The Best Projectors to Bring the Cinema Home in 2024

As a 4K all-rounder, the XGIMI Horizon Ultra is pretty hard to fault. Buy this and you’ll have an unassuming but comprehensive box offering Ultra HD quality, cinematic Dolby Vision for better image depth and vibrancy, 2300 lumens of brightness, built-in streaming with Android TV, a fantastic Harman/Kardon speaker system, as well as intelligent zooming, automatic keystone correction, autofocusing, obstacle avoidance and correction to the colour of your walls.

If you’ve been looking at projectors for some time, we’re sure you’re braced for a high price, so it’s impressive to note that you’re getting all this power for £1,749 – sure, it’s still not trivial, but you’d expect to pay over £2,000 for these specs.

So, does it live up to the promise? Yes, and then some. It’s a bit of a chunky boy and we were disappointed to see it’s missing Netflix like many projectors with built-in Android, but that’s about where the downsides end. We hooked up a streaming stick and used this to watch They Cloned Tyrone and a few episodes of David Attenborough’s Planet Earth 3. The visuals are fantastic, and the projector shines at delivering accurate and vibrant colours. When it comes to connectivity, you’ll be able to add HDMI connections (one with EARC support), USB, 3.5mm and optical audio, so it’s possible to get cinema-level Dolby Atmos sound here too.

It wins major style points too. The Horizon Ultra manages to strike a balance between high-end performance and a distinctive retro aesthetic so that it complements your home without turning it into a corporate boardroom. It is rather heavy, so we think you’ll want to find it a home in your living room and let it stay there, levelling up your movie nights for the foreseeable future.

When it comes to simplicity and capability, there’s a lot that makes this Nebula laser projector an easy recommendation. This is a complete all-in-one bundle with Android TV built-in, quick autofocus and keystone correction, and a handle on top so you can move it from the living room to the bedroom with ease.

If you’re anything like us, you’ll have it set up and streaming in a quarter of an hour. Its speakers sound great too, but we reckon it makes sense to connect external speakers if you have it set up behind the sofa as we did. Hooking up our Ruark MR1s or Sonos Roam was straightforward in the Android interface.

It’s easy to get lost in the specs when delving into projector display technologies, but the key thing to note is that lasers are more durable, responsive and longer-lasting than traditional projector bulbs, making these options a worthwhile investment.

The quality and brightness of the Cosmos Laser looked impressive no matter what we watched on it, as we tested it out by streaming the Telugu action epic RRR, episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Studio Ghibli classic Whisper of the Heart. We like how this has a functioning Netflix app, unlike some rivals, and how it has an eye guard feature to dim it if anybody moves in front of the lens.

The Horizon Pro and the top Nebula model both offer Android TV for apps and streaming (although this lacks Netflix), 4K quality from a compact package, and clever auto keystone correction. With this model, you miss out on the top handle of Nebula, but get the benefit of a far bigger maximum display size and more connection options.

While there are benefits to the laser tech of the Cosmos, don’t discount LED lamps. The ones in our list are rated to last ages, and this XGIMI will go for up to 25,000 hours. To put that in perspective, you could use it for six hours a day every single day and it’ll be fine for over a decade.

Once we set up a Lord of The Rings trilogy marathon, we were blown away by the colour reproduction and quality. Granted, our 4K discs were already crystal clear, but the projector seems to squeeze the contrast out and enhance the image just that extra bit more. The speakers are solid too, with deep bass, and you can connect to external audio sources via Bluetooth or the headphone port.

If you’re after a durable portable projector built to survive in the outdoors, the Nebula Mars 3 is the one designed for the job. It’s water, dust and drop-resistant, has a huge chunky handle, booming 40W built-in speakers and more battery life than we’ve seen on any other portable projector to date. Yes, it’s big, but if you’re after a model to go with you on the road, this ticks loads of boxes. Oh, and we haven’t even mentioned the thoughtful compartment for the remote control, so you’re less likely to lose that too.

We like how the backlight helps you get things set up when you’re outside, and after testing its performance both indoors and outdoors, we’d recommend it if you’re watching movies in darker conditions in the open air, but it’s worth noting that to get the impressive five-hour battery life you need to switch to its “eco” mode, which sacrifices the brightness considerably. Watching inside? That won’t be a problem – even if you’re away from the wall for power, it’ll last for two hours of battery on the standard mode – enough for most films.

Setting up the projector is effortless, as it is with other models we’ve tried from Nebula, and we appreciate the built-in Android TV to access apps. Although, as expected, you do only get Netflix access via a bit of a fiddly workaround. Because of this, we’d recommend a streaming stick to connect to apps, and luckily there are loads of ports here, with HDMI, USB-C, USB-A and a headphone jack. On test, we watched Rugby World Cup matches and Extraction 2, and we were impressed, although we did notice a bit of distortion from the speakers during the most bass-heavy scenes in the action film.

Many top-spec 4K projectors are well over £1,000 and can go up to £4,000 or more. That’s why we think the Nebula Cosmos Max is a great 4K option if your budget can't stretch past £1,500 but you still want some of the best features. It's an unusual-looking projector with a Colosseum-esque design that houses a 4K lens, plenty of smarts, and four 10W speakers that can blast out Dolby sound to give you some of the best audio outside of a dedicated speaker.

What we like about this one is that the projector will automatically zoom and adjust the image based on the wall you shine it on, with excellent autofocus and auto-keystone. If it detects something in the way, it will shrink or expand to give you the best image every time, and it's pre-loaded with plenty of apps ranging from Disney+ to BT Sport.

At over £700, this XGIMI costs you a bit more than a lot of other portable projectors, but we think there are a few improvements here that make it a worthwhile pick for anyone heading outdoors. It gets brighter than many portable models, can project a larger maximum image, and has a pair of booming 5W speakers, courtesy of Harmon Kardon.

The brightness is enough to contend with early evening light, something we probably wouldn’t say about a few other battery-powered rivals, and while its lumen count goes down to 600 when on battery, that’s still more than portable Nebula rivals.

You get reliable Android TV here (with the typical lack of a native Netflix app), and it’s easy to connect up external video sources via the HDMI or USB port. We used it to stream JA Bayona’s 2012 film The Impossible via Disney+ and found ourselves swept up in the action and feeling immersed when using the built-in speakers. The Full HD quality is impressive and detailed, and its rapid autofocus and auto-keystone mean you can set it up and have it ready to go in mere minutes.

If price and portability matter most, go for the Capsule. Of course, it won’t match the quality of the powerful 4K models on the list, but it’ll deliver more than enough resolution for a movie night with friends.

Yes, you’ll have to lower your image quality expectations a little as it’s 720p rather than Full HD, but the benefits come with the super tiny size. It’s about the same dimensions as a can of beer and lightweight enough that you’ll be happy to bring it on a trip or move it between rooms without throwing your back out.

It runs Android TV to get you access to streaming apps (Netflix requires weird workarounds, once again) and has enough battery life to get you through most movies. You can load up videos via a USB drive, the HDMI connection or by using Chromecast from your phone, and from about three metres away you can blast out a big 100-inch image.

It’s small and reliable, and we think it’s the best pick if you need something for a camping trip that won’t weigh you down. If you need more battery life, you can also charge the projector off a power bank to keep the viewing party going for longer.

If you’re after an all-in-one ultra-short throw projector, this is the one we’d recommend for top features. It comes at a high cost of almost £3,000, but you’re getting a lot for your investment. This package delivers when it comes to 4K picture quality, cinematic audio and ease of use.

We had it fully set up and streaming within 15 minutes, and it’s simple to access apps via LG’s WebOS interface or by adding a media player like our Roku Streaming Stick 4K to get content up on the big 120-inch display.

We used it to binge-watch Yellowjackets and didn’t find it a struggle to see darker scenes, and we also watched Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on Disney+, which looked and sounded appropriately cinematic at home.

We did find it needed a bit of tinkering to get it into filmmaker mode so that the motion smoothing didn’t affect our experience, and the image needs a bit of adjusting via the projector feet and keystone correction. These are small adjustments that you’ll be able to set and then forget about, though.

The EH-LS800W is an ultra short-throw 4K projector with a high-end design, incredible clarity, excellent audio and smooth performance. But the biggest compliment has nothing to do with specs: it’s that this makes us want to watch movies. John Wick and James Bond movies have never looked better than when beamed onto our wall at 100-plus inches. It’s big and expensive, but you get a home cinema experience with a whopping 4,000 lumens, so the room doesn’t have to be pitch black to get good image quality.

You’ll need the space – this is a large and heavy model that’s nearly 70 cm in width and more than 12 kg in weight – so it’s not ideal for smaller rooms, but we love that you can get such a big image from a projector that’s placed just 2.3 cm from the wall. There is a solid selection of apps via Android TV software, including Google Play, Prime Video and YouTube (although Netflix is not supported).

You have enough ports for pairing a PlayStation 5 and a 4K Blu-ray player at the same time, and we love that the initial setup (from plugging in, to watching content) takes less than five minutes. Seriously, it’s been hard to readjust to our 55-inch TV after using this for a few weeks.

Love the idea of an ultra-short throw model but prefer something a little closer to the £2,000 than £3,000 mark? We’re not about to call the XGIMI Aura an affordable pick, but it’s a bit more wallet-friendly than the competition from Epson, Samsung or LG while offering many comparable features.

It gets plenty bright enough, has the same maximum image size, and has more ports for connectivity than either of its rivals. Its look may be a little more “old-school VCR” than “sleek and sexy” but we think it’s more than capable enough if you don’t mind its design.

Specs-wise, it delivers 4K quality that’s vibrant and clear, and it has serious audio power with four 15W Harman Kardon speakers that get loud without distortion and will mean you won’t need a dedicated soundbar. Already have your home cinema audio set up the way you want it? You’ll have all the connections you need for external speakers whether that’s via the HDMI ARC, optical port, Bluetooth or 3.5mm headphone jack.

Some 'gaming' projectors are really rebadged cinema projectors, but this BenQ model is a console-friendly specialist, courtesy of the two HDMI ports, and a 16ms lag between the time you press a button and the action appearing on your screen. Pair that with the blinding 3200 lumens display and you could probably play Fortnite or Call of Duty at home on a bright day and still get a clear image.

That said, it will do movie night proud too, thanks to a sharp 4K HDR projection that offers deep blacks and popping colours. Granted, it can't quite hit the cinematic experience of our best cinema projector picks above, but the opening scene of Star Wars: A New Hope is still appropriately epic on a 100-inch screen.

If you’re after a great value 4K projector, this BenQ model is a top pick for fast-moving action. It excels with its dedicated sports mode to eliminate lag and blur. Among other things, this smoothes out skin tones and makes the grass look greener, providing the realism you need when you can’t get into the actual stadium.

Its 3300 lumens of brightness (300 more than the excellent TK850 that was previously on our list) means you’ll be able to watch any event on the sporting calendar – from the Premier League to the Grand Prix – without feeling like you need to invest in blackout curtains for your living room.

This projector offers a great range of connectivity options for hooking up streaming sticks, USB drivers or external media players, and it can beam a massive 100-inch picture from just over two metres away. Its 4K UHD display means you'll see every bead of sweat falling from your favourite sports stars.

The built-in 10W stereo speaker is decent, but you're going to want to run this one into a dedicated set of speakers or a soundbar to get audio that matches up to the picture quality.

Need a portable projector that’ll work well for sports? This ViewSonic model is a worthwhile pick that you can grab without remortgaging the house. The forced motion smoothing makes it a little harder to recommend as a cinema projector (as it’ll probably ruin the look of several recent movies and classic films), but it’s reliable for vibrant and bright colours, HDR performance and quick auto-keystone and autofocus during setup.

We were able to get a 90-inch image to display a metre away from the wall, and we were impressed with the high contrast ratio and solid lumen count. It’s got passable built-in Harman-Kardon speakers, which deliver crisp trebles and deep bass, and enough connectivity options that you’ll find it easy to hook up external speakers, headphones or content on a Micro SD card. We also love that while this doesn’t have a battery, it can run off a USB-C power bank for when you’re on the go.