5 Great Binoculars Under $200 for Astronomy in 2023
While telescopes get all the glory, smart stargazers know that binoculars can also be a great option if you’re looking to invest in equipment to up your astronomy game. Astronomy binoculars offer a number of advantages compared to telescopes – up to a certain point – including ease of use and bifocal viewing. If you’re considering investing in binoculars instead of a telescope, you’ve come to the right place.
Astronomy binoculars come at a number of price points, so it’s important to decide on your budget before you get too far into researching; a few hundred dollars is a good entry point, which is why this list focuses on good astronomy binoculars under $200. You can of course spend more – and generally, the more you spend, the better quality of binoculars will be and power your binoculars will have.
If you’re not familiar with how binoculars work, there are two numbers provided for each product. The first is the magnification offered by the binoculars; the second refers to the size of the objective lens in millimeters. So for 7×50 binoculars – for example – they offer 7x magnification, and the objective lens is 50mm in diameter. The larger the objective lens, the more light is let into the lens – creating brighter and potentially clearer views. However, larger lenses weigh more which can be uncomfortable when stargazing – that’s something to keep in mind as you choose a pair of astronomy binoculars under $200 from this list.
Short on Time?
The best binoculars under $200 for astronomy is the Nikon Aculon 10-22×50
Ready to dive into the full list? Here are my recommended astronomy binoculars under $200.
Note: Lens and binocular prices have been very volatile in the past two years due to supply chain issues. Note that prices might vary widely from the prices I reported when this post was last updated.
This post was originally published in January 2022, and was updated most recently in February 2023.
The Best Binoculars Under $200 (Ranked)
When it comes to choosing astronomy binoculars, you want to keep a number of factors in mind, including price, (magnification) power, binocular style, and quality. This can be hard to compare on your own, so I put together a ranked list. To come up with this ranking, I considered price, popularity, and review scores from Amazon.com. Here’s the list I came up with, using updated data for 2023.
| Rank (2023) | Product | Change (from 2022) | Price | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikon 8252 Aculon A211 10-22×50 | – | ~$160 | Link |
| 2 | GLLYSION 12×50 Professional Binoculars | New! | ~$150 | Link |
| 3 | Celestron SkyMaster 20×80 Astro Binoculars | ↑2 | ~$125 | Link |
| 4 | Orion 09351 UltraView 10×50 Wide-Angle | ↑2 | ~$160 | Link |
| 5 | HIOPIACO 30-260x Long Range Binoculars | New! | ~$160 | Link |
If these all sound interesting, you can read on to discover more of the details about each one and choose the pair of binoculars under $200 that’s best for you.
1. Nikon 8252 Aculon A211 10-22×50
- Type: Porro Prism
- Price: ~$160
While the name is a mouthful, the Nikon 8252 Aculon A211 10-22×50 is a multi-purpose binocular that provides excellent performance for everything from astronomy to birding.
They feature 50 mm objective lenses, BaK4 porro prism, and fully multi-coated optics, which provide outstanding image resolution even in low light conditions. They have a lightweight, contoured body, making them easy to hold, and a textured center focus knob to easily adjust magnification.
You’ll find a tripod adapter within the package if you prefer to engage in a hands-free view session. The only downside to this binocular is their field of view of only 3.9 degrees and that they might be shaky at full zoom.
2. GLLYSION 12×50 Professional Binoculars
- Type: Porro Prism
- Price: ~$150
New to the list this year, these GLLYSION 12×50 binoculars jumped right to the #2 spot thanks to their reasonable price and popularity – over 1,000 people have given these a solid 4.5 stars through their reviews.
Most importantly, these binoculars have fully multi-coated lenses and 18mm BaK4 dielectric-coated prisms, providing crisp and clear views of stars, globular clusters, and whatever else you might spot in the night sky. They’re also lightweight around one pound, meaning your arms won’t wear out while using them.
Finally, they come come with a smartphone adapter, which – when paired with a tripod and mount – means you can shoot really neat astrophotography easily with these.
3. Celestron SkyMaster 20X80 Astro Binoculars
- Type: Porro Prism
- Price: ~$125
Before we dive into the review of the Celestron SkyMaster 20X80 Astro Binoculars, I’d like to point out that while they’re one of the best binoculars under $200, they aren’t the best for beginners. On the contrary, if you’re an experienced stargazer, you’ll find the Celestron to be among the best budget-friendly astronomy binoculars.
Now, let’s start with their review. Celestron is famous for its high-quality binoculars and telescopes, and the SkyMaster 20X80 Astro Binoculars are no exception to the rule. They feature a powerful 20x magnification and massive multi-coated 80mm objective lenses to reduce light loss and glare.
The brand assures that their multi-coated lenses provide a 90-95% light transmission rate. Their full 80mm aperture provides a wide field of view. At 4.7 pounds, these binoculars are heavier than other alternatives, but it’s understandable given their 80mm aperture. As for the quality, the Celestron is sturdy and water-resistant.
4. Orion 09351 UltraView 10×50 Wide-Angle
- Type: Porro Prism
- Price: ~$160
Orion is another well-established brand within the astronomy industry. Their UltraView 10×50 Wide-Angle is one of the best binoculars under $200 for hand-held astronomy. It is fairly lightweight, weighing just two pounds.
As for technical details, the Orion features an excellent 6.5° field of view, which is much wider than standard 10x binoculars. Like other models, it comes with long eye relief for comfortable stargazing, especially for glasses-wearers. It also has fully multi-coated optics and BAK-4 prisms, delivering bright and sharp images.
In addition to astronomy, these binoculars are also popular for hunting and nature observation.
5. HIOPIACO 30-260x Long Range Binoculars
- Type: Porro Prism
- Price: ~$160
For one final great option for astronomy binoculars under $200, the 30-260x Long Range Binoculars from HIOPIACO is a great contender. I’m honestly surprised that these binoculars are so affordable; they do have solid reviews, though not as many of them, hence their spot at the bottom of the list.
In any case, these binoculars match the Celestron SkyMasters above for power, but have additional zoom to bring distant astronomical objects to even closer view. With those bigger lenses though, they are heavier than most on this list too – at six pounds, you’ll probably want to get a nice tripod as well to make these comfortable for stargazing sessions.
There are certainly better options on the list, but if you decide to go with these astronomy binoculars, they’ll do the trick.
While there aren’t as many options on this list as others I’ve shared, these six astronomy binoculars under $200 all offer great performance for a reasonable price. If you discover you have more budget, consider spending up to $300 for even more options; if you actually don’t have a full $200 budget, my list of binoculars under $100 list is a good starting point. Have any questions about these budget-friendly astronomy binoculars? Let me know in the comments.
Valerie Stimac
Valerie is the founder and editor of Space Tourism Guide. She grew up in Alaska, has lived across the U.S., and traveled around the world to enjoy the night sky from many different perspectives. Join her on this journey to explore space right here on earth.
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