Microscopes under £100

Everything here is a real microscope with a glass lens and a stage that focuses, which rules out most of what sells at this price on marketplaces. For slides there's the Levenhuk LabZZ M101, the Levenhuk Rainbow 2L with lighting from both sides and a mains adapter, the Bresser Junior 40-640x and its brine shrimp hatchery, the Junior Biotar and the Bresser Youngster 40-1024x with an HD eyepiece camera. For solid objects there's the 20x Levenhuk 1ST, the 40x LabZZ M4 and the Bresser Junior 20x stereo. The Bresser Junior 7-97x and Youngster 100-500x are handheld digital microscopes.

Free UK delivery on orders over £100, otherwise £6.90

64 products

What you get for the money

A single eyepiece, three objectives on a turret, LED lighting and, on the Levenhuk models, the K50 kit of prepared slides and tools. Magnification runs to 400x on the Rainbow 2L and 640x on the M101 and the Junior, which covers onion cells, pond water, pollen and the legs of a fly.

What you don't get

No binocular head, no mechanical stage (the knobs that move a slide a hair at a time), no 100x oil immersion objective and no Koehler lighting. Bodies are mostly plastic, batteries are the norm, and the top figure on the box comes from a Barlow lens or a 16x eyepiece that enlarges the image without adding detail. For 1000x that resolves something, start in the £100 to £250 band.

Under £100 FAQs

Which one for a seven-year-old?

The 1ST or the Junior 20x stereo, because a beetle or a feather goes straight under the lens with no slide to focus. Our kids' microscope guide covers the choice by age.