Editor’s Choice: If you’re looking for the best acoustic guitar under $200, Yamaha FG800 is a good choice. It’s got a laminated spruce top with basswood back and sides, and a 20-fret hardwood fretboard. For cheap-savvy and budget-seekers, it’s a highly recommended guitar.
When it comes to passion, money should never be an issue—always go for it. Guitar playing is one of the most affordable instruments available in the market. Although the general rule is that the more expensive the better, it does not come without an exception.
There are actually a lot of cheap yet really good guitars out in the market that is priced competitively for those who have a tighter budget but still want to pursue their passion for guitar playing. And today, we’re looking into the best acoustic guitars under $200 that are perfect for your budget.
Contents
The 10 budget acoustic guitars under $200 in 2024
- Yamaha FG800
- Epiphone DR-100
- Fender FA-100
- Ibanez IJV50
- Jasmine S34C NEX
- Glen Burton GA204BCO-BK
- Rogue RA-090
- Jasmine S35
- Fender CD-140SCE
- Kona K2
Runner Up | Editor's Choice | Also Great |
 |  |  |
Yamaha FG800
The Yamaha FG800 is great for beginners and advanced players alike. Despite its cheaper price, Yamaha made sure not to compromise its rich tone and robust build to ensure a longer-lasting play with this model.
It features a solid spruce top with scalloped bracing, Nato/Okume back and sides, chrome tuners, a rosewood fretboard, a tortoiseshell pickguard, and an adjustable truss rod which not only makes it look good, but also sound good at a very affordable price making it a good choice for beginners and those who are in a tight budget.
Pros
- Warm and boomy sound
- Robust structure
- Great value for money
Cons
- Very high action, needs adjustment
- Low to no pick-up
- Appearance-wise, nothing unique
Epiphone DR-100
This affordable-priced Epiphone DR-100 is a force to be reckoned with! Boasting a fingerboard made from rosewood, a select spruce top, a 14-degree headstock that gives you more pressure at the nut and finishes available in ebony, natural and vintage sunburst, this guitar is surely more than what you are paying for.
Pros
- Great projection and volume
- Great projection and volume
- Great playability
Cons
- Neck dries out easily in warm climates
- High probability of fret buzzing
- High action
Fender FA-100
This guitar offers great Fender sound quality at an affordable price, perfect for beginners or those who are trying not to break their banks.
The Fender FA-100 acoustic guitar features a spruce top with X bracing that produces that full and resonant sound, body binding, the exclusive Fender headstock shape, Fender pickguard, smooth-playing 20-fret hardwood fingerboard, rosewood bridge with compensated saddle, forward strap button with internal block reinforcement, and chrome hardware.
Being a well-equipped guitar, this model is suitable for almost all styles of music making it a great purchase for its price.
Pros
- Full-dreadnought body
- The rich and vibrant tone
- Stays in tune for a long time
Cons
- Relatively poor playability
- Not that great sound quality
- Has a high action
Ibanez IJV50
This awesome guitar boasts a dreadnought design responsible for delivering that punchy, clear and strong sound. Because of its sturdy build, fret buzzing will not be an issue even with those powerful strums that this guitar will be receiving.
The Ibanez IJV50 features a top that is made of spruce, neck made from rosewood, with a pickguard to protect the finish from any accidental scratches as well.
Pros
- Sturdy build
- Produces great sound
- Has a great neck stability
Cons
- Mediocre guitar
- Not so versatile sound
- The stock string is very bad
Jasmine S34C NEX
The Jasmine S34C comes with a big, bold sound and excellent features that represent exceptional performance at a low price.
Perfect suited for any player seeking a well-built and easy-playing guitar, this model offers a select spruce top with Jasmine guitar’s signature Advanced “X” Bracing, while the back and sides are made of agathis, making it light but definitely sturdy.
The slim neck and full 25 1/2″ scale length body provides a comfortable feel with excellent playability, while the smooth satin finish maximizes resonance for optimal sound quality making it good to the feel and luxurious to the touch with a rather stellar sound with it.
To top it all of, this model also features a rosewood fingerboard and bridge, full body binding and chrome tuners making it look sleek while sounding great.
Pros
- Cheapest in this price range
- Balanced and rich tone
- Light and fun guitar
Cons
- May need frequent tuning
- Has an average build
- Action is high
Glen Burton GA204BCO-BK
If you are looking for an affordable full package with a great guitar, have the Glen Burton GA204BCO-BK. It’s made with flame top and basswood back and sides. The neck and bridge are made of Catalpa with the fingerboard made of rosewood. Bridget Craft USA musical instruments has successfully designed this amazing guitar.
Included in the package are the strings, picks, strap, Digital Clip-on tuner, Truss Rod and the 10W amplifier. It also has an Active 4 Band 7545 equalizer onboard. Though there are a lot of accessories already, some of them aren’t offered at the best quality. The steel strings and the truss rod might need replacing before using. But, overall, it’s a great guitar package for its price.
Pros
- Amazing for the money for a beautiful guitar
- Frets are nicely done and don’t have sharp edges
- Smooth tuners and the guitar is easily tuned
- Warm tone and projects well with no vibrations
- Good neck relief and the nut is also perfectly cut
Cons
- The free practice amp included is not that great
- Action could be a bit lower
- But can be done with modification
- The guitar finish is quite lacking
- Accessories are not of good quality
Rogue RA-090
In the guitar market that is filled with big names and brasnds, it’s kind of confusing to really pick out the best guitar with great features at an affordable price. However, there is one product that has been close to the heart of those in search of cheap, yet reliable guitars. And, that is the Rogue RA-090.
This guitar effectively used its dreadnought body to produce great sound quality. It’s made with laminated whitewood body with a beautiful glossy finish, responsible for giving powerful mid-range punch. The Nato neck gives more sustain without losing any strength in tone.
The maple bridge and fingerboard adds clarity to each note. This has a total of 20 frets. Aside from black, it also comes in sunburst and natural color options.
Pros
- Has low string action with good deep tone
- You’ll get enough volume from this guitar
- Easily tuned and sounds really nice
- Stays in tune well, no need for constant tuning
Cons
- Much easier to play if you replace it with lighter strings
- Better to have a gig bag or at least a cheap pick for its price
- Some players complained that the sound isn’t crisp and muddy
- Pickguard seems cheap
Jasmine S35
A great-looking dreadnought guitar, Jasmine S35 is made of Spruce top and laminated Agathis back and sides with a satin finish. The easy-to-use tuning machines are covered with chrome, while the fretboard is made of rosewood. The slick fretboard has 20 frets with chrome hardware.
From treble to bass, you’ll never go wrong with this acoustic guitar. It has the X-bracing to ensure that the guitar remains stable. Everything else is pretty straightforward with a down-to-earth natural finish. However, the initial setup isn’t that easy. You need to go to a local shop and have a professional luthier make the necessary adjustments for you.
With great styling and time-tested construction, this guitar is built to last and it sounds powerful and clean. Since it’s offered at an affordable price, this is perfect for beginners who want to learn to play guitar.
Pros
- Has decent and easy to use tuners
- Guitar has a comfortable feel
- Especially on the neck
- Full dreadnought size that gives a fairly balanced sound
- Good sounding
- Solidly built starter guitar
Cons
- The low-end response could be better
- Needs professional setup to play this guitar well
- Tuners work, but they seem entry-level
- Guitar is light
- Almost mean fragile
Fender CD-140SCE
A single-cutaway 12-string dreadnought body like Fender CD-140SCE is a great buy, especially at its price tag. You can achieve a more robust tone with this kind of guitar.
Since it features an “Easy-To-Play” neck, it’ll be very comfortable for beginners and even intermediate players to try different playing styles. Plus, the rolled edges of the fingerboard, you can play for as long as you want without any problem.
It has a solid Spruce top with scalloped X bracing, along with the rosewood back, sides and fingerboard, this is really a capable instrument. You can achieve bright and responsive tone because of the Spruce top. It also boosts the Fishman’s acclaimed Presys preamp, built-in tuner, 3-band EQ and a phase button, so you can have more freedom optimizing the sounds it produces.
Simply plug the guitar into the Presys preamp and play any kind of music you enjoy.
Pros
- Plays nice and produces sharp and clear sounds
- Excellent craftsmanship and the wood used
- Has Fishman pickup system
- Also produces big vibrate sounds
Cons
- Some quality control issues with the parts
- Left hand needs to rest in multiple surfaces
- Making it uncomfortable
- Not a complete package for its price
Kona K2
You want a perfect balance between electronic guitar feel and acoustic guitar tone, you’ll get it from Kona K2. You can exactly get a balanced sound without sacrificing large body adjustments, especially for small players. It’s made of a Spruce top with a natural high gloss finish, plus mahogany back and sides.
Crafted with 4-ply binding on the body and single-ply binding on the neck and headstock. This guitar has a thin body and dreadnought-size cutaway features EQ-505 3-Band Active Piezo Pick-up system. It has die-cast tuners and two Gold Strap pins.
You have a rosewood fretboard with 20 frets and a rosewood bridge. It’s 41-inch long, 3-inch deep, with 25.75-inch scale length. You got the D’Addario strings upon purchase, including two pickguards, polishing cloth and neck wrench.
Pros
- Sound is great
- Not too bassy and not too light
- Has a functional truss rod included in your purchase
- Thin, yet perfect neck
- EQ and electronic pickup works well
- Nicely finished with high gloss
- Really looks great
Cons
- It has some horrible buzzing out of the box
- The binding on the neck seems “rough cut” and not sanded
- Input jack is cheaply made
- Fell into the body of the guitar
Buying Guide
Acoustic guitars come in different kinds and different prices. Of course, there are wonderful, undoubtedly expensive acoustic guitars, but, there are also cheaper guitars.
ALSO READ: Our ultimate list of the best acoustic guitars
What we included above are just some of the best acoustic guitars under $200. There is a lot more in the market. And, comparing them one by one takes time and effort. The more you compare products, the more confused you can be. So, we made this list.
However, for those of you who are looking for more options, we also include some proven guidelines for you to be directed to your search. Without further ado, here are the best practices we also used when compiling the products on this list:
Playing Style
Now, this is something you need to consider before planning to buy a guitar. Your preference. There are a lot of acoustic guitars on the market. You have the nylon-string guitar, steel-string acoustic guitar or electro-acoustic guitars. If you want to play classical music or want mellow and rich tones, go for a guitar with nylon strings.
Likewise, if you want clear, crisp and some twangy sound perfect for playing blues and country or pop, have the steel-string guitars.
Furthermore, even if you are still a beginner and you have big dreams to perform to concert halls or stadium, well go for the latter. Go for an acoustic guitar that can be plugged into an amplifier or buy the one with a bundled amplifier so you can practice yourself playing with it before your performance.
You can further refer to Uberchord for more details about these three.
Comfortable Neck and Body
The beautiful sound of the guitar will only come out naturally if you are comfortable playing your guitar. So, before anything else, you need to really feel the guitar and try playing with it.
Although you can live with it later, you could have a great advantage if you are comfortable with your guitar. Aside from the neck, you also see to it that the body of the guitar is perfect for you. Both the neck and the body should have a profile that feels natural to you.
Neck profiles
Since we mentioned comfortable neck and body. There are three common neck profiles found in low-cost guitars. You can have the “C” profile, “U” profile and the “V-neck” profile. For smaller hands, the C-shaped neck is recommended since it’s the thinnest.
Most players find the U-shaped neck more comfortable because it gives less space between the palm of the fretting hand and the neck. You can easily play around with chords and progression. The V-shaped neck takes some angular approach, which may take time to get accustomed to, especially for beginners who just held a guitar in their life.
Tonewoods
There are three most common wood types used in crafting guitars – maple, mahogany, and ash, says Music Notes. However, at this price point, most guitars come out laminated, but there are still some that are offered in solid tops. Maybe look for solid top guitars to get started. There are many manufacturers in the market right now that are offering solid tops at this price point.
Solid Hardware Quality
This is also another thing that you need to consider. Ensure that you get a guitar with reliable tuners and strings. If you have a low-quality tuner, your guitar will always go out of tune and you need to stop playing and start tuning the guitar again. In order to be sure, you need to check the locking tuners like the chrome tuners.
Likewise, for the strings, this will also affect the sound you produce and the playability of the guitar. Strings, however, can easily be upgraded to better ones, unlike the tuners.
Fretwork
If the frets are smooth, it feels really comfortable with your fingers and not cause buzzing. Sharp fret edges are an indication of poor manufacturing, and therefore, not quality-made. However, if you think that the edges are the only problem with the guitar, you can have a guitar tech polish it and smooth it for better playability.
Accessories
Most guitars offered in this price range also include accessories. Some complained about getting cheap gig bags or low-quality straps. But, you get what you paid for. Not all the time, though. Just be careful not to get too excited on the accessories.
Avoid getting plastic components like tuners, bridges, and saddles. Though cost-effective and very enticing to have, they are prone to snapping and may affect the way you play. So, stay steered!
Value
It isn’t wrong to consider a brand when buying an acoustic guitar. There are brands that really do excel in quality even on their cheap guitars. The above-mentioned brands are among the trusted ones you can get reliable guitars from.
Good hardware and nice tonewoods are the best judges when selecting a great guitar under this price range. So, not only will you look into cheaper guitars, you’ll also look into something that gives more value.
Since you are looking for the cheapest acoustic guitar you can go, it’s very important that you’ll really study the guitar before jumping into buying one.
The more factors you consider, the narrower your options are, the better your choice will be. So, follow these tips to be able to successfully get a great acoustic guitar that won’t really break the bank.
Editor’s Choice
Yamaha FG800 is the best acoustic guitar under $200. It’s definitely the best cheap guitar for budget-seekers. Moreover, this dreadnought guitar offers the best features at the cheapest price when compared to its close competitors, which is the Fender FA-100 and Epiphone DR-100.