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The pandemic forced many people to be quite careful when it comes to spending money. Still, you cannot really avoid buying gifts for your loved ones. Well, to soften the blow, we’ve compiled a list of rather affordable gifts that you can consider buying. The list we’re talking about contains gift ideas that are all more affordable than $50.
In this list, you’ll find 12 products that are all technology-related, one way or the other. Truth be said, the vast majority of them are tech products. You may find one or two that are tech-related, but not necessarily tech themselves. In any case, these products are not listed in any specific order, and if you’re interested, the list is down below. In it, you’ll not only find products and their price tags, but also purchase links, and below that more information about each of these products.
| Product name | Cost | Where to buy |
| Amazon Echo Dot | $49.99 | Amazon, Best Buy |
| Anker PowerCore 10000 | $19.99 | Amazon |
| Logitech K480 | $34.99 | Amazon |
| Amazon Fire TV Stick | $49.99 | Amazon, Best Buy, B&H Photo |
| 8Bitdo Sn30 Pro+ | $49.99 | Amazon |
| Logitech G332 | $37.99 | Amazon |
| JBL GO 2 | $32.95 | Amazon, Walmart |
| AmazonBasics Laptop Table | $43.49 | Amazon |
| Roku Streaming Stick+ | $49.99 | Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart |
| Razer Basilisk Essential | $44.96 | Amazon, Walmart |
| TP-Link Kasa Smart Light Bulb | $21.99 | Amazon |
| Amazon Echo Wall Clock | $29.99 | Amazon |
Amazon Echo Dot
If you’re considering getting a good smart speaker to someone, and $50 is your budget, the Amazon Echo Dot is a great choice. This is the company’s newest Echo Dot speaker, the 4th-gen one. It offers a brand new design, and it does look both futuristic and homey at the same time. It basically looks like an orb with a splash of living room furniture on it, at least that’s the impression I’m getting.
This smart speaker does come equipped with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. You can also stream songs from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, and more. Controlling other smart home devices via this speaker is also possible, thanks to Alexa. This smart speaker is priced at $49.99, and it comes in three color variants. It comes in Charcoal, Glacier White, and Twilight Blue color options.
Amazon Echo Dot - Amazon, Best Buy
Anker PowerCore 10000
- Price: $19.99
- Buy: Amazon
If you know someone who constantly charges its smartphone, and / or other devices, then a power bank is the way to go when it comes to gifts. The Anker PowerCore 1000 is a great choice, no doubt. This power bank comes with a 10,000mAh battery built into it, and that’s plenty of power to go around. It can charge most smartphones twice over, before it’ll require a charge.
This power bank is not much to look at, truth be said, but that’s the whole point. It’s supposed to blend in with everything else you’re carrying, and just be there when you need it. You can charge up a wide range of devices using this power bank, and it also includes LED notification lights on its body. Those lights will indicate the charging status, and the battery status of the power bank itself.
Anker PowerCore 10000 - Amazon
Logitech K480
- Price: $34.99
- Buy: Amazon
Having a really good keyboard is important. It’s more important for some people than others, to be quite honest. More people require a multi-purpose keyboard these days, as they use it on more than one device. Well, if you know someone with such needs, the Logitech K480 keyboard is an excellent choice. This keyboard is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
So, it’s quite versatile. The best of all, you can connect this keyboard to more than one device at the same time. There is a round dial on the left side of the keyboard, which indicates to what device you’re connected to. A quick spin, and you’ll get connected to the other device. The keys on the keyboard are close to being chiclet, and there is also a smartphone / tablet stand on this keyboard.
Amazon Fire TV Stick
Amazon’s Fire TV stick is an excellent gift for any occasion. Not only is it quite affordable, but it’s also quite useful to have. If you know someone who watches a lot of TV, and still doesn’t have this thing, it’s a no brainer. Do note that you’ll need $49.99 in order to get it, at least from Amazon. This is a really small gadget that plugs into the HDMI port of a TV, and it does come with a remote controller.
This gadget does come with Alexa support out of the box, and there is also a voice function built into the remote. So, you can control the Fire TV stick with your voice. This is a 4K streaming media stick, by the way, and you can watch Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, HBO, and much more using it. Do note that you’ll need subscriptions for streaming services that are not free, of course.
Amazon Fire TV Stick - Amazon, Best Buy, B&H Photo
8Bitdo Sn30 Pro+
- Price: $49.99
- Buy: Amazon
Do you happen to know a gamer who needs a new joystick, look no further, the 8Bitdo Sn30 Pro+ is here. That name is quite a mouthful, but don’t let it fool you, as this is an excellent joystick. Playing games on a Nintendo Switch can be a drag without a dedicated joystick, and this one fits the bill, that’s for sure. That’s not the only device this thing is compatible with, though, not at all.
You can even connect this joystick with your Windows or MacOS device. If you do that, you’ll be able to further customize it via dedicated software for both platforms. You’ll be able to customize its sensitivity, remap buttons, and so much more. The joystick is quite comfortable to use, and it also looks quite nice. It is made out of plastic, but that’s not a bad thing. The build is solid, and it’s not too heavy.
Logitech G332
- Price: $37.99
- Buy: Amazon
A good gaming headset is not easy to find if you don’t have a better budget than $50. Well, the Logitech G332 fits the bill, and it currently costs only $37.99 on Amazon. These are not exactly high-end headphones, but they’re worth more than they cost, that’s for sure. This headset not only looks really great, but it’s quite comfortable to use. The sound is solid, and so is the microphone that is included.
You can use this headset to game on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, PC… basically anything you want. It comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack, so as long as the device supports it, you’re good to go. Its 6mm flip to mute microphone is a great touch, and volume controls are close by as well. This headset also includes large 50mm audio drivers on the inside, to boost sound quality / experience.
JBL GO 2
If you know an active person that you’d like to buy something for, well, how about a portable speaker? Better yet, how about the JBL GO 2, which is not only portable, but also waterproof. This small speaker actually offers quite a punch considering its size. It connects to your smartphone, or some other devices via Bluetooth, and it can play anything audio-related from those devices.
The speaker itself offers up to 5 hours of playback, and it has a built-in noise-canceling technology as well. That’s not something you expect to see in such a small body. You can drop this speaker in a puddle, or get stuck in a rain with it, and it should be just fine. It’s not a rugged speaker, but it is waterproof. It comes in three color variants, all of which are available on Amazon.
AmazonBasics Laptop Table
- Price: $43.49
- Buy: Amazon
This is one of those “not exactly a tech product, but…” devices. The AmazonBasics portable laptop table / stand is a great product to have if you use your laptop in bed a lot, for example. It is highly adjustable, so you can get it in that perfect position for you to work in, or simply use your laptop for whatever. You can place the top of the table at an angle, and the laptop won’t slip as there are laptop holders built-in.
This table is also adjustable when it comes to size, so it doesn’t really matter if you’re skinny or not. The whole thing is quite lightweight, and it comes in two variants. The smaller one can accommodate laptops up to 14 inches, while the larger one can handle laptops up to 17 inches. Both variants are priced at under $50, by the way, so both belong in this category. You’ll find links for both of them below.
AmazonBasics Laptop Table (medium size) - Amazon
AmazonBasics Laptop Table (large size) - Amazon
Roku Streaming Stick+
If the Amazon Fire Stick is not your cup of tea, maybe the Roku Streaming Stick+ is. This is also a 4K streaming stick, and it’s about the size of the one Amazon is offering. The purpose is the same, you can plug it into a TV’s HDMI port to stream content onto the TV. It’s a great gift that won’t break the bank, as it costs under $50. It also comes with a remote controller, which has the voice function built-in.
You can easily stream content from Netflix, Prime Video, HBO, Hulu with Live TV, Apple TV, The Roku Channel, Google Play, and so much more. You’ll need subscriptions for services that require them, of course. Using the device is extremely simple, it’s more or less a plug and play kind of deal. All you’ll need in order to use it, is an Internet connection, which is understandable. If you’re interested, you can now get it from Amazon.
Roku Streaming Stick+ - Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart
Razer Basilisk Essential
If you’re buying a gift for a gamer, and you know he needs a new mouse, well, Razer has plenty to offer. The Razer Basilisk Essential is one of the company’s more affordable offerings, and yet it’s quite a capable mouse. This is a wired mouse, by the way, so keep that in mind. On top of that, it’s an optical mouse, and it comes in a single color variant, black. That is something we’re used to seeing from Razer, though.
This mouse has the Chrome RGB lighting on it, and it comes with 7 programmable buttons. This is also a high precision mouse, hence the gaming usage. It comes with a 6,400 DPI optical sensor, and it offers on-the-fly sensitivity settings. It has dedicated DPI buttons for that, which are also programmable. This is an ergonomic mouse, on top of everything, and it’s quite comfortable to use.
Razer Basilisk Essential - Amazon, Walmart
TP-Link Kasa Smart Light Bulb
- Price: $21.99
- Buy: Amazon
Smart home gadgets are always good gift ideas, at least for techie people. Well, if you know someone like that, who happens to need a smart bulb, TP-Link’s Kasa smart light bulb is a great choice. This is also a great choice for someone who is not necessarily tech-savvy, but wants to get some smart gadgets, or is simply too lazy to get out of bed. This light bulb will add the ‘smart’ factor to your lighting.
This is a multi-color light bulb, and it does come with support for Alexa and Google Assistant as well. There are tons of colors to choose from here, and tons of dimming capabilities. This light bulb does not require you to set up a hub, or anything like that, all you need is WiFi. This light bulb requires a 2.4GHz WiFi connection, in case you were wondering. It is currently priced at only $21.99 on Amazon.
TP-Link Kasa Smart Light Bulb - Amazon
Amazon Echo Wall Clock
- Price: $29.99
- Buy: Amazon
If you know someone who needs a wall clock, the Amazon Echo Wall Clock is a great choice. Priced at only $29.99, this is a great product if you want to get a smart clock. Due to its design, it’ll fit into most living rooms, kitchens, or wherever else it’s supposed to go. Not only is it a nice, minimalistic watch, but it also provides smart features. Do note that this thing does require a compatible Echo device in order for its smart functions to be used.
This clock has a digital 60 LED display, which can show multiple timers set through an Echo device. Once you pair it with an Echo device, you can access Alexa through this clock. The Amazon Echo Wall Clock requires 4 AA batteries in order to work, it doesn’t come with a rechargeable one. Nobody wants to take their clock off the wall often, so… that’s probably a good choice.