Best Electric Guitars under $200 in 2023: Buyer’s Guide

August 20, 2023

Are you looking for a really affordable electric guitar under $200? This is the cheapest category on the market, but you can still find a good guitar at this price point if you know where to look.

On that note, this post examines ten of the best models under $200 on the 2023 market, with an included buyer’s guide to help you know what to look for when purchasing your next instrument.

Table of Contents

1. Epiphone Les Paul Special VE

If you are looking for a low-cost Les Paul, the best you can do is possibly the Epiphone Les Paul Special Vintage Edition (VE). It is slightly more expensive than the entry-level Melody Maker, but can nevertheless be found for less than $200, which is somewhat remarkable.

Of course, it will not be on par with more expensive Epiphone Les Pauls (and Gibsons even less so). It comes with a bolt-on neck and less sophisticated electronics. However, much like the original, the Les Paul Special VE will handle a broad range of genres, from country to heavy rock and metal.

The vintage worn finish is very attractive considering the price point, and the materials include a poplar body and a mahogany neck fitted with a rosewood fretboard. Also, it will not weigh you down, as it is both thin and light.

2. Squier Sonic Mustang

The Fender-made Squier Bullet Mustang was a go-to entry-level guitar for years and it has now been superseded by the similar but lighter Squier Sonic Mustang.

It features the classic offset double-cutaway shake, and comes in a variety of finishes. The slim body of the guitar makes it easy to travel with, and the shortened neck allows for good playability. If this guitar were to have a flaw, it might be the hardware.

Although the makeup and build of the guitar are not bad per se, players will notice that it is pretty basic. This is evident when looking at the plastic nut and stock pickups.

The buckers on the guitar are controlled by a master volume and master tone knobs, which are placed on a traditional chrome strip. Also, the guitar features a three-way toggle switch on the pickguard.

Even though one might consider this guitar “basic,” the sound of it is overall perceived as quite impressive considering the price tag. It may not be powerful enough to handle bigger stages, but the two stock humbuckers that come with the guitar are powerful enough to make it stand out among entry-level guitars.

The Bullet Mustang HH is versatile enough to use for blues, punk rock, or indie. As a bonus, it has no single-coil hum.

3. Ibanez Gio GRX70

Ibanez produces a wide variety of guitars in all price ranges. The GRX70 is a solid-body model introduced in the entry-level GIO lineup. It was launched in 2011 and has been a best-seller since.

The GRX70 comes with a basswood body with an impressive finish that successfully imitates flame maple veneer. It has a bolted-on maple neck with a 22-fret purpleheart fingerboard.

Other highlights include three Powersound pickups that provide plenty of versatility in combination with the 5-way switch. The bridge and neck humbuckers are ready for anything from heavy rock to blues, whereas the mid-mounted single-coil will deliver clear and warm tones.

On the whole, it is difficult to find better value for under $200 than what you get with the Ibanez GRX70.

4. Kramer Baretta Special

While it’s hard to call Kramer Baretta Special at all versatile, it is quite competent when it comes to metal and heavy rock. The Kramer Baretta was originally released in the early 1980s and designed for none other than Eddie Van Halen.

Now, Kramer is reissuing it in the form of this Baretta Special, while also taking the opportunity to launch it at the very low price of $180.

Some cutbacks obviously had to be made to reach this price point: The Floyd Rose locking tremolo and the original, coil-splittable Seymour Duncan pickup had to go, but most other features are more or less intact.

And by that we mean a very small but highly focused feature set. There is still only one zebra-style humbucker and a single volume knob on the Baretta Special, but the body material is real mahogany, and the neck is maple. And it still shreds.

5. Squier Bullet Stratocaster HT

If a strat is what you want, you can have this one for $199.99. Needless to say, you have to adjust your expectations when comparing this to Squier’s pricier Affinity and Classic Vibe Stratocaster models, but the familiar feel and sound of a strat is still here.

The Bullet HT comes with a genuine poplar body, while the neck is maple with an Indian laurel fingerboard. Solid wood instad of laminate materials like guitar-grade plywood is always welcome at this price point.

As for the electronics arrangement, the Bullet Strat HT uses the standard strat setup with three single coils and a 5-way switch, plus volume and tone controls. The included pickups are no-frills, Standard Single-Coil Strat variants that will nevertheless reproduce the authentic sounds that strat enthusiasts expect.

6. Jackson Dinky Arch Top JS22

Another metal-oriented axe that offers a lot of value at this very low price point is the entry-level Jackson Dinky JS series, and more specifically the Dinky Arch Top JS22. This guitar features basic but high-output humbucking pickups in both the neck and bridge positions, which are quite suitable for anything from high-gain blues to metal.

At just under $200, the materials are also impressive. The JS22 comes with an arched poplar body and a really fast-playing maple neck with an amaranth fretboard. The neck has been reinforced with graphite, and the 12″-16″ compound-radius fingerboard offers 24 jumbo frets and Jackson-style sharkfin inlays.

For the money, the JS22 is a bargain for aspiring rock guitarists. You can get in in blue, white, black or natural oil finishes

7. Epiphone SG Special VE

The original Gibson SG intended as as successor to the Les Paul. It has some advantages over the latter in the form of a thinner, lighter and more ergonomic body while offering the same versatility. It is perhaps most remembered as the go-to choice of Angus Young, but numerous other big-name guitarists have also used it through the years. SG refers to Solid Guitar.

This Epiphone SG Special VE (Vintage Edition) is the most affordable incarnation of the SG from Gibson’s value brand so far and sells for as little as $200. Although it comes with quite a few compromises compared to the original, it has retained the SG look and feel as well as overall sound. In this case, you have to settle for a bolt-on neck and a poplar body instad of mahogany. Also, the neck is okoume with a rosewood fretboard.

Instead of 2+2 volume/tone control knobs on the Epiphone/Gibson SG Standard, the Special VE has been limited to one of each. The neck pickup on the Special is a 650R Ceramic-8 whereas the bridge houses a 700T Ceramic-8.

All these differences aside, the Epiphone SG Special VE does sound a lot like the original – and certainly, like a guitar that costs a lot more than $200.

8. Squier Bullet Telecaster

Fender’s value-oriented brand Squier offers most of the classic Fender designs in low-cost versions and the classic Telecaster is no exception. The entry-level Bullet Telecaster is not only one of the cheapest Telecaster-type guitars on the market, but also one of the most affordable electric guitars overall.

In spite of its low price, however, the Bullet Telecaster offers quite convincing specs. It comes with a poplar body and a maple neck with a laurel fretboard. The pickups, although pretty standard, seem to manage to produce that typical tele twang that buyers of this guitar would be looking for.

9. Epiphone Les Paul Special VE

Gibson’s Les Paul lineup is one of the most iconic and desirable of all time. It’s quite amazing that you can get one from Gibson subsidiary Epiphone for less than $200.

At this price point, some compromises have had to be made in terms of finish, hardware, and electronics, but Epiphone really nailed the basics on this one.

The Epiphone Les Paul Special VE features dual open-coil humbuckers that sound more than decent in combination with the poplar body. While you can’t split the humbuckers, a three-way switch and tone control are both included. You also get a highly playable LP-style neck and fretboard combo.