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The best portable monitors offer a convenient way to add a second screen to your laptop or mobile device.
Amazon
Portable monitors are a great fit for anyone who wants an easy way to expand their screen space at home or on the go. The best portable monitors are perfect for pairing with a laptop or mobile device, giving students and remote workers a convenient way to add a second screen to their setup. Some portable monitors even include built-in batteries and gaming-friendly features.
Our top pick is the 15.6-inch Asus ZenScreen MB16AHG, which delivers automatic screen orientation, a 144Hz display with variable refresh rate, a fold-out kickstand, and a built-in blue light filter. But buyers looking for a more budget-friendly option should consider the value-minded ViewSonic VA1655. Though its refresh rate isn’t variable or as fast, it has the same size and resolution as the ZenScreen for around half the price.
Below, we’ve rounded up five of the best portable monitors you can buy right now, covering a range of functions and use cases, including touchscreens for creative professionals and high-end performance for gaming.
Our picks for the best portable monitors
Best overall: Asus ZenScreen MB16AHG – See at Amazon
Best budget: ViewSonic VA1655 – See at Amazon
Best for gaming: Asus ROG Strix XG17AHP – See at Amazon
Best touchscreen: Espresso 17 Pro – See at Espresso
Best wireless: Ricoh 150BW – See at Amazon
Best overall
The Asus ZenScreen MB16AHG is a great all-around portable display. It fits most use cases, and there’s not much it doesn’t do well, even if it’s not necessarily best-in-class for any particular features.
It’s the average size and weight for a portable monitor (just a hair over two pounds). And it serves up Full HD (1080p) resolution with decent brightness on an LED panel. Going with a thinner or lighter model — or upgrading to a higher resolution or better display type — will cost more, and we think the MB16AHG delivers a great balance between value and performance for the money.
It also has a speedy three-millisecond response time and a fast 144Hz refresh rate, both above entry-level standards. Along with FreeSync technology, these specifications ensure that this ZenScreen can deliver a quick and smooth experience that’s even suitable for gamers.
Beyond that, the monitor comes with decent audio options, thanks to built-in speakers and an audio jack for listening on headphones. And for video, it can connect to devices via USB-C or Mini HDMI. The USB connection is also how the display receives power, either through a connected laptop or to a wall outlet.
The MB16AHG has also been built with ergonomics in mind. A handy fold-out stand allows for tilting at multiple angles, and a threaded socket in the back allows it to be mounted to any standard tripod. The screen automatically orients to portrait or landscape, which is a given for phones nowadays but not always for portable monitors. And it’s TÜV Rheinland-certified (the industry standard) to reduce eye strain through flicker-free and low blue light settings.
Although it’s not quite as affordable as our budget pick just below, the ZenScreen MB16AHG is the best portable monitor for anyone who wants a great all-around display that performs well for a broad range of uses.
Best budget
ViewSonic’s VA1655 undercuts every other portable monitor on this list. Though it doesn’t do anything better than our other picks, it delivers impressive specs for its low price, making it a worthy alternative for shoppers who want to spend less.
One strong point in its favor is that it’s one of the lightest options we recommend, at just 1.5 pounds. And like our top pick, the VA1655 features a 15.6-inch screen with 1080p resolution. On the downside, its seven-millisecond response time is slightly slower than pricier models, but the average student or remote worker probably won’t notice any screen lag. Similarly, the monitor’s peak brightness is at the bottom of the bunch, just on the OK side of what’s acceptable, which means it’s fine for use indoors but won’t be a good match for bright sunlight.
It’s also got a lower native bit depth than our other picks, which means it can’t display as many distinct colors. It still offers decent performance for casual multimedia use, but we don’t recommend this unit for dedicated gamers, photo editors, or serious movie watchers. It’s more of a dependable productivity workhorse for tasks such as word processing, coding, busting out spreadsheets, and showing off presentations.
One interesting feature is that this monitor is capable of two-way charging, so via USB-C, it can either be powered by or send power to a laptop. (For the latter to occur, the VA1655 has to be plugged into an outlet or appropriately strong power bank.)
This monitor comes with a case, plus USB-C and Mini HDMI cables. And it facilitates audio listening with a 3.5mm jack and small built-in speakers. So it’s not just inexpensive but respectably well-featured.
Best for gaming
Over the last few years, Asus’s ROG (Republic of Gamers) brand has become practically synonymous with some of the best gaming laptops and best gaming monitors you can buy. So, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that the company’s 17.3-inch ROG Strix XG17AHP earns a spot on our guide to the best portable monitors.
This beast sports some pretty sick specs, mostly in terms of its speed. In fact, with a three-millisecond response time and up to 240Hz refresh rate, Asus claims this is the world’s fastest portable gaming monitor. Plus, with adaptive sync on board, it aims to run quickly and tear-free, so you get a smooth experience.
Another distinguishing feature that sets this portable monitor apart from our other recommendations is that it’s one of our only picks blessed with built-in power. More specifically, a quick-charging 7800mAh battery that Asus says can offer around three hours of gameplay. Thus, you don’t need to drain power from a connected laptop, which is a nice perk since gaming laptops are infamous for their short battery life.
Outside its speed and battery, the monitor’s resolution, color gamut, and brightness are solid but not quite top-tier. If we had our druthers, the display would be 4K rather than 1080p, cover the larger DCI-P3 color gamut instead of just sRGB, and offer another 100 to 150 nits of brightness. But it’s still nice that it’s TÜV certified for a flicker-free, low-blue light experience to help reduce eye strain during long sessions.
Asus sells two versions of this monitor: the Strix XG17AHP and an AHPE version. Both are virtually identical, with the only difference (other than price) being that the former includes a foldable tripod stand, and the latter doesn’t. Although we’ve seen a few reports complaining about how wobbly the monitor can be on its tripod, it’s still a nice bonus. You also get a cover (that can act as an impromptu stand in portrait or landscape) and a handy carry bag.
Best touchscreen
You might not already know Espresso, the Australian display maker, but its 17 Pro touchscreen portable monitor is a creative professional’s dream that can rival many dedicated drawing tablets.
For starters, it features a gorgeous 17-inch 4K screen. The durable aluminum chassis and scratch-resistant glass mean it can go nearly anywhere. And for when working at a desk or table, it includes a nice, sturdy stand.
Although it may not have the fastest refresh rate or response time, both specs are adequate for tasks outside of high frame-rate gaming. More importantly, the 17 Pro conveys gorgeous images and video, thanks to a 10-bit color panel and support for the wide DCI-P3 gamut. Moreover, its 450 nits of peak brightness ensures those colors pop in various lighting conditions.
The capacitive touchscreen, its raison d’etre, uses what Espresso calls its proprietary LiveTouch technology. The upshot is that the 17 Pro excels at taking inputs from writing and drawing, plus responding to various gesture controls. The optional pen accessory features a tail eraser and replaceable tip and is sensitive to tilting and over 4,000 pressure levels. It’s a shame the pen doesn’t come included, but you can purchase it separately for $89 or as part of a $1,050 bundle that also includes a stand, case, battery, and paper-like screen coating.
This monitor features many wired connectivity options, including USB-C, HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, and DVI-D. And its built-in speakers automatically activate when the 17 Pro is connected to a secondary power source (i.e., your laptop or a wall outlet).
Lastly, Espresso includes its Jot software, which works in tandem with popular productivity apps (Slides, PowerPoint, Keynote, Evernote, etc.) to help you take notes, draw, sketch, mark up, screenshot, and otherwise create and edit content.
Best wireless
If you want a portable monitor that can work completely free from cables, then this Ricoh model is just what you’re looking for. It supports USB-C and WiFi 5 (802.11ac), so it can connect wired or wirelessly to Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices.
The 150BW supports wireless multicasting in either direction. This means the display can handle signals from up to two devices simultaneously, thanks to Miracast functionality. And it supports wirelessly multicasting to up to five other 150BW monitors at the same time, making it a handy option for group presentations if your coworkers use the same display.
The Ricoh150BW is also the only OLED monitor in this guide. OLED panels provide big contrast and viewing angle benefits over LCD technology, and OLED screens are used on many of the best TVs. The scratch- and shatter-proof glass display features multipoint capacitive touch as well. It’s pretty svelte — claiming to be one of the lightest 15.6-inch touchscreen portable monitors on the market— which is impressive, considering it also has an integrated battery to go wireless.
Unfortunately, the listed three hours of battery life isn’t as long as we’d like for a wireless monitor. That’s still enough to watch a movie, give in-person presentations, and tackle short productivity sessions, but isn’t enough to get away with a full day of work.
The monitor’s fantastic color gamut, built-in 1.5-watt speakers, and scorching max response time of one millisecond make it a solid choice for casual gaming. That said, the refresh rate is limited to 60Hz, which is low compared to the 144Hz-plus refresh rate that true gaming displays offer.
Ricoh also sells a compatible stylus pen capable of 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. Given the price, we wish this was automatically bundled with the monitor, but it’s still a great option to have.
How we test portable monitors
We look for key specifications when recommending the best portable monitors.
B&H Photo
We selected the best portable monitors based on hands-on experience and extensive research. In each case, we evaluated models with key performance areas in mind.
To be considered for our guide to the best portable monitors, displays need to meet these minimum specifications:
Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolutionAt least 250 to 300 nits of peak brightnessA refresh rate of 60Hz for productivity or at least 144Hz for gamingA response time under 10 milliseconds for multimedia use or under 30 for productivity
To ensure that our picks remain as portable as possible, we focus on monitor sizes equivalent to most laptop screens (13 to 17 inches measured diagonally), with a profile of about half an inch thick and an average weight of 1.5 to two pounds.
The best portable monitors will also sport multiple connectivity options, including USB-C, HDMI, and, in some cases, wireless capabilities. And we love when monitors offer advanced ergonomics, such as the ability to tilt back, rotate into portrait orientation, or be mounted on a tripod socket. It’s also a plus when a display implements eye-care features like TÜV Rheinland-certified flicker-free and low blue light technologies.
We also consider additional features like touchscreen support, built-in audio speakers, and external/internal batteries. Not everyone will need all these bells and whistles, but we make sure to include options for buyers who want these capabilities.
Portable monitor FAQs
Some portable monitors have built-in batteries so you can pair them with gaming systems on the go.
B&H Photo
What makes a monitor portable?
The best portable monitors are small and light enough to carry around and are typically designed to pair with laptops to provide a second screen that you can easily swap in and out.
A size of 15.6-inches diagonal is standard, but smaller and larger portable monitors exist. Likewise, they usually top out around two pounds (the weight of an ultrathin laptop), with lighter and heavier offerings available. Other cool portability features may include various positioning options (such as a built-in kickstand) and a sensible protective sleeve. Some of the best portable monitors take their mobility even further with wireless connectivity and battery power.
What size portable monitor should I consider?
Generally speaking, if you’re looking to pair a portable monitor with a laptop, we recommend finding something roughly the same size as your laptop’s built-in screen. If you’re a gamer or creative, a bigger screen (17 inches and up) may be better, though you’ll sacrifice some portability.
Do portable monitors need to be plugged in?
Most portable monitors need to be plugged into a power source to work. Many models can be plugged into the laptop you’re pairing them with or directly into a wall outlet. Just keep in mind that powering your portable monitor via a laptop will cause your laptop battery to drain faster.
Some portable monitors include dedicated batteries that can be charged, and some allow you to use external batteries that you can buy separately.
Do all portable monitors have batteries?
No, many portable monitors do not include a built-in battery. In our guide to the best portable monitors, only the Asus ROG Strix XG17AHP and Ricoh 150BW have built-in batteries.
How much should I spend on a portable monitor?
As with any technology, it all depends on your needs. Entry-level portable monitors cost between $100 and $300. But those craving advanced features like 4K resolution, an OLED panel, or touchscreen support should expect to drop between $500 and $1,000.
Can I use my tablet as a portable monitor?
Yes, some tablets can act as portable monitors. Apple fans may be able to use their iPad as a second screen, thanks to Apple’s Sidecar feature. For more tablet recommendations, check out our guide to the best iPads.