Best Deals Under $100

The electronic controls and programmed settings on the Ninja AF101 are among the easiest to see and use, respectively, earning high ratings in our assessments. Cleaning the inside and outside is fairly simple and the measured capacity of this model is just about average at 3 quarts. Bear in mind that this model runs on the noisy side, with the fan as loud as a countertop microwave.

The Cuisinart Countdown Metal CPT-415 snags the top rating in our color-range tests, popping up toast just as you like it. There are settings for bagels, defrost, and reheat, and Cuisinart’s three-year warranty is longer than that of most brands in our ratings.

The 7-cup, 600-watt Cuisinart Pro Classic DLC-10SY is far from the best at grating, but it’s a champ at chopping and slicing, according to CR’s lab testing. It also nabs a strong rating for shredding, a passable rating for puréeing, and a stellar rating for noise. This 11-pound model comes with separate shredding and slicing blades, a 3-year parts warranty, and a 5-year motor warranty.

This AGLucky icemaker is the third-highest-rated icemaker we’ve tested. It produces bullet ice and is among the most efficient in our tests. Its good score for speed is slightly slower than the winner from GE, and it’s slightly noisier than the winner and the runner-up. The company claims it can produce up to 26.5 pounds of ice per day. It has a self-cleaning function and, depending on where you purchase it, comes in up to five colorways (black, green, gray, red, and white). It measures 12.6 inches high, 8.7 inches wide, and 12.3 inches deep, making it countertop-friendly, and its tank capacity is comparable to the other models except for the winner.

This self-cleaning countertop icemaker makes nine bullet-shaped ice cubes in just six minutes. Two of the coolest aspects of this machine are that you can make large or small ice cubes and it has a self-cleaning function. Choose from seven shades: black, black transparent, green, red, silver, stainless steel, and white.

The Frigidaire Icemaker is a bit lower-priced than other models CR tested and might be an option for people who are curious about but perhaps not fully committed to bullet ice. Of all five CR Recommended models the Frigidaire’s speed score is among the lowest, but it’s tops in the efficiency category. The company claims it can produce up to 26 pounds of ice daily. It is comparable to all other models except the winner for capacity, the GE Opal. Smaller than the GE, it takes up less counter space and measures 14.88 inches high, 11.70 inches wide, and 14.44 inches deep. It has a one-year warranty.

The PurSteam 10-in-1 Therma Pro 211 Steam Mop gets a top score for cleaning from our testers, and a very good score for steam production. It slips a bit on convenience; its cord is just 16 feet long, and it lacks a ready indicator light. But it’s light (just 6 pounds when filled) and among the less expensive models in our ratings.

The Levoit LV-H132 Air Purifier isn’t a top performer. It earns subpar ratings for dust, pollen, and smoke removal on both high and low speeds, which is why CR testers suggest it’s best for smaller rooms (we’re talking office-sized spaces). But it’s pretty quiet, which is great when you have a day of Zoom calls, it has a fairly inexpensive annual operating cost, it’s easy to use, and it can fit neatly on your desk without taking up too much space.

The Lerekam Solar Spot Lights are among the priciest outdoor solar lights, but you get unrivaled performance. In our tests, they earned top marks for light duration and ease of use. They can be angled, installed with included ground spikes, or screwed to other surfaces. They boast an on/off button and can be recharged with an included USB cable. Each of the lights in the six-pack has 40 LEDs, resulting in intense white light that shines wide over an area, not unlike a flashlight. That makes them ideal as spot lights—they’d be great for drawing attention to a water feature, or an ornamental tree, but they can also be pointed down to illuminate a path or walkway.

The 6-quart Ayesha Curry Dutch oven is a great option if you’re considering adding a Dutch oven to your kitchen arsenal. It’s among the easiest to clean, garnering an excellent rating on that test. But weighing 15 pounds, this Dutch oven is the heaviest of the group we evaluated, and the cooking surface measures only 7 inches in diameter.

The nonstick cast-aluminum Swiss Diamond frying pan earns an excellent rating for cooking evenness, and our fried eggs didn’t stick. It also earns our top rating for durability, withstanding the punishment of our steel-wool abrasion test. Construction is sturdy, and the handle stays cool to the touch during cooking. You won’t be able to use it on your induction cooktop, however.

This all-season duvet is lightweight and breathable, making it a great choice for anyone who sleeps hot. And because it’s a down alternative made of microfiber, which is thinner and not as closely woven as polyester fibers, it’s more breathable than those with a fill made from polyester, a common material for down alternative duvets. Plus, if you’re not satisfied, Quince offers a 365-day return window.

Compatible with both Android and iPhone models, the GTR 3 has two big things going for it—the price is very low, and the battery life is really good, at a claimed 21 days. (The newer GTR 4 model also performed well in our tests, but got a significant price bump.) The GTR 3’s case design is sleek, channeling some higher-end analog watches, and the touchscreen display is bright and easy to read. The model also features stand-alone GPS, which is useful when you’re out running without your smartphone. Our testers give the watch solid marks across the board, except for its heart-rate monitoring, where the Amazfit’s performance is just average.

The partial triangle handle and adjustable massage head on this device make it easy for users to more comfortably target hard-to-reach areas of the body, and it’s light. This inexpensive device isn’t particularly powerful, but its moderate massage should still be sufficient for many users. It’s straightforward to use, with one button to change speeds. And while it does very well in our evaluations of handle ergonomics, postural stress, and ease of use, it doesn’t have the premium feel of some of the more expensive devices we’ve tested. Changing the attachments feels a little clunky and can take a lot of force.

The Renpho R3 massage gun might be the best all-around device for most average users because it’s small, lightweight, and quieter than other devices. But it’s not the ideal choice for people who want the most intense massage or the best model to massage areas on the back. 

The pistol grip could add some more postural stress than other devices, though its light weight and small form could help alleviate stress for some. As a bonus, this can be charged with a standard USB-C charging cable.

At 5.7 pounds, the American Tourister Wavebreaker 20" Spinner is the lightest hard-shell carry-on in our ratings. Yet it’s a sturdy traveler. We found it to have top-quality construction, and it performed admirably in our evaluations of impact resistance, ergonomics and design, and safety. But with just two interior pockets, no built-in lock, and no expanding middle, it’s only so-so for usability. Its telescoping handle has only two positions, which contributes to a middling score for carrying and pulling. The manufacturer’s listed dimensions of 23x18x11 inches—with its telescopic handle stowed—are a bit bigger than the carry-on dimension requirements of most domestic airlines.

This large-capacity Zojirushi drip coffee maker is the non-programmable version of one we’ve tested in our labs—though we haven’t tested this one, we expect its performance to be about the same. It has a shower-style mechanism to dispense water over the coffee grounds for even coverage, and our testers found the carafe easy to use. However, it didn’t quite meet our standards in our brew test in terms of bringing the coffee to a temperature of 195 to 205 degrees and maintaining it for five to six minutes. But Zojirushi as a brand does have top scores for reliability and owner satisfaction for its drip coffee makers.

The Keurig K-Mini Plus is a great little brewer that’s ideal for small kitchens with limited counter space. In our tests, it receives strong scores for temperature and size consistency between cups, as well as how easy it is to use and clean. It features a removable reservoir, a height-adjustable drip tray, and auto-shutoff.

The top-scoring ultrasonic Babymoov Hygro (+), which CR recommends for small rooms, is top-notch in overall performance. It is intended to humidify areas up to 215 square feet. Our testers give it excellent scores for its overall moisture output, convenience, noise, energy efficiency, and output when using hard water. For a price that’s relatively high for a small-room humidifier, you get a built-in humidistat that earns a very good rating for measuring room humidity. Other pluses: It glows in the dark, and indicates and then shuts off when it’s empty.

This sterilizer from Babymoov performed well in our temperature test and it’s quite easy to use. Like many other sterilizers, it has an auto mode that sterilizes and dries, and a digital timer shows the progress of the sterilizing cycle. But the device stands out for its excellent drying performance. It also has selectable drying times and a HEPA filter on the air inlet. The sterilizer has one bin with long prongs that hold up to six bottles, shorter prongs to accommodate smaller items like bottle nipples, and small hooks at the top of the bin to hold other small items, like pacifiers. It is, however, on the pricier end of sterilizers we’ve tested, so this modest discount helps.

This Hauture sterilizer, now about $3 more than its best price, performed the best of all the sterilizers we tested, and its design was intuitive and easy to use, too. Its “auto mode” runs both a sanitizing and drying cycle, and a digital timer shows the progress of the cycle while it’s running. It also has selectable drying times and a storage mode that restarts the heated dry cycle periodically to keep items clean for up to 72 hours. You can fit up to 11 bottles in the sterilizer. They’ll be close enough together that they won’t fall over.

This HelloBaby baby monitor is one of the lower-priced video monitors to earn CR’s recommendation. The device has its own display and handles the video feed locally, so it doesn’t raise the privacy and security concerns that internet-connected models do. It lacks a night light, but that’s hardly a deal breaker.

This bottle sterilizer, now at a new low price, performed extremely well in our tests for both temperature and drying. Like other models we tested, it has an auto mode that runs both a sanitizing and drying cycle (though it doesn’t have a HEPA filter), and it also has selectable drying times. It has three possible configurations, thanks to an extra tray to hold bottle nipples and other items, but our testers found it less easy to use than other top models. It can fit up to 11 baby bottles, though there are only six prongs on the main tray to hold them in place and they’re very short, which doesn’t keep bottles quite as stable as models with taller prongs.

There’s no easier design for a baby gate than this Cumbor gate that’s 30.25 inches high. With an auto-close mechanism, you can manipulate it with one hand and won’t have to worry about manually latching it correctly. It aced our tests for convenience, security, and installation, and it fits openings from 29.5 to 46 inches wide.

This is the usual sale price for this baby gate. We haven’t seen it dip any lower.

This bottle warmer from Kiinde Kozii earned a top spot in our rankings. It uses a warm water bath to warm baby bottles, so like the other models we tested that employ this method, it did not overheat our formula. Even after we left the warmer running for 34 minutes after the warming program was complete, the formula reached a maximum temperature of only 103° F.  The dial on the device shows users how much time is left in the warming program, ticking as the time progresses much like a typical kitchen timer does, so you always know when the device is still running through a program. Because you select only the warming time and not the amount or temperature of the milk, you’ll have to keep the warming time chart handy to know how long to set the device for.

The Ecobee Smart Camera offers decent video quality, but truly shines in our tests for data security, response time of alerts, and smart features. Those features include voice and app control via Amazon Alexa and Apple Home/Siri, monitoring zones, person alerts, and geofencing. The only downside is that the camera requires a $5 per month subscription to function, though that plan also includes 30 days of cloud video storage. The camera can also be turned into a full-fledged home security system if you add Ecobee contact and motion sensors to it.

The Rachio Smart Hose Timer Starter Kit offers a polished app experience, responsive controls to manually water your yard, and a straightforward, albeit long, setup process. That might not sound like much, but it’s a tall order for smart hose timers, most of which can be buggy and use apps that look like they shipped with the very first iPhone. The Rachio hose timer doesn’t work with any smart home systems at this time, but if you simply want a hose timer that’s easy to use and intelligently waters your yard, the Rachio is a great choice.

The Google Nest Thermostat isn’t the smartest thermostat you can buy (it lacks the automation skills of its older sibling, the Google Nest Learning Thermostat), but it’s very easy to operate manually. Its features include app-based programming, presence detection, voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and support for the Matter smart home standard. (That means it will work with any Matter-compatible smart home system, including Apple Home.) 

The Eve Water Guard may be a good choice if you’re an Apple household, as it currently only works with the Apple Home (formerly HomeKit) smart home system. This means you’ll need an Apple TV or HomePod to act as a hub. When it comes to detecting water, the Eve Water Guard works well. It detects water in about 1 second, which triggers its siren and sends you a smartphone alert.  The device plugs into an outlet for constant power and comes with a 6.5-foot-long (extendable) water-sensing cable that you run from the detector along floors and/or around pipes. You can also buy a 6.5-foot-long cable extension for $20 to increase its reach.

The Cube is not specifically intended for pet tracking but to help people keep track of a range of possessions, including cars, luggage, and kids backpacks, as well as pets. That puts the Cube at a disadvantage as a pet tracker, despite its competent core tracking abilities. The device is relatively large and heavy, but most dog collars won’t fit through its thin slots, so you need to purchase an add-on collar clip for $25. More significantly, the app lacks pet-specific features like fitness and activity tracking and a light beacon for spotting your dog at night.

On the other hand, it does let you set a home “safe zone” and virtual fence, and does emit a fairly loud sound alert. It’s also very solidly constructed, creates detailed and easy-to-read location histories, and, like the Link, is capable of delivering high-temperature alerts.

The Link pet tracker, which is near it best price, has a very bright light for spotting your dog in the dark. And unlike some other models, the activity tracking features of the app differentiate between minutes spent walking and running. That can be a useful feature if you want to make sure your dog gets some high-intensity exercise each day. It also monitors ambient temperature to alert you if the environment is too hot or cold. But the app doesn’t record or map its location history, something that many other trackers do.

This automatic feeder allows pet owners to schedule up to three meals a day in any desired quantity. The device has a maximum capacity of 26 cups and can be programmed to give out meals as small as 2 teaspoons.

This is the standard discount for this feeder.

Casper, the same company that sells mattresses, designed its Casper Dog Bed, which ranges from $139 to $249 depending on size, with two layers of foam construction (including memory foam), a soft nylon-polyester-olefin cover that fits tautly over its rectangular cushion, and raised bolsters around all four sides. Whereas our first impression of the FurHaven bed was “soft” and “cozy,” this pick gives off a sturdier and more structured appearance and feel. The cover is removable and machine washable and comes in three sizes to accommodate dogs up to 90 pounds. (Note: We wish it was offered in a larger size to suit really big breeds.) Casper offers a 30-night risk-free trial and one-year limited warranty, so you have the option of returning the bed if your dog doesn’t take to it.