The small Mars II Pro isn't the brightest, nor smallest, nor cheapest projector on this list. It's not even the easiest to use. But it does combine a pleasing image with decent sound for a good price. It's an all-around great option without the serious drawbacks of many other portable projectors. 

The main issue with the Mars II Pro is it doesn't use the full version of the Android TV streaming service like some newer models. As such, it's not as easy to use and you won't get every streaming service. The big ones are here, of course, like Netflix and Disney Plus, but no HBO. You can connect a streaming stick, of course, and there's a USB connection to power it right on the back. 

The battery lasts about the length of a long movie. 

Check out our in-depth review of the Mars II Pro..

The AAXA P6 throws out an impressive amount of light, and lasts up to a claimed 4 hours with its built-in battery. You'll need to add a streaming stick to watch anything, but there's a USB connection to power one so that's easy to do.

Overall the image quality is OK, but not great. The colors are off, the contrast ratio isn't great and its resolution of 1,280x800 pixels is noticeably softer than 1080p and especially 4K projectors. 

That said, it's bright and inexpensive, which is a great combination.

Check out our full review of the AAXA P6X.

The Vimgo P10 regularly hovers around $250, and often drops even cheaper. It's a strange product, doing something right and a lot of things wrong. The image it produces is watchable, and has an impressively high contrast ratio, but the colors are flat-out atrocious. The brightness and sharpness uniformity are some of the worst I've seen, which means everything that's not dead center in the image is dimmer and softer than the middle. It also has no upwards throw, so it needs to be placed at the same height as the middle of the screen, which is, like I said, strange for an inexpensive projector. 

The biggest drawback for this list is its lack of a battery. But for the added price of an extension cord it's still cheaper than most other projectors on this list.

But for the price, it's hard to beat. But if you can spend more, you'll get more.

Check out our full review of the Vimgo P10..

The AAXA P8 is tiny, like the Nebula Capsule, but rectangular to that projectors cylindricalness. It's significantly brighter than the Capsule, but it lacks that projector's battery.

Like its big brother, the P6X, the P8 doesn't have the best picture quality. However, it's inexpensive and bright, two things we like a lot. For similar money the Vimgo P10's picture quality is a little better, but that projector has its own serious drawbacks. 

All ultra-budget projectors have concessions to price, but with the P8 those concessions don't include brightness and size.

Check out our full review of the AAXA P8..

The Laser 4K's claim to being portable and "outdoor" boils down to a huge handle built into its design. It lacks a battery, is quite heavy, and it's really expensive. 

It is, however, exceptionally bright. One of the brightest projectors we've ever tested. It has built-in Android TV too. It's more portable, and better suited to outdoor movie nights than, say, the Epson 5050. 

The Optoma UHZ50, the BenQ HT2050A or the Epson Home Cinema 2250 are better overall, however. They're all bright, cheaper and easily carried, though they lack a stylish handle.

Check out our review of the Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K.