It can be a little challenging picking out the best telescopes on Amazon, given the sheer volume of models available from the retailer. Despite this, we've scoped out the top telescopes on Amazon and included something to suit every astronomer and every budget.
Amazon is a great place to look for telescope deals as you can grab some of the best telescopes on the market as well as a number of great budget telescopes under $500. While this is true, we always recommend that you understand what you're buying before purchasing as deals can sometimes seem too good to be true and often, that's because they are. We also recommend choosing a recognized name too, as we can't vouch for the quality of unknown brands.
With that in mind, we do also have brand-specific guides for the best Celestron telescope deals, Sky-Watcher telescope deals, Meade telescope deals, Orion telescope deals. A lot of these deals are also for telescopes on Amazon too.
Below all the deals you'll see, we've included some buying advice for you too. So, if you're in the market to inspire a budding astronomer or you want to get into stargazing with the best telescopes for beginners, we'll give you a helping hand. However, with all of that being said, all you have to do is read on below to check out the best telescopes on Amazon and their discounts.
Telescopes on Amazon: Today's best deals
Buying advice
When purchasing one of the telescopes on Amazon, or any telescope for that matter, you need to consider what you want to achieve from your stargazing experience. There are three main types of telescope and each have different advantages, so we've explained each one below - so you know what to look out for in your next scope. Alternatively, you can check out our best telescopes guide for more information.
Refractors
These telescopes are usually best for providing high-magnification views of targets like planets and the moon. They're also very easy to set up and maintain. Combine this with the fact that they usually retail for a lower price point and you can see why this is a popular option with beginners. They do tend to suffer from a visual problem called ‘chromatic aberration’, where bright objects in the sky appear to be surrounded by a halo. However, this shouldn’t dampen the experience for any viewers.
Reflectors
With wider apertures, these types of telescopes are able to take in more light and therefore better suited for spotting fainter objects. They tend to be useful for views of low-magnification targets like galaxies and nebulas. Unfortunately, these types of telescopes can suffer from something called the ‘coma’ effect, where objects appear elongated instead of spherical/ circular. Again, though, this is a minor issue - and probably something you can get used to at this low price point.
Catadioptric
There are two main catadioptric designs: the Maksutov-Cassegrain and Schmidt-Cassegrain. Both types often come with a computerized GoTo system, which can work out your position and location - and align with night sky targets that you program into the device. They also usually fix the problems mentioned above (coma and chromatic aberration.) As such, they're also usually more expensive. Typically, you'll find that the Schmidt-Cassegrain designs have bigger apertures, and the Maksutov-Cassegrain sport smaller apertures, so the former is better for fainter deep sky targets and the latter will offer high magnification views.
Deals you missed
When a deal has expired, we'll move it below. That way, you can compare current prices to those in the past. You'll also get a sense of what to look for when you're seeking out telescopes on Amazon.
