If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIRED
Portable Sound
Sony SRS-XB100
Bookworm Bonanza
Amazon Kindle (2022, 11th Generation)
Light It Up
Govee Neon Rope Light Strip
Radio Ga-Ga
Sangean WR-15
Gift shopping on a budget is stressful. Prices sometimes soar around the holidays, making it tough to find genuine bargains. To help, we spent countless hours testing all manner of gizmos and gadgets to bring you expert advice on what is worth buying. These gifts are sure to bring a smile to your loved ones’ faces without breaking the bank too badly, though we know $100 isn’t exactly cheap, either.
For more ideas, our wish list of awesome gifts is full of things (sometimes expensive) that are sure to impress, and if money is tight, we’ve also made a list of the best gifts under $25. For giftees with a particular passion, you can find tailored options like the best gifts for audiophiles, coffee fans, or book lovers, among our gift guides.
Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.
-
Photograph: Sony
Portable Sound
Sony SRS-XB100
This compact Bluetooth speaker is just under 4 inches tall and has a clever built-in strap, so it’s easy to take with you. It offers up to 16 hours of battery life and has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. Snag a pair (or more) and they can be linked together for stereo sound. Fun colors include bright blue and bright orange.
This gadget appears in our best Bluetooth speakers guide.
-
Photograph: Amazon
Bookworm Bonanza
Amazon Kindle (2022, 11th Generation)
Updated in 2022, Amazon’s entry-level Kindle is its smallest at 6.2 inches tall and 4.3 inches wide, with a 6-inch screen, making it easy to handle. You get 16 gigabytes of storage (you’ll never fill it with books), a 300-pixel-per-inch (PPI) resolution that looks pretty clear, and a USB-C port for charging. It’s still a great way to carry a library of good reads around with you.
This is the budget pick in our best Kindles guide.
-
Photograph: Govee
Light It Up
Govee Neon Rope Light Strip
Most light strips are designed to be tucked away in recesses, but this Govee strip has a diffuser, so you can stick it anywhere you want, and it still looks great. The adhesive-backed metal brackets make for easy installation. The Govee app allows you to schedule, cycle through colors, play animations, and even create your own scenes. Some transitions are blocky, and the app can be confusing, but this is a great way to introduce your recipient to smart lights.
This is our favorite diffused light strip from the best smart lighting guide.
-
Photograph: Amazon
Radio Ga-Ga
Sangean WR-15
A radio is a handy gadget to have, and this one combines old-school style with modern functionality, so you can tune into whatever you want. Portable enough to sit on a bookshelf or table for working in the garage or shed, it can also serve as an entertainment backup for when the power or internet goes out. It lacks a Bluetooth connection, but it does have an auxiliary input. Most importantly, it sounds great.
This is the top pick from our best radios guide.
-
Photograph: Amazon
Smart Speaker
Amazon Echo (4th Gen)
This cute ball of sound is one of our favorite smart speakers because it offers detailed, room-filling sound and has Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant inside to answer your every query. The Amazon Echo (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has onboard mics for voice commands and adaptive EQ, and built-in Zigbee for smart homes. It’s a useful, hands-free kitchen companion and a great value.
This is our top pick of the best Alexa speakers.
-
Photograph: Nimble
Power Up
Nimble Champ (Series 2)
Sling a good portable charger in your bag and you will never be stranded with a dead phone again. Our favorite is Nimble’s Champ, which is compact, light, and packs a 5,000- to 20,000-mAh capacity, capable of recharging most phones and laptops at least once, fully at its smallest size. It comes in snazzy speckled colors with a handy lanyard strap and a wee USB-C cable. We are also big fans of Nimble’s environmental efforts (using bioplastics and plastic-free packaging).
This power bank is the top pick in our best portable chargers guide.
-
Photograph: Oakywood
Desk Tidy
Oakywood Headphone Stand with Wireless Charger
We love multifunctional gadgets like this headphone stand from Oakywood, which offers a place to hang your cans and a spot to wirelessly charge your phone. The angular base in solid walnut or oak is super stylish, and the steel stand keeps your headphones neatly out of the way.
This headphone stand appears in our best wireless chargers guide.
-
Photograph: 8BitDo
Game On
8BitDo Pro 2
Comfy to hold for long gaming sessions, with a subtle texture that adds grip, this mobile controller combines sensitive analog sticks with clicky buttons and an excellent D-pad. It can connect via Bluetooth or USB-C cable for gaming on a Nintendo Switch, MacBook, Windows PC, Android phone, or iPhone. Battery life is 20 hours, it has programmable buttons on the back, and it’s easy to remap.
This is the top pick in our best mobile controllers guide.
-
Photograph: Eve
Smarter Home
Eve Motion Sensor
For folks looking to make their home a little smarter, a motion sensor can prove very handy indeed. This one from Eve reliably tracks room occupancy and light levels, works with Matter for easy compatibility, and makes it very easy to automate things like smart lights and smart shades.
We covered this in a recent rave.
-
Photograph: Hatch
Forty Winks
Hatch Rest (2nd Generation)
This combination sound machine and night-light is also a dimmable bedside clock. You can customize colors, adjust the volume, and play content from the sound library in the app, but you can also just tap the top to cycle through options (there is a child lock if you need it). The optional $50 annual Hatch membership adds bedtime stories, lullabies, and meditations.
This gadget appears in our best sound machines and best night-light guides.
-
Photograph: Logitech
Clacky Keys
Logitech G413 Mechanical Keyboard
For newbies to the delights of clicky-clacky keys, this Logitech keyboard sports an understated black chassis and the same mechanical switches and Lightsync RGB lighting that you’ll find on more expensive Logitech models. It also has a handy USB pass-through port and a full set of function keys.
This device appears in our best mechanical keyboards guide.
-
Photograph: Razer
Gaming Mouse
Razer Viper Ultimate
With an eye-catching design, optical switches, and industry-leading wireless response times, the Razer Viper Ultimate lives up to its name. Comfortable in either hand (it’s ambidextrous), this mouse has eight programmable buttons, and the charging dock keeps it ticking for up to 70 hours.
This gadget appears in our best gaming mice guide.
-
Photograph: Google
Excellent Earbuds
Google Pixel Buds A-Series
Amazingly comfortable, with a decent mic for calls and great sound, the Pixel Buds A-Series (8/10, WIRED Recommends) tick all the boxes. Google Assistant integration is handy, they pair instantly with Android phones, and they are IPX4-rated, so they can handle some sweat. The design makes for a comfortable fit, and the ear fins keep them in place even when you work out.
These earbuds are our top pick of the best headphones under $100.
-
Photograph: Stokke
Coffee to Go
Sttoke Reusable Ceramic Travel Mug
Crafted from shatter-resistant ceramic, this travel mug feels and looks more stylish than most. It will keep your coffee warm and is far more pleasant to sip from than a paper or plastic mug. Some cafés allow you to bring reusable mugs like this to fill up on your daily coffee stop, so you can reduce your single-use waste.
This travel mug appears in our gifts for coffee lovers.
-
Photograph: Best Buy
Waffle House
Cuisinart 4-Slice Belgian Waffle Maker
Solidly made, with a sleek stainless lid surrounded by sturdy plastic, this Cuisinart waffle maker can feed a family of four. It weighs about 10 pounds, so storing it under the counter is easy. There are five different settings to get the shade of waffle you prefer, and it is mercifully tough to burn them with this gadget.
This waffle maker appears in our gifts for the home chef guide.
-
Photograph: Ninja
Chop Chop
Ninja 8-Inch Chef’s Knife and Sharpener
Every aspiring chef or family cook needs a good quality knife. This knife has a comfortable rounded handle and a tough stainless steel blade that holds an edge, and it is versatile enough to chop veggies, crush garlic, or slice meat. Keeping your knife sharp is essential, so this comes with a sharpener. You can also buy it without the sharpener for $50.
This is the top pick in our best chef’s knives guide.
-
Photograph: Oxo
Coffee Crush
Oxo Conical Burr Grinder
For anyone looking to brew better coffee at home, grinding your own beans is a great place to start, and conical burr grinders do a more consistent job than blade grinders. This one has 15 settings to cater for every brewing scenario from finely ground espresso to coarse-ground for a French press. It’s not too loud, grinds quickly, and works reliably. It makes a lovely gift on its own, or you could pair it with a bag of your favorite coffee beans or a coffee subscription.
This is the budget pick in our best coffee grinders guide.
-
Photograph: Amazon
Picture Perfect
Monster 8-Inch Digital Frame
You can store up to 4,000 photos in this 8-inch digital frame, which displays at a crisp 1280p resolution. It has a black frame with a white mount to help your pics pop. You can swipe the touchscreen or use Google Assistant or Alexa for voice commands.
This gadget appears in our best digital picture frames guide.
-
Photograph: Roku
TV Time
Roku Streaming Stick 4K Plus
This clever stick plugs right into an HDMI port on your TV and comes with a hands-free remote, so you can use voice commands to pick movies and shows. Roku’s interface is responsive, easy to navigate, and acts as a gateway to every streaming service under the sun.
This is the top pick in our best streaming devices guide.
-
Photograph: Victrola
Vinyl Revival
Victrola Re-Spin Bluetooth Suitcase Record Player
Despite the ease with which you can stream just about any track ever recorded, a whole new generation is discovering the delights of collecting vinyl. This nifty turntable gives them something cute and affordable to play records on. There is a built-in speaker, but you can also wirelessly stream to another device.
This appeared in our best tech gifts for kids and a rave.
-
Photograph: Connetix
Budding Builders
Connetix Pastel Starter Pack
This mix of square and triangular magnetic tiles provides limitless construction options for kids and adults (they are irresistible). The pieces are well made from non toxic ABS plastic (BPA- and phthalate-free), with strong magnets for easy building. The pieces are finished in soft pastel colors, and you can always add more to mix and match with other kits.
This kit will appear in the next update to our best STEM toys guide.
-
Photograph: USAopoly
Party Game
Telestrations
Easy to grasp, quick to play, and often hilarious, Telestrations is the game that always comes out when we have people over (eight players is ideal). Telestrations challenges you to draw words or phrases to pass along and then to identify the sketches other players pass to you. When the erasable books get back to the owners, everyone reveals how far from the original message things got.
This game appears in our best family board games guide.
-
Photograph: Upright
Stop Slouching
Upright Go S
The gift every grandma has been dreaming of encourages us to sit up straight at the dinner table. The Upright Go S gently vibrates to remind you when you are hunched over and encourage you out of bad habits. It sends your slouching data to the companion app so you can track your posture progress.
This is our top pick of the best posture correctors.
-
Photograph: Amazon
Fitness Tracker
Fitbit Inspire 3
Perfect for folks seeking a simple health tracker that will track steps and sleep, the affordable Fitbit Inspire 3 comes with a wide array of watch faces and accessories. It’s relatively easy to get used to, even for non-techy people, and it can help to encourage good habits. It is limited, and connectivity can be flaky, but you won’t find anything better for this kind of price.
This is the budget pick in our best fitness trackers guide.
-
Photograph: Hairitage
Blow Dry
Hairitage Comin’ In Hot Dryer
Compact, light, and super affordable, this dryer sports an attractive gray and rose-gold design with a velvety-soft coating. It offers two speeds, three heat settings, and a cold shot button. This brand also offers a diffuser and a comb attachment.
This is the top pick in our best hair dryers guide.
-
Photograph: Weatherman
Stay Dry
Weatherman The Travel Umbrella
Most folks grab a cheap umbrella when it rains, or go without, but a well-made, compact umbrella is a smart addition to any bag. This brolly combines tough fiberglass ribs and shaft with a quick-drying Teflon fabric. It opens and closes automatically, has a pouch with a zipper for compact storage, and comes with a lifetime warranty.
This is the top pick in our best umbrellas guide.
-
Photograph: Victorinox
Pocket Knife
Victorinox Deluxe Tinker
The iconic red plastic handle of Victorinox’s Deluxe Tinker makes it easy to spot, and it packs an impressive 17 mini-tools. It is light, compact, and durable enough to slip into a pocket or bag and forget about until you need it. The company offers a lifetime warranty.
This appears in our best multi-tools guide.
-
Photograph: Verloop
Warm Hands
Verloop Twist Knit Touchscreen Gloves
These eye-catching knitted mitts come in all sorts of fun color combos and keep your fingers cozy. Even better, the tips of the thumb, index finger, and middle finger all work with touchscreens, so you can use your phone without having to take your gloves off. They are machine washable, too.
These gloves appear in our best touchscreen gloves guide.
-
Photograph: Ekster
Cha-Ching
Ekster Aluminum Cardholder Wallet
This tough, minimalist, aluminum wallet has a clever trigger to quickly draw your cards when you need to pay. You can fit six cards in the main compartment, which also has RFID blocking. There’s a strap to hold cash and a backplate for more cards or cash. If your giftee prefers leather, go for Ekster’s Parliament wallet instead.
We also like Ekster’s backpack, which appears in our best camera bags guide.
Simon Hill has been writing about tech for more than a decade. He is a regular contributor to WIRED, but you can also find his work at Business Insider, Reviewed, TechRadar, Android Authority, USA Today, Digital Trends, and many other places. Before writing, he worked in games development. He lives… Read more