Finding the best rifle scopes under $100 might seem like a challenge, but there are some great budget-friendly options out there. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a reliable, clear, and durable scope for hunting or target shooting. In this post, we’ll review some top picks that offer solid performance without breaking the bank. Whether you’re a beginner or just looking for an affordable backup, these scopes prove you don’t need to sacrifice quality for price.
1. PINTY Rifle Scope Red Dot Laser Combo
Highlight: Unsurpassed light transmission, uncompromising mechanical performance and clarity Rugged and long-lasting.
Constructive Review: I will update if any issues are holding, but initial impressions are very good, for much more than only $110. All comments about quality are by any standards, but also especially for the price.
Scope:
The scope quality is impressively good and the visuals are crisp. The reticle lights up well and gets bright. Your eye does have to be in the 1 perfect spot to get a good view of this scope, so no quick scope shots. The illumination does have some significant light bleed surrounding the inside of the scope, but not in the field of view and doesn’t subtract from the experience. (you have to look for it). I don’t know if this is present on expensive scopes, but I doubt it.Reflex:
Loved the look, clear crisp reticle. HATE the reflex sight ONLY because under the sight, but above the mount, there is a void with springs and screws for aiming. in this void is the EXPOSED electronics and circuitry for the sight. you can see the solder joints and the PCB from the side of the sight while it’s mounted on your gun. To me, this makes this sight, as useful as it is, complete junk since there is no need for the electronics to be exposed. water resistance is an obvious advantage.laser:
it lights up, is tiny, and weighs nothing. pull the 2 aiming screws out and cover them in blue locktight then reinstall. I do this to ALL of the adjustment screws on every sight. mount directly to gun, inline with the barrel, not off to the side. that will keep all lasers on target left and right at any distance. when it’s off to the side, at all, your left and right will only be on target at the targeted distance.total apparatus weighs just around 2.8 lbs. -Michael
Trending Review: This is a great versatile scope. All the parts are high quality. You could put them all together for a mega setup or pick and choose how you want the setup.
Everything put together (scope, riser base, red dot, and laser) is fairly bulky however so it may be best for larger guns. My rifle is smaller and lightweight so I was mainly interested in mounting the scope itself.
I ended up mounting just the scope with the laser attached (no large riser base or red dot). I can now use these for other projects. The way the rail is designed on the scope enables 45 cool-degree mounting. That’s how I set the laser and it is perfect… no issues with being able to zero in and it is ridiculously bright. I can easily see it 100 yards out on a bright day outside.
The red dot is pretty cool. If I had to make a minor complaint about any of the three main components (scope, laser, red dot) it would be towards this one. There are some slightly distracting reflections on higher brightness settings, and the single dot is dimmer on all settings than the other reticules. But that is minor, it’s pretty good overall. I think it would be great mounted to a shotgun for bird hunting.
The scope itself is fantastic and seems built to last. I had a small issue with Zoom when it first arrived but reached out to the seller.They responded very quickly and were great! They were able to quickly diagnose and walk me through fixing the problem. (The set screw on the zoom dial needs to line up with a tiny mounting hole).
They even offered to compensate me for my trouble. I don’t usually write reviews but good customer service & feeling appreciated as a customer count to me in this day and age and I wanted to share. -Raymond Durkin
Reassuring Review: To start, I haven’t used it yet so I’m unsure of the quality of keeping a zero.
That being said, for $100 this is a good value. The red dot sight is easily seen.
The scope is visually very good and the laser is pretty bright. It’s a bulky thing. It’s roughly the length of a lightsaber handle. I’m excited to use it soon. -Shane
2. Bushnell Banner 3-9x40mm Riflescope
Highlight: Multiple layers of anti-reflective coating on all air-to-glass surfaces deliver bright, high-contrast images.
Constructive Review: OK, it’s my second one, hence the lost star. The first one lacked quality control and had a weird smudge on the lens that I could smear around but couldn’t get rid of without using some products I was a little afraid to use.
But Amazon Prime is to the rescue. That one went back and I got another one because the scope definitely had potential. So the second one was in great shape with no QC issues and works really well, especially for the low cost <$40 The clarity, depth of field at most zoom settings, and reticle and parallax are all the equivalent of my much more expensive Leopold scope.
The clarity and depth of field fall off some at the extreme upper end of the zoom but over the rest of its range, it is exceptional. It has held zero through several range trips on a Ruger M77/357, admittedly not the hardest-kicking gun.
But you run what you brought and it is working great on my setup. It is accurate out 200 yards although I zeroed it and generally shoot it at 100 yards. It was easy to zero with the directional arrows deeply etched with contrasting paint/anodizing.
The clicks (1/4 inch per click @ 100 yards – standard) are very positive without being hard to turn. It does use two small jewelers Phillip head screws on each turret that have to be loosened if you want to recalibrate the scope set to read zero when it is “zeroed” and I would prefer less easily stripped Torx or Allen head ones but just don’t over tighten.
Once dialed in it doesn’t wander. The amount of light it lets in, especially at dusk and dawn, is impressive and better than my Leopold. This is a second-level scope with some first-level performance at a cheap price. Go get ’em. -Graf
Trending Review: I have this scope on my Ruger 10/22. It’s designed to shoot at varmints less than 50 yards away.
Make sure everything is tightened down to proper torque settings and I have had no problems with this holding it’s zero.
Has an eye focus ring and with the turret caps, keeps them from getting knocked out of zero.
Little to no recoil on the 10/22 so I can’t say how well the scope does with a larger recoil gun, but under $100. It performs beyond my expectations. -Johnathon Jorgensen (MTB Trail Rider)
Reassuring Review: I’ll just start by saying that this is a GREAT scope for the money. I always do a week’s worth of research before I buy something like this and the scope far exceeded my expectations.
All of my larger hunting rifles have way more expensive glass and yes, there is a difference between those and this. however, it makes me second guess if spending that much more on those was worth it.
Honestly holding it up to my favorite scope (Vortex Viper) in low light makes me feel like I was played by Vortex a little. Is the Viper a better scope? Yes.. but for the money? I don’t know. I still really like my Viper but this one holds its own in comparison.
I mounted it on my 20+ year old Marlin .22 mag. and it turned my favorite varmint rifle into an absolute tack driver.
I like this so much that I honestly would have no problem mounting this on one of my nice hunting rifles. Low light clarity is good, overall clarity is good, and it shoots very well.
I was holding groups the size of a dime at 50 yards. I’m so glad I settled on this scope. I would have no problem buying this again.
I’m here 5 years later, putting it in my cart again for a new member of my rifle family. I might go a step up in the Bushnell lineup though. decisions, decisions -Matt I
3. UUQ Prism Triple Illuminated Rapid Range Reticle Rifle Scope
Highlight: High-performance optical scope with fiber optic sight, Manufactured Multi-coated optics, Illuminated Red-Green-Blue Rapid Range Glass Etched Reticle.
Constructive Review: I purchased a 9mm carbine, wasn’t originally going to purchase a scope as carbines aren’t all that accurate over 150 yards or so. I came across this scope and figured for $50 I may as well try it out. I am glad I did!
Pros:
– The eye relief (the distance you have to hold the scope from your eye to see the whole picture) is 4 inches, this is a good distance. To short and you may hit your eye when the rifle kicks and become a pirate, too long and you have to hold the rifle too far from you, the standard is usually around 3.5 inches.
– The reticle is etched into the glass, which means that it will not break, the most popular design is to use wires which is fine but they can break and then you have no reticle. It is also set for drop shots in a Christmas tree pattern meaning there are markings for drop shots at 200, 300, and 400 yards
– Illuminated reticle that can be changed between red, green, and blue with 3 different intensities. The green and blue work nice at indoor ranges, the red is best for outside in my opinion
– The quality of the glass is much better than I expected and comparable to much more expensive scopes, I had low expectations but this blew me away. The field of vision is good, not much peripheral view but not important to me
– The fiber optic second sight on top of the scope seems like a nice feature, honestly have not used it yet
– The look of the scope itself is very nice, is very nice quality and the tactile style compliments my rifle well
– Fixed zoom, I was between putting this as a pro or a con. It is very nice that it is 4x static magnification and that it is fixed zoom as I just need to look down range and I’m ready to go with no adjustments. This is great especially from like 25 to 75 yards. At about 100 yards it starts seeming underpowered. Now, I knew this when I purchased it, if you are planning on using this for an AR or a bolt action that you’ll be shooting over 100 yards regularly, I would look elsewhere. It would be nice if the manufacturer would release a zooming scope that can be put in front of this scope, they may already have one I will have to look. This is not so much a complaint as I knew when I purchased it that 100 yards or so would be the most effective range, but now that I have sighted it in, I would like to try further distances where I can see the target better.
– Antifogging is great, haven’t had any fogging issues even shooting outside in 15-degree snowy weatherCons:
– The adjustments for windage and elevation require you to use something like your nail to turn them, I carry a dime in my range bag and use this to adjust. Not a huge deal, many scopes are set up like this. If the manufacturer is looking for something to change for improvements I would highly recommend this. Again, not a deal breaker or uncommon, and while this scope is already the best sub $100 scope I’ve used, this would elevate it to being better than most scopes period
– The mounting process is easy enough although using just a 9mm, it became loose on the rail after a few clips the first time I brought it to the range and had sighted it in. It became loose not only on the mounting screws which isn’t too uncommon but the bolts holding the scope on the mounting plate became loose. I would recommend before mounting, put it on the rail and seeing where you like it, take it off, then 2 Allen bolts attach to the base of the scope and attach it to the mounting bracket. Take these off, superglue the top of the mounting bracket where it is in contact with the scope itself and in the screw holes for the Allen’s then superglue the tops of the Allen screws after putting them in. Mount the scope, once you have it where you like it, tighten the mounting screws and put a dab of superglue in the hole on top of the mounting screws. The reason I recommend this is that if you tighten them too hard to prevent them from loosening you could potentially dent the rail if it is aluminum then no scope will mount. This process is what I ended up doing and after feeding 200 rounds through it yesterday, the scope stayed firmly in place and sighted.
– The knob for the reticle illumination is fine but I wish there was a button or something to turn it off instead of turning it to one of the off settings. The first time I used it, I could have sworn I shut it off. The second time I went to use it, it had been on in the case for a few weeks and the battery was dead. Now, I am not sure if I did not shut it off or if it was somehow turned on in the case and not a huge deal just something to consider.Overall for the $50 investment, I am incredibly happy. I would recommend this scope for almost any application from pistols to higher-powered rifles if you require a great scope for around 100 yards.
You probably could even use this on a shotgun if you wanted to, the quality is great and it feels like it would hold up well under almost any conditions.
The only improvements I can offer are offering a secondary magnifying scope and making the wind and elevation adjustments into actual knobs. Make sure you follow the glue steps I outlined in the cons section! If you purchase this you will be very happy with your decision. -Michael
Trending Review: Nice compact unit, my 2nd one!
Fits well, has Clear glass, and the fiber optic on top is Right On so should the battery crap Out, sight picture is Not interrupted or field of view. It also eliminates the need for Offset 45′ iron sights as well as changing site pictures. I’m a fan👍👍 -JBReassuring Review: I’ve been looking at scopes for a while because I intended on getting a new AR-15. I read all the reviews to various red dots with and without magnification.
I figured I wasn’t going to do long-range hunting so there’s no need for a big scope and I didn’t like one with no magnification. If I want to shoot 100 – 200 yards, I want the target to pop out a little and this 4X is perfect.
I was reading a lot on the clarity of the scope so before I got this one, I went down to buy my new AR and spent some time looking through all of the expensive scopes. I wear glasses but see best at a distance. All of the scopes scopes seemed fuzzy to me.
The salesman said it looked fine to him and I couldn’t see a way to adjust the focus for my eyes. So I figured it may not matter how much money you spend if you can’t adjust it. I was so glad to find an adjustment knob at your eyepiece, Wow, what a difference with clarity.
I like that it is weather-sealed and gas-filled. I love the cross hares as opposed to the dot and a plus with the distance scale. The selection of red, green, and blue is cool and there is an “off” point between each color so you don’t have to dial through them.
I like the bright green. Looks great, feels solid, and loves the top site – great for close range and quick targeting. I mounted a laser on the sidebar and zeroed the laser to the cross hare – even better for close range.
I’ll update this once I take it out to line up, I just had to give my first impressions. I ordered a laser shell that loads in the chamber and gives me a straight line to the target.
I thought that would be more efficient than spending rounds and getting close. For $5 I think it could be worth it. Also since my stock is adjustable, you can adjust it for the right distance to your eye to grasp the widest view. -Dennis R. Bickers
4. CVLIFE 4×32 Prism Tactical Rifle Scope Red & Green & Blue Illuminated Reticle Scope
Highlight: Shockproof, recoil, fog resistance (nitrogen filled); aluminum alloy in black matte finish
Constructive Review: I like this prism scope on me.300 BLK AR. It fits perfectly and has a nice, crisp reticle that works well in nearly any condition with the adjustable brightness and multi-color features.
Perfect for ranges out to about 100 yards. You could push it further but that’s not really what this scope is for. Sturdy construction, decent field of view, and crystal clarity. Would buy it again. -Fremy
Trending Review: I bought this for an old rimfire. It seems to hold zero just fine. The red/green/blue illumination options are cool and make it easier to dial in the reticle view at different light levels and angles.
Some stuff from Amazon adjusts opposite the markings, but this one was right.
It’s not 1/4 moa per click. The one I got was 1/2 moa. Once I got that sorted out it zeroed in fine and grouped well at 50 yds.Haven’t zeroed the open sight on top. I’ve no use for it with my old eyes.
Loctite Blue on the mounting screw threads keeps everything in place nicely.
I’m quite pleased with it so far. -t325Reassuring Review: This site is perfect. I put it on my AR 5.56 it lasted an entire day at the range, which was about 800 rounds without coming loose or site coming off of target didn’t need to sign in at all afterward I read a couple of reviews and used some mounting it to the rifle so I have nothing to complain about there a good budget scope if you’re looking just to start your build 10 out of 10 would buy again. -Sam
5. CVLIFE 4-16×44 Scope Red and Green Illuminated Scope
Highlight: Completed with the fully coated optical glass, the scope would give you a bright and high-contrast image.
Constructive Review: The optic is a great value for what it is. I put it on a spring airgun. It’s got a useable reticle, it’s got plenty of adjustment to get an airgun to 100 yards, and the illumination has a good range for low light or even daylight.
It seemed to track pretty true, especially for a scope under $100. I could turn turrets and hit where I was expecting to and return to zero was reliable, at least for my purposes.
The glass was clear enough for airgun use. I could make out .177 pellet holes at over 50 yards, and probably further if I’d put a hole in anything beyond that.
It does tend to darken up as you get closer to the top of the mag range. It was easy to focus the reticle and the parallax could be dialed out easily enough. Parallax has a very small window before the image turns to trash.
Great customer service. Excellent. The best I’ve ever dealt with. Unfortunately, the eyepiece came loose on the one I have. It’s barely noticeable but I did notice an inability to keep the same zero.
What used to be inside a 4” circle at 50 yards wallowed to 6” or more (missing the plate). I emailed Life and after only a few email exchanges of them offering ways to try to fix it without success, they made it right.
No questions asked. Excellent customer service and I will not hesitate to purchase from them again. Very pleasant experience. -Tony Richey
Trending Review: The package arrived with the scope, a sunshade, 2 flip-up lens covers, 2 scope rings, and a small instruction pamphlet.
The mounts are shipped loosely assembled, so there is no danger of the screw holes being mismatched, as I have seen in some reviews of less expensive scopes and rings. The rings are, however, only single screw mounts, both for the scope and mounting to the dovetail.
While purchased for another air rifle, for testing purposes I mounted it to my Beeman AR2078-B which is a known quantity, capable of turning in 5-shot groups of 1/8″. Once sighted in I was, despite being a bit shakey due to medication, able to shoot 1/4″ groups, consistently.
They were all going exactly where the crosshairs indicated, so the size of the group was more my issue than the scope.
Now for the tough part: will it return to zero, if the turrets are dialed in for different ranges or windage? As I was shooting at a mere 10 meters, in my attic, I cranked in 10 MoA up, shot a group to verify that the point of impact moved where it was supposed to, and then cranked it back to zero.
Then I did the same for windage, cranking in 10 MoA shooting, then returning. In both cases, the groups moved about 1 1/8″ in the desired direction and returned to the center as expected. I have read many reviews of other, less expensive, scopes that simply couldn’t do that.
The reticle focuses quite clearly as does the target, when using the adjustable objective.
The only negative, and a very minor one, would have to be the included lens caps. They take a good bit more effort to open than to remove. Therefore, when attempting to open them, they merely pop off. I wouldn’t mind a side-wheel objective lens adjustment, either, but at this price…
I haven’t put a lot of use on the scope but, thus far, it seems to be more than worth the money. And this coming from a shooter since 1961. -John V
Reassuring Review: I ordered the scope because I thought some of the reviews indicated it was a good quality little scope for an extremely reasonable price.
I thought I would give it a try with my first high-powered rifle a CZ 600 Alpha 308. I used a laser bore sighter at home to get it somewhat where I wanted it at about 20 feet or so then 25 yards at the range got it to where I wanted with a couple of shots.
The photo you see is my first 5 shots with this 308 and this scope at 100 yards It is a five-shot group I measured middle to Middle it is 3/4 in or less I am impressed with the ability of this scope to get me accurately On Target. -Curt D.
6. CVLIFE 2.5-10x40e Red & Green Illuminated Scope
Highlight: Clearer Image: Multi-coated green lens boasts much higher light transmittance compared with the blue lens.
Constructive Review: Put this on an AR. Installation was a no-brainer. The fit on the rail was perfect with the tightening knobs were able to seat and tighten the scope all you need with just your hands.
I have about 200 rounds with this scope and here’s what I’ve found.First, it’s NOT 2.5 X 10. More like a 1 X 6 as best as I can tell. This is plenty for what I’m using it for but just wanted to get that out there. Next, the control knob for the reticle illumination is tight. This may work loose over time but it’s difficult to turn.
I’ve read from others that the reticle illumination sucks because it lights up the interior of the scope’s tube.
This is true, it does however if you’re using correct eye relief it’s not an issue because you don’t see the inside of the tube anyway. Still, they could’ve done better.
Now onto the good parts.It holds its zero spot on. At least this far for me. The illumination has enough settings to be effective in all light levels that you would need it for.
The laser switch is not located so it’s easy to use with an AR platform but the green laser seems to be especially effective, even in daylight out to about 25 yards or so. I would not buy the red laser. It’s useless in the daylight at any distance. In the dark, they are both effective.
I can’t speak to how durable it is. I suspect it’s OK on that front but not a “ Military” grade.
The glass is fine. No complaints there.The scope has a sun visor on the front. Not a fan of that. Would prefer a standard straight cut on the tube.
For the money you spend, it’s as good as you’ll find and is on par with some of the more expensive scopes. I would consider it again should I need another scope of its type. -ROGER FAIR
Trending Review: Just got this and so far I’m impressed. The scope is compact (much shorter than my BSA 4×32 on my springer) and relatively lightweight. I got it to go on a wildfire pcp so it hopefully will fit nicely with that pellet rifle’s capabilities.
Mine came well packaged but no instructions. Batteries were still good but pointed off for neither the laser nor the reticle having polarity indicators. (Yea I guessed wrong both times).
I know a little bit about scopes so I was able to figure out all the bells and whistles. My reticle switch is reversed (red turns on the green and vice versa). Came with both mount sizes but I wish they had made rail screws the same thread so you can reuse the nice hefty knobs on the 20mm mount with the 11mm mount. Lens covers are ok.
Like that, they are bungee tethered but mine are scratched up a bit. My laser came nearly perfectly zeroed to the crosshairs so nice touch there. Mine does have some parallax but not horrible. While not perfect for the price this is a lot of scope. Time will tell how it does on the rifle.
Update. Still 4 stars. This has short-eye relief. The Benny Wildfire has a rail mounts more forward on the receiver and even with this scope mounted to the absolute rear is still a good 1 to 2 inches shy of a good view.
Moving my head forward is awkward but the several dead squirrels, chipmunks, and starling all tell me that the scope holds well. I ordered a rail extension so that will hopefully give me a more comfortable shooting position.
I have a Hatsan AT44 on the way so this scope may move to that rifle instead as the wildfire is more of a blinker and could probably do with a much simpler scope. I did run into it on time when the lighted reticle would not turn on.
I thought maybe a dead battery but when I went back later to change it everything was working fine. It hasn’t done that again. Still impressed with what I got. -Ricky
Reassuring Review: Got this to try out on a 7.62×39 AR upper (16″). I was not expecting much, honestly, but wanted to see how well the upper worked and planned to use this as a testing platform, since it was the right configuration (excepting the laser on the side) and the right price. Mounted and zeroed, I was surprised by the clarity of the scope and the quality of the build.
It is not as good as the SIG tactical my brother has, nor as my Bushnell and Leupold offerings, but it is also a fraction of the cost of those, more compact, and perfectly suited to my needs for this project. After five rounds of zeroing, I was busting soda cans at 60y every time as long as I didn’t rush things.
A couple of things about this scope that I feel I have to mention:
First, the laser. Couldn’t pick it up cleanly at 60y in daylight. It is red, not very strong, and is so far off-axis, that it is only going to be a close-range deal. Some would say that is what it is there for, but with a rifle, it is already point-and-shoot inside 20 yards anyway, and that laser is just going to get in your way. That is my opinion of it anyway – others may have different.
Second is that the turrets do not have very good tactile, audible, or visual feedback when turning. The windage just BARELY clicked when turning it and I had to struggle to feel any type of tactile indicator for clicks, while the elevation was a bit louder with clicks but didn’t seem to have any feel of the clicks. Neither turret had any useful indicator marks for come-up or come-down to indicate how much spin was on the barrels.
That being said, I did not expect much at this price point and this scope impressed me. I shot 80 rounds through it the first day, at ranges from 20y to 150y. The scope remained steady, consistent, and proficient within those ranges and round count. I inspected the scope mount after I finished shooting, and the mount was still tight and torqued to spec (I use blue loc-tite when mounting my optics to avoid them vibrating loose or being loosened due to other field events).
Would I buy this again? Absolutely. Considering this my.300 BLK upper to free up the Bushnell on it for use on my next rifle. -AZ
Final Words For The Best Rifle Scopes Under 100$ In 2025
Finding the best rifle scopes under $100 doesn’t mean settling for low quality. There are plenty of budget-friendly options that offer clear optics, solid durability, and reliable performance for hunting or target shooting. Whether you’re a beginner or just looking for an affordable backup, the scopes on this list prove you can get great value without spending a fortune. With the right choice, you’ll be ready to hit your target with confidence—without breaking the bank.