The best budget tripods are a fantastically cost-effective way to increase your versatility as a photographer or videographer. There are many camera techniques that simply aren’t possible without a good, solid camera support, and while tripods can come at quite a high price, they don’t have to, and the cheap tripod market is filled with solid budget choices.
The main challenge is to make sure that even with the cheap price tag, you’re still getting a quality product. There’s a lot of false economy floating around there on the market, and so it’s best to stick to reputable brand names, many of whom have done a commendable job of offering cheap tripods alongside their more expensive products. We’ve included plenty in this guide, such as Joby, Benro and Manfrotto.
Depending on what you want to shoot, you’ll want to look at slightly different budget tripods, and we’ve included plenty of different types on this list. For those with ultra-light setups who just need a straightforward support, we’ve included a couple of tabletop tripods. We’ve also added in some cheap tripods with three-way heads that are optimised for video, as well as options with reversible central columns for low-down shooting – this is great for macro and close-up work.
Having a low budget does rule out certain types of tripod – if you’re spending less than $100, you’re not going to get tripods made from carbon fibre, which is the stronger and more lightweight material. You’ll also get a relatively simple tripod head, rather than the more sophisticated ball and video heads that come with expensive tripods.
Jon Stapley
Jon spent years at IPC Media writing features, news, reviews and other photography content for publications such as Amateur Photographer and What Digital Camera in both print and digital form. With his additional experience for outlets like Photomonitor, this makes Jon one of our go-to specialists when it comes to all aspects of photography.
The flexible legs of this small tripod help it cope with all sorts of situations, with a kit adding adding more legs and a smartphone clamp. Read more below…
This entry-level tripod is amazingly light, with an integrated pan-and-tilt head that makes it suitable for video or spotting scopes. Read more below...
The best budget tripods in 2024
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Best budget tripod overall
(Image credit: Manfrotto)
1. Manfrotto Element MII Aluminum
Easy to set up and take down
Specifications
Material: Aluminum
Leg sections: 4
Max load (legs/head): 8kg
Max height (with head): 160cm
Folded height: 42.4cm
Weight (with head): 1.59kg
Reasons to buy
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Impressive 8kg payload
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Quick to deploy
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Lightweight to carry
Reasons to avoid
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No spiked feet option
Manfrotto has been doing a good job of introducing budget-friendly photo and video accessories alongside its more premium offerings, and the Element MII Aluminum is one such option. It’s well-specced for a tripod that tends to be sold around the $100 mark.
It carries 8kg of kit – comfortably more than basically anyone is going to need – and can be extended to a maximum height of 160cm. Its twist-lock legs are quick to deploy, and the easy-switch leg angle selectors are great for quickly adjusting the tripod’s position. The Element MII Aluminum is an ideal choice for a day of city-exploring photography, say, where you’ll want a quick-deploy support that packs down well.
Removable center column allows ultra-low level shots
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Bubble level
Reasons to avoid
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No option to use center column as a monopod
Designed as a travel tripod, the T-005 has swing-up legs that reduce stowage size. With five leg sections and two center column sections, the tripod has a modest full operating height of 141cm, but a notably short folded height of just 32cm.
Unusually, however, its centre column protrudes from the top of the tripod spider and can’t slide down for a reduced shooting height, although the minimum operating height is still low at 36.5cm. If that’s not low enough, you can remove the centre column and screw the ball head to the tripod spider. This enables a remarkably low shooting height of just 8cm.
Extending the five-section legs is smooth and the twist clamps require minimal turning to loosen or tighten them. During our testing, we found the supplied ball head was nice and steady, and it features a panning lock.
Joby is mostly a name known for its flexible, grippy GorillaPod tripods, but the firm has branched out into different types of camera support. The Compact Advanced tripod is a more conventional affair, a lightweight camera support that’s clearly been designed with vloggers in mind.
It travels well thanks to a neat folding design, and comes with a useful three-way head. If you shell out for the kit (which isn’t much extra) you also get the GripTight 360 Phone Mount. It uses the same QR plate as other Joby products, meaning it’s easy to swap your camera between them in seconds – handy if you already own a GorillaPod.
Tabletop tripods can be just the thing in a pinch, and the Manfrotto Pixi is arguably the best low-priced option around. It offers a surprisingly good build for such a cheap device, as well as a built-in ball head.
The Pixi supports camera kit up to a weight of 1kg, so naturally it’s not going to be suitable for all setups. A lightweight mirrorless setup or even an entry-level DSLR should be okay, as long as you’re using a smaller lens. This pocketable tripod will perfectly complement such a setup.
Flexi-leg tripods have gained in popularity as smartphones have increasingly become the go-to choice for content creators, and the Benro KoalaPod is one of the best. It comprises three extendable, detachable legs (with two extra legs in the kit we tested) that can be twisted around any which way you like, allowing you to balance your camera or smartphone on uneven surfaces, or grip onto protruding objects.
With a carrying capacity of just 1.5kg, the Benro KoalaPod is designed for the lighter end of setups – the smartphone clamp included in the kit we tested makes it clear who the intended audience is. Molding the legs to a secure position can take a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it, this is a superbly versatile tabletop support.
The best budget tripod for low-angle and macro shooting
Specifications
Material: Aluminum
Leg sections: 4
Max load (legs/head): 2kg
Max height (with head): 159.8cm
Folded height: 47cm
Weight (with head): 1.02kg
Reasons to buy
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Quick reversing mechanism
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2-section center column
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Flip-lock legs
Reasons to avoid
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On the pricier end
A stable support is critical for macro shooting, where focusing is incredibly precise, but it also needs to be able to get close to the ground so that you can fill the frame with your subject. The Slik Sprint Pro III with SBH-100DQ is an excellent choice of budget tripod for this kind of work – it features a reversible two-section center column, as well as a Rapid Flip Mechanism that lets you get the tripod down low nice and quickly. Its minimum working height is just 15.7cm away from ground level, meaning you can get very close to any low-down subjects. The rubberized leg grips and robust flip locks also help with smooth operability.
When buying a tripod, it’s important to look at the head that it’s packaged with, and the three-way pan-and-tilt head that comes with the Velbon EX-530 is an excellent specimen. If you’re planning on creating dramatic stitched panorama shots, or shooting video and want to be able to pan the camera smoothly, this is a great buy. The additional radial leg brace in the center also makes it extra secure, and a 4.1kg load capacity should be fine for basically any camera setup. It’s a relatively bulky tripod, but if you don’t mind shouldering a little extra weight, it’s an excellent choice.
This budget tripod is designed for use for shooting video, or for supporting a spotting scope. Its three-section design means that it does not fold away as small as some, but this helps with stability - which is also helped by the spreader supports that connect the center column to the legs. A downside, compared with more expensive options, is that you can't remove and upgrade the pan-tilt head.
These are the two most common materials used for tripod legs. Aluminum tripods are cheaper but weigh more. They’re ideal if you want the maximum stability for your money. Carbon-fiber tripods cost more but weigh less and absorb vibration better. They’re good if cost is less important than weight – but the price premium can be substantial.
How much height do I need?
Shots aren’t always improved by shooting them at eye level (lower often works best), but it’s also about getting a comfortable working height. Check the height without the column being extended, if you can.
Check the folded length
The weight of a tripod is important if you’re going to carry it any distance, but so is its folded length. If it’s too long to strap to your bag, and it’s unwieldy in trains or climbing over stiles, then it’s going to put you off taking it anywhere. Many so-called ‘travel’ tripods have legs that fold upwards for storage and completely enclose the head. This makes them smaller and neater when folded and easier to carry around.
How many leg sections?
Tripod legs may have three, four, or five sections. A larger number of sections means the tripod is shorter and more portable when it’s folded, but it will usually take a little longer to set up and may well not be quite as stable.
What type of leg locks?
These come in two main types: twist locks and flip locks. Twist locks take up less space and are generally a little quicker to use – you can often unlock all the leg sections in a single movement when you’re setting the tripod up. Flip locks are operated individually and may be a bit slower. Try both types to see which you prefer.
Leg angles
Most tripods have legs that can be angled independently – which is particularly useful when working on sloping sites or in cramped areas. The standard leg angle will be fine for regular use, but it’s often useful to splay one or more legs outwards on uneven surfaces or to rest them on walls, say. Splaying out all three legs will allow you to shoot from a much lower angle.
What type of head should I get?
Sometimes the tripod head is included with the legs, sometimes not. You can change one head for another depending on how you like to work, as the connection is standardized. Ball heads and three-way heads are the most common types. Ball heads are compact and quick to use, but not so good for small, controlled movements. Three-way heads are larger but allow precise adjustments for each axis independently.
You can also find other, specialist heads. Geared heads allow you to make fine adjustments to camera angles. Gimbal heads are designed for use with long, heavy lenses – which can otherwise can unbalance a tripod. And then there are specialist heads for panoramas and video too.
Attaching your camera
Most tripods are sold with heads, and most heads have a quick-release plate so that you can detach the camera in moments for handheld shots. The Arca Swiss-compatible plate is by far the most common, meaning you can swap between different tripod heads, even if they're made by different manufacturers. However some makers, notably Manfrotto, make their own bespoke QR plates, which can be a nuisance if you have two or more tripods from different makers.
Extra features
Detachable monopod legs: These sound really useful – a detachable leg you can then screw into the center column to make a monopod. In practice, we find these often lack the rigidity of a 'real' monopod unless you're starting with a particularly substantial tripod.
Center column: Not all tripods come with a center column, but most do. You can extend this upwards to increase the height of the camera, although this introduces extra wobble. On some tripods, the center column can be rotated to produce an angled boom, which is perfect for overhead shots, macro work, and tabletop photography. Using the center column does reduce the stability of the tripod, however, so is best avoided with long exposures.
Bowl base: This is a video-specific feature that allows you to get the base level without having to make a whole series of tiny adjustments to the leg length. A level base is essential for a video where you want to make panning movements, and the best video tripods come with bowl or leveling bases as standard.
Types of feet: Rubber feet are fine on most surfaces but best on carpets and wooden floors, where you don’t want to cause damage. Metal spikes are good for soft and uneven ground. Some tripods have rubber feet, which can be screwed back to reveal spikes.
We measure the maximum operating height of each tripod and its folded height for carrying, complete with head attached. We also measure the combined weight of each set of tripod legs and head, using electronic scales, and measure the diameter of all leg sections, from the widest to the thinnest, using digital calipers.
We check the ease of use, smoothness and precision of all available adjustments in each set of tripod legs and heads. This ranges from adjusting leg sections and pivot facilities (where available), to the locking mechanisms of the head, as well as independent pan and friction damping adjustments, where fitted.
To check overall stability, we shoot with a range of camera bodies fitted with wide-angle, standard, telephoto and macro lenses. We look for good resistance to flexing and vibrations throughout the whole range of operating heights, including the tallest available settings with the legs and center column fully extended.
Jon spent years at IPC Media writing features, news, reviews and other photography content for publications such as Amateur Photographer and What Digital Camera in both print and digital form. With his additional experience for outlets like Photomonitor, this makes Jon one of our go-to specialists when it comes to all aspects of photography, from cameras and action cameras to lenses and memory cards, flash diffusers and triggers, batteries and memory cards, selfie sticks and gimbals, and much more besides.
An NCTJ-qualified journalist, he has also contributed to Shortlist, The Skinny, ThreeWeeks Edinburgh, The Guardian, Trusted Reviews, CreativeBLOQ, and probably quite a few others I’ve forgotten.
