Best Deals Under $100
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With Labor Day coming up next weekend, sales are happening right now—and it’s not just large appliances and mattresses. Retailers are offering discounts on lots of other products too. And if you want to keep your spending limit low, I’ve got you covered. Not only is everything on this list under $100, but we’ve tested every last item, so I can confidently say that whatever you choose is going to be worth the money, even when they’re not on sale (but right now they are, making them even better buys).
To help budget-conscious shoppers who shouldn’t have to sacrifice quality for a low price, I’m digging up all the options that are at even better prices than usual right now and score well in CR’s tests. In addition to quality, we also consider price history, so you know exactly how much you’re saving and just how good each deal really is.
For more, visit our Deals hub, where I share my top picks from the sales on everything we test.
Air Fryers
The Instant Vortex 4 Plus Air Fryer 4QT is a standout for the legibility of its digital controls, relatively low noise levels, and ease of cleaning. What’s more, its square basket design makes it easy to fit in a small Pyrex dish or baking pan—great for turning out sweet treats. The measured 3-quart model has a 1-year warranty.
Dash may not have the same name recognition as Ninja or Cuisinart, but the 2.6-quart Dash Tasti-Crisp Ceramic DCAF26CM air fryer earns solid scores in CR’s tests and comes at a sale price that’s better than we’ve seen so far for this model. With food contact surfaces made of nonstick ceramic, it earns top marks for ease of cleaning even though it’s not dishwasher-safe. We found it runs more quietly than many other air fryer models to boot. The DCAF26CM has a small footprint, making it a smart choice for a dorm room or for those with limited counter space.
The Instant Vortex Slim air fryer, which typically sells for $120, is at a new low price thanks to this on-page coupon. It’s an all-around strong performer, with intuitive controls and quiet operation, and we found it pretty easy to clean, too. At 11 inches in width and 12 inches in height, it won’t be overly obtrusive on your countertop, though it is fairly deep (18 inches). It has a measured capacity of 4.9 quarts, five cooking modes (air fry, broil, bake, roast, and reheat), and one-touch programs to cook a range of foods, including wings, vegetables, potatoes, cookies, and more. It comes with a 1-year warranty.
The Cuisinart AIR-200 air fryer features a digital display, a viewing window, and a shake reminder to ensure your food is evenly crispy. It can roast, bake, broil, and keep your food warm, plus it’s dishwasher safe. It hasn’t been a better price since last Black Friday, so you could wait a couple more months for better savings if you’re not in a hurry.
Bluetooth Speaker
The JBL Flip 7 is a classic do-it-all speaker. It’s small enough to stuff into a bag, but delivers enough sound to provide background music at a barbecue. It’s IP68 water-resistant and dust-proof, and the company claims you can drop it onto a concrete floor from a height of one meter and it’ll keep working. Also, according to JBL, it delivers 16 hours of music on a single charge.
The Sony ULT Field 1 is an amenable companion for a trip to the pool or the beach. It’s pleasant sounding with a strong impactful bass ideal for summer tunes. It doesn’t play super loud, but that’s largely a function of its modest size. It boasts an IP 67 rating, which means it’s well sealed from sand and dirt, and can take a modest dunking.
Headphones
Apple AirPods 4
While Apple claims the AirPods 4 are improved over the AirPods 3, our testers were less impressed. They’re still solid headphones if you prefer not to have eartips stuck in your ear. The fit, despite Apple’s tweaks, is pretty much the same as previous models, as is the sound. These headphones were $15 less for Black Friday, but they have stayed the same since Prime Day started.
The wireless Soundcore Space A40 earbuds showcase solid sound quality, as well as admirable noise reduction in our labs. And in our member surveys, the Soundcore brand receives favorable predicted reliability and owner satisfaction ratings. But what truly sets these buds apart is the below-$50 price, which makes them giftable and, if you’re inclined to misplace things, even abandonable without tears.
We saw these dip down to $42 or so during Prime Day, but right now, this is the best price out there, and it’s still better than usual.
Sleep
Despite the "cooling" in its name, this Nectar pillow doesn’t actually have cooling properties. Still, it’s one of the most breathable pillows we’ve evaluated, and our tests show that it doesn’t retain warmth. This polyurethane foam and polyester pillow is also quite resilient and excels at offering support for side sleepers. Back sleepers, however, would be better served by the Coop Original.
The Lucid 4" Gel Infused Memory Foam Mattress Topper is made with ventilated memory foam infused with cooling gel. Designed to add an extra layer of cushioning to an existing mattress, it features a plush feel and a breathable construction intended to help improve airflow.
This is now $10 less than we saw a few weeks ago.
Kitchen
The Keurig K-Supreme is back down to the same low we saw for Prime Day. It’s a top performer when it comes to first-cup speed, size consistency, and convenience. It also delivers subsequent cups quickly after the first, important if you plan to serve multiple cups. Its settings let you easily adjust the brew’s strength. Like many K-Cup machines, this coffee maker’s features include auto-shutoff, a removable reservoir, and a height-adjustable drip tray.
Oxo Stainless Steel Salad Spinner, 6.34 Qt
Oxo makes so many good kitchen utensils that it’s no surprise that this big spinner was among the top performers. It removed 97.7 percent of the water from our greens, making it the second best performer for drying behind the Farberware, above. This Oxo model can accommodate a max of 200.32 grams of dry salad mix, again, second to the winner. It’s the only stainless steel model we tested, so if you’re trying to cut down on your plastic purchases, this could be a good model for you.
CR’s engineers find that the Rubbermaid Brilliance food storage container set, with nine lidded glass containers, performs admirably in our tests of durability, seal quality, and ease of use. (The pieces range in size from three snack-appropriate 10-ounce boxes to a 64-ounce pack for lots of leftovers.) The rubber gaskets aren’t removable, though, so it may be a little tougher to clean than other sets. However, the containers are dishwasher-safe, freezer-safe, microwave-safe, and oven-safe (not including the lid).
The Meater+ meat thermometer is one of the most reliable digital thermometers. It’s easy to use, and given its top-notch accuracy, you won’t need guesswork to determine the doneness of brisket and other fleshy delights. It’s shaped like a thick ink pen with dual sensors—one for internal temperature and one for ambient temperature—and its size makes it better suited to girthier cuts. The Meater+ transmits temperature readings wirelessly to the companion smartphone app.
Floor Care
The GorFanty 10-in-1 MultiPurpose, which typically retails for $100, has hit an all-time low price for Prime Day, and it’s back to that discount following a $10 increase over the past several weeks. It is an excellent cleaner with a decent steam rate. It takes only 20 seconds for the steam mop to produce steam, and its steam can last for around 10 minutes on its maximum setting. We like that you can adjust the length of the mop to accommodate people of different heights. The mop comes with plenty of accessories, including attachments for cleaning tile grout, clothes, furniture, windows, and carpets.
The Black+Decker Flex BDH2020FL is impressive at cleaning, though it’s a bit noisy. We like that its dustbin is larger than most, so you won’t have to stop to empty it as often when you’re cleaning. It also comes with a long 4-foot hose, making it easier for you to access hard-to-reach places. Its current discount is on a par with the lowest price we’ve seen this vacuum sell for this year.
If you’re tired of lugging around a heavy hand vacuum while cleaning, you should consider the Shark Ion W1 WV201. At 1.4 pounds, it’s one of the lightest hand vacs we’ve tested. And despite its strong cleaning performance, it’s also fairly quiet. The downside is that its bin is on the small side, so you have to empty it frequently when tackling big messes.
Amazon and Walmart have the lowest prices out there right now, though they both offered this vac for $15 less during last week’s sales.
Smart Home
The Aqara Camera E1 is a strong performer, especially for video quality and alert response time. It can store footage on a microSD card (up to 512 gigabytes; sold separately) and offers plenty of features, including person detection, motorized pan-and-tilt so you can remotely change the camera’s view, and a privacy mode that will point the camera at a wall or ceiling.
Hair Styling Tools
Hot Tools Pro Artist Black Gold Evolve Ionic Salon Hair Flat Iron
Hot Tools hair styling tools are a common sight at hair salons, and for good reason—and this one just dropped $20 to boot. Our evaluators found that this flat iron heated up fast and was easy to use. It has variable heat settings to give users more control, and the plates are slightly longer than most straighteners, a feature that could be useful for styling longer hair. It’s important to note that the temperature consistency isn’t reliable and could vary by as much as 20° F from the set temperature during use. It has a 2-hour window before it automatically shuts off, so you’ll want to remember to unplug it after every use.
This was $20 less during Prime Day.
Massagers
Snailaxchair Shiatsu Back Massager With Heat
The Snailaxchair massager offers a combination of shiatsu massage and vibration. Our testers appreciated the slow-moving rollers along the back and agreed that the control pad was easy to use. It doesn’t offer any intensity adjustments, and our testers noted that the heat feature wasn’t very strong. The Snailax is good value, boasts the longest power cord of all of the models we tested, and was a favorite for a few of our testers. “I liked the Snailax most because of how the nodes moved slowly,” Michelle says. “I found it the most relaxing. Not super intense. The Goldilocks of massage pads for me.”
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