it on my Windows Asus T100 tonight for a Windows comparison.

      1. thanks for the tip. It works well and it seems to be a well built product.

  10. My main issue with the cheap windows tablets is that none of them come with a 1080p display. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the Android tablets that come in under $200 with a 1080p screen, but I will not spend money on a windows tablet that is not 1080p.

    1. Well I really wouldn’t say “none of them”… 🙂

      ONDA V891w 8.9″ 1920×1200 IPS @ $151.99
      FNF iFive MX2 8.9″ 1920×1200 IPS @ $199.00
      Onda V102W 10.1″ 1920×1200 IPS @ $216.99
      Teclast X98 Air II 9.7″ 2048×1536 IPS @ $197.99
      Onda V975W 9.7″ 2048×1536 IPS @ $199.00
      Teclast X90HD 8.9″ 2560×1600 IPS @ $194.99
      Teclast X89 7.9” 2048×1536 IPS @ $158.99

      1. Where can you get these prices? I want to get an Air II because of the screen

        1. banggood or pandawill, banggood is cheaper usually..
          And why not the Teclast X90HD, if PPI is what you want ?

          1. Just means higher PPI! I personally would like to see a 9″ or 10″ 4:3 with 2gb, 32gb and backlit keyboard case for $200. That would be ideal for me!

  11. You need to add the ASUS MemoPad ME572. It’s $150 online at a major retailer and an incredible value.

    The specs are really excellent: 64-bit quad-core Z3560 Moorefield, 128-core PowerVR Series 6 GPU, 2GB of RAM, 1920×1200 LCD, microSD, etc.

      1. Looks like it. If I could have those specs but running Windows instead, I would buy it.

        1. Ooops, my bad. In my eagerness to comment I missed that the article was comparing Windows-only tablets. 😐

  12. I have the Dell Venue 8 Pro and spent quite a bit more than the anything on this list. I am used to the performance of the older Atom processor and 2GB of RAM. I am thinking of picking up one of these for my wife to “try out” before I get her something more expensive since she doesn’t know if she will like a tablet. How does Windows do with 1GB of RAM? I am old school and used to throwing 8+GB at a system to make it run well. My 2GB has been remarkable and shows almost no lag, but 1GB is 2GB less than my phone… Anyone have any feedback?

    1. I had the V8P, and now I have the Steam 7. There is quite a bit of difference, but it isn’t awful to use. I keep thinking about switching to 2GB again, but then I’d have to explain another tablet to the Mrs…

      1. Yeah.. same problem here. Android, iOS, and Windows tablets now… hard to tell her it is for “research purposes” or “for work” if I duplicate an OS.

        1. Yeah, the struggle is real, haha. I’ve got my eye on the WinBook. Microcenter has it for a pretty good price…

          1. Simply incredible at that price! I see my local Columbus, Ohio store shows Out of Stock, but some other stores have them. And of course, one could just order one. By far the clear winner like you mentioned.

          2. I completely agree, I bought mine weeks ago @ 119.99 and thought that was a great price. The TW801 Z3735D processor is actually a better processor than the Z3735F found in the more expensive current TW802 version. See my comments and link to the article above.

    2. Just bought the ASUS and it loaded the desktop and all apps from my MS account very fast. It’s a replacement for the Nexus7 I dropped face down (ouch!), and it’s been performing really well. At $150 from the MS Store and at the top of this list, there is no better choice to test your wife’s acceptance of a tablet. Just check the reviews on Amazon.

  13. Is there an article anywhere that explains the difference between all of these low end Atom-based CPU’s? Especially since some of them use the same numbering scheme but with different lettering behind them.

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