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May 20, 2023

7 Best 24

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission. Prices were accurate at the time this

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission. Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.

This sturdy monitor offers great image quality, performance, and lots of adjustability. We’re not overly fond of the design, though. Read More

The Gigabyte G24F 2 hits 180Hz for less money than even the Monoprice Dark Matter 24, and steers clear of direct competition from NZXT’s Canvas 25F. Read More

Alienware’s AW2521H combines a class-leading 360 Hz refresh rate with good image quality and premium design. It’s an expensive monitor that’s worth every cent, but its price tag will send some gamers elsewhere. Read More

The Asus ROG Swift PG259QN is the most affordable monitor we tested to offer a 360 Hz refresh rate. It also has a good contrast ratio and solid color accuracy. The monitor’s corkscrew stand design is distinct but won’t be to everyone’s tastes. Read More

The Acer Nitro XV252Q is a great choice if you want a mid-range, high-refresh monitor without cleaning out your wallet. It can overclock to 280 Hz and delivers attractive, well-rounded image quality. Read More

Updated July 27, 2023

The best 24-inch gaming monitors should help budget-minded gamers make the most of their cash. Though they lack the obvious “wow” factor of a big screen or TV, 24-inch monitors usually have great image quality, higher refresh rates, good enough pixel density, and lower than 1ms response time at a much more affordable price than their large-scale cousins.

Our top 24-inch pick is the Acer XB253Q GW (available at Best Buy) . Its image quality is fantastic and it has a refresh rate of up to 280 Hz for smooth gameplay. These gaming-centric features are supported by a sturdy build and a highly adjustable, ergonomic stand. If you're on a tight budget and still want great image quality, Gigabyte’s G24F 2 is an excellent pick at its low price point and 180Hz refresh rate. We also have several other solid choices to consider, so you can find the perfect compact PC monitor for your next marathon gaming session.

Acer's 24-inch beauty packs a punch on all fronts, making it the best gaming monitor for most people.

Acer’s Predator XB253Q is an excellent 24-inch gaming monitor that will please any gamer. It combines the high refresh rate of competitive gaming monitors with top-notch image quality.

Let’s talk about competitive gaming first. This monitor has a 240Hz refresh rate that can be overclocked to 280Hz. That’s not as fast as the best 360Hz monitors, but it’s close and will look identical to all but the most critical eye. The monitor has minimal ghosting and looks crystal clear in motion. It supports G-Sync for smooth, stutter-free gameplay with Nvidia graphics cards.

Gamers who care more about visuals than performance, on the other hand, will be pleased by its great color accuracy and realistic image quality. It’s not a wide color gamut monitor, so the colors in flashy games might look more subdued, but what you see will be close to what the game’s artists intended.

This monitor is among the brightest 24-inch monitors we tested, yet has a solid contrast ratio for an IPS panel, so it works well in both dark and bright rooms. The monitor can accept an HDR signal and is bright enough to provide some extra wow-factor in the most brilliant scenes, though it’s no match for a great HDR television.

It’s also sturdy and has plenty of ergonomic adjustment. The design is a bit garish, but that’s ok—you won’t spend much time looking at the monitor’s rear. Throw in a mid-range price, and the result is a superb 24-inch gaming monitor.

Excellent image quality with 280 Hz refresh rate

Highly adjustable stand

Great build quality

Unattractive design

The Gigabyte G24F 2 is a steal at less than $150.

The Gigabyte G24F 2 sets a powerful example of how good a budget gaming monitor can be. It marries exceptional color quality and motion clarity that even high-end monitors can struggle to balance. The IPS panel Gigabyte has employed delivers a wide color gamut that’s exceedingly accurate, it has good contrast, and can get far brighter than most of us likely need in a gaming room.

While 1080p is usually the best you’re going to get from a sub-$200 monitor, Gigabyte went with a 180Hz max refresh rate that didn’t mean cut corners elsewhere and provided pleasingly smooth visuals in games.

A very fast pixel response time helps each frame the monitor is presented display clearly, making the G24F 2 reliable in fast-paced games. Gigabyte even includes a height- and tilt-adjustable stand and two USB-A ports, neither of which should be taken for granted at this price point. It sometimes dips as low as $130 on sale.

Read our full review of the Gigabyte G24F 2.

Fast display

Exceptionally colorful

Handy connectivity

HDR worth ignoring

The Alienware AW2521H is a premium 24-inch gaming monitor that targets competitive gamers with its 360 Hz refresh rate. It supports Nvidia G-Sync for smooth gameplay on Nvidia graphics cards.

Gamers who care about style should love the monitor’s unique, sci-fi-inspired exterior. Available in black or white and boasting a ring of LED lights on its rear, the Alienware AW2521H will stand out on any desk. It feels extremely durable and has a beefy ergonomic stand that keeps the display planted in place.

The image quality is good. The monitor has an okay contrast ratio, solid color gamut, and respectable color accuracy. It doesn’t score extremely well in any one area (aside from the refresh rate) but also lacks any major flaw, making it a good choice for most games.

The Alienware AW2521H is generally more expensive than the competition. However, the monitor is frequently on sale, so it’s especially a great deal during those times.

Class-leading refresh rate

Premium design

Great image quality

Expensive

Asus’ ROG Swift PG259QN is a high-end 24-inch gaming monitor that targets competitive players with a 360Hz refresh rate. It supports Nvidia G-Sync for smooth gameplay with Nvidia video cards.

The ROG Swift PG259QN is a well-rounded monitor with just a few small flaws. It serves up solid image quality with good color accuracy, a decent contrast ratio, and a robust color gamut. Our test unit looked overly warm and reddish at its default settings, which didn’t look right in some games. However, we were able to adjust this by switching to a different color temperature preset in the monitor’s menu.

We think the monitor’s corkscrew design, while striking, is divisive. It will look at home on a desk loaded with other flashy gaming gear but doesn’t fit in with a less garish setup. Looks aside, the monitor is well built and has a sturdy, ergonomic stand.

The monitor’s best trait is its MSRP, which is high for casual players, but regularly beats alternative 360Hz monitors from Alienware and Acer. However, sale pricing can sometimes drop the Alienware and Acer below the Asus.

Class-leading refresh rate

Excellent motion clarity

Great image quality

Design

Acer’s Nitro XV252Q is an affordable take on our favorite monitors. The Nitro makes a few cuts to reduce the price while retaining excellent motion clarity.

The Nitro XV252Q has a 240Hz refresh rate and can overclock to 280Hz. This is the same as the impressive Acer Predator XB253Q, and we saw no difference in motion clarity between the two monitors. The Nitro supports AMD FreeSync, however, while the Predator supports Nvidia G-Sync.

Image quality is almost identical between the two monitors, which is good news for the Nitro XV252Q. It offers excellent color accuracy, a good contrast ratio for an IPS display panel, and a decent color gamut. The Nitro falls behind in just one area: brightness. A very bright room can wash out the display, making the visuals hard to see and, although it can accept an HDR signal, it does not do HDR games justice.

Build quality is another Nitro XV252Q weakness. The monitor’s ergonomically adjustable stand works well enough but is far less robust than those found on more expensive monitors. It also can’t match the more affordable BenQ EX2510R there.

High refresh rate

Good color accuracy

Competitive pricing

Mediocre build quality

At first glance, the Asus ProArt PA248QV might seem an odd choice for a gaming monitor. This 24-inch display is marketed to creative professionals, not gamers, and has an unusual 16:10 aspect ratio that is more square than other monitors.

Yet there’s good reason to recommend the PA248QV. This monitor is affordably priced and delivers solid all-around image quality. It’s bright, has a good contrast ratio, and offers good color accuracy. The monitor’s odd aspect ratio means it has a resolution of 1920 x 1200. Gamers who love strategy games may prefer this because it squeezes in more vertical space for displaying a map or critical information.

The PA248QV supports AMD FreeSync for smooth gameplay on AMD video cards. It also has a maximum refresh rate of 75Hz. Motion clarity is not noticeably better than a 60Hz display, but the inclusion of FreeSync means stutter-free play is possible.

It’s a quality-built, attractive display with a highly adjustable ergonomic stand that easily defeats most budget gaming monitors. You’ll also find two USB ports on the monitor’s left flank, a feature affordable gaming monitors often skip. This is useful for connecting wired gaming peripherals.

Great color performance

1920 x 1200 resolution

Attractive design

Low refresh rate

The Samsung C24F390 is a budget monitor that targets general use, but it’s also a great option for gamers on a very tight budget.

This monitor has a VA panel with a contrast ratio that exceeds that of nearly every other monitor on this list, including those that sell for several times the price. This provides a sense of depth and good detail in dark scenes. The monitor’s color performance is just ok, but acceptable for the price and better than Acer’s XFA240.

This monitor has a 60Hz refresh rate, so it’s not a great choice for competitive gaming. It is FreeSync compatible for smooth gameplay on AMD graphics cards. The included stand is flimsy and only adjusts for tilt.

The C24F390 is the specific model we tested, but Samsung offers several variations on this monitor with slightly different product names such as the C24F391 and C24F392. These should offer similar features and performance.

Great contrast ratio

Vibrant colors

Low price

Flimsy stand only adjusts tilt

Low refresh rate

We test monitors using the same suite of scientific equipment we use to test TVs.

Matthew S. Smith is a technology journalist, reviewer, and editor with 14 years of experience. He’s tested over 600 laptop and desktop displays over the past decade, keeping a log of his results for future reference. In addition to evaluating monitors, laptops, and other gear for Reviewed, you can find his monitor reviews published at Insider, IGN, and Digital Trends.

Image quality is our top priority when evaluating a gaming monitor. Modern games are crammed with outstanding visuals that can easily be spoiled by a bad display. We look for great color accuracy, a solid color gamut, and a decent contrast ratio. Good HDR performance is a plus, but even the best 24-inch monitors remain weak in this area.

Gaming monitors must do more than deliver great visuals, however. Fast-paced games should also look good in motion. While this doesn’t matter to every gamer, those who play esports or other fast-paced titles will benefit from a high refresh rate, great motion clarity, and low input lag.

Our testing was conducted with Datacolor’s SpyderX Elite. This calibration tool offers detailed tests that gauge a monitor’s color gamut, color accuracy, gamma curve, luminance uniformity, and color temperature compared to industry standards. If this all sounds a bit technical to you, don’t worry about it. There’s no need to sweat the details. Just know our judgment is based on objective testing that’s as free of bias as we can make it.

We also use each monitor to play our favorite games for at least several days. This subjective evaluation lets us identify small problems and inconsistencies that don’t show up in objective, instrumented tests. Our latest round of testing revealed no major surprises—all the monitors performed as our objective tests hinted they would.

Most 24-inch gaming monitors stick to 1080p resolution. This might not sound impressive in today’s world of 4K monitors, and it does lead to some problems. You may notice fine edges and small fonts look fuzzy or pixelated. However, this is a sacrifice you’ll have to live with when purchasing a gaming monitor of that size. Few 24-inch monitors exceed 1080p resolution and those that do lack features would contribute to a great gaming experience.

A gaming monitor’s refresh rate is the number of times it can refresh the on-screen image in one second. Most monitors refresh at 60Hz, or 60 times each second, but gaming monitors can refresh up to 360Hz, or 360 times each second. The monitors on this list have a refresh rate of at least 144Hz.

Higher refresh rates lead to lower input lag and better motion clarity. The monitor will feel more responsive and appear sharper in motion. You’ll clearly pick out details that look smeared or blurred on a monitor with a normal 60Hz refresh rate. But while a high refresh rate can improve clarity, there is a catch. Your computer must be powerful enough to play a game at a framerate close to the monitor’s refresh rate.

That means a game will need to render at up 360 frames per second to make proper use of a 360Hz gaming monitor. It will still look fine and feel smooth at a lesser framerate, but you won’t be using the monitor to its full potential. The most expensive 24-inch monitors are best when paired with the most expensive video cards.

However, there’s also nothing wrong with a 60Hz monitor. Gamers who play titles with minimal motion, like Civilization VI or Crusader Kings 3, will see less benefit from higher refresh rates. Several monitors on this list have a low refresh rate but great image quality, making them a solid pick for strategy, puzzle, and adventure games.

AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync are adaptive sync standards that let a monitor’s refresh rate match the framerate of the game you’re playing. This eliminates stuttering or tearing artifacts that can occur when the timing of a game’s framerate aligns poorly with a monitor’s refresh rate. It’s an important feature for most gamers, and fortunately, it’s widely available.

As the naming implies, AMD FreeSync is designed to work with AMD graphics cards, while Nvidia G-Sync is designed to work with Nvidia video cards. The standards are actually more fluid than this: monitors that handle one standard can often handle the other. This is not guaranteed, however, so we recommend you buy a monitor that supports the adaptive sync standard that matches your PC’s graphics card.

While AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync are important, they’re not essential, but most gaming monitors include compatibility these days. Players who lean heavily towards genres with a slower pace of gameplay, like strategy or adventure, might not need this feature. The improvement is less noticeable in games that focus on static menus or slow-moving objects.

A monitor creates a picture by pairing an LCD display panel with LED backlights that sit behind it. The type of LCD panel a monitor uses will impact the monitor’s quality. Three distinct types of panel technology can be found in gaming monitors.

IPS: IPS stands for “in-plane switching.” They lean towards a bright, vibrant image with minimal ghosting and excellent motion clarity when combined with a high refresh rate. However, they tend to have a low contrast ratio and poor performance in dark, shadowy scenes. IPS panels can suffer “IPS glow,” a hazy look in dark areas that is most noticeable at a wide viewing angle. Despite this, most high-end gaming monitors choose an IPS panel for its superior motion performance.

VA: VA stands for “vertical alignment.” This panel type can serve up a great contrast ratio and better performance in dark, shadowy scenes. Though often a bit dimmer than IPS panels, the best VA panels look vivid and offer a wide, accurate color gamut. Viewing angles are not good compared to IPS, so you’ll want to sit directly in front of the display. VA panels can also struggle with motion clarity and often experience blurring or smearing on fast-moving objects.

TN: TN stands for “twisted nematic.” TN panels are older and generally lack the color accuracy, gamut, contrast, and viewing angles of ISP and VA panels. We don’t recommend buying a TN monitor.

Want more general help in buying the right kind of monitor? Check out our guide to buying a monitor.

Matthew S. Smith

Contributor

Matthew S. Smith is a veteran tech journalist and general-purpose PC hardware nerd. Formerly the Lead Editor of Reviews at Digital Trends, he has over a decade of experience covering PC hardware. Matt often flies the virtual skies in Microsoft Flight Simulator and is on a quest to grow the perfect heirloom tomato.

Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.