Best Computer Monitors (2026): The Home Office Upgrade You Need

But with over a decade of testing and reviewing monitors under my belt, here are my recommendations on what you should buy today.

For more information, check out our guide to How to Choose a Monitor, as well as our recommendations for Best Gaming Monitors, Best Portable Monitors, and Best Cheap Monitors.

It's worth spending more than a hundred bucks on your monitor. Whether it's to improve image quality, upgrade sharpness through higher resolutions, or to add extra ports, you'll want something that makes your daily work life more pleasant. That's why I recommend the Dell 27 Plus 4K as the monitor most people should buy. Unlike many 4K monitors, the Dell 27 Plus 4K sells for under $300 (oftentimes as low as $280), despite being quite bright and color-accurate for an IPS panel at this price. It even comes with a fast 120-Hz refresh rate. I like this feature, especially since higher refresh rates are becoming more commonplace on phone and laptop screens.

The only real downside to the Dell 27 Plus 4K is that the port selection is woefully limited. The two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort are enough for the basics, but if you have a laptop without HDMI, like a MacBook Air, you'll need a USB Hub or laptop docking station. For a more versatile monitor, I'd recommend upgrading to the model with a built-in USB hub (S2725QC).

The QC model is identical, except that its extra USB ports make this monitor a far better fit for a connected home office. Dell does charge you $50 more for those ports, but for some, it'll be worth the convenience. Either way, you'll be hard-pressed to find a cheaper 4K monitor of this quality or a better monitor for under $300.

If you are looking for a larger, more fully featured home office monitor meant to sit at the center of a workstation, I'd recommend the Dell UltraSharp 32 4K (U3225Q). This thing is a beast. It's got just about every port and feature you can imagine, including a Thunderbolt-compatible USB-C port with power delivery up to 140 watts, an Ethernet jack, and a built-in KVM switch. This fully eliminates the need for a separate laptop docking station. Beyond that, it delivers on image quality in a big way. It uses IPS Black for enhanced color accuracy and contrast, and at the time of testing, it had the best image quality of any IPS display I'd tested.

It's not OLED, but the 120-Hz UltraSharp U3225Q is impressively bright in SDR, maxing out at well over 400 nits in my testing. You're paying a lot for the extra functionality and image quality, so make sure you actually need it before pulling the trigger on this over the 27-inch model.

There are plenty of 32-inch monitors out there if extra size is all you're looking for. Just remember, at 32 inches, anything under 4K isn't going to look sharp. But even 4K doesn't come close to the sharpness of something like a MacBook Pro. That's where the BenQ 27-inch 5K (MA270S) enters the picture. The combination of the 27-inch monitor and the 5K resolution (5120 x 2880) makes for one incredibly sharp display.

This BenQ monitor doesn't just match the MacBook Pro in pixel density. Using a device sync mode, it's designed specifically to be paired with a MacBook in terms of how the colors appear. Even some of the most expensive, high-end monitors designed for creators using Macs don't have that exact color match in how they're calibrated. BenQ has been refining this for years, and they have it nailed. It's all handled by software, which even lets you control the monitor's speaker volume right from your keyboard. I wish it could also control brightness, though.

But what's important is that when lined up next to a MacBook Pro, the colors are a perfect match. You can also use the sRGB color mode, which is how you get better color accuracy. That's what makes it such an incredibly powerful alternative to Apple's own Studio Display. While the Studio Display has fuller speakers and a slimmer design, it's certainly not worth the extra $500 in my mind. There's even a “nano gloss” texture option to match the Studio Display, which I'd recommend, as the glossy version I tested was highly reflective.

This isn't the only BenQ monitor made to match with Macs. The company also has the 27-inch 4K (MA270U), which gets you similar features with fewer pixels, but costs quite a bit less.

I consider a budget monitor to be anything under $200, and you'll find dozens and dozens of these hanging out at Amazon or Best Buy. But many are old. Many have poor colors. It's trickier to find some newer models that are actually worth the money. I wasn't surprised to see that the Dell 27 Plus ranked among the very highest in my testing. It only costs $150, but it delivers really strong 1080p performance in terms of colors and brightness.

The most surprising feature of this monitor is its 144-Hz refresh rate. The smooth motion really gives the monitor the premium feel that monitors at this price lack, and it also comes with all the same adjustability features and an integrated VESA mount on the back. Put this on your desk, and aside from the resolution, you'll never think of it as a “budget” monitor.

But maybe you want to keep things even cheaper. No problem. While a monitor under $100 is going to have some flaws, I found a decent one in the MSI Pro MP243W E14.

It stands out in the thing that matters most: image quality. I measured 359 nits at its brightest, and the color coverage is surprisingly good, both in terms of saturation and accuracy. It even has a 144-Hz refresh rate, which means it can double as a cheap gaming monitor when it needs to.

I also like the design, which offers thin bezels around the display and an all-white exterior. Its flaws, however, include the lack of ports and adjustments. It can only tilt slightly.

It's only 24 inches, which will likely feel small for most people.

I was also really surprised by the upgraded version of this monitor, the MP273QW E14. Rather than being stuck at 1080p, this model gives you a sharper image with a resolution of 2560 x 1440. While it has the same lack of adjustment, it is a more standard 27-inch size and delivers even better overall image quality.

This monitor is one of the favorites I've tested in the past couple of years. It was among the first QD-OLED monitors designed for content creation and entertainment. While there are a couple of options out there today from companies like Asus, the Dell 32 Plus 4K opens up the brilliant image quality of OLED to an entirely new audience.

One reason high-quality HDR video is scarce is the lack of affordable screens to watch and edit it on. With this monitor out in the world, though, there's no excuse. It even has a 120-Hz refresh rate and plenty of ports.

The combination of OLED's fast response time and the faster refresh rate makes this a solid gaming monitor in your off hours. I haven't included gaming monitors in this guide, primarily because they're an entirely different beast. Check our recommendations of the Best Gaming Monitors for some recommendations on that front.

But if you're really serious about creating professional, HDR video, there's still nothing else on the market quite like the Studio Display XDR. We all waited a long time for Apple to revisit the Studio Display, and while the monitor we eventually got was a bit less ambitious in scope than we all hoped, this 27-inch 5K Mini-LED monitor is the new king in HDR performance. It has 2,304 dimming zones, and according to my testing, it could do 1,905 peak HDR brightness in a 25-percent window.

Compare that to, for example, the Dell 32 Plus 4K, which tops out at 946 nits in just a one-percent window. The difference in perceived brightness, detail, and contrast is huge, which is useful first and foremost for content creation. However, because it's been dropped from 32 inches to 27 inches, it's left a gap in the market for larger displays that don't lose sharpness.

That's where the LG UltraFine Evo 6K monitor comes into play.

It just so happens to deliver a pixel density of 224 pixels per inch, making it the sharpest big-screen display I've ever tested. What I love about this LG monitor is that it's far more than just a bunch of pixels. It's one of the most beautiful monitors I've tested, sporting a gorgeous stand and base that definitely shares some resemblance with the Apple Studio Display. And like that monitor, the UltraFine 6K has a monster pair of built-in speakers that are crystal clear.

Unlike most monitors on this list, you won't need to buy a set of computer speakers. It's not a perfect monitor, though. The ports are in a hard-to-reach location, and while the stand is fun to admire, it has a couple of limitations. The lack of cable management is an eyesore, and it doesn't have as much height adjustment as I'd like. The monitor is also limited to just a 60-Hz refresh rate.

There's also the issue of price. It originally retailed at $2,000, which was painful, especially compared to the Asus ProArt 6K (PA32QCV), which is the only other 6K monitor on the market right now. These days, the price difference is down to just a couple hundred bucks. These monitors go toe-to-toe in image quality, though I prefer the LG model for its design, better speakers, and more powerful ports, while the ProArt 6K offers a longer, three-year warranty at a lower price. Regardless of which you choose, you're getting the sharpest 32-inch monitor possible. Beyond that, though, these are both solid options.

Lastly, I really enjoyed dipping my toe into the world of smart monitors. If you want a monitor that can just as easily double as a television, Samsung and LG both lead the way. I've tested out two Samsung smart monitors recently that have successfully expanded my idea of what monitors can do.

My favorite of the bunch is the Samsung 32 M9 Smart Monitor. It's an OLED 4K monitor that is a rare display that's equally good for working, gaming, and watching movies. It's controlled with a remote, and Samsung throws in tons of goodies like free live TV channels to sweeten the deal.

It can also be used with a gaming console, thanks to the HDMI 2.1 port. All that flexibility is great, but what really sets the M9 model apart is the OLED screen.

Thanks to the fantastic image quality, it finally feels like a smart monitor that doesn't compromise that full TV experience.

For a bit of extra fun, I even tested out the non-OLED version of this monitor with Samsung's Movingstyle Rolling Monitor Stand. It's incredibly niche, but for the right home, being able to roll out a proper TV when you need it is handy. I love the idea of having a TV that is mobile rather than a permanent piece of hardware, and the Movingstyle rolling stand is a pretty compelling solution.