Best Deals Under $50

The Brightech Pro Solar Powered Outdoor String Lights are the best in class in our test, with above-average marks for light duration and a top score for ease of use. Long with widely spaced lights, its design provides more flexibility—you can run the strand as is for more subtle lighting, or double up the cord to concentrate more of the light in a tighter space. Each of its 12 separate Edison-style oval-shaped bulbs has 24 LEDs, resulting in exceptionally bright light. The lights can’t be manually charged, but they do have replaceable batteries and an on/off button to preserve power.

The Harbor Breeze Solar Black Indoor Outdoor String Lights have a longer cord and wider spacing than many string lights, and they boast Edison-style bulbs. In our tests, they earned above-average marks for light duration and can be recharged with a USB cord (included). Each of the 10 lights has a single LED filament (which has multiple LEDs), and our tester found the light to be bright. These lights can be charged, and they also have two light settings and an on/off switch. 

The JSOT Outdoor Solar Deck Lights topped our test as the only deck light that earned top marks for light duration. Designed to be mounted to a stair riser or other solid surface and attached with screws, it emits a medium-bright light, and each light contains 3 LEDs. While the lights can’t be charged with a cable, they have an on/off switch, so you can turn them off to build up power if you’re concerned about their charge.

The Labigo Electric Spin Scrubber comes with four different cleaning heads (large flat, small flat, pointed corner, and large round). It has a single speed and weighs 26 ounces with its extension handle. The unit’s battery is located in the handle, and its head is fixed at 45 degrees, so this unit may not fit into tighter spaces.

The top-performing power scrubber from Leebein was unique in that it was the only model without a telescoping handle, which is both a plus and a minus. We like basic handle designs largely because they tend to be shorter than the 20 inches you’ll get from most telescoping options in their smallest configuration. As a result, the Leebein, with its modest 12-inch handle, was able to get into tight areas the other scrubbers (all with telescoping handles) simply couldn’t reach. It does come with two extra handles. They extend the reach to 30 or 39 inches but are a bit annoying to screw in.

The Leebein also has eight attachments, making it the hands-down winner on that front. And because it was the lone model that allows you to remove the handle extension, it was 5 to 12 pounds lighter than the others we tested. It has two speeds, low and high, and its cleaning head is fixed permanently at an angle that’s conducive to cleaning most surfaces.

This compact and inexpensive Cosori air fryer isn’t for huge batches of food, but its 1.7-quart measured basket can air-fry, roast, bake, and reheat food well. Its digital controls are easy to use, and it’s simple to clean (it’s dishwasher-safe), but its biggest perk is that it’s especially quiet. When we set the temperature to 350° F, its recorded temperature was a bit lower at 335° F, but you can adjust a little to accommodate this. It comes with a two-year warranty, which is more generous than the one-year warranty offered with most air fryers.

If you’re looking for a no-frills rice cooker that works well and isn’t too pricey, this model from Hamilton Beach could be a great option. It got above-average marks in CR’s tests for cooking both 1 and 3 cups of rice, as well as the use of controls and convenience. It has a 4-cup capacity for dry rice, and there are pre-programmed settings for cooking food. You’ll also get a steamer basket, measuring cup, and rice paddle.

The Giro Register MIPS gets top marks for impact absorption and includes a Multi-Directional Impact Protection System (or MIPS) to reduce the risk of a concussion. It also provides excellent ventilation, which means you’ll stay cool during longer rides. It comes in a universal size, though, and not all of its straps are adjustable. 

If you’re after a new experience, a cork yoga mat could be worth a try. This mat, which is back down to the lowest price we’ve seen, has excellent floor grip but offers only a fair amount of grip on its top surface. It’s relatively slow to dry and offers a medium amount of cushioning.

The Kaqinu 12.6-inch carbon steel wok is flat-bottomed, has a hammered texture and comes pre-seasoned. In our tests it aced the cooking evenness test; its speed of heating was very good, and we found it easy to use. Cleaning, however, was a bit of a challenge. The metal section of its handle is short, and so is less likely to be grabbed by unwary cooks. It lacks an extra handle, making it harder to move when full. This wok comes with a wooden lid and a variety of stainless steel utensils.

We’ve seen this wok dip to under $30 recently, so you could save more if the price drops again during next month’s sales.

This Leidawn 12.8" carbon steel wok is flat-bottomed, has a hammered texture and comes pre-seasoned. Like some other woks we tested, the metal section of its handle is short, and so is less likely to be grabbbed by unwary cooks, and it also lacks an extra handle that would make it easier to move when full. This pan comes with a wooden lid and a variety of stainless steel utensils as well

This Souped Up Recipes 12.5-inch carbon steel wok is flat-bottomed, has a hammered texture and comes pre-seasoned. Its cooking evenness score was excellent, and it was also very good at heating quickly. And like the others, the metal section of its handle is short, and so is less likely to be grabbed by unwary cooks. It lacks a helper handle, which makes it harder to move when full. It comes with a wooden lid and a stainless steel spatula.

This unusual but aesthetically pleasing pick from Hide & Drink is actually one of the least expensive leather gloves CR’s evaluator came across (some cost upward of $145 or more). Especially with the on-page coupon, it’s at the best price we’ve ever seen. However, you get only one glove per order. It claims to be handmade by local artisans of Pastores, Guatemala, and measures 11.22 inches in length, so expect it to cover your wrist but not much of your arm. Grill Armor Gloves recommends spot-cleaning leather gloves with a damp cloth and allowing them to air-dry.

When you think of the brand Instant Pot, its line of multicookers usually comes to mind, but the company has branched out into coffee makers and frothers. Its affordable Instant Milk Frother was one of the best models in our at-home review, offering performance almost on par with the Nespresso Aeroccino4 milk frother, which costs more than twice as much. The only downside is that the Instant Milk Frother isn’t dishwasher safe, since its controls are built into the side of the carafe. Cleaning is still a breeze, though—you just need to hand-wash it with a wet cloth.

Henckels has been making knives in Germany for almost 300 years, and its expertise in design is on full display with this knife. The Premio was the Goldilocks of the eight knives we tested, and in the end, it was the only one with a positive review from all four of our panelists. The handle is contoured, with no sharp edges, resulting in a knife that’s extremely comfortable to hold. One user said their hand became clammy during use, but the knife was well received overall. It also excelled at force transmission from handle to blade, which means you don’t need to exert as much effort when cutting.

The Pebble Premium whetstone is a double-sided sharpening stone with a coarse side and a fine side on the same stone. If the sharpening process is something you enjoy, this might be the way to go. You can sharpen any knife to the exact angle you want; a tool called a bevel gauge (sold at hardware stores) can help you find the angle. It put an edge on both of the knives our tester used to evaluate the sharpeners, which none of the electric or manual sharpeners could match.

The ThermoPro features refreshingly simple-to-read results, making it a great pick for reasonably confident cooks who merely want the ability to check on food from afar. This smart meat thermometer is not truly wireless. Instead, two wired probes dock in a rechargeable base station. The base station then uses Bluetooth to transmit real-time cooking information to a paired smartphone.

The InkBird IBT-4DXS BT is the highest-rated digital meat thermometer in CR’s tests. It offers app connectivity with estimated cook times, four separate probes, built-in alarms, and the ability to charge the device while actively monitoring temperatures. InkBird boasts decent range in outdoor environments, up to 150 feet.

This 26-piece set of glass food storage containers from PrepNaturals is a great choice if you’re looking for something durable. In CR’s rigorous tests, it gets top marks for seal quality and ease of use, and it came in above average in our storage and durability tests. Plus, you get 13 containers of varying sizes for $36. That’s less than $3 per container.

This food storage set from Bayco could be a great option if you’re looking to add reuseable containers to your kitchen. It comes with 12 containers (and 12 matching lids) in different sizes and shapes for any and all of your storing needs, and the lids use a snap closure to ensure a top-notch seal. In CR’s tests, this set got top marks for seal quality, ease of use, and durability, with a near-perfect score for storage.

The C Crest glass food storage set is a great option, especially at this sale price. It gets top marks for storage, seal quality, and durability, making it one of the highest ranking sets CR has tested. And the set comes with five large containers and five small ones, all with matching lids that seal tightly thanks to clamps on each side.

Shopping for noise-canceling headphones on a budget doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice performance. Case in point is the SoundCore Life Q20. These over-ear headphones have great sound quality and outstanding noise cancellation. It doesn’t sound quite as good as top-rated models, and you won’t get sought-after features like adjustable levels of noise canceling. But at this price, those may be sacrifices worth making.

Anker does include some appealing perks, too, such as the ability to work over either Bluetooth or an audio cable, and a free app that adds features, including a bass boost EQ setting. According to Anker, the headphones have a generous 40-hour battery life when Bluetooth and noise canceling are both turned on.

The Clip 4 is hardly the best-sounding speaker we’ve tested, but it does have two important things going for it—it’s inexpensive and it’s small. The tiny speaker fits easily into your palm and features a carabiner that can clip onto a backpack or a beach bag. JBL claims an IP67 rating, which means the speaker is both water-resistant and dustproof. Our testers find the Clip 4 to be easy to pair, and the prominent controls make it easy to turn up the volume.

Prices may vary by color.

The Audio-Technica ATH-SQ1TW are top-scoring true wireless earbuds that provide stellar audio quality packed into a pair of sleek and unobtrusive earpieces available in a variety of colors. They offer a number of great features. They’re not noise canceling, but the silicone ear tips provide quite a lot of passive isolation. There’s even an ambient sound mode for when you want to keep an ear on your environment. They have easy-to-use touch controls for volume, playback, and skipping tracks, and they feature convenient USB-C charging. The headphones also include an unusual low latency mode, which reduces the slight lag you sometimes get with Bluetooth headphones, for better performance with games and videos. According to Audio-Technica, they have a 6.5-hour battery life, and the charging case stores an extra 13 hours of power.

This is a great price for these earbuds; it’s $12 less than the previous low.

Situated right below the more expensive Roku Streaming Stick 4K+ model, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K has most of the same features—including improved WiFi, support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision HDR, and the ability to work with Amazon Alexa, Apple AirPlay, and Google Assistant voice assistant—but not the new rechargeable Voice Remote Pro remote control. Instead, you get a standard Roku voice remote, which lacks the hands-free operation, a headphone jack for private listening, and a lost-remote finder feature found on the Voice Remote Pro.

This stick was $5 cheaper a few weeks ago at every retailer listed below; we’d definitely suggest waiting for July sales if you don’t need this right away.

This pricey La Roche-Posay Sunscreen Milk delivers on its broad-spectrum promise in CR’s tests. Although it falls short of its SPF label, it still provides very good protection from sunburn-producing rays. It’s a thin, runny lotion that has a slight aroma of plastic that’s sometimes associated with fragrance-free products. It leaves a moderate amount of greasy film and a slight sheen on the skin.

The Hot Tools 24k Gold Professional Curling Iron is one of the lowest-priced curling irons CR tried and liked, and our testers found that it resulted in looser curls. It has temperature control and heats up faster than the recommended wait time of about a minute.

This is $7 more than the lowest price we’ve seen.

The Utopia Bedding duvet insert is perfect if you don’t want to spend a ton of a new comforter. I personally have one that I’ve been using for the last three years and I find it to be lightweight and perfect for warmer nights. And with a duvet cover, it gets cozy and warm. CR’s reviewer pointed out that it’s not as fluffy as other duvets (it is on the thinner side). The material is synthetic, so it doesn’t allow for airflow those made with natural fibers like cotton can provide.

​​Brushed microfiber isn’t as breathable as cotton, but for those who don’t find synthetic fibers to be a hang-up, this Mellanni sheet set is a top-notch pick. It offers a softer feel than most cotton options and is pretty resistant to wrinkling, and you can expect a great fit even after a year of laundering. You can also expect to have this set in rotation for a while, because it does pretty well in our strength test. The one area where these bedsheets miss the mark a bit is in our fit test. Though the packaging claims “deep pockets,” this set is best suited for mattresses with a depth of 10 inches or less.

Prices will vary by color and size, but most options are discounted.

The La Crosse Soluna Light Alarm Clock features five light settings, including one that pulses for guided breathing exercises. In all, the clock has 20 color settings. But when it comes to functionality, it falls a bit short. It has just one alarm sound (“melody”), one light alarm, and no FM radio nor white noise function. Worse, it’s challenging to set up. However, the display does show temperature and humidity—two contributors to sleep quality and something none of the other clocks offer. For those who prefer to will themselves awake, this clock helpfully leaves the light on when you press snooze, shutting off only the sound.

The Jall Wake Up Light Sunrise Alarm Clock is less than half the price of other popular models, like those offered by Philips and Lumie. But from an ease-of-use standpoint, this model comes out on top. It has two independent alarms (so that you can set them for different times, depending on your routine), seven alarm tones (including “wind bells” and birds chirping), an FM radio, and a fall-asleep mode that simulates a sunset (though it lacks a white-noise option).

The Ruvalino Diaper Bag Backpack comes with a reasonably sized changing pad, two large zipper closure compartments, and 16 pockets. In addition to holding baby items, it can easily be used as a laptop bag, with a secure internal slot just for tech. Its main attraction is that it’s exceptionally light for the amount of storage and height you get, which means you can prioritize adding weight from items you need rather than from a bulky bag itself. The backpack straps will feel comfortable for several hours. And the polyester material is easy to spot-clean.

There are 16 different colorways, and most of them are on sale for varying prices.

Parents feeling the inflation pinch can save on this extra-wide baby gate for crawling or waddling children under 2 years old (pets too!). The all-steel pressure-mount gate is ideal for doorways, hallways, and the bottom of stairs. It comes with multiple safety lock features, and it’s extendable by 6 additional inches, if necessary. It’s designed for kids ages 6 months to 24 months, and it’s certified to standards set by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association and the American Society for Testing Materials.

The TP-Link Kasa Smart Pan & Tilt KC410S 24/7 security camera offers stellar video quality and quickly sends alerts when motion is detected, CR’s tests have found. This low-priced camera also earns a strong rating for data security and a midrange rating for data privacy. It features voice and app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant, two-way audio, monitoring zones, person alerts, and alerts for loud noises.

The TP-Link Kasa Cam Outdoor KC420WS offers impeccable video quality, speedy alerts, and strong data security in our tests. Its many features include two-way audio, voice and app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant, monitoring zones, person alerts, a built-in siren, color night vision, and local video storage when you insert a microSD card (not included).

This is still available for the best price we’ve seen.