The 2 Best Portable Mini Projectors of 2024 | Reviews by Wirecutter

Oct 14, 2024

By Adrienne Maxwell

Adrienne Maxwell is an editor covering AV gear. Her specialty is video projectors, so she spends a lot of time alone in dark rooms.

Xgimi has announced four new portable projectors, including a new version of our budget pick. Check out What to look forward to for more details.

A portable mini projector combines the convenience of streaming videos on a phone or tablet with the big-screen appeal of a TV. None of these small, portable projectors rival a good TV or traditional home theater projector in performance—but unlike with a TV, you can carry one of these projectors with one hand and easily take it outside or to a friend’s house.

Of all the models we reviewed, the Nebula Mars 3 Air delivers the best combination of picture quality, ease of use, and convenience.

This compact, 1080p projector offers good image brightness and contrast, above-average sound, easy setup, and a built-in battery. But mounting it on a tripod can be tricky.

This 720p projector offers better performance and features than similarly priced competitors, but it has a few performance limitations and lacks a built-in battery.

We tested only models with a resolution of 720p or better, and we preferred a brightness rating of at least 300 ANSI lumens.

The best portable models offer automatic focus and image-positioning tools that quickly produce a correctly shaped image on a wall or screen.

For convenience and portability, we sought models with a good built-in streaming platform, as well as battery or USB-C power.

We measured each projector’s brightness, contrast, and color accuracy using Portrait Displays’s Calman software and a colorimeter.

This compact, 1080p projector offers good image brightness and contrast, above-average sound, easy setup, and a built-in battery. But mounting it on a tripod can be tricky.

The Nebula Mars 3 Air offers everything we like to see in a portable mini projector. This full-HD LED projector delivers solid picture and sound quality, has streaming apps built in, and can run off an internal battery for true portability. It’s fairly compact, and it includes a convenient carrying handle.

This is one of the first portable projectors to run on the Google TV streaming platform, which is our favorite. Because Google TV supports pretty much every major streaming service, including Netflix, you don’t have to connect any external sources, though the projector has HDMI and USB-A video inputs if you need them.

The Mars 3 Air has solid image brightness, contrast, and color accuracy for this type of projector. In our tests, the built-in battery provided up to 3.5 hours of run time, and the internal speaker sounded loud and full, though you can also connect a speaker via cable or Bluetooth. The inclusion of a backlit remote is a nice touch.

The main drawbacks are the lack of a USB-C port and the awkwardly designed underside, which limits the tripods and mounts you can attach.

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This 720p projector offers better performance and features than similarly priced competitors, but it has a few performance limitations and lacks a built-in battery.

If you’re willing to accept a few performance compromises to save money, Xgimi’s MoGo 2 is a surprisingly strong contender that often sells for under $300.

In our tests, this LED projector had the exact same measured contrast as our top pick, exhibited similar color, and was roughly 15% brighter. But its lower, 720p resolution produced a softer image with more obvious pixel structure, and it didn’t handle dark movie scenes as well as the Mars 3 Air, especially in high dynamic range (HDR) content. But for more-casual everyday TV watching, this model is a good choice.

The built-in Android TV platform offers most of the same streaming apps as Google TV does, but you have to sideload Netflix, and the content recommendations aren’t as robust. The MoGo 2 has a slightly smaller form than our top pick, but it lacks a built-in battery. Because it has a USB-C power port, though, you can run it off a 65-watt portable power bank.

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I’m a supervising editor at Wirecutter, overseeing all of our audio and video product coverage and writing our projector guides. I am an Imaging Science Foundation Level III–certified video calibrator, and I have the full complement of objective testing gear to measure and evaluate the performance of these projectors.

For this guide:

If your video entertainment comes mostly from streaming services and you don’t want a TV taking up permanent space in your house or apartment, a small, portable projector is a convenient option that lets you easily, and temporarily, display video on a wall or screen.

Although this type of projector is a great space saver, it’s important to temper your performance expectations. Nothing we’ve tested for this guide performs as well as a traditional home projector or even a good budget TV.

If you primarily watch TV and movies during the day or in a bright room, you’re likely to be happier with a modest-size TV, which can get a lot brighter and do a better job of showing new video technologies such as 4K and HDR video.

Although this type of projector is a great space saver, it’s important to temper your performance expectations. Nothing we’ve tested for this guide performs as well as a traditional home projector or even a good budget TV.

Likewise, these are not the projectors to use if you want a true big-screen home cinema experience—they are not bright enough, and their black-level performance and color accuracy are not up to home theater standards.

The Hisense U6K is an excellent value, as it successfully incorporates high-end hardware and svelte software from the company’s pricier TVs.

The BenQ HT2060’s good contrast, bright output, and impressive color accuracy make it our pick for the best budget home theater projector.

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To determine which portable mini projectors to call in for testing, we consider the following elements:

Picture quality: We look for projectors with an HD resolution (720p or better) and a claimed brightness of at least 300 ANSI lumens. You can find a ton of super-tiny projectors costing $200 or less that have, at best, a 480p, standard-definition resolution and very low light output (under 200 ANSI lumens), so they aren’t able to deliver a bright, detailed image in a room with any light.

Most projectors in this category use LED light sources instead of bulbs, and some manufacturers list these models’ output in “LED lumens” in order to give a higher number. (For details, read about the difference between ANSI lumens and LED lumens.) As we mentioned above, none of these small, portable LED projectors can get as bright as a traditional home theater projector.

Portability: We look for projectors that are small and light enough to carry with one hand and to transport in a backpack, briefcase, or large purse. A carrying handle or included travel case is a plus.

To be considered truly portable, a projector must have either a built-in battery or a USB-C charging port that can run off a portable power bank. When you run the projector off a built-in battery, it may automatically switch into a dimmer mode to lengthen the battery life; sometimes you can bypass this dimming, but then the battery life is drastically reduced.

Connection and source options: We require all projectors to have a full-size HDMI input, and we prefer models that have Wi-Fi and internal streaming-video apps (such as Disney+, Prime Video, or YouTube) so you don’t have to connect an external source device. A USB slot for playing back personal media files or charging an HDMI streaming stick is a plus.

Price: We do not set any price restrictions. However, projectors that meet our minimum resolution and brightness specs generally start at around $350. On the other end, we’ve tested mini projectors that cost as much as $1,000. We’ve found that, once the price climbs above about $750, you can get much better performance if you’re willing to give up the smaller form and go with a full-size budget home theater projector.

We begin each evaluation by testing the projector’s objective performance. We use Portrait Displays’s Calman color-calibration software with a Murideo Six-G test-pattern generator (shown in the photo above) and a C6 HDR2000 colorimeter to measure all the available picture and brightness modes to determine which one provides the best combination of light output, contrast ratio, and color accuracy. For these measurements, we display a 55-inch-diagonal image onto a Silver Ticket STR Series 0.95-gain, matte-white screen.

Then we spend time using each projector, evaluating the picture quality of both the internal apps (if they exist) and connected sources.

We use the following criteria during our evaluations:

This compact, 1080p projector offers good image brightness and contrast, above-average sound, easy setup, and a built-in battery. But mounting it on a tripod can be tricky.

The Nebula Mars 3 Air is our favorite portable mini projector because it has all of the essential features we like to see in this category, and it delivers good picture and sound quality for a competitive price.

This projector measured well on our test bench. In the Movie picture mode, the Mars 3 Air served up a nice-looking image with good detail, rich color, and better contrast in comparison with what we saw on most competitors. The only projector to best it in image contrast was the pricier but dimmer Nebula Capsule 3 Laser.

The overall color balance is fairly neutral—not as accurate as what you can get from a good home theater projector, but the image doesn’t skew too blue, red, or green. The colors themselves are vibrant but a bit off the mark from the HDTV standard, which is true of most portable mini projectors we test—and we’ve seen far worse color performance from pricier projectors. Some advanced picture adjustments are available in the Custom picture mode, but they don’t do much to improve upon what you get from the preset Movie mode.

The Mars 3 Air isn’t the brightest portable projector we’ve measured overall, but it strikes a better balance between brightness and black level than many competitors, so you can enjoy brighter HDTV shows and sports in a room with some ambient light and then enjoy a well-saturated movie in a dark room. It also does a better job than many portables of preserving the fine details in dark movie scenes.

Whereas some portable projectors give you only a couple of brightness options to choose from, the Mars 3 Air has preset standard and eco modes plus an adjustable slider for you to fine-tune the brightness to your viewing situation. This projector also supports HDR video in the HDR10 format. Even at maximum brightness, it isn’t bright enough to show off what HDR can offer, but at least it handles HDR video correctly, unlike our budget pick, which makes everything too dark.

The Mars 3 Air has a 1080p resolution, which allows for a sharp, well-detailed image at modest screen sizes. At a distance of about 5 feet, we could see the detail improvement that this projector offered over our 720p budget pick, especially in text clarity. The pixel structure (that is, the grid of tiny little squares or the screen-door effect) was still somewhat visible in patches of white or solid color, but we really noticed it only when we were actively trying to see it.

It has a built-in battery. We tested the battery life by running the internal YouTube TV app at low volume. We got 3.5 hours of run time at 20% brightness, 2.33 hours at 55% brightness, and 1.5 hours at 100% brightness. Those are excellent results.

It automatically focuses and shapes the image. The projector’s Intelligent Environment Adaptation technology uses a combination of automatic focus, keystone correction, obstacle avoidance, and screen fitting to quickly shape a level, rectangular image on whatever wall surface you’re using. We don’t love the use of keystone correction in higher-end projectors because it reduces image detail and adds artifacts, but it makes sense here, where you’re probably using the portable projector in a variety of less-than-formal settings.

In previous Nebula projectors we’ve tested, the auto adjustments didn’t work great, but in newer models they’ve gotten quicker and more accurate. You can also turn them off, if you’d prefer to handle the task manually.

This is one of the first portable projectors to run Google TV. Most other smart projectors run either the older Android TV platform or a proprietary smart-TV system. Google TV supports all the major streaming services and offers the superior search and content recommendations that make it our favorite media streaming system. In addition, this projector has native support for Netflix (most others don’t).

The Mars 3 Air comes with a Bluetooth-based, backlit remote that has the core buttons you need and supports voice search through Google Assistant.

Thanks to the unit’s Chromecast support, you can wirelessly transmit audio and video from your mobile device. If you want to connect a Blu-ray player, gaming console, or standalone media streaming device, the projector also has one HDMI input, plus a powered USB-A port.

The built-in speakers perform well. The audio system uses dual 8-watt speakers to produce better dynamics and a more balanced sound than what you hear from a lot of competitors. In our tests, dialogue had a less beaming, “cupped hands” quality on this model.

Thanks to its decent audio quality, the Mars 3 Air can work okay as a Bluetooth speaker, though it can’t produce as much bass as even a modestly priced portable Bluetooth speaker can. You can also send the internal audio out to Bluetooth speakers and headphones. We had no trouble connecting the projector to a UE Wonderboom Bluetooth speaker.

The projector measures 7 by 4.8 by 5.2 inches and weighs 3.7 pounds. It has an integrated carrying handle, and an optional case is available.

It doesn’t work with all tripods and mounts. The combination of a shallower tripod socket and the ridged design of the Mars 3 Air’s underside limits which tripods and mounts work with this projector. We couldn’t secure it firmly onto our Vanguard Alta Pro2+ tripod, which has a larger, rectangular baseplate, but it worked fine with a little desktop tripod that had only a threaded screw.

If you plan to use a tripod or mount, choose carefully. Look for one with either no baseplate or a smaller, round baseplate.

It lacks USB-C. You need a USB-C–to–A adapter cable to attach many mobile devices for video playback, and this projector uses a standard DC power port that requires an external power brick. But the ability to run it off the built-in battery at full brightness makes this inconvenience a little less bothersome.

It isn’t made for big-screen movie watching. None of the small, portable projectors in this guide have the brightness, color accuracy, or deep black levels necessary to produce a satisfying big-screen (80 inches or more) movie image. For that, look at our guide to budget home theater projectors.

It isn’t ideal for serious gaming. We measured over 45 milliseconds of input lag in this projector’s game mode, which, combined with the 60 Hz refresh rate, means that it isn’t responsive enough for serious gaming. But it’s fine for, say, connecting a Nintendo Switch for casual gameplay.

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This 720p projector offers better performance and features than similarly priced competitors, but it has a few performance limitations and lacks a built-in battery.

If you’re willing to accept a few compromises to save money, the Xgimi MoGo 2 far exceeds the features and performance you normally find in its price class. Though this 720p projector falls short of the Nebula Mars 3 Air in certain respects, it still produces a nice-looking picture, has a similar list of features, and runs extremely quiet.

It has a lower, 720p resolution. In our tests, the MoGo 2 rendered a nice amount of detail overall, but in side-by-side comparisons with our top pick, the Mars 3 Air, this model’s image was visibly softer and its pixel structure more obvious when we were sitting about 5 feet away. The larger the projected image or the closer you sit, the more obvious these detail differences become.

If you plan to project the video image directly on a wall or use a supercheap, low-quality screen, that surface is likely to hinder the clarity and cleanliness of the image more than this projector’s lower resolution. But if you plan to invest in a good screen or project a larger image, we recommend choosing our top pick instead.

It’s brighter than our top pick and many other competitors. Usually, mini projectors priced under $400 are quite dim, but this one is not. The MoGo 2 actually measured about 15% brighter than our top pick in its most accurate picture and brightness modes (labeled Movie and Cinema, respectively), which helps to give brighter TV and sports content a nice pop in a room with some ambient light.

In our tests, the MoGo 2 had the exact same measured contrast as our top pick, as well as very similar color performance. When we viewed brighter HDTV shows and sports, the two projectors had more similarities than differences.

This projector doesn’t perform as well with darker movies and HDR video. Though this model did well in our tests, our top pick had a deeper black level and did a better job of preserving the fine background details in darker scenes. As a result, our favorite dark scenes from movies like Dune and shows such as Stranger Things and Extraction looked somewhat flatter and less inviting on the MoGo 2.

Of bigger concern is that HDR video on the MoGo 2 is consistently darker than it should be, which makes seeing the fine details in dark scenes even harder. If you’re connecting an external source to the MoGo 2, we recommend turning off this projector’s HDR function in the menu (it isn’t bright enough to do anything great with HDR anyhow). But when you’re using the internal streaming apps, you can’t disable HDR, so you’re stuck with a too-dark image.

Plus, this projector has an obvious brightness-uniformity issue where the left edge of the image is darker than everywhere else. It isn’t evident in midrange to bright scenes, but we noticed it in some really dark scenes and fade-to-black transitions.

It runs on the older Android TV platform. Though Android TV is not quite as tailored and robust as Google TV, the platform you get with our top pick, it still makes streaming services such as Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, and YouTube TV easy to access. This projector does not directly support Netflix, but Xgimi provides instructions to sideload it.

If you want to connect a cable box, Blu-ray player, or standalone media streaming device, the projector has one HDMI input, plus a powered USB-A port. It also supports 3D playback.

Like our top pick, this model supports Bluetooth output, so you can wirelessly connect it to external speakers or headphones. But you don’t necessarily have to, since the internal 8-watt speaker system sounds decently robust and full.

It lacks a built-in battery but has a USB-C charging port. Whereas our top pick—and many other projectors—still rely on DC power and come with bulky external power supplies, the MoGo 2 draws power via USB-C, so you can more easily replace the cord as needed. Plus, this model can run off a portable USB-C power bank and become fully portable; Xgimi recommends a 65-watt power bank.

The MoGo 2 has automatic focus and keystoning tools similar to those of our top pick. In our tests they worked quickly and effectively to give us a clear, properly shaped picture.

This projector runs very quietly. Some mini projectors’ fan noise can be so loud, it drowns out their tiny built-in speakers. But the MoGo 2 is one of the quietest we’ve ever tested, even at maximum brightness.

It is fairly compact, measuring 6.33 by 4.68 by 4.25 inches and weighing 2.42 pounds. It does not come with a carrying handle or case, but it does have a completely smooth underside and a deeper tripod socket that should work with most any tripod or mount.

If you mostly watch movies in a dark room: The Nebula Capsule 3 Laser has even better image contrast and color accuracy than the company’s Mars 3 Air, and its improved black level helps movies look good in a dark room. The projector’s cylindrical shape feels quite compact, it has both a built-in battery and USB-C charging, and the speaker sounds decently full and balanced.

Unfortunately, the Capsule 3 Laser is not as bright as similarly priced competitors, and the pixel structure is a lot more visible than it should be for a 1080p projector; the effect can be distracting depending on how close you sit or how large the projected image is. Plus, in our tests this model’s auto keystone correction did not work properly, and we found the remote’s response to be sluggish sometimes. Overall, $800 is too much for what you get in this model—but when it’s on sale, it’s definitely worth a look.

If you want a more rugged projector for outdoor use: Our top pick is a great choice for the occasional backyard movie night, but if you need something even brighter and more rugged to take on the road, we recommend Nebula’s Mars 3. The Mars 3 is the brightest battery-powered projector we’ve measured. It’s more than twice as bright as Mars 3 Air, and the battery can run for two to five hours, depending on the brightness mode you choose. This projector also has weatherproofing and drop resistance, a carrying handle, a built-in LED lantern, and USB charging ports for your mobile devices.

The downsides are that it’s pricey, the image contrast and accuracy aren’t quite as good as those of our top pick, and it runs the older Android TV OS (you have to sideload Netflix and use the Nebula app for control).

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Xgimi has announced four new additions to its portable lineup, several of which we plan to test. The MoGo 3 Pro looks a lot like Samsung’s Freestyle but carries a lower price of $450. This 1080p LED projector has Google TV and a claimed brightness of 450 ISO lumens. It does not have an integrated battery, but it does have a USB-C port to run off a 65-watt power bank, and there’s an optional PowerBase Stand.

The MoGo 2 Plus and Halo+ are new versions of existing models that replace the older Android TV OS with Google TV. The $800 Halo+ is a 1080p model with a claimed brightness of 700 ISO lumens. The $300 MoGo 2 Plus (which is the new version of our budget pick) has a 720p resolution, and it will be available in October exclusively through Walmart.

Lastly, the $400 Elfin Flip has a more traditional shape but still comes mounted in a rotating gimbal stand. It has a 1080p resolution and a claimed brightness rating of 400 ISO lumens, and it runs WebOS, not Google TV. But there’s no battery or USB-C charging, so it’s not portable by our standards.

Optoma’s ML1080 is interesting because it uses a laser light source and supports HDMI 2.1, both of which are extremely rare in portable projectors priced under $1,000. This 1080p model is petite and runs off USB-C power, but it has no battery, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or smart features built in. Optoma boasts 1,200 lumens of brightness for this model, but that’s HK lumens—which translates to only 550 ANSI lumens. Our initial impression is that this model is too lacking in brightness and features for the price, but we may test it.

Since 2013, we’ve auditioned more than 30 projectors for this guide and considered even more. Below are a few of the most noteworthy competitors:

AAXA M7: The M7 is respectably bright and has good detail, but it lacks Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and internal apps, the fan noise is extremely loud, and two different sample units we tested had a problem where the picture settings locked into their default (and less accurate) state and could not be adjusted.

AAXA P6 Ultimate: This small, under-$400 LED projector is loaded with connection options, has good light output and battery life, and comes with a snap-on handle and carrying case. The picture quality is solid, but the P6U isn’t as color-accurate as the lower-priced Xgimi MoGo 2, and its 1280 x 800 (WXGA) resolution is not ideal for TV/movie watching (it stretches the image slightly). The main drawbacks involve user-friendliness: To cut costs, AAXA cuts convenience features like automatic focus, a Bluetooth-based remote, and full Android or Google TV support. There are some apps built in, but the streaming was choppy. Overall, this one just isn’t as simple and pleasant to use on a regular basis.

BenQ GP100A: We tested this 1080p LED projector that comes with an Android TV dongle. In features, form, and brightness, it’s similar to the Nebula Mars 3, but it lacks that projector’s built-in battery and weatherproofing for outdoor use. Though it can run off USB-C power, it needs at least a 100-watt power bank to run at full brightness. Overall, its performance is solid but not worth its higher price tag. The BenQ GV31 is smaller and has a battery, so it’s more portable—but it claims just 300 ANSI lumens of light output. That’s too low for its asking price, so we chose not to test it.

BenQ GS50: This 1080p projector used to be our main recommendation for outdoor use, thanks to its compact form, built-in battery, solid brightness, and weather-/drop-resistant design. However, it’s now several years old, and the performance does not keep pace with the newer and more affordable Nebula Mars 3 Air. Its battery life is shorter, its image contrast is much lower, and the black level and black detail are not as good—so movies looked flatter and more washed-out. Also, the supplied Android TV dongle does not support Netflix, and its streaming performance was glitchy.

Kodak Flik HD10: This under-$300 projector has a claimed light output of only 200 ANSI lumens, but we tested it anyhow—and as we expected, it was way too dim in comparison with the projectors we recommend. Plus, the color was undersaturated and inaccurate in our tests, the build quality isn’t terribly robust, and this projector’s larger chassis is not really portable.

LG CineBeam PF510Q: If you don’t like Google TV or Android TV, you might be interested in this projector, which runs LG’s own webOS smart-TV platform (though there’s no Netflix app in the US) and supports AirPlay 2. It offers solid picture quality, but it lacks a built-in battery and USB-C charging, so it isn’t portable.

LG CineBeam Q (HU710PB): This 4K projector has qualities that pit it against both pricier, dedicated home theater projectors (a 4K resolution and laser light source) and mini models (a very small form and built-in smart TV platform). Its picture quality is decent, but we found the user experience to be sorely lacking compared with other portable models. Its connection options are limited, its speaker is terrible, the user interface is clunky and dated, and there’s no built-in battery or USB-C power.

Samsung Freestyle: We decided not to review this uniquely designed 1080p LED projector because early reviews (both professional and buyer) were lukewarm at best. The general sentiment is that the design is cool and the video performance is decent, but the light output is below average for the price. You can power it off some USB-C power banks, and Samsung offers an optional battery base and light-socket adapter, but those extras add to the price. Plus, the Freestyle uses the less common Micro HDMI port, and Samsung doesn’t even include an adapter cable. The newer Freestyle 2nd Gen has the same core design but adds Samsung’s Gaming Hub.

Wemax Dice: The Dice is an older model, and its picture quality is a mixed bag. In our tests, the image was very bright (when the projector was plugged in), had good overall contrast, and looked sharp and detailed. But if you care about color accuracy, you may be distracted by the too-blue color temperature, the exaggerated colors (especially green), and the tendency for lighter skin tones to look sunburned. Within the Android TV interface, you can make a few picture adjustments that help a little, but you can’t adjust the HDMI input at all—and we also got some handshake issues via HDMI.

Xgimi Halo+: The Halo+ puts the same core features and user interface as in the company’s newer MoGo 2 in a larger, battery-powered cabinet. Though it has a much higher claimed brightness rating than our budget pick, it didn’t measure much brighter in its more accurate picture modes during our tests. Plus, it lacks USB-C charging. Unless you really want the MoGo design with a built-in battery, there’s no reason to spend more on this model.

Xgimi MoGo 2 Pro: This model is almost identical to the cheaper MoGo 2, but it ups the resolution to 1080p and has slightly faster, more advanced automatic setup tools. In this guide, it shared the top-pick spot with its cheaper sibling until the similarly priced Nebula Mars 3 Air came along. We prefer the Nebula projector’s picture performance, built-in battery, and use of Google TV.

This article was edited by Grant Clauser.

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Adrienne Maxwell

I oversee all of Wirecutter’s coverage of AV gear, including headphones, TVs, speakers, and more. I also write all of Wirecutter’s projector guides, and I test peripheral AV equipment such as screens, remotes, and HDMI transmitters.

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