While a meaningful gift doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive, sometimes it feels good to spend a little more on our loved ones and give them something exceptional. Whether you’re shopping for a special birthday, graduation, holiday or just because, these are some of the best gifts in the $200 to $500 price range.
Ready to find the perfect gift? This list will help you find just the right thing to order and send. One thing to note though: Because they’re unlikely to be easy to find over the coming weeks, we’ve left the PS5 ($400 to $500) and Xbox Series X ($500) and Series S ($300) off this list. If you can get your hands on one, however, it would make a great gift.
Scott Stein/CNET
Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 could be the device that makes virtual reality mainstream. It’s not only better than the original but also less expensive, starting at $300 for the 128GB version (the 256GB version is $400).
CNET’s Scott Stein praised it for being lighter and faster, with revised controllers and longer battery life. The display resolution is notably crisper and remarkably easy to read text on. The only downside: You now have to have a Facebook login in to use it.
Read our Oculus Quest 2 review.
Scott Stein/CNET
The ninth generation of Apple’s entry-level iPad came out last fall with an updated A13 Bionic chip processor that gives it a nice performance boost (a keyboard or case is not included). Otherwise it’s pretty much the same as last year’s entry-level iPad, which remains the best value in Apple’s iPad line. While prices start at $396, you get double the storage over the previous year’s model, at 64GB (and $479 for the 256GB version), look for special offers as this iPad often gets the flash-deal treatment.
Theragun
The Theragun Prime is a new Theragun included in the company’s rebrand and launch of four new massage guns. Its prior equivalent was the Theragun Liv, which is reviewed in-depth here.
Like the high-end Theragun Pro ($599), the Theragun Prime’s main impressive feature is that it’s much quieter than its now-retired predecessor. In fact, the Prime rivals the famously quiet Hypervolt Plus in terms of volume level — that’s a massive improvement from the Liv.
The improvements don’t stop there, though: Where the Theragun Liv only had two preprogrammed speeds and came with two closed-cell foam attachments, the Theragun Prime has five built-in speeds (from 1,750 rpm to 2,400 rpm) and comes with five closed-cell foam attachments.
David Carnoy/CNET
Sony has released its new WH-1000XM5 but the WH-1000XM4 remains on sale. While I prefer the WH-1000XM5 — it’s a little more comfortable, has improved noise canceling, more refined sound and significantly better voice-calling performance — the WH-1000XM4 is still a great headphone and some people may prefer its slightly more energetic sound and how it folds up into a smaller case than that of the WH-1000M5. It also costs less and we should see some nice discounts on it going forward.
Sarah Tew/CNET
No, you can’t get a truly high-performance TV for less than $500, but with TCL’s 55-inch 55S535 you can get a great gift with a nice size screen, very solid 4K picture quality and the best streaming system available (Roku) for $500. If you want under $400, TCL’s latest 4-series 4K line is a respectable choice.
Read our TCL 55S425 review.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The Hypervolt Plus is the next-generation Hyperice percussive massager, and rivals the slightly better-known Theragun in effectiveness. Despite being quite forceful, thanks to a 90-watt high-torque motor, it’s notably quiet, so it’s not annoying to use — to yourself or others. It’s cordless, of course, and the lithium-ion battery gives you about two hours per charge. It comes with five head attachments and features three speed settings.
Sarah Tew/CNET
So maybe your gift recipients already have a nice TV, but they’re stuck listening to its terrible built-in speakers. A soundbar is the easiest way to fix that problem, and this $350 Yamaha is one our favorites in this price range. As a bonus it also works with Alexa, so you can ask Amazon’s voice assistant to play your tunes, even when the TV is turned off.
Read our Yamaha YAS-209 review.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Nintendo’s massively popular platform may have a newer, cheaper entry in the Switch Lite at $200, but the original got a minor improvement in the V2 version with improved battery life. The big difference between the two? The Switch Lite has a smaller screen and is strictly portable, without the big-screen TV dockability and detachable controllers that make the V2 so unique. We break down the differences here; the main thing to know is we still consider the bigger Switch to be the better choice.
Read our Nintendo Switch review.
