Best Budget Controllers: Affordable Alternatives to Xbox and PS5

The modern Xbox controller stands out for its comfort and compatibility, but excellent budget alternatives also exist.

### Best Budget Controllers: Affordable Alternatives to Premium Options
* 🎮 The modern Xbox controller is highly regarded for its **comfort and compatibility** with PC and other consoles, making it a **popular choice among gamers**.
* 💲 Surprisingly, there are **excellent budget controllers available for under $30**, despite the market being flooded with cheaper alternatives.
* 🖥 The PS5 DualSense controller can be used on PC, but it often requires **manual remapping for many games**, with tools like **Steam Input** helping with compatibility.
* 🕹 The Logitech F310, despite its outdated design since 2010, remains a popular choice due to its **low price of $20** and Logitech's warranty service, even if it feels **less modern**.
* ⭐ The 8bitdo Ultimate C is a standout budget option, frequently discounted to **$20**, offering a **comfortable design** and **integrated rechargeable battery**, which adds value compared to **disposable batteries**.
* 🚀 The newly released 8bitdo Ultimate 2C features enhancements like **extra shoulder buttons** and **hall effect triggers**, all at the same price point, making it an **attractive upgrade**.
* 📊 While the 2C shows **lower input latency** and **better overall performance**, users with larger hands may still prefer the Xbox controller for its **ergonomic design**.
* 🛠 Ultimately, while the F310 may not be the best choice, the 8bitdo controllers offer **great quality and features** for gamers looking for **budget-friendly options without sacrificing performance**.

It's no surprise that the most popular controllers are first-party ones, especially the modern Xbox controller, and that makes a lot of sense. It's a premium controller with a comfortable shape, and it just works with all your modern PC games and even with other consoles like the Nintendo Switch if you get the right dongle. But what is a surprise is that in the dumpster fire of cheaper alternative controllers, there are some downright excellent options, with some of them going for less than $30. So, we answered the title's question already: it's this because it's good. But what we haven't answered is what you should be buying, and that is a bit more complicated. Unlike this simple segue to our sponsor, Nexo. Whether it's niow, bonjour, or hola, the Hello Cam Pro from Nexo is a reliable upgrade to your webcam setup, thanks to its 1080p resolution, 60 FPS frame rate, and Windows Hello facial recognition. Pick it up at the link in the video description. [Music] Before we get to our alternatives, have

you ever wondered why pretty much every modern PC controller shares that same familiar Xbox layout? It turns out it's for some good reasons, one being it's pretty ergonomic, especially compared to some of its ancestors. But the bigger one is xinput. The xinput API will automatically bind compatible controllers to the right inputs in your favorite games. And while it's less versatile than the older D input standard, which is still used especially for complex flight and racing rigs, its limitations because of the standard Xbox layout allow it to be much more easily implemented. Strangely enough, the second best-selling controller is the only D input controller that we're going to see today. The PS5's DualSense. Can it still be used for PC games? Short answer, yes. Long answer, yeah, yes, but it depends on how much tinkering you want to do. Four out of the five games that we tested needed some kind of manual remapping. Now there are wrappers like Steam Input or DS for Windows that will wrap the D input in an xinput container that should fix these issues. And in games where the

developers build in native support for the Dual Sense's extra features. It is one of our favorite controllers, especially in games that heavily make use of the d-pad. We're going to have it and every controller we recommended from this video linked down below. But enough about controllers that cost almost a hundred loonies. I said that there are great controllers you guys are buying for $30 or less, and this next one is not one of them. The Logitech F310 has remained mostly unchanged since its release in 2010, making it probably our best fit for the title here because honestly, guys, why is everyone still buying this controller? It looks like a little brother edition for the PS2, and honestly, it feels like one too. I mean, is this really the best that Logitech can come up with? I mean, it's apparently kept at least 25,000 of you reasonably happy, but look at the way the d-pad jiggles. And no, they like that. They love it. I mean, I guess if that's what you're used to, there's also the wireless

variant the f710, which is also pretty fine if you like your controllers to feel like a brick. In fairness, the price is right at just $20 and $40 respectively, and Logitech's established reputation for warranty service sets them apart from many other competitors in this price class. I mean, only the best will do for billionaires who need to visit the Titanic, of course. While we're combing the depths, it's probably worth seeing if we can find something a little better. Oh, here's a more recent top performer. The 8bit do ultimate C has been sitting among Amazon's best sellers pretty consistently for months and is racking up four and a half star reviews at an incredible rate. Its MSRP is $30, with frequent discounts down to just $20, and that is with a 2.4 GHz wireless dongle. I mean, that puts this whole package under the price of a Microsoft first-party dongle alone. So, it must be trash, right? I mean, yeah, Bo dude, everything about it feels pretty good. The shape is very similar to a regular

Xbox controller. I mean the d-pads, nothing special, but the face buttons feel really good. Even the triggers have a pretty satisfying feel to them, and it has an integrated battery for that price. That's something to consider, guys. Microsoft does include batteries with their controller, but they're disposables, not rechargeables. And this has USBC charging with an integrated battery right out of the box. I'm not saying it's the right choice from a sustainability standpoint. I'm just saying it is a value add. And wait, what's this? I'm getting reports of a brand new just-released 8bit do ultimate 2C. It comes in new multi-tone colorways, and no way, two extra shoulder buttons, 1,000 HZ polling rate, and hall effect analog triggers and sticks, meaning they should remain snappy and precise long into the future, guys. This is a big upgrade. So, uh, how much more is it going to cost? It's the same price. Same price. So wait, why would I even buy that one? The previous generation 8-bit do controller that had

Hall effects was twice the price of the regular one, and the only other benefits are Bluetooth and a charging dock. They kind of thought of everything. The edges are more round and comfortable in the hand, especially at the edge of the shoulder and Trigger buttons. The grip texture is less abrasive and feels a little less likely to collect a detailed history of every skin cell that ever rubbed against it. And while this spot where the face meets the textured back is a little bit on the sharp side, that's not a part of the controller that you would ever naturally interact with. The d-pad is still not a star player, but darn it, they did put in some work to make it feel more tactile, and even the face buttons feel just, I don't know, 8% more tactile. Oh, the bumpers are clicky now, dude. I really like this thing. It's even clickier than the regular Xbox controller, which may be bad or good depending on your preference, but I like it. Of course, I haven't actually played a game yet. How

does it stack up for actual gaming? Whoops. Oh, how does the controller feel? Oh, right, the controller. Controller feels good, brother. Really like the thumb sticks. Like the thumb sticks a lot. Very little dead zone. I can't blame the thumbsticks for everything that's happening right now. This is just hard. Do you want to try the same game with the Logitech, huh? Oh, you want me to try the other controllers? That makes sense. Can't say I'm thrilled about it, but uh, yeah, give me a sec, dude. I'm still not that stoked on the uh, on the face buttons. Okay, that's good to know. They're a little slow, 'cause in terms of input latency, the 2C with the receiver was the lowest of everything we tested. It's less the input latency, and it's more how far they are to mash. I just find that I'm having a little bit of more difficulty with them. Of course, this is the only, it's only the first one that I've looked at, so maybe just side by side. Come on. Okay, wait, wait, no, we, you've

tried this a 100 times with this one. Let's try the other controller. All right, maybe another controller is the answer. Oh my God, this analog stick. Wow, controller design has really come a long way in the last 14 years. Um, maybe we just go d-pad here. Yeah, test what the people say. I mean, realistically, I'm not doing any worse. I think the cold hard truth is I'm just not that good at Super Meat Boy. You might have a little extra trouble with this one. This controller actually has the highest tested input latency. Nothing is too unusable. This is 23.5 milliseconds, so it's still within the realm of that's okay. Yeah, um, but that's more than four times more than the 2C. Come on, come on, come on, come on. Oh, no way, no way is the answer the Logitech controller. Maybe it's the repetition of doing it 100 times. Oh, what are you doing, what are you doing? Occasionally, things will register a little funny, but no big complaints. It's, oh, it's really heavy, actually. It's

really heavy. Does it use dual battery? Yeah, yeah. Okay, let's try a different game. Okay, try a different game. While I wait to fire up a racing game, I can talk comfort. I do find the slightly more angled shape of the Xbox controller a little bit more comfortable for broader adult shoulders, but if you like to kind of have your elbows tucked in, I can see how this would actually be more comfortable for you. Everyone I talked to was really impressed at the build quality of this, but people with big hands definitely find the Xbox controller more comfortable for, I think, the exact same reason you were saying, the angle. And they feel the same way about the 40 oz water bottle at LT store.com. It's just wider for bigger hands than the 21 oz. You're 64 oz. Yeah, yeah. Okay, now let's have a look at these triggers. Said drifty oo. Very small dead zones on the sticks. Do like isn't nice. You're quite sensitive to dead zones, hey? I hate dead zones. What's the point of moving a stick if it's not registered?

Sir, would you like a dead zone on your mouse? No? Well, then why do you accept it on your stick? The thing is, in racing games, a lot of the times you don't want to oversteer, and having a big dead zone can cause you to oversteer and then oversteer the other way and then oversteer the other way. Any deficiency in my performance here is 100% down to me not being very good at racing games. I cannot blame the controller here. Like, this control is extremely fine. Go, go on, go on, get woo. Oh shoot, I screwed it up. I screwed it up right at the end. How could I do this to myself? Whatever, I podium. You want to try briefly with the Xbox One? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's hook up the Xbox controller. Long story short, we had an issue pairing with our dongle, which normally is totally fine. So, I don't know exactly what happened here, but I have a cable. How do the sticks feel in this? Not as good. They're sloppier triggers. I honestly don't

notice a huge difference with. I've never been that sensitive to them, but the dicks on the Xbox controller. They're not terrible, but they're not as good in my humble observation. We did test some of the controllers for the circularity of their analog sticks, and the series one was actually one of the worst ones. Only the Logitech 310 was less circular, but the labs didn't have a high degree of confidence 'cause it might have just been that specific Xbox controller they tested. Question for you: how many controllers does 8 bit do support off of a single dongle though? I've never checked. I think it's just one. You can't repair them, I don't believe. Oh, just one controller to a dongle. That's a bit of a drawback, especially when you consider that the Xbox dongle supports up to eight controllers off of a single dongle and has some extra quality of life features, not to mention usually excellent pairing reliability, though it should be noted that there is a latency cost there. We actually found that the

8bit do 2C had the same latency on Bluetooth as the Xbox controller with its 2.4 GHz dongle, and partially thanks to its 1000 HZ pulling rate, absolutely obliterated the Xbox in a like-for-like test. Enough about the 2C though, let's switch back to the 1C and see if the 2C is worth the extra $10, 'cause so often this can be had for just 20 bucks. I'll be honest with you, it feels pretty good. I don't notice a big difference. I'd say it's possible the sticks are a little bit looser, but if they are, it's not by much. And the biggest difference for me that would make me still go with the 2C is the fact that it has Bluetooth support. It's just so convenient to not have to worry about dongles. Dang, what an impressive controller, but not everyone's going to feel the same way. If you've got much larger hands or if you have an Xbox and you want to move your controller.

between that and your PC wirelessly and seamlessly. You might end up with a different option, but I find this just a great balance of quality, feeling d-pad, quality face buttons, great ergonomics. I have a hard time imagining anyone who would hate this, and realistically, I could say the same about pretty much everything in front of me, except for the f710. If you're looking at one of these, no, stop it. It's time to retire, old man, and it's time for you to hear the Segway to our sponsor, Manscaped. If you need to do some gardening down there, why not do it the luxurious way? That's right, their illustrious Lawn Mower 5.0 Ultra now comes in a shiny new coat of paint, forged gold. It has all the great features of the regular models, such as interchangeable trimmer and foil blades, and an LED light to shine through the shrubbery, but this time in gold. And for when you need to stay sophisticated and stylish on the go, the mower can come

along with you. Thanks to its portable size, safety travel log, and a universal USBC charging port. There are limited quantities available, so act quickly. Unlock the Golden Era of grooming with the lawnmower 5.0 Ultra Gold Edition at manscape.com lt20, and use code lt20 for 20% off and free shipping. If you guys enjoyed this video, let us know which controller you think everyone should be buying. And if you like gaming content, why not check out our console tier list? You may or may not like our rankings.

Why is Everyone Buying This Controller?

Linus Tech Tips is a passionate team of "professionally curious" experts in consumer technology and video production who aim to educate and entertain.


Linus Tech Tips

The Popularity of Controllers and Affordable Alternatives

The modern Xbox controller is the most popular due to its premium quality, comfortable shape, and compatibility with PC games and other consoles.

Surprisingly, there are excellent alternative controllers available for less than $30.

The PS5's DualSense controller can also be used for PC games, but may require manual remapping for compatibility.

The Logitech F710 offers a sturdy feel at an affordable price, with a strong warranty service.

The 8bit Do Ultimate C has gained popularity on Amazon, offering a similar shape to the Xbox controller, with an integrated rechargeable battery and USBC charging.

The newly released 8bit Do Ultimate 2C offers additional shoulder buttons, a 1,000 Hz polling rate, and hall effect triggers, all at the same price as its predecessor, making it a great upgrade.

The controller's thumb sticks feel great, with minimal dead zone, but the face buttons have a slow response time.

The 2C controller has the lowest input latency, while the other controllers tested have higher latency but are still usable.

The Logitech controller, despite its weight and occasional registration issues, shows promise in improving performance.

Comparing Xbox Controller and Dual Battery Use

The Xbox controller's slightly angled shape is more comfortable for broader adult shoulders, while also catering to those who prefer tucking in their elbows.

The build quality of the controller impresses users, with bigger hands finding it more comfortable due to its wider design.

The controller has small dead zones on the sticks, which is crucial for racing games to avoid oversteering, and the reviewer struggles with pairing the Xbox controller, noting its sticks and triggers feel sloppier compared to the other controller.

The Xbox controller's analog sticks are less circular, with the Series One being one of the worst.

8BitDo's dongle supports only one controller, while Xbox's dongle can connect up to eight.

The 8BitDo 2C has the same latency as the Xbox controller but offers Bluetooth support for added convenience.

The Perfect Gaming Controller and Manscaped's Offer

The speaker praises a gaming controller for its quality, ergonomics, and overall appeal, while advising against the F710 model.

They then transition to promoting Manscaped's Lawn Mower 5.

0 Ultra Gold Edition, highlighting its features and limited availability.

The speaker encourages viewers to use code lt20 for 20% off and free shipping, and invites them to share their thoughts on the best gaming controller and check out the console tier list.