The best affordable guitar amplifiers: perfect practice amps and gig-ready options
You can’t put a price on outstanding amp sound. At least, it seems as if amp manufacturers can’t. Every year we test dozens of the latest models, and we’re no longer surprised when affordable amplifiers emerge as some of the best-sounding options.
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Often, the best affordable amps are practice amps. These lower-wattage models are designed to be used in your bedroom, at the studio – or in the case of battery-powered amps, anywhere. Some practice amps are incredibly sophisticated these days, from pocket-sized headphone amps to modelling models that let you cycle through dozens of amp sounds and effects via a smartphone app.
If you’re looking to gig (or play loudly just for the thrill of it), there are affordable amps out there for you, too. A lower-priced model with decent volume, simple functionality and good tone could be an unbeatable match for guitarists who do most of their sound manipulation via pedalboard. Some of the best reasonably priced amps do even more, offering a smorgasbord of settings alongside their impressive tone and volume.
This guide brings together our favourite affordable amps of all types and sizes, from tiny practice amps and headphone amps to powerful combos – and even a head. Each potted review includes a link to our feature-length findings from hands-on testing.
At a glance:
Our Pick: Fender Champion II 50
Best affordable tube amp for gigging: Blackstar TV-10A
Best affordable practice amp: Positive Grid Spark 2
Best affordable modelling amp for gigging: Boss Katana 50 Gen 3
Best affordable mini amp: Positive Grid Spark Mini
Best entry-level amp: Blackstar Debut 50R
Best affordable power amp: Orange Pedal Baby 100
Best entry-level tube amp: Fender Pro Junior IV SE
Best affordable tube amp for metal: EVH 5150 Iconic EL34
Best affordable headphone amp: Fender Mustang Micro Plus
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Our Pick: Fender Champion II 50
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The solid state Fender Champion II 50 is a genuinely budget-friendly amp that lives up to the name on the grille. It has four digital models, including excellent modern and classic Fender options that deliver the sort of beautiful clean sounds you’d expect to emanate from one of these familiar black-and-silver boxes.
The Champion II 50 is just about giggable, though you’ll need to mic it up in almost all venues. If you need something louder, the Fender Champion II 100 can give you all the same sounds with double the power.
Need more? Read our Fender Champion II 50 review.
Best affordable tube amp for gigging: Blackstar TV-10A
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Blackstar ripped up its own rulebook with the 2024 release of the TV-10A – a 10W, Class-A valve amp that prioritises simplicity and singular tone over customisation and feature spread.
The TV-10A’s clean channel establishes this amp as a worthy alternative to the celebrated Fender Blues Junior, producing a similarly punchy tone with a little added mid-range heft. But it’s the driven channel – this is a Blackstar amp, after all – that could make the TV-10A a superior option for some guitarists, with dirty, crunchy tones right across the volume spectrum.
One minor downside to the TV-10A is that it’s a little heavy. That’s often what you’ll get with a quality, old-school valve amp.
Need more? Read our Blackstar TV-10A review.
Best affordable practice amp: Positive Grid Spark 2
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The clever folks at Positive Grid have pushed the boundaries of practice amp design since their mid-pandemic unveiling of the original Spark. And with the Spark 2, they’ve given guitarists an even smarter companion for bedroom-bound practice and writing sessions.
This stellar sequel goes louder, has a fuller complement of on-amp settings including gain, master volume and EQ, and features an built-in looper as well as excellent Bluetooth connectivity – so you can easily create or stream backing tracks while you play. Further functionality is available via a connected smartphone app, which you can use to access 33 amp models and 43 effects. And there’s even a ‘Spark AI’ feature that’s designed to help you find your ideal tone, although this works a little erratically.
Need more? Read our Positive Grid Spark 2 review.
Best affordable modelling amp for gigging: Boss Katana 50 Gen 3
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HELLO..? Yes? Did you mention something about affordable amps that are LOUD ENOUGH TO GIG? Sorry, we couldn’t hear you over the Boss Katana 50 Gen 3. This amp gives you unbeatable power relative to the price you pay, pushing more than enough air to fill a small venue with its myriad modelled sounds.
Speaking of which, the third-gen Katana 50 is incredibly versatile. There’s a huge range of responsive, dynamic tones to play around with (especially if you’re willing to connect the BOSS Tone Studio app), ranging from compressed country and delay-drenched ambience to bluesy crunch and Hell-for-leather lead. Our reviewer was particularly impressed with the new Pushed amp model, which can bring your signal gloriously close to break-up with a little analogue or digital boosting.
Need more? Read our Boss Katana 50 Gen 3 review.
Best affordable mini amp: Positive Grid Spark Mini
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If superb portability, sophisticated technology and fantastic tone are right alongside affordability on your wishlist, then the Positive Grid Spark Mini could be the amp for you.
This smart-speaker-sized amp has a rechargeable 3,000mAh battery, allowing for up to eight hours of portable use per charge. It’s more than a match for plenty of far costlier amps when it comes to tone, and while the on-amp controls are minimal, using the connected Spark app opens up a vast array of amp models, effects, and functionalities including ‘Smart Jam’ backing tracks.
The Spark Mini cleverly uses an extra downward facing speaker to leverage the surface beneath it as a sounding board, which greatly increases its volume. You still couldn’t exactly gig with this amp, but its impressive battery life and neat, lightweight design make the Spark Mini a peerless choice for impromptu jam sessions and on-the-go practice.
Need more? Read our Positive Grid Spark Mini review.
Best entry-level amp: Blackstar Debut 50R
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Blackstar’s Debut range of entry-level solid state amps are a versatile choice for beginner, intermediate or budget-conscious guitarists, giving you the sounds the really matter to most players – crisp cleans, exhilarating drive and even a couple of reverbs – in an accessible amplifier that’s quick to master.
If you want to use the Debut 50R for both gigging/rehearsals and practice at home, you’ll find the amp’s power selection button particularly handy. You can use it to toggle between full power (50W) and what we might call practice volume (5W) – so you can play quietly at home without losing the sweet, cranked sounds that come with the volume knob pointed determinedly rightwards.
Need more? Read our Blackstar Debut 50R review.
Best affordable power amp: Orange Pedal Baby 100
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The Orange Pedal Baby 100 solid state head is a great-sounding starting point for your stack setup that won’t break the bank (although you’ll also need to buy a decent cab to go with it..!)
This simple, beautifully constructed head delivers a zesty 100 watts via its 8 ohms output, providing more than enough power for gigging guitarists. There are only a few settings to tangle with: bass, treble and volume, all of which are controllable via one of the most aesthetically pleasing front panels in rock. Its clean sounds are warm and dynamic, and there’s potential to create a riotous wall of sound if you have the right pedals on your board.
Need more? Read our Orange Pedal Baby 100 review.
Best entry-level tube amp: Fender Pro Junior IV SE
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The small but mighty Fender Pro Junior IV SE gives you the same core facets you’d hope for in a far more expensive Fender amp: gorgeous, tube-powered tone, crystal-clear cleans and fierce-sounding drive. Despite its modest 15W rating, this special-edition Pro Junior IV is also impressively loud – so it’s very much an option for rehearsals, studio sessions and smaller stages, as well as for practice.
In our testing, this model stood out for its ear-pleasing breakup, which kicks in gradually from around a 6 on the volume dial. The amp is very easy on the eye, too, with a classic Fender jewel light and a mirror-polished control panel.
Need more? Read our Fender Pro Junior IV SE review.
Best affordable tube amp for metal: EVH 5150 Iconic EL34
EVH 5150 Iconic EL34. Image: Press
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Hammering on towards the higher end of the ‘affordable’ price bracket, the EVH 5150 Iconic EL34 is an entry point into the extravagant amp sounds of Eddie Van Halen – particularly the ‘British’ tones used on the virtuoso’s earlier albums. It’s a classic valve combo, with two channels (each equipped with an alternate voicing) plus an on-board digital reverb.
Of course, it sounds just as heavy as you’d hope. Channel 1 brings a mix of clarity and venom to power chords, while Channel 2 is your go to for thick, harmonics-laden overdrive. In a nutshell, this amp is 80s rock heaven.
Need more? Read our EVH 5150 Iconic EL34 review.
Best affordable headphone amp: Fender Mustang Micro Plus
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These days, a guitar amplifier can fit in your pocket. Take the Fender Mustang Micro Plus for example. This tiny device connects to the Fender Tone app on your smartphone and outputs your guitar signal – after passing it through any of 25 amp models and 25 effects – to your wired headphones of choice. It’s a brilliant tool for practising and writing at home or on your travels.
There are some great sounds to explore here, including amp models spanning Vox, Marshall, Orange and Mesa/Boogie, as well as a mix of staples and oddities (like the Excelsior) from the Fender amp range. Why play out loud at home, when you can enjoy all this through your cans?
Need more? Read our Fender Mustang Micro Plus review.
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Every year, Guitar.com reviews a huge variety of new products – from the biggest launches to cool boutique effects – and our expert guitar reviewers have decades of collective experience, having played everything from Gibson ’59 Les Pauls to the cheapest Squiers.
That means that when you click on a Guitar.com buyer’s guide, you’re getting the benefit of all that experience to help you make the best buying decision for you. What’s more, every guide written on Guitar.com was put together by a guitar obsessive just like you. You can trust that every product recommended in those guides is something that we’d be happy to have in our own rigs.
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