Best Monitors We’ve Tested in 2022

Though money’s tight for a lot of folks right now, the days of desperately hunting for a £200 monitor for every member of a suddenly working-and-schooling-at-home family are long gone. 

Now you have time to think about whether that emergency purchase still suits your needs. (Has your isolation-induced interest in gaming or design changed your priorities?) You also have the time to budget for a new model you’re aspiring for. Read more: How to Buy a Gaming Monitor

Which is the best monitor?

As with many categories of tech products, “best” can be quite subjective regardless of how objective your testing is. For instance, I prioritize color accuracy over thin bezels and sleek curves.

So I tend to refer to my top picks as “favorites” (or “top picks”) rather than “bests.” And while expensive monitors aren’t necessarily better than cheaper ones, you usually have to spend more or make compromises, especially for more specialized displays for color work or gaming. With that in mind, my favorite overall monitor from the pool I’ve tested this year is the Alienware 34 QD-OLED. It’s pricey at £1,300, but it has great image quality, excellent color and class-leading gaming performance.

It’s also widescreen, which is a perk for work. A bigger screen but for a lot less is Innocn’s 40-inch 40C1R at £600. It’s not nearly as good, but it’s good enough all around — especially if you can find it when the price dips. 

I want you to know that between remote work and a move to new offices, it’s been a slow ramp-up this year for monitor testing and reviews, but you can start expecting a more consistent review schedule and updates to this list.   If you need advice on whether a particular type of monitor is right for you, there are some answers to common questions at the bottom of the list and a lot more guidance available in our general monitor and gaming monitor buying guides.