If you’ve been shopping the best laptop deals and want to add some screen real estate to your new setup, or if you otherwise have a need to expand your digital workspace, you’re going to need a new monitor. The best monitors always make great options, but if you want something ultimate yet efficient when it comes to screen space, you’re going to want an ultrawide monitor. There are a lot of ultrawide monitors available, each built to be suitable for different needs and for different price points. We’ve tracked down what we feel are the best ultrawide monitors for 2024. Our selections include the best ultrawide monitor for gaming, the best ultrawide monitor for work, and the best ultrawide monitor on a budget, so read onward for more details.
Buy the if you want an ultrawide monitor for gaming
Buy the if you want a 4K ultrawide monitor
Buy the if you want an ultrawide monitor for content creation
Buy the if you want an ultrawide monitor for cheap
Dell 34-inch S3422DWG
Best ultrawide monitor for work
Pros
Cons
34-inch QHD display
Bulky design
400 nits of brightness
Wide viewing angles
Dell is one of the most popular names in computing. It’s almost always one of the best laptop brands, and this Dell utlrawide monitor makes a good pairing with any of the best laptops. It comes in at 34-inches and QHD resolution, which is halfway between Full HD and 4K resolution. It offers a ton of screen real estate for multitasking and watching content at a price point that falls in the price range of many of the best budget monitors. We think this is the best ultrawide monitor for work because of its versatility and range of features, but with a 144Hz refresh rate it could sneak in some gaming between meetings.
If you’re here because you’re looking to take on some of the best PC games with a new display, the best ultrawide monitor for gaming is the ASUS ROG Strix. This 34-inch model offers a super fast 180Hz refresh that ensures your gameplay won’t be interrupted by image tearing or lag, and the display checks in at 400 nits of brightness, whicih will allow you to see the display even in bright rooms. This monitor has a USB-C hub that supports both video transmission and charging, which makes it a great monitor to pair with one of the best gaming laptops.
Specifications
Resolution
QHD 1440p
Refresh rate
180Hz
LG 40-inch 40WP95C-W
Best ultrawide monitor for 4K resolution
Pros
Cons
40-inch curved display
Only 72Hz refresh rate
HDR10 technology
Thunderbolt 4 connectivity
With ultrawide monitors4K resolution can be a little more difficult to come by, as their expansive width doesn’t always make the appropriate dimensions for high quality 4K. The LG 40WP95C-W, however, offers both 4K resolution and screen real estate, as it comes in at 40 inches. It’s also capable of producing colors across the DCI P3 color gamut with HDR10 technology built in, so you’ll be getting a premium visual experience with this monitor. It has Thunderbolt 4 connectivity with 96-watt power delivery, making it an excellent option for pairing with both laptops and desktop computers.
Specifications
Resolution
4K 2160p
Refresh rate
72Hz
ASUS 34-inch ProArt
Best ultrawide monitor for content creation
Pros
Cons
34-inch QHD display
Poor audio
P3 color
USB-C connectivity
ASUS’s lineup of ProArt monitors are incredibly popular among artists and other creators. They offer a great price point for a high quality image, and with this 34-inch ultrawide you’re getting the same. You’ll be getting a lot of features that are highly sought after by creatives with this ultrawide monitor, including P3 color, wide viewing angles, Calman Verified factory calibration, and USB-C connectivity with 90 watts of power delivery. It comes with a huge variety of ports, including DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB, so you should be able to connect all of your creative peripherals with no issues.
Specifications
Resolution
QHD 1440p
Refresh rate
120Hz
LG 29-inch 29WQ600-W
Best ultrawide monitor for a budget
Pros
Cons
29-inch Full HD display
Aging 1080p resolution
Motion blur reduction
Blue light reduction
If you’re simply looking to get into the ultrawide game and don’t have much need for the highest screen resolution or ultimate connectivity, the LG 29WQ600-W is the ultrawide for you. It’s the best ultrawide monitor for a budget, yet still has a lot to offer. It doesn’t have 4K resolution, but it still comes in at Full HD resolution, which has been the standard for nearly two decades, and will hold up awhile longer, particularly for office and school uses. The screen comes in at 29 inches, which still makes it larger than most monitors on the market, and it even has a 100Hz refresh rate, which should come in handy if you’re looking to do a little gaming on the cheap as well.
Specifications
Resolution
Full HD 1080p
Refresh rate
100Hz
How we chose these ultrawide monitors
From researching to writing and with some of our own hobbyist gaming adventures in between, we often find ourselves with a lot of tabs, programs, and windows open. This has given us a lot of experience using ultrawide monitors, as their general nature comes in handy for our daily computer interactions. This gives us a leg up when it comes to the terrain, and all of our selections for the best ultrawide monitors have been made utilizing that advantage.
We’ve chosen the best ultrawide monitors while considering price and our own expertise from both using and writing about utlrawide monitors, with preference given to more recent releases. Screen resolution isn’t as important in an ultrawide monitor as it might be fore some of the best monitors in general, as you’re getting a lot of screen real estate no matter the display’s pixel dimensions. But a sharp image is important, so our selections have also been made with an attempt at harmony between picture quality, refresh rate, connectivity options, and affordability.
This article is managed and created separately from the Digital Trends Editorial team.
If you have one of the best VR headsets, such as the new Meta Quest 3, you might be wondering what you can do with it. Beyond the best VR games, there's a whole world of apps to explore too.
VR apps can immerse you in any scenario or augment your actual surroundings with mixed-reality graphics. You can hang out and work with friends located anywhere in the world, watch movies on a giant cinema screen, learn about atomic bonds with molecules scaled up to fill the room, create 3D models with a swipe of your hand, and much more. Here are the best ones to try out to get the most out of your VR headset.
Google Earth VR (free)
Google Earth VR — Bringing the whole wide world to virtual reality
I’ve used ultrawide monitors for a decade. Here’s why I’ve given up on them
I've been using an ultrawide monitor for a decade. I bought in early, sometime back in 2013, picking up LG's first ultrawide display: the 29EA93. It's terrible by today's standards, but I fell in love immediately.
I was using Pro Tools a lot at the time, and the extra screen real estate was a godsend for seeing more of my window. It also helped that I could pull up two browser windows side by side to multitask, as well as enjoy the deeper immersion in games. It didn't matter that the screen was only 29 inches, or that it only had a resolution of 2,560 x 1,080. I was sold; 21:9 was for me.