Best cheap hair straighteners, tried and tested for quality on a budget (2025)

No hair tools arsenal is complete without a set of straighteners.

Typically the first gadget to follow the humble hair dryer in our collection, it is one that will be a stalwart for years to come. Many of us will have owned the same straightening irons since our teenage years, but when the hard-working heroes eventually pack in, we can be reluctant to fork out three figures for a new one.

Hair straighteners are on hand to smooth out frizz and flyaways, giving us poker-straight locks in minutes. You can also use this particular tool for curling too as the twofer design can create bouncy blow-outs or those fresh-from-the-beach waves depending on how you adjust the wrap and angle.

But they don’t come cheap – or so we thought. While you will struggle to find the likes of GHD, Cloud Nine and some of the leaders in the space at a reduction low enough not to make a dent in your bank account, the purse-friendly products are surprisingly feature-packed for their modest price tags.

You only need to look to Revlon, BaByliss and Remington who have made cost-effective beauty tools their bread and butter. But what do they sacrifice? And are they still as effective? We consulted hairstylist Louise Bailey at Beauty Club London, a salon in the heart of Oxford Circus, to find out.

Bailey says, “It is good to have hair tools with heat control on them as highly processed hair will need less heat than virgin hair”.

For those with fine or damaged hair, you will want to style at lower temperatures to prevent thermal stress on your precious strands – this is around the 120-150°C mark. Those with medium or wavy hair will want this slightly elevated at 150-180°C and for coarse, thick locks, you’ll find the most efficient straightening occurs at 180-200°C.

According to the hairstylist, this is not a prerequisite. “It's not important”, she says. “You just need to find the one with the features you need for your hair type and the looks you want to achieve from the styler”.

While you can find premium hair straighteners at lower price points, these models will forgo some of the more advanced elements. For instance, the Dyson Corrale is cordless and styles at a lower temperature. GHD is constantly innovating and you’ll find models like the DuetStyle that dry and style at the same time as well as the likes of dual-zone technology to automatically regulate the temperature of the plates to avoid damage.

Cheap hair straighteners are typically no-frills, often without smart technology or variable heat controls.

“Use heat protector spray,” says Bailey. She also advises to “Keep the styler moving over the hair, don't hold it in one spot for ages as this can burn the hair and always use the right temperature for your hair type”.

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