Karaoke gives singers both shockingly fabulous and ear-shattering terrible, a chance to perform their favorite songs. A lot of people go to karaoke bars to flex their vocal cords and meet people, making it a nice social activity as well. Whether you’re alone or with friends, karaoke can be a great time, provided that you have the right machine — and likely a good sense of humor.

For home use, there are several good karaoke machines available. Most of them fit right in your living room or closet where they can be put into use at a moment’s notice. Generally speaking, most of them also support Bluetooth, so you can use your phone or tablet as the display to read lyrics while you sing. In any case, here are the best karaoke machines that we could find.

Best Karaoke machine: Our top picks

The Tonor K20 is a great place to start for at-home karaoke machines. It’s frequently on sale for much less than its MSRP, which makes it almost always an enticing option. Plus, it comes with two microphones along with a stand for a tablet. That makes it a completely self-contained setup that doesn’t need any additional accessories to function. In terms of sound quality, it’s pretty good for a speaker its size, and it also gets pretty loud.

For downsides, there aren’t many. You’ll need to keep a stash of batteries around for the microphones since they don’t come with any. Also, battery-operated wireless microphones don’t always sound the best. However, aside from those two things, the K20 gets the job done and can be used in virtually any room of your house.

The VeGue VS-1088 karaoke machine is very similar in build and function to the Tonor K20, although the two have slightly different sets of speakers. This one has a 10-inch subwoofer whereas the K20 has an 8-inch subwoofer. In any case, small differences in specs and design aside, the VeGue is very similar to the K20 in terms of overall usability. It’s loud, it works in all kinds of indoor spaces, and it has everything you need in the box.

Like the K20, the microphones are battery-powered, so stock up on batteries if you intend to use them a lot. Other than that small hiccup, it’s a perfectly competent karaoke machine. The disco ball on top adds some pizzazz to the room. It’s also relatively easy to carry from place to place if you need to move it around. You’ll still need a tablet or something to connect to it if you want to read lyrics.

The Singstation Star Burst is a great budget option for karaoke machines. For under $100, you get a Bluetooth-enabled speaker with two corded microphones and flashy lights to add style to your performances. It’s best used in a living room or bedroom environment as it’s a bit too small to work in larger rooms or outside. The small size is nice for storage, though, if you don’t want it hanging out all the time.

In terms of quality, what you see is what you get. It’s not a massive speaker, so there are some limitations in terms of sound quality. It’s more than good enough for casual use, which it was designed to provide. In that, we have no major complaints. There is a pink variant as well, although it goes for $10 more, but there’s no real reason why it should.

JBL knows how to make a speaker, as evidenced by its inclusion in our best Bluetooth speakers list. The JBL PartyBox 710 is one of the largest speakers that JBL makes. It boasts 800 watts of power and is loud enough to work in larger rooms like auditoriums and outdoor venues like pool parties or picnic areas. The speaker costs $800 on its own, but the bundle above comes with two battery-powered microphones to complete your karaoke setup.

Better than most other karaoke machines, but it’s also vastly more expensive.

The speaker comes with wheels, so it’s fairly easy to get around provided that you don’t have to lift it. The front of the speaker has some lighting effects to jazz things up as well. As for the microphones, they’re okay. They’re a step up from the usual karaoke machine wireless microphones, and JBL says you can get six hours with one set of batteries. It’s definitely better than most other karaoke machines, but it’s also vastly more expensive.

If you already own speakers and want a karaoke setup, the Sound Town SWM15-PROS is a good choice. It plugs into existing TVs or speakers and lets you sing with the included wireless microphones. The wireless microphones are about on par with all the others on the list so far, but they get the job done without too much of an issue. The mixer is also easy to use with four adjustable knobs to customize your tone.

For the most part, the device works pretty well, although some setups may introduce delays that make karaoke a little difficult. There isn’t a documented list of devices, but it generally happens when using the HDMI pass through. Folks who use the audio-out options shouldn’t have any delay issues. Other than that small quirk, this is a good way to take an existing speaker setup and turn it into a karaoke machine.

Moukey is a direct competitor to Tonor and VeGue, and honestly, there is no clear winner between the three. This karaoke machine omits some of the flashier features like the disco ball but makes up for it with improved functionality via its optionally wired microphones. In terms of sound quality, it’s virtually the same as its Tonor and VeGue counterparts, but it does come with a 12-inch subwoofer option, which is the biggest of the three competitors.

It’s loud enough for any room inside a house and smaller parties in the backyard, but it may start to struggle in larger rooms.

What makes the Moukey nice is that it’s not too flashy. The lights on the front look like a face and strobe to the music, but it omits the disco ball, leaving you free to light your space as you wish. It’s loud enough for any room inside a house and smaller parties in the backyard, but it may start to struggle in larger rooms, such as auditoriums. Between the Moukey, the Tonor, and the VeGue, get the one that’s on sale, because they are all fairly even all-around.

The bottom line: Which karaoke machine is the best?

For the money, the Tonor K20, VeGue VS-1088, and Moukey MTs-10-2 are the best bang for your buck. They all have similar features; sound quality, performance, and ease of use. Getting the entire self-contained unit with wireless microphones in a speaker loud enough for most indoor events is convenient, and none of them are massively expensive.

For those with the extra money, the JBL PartyBox 710 with the wireless microphone bundle is even louder, sounds even better, and you have the advantage of having one excellent speaker for parties and events that aren’t karaoke. At the other end of the spectrum, folks who don’t want to go overboard can try out the Singstation Star Burst for under $100.

Folks ready for the ultra-premium experience and don’t mind spending time or money, can choose from the other products to perfect their setup.

How did we choose these products?

It wasn’t too difficult. There aren’t a lot of karaoke machines on the market, so it was just a matter of identifying the best ones from a small group. We removed the ultra-budget options due to quality control and sound quality concerns. From there, we compared speaker power, features, included accessories, and as many reviews as we could find to corroborate our findings. As per the norm, the entire list was looked over by an editor to ensure accuracy.

What are some karaoke apps or software that I can use?

Almost every system on the list above primarily uses Bluetooth connections with your phone or tablet to play music. Thus, even if you spend hundreds on a karaoke machine, you’ll still need to provide your own music. Fortunately, there are services out there that provide this exact function. Here is a brief list of some of the good ones.

1. KaraFun — Boasts a library of over 58,000 popular songs on its platform. The subscription is a bit expensive, but you can purchase a month and cancel immediately if you only need it for a few days. It is $10 for that month, but that’s still less expensive than a karaoke bar.
2. YouTube — There are two options if you use YouTube. There are channels on YouTube that provide some songs in a karaoke format with no vocals, but visible lyrics in the video that you can read off of. Baring that, you can always play official songs and sing along with the artist.
3. PCDJ — If you want a more professional setup, PCDJ is a good starting choice. There is a rather steep learning curve associated with this one, but it can do some cool stuff. It comes with a library of over 34,000 songs.
4. Any music streaming service — This low-tech option is the same as YouTube. You can simply play music off of Spotify or YouTube Music and sing along with your microphone. There is no shame in performing a duet with your favorite artists, and it doesn’t cost anything other than what you’re already paying for it anyway.

Should I buy a karaoke machine or build one?

This is a complicated question with many variables to consider. Buying a karaoke machine is a much easier and cheaper approach, especially if you intend to use it in your living room. Indeed, you won’t get the highest quality experience that way, but you’ll be able to pull the thing out of the box and use it the same day without a frustrating setup. In that, a karaoke machine is the superior choice.

However, if you want a professional-level karaoke experience, you will have to build your own. Karaoke machines are only so good at what they do, and to get the best possible experience, it’ll require not only money but some time and effort.