The Brightest ISO and ANSI-Rated Projectors Under $1,500

This is the price band where brightness claims get loosest, so this list ignores every number that is not measured to one of the two nine-point screen standards. What survives is a short list where the figures can actually be set against each other — and where a lamp projector will usually out-light a laser one, at the cost of a consumable.

How this list is ordered: Ranked on published brightness, restricted to ISO 21118 and ANSI IT7.228 figures. 27 of the catalog’s projectors qualify. 1 of them is under a manufacturer safety recall — BenQ GV31 — and is marked in the list rather than removed from it, because the specification that put it here is still true. 9 of them are no longer sold by their makers — XGIMI Horizon S Max, BenQ HT2060, XGIMI Horizon S Pro, Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22, Optoma ML1080, XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro, BenQ GV31, Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen, Anker Nebula Capsule Air — and are listed after the models still on sale, kept for comparison.

1Optoma
~$1,199
Optoma UHD38x
The UHD35x with the brightness turned up: 4,000 ANSI lumens from the same chassis, lamp and gaming path.
Brightness
4,000lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
83–92 in
Input lag
8 ms
Light source
Lamp
Check price on Amazon
2Optoma
~$999
Optoma UHD35x
The cheapest way to get 4.2 ms of input lag and 3,600 ANSI lumens into a room.
Brightness
3,600lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
83–92 in
Input lag
8 ms
Light source
Lamp
3ViewSonic
~$1,300
ViewSonic LX700-4K
3,500 ANSI lumens from a 20,000-hour laser in a 7.3 lb body, with a 1.36x zoom and a short 1.06 minimum throw.
Brightness
3,500lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
95–130 in
Input lag
17 ms
Light source
Laser-phosphor
Check price on Amazon
4Epson
~$1,399
Epson Home Cinema 3800
The long-running 4K PRO-UHD lamp Epson, still on Epson's US price list seven years after launch.
Brightness
3,000lumensISO 21118
Screen at 10 ft
64–104 in
Input lag
21 ms
Light source
Lamp
Check price on Amazon
5Epson
~$1,499
Epson Home Cinema 2350
A three-chip 3LCD lamp projector with Epson's 4K PRO-UHD pixel shifting and Android TV baked in, aimed at a bright family room rather than a blacked-out theater.
Brightness
2,800lumensISO 21118
Screen at 10 ft
63–103 in
Input lag
18 ms
Light source
Lamp
Check price on Amazon
6BenQ
~$1,199
BenQ GP520
A 4K Google TV lifestyle projector with 2x12 W of audio, auto keystone and auto focus, designed to be carried to a wall and switched on.
Brightness
2,600lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Input lag
18 ms
Light source
LED
Check price on Amazon
7Dangbei
~$1,199
Dangbei DBOX02
Sold as the Mars Pro 2 in most markets: a 4K ALPD laser projector with licensed Google TV, 24 W of audio and a 30,000-hour light source.
Brightness
2,450lumensISO 21118
Screen at 10 ft
108 in
Light source
Laser-phosphor
Check price on Amazon
8Anker Nebula
~$950
Anker Nebula Cosmos 4K SE
The cheapest 4K Dolby Vision projector with licensed Google TV in this catalog.
Brightness
1,800lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
Hybrid
Check price on Amazon
9Hisense
~$1,297
Hisense M2 Pro
A compact tri-laser box with a 1.3x optical zoom, aimed at people who want real 4K color in something they can carry between rooms.
Brightness
1,300lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
106–138 in
Light source
Tri-laser
Check price on Amazon
10Dangbei
~$899
Dangbei Atom
A 2.8 lb slab barely thicker than a paperback, with a laser engine putting out 1,200 ISO lumens — nearly three times what the LED portables of the same weight manage.
Brightness
1,200lumensISO 21118
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
Laser-phosphor
Check price on Amazon
11Yaber
~$400
Yaber K3
A budget LCD projector with 30 W of JBL-tuned audio and a Google TV dongle, and the clearest example in this catalog of why the brightness standard on the box matters.
Brightness
990lumensISO 21118
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
LED
Check price on Amazon
12BenQ
~$799
BenQ GV50
A 4.6 lb laser portable on a tilting cradle that swings through 135 degrees, with Google TV and a 2.1 speaker system with its own bass driver.
Brightness
500lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
Laser-phosphor
Check price on Amazon
13LG
~$1,299
LG CineBeam Q
A 4K RGB tri-laser projector in a 3.3 lb aluminium cube with a swivel handle that doubles as a stand.
Brightness
500lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
Tri-laser
Check price on Amazon
14Dangbei
~$439
Dangbei Freedo
Dangbei's first battery projector with licensed Google TV: 3.1 lb, two hours of runtime, a rotating handle stand, and 24 dB operation that makes it the quietest battery projector in this catalog..
Brightness
450lumensISO 21118
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
LED
Check price on Amazon
15XGIMI
~$399
XGIMI Elfin Flip
A flat slab with a hinged lens housing that flips up to aim at a wall or a ceiling, then folds shut to travel.
Brightness
400lumensISO 21118
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
LED
16Anker Nebula
~$420
Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air
A battery projector with a proper carry handle and 16 W of stereo audio, aimed squarely at back yards and camping.
Brightness
400lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
LED
Check price on Amazon
17Yaber
~$349
Yaber T2 Plus
A budget LCD projector with a carry handle, JBL-tuned speakers, a 2.5-hour battery and Wi-Fi 6, sold largely on its automatic setup features.
Brightness
350lumensISO 21118
Screen at 10 ft
110 in
Light source
LED
Check price on Amazon
18Anker Nebula
~$570
Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser
The laser version of Anker's can-shaped projector: 1080p, 300 ANSI lumens, two hours of battery and licensed Google TV.
Brightness
300lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
Laser-phosphor
Check price on Amazon
19XGIMI
~$1,429
XGIMI Horizon S MaxNo longer sold by XGIMI
XGIMI's brightest standard-throw lifestyle projector, on an integrated stand that tilts through a wide arc so it can throw from a coffee table to a high wall.
Brightness
3,100lumensISO 21118
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
Hybrid
20BenQ
~$1,249
BenQ HT2060No longer sold by BenQ
A 1080p LED projector built around color accuracy rather than pixel count: 98% Rec.709 out of the box, a 20,000-hour LED that never needs a lamp, and just enough vertical lens shift to clear a coffee table.
Brightness
2,300lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
92–120 in
Input lag
33 ms
Light source
LED
21XGIMI
~$949
XGIMI Horizon S ProNo longer sold by XGIMI
The Horizon S Max with the light engine turned down and the price cut by a third.
Brightness
1,800lumensISO 21118
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
Hybrid
22Epson
~$999
Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22No longer sold by Epson
A 1080p laser 3LCD cube on a rotating stand that swivels 150 degrees, so it can throw at a wall or straight up at the ceiling.
Brightness
1,000lumensISO 21118
Screen at 10 ft
134 in
Light source
Laser-phosphor
23Optoma
~$899
Optoma ML1080No longer sold by Optoma
A 2.2 lb RGB tri-laser projector the size of a hardback book, covering 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut — colour coverage normally found in projectors ten times the size.
Brightness
550lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
Tri-laser
24XGIMI
~$319
XGIMI MoGo 3 ProNo longer sold by XGIMI
A 2.4 lb cylinder with an integrated tilting stand, Google TV and Harman Kardon speakers, at a price where most rivals ship an unlicensed launcher.
Brightness
450lumensISO 21118
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
LED
25BenQ
~$599
BenQ GV31Safety recallNo longer sold by BenQ
A battery projector built around its speaker: a 2.1 system with an 8 W woofer in a 3.7 lb cylinder that runs three hours off the internal cell.
Brightness
300lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
LED
26Samsung
~$498
Samsung The Freestyle 2nd GenNo longer sold by Samsung
A 1.8 lb cylinder on a cradle that rotates through 180 degrees, running the same Tizen platform as Samsung's televisions including the Gaming Hub.
Brightness
230lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
LED
27Anker Nebula
~$250
Anker Nebula Capsule AirNo longer sold by Anker Nebula
A soda-can projector that runs two hours off its own battery and weighs 1.4 lb.
Brightness
150lumensANSI
Screen at 10 ft
115 in
Light source
LED