Yes, you can get GREAT guitar amps under $200 (our budget picks)

When it comes to the best guitar amps under $200, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed a drastic increase in product availability in this category over the last few years. Not only are there more options available, but the overall quality of the amps in this price range is profoundly better than it was even just 5 or 10 years ago.

As such, there’s never been a better time to buy an affordable amp. Whether you’re looking for something to practice, or even a gigging or recording amp, you’ll be able to find something that suits your budget. In this KillerGuitarRigs Review, we’ve picked 7 of the best amps under $200 on sale to prove to you that even if you don’t have much to spend, you’ll still have your pick of some great amps from big-name brands.

While reviewing these amps, we primarily looked at build quality, features, and of course, tone. So, if you’re in the market for a cheap amp that still sounds great, you’ll definitely want to keep on reading.

Read more about our review process.

Our Top 3

The Boss Katana Mini is our Top Pick for this article. This amp gives you 7 watts of power and three separate voicings in an easy-to-use and convenient unit for practice. 

Next up, we have the Blackstar Fly 3 Blue as our Best Budget option.  This small amp comes with a 3 watts battery powered fan, and even features Blackstar’s patented Infinite Shape Feature. A great choice for beginners, this is also one of the most portable options out there. 

Finally, The Fender Mustang LT40S is our Editor’s Choice. It comes loaded with an impressive 60 presets, and the ability to edit and save them. It offers plenty of power, and is still nice and compact, too.

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Individual Reviews

The Boss Katana Mini gives you 7 watts and comes in a combo form factor. With an analog gain circuit and three separate voicings, this amp delivers flexibility even at such a small size. 

We began by plugging in our PRS SE Silver Sky and chose the Crunch voice. Here we got a classic type of distortion, perfect for vintage rock tones. By rolling the gain back to the 9 o’clock position, we got a warm overdrive that worked well for both rhythm parts as well as leads. 

Next up, we tried the Clean voicing, which really delivered in terms of clarity and sparkle. It worked great for everything from country to funk and sounded great with the position 4 quack from the guitar. With just the bridge pickup selected, we also liked how the Clean voice accented the twang of our Strat-style guitar.

Finally, we checked out the Brown voicing, which was our favorite. This voicing gave us far more distortion, but it still retained clarity and offered great note separation. Punchy and articulate, the Brown voicing was great for both in-your-face leads and heavily saturated riffs and power chords. 

Despite being so small and convenient, the Katana Mini comes with a 3-band EQ which helped us fine-tune our tone to our liking in all of the three available voicings. The delay effect was also of great help and was particularly beneficial for adding texture to the cleans.

Verdict: The Boss Katana Mini gives 7 watts of power and three selectable voicings labeled Clean, Crunch, and Brown. In true Boss fashion, you also get a convenient and easy-to-use 3-band EQ and a delay effect. In short, a well-built and convenient amp that delivers in tone and versatility.

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The Blackstar Fly 3 Blue features 3 watts of power on a battery-operated unit that comes with Blackstar’s patented Infinite Shape Feature. With separate Clean and Overdrive channels, this amp is a great choice for beginners looking to get some practice hours under their hands. 

We loaded the Fly 3 Blue with 6 AA batteries in order to get started. Alternatively, you may choose to use a power supply (purchased separately), if you’d rather not keep burning through batteries.

We plugged in our PRS SE Silver Sky, added a bit of the onboard tape delay effect, and set the ISF dial fully clockwise, giving us a dark, moody Marshall-type tone that sounded great for such a small amp. 

When we turned the ISG counterclockwise, we got more of a cleaner Fender amp tone, which was good for rhythm work, open chords, etc. It seemed counterintuitive, as ISF acts pretty much like a tone knob, so we’d automatically assume that by turning it to the right, we’d get the clearer, brighter tone. 

Amazingly for such a small amp, it had 2 channels – clean and overdrive. Until this point, we’d run everything through the standard clean, and with the OD activated, we found that we got a surprisingly saturated crunch.

Because of its diminutive size, this amp excels as a practice tool for folks who live in an apartment or other environments where noise is frowned upon. Blackstar also included an MP3/Line in input, which we used to connect a smartphone via an ⅛” cable, and jammed along to some tracks in a convenient and intuitive fashion. 

Verdict: The Blackstar Fly 3 Blue is a battery-powered amp that features 3 watts of power. Loaded with Blackstar’s Infinite Shape Feature, you get some Marshall tones and Fender sounds as well in a truly convenient and portable practice amp. In conclusion, a stylish mini amp that excels for convenient practice on a simple-to-use and inexpensive unit.

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The Fender Mustang LT40S comes loaded with features, including 20 amp models and 60 presets. The first thing we noticed (and loved) about this amp was its seamless and intuitive control panel, complete with a backlit display, so we were able to keep track of the many included presets.

We began our tests and got great tone on the two 4-inch speakers featured on this Mustang amp. We were able to fine-tune each of the presets via the two-band EQ, as well as the gain knob. To make the most of this amp, we downloaded Fender’s free Tone LT Desktop app, where we were able to edit, save, and organize presets for recalling them later. 

Circling through the many presets, we got everything that we consider basic and then some, from shimmering cleans to crazy high-gain distortion. Because the menus were so easy to navigate, we had a ton of fun going through all of the options and presets.

Despite offering 40 watts of power, this amp only weighed 12.5 lbs, making it a very convenient option for smaller stages and jam sessions. For further convenience, the LT40S also featured an onboard tuner and a tap tempo feature. Also, this amp can be used as a stand-alone unit without the need to have your pedalboard, as there are plenty of onboard effects. That said, this amp also takes pedals really well. 

Verdict: The Fender Mustang LT40S delivers great stereo tone and vast sonic options, making it a very convenient choice. Featuring two 4-inch speakers and 20 amp models that you can edit and save, this amp is a fantastic choice. To summarize, an excellent choice that delivers for both practicing and smaller gigs, with great convenience and ease of use.

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The Roland CUBE-10GX features seemingly endless effects, amp models, and more, thanks to Roland’s evolving COSM technology. We were able to use a smartphone to download new COSM amp models and also had the ability to edit and save them for later recall. 

We plugged into the CUBE-10GX to run our tests and loved how easy to use this amp was. Even though this amp offers just 10 watts of power, we found it to be plenty loud.  Like the Katana-Mini (Roland is Boss’ parent company), it came with three voice types, labeled Clean, Crunch, and Lead – in fact, the Clean and Crunch sounded remarkably similar to the Katana-Mini, and the Lead sounded just like the Lead setting on the larger Katana amps we’ve played previously. 

We started with Clean, which gave a pretty good sound for such a small amp. We added a bit of delay via the effect knob on this amp, which also offers Chorus and Reverb.

Moving on to Crunch, we got a good overdrive that we think sounded best with the gain dialed back a bit. This setting was good for playing some blues and soft rock and even practicing some jazz-inspired lines.  

Finally, we dialed in the Lead voice, where we got a nice tone for highly distorted lines and riffing, perfect for practicing our metal chops and other high-gain techniques. In case the noise proves to be too much, this amp also came with a headphone out for silent practice. This is a fantastic feature for any practice amp, as many players need to practice at inconvenient hours that do not allow for any noise.

Although the CUBE-10GX comes with an aux input that allows you to connect a playback device via cable so you can play along to tracks, we found this feature to be a bit dated. Needless to say, Bluetooth connectivity is a superior option that we wish this amp had. 

Verdict: The Roland CUBE-10GX is a small combo amp that gives you three voices and great portability. With onboard effects and a 3-band EQ, you can dial in your practice tone in a simple and intuitive way. In essence, the 10GX is a good practice amp, with its greatest strength being portability and convenience.

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The Roland MOBILE Cube AC offers 5 watts of power on two 4-inch speakers. This amp is truly tiny and can even squeeze into some gig bag pockets, making it perfect for players who don’t have much space and are on a tight budget.

With our Taylor 314 at hand for these tests, we plugged in and got a fantastic organic acoustic tone for such a little amp. We added a bit of chorus and reverb from the onboard effects in order to spice up our tone and give it a bit more depth with a nicer feel. 

One of our favorite aspects of this amp is just how uncomplicated the control panel was. This makes it a great choice for beginners who are looking for their very first amp or for players in the market for an uncomplicated amp to spread their acoustic playing to a bigger audience. 

The Roland Mobile Cube AC excels not only in practicality and convenience but also in portability. This amp can give the user up to 15 hours of use via six AA batteries. Because of the compact size and subsequent reduced feature set, this amp was a bit limited in terms of how much control we had to dial in our tone, but if you don’t need a ton of EQ options, it’s still a great choice.

Verdict: The Roland MOBILE Cube AC gives you 5 watts of stereo sound on two 4-inch speakers. If you are in the market for an affordable acoustic guitar amp that you can take anywhere, this is a good choice. In conclusion, a good starting amp for acoustic guitars with fantastic convenience and portability.

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The Positive Grid Spark GO features 5 Watts of power on a 2-inch Speaker. Despite the impossibly small size of this unit, we still got four onboard presets for maximum versatility. 

To get the most out of the Spark Go, we downloaded the Spark app (available on both iOS and Android) on our smartphone. Here we found an impressive 50,000 patches and were able to put a good few of them through their paces. There were plenty of good tones to be had here, from bright cleans to punchy overdrive and all the way to over-the-top high gain distortion and ethereal modulated tones.

One of our favorite features on the Spark Go was the USB-rechargeable battery. The advertised battery life was eight hours, and even though we were pushing it hard, we still got around 7 hours of use before needing to recharge.

As hilarious as it would be to show up to a gig with this amp, it’s patently obvious that it was made for jamming and practice, and delivers a good natural sound for its size. Positive Grid made sure to include Bluetooth functionality, which really added to the versatility. We paired the Spark Go with our smartphone and were able to play along with some backing tracks, as well as play on top of our favorite solos. This is a fantastic feature that makes a big difference in convenience for a practice amp. 

We also loved some of the other useful features included, such as the built-in tuner, line out, and headphone jack for silent practice. However, this amp may be too small for anyone who wants to jam with other people or play live. 

Verdict: The Positive Grid Spark GO is one of the only truly pocket-sized amps on the market, and still, it comes loaded with useful features and works together with the Spark App. With Bluetooth connectivity, a built-in tuner, and a surprising depth of tone, this is a fantastic practice amp for beginners. For players who are just starting out, it is hard to beat the Spark Go.

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The Fender Mustang LT 25 comes loaded with features that allow the user to dial in pretty much any guitar tone imaginable.  With 20 amp models, 25 effects, and 50 presets, this amplifier from Fender’s popular Mustang Series delivers tons of flexibility with vast editing options. 

Fender did a great job designing a straightforward and intuitive control panel for this amp. We auditioned several of the presets with our PRS SE Silver Sky and got everything from shimmering cleans to metal distortion. We were able to alter all of the presets via the 2-band EQ onboard and the Gain knob and save them for later use.

We liked the sound we got out of the 1 x 8″ Fender Special Design speaker. At 25 watts of power, we were able to get a good amount of player dynamics to come through, which is a great feature to have, especially for more experienced guitarists. 

Other features like the onboard tuner and a tap tempo also added to the overall value of this amp and were great to have at our disposal. Unfortunately, the glaring omission here is Bluetooth connectivity. Although this amp does have a 1/8″ Aux in for connecting a portable player, this feature is outdated as Bluetooth has become the norm as it is far greater in terms of convenience. 

Verdict: The Fender Mustang LT 25 is a versatile and convenient amplifier that delivers 25 watts of power. It comes with a simple and intuitive control surface that allows the user to quickly audition different presents, edit them, and save them if need be. This is a good practice amp that can also be used for select small gigs, with plenty of tones and the ability to edit them.

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How to Choose the Right Amp For You

When shopping for the best guitar amp under $200, there are a few things to keep in mind. The most important is to understand that amps at that price range will excel in portability and convenience but may fall short if you are looking to play live.   

This is not to say that you cannot get a good and usable sound from these amps, but know that they are designed for practice or for very small venues at best. 

With that said, below are a few considerations to take into account when shopping for your ideal amp under $200.

Sound Quality

There can be a big difference in tone between amps in this price range. Try to aim for an amp that produces clear, balanced tones and suits your playing style and genre. In other words, if your main genre is metal, make sure that the amp can give you a decent high-gain tone. On the other hand, if your focus is straight ahead jazz, a good clean tone is the priority.

Versatility

Take into account how much versatility the amp offers. We’re specifically talking about sounds and features. Consider whether you need multiple channels to switch between different tones, built-in effects such as reverb or delay, and Bluetooth connectivity. 

Durability

Although you’re working within a budget, it’s essential to choose an amp that is built to last. Look for solid construction, quality components, and a brand reputation. Some amps are better built than others, and the difference between a good amp and a bad one is extremely apparent in this price range.

Power

Consider the wattage of the amp, keeping in mind your intended use and environment. If you primarily play at home or need a practice amp, lower wattage options will be enough. However, if you plan to play jam sessions or smaller venues like coffee shops, then higher wattage is essential to ensure you have adequate volume. 

Size

Additionally, consider the physical size and portability of the amp. This is especially important if you’ll be transporting it frequently, particularly if you use public transportation or walk a lot.

As usual, try to test as many amps as possible. Even though listening and reading reviews online may help, there is no replacement for actually trying the amp yourself.

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Final Thoughts

As we’ve learned in this roundup, there are tons of great options when it comes to amps under $200. Some are simple, others offer tons of features, and others even offer full modeling capabilities. There are some models that will fit in your pocket and others that are far bigger.

It is essential that you understand your needs and preferences in order to pick the right amp for you. In this guide, we’ve provided several options, all of them for different needs and tastes. 

To recap our top choices for this article, the Boss Katana Mini is our Top Pick for this article. This amp gives you 7 watts of power and three separate voicings in an easy-to-use and convenient unit for practice. 

The Blackstar Fly 3 Blue was our Best Budget option.  This small amp comes with 3 watts of power and offers a battery operation while featuring Blackstar’s patented Infinite Shape Feature. A great choice for beginners, this is also one of the most portable options out there. 

Finally, The Fender Mustang LT40S was our Editor’s Choice. It comes loaded with an impressive 60 presets and the ability to edit and save them. This is a fantastic choice for players looking for the best amp under $200 and who aren’t worried about spending to the top end of the budget.