• A good pair of trail running shoes support and protect your feet against rocks, roots, and the ever-changing terrain you'll find on woodsy and mountainous jogs.
• The right pair of trail runners depends on if you're trying to run fast, keep your feet dry in a downpour, and if you'll be running pavement as well as trails.
• Our top pick, the Salomon Sense Ride 3, is an impressive all-around, neutral trail shoe that fits like a glove, has incredibly traction, and is built to last.

Trail running is an amazing upgrade to road running if you're looking to log miles with better scenery and a better challenge to your body. You're often running uphill and your feet are constantly having to stabilize against imperfections in the trails like tree roots and rocks, so it works both your lungs and your muscles harder than a road run. But because your foot is tackling more than just smooth pavement, your shoes have to do more than a typical road runner would.

You want your trail running shoes to be akin to a hiking boot in a sense, in that they'll protect your feet against rocks, mud, and roots and have enough grip to keep you from skidding on loose terrain. Yet, you also need them to be supported and lightweight like a road running shoe, enough to keep your legs moving fast and feet from absorbing too much shock with each step (impact).

Because there are so many more factors to consider, finding a great pair of trail running shoes can be harder than finding road running shoes. The right pair underfoot will take you on a gorgeous path through the woods and you'll have a running experience like no other. Pick the wrong ones, however, and you could be in for a rough ride.

There's certainly plenty to consider, which is why we've field-tested a range of different trail shoes to help you find one fit for your running style. At the end of this guide, we've outlined how to shop for trail runners, and how exactly we tested those included here. 

Here are the best trail running shoes for men: 

• Best trail running shoes overall: Salomon Sense Ride 3
• Best trail running shoes for races: Hoka One One Evo Speedgoat
• Best hybrid trail running shoes: Nike Pegasus Trail 2
• Best lightweight zero-drop trail running shoes: Altra Timp 2.0
• Best waterproof trail running shoes: Saucony Peregrine 10 GTX (Gore-Tex)

Updated on 1/12/2021 by Rachael Schultz: Updated intro, updated photos, checked the availability of all recommended products, and updated the prices and links where necessary. 

SEE ALSO: The best running shoes for men

DON'T MISS: The best men's hiking boots you can buy

The best trail running shoes overall

The Salomon Sense Ride 3 has amazing traction on a variety of terrain, holds up on rough trails again and again, yet is still lightweight enough to keep you moving fast.

Pros: Capable of handling a variety of terrain, outstanding protection and durability, very comfortable with a molded, glove-like fit, superb traction

Cons: Heavier than I expected, unique lacing system takes some getting used to

On one hand, this neutral, everyday trail trainer features some of the best protection and durability of all the shoes I tested. It handled everything I could throw at it during runs that took me over splintery logs, down wet embankments, and through a loose gravel field. After two months of testing the Sense Ride 3, they still looked as good as new and my feet were untouched. Insider's Health and Fitness Updates Editor Rachael Schultz adds she's been running in the women's Sense Ride 3 for two years now and they're still as reliable underfoot as the first wear.

The shoes performed well on a variety of trails from steep technical inclines to pure slop (it was a rainy spring) with Salomon's Contragrip MA outsole offering superb traction. The outsole's diamond-shaped rubber lugs are long enough at 2mm for climbing muddy hills but not so aggressive that they slowed me down or clogged up with dirt afterwards.

The Sense Ride 3s were the most comfortable of the shoes I tested, with a smooth contoured fit that seemed to swaddle my feet. There's an internal sleeve in the shoe, which Salomon calls EndoFit, that's designed to hug the foot and provide comfort. It delivered as did the molded OrthoLite insole that offered added cushioning. 

The Sense Ride 3's welded, stitch-free upper is deluxe, producing a glove-like feel with no hotspots. It's also a gorgeous looking shoe, with a minimalist design that's not likely to go out of style.

Salmon's patented Quicklace system took a little getting used to, however. Featuring thin but strong laces that you pull tight via a sliding button, Quicklace lets you fine-tune the fit to get just the right amount of lace pressure. While this is definitely a learning curve, it makes for quick adjustments if you need to loosen a bit mid-run. Also important to note is there is a hidden pocket on the tongue that you're supposed to tuck the dangling laces into, as outlined in a short video from Salomon. This may be a pain for some, but honestly, so is lacing a shoe period.

The Sense Ride 3s were heavier than I expected, with my size 11.5 pair weighing in at over 12 ounces per shoe. Part of that is because of the thicker midsole compared to previous versions. The added weight is worth it though because Salomon's plush Optivibe foam offered great energy return and a smooth ride while the shoe's rock plate added another layer of protection. The shoe has a moderate 8mm drop, which suited most conditions well.

Put plainly, the Sense Ride 3 is a great all-rounder on the trails.

The best trail running shoes for races

Hoka One One's EVO Speedgoat is light-weight and made for going fast while still offering a thick midsole to float you over rough terrain.

Pros: Light and fast, flashy design with a comfortable and durable fit, thick foam midsole for cushioning on terrain

Cons: Some stability issues on rocky, technical trails; high-stack height reduces ground feel

Hoka's popular Clifton series of road running shoes was named our best cushioned trainer for men, and the brand's the EVO Speedgoat is a bit like a trail version of that highly-stacked shoe. 

The entire Speedgoat line of trail shoes is named after legendary ultramarathoner Karl "Speedgoat" Meltzer who has more 100-mile race wins than any other runner. There are quite a few key features that make the EVOs, specifically, ideal for speeding down trails:

For one, the EVO Speedgoat's upper is stitched with a lightweight but tough material called Matryx that blends stretchy Lycra with tough Kevlar for a durable, water-repellant shell. I loved putting on these shoes, too. Their bucket seat design and stretchy laces fit my feet (which suffer from some bunion issues) perfectly, with ample room in the toebox. 

Because this is a Hoka shoe, the EVO's foam midsole is ample, to say the least. With a stack height of 32mm and a heel (31mm) to toe (27mm) drop of 4mm, these are tall, soft trail shoes designed with Hoka's slightly curved meta-rocker design. The extra cushioning provides a bigger buffer when running over bumpy terrain and I often felt like I was floating on a cloud in these shoes. There's almost no ground feel, however, which may not appeal to some runners. I didn't have an issue, except on more technical trails with large rocks, where I often worried I'd turn an ankle (but didn't, thankfully).

What I liked most about the EVO Speedgoats is the speed they allow. Weighing around ten ounces, these were one of the lightest shoes I tested and, on less technical trails, I'd flat out fly. Even when I was cruising along, I never felt I'd lose my footing thanks to the Vibram MegaGrip outsole, which features 5mm multidirectional lugs. Traction was superb and because the outsole extends in the back, the EVO Speegoats held their own when running downhill with the rear foam flare providing added stability.

As for the design, they feature a striking bright yellow and black colorway. The EVO Speedgoats are like the splashy sportscar of all the shoes I tested, but one built with the dependable all-wheel drive of a Subaru to help take you off the beaten path.

The best hybrid trail running shoes

The Nike Pegasus Trail 2 borrows design points from its beloved road-warrior brother, but is designed to get down and dirty, making it a unique hybrid shoe you'll be comfortable using on everything from asphalt to mud. 

Pros: A great commuter shoe that can handle both pavement and dirt, Nike's React foam midsole provided ample cushioning, many highly functional and attractive design elements

Cons: A very heavy shoe, steep heel to toe drop caused some stability issues, couldn't get a full locked down fit

The Nike Pegasus Trail 2, as its name suggests, is the trail version of the popular Nike Pegasus road shoe line. The main similarity between the Pegasus Trail 2 and the road Pegasus 37 is the large chunk of Nike's React foam, which forms the midsole of both models. React is a soft but responsive foam which I've liked on Nike's previous road shoes and it's a great match for the Trail 2's city-to-trail design. 

On one of my first runs in this shoe, I ran roughly a mile on the roads to a local park and then sped off down a winding, tree-lined path for a few more miles on soft ground before returning to the pavement to head home. This might not seem like a big deal but if you've ever tried to bring a serious trail shoe on the road – or a road shoe on the trails, for that matter – it's not fun. The Trail 2 handled both surfaces well, though its mountain bike-inspired rubber outsole with 2mm lugs thrives in the dirt. 

The Trail 2 has a stack height of 31mm in the heel and 21mm in the forefoot for a drop of 10mm. That significant drop did help generate forward momentum and I enjoyed being able to put the pedal to the metal with these shoes, particularly on lower-grade downhills. 

As with other highly stacked trail shoes, I experienced some instability on steeper, more treacherous trails, particularly those lined with large rocks. This was particularly true when my legs were tired, which caused the shoes to feel wobbly. On the plus side, the generous amount of foam reduced the stress on my legs during longer runs. 

I also liked the Pegasus Trail 2's functional design elements including a faux gaiter on the heel collar that prevented dirt and debris from getting inside the shoe. The tough but breathable engineered mesh on the Trail 2's upper was also a nice touch as was the water-repellant coating on the gusseted tongue and collar that prevented moisture from creeping in. 

In terms of looks, the Pegasus Trail 2 is an eye-catching shoe. The pair I tested had a brash but appealing color scheme of pale yellow on the upper, neon green around the laces and heel counter, and teal on the neoprene tongue and collar. The shoe's forefoot includes two toe fangs, which are a pair of rubber nubs that add traction when running uphill and look plain fierce. 

The Trail 2's were the heaviest shoes I tested (over 12 ounces in size 11.5) and while I wasn't keen on that, a few of my fastest and most enjoyable runs were in them. These shoes perform extremely well both on and off the roads.

The best lightweight zero-drop trail running shoes

If you want a zero-drop shoe to really feel the trail on your runs, the lightweight but well-cushioned Altra Timp 2.0 will keep you safe and moving fast.

Pros: A sleek and fast zero drop shoe that felt natural to run in, significantly lighter than previous version, Quantic foam midsole provides excellent cushioning

Cons: Narrower fit overall might not appeal to previous Timp fans, shoes require a fair amount of breaking in

Altra's Timp line is a relatively new but beloved series of shoes, and to say that the 2.0 version has divided Timp devotees would be an understatement. The biggest change between Timp 2.0 and Timp 1.5 is the fit, which on the new version is tighter through the mid- and forefoot. In a word, these shoes feel snug. That's somewhat unusual for Altra since the company has a reputation for creating shoes with a wide toebox that lets you splay out your toes in a way that mimics barefoot walking. You can still do that with the Timp 2.0, but everywhere else feels narrower. 

Altra trimmed the shoe down and shed some of its weight. In my size 11.5s, each Timp 2.0 weighed around 10 ounces, which is equal to the speedy Hoka EVO Speedgoats above. These felt even lighter than the Speedgoats though and, overall, I loved the sleek and fast 2.0, which would make a decent racing shoe. 

They do require some breaking in, however. When I initially put them on, my troublesome right foot with its bunion issue, felt squeezed. After loosening the laces a bit and taking them on a few tempo runs, I was hooked.

Most notably, this is a zero-drop shoe, which means both the heel and the forefoot are the same height off the ground. Despite that, the Timp 2.0 does has significant cushioning with a stack height of around 30mm. Altra uses its Quantic foam – a first for the Timp line – on the 2.0 and its plush but lightweight midsole felt fantastic even on bumpy trails.

The Maxtrac outsole provided decent grip and while the rubber lugs are on the small size (2mm), Altra deploys them in its Trailclaw outlay, which positions them beneath your foot's metatarsals to provide better traction at toe off. These weren't my favorite shoes for wet and muddy conditions, but they certainly held their own on just about everything else.

Overall, I enjoyed the sensation of running in the Timp 2.0s. While zero-drop shoes aren't for everyone, they do provide an experience more akin to running barefoot. When I padded over rocks or went sideways on steep embankments, I never felt unstable. I could just run, which is what it's all about.

The best waterproof trail running shoes

If the trails you plan to run on are wet, muddy, and full of river crossings, the best shoe to go with is the Saucony Peregrine 10 GTX which has an upper made from waterproof Gore-Tex, is an excellent all-around off-road shoes, and has the best grip of all the models I tested.

Pros: Gore-Tex upper keeps your feet dry even when crossing streams, excellent traction from an aggressive 6mm lug pattern on the outsole, low-to-the ground profile provided excellent stability

Cons: Snug fit caused me some heel pain after runs, bottom of shoe retains dirt, quite heavy

The Saucony Peregrine 10 GTX is a low-to-the-ground shoe with a minimal heel (22mm) to forefoot (18mm) drop of 4mm. This is another shoe that helps you feel the trail, minus the jolts since they're well protected. I had no stability issues with the Peregrine 10 GTX and plowed through a variety of terrain in them with confidence, including ankle-deep muck, piles of slippery wet leaves, and a small stream.

The one knock against Gore-Tex on any shoe is that it can cause a shoe's upper to feel stiff and confining. However, I had no such problem with the Peregrine 10 GTX, which fit my feet like a comfortable glove. The Gore-Tex upper was less supple than some of the other shoes I tested and didn't breathe as well – you'll definitely want to air these out after your runs – but I barely noticed it once I hit the trails. 

What I did notice was the superior traction from Saucony's PWRTRAC outsole, which uses a sticky rubber compound and an aggressive, 6mm hexagonal lug pattern that kept me from slipping even on a rainy run through a field. On the downside, this is definitely not a shoe you'd want to use on the roads and the grippy outsole tended to retain some dirt after trail runs.

The Peregrine 10 GTX is well-cushioned and there's a rock plate to protect your feet from sharp objects on the trail. Saucony's FORMFIT design with its reinforced upper cradled my feet snugly if a bit too tightly on my slightly longer right foot. In the past, I've had issues with stiff heel cups causing me pain in my right heel after runs and this was the case with the Peregrine 10 GTX. After doing some research, I noticed at least one other reviewer had the same problem with the Peregrine 10, so you might want to consider going up half a size if this is an issue for you.

Other than that, my only other issue was weight. In size 11.5, the Peregrine 10 GTX tipped the scales at over 12 ounces, putting it amongst the heavier shoes I tested. When you consider what you're getting with this fully featured trail shoe, however, including the waterproof benefits of Gore-Tex, those extra few ounces are worth it. 

How to shop for trail running shoes

There are many things to look for in trail shoes but the first question you should ask yourself is, where do you plan on using them? If your runs are on a combination of roads and trails, you'll want a hybrid shoe that won't slow you down on concrete while giving you enough grip on dirt to prevent you from slipping.

If you see yourself regularly running on wet, muddy trails, you'll want shoes with longer rubber lugs on their outsoles for better traction. You may even consider getting waterproof shoes fortified with Gore-Tex if you plan on running in the rain or if your trails have any shallow streams to cross. 

If your local trails are rocky or you favor moving fast through difficult terrain, you may want a shoe with a reinforced toe cap to prevent sharp objects, such as sticks or branches, from piercing the front of your shoe. Also handy are shoes with rock plates, which are slabs of plastic or carbon fiber sandwiched between the midsole and the outsole of the shoe that shield your foot when running over jagged rocks.

Other features are more of a matter of taste: Do you want your trail shoes to have a pronounced drop? This means that the midsole is tilted forward with the heel higher than the toe portion of the shoe. Some runners feel having a heel-to-toe drop of 10 millimeters or more helps their running form by propelling them forward while the added rear foam protects their heels on bumpy trails. 

Other runners, however, prefer zero-drop shoes where the heel and ball of your foot are the same height off the ground. Shoes without drops are typically better for more technical trails and less likely to cause you to turn your ankle on steep, uneven terrain. Some runners even say zero drop shoes help them feel the trail better. 

How we tested

Each trail running shoe in this guide went through a series of on-foot and on-trail tests to see how they across these four categories: Fit and comfort, performance, versatility, and value. Specifically, here's how each category factored into what pairs of trail running shoes ultimately made this guide:

• Fit and comfort: Though fit and comfort could be two separate categories, it was easy to lump the two together while testing for this guide. The right pair of trail running shoes should fit snugly across your foot while still leaving a small amount of space between the end of the shoe and your toes. If the shoe fits in this way, you're likely to also enjoy as much comfort as possible — which is vital for longer runs over uneven and rocky terrain.  
• Performance: First and foremost, a trail running shoe should be designed for the trail (however vague the word "trail" might actually be). This means that a shoe built for rocky terrain should have lugs designed to absorb and grip jagged rocks. If it's a pair meant for mud or other slick surfaces, the grip on the bottom should allow you to avoid taking a spill. And since they're all running shoes at their core, they should function like a proper runner, too.
• Versatility: There may not be a jack-of-all-trades-type trail running shoe that's built to handle it all, but some do come extremely close. When testing for this, we wanted to see how well the shoes held up transitioning from pavement to trail, or when it went from mud to dirt to sand. We also judged how well the waterproof designation held up not just in rain but when fully submerged, as well. 
• Value: Value is essentially the combination of the previous three categories, along with the runner's sticker price. Proper trail running shoes aren't often inexpensive but investing in the right pair means you'll spend less over time (as opposed to buying a budget pair more often and ultimately spending more money). 

• Phoenix offers beautiful weather and plenty of outdoor adventure opportunities November through May.
• From gorgeous desert views to bungalows in historic neighborhoods, we found top-rated Airbnbs across the Phoenix metro area.
• The average nightly Airbnb price in Phoenix is $175, and these exceptional listings range from $89 to $250.
• Read more: Are Airbnbs safe? We spoke to experts, a company representative, and an Airbnb host on everything you should know before booking someone's home

Having lived in Arizona for a full decade, I might be partial when I say it's one of the most beautiful states in the entire country. Its geographic diversity makes it an ideal spot to put your outdoor explorer hat on. It boasts diverse landscapes from canyons and desert foothills to forests and rivers. It's also rich in culture, a burgeoning foodie destination, and routinely delivers some of the most stunning sunsets you'll ever see.

The Phoenix metro area — which also includes Tempe, Glendale, and Scottsdale — is an ideal hub to explore it all. There's plenty to do within an hour's drive throughout the metro, such as Dreamy Draw, the White Tanks, Camelback Mountain, Four Peaks, and the Superstitions. Plus, many other top destinations are just a day trip away, including the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Tucson, Flagstaff, and more.

While there are inherent risks with any lodging options amid the coronavirus pandemic, experts and the CDC have noted that private vacation rentals like Airbnbs are safer alternatives to traditional hotels. This is because they reduce interactions with other guests and, in some cases, minimize all interactions completely. Additionally, Airbnb has enforced strict new Enhanced Clean protocols hosts must follow.

Even with these improved health and safety protocols, it's important to consider the risks associated with traveling right now. We always recommend following guidelines from the CDC, washing your hands, wearing a mask in public space, and practicing social distancing. Additionally, be aware that the Phoenix area is currently seeing a spike in cases, so you may want to plan now but hold off on traveling until later.

With all that in mind, there are no shortage or exceptional Airbnb offerings for those who are visiting Phoenix.

We rounded up noteworthy Phoenix Airbnbs based on the following criteria:

1. 1. All listings are private and for the entire home, as per current expert recommendations.
   2. Each has an average rating of at least 4.8 and excellent recent reviews.
   3. Affordability was a priority, with costs currently ranging between $89 and $250.
   4. Each property boasts unique attractions and amenities that are truly standout, ranging from stunning vistas to funky desert decor.

Here are the best Airbnbs in Phoenix, sorted by price from low to high.

Architectural dream guest house in Uptown Phoenix, $89

Book this architectural guesthouse starting at $89 per night

It's not every day you get to lounge in an architectural gem, but this guest house located in Uptown Phoenix offers just that. The 770 square-foot space was designed by well-known architect Will Bruder, who also built the Phoenix Central Library, W Hotel Phoenix, and numerous award-winning homes.

True to his style, the guest house features block concrete and copper for an ultra-urban, midcentury vibe. Those sleek vibes continue inside with concrete brick walls, lots of light, and mid-century modern furniture, art, plants, and décor. Guests have a private entrance, and the one-bedroom, one-bathroom space includes a full kitchen. There's also a small private patio with a grill.

The home is located in Paradise Valley, a quiet and affluent neighborhood within Phoenix, and offers easy access to hiking, vistas, the canal, and numerous restaurants. 

Availability is limited until March, but it opens up again in April.

Rating: 4.84

Covid-19 cleaning procedures: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program. The host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.

Orchard casita in Glendale, $99

Book this Orchard casita starting at $99 per night

While the Phoenix metro is mostly all desert, you'll find green and earthy pockets throughout the valley. The Orchard Casita, a one-acre historic lot with mature trees, lush grass, and gardens, is the perfect example of that. The property even has its own Arabian horse, named Annabelle, as well as chickens, a peacock, peahen, and desert tortoise—all of which free roam the property.

The space itself is a studio guesthouse located in the backyard of the main house. Guests say it feels exceptionally private, and the self-check-in means no-contact (a plus during the coronavirus pandemic). It features an open-air concept with a bed, table, and two chairs, as well as a kitchenette that allows for cooking small meals. There's also a bathroom with a walk-in shower. The sliding arcadia door makes for easy access to the green outdoor space.

The Orchard House is located just north of downtown Glendale, which is northwest of Phoenix proper. The home is a 15-minute drive from State Farm Stadium and 20 minutes from the Major League Baseball Spring Training facilities (a major draw each spring). Guests can also enjoy nearby White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Sahuaro Ranch Park, the Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve, and Thunderbird Conservation Park.

There's currently wide availability in March and beyond.

Rating: 5.0

Covid-19 cleaning procedures: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program. The host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.

Cowboy bunkhouse in North Scottsdale, $125

Book this cowboy bunkhouse starting at $125 per night

It'll be easy to channel your inner cowboy or cowgirl at this Southwestern-themed bunkhouse located on a two-acre desert plot in North Scottsdale. The rustic Southwestern furniture includes handcrafted wooden pieces, hefty beams, and faded green and red upholstery that will transport you back to the dusty saloon-era Arizona's known for. The modern appliances and electronics will bring you back to the future, though.

And the appeal doesn't stop at the doorstep. The outdoor patio features a Southwestern beehive fire pit.

The two-bedroom, one-bathroom guest house accommodates five guests and includes a full kitchen and laundry room, making it great for either a weekend getaway or a longer escape. It's located near Cave Creek (known for arts and shopping) and Old Town Scottsdale.

Availability is scattered through March but it's wide open through the rest of 2021.

Rating: 5.0

Covid-19 cleaning procedures: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program. The host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.

Adobe casita in North Central Phoenix, $100

Book this adobe casita starting at $100 per night

If a quiet, private reprieve with sweeping vistas is your end-goal, the Saddle Lane Casita in North Central Phoenix will deliver. The studio space, which accommodates two, is tucked into North Mountain and includes two twin beds and a bathroom. The interior feels eclectic with black and white tiles, terra cotta floors, and red and golden accents.

The biggest draw, though, is the wide adobe balcony and private patio. It faces west so you can catch that glorious Arizona sunset every night. Make sure to bring out a cup of coffee in the morning (or wine in the evening) to really soak it all in. Throughout the day, enjoy nearby North Mountain Park, Dreamy Draw Recreation Area, and Lookout Mountain.

Availability is scattered throughout 2021 and it may be worth booking this popular home a few months in advance.

Rating: 5.0

Covid-19 cleaning procedures: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program. The host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.

Chic renovated bungalow in a historic downtown district, $186

Book this renovated bungalow starting at $186 per night

This chic, freshly renovated bungalow is tucked into the Coronado historic district in central Phoenix. The white brick, open loft space, and large windows make this bungalow feel like a light, airy, desert reprieve, and the midcentury modern furniture and soft earth tones throughout offer an elegant, yet still cozy, appeal.

With three bedrooms and two bathrooms, it accommodates up to six people. The home features a full kitchen, laundry room, and a lovely private patio complete with outdoor furniture and a firepit.

The space is within walking distance to numerous boutique eateries and cafes, as well as the Phoenix Art Museum and Heard Museum. Rent a bike or scooter to explore farther afield.

There's currently wide availability through 2021.

Rating: 4.96

Covid-19 cleaning procedures: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program. The host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.

Renovated 1940s home in Heart of Tempe, $189

Book this renovated 1940s home starting at $189 per night

The Howard is a private home rental located in North Tempe (home of Arizona State University) that offers the ideal blend of local charm and upscale boutique hotel feel. It's "spectacularly stylish," as one guest put it.  You might even feel like you've stepped right into the pages of a design magazine.

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom home, built in the '40s, features a full farmhouse-meets-boho kitchen with a spacious custom-built island. There's also a beautiful white-washed fireplace in the living room that stretches upward. The outdoor space is just as welcoming. There are two full patios and a backyard, with plenty of options for outdoor seating throughout. There's also a hammock, a firepit, shade structure, and a gas grill.

For outdoor activities, guests can enjoy nearby Papago Park, the Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix Zoo, South Mountain, and Tempe Town Lake.

There's currently wide availability through 2021.

Rating: 4.93

Covid-19 cleaning procedures: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program. The host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.

Modern custom home on Roosevelt Row in Downtown Phoenix, $201

Book this modern home starting at $201 per night

Those craving more of an urban, art-filled experience in Phoenix will enjoy this small, modern home located in Downtown Phoenix. Specifically, it's located on Roosevelt Row — referred to as "RoRo" by locals — which is known for its vibrant graffiti, small indie shops, boutique eateries, bars, and cafes. It's also just off the light rail which minimizes the need for a car.

The house itself was created by Phoenix native Troy Strumpfer, an architect inspired by minimalist Nordic design. At 420 square feet, this one-bedroom, one-bathroom space is a true tiny home. But it still offers everything you need for a comfortable getaway, including a kitchenette and a surprisingly large private patio with natural shade and an outdoor shower.

There's currently wide availability throughout 2021.

Rating: 4.96

Covid-19 cleaning procedures: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program. The host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.

Sprawling estate with waterfall pool and putting green in Paradise Valley, $245

Book this sprawling estate starting at $245 per night

There's no shortage of luxury at this sprawling Paradise Valley estate. It offers access to your very own backyard oasis, complete with a private waterfall pool, hot tub, expansive patio with lots of seating, and a putting green. With five bedrooms that can sleep up to 10 guests, this home is ideal for larger families or small bubbles who want to be able to spread out in their own individual space.

Though you might find yourself drawn to the outdoors and its tranquil setting, the inside is plenty alluring, too. It features a wide-open grand living space, kitchen and wet bar with granite countertops and new appliances, and a separate dining area with a long wooden table for gathering. Each bedroom has its own bath, and the master's spa-like bathroom with jetted tub and separate walk-in shower is particularly luxurious. The master bedroom also has its own fireplace.

If you're inclined to venture out, enjoy nearby Old Town, Scottsdale Quarter, Dreamy Draw, and McCormick Ranch. Availability is scattered through May 2021 and then opens up in the summer and fall. 

Rating: 4.89

Covid-19 cleaning procedures: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program. The host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.

Mountainside retreat with heated pool and balconies in Midtown, $250

Book this mountainside retreat starting at $250 per night

This three-bedroom, three-bathroom mountainside home blends seamlessly into the stunning Phoenix Mountain Preserves. It's a luxurious, large space with three balconies that offer beautiful views at all hours. The master is particularly welcoming with its spa-like bathroom that overlooks the nearby foothills. Guests have the entire space to themselves, including a full kitchen, as well as access to the community tennis courts, heated pool, and spa. Given the size, it's ideal for a small family getaway.

It's located in midtown phoenix with access to nearby hiking — including Dreamy Draw and North Mountain Park — as well as numerous restaurants and parks. It's location also makes it easy to hop on the highway and get away to destinations up north. Sedona, Flagstaff, Jerome, Arcosanti, or Prescott are all within a few hours' drive.

Availability is limited until March, but it opens up in April.

Rating: 4.81

Covid-19 cleaning procedures: This home participates in Airbnb's Enhanced Clean program. The host is committed to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with leading health and hospitality experts.

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If you spend a lot of time listening to music, watching shows and movies, and playing video games, then a good set of headphones is one of the quickest ways to get the most out of your media. A good set of cans creates an immersive experience by letting you hear all the detailed highs and lows.

Audiophiles will happily spend a ton of money on high-end headphones, but since you're reading this, you're probably like most people and you're not looking to drop several Benjamins on a pair. Even audio enthusiasts will admit that you don't have to spend hundreds, and that inexpensive headphones have come a long way in recent years.

In the budget-friendly range, you shouldn't get into the weeds regarding technical specifications like equalization, frequency response, impedance/resistance, and so on — these are more of a concern with high-end gear. At lower price points, your primary considerations are durability and sound quality: Your headphones should be well-built enough to withstand regular use without cracking or falling apart, and should offer good sound for casual listening.

With these criteria in mind, we've selected the best affordable headphones that you can get right now. Our top picks include standard over-ear headphones as well as some more specialized models that offer additional portability, wireless functionality, or other features built for specific tasks.

Here are the best cheap headphones you can buy:

• Best cheap headphones overall: Audio-Technica ATH-M20x
• Best cheap over-ear headphones: Tascam TH-02
• Best cheap portable headphones: Koss PortaPro
• Best cheap wireless Bluetooth: Mpow 059
• Best cheap gaming headphones: HyperX Cloud Stinger
• Best cheap wireless earbuds: iFrogz Impulse Duo Wireless Earbuds
• Best cheap true wireless earbuds: JLab Audio JBuds Air
• Best cheap wired earbuds: Panasonic ErgoFit

Updated on 1/12/2021 by Steven Cohen. This article has been revised for timeliness and to include updated formatting, prices, and links. New headphones are being announced at CES 2021, so we're keeping an eye on new models to test for consideration on this guide.

The best cheap headphones overall

If you're looking for a no-frills, well-made pair of entry-level studio headphones that sound great and won't cost you an arm and a leg, the Audio-Technical ATH-M20x are more than up to the task.

Pros: Well-made and comfortable to wear, great sound for the price, sturdy 3.5mm cable comes with a 6.3mm adapter for use with audio equipment

Cons: Bass response is lacking compared to its beefier (and much more expensive) cousins

Audio-Technica, along with other brands like Sony and Sennheiser, is one of the biggest names in the world of studio-quality headphones. The company offers a wide lineup of professional-grade cans that will set you back hundreds of dollars, but it also makes a variety of more affordable and highly rated alternatives, including our top pick: The ATH-M20x over-ear headphones.

The Audio-Technica ATH-M20x are designed to be an entry-level pair of studio headphones, and as such, they feature a full-sized over-ear design with 40mm drivers. This means that they are best suited for use with your laptop or desktop computer. Smaller devices like smartphones, tablets, or handheld gaming systems won't have enough power to get the most out of these headphones, but you're probably already using earbuds with those.

When hooked up to a PC or TV, however, the ATH-M20x headphones really shine. They deliver excellent sound quality in the high and mid ranges, with sufficient impedance to eliminate annoying interference (like faint buzzing) when hooked up to your electronics. The sound is clear, crisp, and accurate, but don't expect super-deep bass with these. Still, the ATH-M20x are more than good enough for everyday music listening, movie-watching, and gaming.

The build quality and comfort are also as good as you'd expect from an established name like Audio-Technica. The cushioned headband and leatherette-covered padded ear cups are comfortable to wear for extended periods of time, and the cups also provide good noise isolation that filters out the majority of ambient sounds and won't bother others around you unless you're really cranking the volume up.

The ATH-M20x could be considered the little sibling of Audio-Technica's ATH series, as these are essentially a budget-friendly alternative to the M40x and M50x— two highly rated and very popular headphones, but ones that will set you back quite a bit more. But for about half the price of the M40x, the Audio-Technica ATH-M20x is an incredible value.

The best cheap over-ear headphones

The Tascam TH-02 are an unbeatable value for a pair of solidly built over-ear headphones that sound great and isolate sound well with a closed-back design.

Pros: Solid construction, good sound quality, comfortable to wear for extended periods of time, the closed-back design isolates sound well

Cons: The pleather ear cups aren't that breathable, the vinyl covering on the padded headband is prone to peeling after a while

Most pairs of budget-friendly headphones feature an open-back or semi-open-back design, meaning that they aren't made to isolate sound. Open-back headphones leak sound out as well as let ambient noise in, making them less than ideal if you're using them in a busier environment with other people around (think co-workers or roommates). The closed-back over-ear Tascam TH-02 headphones stand out as a clear exception to this rule, and are a shining example of the value that headphone makers are offering today.

I've been personally using a pair of Tascam TH-02 for about three years now. I initially intended to use them as "beater" headphones that I wouldn't have to be too fussy about, but I found the sound quality more than good enough for music and gaming (bass, mids, and highs all come through smoothly and cleanly), and they quickly became one of my workhorses, especially when I'm traveling and don't want to risk losing or breaking a more expensive set.

They've proven to be very durable as well, although the vinyl covering of the padded headband eventually started to peel after a couple years. The peeling proved to be no big deal, as I simply pulled it all off to reveal the soft cloth pad underneath and it's held up perfectly fine. More importantly, the pleather ear cup covers have remained intact with minimal wear despite years of regular use for hours at a time.

They're also very comfortable. The rotating cups don't make my ears ache after a few hours of wear like other headphones I've used. They don't get sweaty considering I use them inside my air-conditioned home, but if you run hot or you're in a stuffy room, this might become a problem after a while. This is going to be the case with the vast majority of over-ear headphones, however, given that they're designed to completely surround your ears.

If all you need is a no-frills, no-nonsense set of over-ear closed-back headphones that are comfortable, well-made, and sound nice, then the Tascam TH-02 has you covered at roughly half the price of other cans on our roundup.

The best cheap portable headphones

If you're looking to ditch your earbuds for something that's still compact but a bit beefier, then look no further than the highly portable and surprisingly big-sounding Koss PortaPro.

Pros: Impressive sound quality for its size, very lightweight and comfortable for on-ear headphones, folding design is super-portable yet surprisingly durable

Cons: The on-ear design doesn't isolate noise

For listening to music and enjoying other entertainment on the go, the portability of earbuds are hard to beat. Owing to their small size and tiny drivers, however, earbuds aren't particularly capable of delivering deep or detailed sound. There are a number of portable on-ear and even over-ear headphone designs out there today, but even those can be somewhat clunky to carry around all day.

But one pair still stands above the rest: The famous Koss PortaPro. The PortaPro has been around for decades and has earned something of a legendary status among the head-fi crowd. This fame is owed to its impressive output relative to its small size, portability, light weight, and low cost. It's not going to put out the same deep sound as a pair of over-ear studio headphones, but the PortaPro nonetheless punches well above its weight in the audio department.

The decades-old design of the PortaPro harks back to the days of the Sony Walkman. The simple-looking on-ear pads are connected to a slim, flexible metal headband. This headband features a simple slide adjustment for resizing, and the plastic ear pieces fold inwards for portability. The simple, lightweight construction might take some getting used to if you're accustomed to the feel of sturdier over-ear headphones, but the PortaPros are surprisingly durable.

Along with its unrivaled portability, the PortaPro shines when it comes to sound quality. The lows, mids, and highs are all punchy and responsive. It's not going to blow your mind or anything, but considering how small they are, the clarity and detail is great. Just bear in mind that the on-ear design naturally won't isolate noise as well as over-ear headphones. If you like to crank the volume, others are going to hear it.

The Koss PortaPro might just be the perfect pair of travel headphones and they're a solid value even if you discount their compact form factor. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better pair of on-ear headphones at this price, and you almost certainly won't find one that's just as portable while sounding this good. If you're willing to pay a bit more, you can even buy a version with Bluetooth support for wireless listening.

• Read our Koss PortaPro headphones review (Bluetooth version)

The best cheap wireless Bluetooth headphones

Bluetooth headphones can be hit or miss, but the wireless Mpow 059 offer a surprising level of comfort, sound quality, and durability at an incredible price point.

Pros: Solid construction, convenient folding design, the sound is surprisingly good for a pair wireless headphones, it comes with a cable for wired use, strong value

Cons: The wireless sound signal won't be as deep or detailed as a wired connection, the mic is only usable in Bluetooth mode

As we rely more and more on mobile devices, wireless accessories that can connect to our phones, tablets, and laptops via Bluetooth are becoming ever more popular. Certain companies, like Apple, have gone all-in on Bluetooth, even going so far as to remove the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack from the newest iPhones.

Wireless tech is quickly becoming the new standard, and one of the most popular applications for Bluetooth connectivity is headphones. In the past, wireless headphones have been rather hit or miss, but today's Bluetooth headphones, like the top-rated Mpow 059, are head and shoulders above those of yesteryear.

In terms of its design, the Mpow 059 doesn't re-invent the wheel and is pretty similar to what you'd find in comparable pairs of headphones in this price bracket. It runs on two 40mm neodymium magnet drivers and features a full-size over-ear design with rotating padded ear cups and an adjustable cushioned headband. The 059 also contains a convenient built-in mic for hands-free calling when synced to your phone, and the earpieces fold inwards for some added portability.

What sets the Mpow 059 apart from other inexpensive headphones is that what they do, they do quite well, delivering good wireless sound along with a sleek design and solid build quality. One really nice design touch is that you can actually use the Mpow 059 as wired headphones with the included cable, which delivers a wired audio signal while also powering the headphones (although the mic, unfortunately, works only while in Bluetooth mode).

Speaking of power, wireless headphones naturally use internal batteries for wireless use. In the case of the Mpow 059, you've got a 420mAh power supply that provides around 15-20 hours of juice at normal volume levels before needing a charge. For the price range (depending on your color choice), the Mpow 059 headphones also represent an excellent value given their sound quality, great design, and wireless convenience.

The best cheap gaming headphones

When it's time to get your game on, you need a proper headset for the job, and Kingston's excellent HyperX Cloud Stinger offers everything you need for intense gaming sessions without cutting corners.

Pros: Out-performs similar headsets in its price range, an attractive and comfortable design, good audio and microphone quality, compatible with all modern gaming platforms

Cons: The microphone folds up but cannot be removed

As with Bluetooth headphones, gaming headsets have something of a bad rap among the audiophile community when compared to traditional over-ear cans. Yet, also as with wireless headphones, these headsets have improved considerably in recent years, with brands like Kingston releasing some really impressive models, like the excellent HyperX Cloud series.

Our pick, the Cloud Stinger, is Kingston's budget-focused member of the HyperX family, coming in at less than half the price of the highly rated Cloud Revolver. One of the reasons gaming headsets get the side-eye from people who know headphones is because the built-in mics mean that makers have to pack more electronics into the housing, potentially causing audio quality to suffer. The Cloud Stinger doesn't skimp on hardware, however, with beefy 50mm directional drivers that deliver big sound.

The drivers are contained in large rotating memory foam ear cups that are comfortable enough for hours of gaming. The padded headband is adjustable via a steel slider, and while the rest of the headphone housing is polymer (which is going to be the norm with headphones at this price), it feels durable without being too heavy and the nice matte finish wards off fingerprints — no annoying glossy plastic here.

Although the drivers are large, they're fairly basic, and the sound quality is very good but not mind-blowing. You're simply going to have to spend several times more than the price of these if you want super-detailed studio-quality sound at the high and low ends. It's more than sufficient for gaming and casual music listening, however, and the directional drivers make it easy to pick up in-game environmental details. They isolate noise very well, too.

The microphone feels very sturdy and solid as well. Sadly, you can't remove it when you're just using the Stinger as normal headphones. It simply folds up out of the way. This is hardly a huge problem, but a removable mic would still be a welcome convenience. For the price, however, it's very hard to find fault with the HyperX Cloud Stinger given its solid build and sound quality, beefy drivers, and compatibility across gaming platforms.

• Read our full guide to the best gaming headsets you can buy

The best cheap wireless earbuds

The iFrogz Impulse Duo headphones deliver good sound quality for the price, with a design that's yet to be outmatched by other Bluetooth earbuds I've tried.

Pros: Excellent design, good sound, affordable, Bluetooth connection

Cons: The sound quality isn't as good as other options on this list

Besides sounding pretty good for the price, the reason iFrogz Impulse Duo earbuds made the cut over all the other budget models I've tried is their design.

The dual driver construction is what gives these earbuds an audio-edge over the competition. But mostly, these earbuds succeed where most Bluetooth models fail: Instead of having all of their technology built into an unwieldy dongle that hangs off the cable connecting both buds, iFrogz built it all into a magnetic clip.

Clip the dongle onto your clothes, pop in the earbuds, and you're ready to listen to music. In terms of audio quality, you shouldn't expect a truly audiophile experience at this price point, but don't expect a bad one, either. These are actually the upgraded version of the earbuds iFrogz previously released, and while the design is the same, time was spent in improving the sound quality.

I'll put it to you this way. These headphones are so easy to use and sound good enough, that they're my go-to pair between reviews. It's just so convenient to coil them up and pop them in my pocket after a commute, or once my friends finally make it to our meeting place. — Brandt Ranj

• Read our iFrogz Impulse Duo earbuds review

The best cheap true wireless earbuds

The JLab Audio JBuds Air offer a truly wireless design, are relatively comfortable, and sound pretty good too.

Pros: Well designed, great sound, very inexpensive

Cons: Buttons can be tricky, some connectivity issues

True wireless headphones have become increasingly popular over the past few years, and thankfully, there are some great options out there on a budget. Perhaps the best budget true wireless headphones are the JLab Audio JBuds Air, because they offer a comfortable, secure fit, a great sound, and a very reasonable price tag.

JLab Audio builds some of the better true wireless headphones, period. Perhaps the best thing about them is how great they sound. The headphones have plenty of bass response, a decently tuned midrange, and solid clarity in the high end, especially for a pair of headphones in this price range. 

The headphones are pretty comfortable too. While they're not as reliable at staying in your ears as the company's more expensive headphones, which come with ear hooks, they're still good at remaining in the ears during day-to-day use. And, you'll get a battery life of six hours on a single charge, and the battery case will get you an extra 34 hours, bringing the total to 40 hours. 

Of course, the JLab Audio JBuds Air aren't perfect. Some reviewers found that the buttons were a little tricky to use, and that they sometimes remained connected to your phone even in the battery case. Still, considering the price, those issues are relatively minor. — Christian de Looper

The best cheap wired earbuds

The Panasonic ErgoFit earbuds are about as basic as a pair of wired in-ear headphones can be, but they feature surprisingly good sound quality for a very affordable price.

Pros: Very affordable, impressive value, comfortable fit, integrated microphone and call remote

Cons: Some build quality issues, audio performance is good for the price but not on par with more expensive earbuds

If you don't mind a fully wired design, it's hard to ignore the value that Panasonic's ErgoFit earbuds provide. Sure, you don't get Bluetooth playback and you do have to deal with wires running down your ears, but when it comes to in-ear headphones in this price range, few can compete with the overall quality of the ErgoFit.

Each earbuds uses a 9mm neodymium magnet driver, and the resulting sound is very solid for the price. To be clear, you won't get anything near audiophile-quality, but reviews from Tom's Guide and Reviewed both note the ErgoFit's deep bass performance. That said, overall clarity is only decent. Considering the low cost, however, the earbuds offer a lot for very little.

Though the ErgoFit earbuds don't provide much in the way of extra features, the headphones do actually include an integrated microphone and call remote for easy use with smartphones. You still won't get the convenience of a Bluetooth wireless connection, but the mic is a nice inclusion for a pair of earbuds in this price range. 

Of course, overall build quality is nothing to get excited about, but that's to be expected for such a budget-friendly headphone model. If you want to save even more, Panasonic also has a version of the ErgoFit without the microphone and remote for an even lower price. — Steven Cohen

How to choose the right type of headphone for your needs

Headphones are available in a variety of styles and sizes specifically designed to suit different needs. A large pair of over-ear headphones, for instance, can offer impressive sound quality for listening at home, but they're not ideal for portability.

Below, we've detailed some common headphone types, explaining the basic advantages and disadvantages of each style so you can choose the right kind of headphone for your needs. Wired and wireless options are available for all of the headphone types we've listed.

Over-ear headphones: This style of headphone features large ear cups that are designed to rest over your ears to create a seal around them. Over-ear headphones are typically capable of offering better sound performance and noise isolation than other headphone types. On the downside, they tend to be larger and less portable than other styles. 

On-ear headphones: Like over-ear headphones, on-ear models also feature ear cups, but instead of completely covering your ear with a seal, they simply rest on top your ears. Though they can still provide good audio performance, this design makes them less suitable for isolating outside noise. However, on-ear models can be more compact than most over-ear models.

Earbuds: Unlike on-ear and over-ear models, earbuds are compact headphones with separate left and right buds that can be designed to either rest just outside your ear canal or be inserted inside. In-ear buds can feature different size tips to better fit different ear shapes, allowing them to create a tight in-ear seal for better sound performance and noise isolation. Some earbuds feature a wire to connect the left and right buds together, while true wireless models are completely free of cables. This design makes earbuds great for portability and use with smartphones.  

Gaming headset: Designed for use with video game consoles and computers, gaming headsets usually include an integrated microphone for online multiplayer chat, allowing you to communicate with other players. Headsets can be on-ear or over-ear, and certain models feature support for advanced surround sound processing and 3D audio formats. Some gaming headsets are built for specific platforms while others feature universal compatibility with multiple systems. 

Check out our other headphone buying guides

The best over-ear headphones

Over-ear headphones offer the best sound performance of any headphone type, making them a great fit for audiophiles. Though over-ear headphones can get very expensive, there are plenty of worthwhile options at many different price points. We've picked the best models you can buy for a variety of budgets and needs.

The best noise-cancelling headphones

Active noise-cancelling headphones include a microphone designed to pick up and minimize surrounding noise so you can enjoy your music no matter where you are. Through research and testing, we've selected the best noise-cancelling headphones you can buy.

The best earbuds

Earbuds need to be designed especially well to provide sound performance that's comparable to a pair of larger on-ear or over-ear headphones. There are many different options on the market, so we've rounded up the best earbuds you can buy, including wired, wireless, and true wireless models.

The best true wireless earbuds

True wireless earbuds are completely free of wires, allowing each earbud to connect to your device via Bluetooth without any pesky cables attaching them. Through extensive testing, we've selected the best true wireless earbuds for a variety of needs and budgets.

The best gaming headsets

A great gaming headset can enhance your multiplayer experience with reliable voice chat and immersive sound quality. Headsets can be wired or wireless, and certain models are designed with specific gaming platforms in mind. After testing several model, we've picked the best gaming headsets for different needs.

• Electric razors might cost more than a pack of disposable razors, but they provide super smooth shaves and last for a long time with proper care.
• The Braun Series 7 7071cc is our top pick because it is powerful, versatile, and effective at shaving or trimming facial hair. It works well on all hair and skin types.
• If you shave daily, have a thick or fast-growing beard, or simply want the best of the best without considering the price, the Braun Series 9 9370cc is the shaver worth splurging on.

Shaving isn't as simple or easy as brushing your teeth. All beards aren't the same, and when you factor in the many styles of facial hair people prefer, there is no single tool or technique that works for everyone. While traditional manual razors are usually great for full, clean shaves on people with straight hair, they're not of much use beyond that. That's where electric razors come in. 

For some people, using an electric razor instead of a manual razor means fewer nicks, cuts, and no razor bumps to follow. For others, the choice to use an electric razor simply comes down to speed and convenience since they can be used wet or dry, with or without shaving cream. Wherever you fall in the spectrum of shaving expectations, there's definitely an electric razor out there that can meet or exceed all of your grooming needs.

We thoroughly test and reviewed all of the best electric razors for most people's needs, below. We've also broken down the differences between foil and rotary shavers, which can help you determine the style that's best for your intended use and hair/skin types. You can find the explanation below, just under our top choices for electric razors. 

Here are the best electric razors you can buy in 2021:

• Best razor overall: Braun Series 7 7071cc
• Best affordable razor: Remington F5-5800
• Best high-end razor: Braun Series 9 9370cc
• Best razor for coarse and curly hair: Bevel Trimmer
• Best professional razor: Andis T-Outliner

Updated on 1/11/2021 by Amir Ismael: Updated introduction. Updated prices and links. 

The best electric razor overall

The Braun Series 7 is able to "read" the density of your beard, automatically adjusting its power to give you the closest shave ever.

Pros: Waterproof, automatically adjusts to different beard densities, contours to face well, comes with accurate trimmer tool, self-cleaning model

Cons: None to speak of

The Braun Series 7 (7071cc) replaces the older Braun Series 7 (7895cc) as our best overall pick because of its dependability and a few key improvements. Like the previous generation, the Series 7 (7071cc) features Braun's AutoSense technology, which reads the density of your beard and automatically adjusts its power to provide a clean shave in one pass.

The biggest improvement in the design is the new 360° Flex Head shaver that contours to the curves of your face and neck. Using the new Series 7 (7071cc) feels effortless, even in hard-to-shave areas like your Adam's apple or jawline.

The new model (7071cc) also has a detachable trimmer that goes in place of the shaver, unlike the previous model (7895cc) which featured a slide-out trimmer on the front of the device. With the new design, the trimmer tool is placed at the top of the device, so you can see exactly what you're doing. If you're having a hard time visualizing the difference between the two designs, see the side-by-side comparison here.

With 50 minutes of continuous shave time, the Braun Series 7 (7071cc) typically lasts three weeks on one charge — and when it does die, you can get enough battery power for a single shave with a 5-minute quick charge.

Just like previous models, the Series 7 (7071cc) is also entirely waterproof, so you can bring it in the shower, use it with water and shaving cream, or rinse it off in the sink when you're done. — Amir Ismael

Read our full review of the Braun Series 7 7071cc here.

The best affordable electric razor

The Remington F5-5800 has just enough features to make it a smart, budget-friendly choice.

Pros: Low price for a foil style shaver, small size and comfortable handle, includes a pop-up trimmer for close grooming work, foils on the shaver will tilt back and forth to match your face

Cons: Doesn't have the longevity of other electric razors, will not work with foam or gel, may develop sharp edges over time, limited motion compared to other razors

Electric shavers can be expensive, especially foil style shavers, but Remington consistently offers models with good performance, at the affordable end of the market. The Remington F5-5800 is one of the better razors available for such a low price. It certainly has some drawbacks, but it will give you a decent level of performance, considering what you're paying.

The F5-5800 has a nicely contoured handle that makes it comfortable to use. Meanwhile, the head on this electric razor is just the right size to reach hard-to-shave areas, such as just below the nose. Keep in mind, though, that the Remington F5-5800 does not allow for wet shaves, and it won't work with shaving foam or gel.

The rechargeable battery on the Remington F5-5800 is reliable, and the handle of the razor contains a series of LEDs that indicate the current charge level, which is convenient.

Many people like to use the F5-5800 as a travel razor or as a second razor at the office, because of its small size and low price. 

One problem many Amazon reviewers mentioned is the failing of the foil screens on the razor after several months. This can expose sharp edges on the F5-5800 that could cause nicks and cuts while shaving. — Kyle Schurman

The best high-end electric razor

The Braun Series 9 offers all of the latest features found in an electric razor to make it more comfortable to use, while also yielding a close shave.

Pros: Flexible 10-direction pivoting head, five different cutting areas for close shaves, titanium-coated parts make it hygienic and rust-proof, good for trimming various types of hair, large shaving head to complete the job faster

Cons: None to speak of

The Braun Series 9 (9370cc) electric foil shaver is an upgrade to both Series 7 and older Series 9 Braun shavers with the latest design features. Although you'll pay extra for these features, the 9370cc is well worth the money.

The cutting head consists of five separate parts — two OptiFoil shavers, a lift and cut trimmer, a direct and cut trimmer, and a protective skin guard. Together, the system provides a smooth and close shave, whether your hairs lay flat, stand up, or grow in an odd direction.

If you weren't a fan of electric razors with pivoting heads in the past because they didn't fit the contours of your face well, you don't have to worry about that issue with the 9370cc. Braun includes a 10-direction pivoting head that provides all the flexibility you'll need. You'll also have to ability to lock it in place if you find a specific angle that works for you.

With 20% more battery power than the previous model, you'll get a full hour of shaving time on just one charge. Considering you'll only need to shave for a few minutes each time, you can get nearly a month of daily use on a single charge — or much longer if you don't shave often. And if it does die, you can get enough power for a full shave from a five-minute quick charge.

As one final advantage over its predecessors, the 9370cc has one of the largest heads found on an electric shaver, allowing you to finish shaving a bit more quickly than with other electric razors. This Braun razor will work in wet or dry conditions, and you can use it with shaving foam or gel.

As a self-cleaning model, the Braun Series 9 comes bundled with a Clean and Charge station and one Clean and Renew cartridge, which contains a solution designed to clean and lubricate the shaver head before each use. Simply dock it in the station with the head facing down, press the power button, and it'll clean itself, so you don't have to. — Amir Ismael

Read our full review of the Braun Series 9 9370cc here.

The best electric razor for coarse hair

The Bevel Trimmer is designed to cut and trim hair without irritating skin and it can be used by at-home groomers and professional barbers alike.

Pros: Can be used wired or wireless, easy to adjust the blade, good for sharp lines, optional T-liner blade available separately

Cons: Can't be used underwater

If you have coarse or curly hair, you've probably struggled to find products that make grooming comfortable. While most razors focus on getting the absolute closest cut possible, that's also usually the first step to unattractive, painful, or itchy razor bumps. Luckily, the Bevel Trimmer solves that. 

Founded in 2013, Walker and Company (Bevel's parent company) was created by Tristan Walker to cater to the grooming needs of people with coarse or curly hair. While that most directly applies to people of color, the brand's products are generally great for anyone who has sensitive skin.

Rather than using multiple blades that either cut hair below the surface of the skin or snag and pull on hair, the Bevel Trimmer uses an adjustable blade to cut hair to the same level of the skin.  

The Bevel Trimmer is extremely precise and sharp, and a small mechanism inside gives you the ability to adjust the blade. This is a nice feature because most trimmers (even the professional ones used by barbers, including the Andis T-Outliner included in this list) require a screwdriver to make adjustments. — Amir Ismael

Read our full review on the Bevel Trimmer. 

The best professional razor

The professional-grade Andis T-Outliner is perfect for those who buzz cut their heads and barbers who need close-cutting accuracy.

Pros: Professional, affordable, dry shaving, phasing, great for full head shaving, lasts years

Cons: Needs oiling, which involves removing screws, not cordless

If you shave your full head multiple times a week and you're sick of paying the barbershop to get it done, you may want to pick up the professional-grade Andis T-Outliner. This electric razor is used in many barbershops, and people who shave their full head swear by it. You can also use it for trimming your neck, beard, mustache, and hairline.

The Andis T-Outliner trimmer uses a close-cutting T-shaped blade that's perfect for full head shaving, fades, and designs. Andis sells a cordless version, but the one we reviewed has a heavy-duty 8-foot cord, so even though it's corded, you'll still have plenty of room to move.

The trimmer's carbon-steel blades are specially hardened so that they last longer than your average blade. The blades are fairly easy and inexpensive to replace, though, so when the time comes, it's an easy swap.

You do have to oil it often to keep it running smoothly, and every now and then it'll need a full tune-up. That does require unscrewing some small screws to oil the insides, but you won't have to do this regularly. 

Our tester has used this trimmer for 12 years, and he uses it at least twice a week to fully shave his head. It has worked like a charm for all these years, and he fully expects it to continue to do so. He's also only had to replace the blade and open it up for oiling once in all that time. — Malarie Gokey

What else we've considered

Panasonic Arc5 (LV65-S)

The Panasonic Arc5 was previously our choice for the best razor for coarse hair, but I recently removed it. While the brand has put research and development into cutting thick and curly hairy, the overall design is very similar to other foil shavers/razors. You'll find contouring and pivoting blade heads, a powerful motor, and different power settings on most any similar razor worth having.

The Bevel Trimmer, which is arguably more similar to the Andis T-Outliner, is a better choice for anyone who has coarse hair and specifically wants to avoid razor bumps — a common issue while shaving or trimming. You won't be able to use the Bevel Trimmer in the shower or run it underwater, though.

However, if you must have a wet and dry razor, the Panasonic Arc5 would be a better choice. I've used it on my neck and face and it's pretty good. I got a few razor bumps here and there, but it was far less egregious than other trimmers. — Amir Ismael

GilletteLabs Heated Razor

When you think of electric razors, grooming tools with a motor and an oscillating blade usually come to mind first. The GilletteLabs Heated Razor doesn't have either of those attributes, but it is a razor and it technically is electric. 

Coming in the form of a more traditional multi-blade razor, it features five blades for a close shave, FlexDisc technology to contour to your face and neck, and most notably, an Intelligent Heat Control System. Located directly underneath the five-blade system is a warming bar that delivers the sensation of a hot towel in every stroke of the blade. 

Wet shaving with traditional razors is not my preferred way to groom my facial hair, but I thoroughly enjoyed using the GilletteLabs Heated Razor. The heat feels amazing. I didn't include it on this list because if you already use traditional multi-blade razors, chances are you're content with your more affordable blades and you're not specifically looking for an electric version. At $200, the GilletteLabs Heated Razor isn't cheap, but it's a wonderful gift or item to splurge on for anyone that likes wet shaving with traditional razors. You can read my full review here.  — Amir Ismael 

Andis Profoil Lithium Plus

While the Andis Profoil Lithium Plus can be used at home, it's something you'd probably find in a barbershop along with a professional barber's other grooming tools. If you're looking for a multi-functional grooming tool, this isn't the right choice for you. But if you need a strong and dependable razor with one setting for a close shave, you'll find this to be an extremely useful and cost-effective option. I always pay close attention to the tools barber uses and I've gotten extremely close fades and shave with the Andis Profoil Plus and I got equally good results at home during my own testing. The only reason this doesn't make the list is that it doesn't have multiple functions, which most people grooming at home really want. — Amir Ismael

The difference between foil and rotary shavers

The primary choice you'll have with electric razors is the design you want. Some people prefer a foil-style shaver, while others like a rotary-style shaver.

• Foil: The foil electric shaver contains oscillating blades that move back and forth at high speeds. These blades are covered with guards that lift hair for cutting and that protect the skin. A foil razor will often have a few separate cutting blades that flex independently to match the contours of your face. However, because a foil head has a rectangular shape, it might not match your face as well as a rotary razor.
• Rotary: The rotary razor has round blades that spin. You'll receive protection from the spinning rotary blades with a slotted guard that sits atop the blades and helps to lift the hairs so they're easier to cut. The heads flex in multiple directions, giving you a close shave by hugging the contours of your face. However, rotary heads are more difficult to clean after shaving versus the foil shaver.

Check out our other shaving gear guides

The best beard trimmers you can buy

A decent beard trimmer should be precise, versatile, and easy to use. They give you more granular control over the length and shape of your facial hair than your average electric razor. 

The best shaving mirrors

It's very easy to miss some whiskers on your neck or elsewhere on your face if the mirror in your bathroom isn't clear, large, or well-lit enough. If this is the case for you, or if you just want a fogless mirror you can use to shave in the shower so you can save a few minutes in the morning, then it may be time to add a dedicated shaving mirror to your kit.

If you spent last week in the wilderness with no access to the internet or cable news, and stepped into the Capitol building on Monday, you might not think things were all that different, maybe just a little emptier than usual.

When I visited the complex that afternoon, the ornate tiled floors gleamed, the familiar portraits of politicians past glared down from the walls, the Capitol rotunda glowed in all its intended glory.

Sporting my press badge, which gives me broad access to the Capitol, I breezed through security and made my way through the familiar labyrinth of hallways and tunnels unimpeded, like I would on any other day of reporting.

But of course, there were eerie hints that something was amiss.

Several windows in the normally immaculate Senate were boarded up with plywood, their shutters smashed while dirty handprints smudged the adjacent walls. A ribbon of forgotten police tape fluttered from the door of the Senate Parliamentarian's office. A large crack blistered a window that normally provides a lovely view of the Library of Congress. And a pile of emergency hood wrappers lay discarded just outside the Senate gallery.

Also, the National Guard was everywhere.

Last Wednesday, violent supporters of President Donald Trump besieged the Capitol, smashing through windows and forcing their way inside the hallowed building in a failed attempt to stop lawmakers from certifying the electoral college results and making Joe Biden's victory official. They made their way up to the House and Senate chambers — in the latter case, just seconds after lawmakers had been evacuated — and left a trail of destruction in their wake. The Capitol's workers, joined by at least one congressman, toiled through the night to clean up after them.

After watching the horrors unfold on television and social media last week, I wanted to see how much had changed about entering the Capitol. On Monday, I paid a visit and learned how much had — and hadn't – changed. Here's what I saw.

SEE ALSO: 

A tall, black fence with concrete barriers at the base now surrounds the entire Capitol grounds, with only a couple entrance points. Normally, the grounds are open to the public.

My press badge allowed me to walk into one of the few entry points in the fence, which was guarded by Capitol police. Once I got through that fence, everything was strangely normal.

I entered the Capitol through the same side door on the House side I often take, and was greeted by just a couple of Capitol police officers, which is often the case. I sent my backpack through the usual X-ray machine and walked through the usual metal detector, and went on my way.

I'd expected to face far more security, increased checks, and restrictions on my movements, but Capitol police and a House staffer told me I could move about as normal.

The damage was more visible on the Senate side of the Capitol. While most of the Senate looked totally normal, there were telltale signs of a riot. Here are a window and a door that had the glass shattered by rioters last week.

The shutters that framed these Senate windows were destroyed.

If I looked closely at the shutters, I could see these circular dents, possibly where rioters tried to break through.

The most disturbing thing I found touring the Capitol: a pile of used and unopened escape hoods piled up on the third floor of the Senate, just outside the public and press galleries.

Several still sat unused, tucked into police duffel bags.

Lawmakers and journalists who were trapped in the Capitol as rioters besieged it had been instructed to use them.

An alcove in the Senate was boarded up.

This emergency door in the Senate also had one of its panes smashed.

Broken glass was still visible on the door's handle.

Another damaged window in an ornate Senate hallway.

The room outside the Senate chamber where a rioter carried a Confederate flag on Monday was completely empty, and had been scrubbed clean of any damage.

This is what made Monday's visit feel somewhat unreal. Most of the Capitol had fortunately been restored to its usual grandeur. But seeing these beautiful, familiar spaces, and knowing what had just transpired within them, gave me chills.

This antechamber just outside the Senate, which is usually full of reporters and photographers waiting for senators to leave the chamber, had instead been filled with rioters and police on Monday. A viral photo of a man waving a Confederate battle flag was taken right here.

On Monday, it was completely empty, save for me and the occasional staffer or national guardsmen who wandered through.

Just down the stairs, the Senate doorway where Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman single-handedly faced down a mob stood empty.

This video from Huffington Post reporter Igor Bobic captured the terrifying scene on January 6:

After surveying the damage in the Senate, I crossed through the heart of the Capitol to visit the House of Representatives. The famous Statuary Hall was gleaming and empty after being filled with rioters last week.

But just off the next room, the Capitol Rotunda, this doorway showed telltale marks of a riot. One of the middle panes had a huge crack, projectile marks peppered the door frame, and riot shields were propped nearby.

In the House of Representatives, the Capitol staff had done an amazing job cleaning up after the mob. But disturbing signs of what transpired remained.

A pane in a door into the House of Representatives, just a few feet from the House chamber, was cracked where rioters had tried to break open the doors.

Around the corner, the windows of one set of doors that lead to the Speaker's Lobby — Nancy Pelosi's main office —  were either missing or smashed. Three panes were missing completely, while a fourth was splintered with fissures. (Photos are prohibited in the Speaker's Lobby.)

Capitol police riot shields rested in a corner at a security checkpoint just outside the House chamber.

A roll of police tape sat on a table just outside the door that leads to the House chamber.

Venturing back outside in the late afternoon, I saw that several busloads of National Guard troops had arrived at the Capitol for their shifts.

Two female National Guard troops took their position at the western boundary of the new security fence surrounding the Capitol.

Looking through the fence on the west side of the Capitol, I saw people had created a small memorial to the two dead police officers who were working during the January 6 riot.

The flag that flies over the Capitol on the east side was lowered to half staff.

And at some point on Monday afternoon, a person had laid this bouquet of flowers at the foot of the House of Representatives.

For most businesses, scalability is among the top attractions of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon's behemoth cloud computing service. AWS offers computing power and storage across the globe, providing resources that can be purchased in custom-sized, reasonably-priced increments on an on-demand basis. Data backup, hosting, and creating software as a service (SaaS) applications on the cloud are some of the most common ways that companies use AWS.  

However, without centralized management, businesses can quickly find themselves running up big bills or creating "cloud sprawl." The pandemic, with companies relying on remote operations served up by the cloud, has exacerbated these issues. 

NASA, for example, got a nasty surprise last spring when it discovered unaccounted-for download fees associated with its scientists accessing the massive amount of data it stored on the Amazon cloud. When the agency did the math, it needed an additional $30 million per year as a result of its oversight. 

"The capacity a company purchases with a cloud provider is only the beginning of the total public cloud fees they'll typically see; other costs include various support costs, minimum instance sizes, performance costs, and transaction costs," said Jeremy Fitzpatrick, VP of sales and marketing at cloud solutions provider NFINIT. "Of all the extra charges, the most common that can be damaging to a budget can be the transaction costs, especially moving data in and out — known as ingress and egress. These seemingly small moves can add up, sometimes doubling the total price a company is expecting." 

A host of companies exist to help businesses avoid such pitfalls: Cloud consultancies specialize in helping businesses minimize scope creep in their deployments and right-sizing their cloud usage while also plugging security holes and improving performance. Companies come out on the other side having saved as much as 30% up to even 60% on their AWS instances, these companies reported. 

While many are venture-backed, this also remains a corner of the tech industry where companies can grow for decades as fully private companies without any VC cash.

Here's a look at 10 cloud companies designed to keep AWS costs under control, and, for the venture-backed companies, we've named the VCs that funded them.  

The companies are listed in no particular order.

SEE ALSO: Here's how 64 top edtech startups are looking to disrupt Harvard as part of a $9 billion market

ServerCentral Turing Group (SCTG)

Total funding: No venture funding reported, according to PitchBook

Chicago-based SCTG has been around since 2000, when it grew its footprint in internet services up from domain-name sales to its current portfolio of managed data-center services, managed public and private cloud services, cloud-native software development, and business continuity solutions, as well as cloud consulting.

Founded by CEO Jordan Lowe and COO Daniel Brosk, SCTG is an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner and specializes in companies "new to the AWS Cloud," or those looking to "optimize their investment and realize the full potential of the platform," Lowe said.

The cornerstone of SCTG's AWS business lies within its 2018 acquisition of Turing Group, an early company in the field. Turing launched in 2013 and never disclosed any funding rounds from classic Silicon Valley VCs. SCTG had made a strategic investment in Turing in 2017 before buying it outright the next year. 

Thanks to 2020's rush to the cloud, the company is trending approximately 10% over its original projections for 2020, according to Lowe.

Mission

Total funding: $23 million, according to Crunchbase

Investors: Great Hill Partners 

Three heads are better than one in the case of Mission, a Los Angeles-based company that's a blend of one Boston-based firm and two from Southern California. While each of the three original companies overlapped in AWS expertise around performance and cost best practices, in its composite form Mission offers its customers a nationwide presence and experience in a broad set of customer verticals including ecommerce, media and entertainment, healthcare, life sciences, education, and SaaS, among others. 

Founded in 2018, Mission's customer base focuses on US-headquartered SMBs, startups, and mid-market enterprises, with CEO Simon Anderson noting the company has recently expanded to companies doing upwards of $1 billion in revenue. 

He said the company's strategy is based on continual optimization, being able to do the work sight unseen to the customer's end users, and making the whirlwind of reporting data that's available on the AWS Cloud easy to digest.

"We also provide tools that enable further cost reductions by offering clear AWS cost transparency and granular insights into where cloud budget is going," Anderson said. "For example, we use CloudHealth, which provides particularly detailed visibility into an SMB's AWS usage and costs." 

Anderson reports that Mission is on track to close 2020 with revenues up 82% year over year. 

Silk

Total funding: $239.5 million, according to Crunchbase

Investors: Sequoia Capital, S Capital VC, Pitango Venture Capital, Globespan Capital Partners, Vintage Investment Partners, Ibex Investors, Tenaya Capital, and Scale Up

With a focus on hybrid cloud solutions— which blends on-premises data centers with cloud computing — Silk has been guiding its users to cost savings on the cloud for more than 10 years.

According to founder and CEO Dani Golan, who was an Israeli fighter pilot before getting into the tech industry, the hybrid approach and Silk's cloud-agnostic foundation, offering services from Amazon as well as from Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform, enables its customers to draw 10 times the performance out of their existing cloud data while spending as much as 30% less. 

Founded under the name Kaminario — it emerged from a rebrand with the new moniker this past June — the company got its start selling flash storage and evolved from other forms of hardware storage onto the cloud.

It's services help companies easily "move Tier 1 mission-critical applications and databases from one cloud to another or from on-prem to the cloud and back again," Golan said. 

Silk has attracted businesses across the revenue spectrum, Golan said, serving verticals including SaaS technology, healthcare, financial, and retail. Golan reports 250% growth year on year in the number of cloud deployments, and attributes the company's brisk pace in 2020 to the effects of COVID-19.

Silk has offices across North America as well as in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company runs its research and development operations out of Israel.

NFINIT

Total funding: No venture funding reported, according to Crunchbase

Founded in 1989 as American Internet Services, four acquisitions and a merger later NFINIT emerged in February 2020. NFINIT specializes in providing cloud services to "high compliance" industries like healthcare and finance.

"In 2018, about 4% of our total revenue came from cloud and managed services, and today, that number is 41%," said the company's VP of sales and marketing Jeremy Fitzpatrick. "Many of our customers who make up that 41% are adhering to a hybrid or multicloud model — they often have data stored across various clouds, both public and private, and in NFINIT's colocation facilities, our data centers."

Fitzgerald said the company will be "doubling down" on its managed services approach and releasing new data management products in 2021.

Cloudtamer

Total funding: No venture funding reported, according to Crunchbase

The engineers behind Cloudtamer worked closely with AWS in 2016 on a successful proof-of-concept for a federal government customer. During the project, the group experienced the three core challenges of managing cloud environments as enterprise usage scales: controlling costs, ensuring security, and automating provisioning, said CEO and cofounder Brian Price.

"We saw an opportunity in the market," Price said. "There was — and still is  — a lot of complexity configuring cloud provider's native tool sets, and there are key gaps in the cloud platforms themselves, like billing frequency and service limits, that customers struggle with. We publicly launched in 2018 after supporting several early customers like NASA that were finding success with our new automated approach to cloud management."

That automated approach provides Cloudtamer's customers with proactive tools that monitor by estimating spending that's occurred since the last time cloud billing reports were refreshed. It also takes automated steps to not only alert but remove accesses or stop resources in cloud accounts that exceed budget thresholds. Cloudtamer offers similar tools in the area of security to assist in visualizing how an organization is functioning in that respect.  

Price reported Cloudtamer has gained in excess of $10 million in revenue in its first three years in business from more than 30 public sector customers, including the DHS and the CDC as well as private-sector companies like Verizon and Indeed.

Spot by NetApp

Total funding: $52.6 million (before acquisition), according to Crunchbase

Investors: Intel Capital, Vertex Ventures Israel, Pico Partners, and Springtide Ventures

Founded in 2015, Spot (formerly Spotinst) was acquired by NetApp in March 2020 for a reported $450 million.

Spot offers machine-learning software that auto-scales and provisions the cloud, enabling customers to save what cofounder, VP, and GM Amiram Shacher reported is as much as 90% on their compute costs while simplifying and automating cloud infrastructure. 

Shacher, who worked in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) cloud infrastructure unit with Cofounder and Chief Architect Liron Polak, said the company's solutions were born from personal experience.

In the IDF, he said, "as our use of cloud resources grew, it became harder and harder to use those resources effectively, and as a result our cloud infrastructure bill grew exponentially quarter after quarter, and since we were a small team of DevOps engineers, we had to come up with a creative and automated approach. We did that by inventing technology that would continuously optimize our cloud infrastructure via an economical combination of compute purchasing across spot and reserved instances. That allowed us to save up to 80% on our cloud compute costs."

Spot grew into handling more features, allowing users to focus on using their applications without worrying about cloud sprawl. With a research and development operation based in Tel Aviv, Israel, it established offices in New York and San Francisco as well as London.

NetApp reported public cloud services annualized recurring revenue of $178 million, an increase of 192% year over year, and Shacher said Spot has seen the same kind of strong, continued revenue growth even throughout the pandemic.

nClouds and nOps

Total funding: No venture funding reported, according to Crunchbase

nClouds CEO and cofounder JT Giri has direct, hands-on experience with the AWS cloud since nearly its very beginning with the AWS EC2's beta version in 2006. Giri continues to go all-in serving the company's clients solely on this platform with both his more traditional cloud consultancy and nOps, a company spun out of nClouds specializing in the management of complex environments and servicing sophisticated in-house DevOps. 

"We remain deeply invested in AWS for many reasons — the key ones are breadth and maturity of services, market momentum, and their commitment to success for customers and partners," Giri said.

nOps, a machine-learning platform that nClouds developed and then spun off into a separate company, cuts down on expenditures by automatically performing tasks like uncovering underutilized resources, including over specified capacity and "zombie instances"— cloud instances that were launched and are no longer being used, but are active and generating costs just the same.

"Our superpower is working with startups, SMBs, and growth-stage companies who need these resources and flexibility," Giri said. "They move fast, and their core needs typically revolve around how to deliver innovation faster, smarter, more efficiently."

The company's prowess has also attracted enterprise-sized companies like Avaya, E. & J. Gallo Winery, and Shell to the table, on the back of which it said it experienced an 85% gain in revenue numbers in 2020. 

"We grew rapidly during the pandemic, fueled largely by customers' need for cost takeout," Giri said. "This drove new customers, expansion within existing customers, and new partner relationships. We're going to end 2020 with annual recurring revenue growth of more than 2,038%, and our projection for 2021 is 892% growth based on adding multicloud support, dynamic cost projections and predictive analytics, and real-time infrastructure documentation, among other things."

Virtana

Total funding: $85 million, according to PitchBook

Investors: HighBar Partners, Azure Capital Partners, Benhamou Global Ventures, Kinetic Ventures, and TriplePoint Venture Growth

How to accurately estimate cloud costs before you actually migrate to the cloud: This has long been one of cloud computing's holy grails.

Virtana, with their "Know Before You Go" promise, claims to have cracked the code on this goal with their recently-delivered unified platform for migrating, optimizing, and managing application workloads across public, private, hybrid, and multicloud environments. In a study released prior to its public debut, Forrester Consulting said the Virtana platform could deliver as much as 145% ROI over a three-year period.   

"Our platform provides customers with full transparency across the application topology and mission-critical workloads so customers know what to move and when," said Virtana CEO and President Kash Shaikh. "Contrast this with other solutions that are focused on optimizing the cloud once you have moved your workloads — this is like moving your furniture to a new home and just hoping it fits."

Virtana has more than 15 years of history managing both public and private cloud infrastructure and optimizing application-centric workloads and performance in the data center. The company counts more than 250 of the Global 2000 among its roster, enterprises including AstraZeneca, PayPal, Dell, Lloyds, Nasdaq, and Boeing. Having helped companies like these manage their workloads across time, Virtana said its engineers observed repeated attempts to reduce costs by arranging for long-term contracts, which in turn resulted in waste due to failure to account for workload, application requirements, and the technical capabilities of the customer.

"The net effect is that budgets are negatively impacted and they are forced into two camps: One, they have too much cloud and they try to sell it at a loss, then they get big surprises of poor performance, or two, they end up lacking availability and having to make a huge unplanned spend," Shaikh said.

Shaikh said the company's healthcare vertical initially declined as a result of the pandemic, but that Virtana experienced growth in all sectors as 2020 closed out.

"Even healthcare is coming back strong and will likely be significantly larger in 2021 than 2019 — in part because the healthcare sector is now scrambling to figure out how to address the unprecedented scale of IT needed for the care and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine," he said.

Apptio

Total funding: $261 million, according to Crunchbase (before IPO). Apptio has since gone private, financed by Vista Equity Partners.

Investors: Greylock, Andreessen Horowitz,, Madrona Venture Group, Shasta Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Janus Capital Group, and The Hillman Group

Balance — that's the thing that Apptio Chief Product and Technology Officer Scott Chancellor said is the biggest challenge for most organizations working in the cloud, and the thing that Apptio aimed for with the Cloudability platform it acquired in May 2019. 

Chancellor, the former AWS general manager, said that Cloudability can reduce costs as much as 30% by cutting down on cloud sprawl and the corresponding amount of time that cloud management tends to suck up along the way. This right-sizing has attracted more than 60% of the Fortune 100 to the company's services, according to Apptio, including Unilever and Red Hat. 

The pandemic caused Chancellor to reflect back to the company's roots in 2008, just a year after CEO Sunny Gupta and CFO Kurt Shintaffer founded Apptio in 2007.

"We found that our customers needed to quickly and iteratively replan and reforecast, so in response, we customized a product package designed to support those specific needs," Chancellor said. "We also maintained ongoing collaboration with customer teams to help them optimize spend — by identifying redundancies or underutilized resources, for example — so they could limit ad-hoc budget cuts and still maintain a position of strength in uncertainty."

Apptio declined to comment on its 2020 business metrics. Aptio went public in 2016 and then private again in 2019. Chancellor said the company has plans to announce more strategic partnerships in the new year.

Macrometa

Total funding: $7.9 million, according to Crunchbase

Investors: DNX Ventures Benhamou Global Ventures, Sway Ventures, Partech, Shasta Ventures, VU Venture Partners, Fusion Fund, and Velar Capital

The next big evolution in cloud computing is called edge computing, where much of the processing of data occurs in the device (such as the self-driving car) while other portions are sent to the cloud.

Macrometa's Global Data Network (GDN) helps bridge edge computing with existing AWS cloud applications. The result is speedy performance on the end user's side as well as a reduction to AWS costs by as much as 70%, according to the company. 

Most of the cost savings are realized by reducing the amount of workload in the cloud, offloading those data operations to the GDN — a network of more than 100 worldwide edge sites that enables web and cloud developers to build and run high-performance, multiregion, multicloud, globally distributed applications and web services. 

In other words, it's a network designed to work with the latest trend in cloud app development known as microservices, where an application is chopped up into tiny services, each able to live in different parts of the cloud but still work together.

"Cloud providers are taking technologies designed for centralized data centers and doing their best to make them work distributed," CEO Chetan Venkatesh said. "We take the complexity out of building distributed applications and augmenting centralized cloud applications by giving developers a single API to build entire backends and microservices in a fraction of the time it would take in a traditional cloud environment." 

Founded in 2017, the company said it's booked "several million dollars of ARR in the trailing 12 months," referring to annual reoccurring revenue, and Venkatesh said he expects Macrometa's top line to grow 150% or more in 2021 on the strength of new features. 

The company launched a self-service PaaS (platform as a service) in December, "and in the first quarter of 2021, we will be releasing stateful-serverless graph database and search products, giving developers tools for sentiment analytics and … real-time search," Venkatesh said. "Over the rest of the year, we will be releasing products related to real-time event stream processing and machine learning."

Streaming saw a major boom in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic and the average US streaming home now subscribes to four streaming services, according to recent research.

But even as more companies entered the streaming space, from WarnerMedia to NBCUniversal, Netflix still dominated 2020.

The research company Nielsen released its lists of the top streaming original series, acquired series, and movies on Tuesday. Netflix topped both TV lists with "Ozark" and "The Office," the latter of which left the service at the end of 2020 for NBCU's Peacock. 

Overall, "The Office" was the most watched streaming title of 2020, according to Nielsen, which measured minutes watched in the US across four streaming platforms: Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video (no titles from the latter two services made Nielsen's lists). 

"The Office" has been a consistent hit for Netflix and shows that while the company is investing heavily in original content and wants to build its own franchises, its library of old TV shows is still essential for its success.

Since Nielsen measured the minutes watched for each title, TV shows had an advantage when looking at how the movies and TV shows stacked up against each other. Insider combined the lists based on minutes watched to come up with a top 20, and only one movie made that list: "Frozen II," which is streaming on Disney Plus.

Disney Plus dominated the movies list with seven titles, but only one of its TV shows, "The Mandalorian," broke through.

Longer-running shows also have an advantage on Nielsen's list. For instance, "The Office" has nearly 200 episodes compared to "The Mandalorian's" 16.

Below are the top 20 streaming titles of 2020 according to Nielsen, based on minutes watched in the US:

SEE ALSO: New research shows the average US household now subscribes to 4 streaming services — and it could lead to a major shift in the market

20. "Longmire" (Netflix original)

Minutes watched: 11.38 billion

Number of episodes: 63

19. "Boss Baby: Back in Business" (Netflix original)

Minutes watched: 12.6 billion

Number of episodes: 49

18. "The Great British Baking Show" (Netflix original)

Minutes watched: 13.28 billion

Number of episodes: 65

17. "The Umbrella Academy" (Netflix original)

Minutes watched: 13.47 billion

Number of episodes: 20

16. "The Vampire Diaries" (streaming on Netflix)

Minutes watched: 14.09 billion

Number of episodes: 171

15. "The Blacklist" (streaming on Netflix)

Minutes watched: 14.48 billion

Number of episodes: 152

14. "The Mandalorian" (Disney Plus original)

Minutes watched: 14.52 billion

Number of episodes: 16

13. "New Girl" (streaming on Netflix)

Minutes watched: 14.54 billion

Number of episodes: 146

12. "Frozen II" (streaming on Disney Plus)

Minutes watched: 14.92 billion

11. "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness" (Netflix original)

Minutes watched: 15.61 billion

Number of episodes: 8

10. "The Crown" (Netflix original)

Minutes watched: 16.27 billion

Number of episodes: 40

9. "Shameless" (streaming on Netflix)

Minutes watched: 18.2 billion

Number of episodes: 122

8. "Lucifer" (Netflix original)

Minutes watched: 18.97 billion

Number of episodes: 75

7. "Supernatural" (streaming on Netflix)

Minutes watched: 20.3 billion

Number of episodes: 318

6. "Schitt's Creek" (streaming on Netflix)

Minutes watched: 23.78 billion

Number of episodes: 70

5. "NCIS" (streaming on Netflix)

Minutes watched: 28.13 billion

Number of episodes: 353

4. "Ozark" (Netflix original)

Minutes watched: 30.46 billion

Number of episodes: 30

3. "Criminal Minds" (streaming on Netflix)

Minutes watched: 35.41 billion

Number of episodes: 277

2. "Grey's Anatomy" (streaming on Netflix)

Minutes watched: 39.4 billion

Number of episodes: 366

1. "The Office" (left Netflix at the end of 2020, now streaming on Peacock)

Minutes watched: 57.1 billion

Number of episodes: 192

The biggest streaming original TV shows of 2020 according to Nielsen, based on minutes watched in the US (all on Netflix unless otherwise noted)

1. "Ozark"— 30.5 billion
2. "Lucifer"— 18.97 billion
3. "The Crown"— 16.27 billion
4. "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness"— 15.6 billion 
5. "The Mandalorian"— 14.5 billion (Disney Plus)
6. "The Umbrella Academy"— 13.47 billion
7. "Great British Baking Show"— 13.28 billion 
8. "Boss Baby: Back in Business"— 12.6 billion 
9. "Longmire"— 11.38 billion
10. "You"— 10.96 billion

The biggest streaming library TV shows of 2020 according to Nielsen, based on minutes watched in the US (all on Netflix)

1. "The Office"— 57.1 billion 
2. "Grey's Anatomy"— 39.4 billion
3. "Criminal Minds"— 35.4 billion
4. "NCIS"— 28.1 billion
5. "Schitt's Creek"— 23.78 billion
6. "Supernatural"— 20.3 billion
7. "Shameless"— 18.2 billion
8. "New Girl"— 14.5 billion
9. "The Blacklist"— 14.48 billion
10. "The Vampire Diaries"— 14.09 billion

The biggest streaming movies of 2020 according to Nielsen, based on minutes watched in the US

1. "Frozen II"— 14.9 billion (Disney Plus)
2. "Moana"— 10.5 billion (Disney Plus)
3. "The Secret Life of Pets 2"— 9.1 billion (Netflix)
4. "Onward"— 8.37 billion (Disney Plus)
5. "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch"— 6.18 billion (Netflix)
6. "Hamilton"— 6.1 billion (Disney Plus)
7. "Spenser Confidential"— 5.37 billion (Netflix)
8. "Aladdin" (2019) — 5.17 billion (Disney Plus)
9. "Toy Story 4"— 4.42 billion (Disney Plus)
10. "Zootopia"— 4.40 billion (Disney Plus)

• Apple now sells a wide range of iPhones, from the new iPhone 12 lineup to the previous-generation iPhone 11 and the $400 iPhone SE.
• That means there are plenty of options to fit your preferences when it comes to price, size, design, camera quality, and other features.
• In this guide, we break down every new iPhone model as well as some popular older versions to help you decide which one is right for you.
• Looking to save on an iPhone? These are the best iPhone deals happening right now.

With seven iPhone models available through Apple, from the new iPhone 12 to the more than two-year-old iPhone XR, there are plenty of options out there for Apple fans. 

Like most purchasing decisions, which model is right for you largely depends on your needs when it comes to pricing, size options, and features. In addition to helping you choose the right iPhone model for you, we'll also tell you which models you should stay away from.

For most people, we highly recommend the iPhone 12, which costs a relatively reasonable $799 but still includes the most important new tech on any phone: the latest processor. The 2020 iPhone SE is the cheapest iPhone you can buy at $400, and it's also one of the  smallest. So, if portability and affordability are a top priority, it's probably the best choice. It has the same processor as the iPhone 11 family, although its design is dated reminiscent of the iPhone 8.

Apple still sells the iPhone 11, and it's a tempting purchase with its new price tag. It now costs $599, and for that price you're not missing out on much. The iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max are still great buys if you can find good deals that knock at least over $100 off. 

The iPhone XR from 2018 costs $499, making it another budget-friendly option for those who want a much bigger screen, longer battery life, and Face ID. If you don't care about those features, the iPhone SE is a better investment since it comes with a more recent Apple processor for $100 less.

Why should you listen to us? We've personally reviewed every iPhone since the iPhone 6 in a professional capacity as tech writers and editors. We also have a team of seasoned tech reporters who have owned or used iPhones since the first model was introduced. Below, find some general iPhone buying tips from those years of experience. 

Here are the best iPhones:

• Best iPhone overall: iPhone 12
• Best small iPhone: iPhone 12 Mini
• Best premium iPhone: iPhone 12 Pro
• Best big premium iPhone: iPhone 12 Pro Max
• Best budget iPhone: iPhone SE (2020)
• Best big budget iPhone: iPhone XR
• Best premium iPhone overall for less: iPhone 11
• Best small premium iPhone for less: iPhone 11 Pro
• Best big premium iPhone for less: iPhone 11 Pro Max

Updated on 1/12/21 by Lisa Eadicicco: Updated all picks with new and deeper insights as well as clarifications. Checked all links and prices for accuracy.

Buying advice for current iPhone owners

Here's who should (and shouldn't) upgrade, and which iPhone we recommend for you:

• If you have an iPhone 11, 11 Pro, or 11 Pro Max: There's no reason to upgrade at all unless you specifically like to have the latest and greatest that Apple has to offer. If so, consider whether you can afford it after buying your iPhone 11 within the last year. If you have Apple's iPhone upgrade plan, go ahead. By the way, 5G isn't a good reason to upgrade yet, so don't let that be the sole reason to upgrade. 
• If you have an iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR: Performance is likely still fine for most people's needs. If battery life is an issue, you could get your battery replaced for less than the cost of a new iPhone. If you're a conservative spender, you're not missing out on anything that will dramatically improve the core experience of using an iPhone. If you're looking for better photography, the iPhone 12 would be a worthy upgrade. And again, 5G isn't a good reason to upgrade yet, so don't splurge on a new iPhone for that reason alone.. 
• If you have an iPhone X, 8, or 8 Plus: If you're conservative with your spending, you could hang on to your iPhone for another year without much issue. If battery life is an issue, you can replace it for less than the cost of a new iPhone. That said, an upgrade to the iPhone 12 is completely reasonable if you've noticed that performance is slower than your liking. iPhone 8 owners will also benefit from a big jump in camera quality, especially in low light scenarios, the newer designs with better screen-to-body ratios for bigger screens in similarly sized phones, and Face ID.  
• If you have an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, or older: It's time. These phones are likely stuttering and won't last much longer. You'll get a massive upgrade in every aspect by going with the iPhone 12 series.

How should you buy your new iPhone?

• Tech enthusiast? Join the Apple iPhone Upgrade Program. You'll basically rent your phone with monthly payments, and you can upgrade to a new one after 12 payments. If you do that, you end up paying half price for the phone and you get a new one every year without hemming and hawing over the cost. T-Mobile has a similar offer, in which you can upgrade as soon as you've paid off half of the phone's entire balance.
• Tech-savvy traveler? Buy your iPhone unlocked so you can pop in local SIM cards when you travel abroad. To do this, buy from Apple, preferably through the iPhone Upgrade Program. Alternatively, you can buy from T-Mobile or Sprint because they have free international service in 100+ countries.
• Budget hunter?Budget hunter? Check out all the carrier promotions and maybe wait a few months to buy your new iPhone. The cheapest new iPhone is the iPhone 12 Mini for $699. You can also get the iPhone 11 for $599, or the iPhone SE for $399. You could also jump ahead to our Android alternatives section in this buying guide for more cheaper smartphone options.

Is now a good time to buy?

Yes. New iPhones are fresh out of the oven, and older models that are still relevant like the iPhone 11 series have lower price tags. You can get good deals on the 2019 iPhone 11 lineup at many carriers — especially if you can get a trade-in rebate.

The best iPhone overall

The iPhone 12 has the best balance of performance, features, and design for the price, and it's the model most people should go for. 

Pros: New design looks elegant and makes the iPhone 12 easier to hold; Better low-light camera and night mode on all lenses; OLED display on the standard model looks sharp and crisp; 5G will keep the iPhone 12 relevant for years to come

Cons: Widely deployed 5G networks aren't much faster than LTE today; No fingerprint sensor; No always-on display; Night mode selfies aren't very sharp

The iPhone 12 is the best iPhone for the vast majority of people with its $799 price tag. It poses the best value in relation to specs, features, and design compared to the Pro models. 

iPhone fans will notice that the iPhone 12 costs $100 more than the $699 iPhone 11 did at launch. We consider $700 to be a better price (obviously), but the iPhone 12 includes extra features that the iPhone 11 didn't have that justify the $100 bump. We'll mark these features with an asterisk.

Running on Apple's latest A14 Bionic chip, the iPhone 12 has the hardware  most people need for daily and extended usage for $300 less than the top-of-the-line iPhone 12 Pro, and for $400 less than the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Indeed, the Pro models both run on the same chip.

The iPhone 12 has a range of features in common with the Pro models, including a dual camera system with an ultrawide lens, a Super Retina XDR OLED display*, ceramic shield screen glass*, 5G support*, wireless charging and MagSafe support*, a metal frame, and IP68 water resistance. 

There are few compromises by going with the iPhone 12 over the Pro models. What you don't get with the standard iPhone 12 is the third telephoto zoom lens that the Pro models have, the new RAW photo mode for advanced photo controls, the LiDar scanner for better portrait shots, or Apple's advanced sensor-shift optical image stabilization. You also don't get the option for a larger screen size like the iPhone 12 Pro Max's 6.7-inch screen, and the Pro models have a stainless steel design compared to the iPhone 12's aluminum build. 

Through testing, we've found that while the iPhone 12 Pro's extra features are great, they're targeted for people who want the absolute best photography that Apple has to offer. Otherwise, the extra features are largely inconsequential to the daily and overall core iPhone 12 experience.he iPhone 12's dual camera system will be more than enough for the vast majority of people. 

Apple's $799 cost is a good price for the iPhone 12, and you can make it more affordable by finding the iPhone 12 for a deal, trading in your old iPhone with Apple or your carrier, selling your old iPhone yourself, or signing up for the iPhone Upgrade Program. 

You can read the full iPhone 12 review here. 

The best small iPhone

The iPhone 12 Mini is exactly what it sounds like — a smaller version of the standard iPhone 12, and it's for iPhone users who like more compact designs and smaller screens.

Pros: Compact design makes it easy to use with one hand; Excellent camera; Elegant revamped design compared to last year's iPhones; Sharp and vibrant OLED display; 5G support will keep the iPhone 12 Mini relevant in the future

Cons: Smaller size means you compromise on battery life; No fingerprint sensor; No always-on display; Nationwide 5G networks aren't much faster than today's 4G LTE.

The iPhone 12 Mini is a smaller and more affordable version of the iPhone 12. This smaller-sized iPhone is identical to its larger sibling, except the iPhone 12 Mini has a 5.4-inch display compared to the iPhone 12's 6.1-inch screen. That smaller size also means the iPhone 12 Mini's battery life is slightly shorter than the iPhone 12's. 

Overall, it's the best choice for iPhone owners that have been holding onto their older device because they're reluctant to upgrade to today's large-screened devices.

Apart from screen size and battery life, everything is the same, including the A14 Bionic chip, a dual camera system with an ultrawide lens, a Super Retina XDR OLED display, ceramic shield screen glass, 5G support, wireless charging and MagSafe support, a metal frame, and IP68 water resistance.

You can read the full iPhone 12 Mini review here.

The best premium iPhone

The iPhone 12 Pro is for the discerning iPhone user who wants almost the absolute best from Apple — and can afford it, too.

Pros: Excellent camera especially in low-light; Elegant new design that's easier to hold; LiDAR enables portrait mode photos even in the dark; 5G will keep the iPhone 12 Pro relevant for years to come

Cons: Zoom isn't as crisp as Samsung's; Widely-deployed 5G networks aren't much faster than 4G LTE; No fingerprint sensor; No always-on display

The iPhone 12 Pro buyer could either be the kind who buys a new iPhone every year through Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program, or the type of person who waits a considerable long time — think four years or more — before upgrading. More generally, the iPhone 12 Pro buyer is the kind who wants the most camera tech that Apple has to offer in a relatively standard 6.1-inch screen size.

With the iPhone 12 Pro, you're getting everything from the standard iPhone 12, including the A14 Bionic chip, a Super Retina XDR OLED display, ceramic shield screen glass, 5G support, wireless charging and MagSafe support, a metal frame, and IP68 water resistance. 

That extra $300 gets you a steel frame instead of aluminum (which, by the way, doesn't mean it's tougher, according to Unbox Therapy). But more importantly, the iPhone 12 Pro also comes with a  triple camera system that includes the standard lens, ultrawide lens, and exclusive to the Pro models, a telephoto lens that goes up to 4x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom. Extra camera features also include LiDar for better portrait mode photos, even in the dark, as well as Apple's RAW camera controls.

If you're looking for the absolute best photo tech that Apple has to offer and a larger screen, you'll want to check out the the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Be mindful of the iPhone 12 Pro's $999 price tag, which you can reduce if you find the iPhone 12 Pro for a deal, trade-in your old iPhone with Apple, sell your old iPhone yourself, or sign up for the iPhone Upgrade Program. 

You can read the full iPhone 12 Pro review here. 

The best big premium iPhone

The iPhone 12 Pro Max is the choice for those who want a long-lasting battery, gigantic screen, and sophisticated camera.

Pros: Long battery life; Bigger screen without increasing the size of the phone by that much; Excellent camera; Elegant design

Cons: Screen isn't quite as vibrant as Samsung's; Samsung offers a better zoom lens; Missing useful features found on Android like a fingerprint sensor and reverse wireless charging

The biggest benefits you'll get from going with the $1,099 iPhone 12 Pro Max are its gigantic 6.7-inch screen and longer battery life. It also has a slightly better zoom lens than the iPhone 12 Pro, but it's really the enormous screen and long-lasting battery that make this phone stand out in Apple's lineup.

Otherwise, the iPhone 12 Pro Max shares many of the same qualities as the iPhone 12 Pro and standard iPhone 12. These include Apple's A14 Bionic chip, Super Retina XDR OLED screen, ceramic shield screen, 5G support, MagSafe accessory support, a triple-lens camera system with wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto lenses like the iPhone 12 Pro, and IP68 water resistance. 

Like the iPhone 12 Pro, the larger-sized model comes with a stainless steel frame with a matte back, giving it a slightly more premium look and feel than the regular iPhone 12.

Other than its significantly larger size, the main difference between the 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max are in its camera. The Pro Max has a 2.5x optical zoom, a 5x optical zoom range, and a 12x digital zoom, compared to the iPhone 12 Pro's 2x optical zoom, 4x optical zoom range, and 10x digital zoom.

You can definitely notice the difference, but it's not a change that's drastic enough to really factor into your buying decision.  The iPhone 12 Pro Max also benefits from a technology called sensor shift, which further stabilizes the camera to reduce blur from shaky hands. 

The iPhone 12 Pro Max's battery life was impressive during my testing, and you'll certainly be able to get a full day or more out of it. After about a full day's worth of use (15 hours), I still had the iPhone 12 Pro Max still had 38% of its battery left, while the regular 12 Pro had 13% left after 16 hours of use. 

The iPhone 12 Pro's $1,099 price is high, but you can reduce if you find the iPhone 12 Pro for a deal, trade-in your old iPhone with Apple, sell your old iPhone yourself, or sign up for the iPhone Upgrade Program. 

Read our full review of the iPhone 12 Pro Max here.

The best budget iPhone

The new iPhone SE (2020) is undeniably the best value for an iPhone, as it runs on the same powerful chip as the iPhone 11 series, but you're only getting a single-lens camera.

Pros: Excellent price, excellent performance, budget access to Apple's ecosystem

Cons: Battery life could be better, outdated design, single camera system

There's no doubt about it — if you want an iPhone for under $500, the $399.00 iPhone SE is the way to go. It handily takes over the reins from the $599.00 iPhone XR as the best budget iPhone due to the powerful A13 Bionic mobile chip, which also spins the wheels in the iPhone 11 series.

The iPhone SE has an LCD, 4.7-inch, Retina HD screen. That's to say it's not the best in Apple's arsenal, but it's similar to the excellent screen on the iPhone XR. Its design is almost identical to the iPhone 8, a classic iPhone form factor. It comes in black, white, and red color options. 

You get a 12-megapixel single-lens camera with portrait mode, depth control (adjusting background blur after taking a photo), portrait lighting, Smart HDR, a decent gamut of high-end camera features, especially for an iPhone that costs $399.00. 

Unfortunately, you don't get a zoomed lens or an ultra-wide lens, and that's arguably one of the biggest compromises with the iPhone SE. The cheapest iPhone to include at least one of those camera lenses (ultra-wide) is the $699 iPhone 11 — a $300 premium over the iPhone SE. 

The best big budget iPhone

The $499 iPhone XR is the best cheapest big-screened iPhone you can get if you can find a good deal for it.

Pros: Big screen, modern iPhone design, fun colors, good cameras, FaceID, wireless charging

Cons: Runs on two-year-old chip, expensive for older specs and features, hard to use one-handed, glass is fragile, no headphone jack or adapter in box

The $499 iPhone XR isn't that much cheaper than the $599 iPhone 11, and you might as well get the latter if you're going to spend over $500. 

The iPhone XR runs on 2018's A12 Bionic mobile, the same chip in the iPhone XS series, which means it's a great performer, but it's still over two years old. Among other upgrades, spending an extra $100 on the iPhone 11 will get you the faster A13 Bionic chip and an ultra-wide angle camera compared to the single-lens camera on the iPhone XR.

If you don't mind its smaller size, get the $399 iPhone SE and save that $100 you were going to spend on the XR for a pair of AirPods. Spending $100 less on the iPhone SE will also get you the faster chip from the iPhone 11 series. 

The best premium iPhone overall for less

For its new $599 price, the iPhone 11 makes a very tempting argument for a place in your hands and pockets, even over the iPhone 12. 

Pros: Excellent price for an iPhone, fast new processor, great 6.1-inch screen, long battery life, dual-camera setup on the back, wireless charging

Cons: It's missing the OLED screen and the telephoto camera lens of the iPhone 11 Pro lineup

If the iPhone 12 is our first recommendation for most iPhone users, the iPhone 11 would be our second choice for its new cheaper $599 price, dual-camera set up, speedy processor, and crisp LCD screen.

The $599 price of the iPhone 11 makes it the best iPhone for those looking who want something premium but don't want to spend too much. The iPhone 11 has all the specs most people need for $200 less than the iPhone 12.

You're missing out on a few features by choosing the iPhone 11, but nothing that really alters the core iPhone experience. 

Here's what you don't get, and why it might not really matter:

• 5G support. It's nice to have on the iPhone 12, but it's not worth buying a phone exclusively  for 5G at the moment. Fast 5G networks aren't widely deployed and current widespread 5G networks aren't much better than 4G LTE. 5G will get better over time, but how long is a mystery. It's better to buy a 5G phone for 5G when the networks are more built up and mature.
• Apple's fancy "ceramic shield" screen glass. The new ceramic shield glass seems very strong, but you'd do fine with the glass on the iPhone 11. 
• An OLED screen. Apple has some of the best LCD screens in the business, and many people can hardly tell the difference with an OLED screen. The iPhone 11's LCD screen will do just fine, especially if you're paying less. 

Otherwise, the iPhone 11 is still a star performer with modern design and great cameras.

The best small premium iPhone for less

The iPhone 11 Pro is still a superb iPhone as long as you can get a good deal on it

Pros: Speedy processor, sharp OLED screen, great size for single-handed use, triple camera system; great battery life, wireless charging, Face ID

Cons: No headphone jack, no longer sold by Apple and not always found with a deal

Apple doesn't sell the iPhone 11 Pro anymore, but you can still find it on Amazon and through most carriers or tech stores.

Whether it's worth getting the iPhone 11 Pro depends completely on whether you can get a good deal on it. If you're seeing the iPhone 11 Pro for its launch retail price of $999, that's a bad deal — you're much better off getting the iPhone 12 Pro for the same price. 

We're seeing a few deals for the iPhone 11 Pro now, namely this Amazon deal that offers the phone for $669, a noticeable drop from its $999 original price. That's a pretty good deal for the iPhone 11 Pro, an iPhone with an OLED screen, triple camera system, the speedy A13 Bionic chip from 2019, and 5.8-inch screen size.

The best big premium iPhone for less

The iPhone 11 Pro Max with a deal is the one to buy if you want a big screen and great battery life without spending over $1,000.

Pros: Big screen, OLED looks crisp, fast A13 Bionic processor, three-camera setup, better battery life than smaller iPhones

Cons: No headphone jack, no longer sold by Apple and not always found with a deal

The same goes for the iPhone 11 Pro Max — it's only worth buying if you can find a good deal on it. If the deal isn't great and knocks only $100 or less off the iPhone 11 Pro Max's original $1,099 price, you might as well get the new $1,099 iPhone 12 Pro Max. 

If a good deal can be found, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is for the iPhone user who likes big screens and wants a triple camera system that includes the standard camera, ultrawide, and zoom lens. 

If you value OLED screens, the iPhone 11 Pro Max will also deliver. Otherwise, you're getting the same performance as you would with the iPhone 11 Pro, and the $599 iPhone 11.

The iPhone XS is still decent and only two years old, but you'd need to find a really good deal to justify buying it.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max with a deal is the one to buy if you want a big screen and great battery life without spending over $1,000.

Pros: Big screen, OLED looks crisp, fast A13 Bionic processor, three-camera setup, better battery life than smaller iPhones

Cons: No headphone jack, no longer sold by Apple and not always found with a deal

The same goes for the iPhone 11 Pro Max — it's only worth buying if you can find a good deal on it. If the deal isn't great and knocks only $100 or less off the iPhone 11 Pro Max's original $1,099 price, you might as well get the new $1,099 iPhone 12 Pro Max. 

If a good deal can be found, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is for the iPhone user who likes big screens and wants a triple camera system that includes the standard camera, ultrawide, and zoom lens. 

If you value OLED screens, the iPhone 11 Pro Max will also deliver. Otherwise, you're getting the same performance as you would with the iPhone 11 Pro, and the $599 iPhone 11.

Don't bother with the iPhone X/8 series anymore

With the iPhone SE and iPhone XR offering good value, there's little justification for buying the older iPhone X or iPhone 8. 

If you're looking to pay a lot less for a good iPhone, your best bets are going to be the iPhone SE and the iPhone XR rather than some of the older models like the iPhone X and iPhone 8. 

Chances are you'll be overspending on those iPhones, even if you can find a deal that looks tempting. It would be penny-wise-pound-foolish if you went with those older iPhones. Plus, you may not even find these in new condition anymore.

Don't buy an iPhone 7 or older

Why you shouldn't buy an old iPhone: Although the phone looks new, it has three- or five-year-old tech inside and it won't last much longer.

Apple doesn't sell the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, or iPhone 5S anymore for a reason — these are four-to-seven-year-old phones with old tech inside.

Some of these phones ( iPhone 6S and higher) can still get the latest software update of iOS 14, but there's a chance it could be the last software update some of these phones may ever get. That means you'll have an old — and therefore much less secure — version of iOS. 

Your device will also likely slow down and crash occasionally because the processor and RAM are from three-to-four years ago, and are therefore unequipped to handle new software and apps. Your battery life is also likely to take a hit because the phone will be working harder to accomplish even simple tasks like connecting to your cell network.

I know from experience. I had an iPhone 6 Plus that I had been using for about six months two years ago just to see how it runs. It stutters often, the battery doesn't last as long as it used to, and it doesn't always find my cell network right away. It works decently on iOS 11, which is now an old operating system, but runs more  slowly than it did  on iOS 10. And now we're on iOS 14.

You'll be spending hundreds of dollars on a phone that won't last more than a year or two. It's a bad investment. You are much better off getting a newer iPhone model or buying a brand-new, but cheaper, Android phone.

The best inexpensive Android alternatives

Instead of getting an older iPhone, get the Google Pixel 4a or Pixel 4a 5G.

The Google Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a 5G are excellent phones that are very affordable. They have high-quality cameras that are capable of capturing impressive images rivaling those of the new iPhone 12 — especially in low-light conditions. They run a simple and easy-to-navigate version of Android and get regular software updates. The Pixel 4a is only $350 and can be had for less, and the Pixel 4a 5G has a better processor, larger screen, and comes with 5G support for $500.

You can read our Pixel 4a review here. 

We also like these budget phones:

• The $349 OnePlus 7T was the best premium high-end smartphone running on the latest and most powerful specs in 2019. At its current price, it's an incredible deal if you're looking for something with a more premium design and faster performance than the Pixel 3a series. The major caveat is that it's only fully compatible with T-Mobile's network.
• The Motorola G Power costs $250 and offers a lot of value for the price, with a large 6.4-inch screen and  massive 5,000mAh battery that can easily give you more than two-days' worth of use. Check out the Moto G Power review here.

Here are some key things to know before you decide which iPhone to buy:

• Processor and RAM: The processor and memory (RAM) are the two most important parts of any phone. They determine how smoothly it runs and works through intense tasks like gaming or multitasking. The newer your iPhone, the better the processing power and RAM. That's why we recommend you buy the most recent iPhone models and we don't recommend any iPhones from more than three years ago.
• Storage space: Storage is also incredibly important because the amount of storage you have determines how many photos, songs, videos, and apps you can have downloaded on your phone. Never buy a 16GB iPhone — you will run out of space and regret it. 32GB is okay for most people, but if you take a lot of photos, have tons of songs or videos downloaded, or you're an app junkie, you will want 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB of storage. Unfortunately, adding storage costs money. Luckily, the newest phones start at 64GB, which is a respectable amount of space.
• Screen size: iPhones have come in several screen sizes over the years: 4.7 inches (iPhone 8/2020 iPhone SE), 5.5 inches (iPhone 8 Plus), 5.8 inches (iPhone 11 Pro and XS), 6.1 inches (iPhone 11 and XR), and 6.2 inches (iPhone 11 Pro Max and XS Max). Phones with small screen sizes have smaller physical bodies, which are easier to hold. Phones in Apple's "Max" and "Plus" line are the largest,, although Max devices have a much bigger screen compared to phones like the iPhone 8 Plus thanks to their bezel-less design.
• Battery life: Most iPhones — and smartphones in general — don't have great battery life. The smaller the iPhone, the worse the battery life. The iPhone 11 Pro Max has the best battery life of any iPhone, but the iPhone 11 Pro also gets good battery life, as does the new iPhone 11. However, all three have made huge leaps in terms of battery life.
• Ports (or lack thereof): All iPhones have a Lightning port for charging, but all iPhones since the iPhone 7 lack the 3.5mm headphone jack. That means you can't plug in your wired headphones or other accessories unless you buy the adapter or use the Lightning earbuds that once came with your new iPhone (Apple recently stopped including earbuds and power adapters in its packaging). We recommend you get a nice pair of wireless headphones.
• Software: Apple provides updates to its iPhones for about four years or more after their release, so theoretically, you can have your iPhone up to date for years before you should buy a new one. Always update your software to get important security patches and new features. You may experience slowdown on older devices, but iPhones typically hold up well.
• Price: Consider your purchase an investment. Your smartphone is more than a communication device — it's your camera, your computer, your photo album, your music player, and your gaming console, too. A good smartphone can last you for years, but a cheap one with poor specs will be outdated more quickly, and you'll end up spending more in the long run. That $1,000 price tag on the iPhone 11 Pro looks less scary when you consider that it could last you for four to five years.
• How to buy: You can get an iPhone from your carrier by paying full price or paying in monthly installments. You can also buy one at stores like Target and Best Buy or directly from Apple. We recommend you buy it from Apple unlocked so you can switch carriers any time you choose. The Apple iPhone Upgrade Program lets you get a new iPhone every year so long as you've made 12 monthly payments on your current phone. It's basically like renting your smartphone so you can upgrade all the time. Some carriers, like T-Mobile, offer a similar program.

• An espresso tamper fits snugly in your espresso machine's portafilter and evenly distributes grounds to ensure a balanced shot.
• We tested eight tampers to find the best one you can buy, taking into account price, effectiveness, longevity, and more. 
• The Espro Calibrated Tamper is the best option for most people, thanks to its easy-to-grip handle and spring-loaded design, which takes the guesswork out of applying the right amount of pressure.
• Check out our other coffee and espresso guides.

An espresso tamper is a tool used to pack, or "tamp," grounds into the basket of an espresso machine, and it's essential to prepping a well-balanced shot. 

When it comes to choosing the perfect tamper, the most important criteria is that it fits snugly in your espresso machine's portafilter (measured in millimeters). If you get the wrong size, it either won't fit at all, or you're going to end up with an uneven tamp, which means you'll get, at best, a mediocre shot of espresso.

"The thing the tamp really does," as former Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) World Barista Judge and home-barista.com founder Dan Kehn explained, "is help with the pre-infusion or pre-wetting." The real goal is to evenly distribute the grounds so that the puck of coffee soaks evenly. This prevents what's called channeling, or the uneven flow of water through your grounds, which can undermine the balance of your shot by over-extracting on either side of the channel and under-extracting elsewhere.

A tamper's weight is also crucial to its effectiveness. The flimsy plastic thing that may have been included with your machine? It's not going to balance as well as a nicely weighted — ideally one-to-two-pound — hunk of stainless steel. Aside from fit and weight, picking a tamper comes down to feel (how does it fit in your palm?) and aesthetics.

Below, we've found the best tampers for most people, considering budget (you can spend hundreds if you want to, but we don't believe it's necessary), ease of use (and adjustability where applicable), and shape, all informed by dozens of hours of testing.

Here are the best espresso tampers in 2021

• Best overall: Espro Calibrated
• Best two-in-one tamper and leveler: Matow Dual Head Coffee Leveler
• Best budget: LuxHaus

Updated on 1/12/21. We rewrote this guide after testing several new tampers alongside our previous picks and speaking with experts. The Decent Tamper, which was our former top pick, was out of stock and unavailable to ship at the time of this update, but we're looking forward to retesting it and will report back with our findings. James Stout contributed to an earlier version of this article.

The best overall

Espro's Calibrated Tamper is hefty at 16.2 ounces, spring-loaded to 30 pounds of pressure so you know exactly when you've tamped correctly, and has the most comfortable handle out of all the tampers we tried. 

Pros: Hefty, textured aluminum handle is easy to grip, available in several sizes

Cons: Not adjustable, base is not interchangeable

Gauging how much pressure you're applying with your tamper can be difficult, even for veteran baristas. While the standard is 30 pounds, the amount of effort it takes to administer that weight varies from person to person, and getting a feel for exactly how much shoulder to put into tamping takes time.

Calibrated, spring-loaded tampers like the Espro, however, take the guesswork out of the process. You know you've hit the ideal amount of pressure when the spring is fully compressed, and it's nearly impossible to go unnecessarily further. This is important because over-tamping can lead to over-extraction, since water requires more time to soak through the puck and absorbs more of the grounds' soluble flavors.

While testing the Espro, we noted even pours right off the bat before even trying with a leveler (another tool for evenly distributing espresso grounds, which you can read more about here). The base of the Espro is a perfect cylinder, which means a quick glance is all you need to tell if your grounds are compressed lopsidedly (ridged designs can make this more difficult to discern). 

Although there are plenty of calibrated tampers on the market, Espro's has our favorite handle out of all the options we tried. It's made of anodized aluminum, which is chemically stable and heat resistant, so you can feel fairly confident it's not going to dent. We also like that the handle is textured, which helps with grip — keep in mind that this is a one-pound hunk of metal, and you really don't want to drop it.

The Espro Calibrated Tamper is available in four sizes (53mm, 57mm, 58mm, and 58.35mm), and comes with a one-year warranty.

The best 2-in-1 leveler and tamper

A tamper and a leveler in one, Matow's Dual Head Coffee Leveler is nicely weighted (17.3 ounces) and adjustable on both sides to accommodate a spectrum of portafilter basket depths.

Pros: Easy to use, easy to adjust, compact (for a two-in-one device)

Cons: Only comes in three sizes, we wish it had visible measurements so you could change between depth calibrations without having to guess

As we mentioned earlier, a tamper's weight is crucial to its effectiveness, and at 17.3 ounces the Matow was the heaviest option we tested. That's thanks in part to its two-in-one tamper and leveler design. A leveler, or distributor, is the tool you use to level out espresso grounds before tamping in order to get a more consistent extraction. Most levelers, including Matow's, feature a set of fins accentuated by deep grooves for flat and even redistribution. Some people prefer to use a leveler sans tamper, or vice versa, to achieve the perfect pour. If you're unsure of your preference, you can read a bit more about the pros and cons of levelers versus tampers here. 

In testing the device, we had to spend a little bit of time calibrating its adjustable depths to the stock portafilter baskets from the Gaggia Classic Pro espresso machine we were using. As long as you don't change baskets too often, this isn't much of a nuisance, but it's a downside to consider. We're hoping Matow will engrave a simple scale into future versions of the Dual Head Coffee Leveler. 

Once we got everything dialed, extraction was flawless, and the grippy surface on the outer ring made tamping especially comfortable. Knowing that you can use either or both sides of this single tool to achieve your ideal shot of espresso is everything, and the price can't be beat. The major downside is that Matow is a relatively no-name brand in the espresso world and there's no sign of a warranty or even a brand website beyond this Facebook page. Granted, Amazon usually has your back, and we've used and tweaked it enough to know it's not going to fall apart easily.

The best budget tamper

The Luxhaus Tamperoffers significant weight and a well-balanced handle at less than half the price of most of its competitors.

Pros: Good balance between the handle and base, lifetime satisfaction guarantee, comes in most portafilter sizes

Cons: The brand doesn't offer interchangeable bases or handles

The Luxhaus is about as bare-bones as espresso tampers get without skimping on quality metal or meticulous construction, as evidenced by its perfectly-balanced handle and base. The handle's conical shape accommodates a range of hand sizes and grips, and at just shy of 14 ounces (pros we spoke to say that somewhere around one pound is ideal), this tamper is hefty enough to get the job done with or without a leveler. For comparison, our top pick is just two ounces heavier than this model. 

The Luxhaus was comfortable and effortless to use, and the 58mm model we tried fit snugly inside the 58mm portafilter basket of our Gaggia Classic Pro espresso machine (the top pick in our espresso machine guide).

Simply put, there are no design shortcuts that make it inferior to many of the $100+ models we tried. Dip below the Luxhaus's price point, however, and you'll start to find unbalanced handles that don't offer enough stability, and cheap plastic components that bring a tamper's weight down and make it more unwieldy. 

If you want a streamlined, non-mechanical tamper that's dependable and properly weighted for under $30, Luxhaus is the way to go.

This model also comes with a lifetime warranty and a felt bag for storage. 

What else we tested and recommend

Asso Ergo, $89.50-106.57:With its series of interchangeable bases, Asso's Ergo Tamper is the most versatile tool for tamping and leveling we've found yet, and we love it. Hefty, interchangeable convex and lined (patterned) bases make this the tamper for experimenting, but it's not for everyone, and certainly not at this price point. We wish the brand offered a leveler attachment for tamper handles, though, and keep in mind that extra bases are sold separately. 

Decent Tamper, $119: In a past iteration of this guide, the Decent Tamper was our favorite. The novel coronavirus pandemic has complicated shipping and we weren't able to get one in time for this round of testing. While we look forward to retesting it, the price leaves us reticent. Decent Espresso is a vanguard of the coffee industry, though, and championed by coffee author, barista trainer, and all-around espresso guru Scott Rao. We'll continue to keep an eye on Decent and update this guide with our findings when we arrive at them.

LuxHaus Calibrated Tamper, $39: If you want a calibrated tamper on a budget, Luxhaus offers a highly competitive option. We preferred the handle, weight, and squared-off the design of the Espro Calibrated Tamper above, but Luxhaus works every bit as well; we just recommend using a leveler with this one because it fit a little loosely (in our 58mm portafilter baskets) and left room for more uneven tamping than usual.

Rattleware Tamper, $39.99: This is another great option with a larger handle than our top pick, and it's especially convenient for those with large hands. The only reason we didn't recommend it this go around (it was a favorite of ours in past guides) is that it's not widely available at present, and there aren't enough available sizes for it to work for most people. If you find this tamper in the right size, we wholeheartedly recommend purchasing it.

Our testing methodology

Preparation

Before we began testing tampers, we stocked up on several pounds of Ugandan dark roast from Atlas Coffee Company, measuring our grounds using a Kruve Sifter to make sure we were within the realm of espresso (250-500 micrometers, or somewhere between white flour and table salt in size). Throughout testing, we used Gaggia's Classic Pro espresso machine, which is our top pick for most people and most budgets.

Pulling shots

For each tamper, we pulled four shots: two with a leveler, or a distribution tool to even out the grounds, and two without. 

This was the most telling testing phase. Once you've gotten a handle on espresso making, how your shot pours tells you almost all you need to know. Whether you're using a spouted or a bottomless (or "naked") portafilter, you want a slow, constant drizzle with enough foam, or crema, to give it a golden hue. This signifies an even extraction.

If the flow is too slow, it's an indication that the grounds are compacted. Conversely, if espresso is cascading and/or spurting out of the bottom of your portafilter, your grounds are probably not tamped enough, or too coarse to start.

Tasting

Tasting is always going to be highly subjective at best. We noted where shots seemed under- or over-extracted, and when we pulled a shot that wasn't up to par, we checked to make sure that the issue was related to the tamper we were using, and not the result of improperly-sized grounds or a portafilter in need of cleaning. 

Analyzing the puck

Apart from tasting and watching a shot pour, looking at the puck afterward is the next best way to dissect the quality of an espresso shot It's a bit like making a tea-leaf prophecy in reverse. If it's rock-hard, there's a good chance that the grounds were too fine. If it's soft, your grounds might be too coarse or you might have tamped too finely. If it's cracked, or partially dry, the tamp was almost certainly uneven. 

During testing, we oftentimes looked at the puck to essentially confirm what we already knew from previous steps. Between watching the shot pour, tasting the shot, and analyzing the puck, we were able to form a clear picture of what happened, and specifically what went wrong and what went right.

How to use a tamper

A good grinder and fresh grounds are the initial keys to success. After dialing your burr grinder and getting your grounds the right size and consistency, measure out whatever your portafilter basket's recommended capacity is (7-9 grams is about standard for a single-shot basket; somewhere between 14 and 20 grams will usually fill a double basket). Note that if your grounds touch the screen of the group head (the part of the espresso machine where the water comes out) when you lock in your portafilter, your basket is overfilled. 

Next is where a leveler (another tool for evenly distributing espresso grounds) makes tamping immeasurably easier. If your leveler isn't calibrated, adjust it so that it reaches the top of your grounds when they're sitting in your portafilter basket. Again, this depth will vary from basket to basket, which is why an adjustable leveler is best. Give the leveler a few good spins and check to make sure the grounds are neatly leveled. If there's a wave in the grounds from the fins or ridges of your leveler, it's probably set too deep. Conversely, if the leveler doesn't fully reach the grounds, you'll want to extend it some.

Note: If you don't have a leveler like the Matow one we recommend above, it's worth adding one to your kit. You can still make espresso without a leveler, of course, but the process won't be as foolproof. 

Next, you simply place your tamper in the basket atop the grounds and push down until it clicks (assuming it's calibrated). To tidy things up, some baristas recommend "polishing" the puck by briefly spinning your tamper with about five pounds of pressure. Once you're done tamping, look at the grounds in the basket to make sure they're level. If your puck is slanted, water is going to find the path of least resistance and channel its way through rather than evenly extract.

Now brush or dust off the edge of the basket and the portafilter, because you want to avoid getting coffee grounds in the group head of your espresso machine, attach it to the group head, and pull your shot. Provided your grind size is right and your grounds are consistent, you should get a slow but steady trickle into your demitasse. There's no exact standard, but a single shot should be ready in roughly 20 to 30 seconds, and a double somewhere between 35 and 45 seconds.

If you want to see how your infusion and extraction are working, try removing your puck right after the machine completes the pre-infusion (or pre-wetting). If you see dry spots, that's where water didn't penetrate. If you see cracks, that's where water channeled. Wipe your basket and portafilter clean.

Espresso levelers (or distributors) vs. tampers

A tamper is a flat (or in some cases convex or lined) piece of metal used to press coffee grounds into a compact puck within your portafilter basket. A leveler is a tool that sweeps across the surface of loosely piled grounds in order to distribute them evenly throughout the portafilter basket. You can use a leveler without a tamper — and a lot of contemporary baristas do — but a tamper provides an extra bit of insurance against channeling.

While 30 pounds is often cited as the amount of pressure needed to properly tamp, former Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) World Barista Judge and home-barista.com founder Dan Kehn along with the folks at both Javapress and Whole Latte Love maintain that 10 pounds will do the trick. Kehn regaled us with a tale of a fellow espresso aficionado who found that whether they tamped with 6 pounds, 60 pounds, or 660 pounds of pressure, variation in compaction was negligible. There were still small air pockets, and the grounds didn't compress much further with each increase in pressure. Leveling your coffee grounds inherently tamps them, but you shouldn't use force with a leveler the way you would with a tamper. 

Basically, tamping an espresso shot without a leveler is a bit like hanging a picture frame without a level: it might look straight, but there's hardly a chance that it actually is. Once the grounds are perfectly leveled, they'll remain even within the portafilter. Tamping them afterward just reduces the margin of error.

Glossary of espresso terms

Burr grinder: A mill designed to crush coffee beans between two abrasive surfaces set a particular distance apart (determined by the user)

Calibrated tamper: A tamper with a spring to gauge and determine the amount of pressure a barista puts on grounds to pack the portafilter basket

Choke: What a less powerful espresso machine does when it is unable to force water through grounds (usually due to grounds being too fine for the machine)

Convex tamper: A tamper with an outwardly curved surface or face, meant to assist in even extraction

Double: A double espresso; two shots, or somewhere between about 14 and 20 grams from a double portafilter basket

Grind size: The average or standard particle size of ground coffee beans

Grounds: Coffee beans that have been reduced (by way of a blade or burr) to a particular size for brewing

Leveler: A tool for evenly distributing a dose of grounds within a portafilter basket

Lined tamper: A tamper whose face is lined with rings to create an even pattern of ridges and valleys in the top of a puck

Over-extract: To pull too many of the soluble flavors from coffee (ends up extra viscous and bitter)

Portafilter: A holder for baskets and espresso grounds that attaches to the group or group head of an espresso machine

Portafilter basket: A stainless steel basket that holds espresso grounds and fits into the portafilter

Puck: A tamped, or compressed, pile of grounds in (or from) a portafilter

Single shot: One small portafilter basket-worth of coffee (about seven to nine grams)

Tamp: To pack and concentrate

Under-extract: To pull too few of the soluble flavors from coffee (ends up watery and bland)

See more great coffee buying guides

The best espresso machines

The best French Presses

The best stovetop espresso makers

The best coffee grinders

• Founded in 2018, Vessi is a Vancouver-based startup specializing in sneakers that are lightweight, breathable, and 100% waterproof.
• Their shoes use a knit material called Dyma-tex, which allows heat and moisture in the form of sweat to escape, but prevents water from entering.
• We tested them out to see if they lived up to the hype and demand. Spoiler: they absolutely did.

As consumers, we all hate when the things we want are sold out. But as a retailer, a completely sold out stock is actually a good problem to have — and it's one that Vancouver-based sneaker brand Vessi knows all too well.

Founded in 2018 by Andy Wang, Tony Yu, and Mikaella Go, Vessi has gained notoriety for its 100% waterproof sneakers. We named them the best waterproof sneakers in our buying guide for waterproof footwear, and apparently, we're not the only ones who like them so much.

In less than one year, the startup went from selling 5,000 pairs a month to 50,000 pairs a month, accounting for a 900% increase in sales. The demand became so overwhelming that Vessi decided to shut down its website for a few weeks to catch up on orders and learn more about the thousands of customers who had already bought pairs. 

"During the period of halting orders, we answered all consumer queries, got on the phone to listen to direct feedback, and we were able to learn even more about what our core customers crave — from seamless policies to product improvements." Yu told Business Insider.

Now, the shoes are back in stock, and Vessi is back in business.

What makes Vessi's shoes different

What separates Vessi from other sneaker brands is the innovative waterproofing technology it uses, and the fact that each pair only weighs 6.7 ounces.

Vessi's are the lightest waterproof shoes in the world (according to them), making them far more versatile than clunky rain boots, heavy winter boots, or a lightweight shoe that's only water-resistant. Its shoes are truly waterproof thanks to a proprietary knit material the brand created called Dyma-tex, which allows for breathability in a way most waterproof materials don't.

Essentially, the Dyma-tex material has millions of tiny holes in the membrane to allow heat and moisture in the form of sweat to leave the shoe, while preventing water from seeping in. For good measure, the shoes are also treated with a water-repellent layer to allow dirt, stains, and water to bead right off the surface.

The INSIDER video team tested out the shoes by jumping into puddles and submerging them in buckets of water, which you can watch below. 

Several of the Insider Reviews team members tried them out as well, and suffice it to say we were all impressed. Keep reading to find our thoughts about the different styles.

Check out our full review of Vessi's sneaker lineup:

Vessi Everyday Sneaker

Men's sizing: Everyday Sneaker, from $135, available in five colors

Women's sizing: Everyday Sneaker, from $135, available in five colors

The Vessi Everyday Sneaker has all of the basic elements of a knit sneaker from a sportswear brand, which makes it very easy to wear regularly. I've worn my pair a handful of times in New York City, but luckily didn't come in contact with any rain or puddles. So, to put them to the test, I submerged them in a bucket of water and the inside stayed completely dry. I'm confident that the only way your feet would get wet while wearing these is if they were fully submerged and water made its way in from the top.

I think it's worth emphasizing that these are not just overpriced water shoes. Vessi sneakers are designed to keep water out, while water shoes typically welcome water. I probably wouldn't wear these in the snowy winter (I actually appreciate the bulkiness of boots when it's freezing cold outside), but I wouldn't hesitate to travel with these as my only pair of shoes for both walking and adventuring. — Amir Ismael, Insider Reviews reporter

Vessi Cityscape

Men's sizing: Vessi Cityscape, from $135, available in two colors

Women's sizing: Vessi Cityscape, from $135, available in two colors

I wore my Vessi sneakers on a trip to Austin, Texas with the knowledge that I was going to be exploring springs and pools. I wanted to pack light, so they were the only pair of shoes I brought, and I crossed my fingers that they would work as they said. They turned out to be a great travel shoe because they were as comfortable as regular sneakers, but as practical as rain boots. I stepped my entire foot into a pool and no water seeped in. As it rained the entire weekend, the shoes also repelled the water effectively. It's a major plus that the soft and cushioned shoes don't have an obnoxious or obvious waterproof design. — Connie Chen, Insider Reviews senior reporter

Vessi Everyday Slip On

Men's sizing: Everyday Slip On, from $135, available in three colors

Women's sizing: Everyday Slip On, from $135, available in four colors

The Vessi Everyday Slip On shoes are designed to function as lightweight, waterproof, versatile sneakers — and they deliver on all three. They held up well to New York City's brackish puddles without letting the water seep in, but they have great airflow despite the solid insulation. All in all, they'll stack up to expectations. Compared to the other two styles with laces, the Everyday Slip On is easy to put on and take off, and it's slightly less bulky. — Mara Leighton, Insider Reviews senior reporter

The bottom line

Vessi sneakers have become a cult favorite among travelers in need of versatile, waterproof shoes, but they're equally as popular among everyday comfort seekers who would rather rely on a single pair of shoes for all types of weather.

Shop all Vessi waterproof sneakers here. 

• Eastwind Hotel is a boutique property in the Catskills of New York that sprawls across 17 private acres.
• In addition to standard hotel rooms, Eastwind offers standalone A-frame Lushna units and new, bigger Lushna Suite cabins.
• I stayed in a Lushna Suite, comped for review purposes, that typically starts at $429 per night. However standard rooms start at $279.
• Read more: Is it safe to stay in a hotel right now? An infectious disease doctor, a cleaning expert, and hotel reps all share what you should know before you check-in.

In a time when social distancing, private space, and the great outdoors are all trending in travel due to COVID-19, the new Lushna Suites at Eastwind Hotel & Bar are ideally suited for travelers' current priorities. Located in Windham, New York, the property is a quick two-hour drive north of New York City.

While some may already be familiar with the hotel's smaller Lushna units, or have seen them trending on Instagram thanks to their A-framed views,  I tried out the hotel's brand new offering, the Lushna Suites. These larger, standalone suites are cabin-like duplexes that peek out over the mountains and feel like tiny homes in the country.

Eastwind is one of several boutique properties that dot the area around Windham Mountain ski resort. An old hunting lodge from the 1920s, it sits on a prime 17-acres of private grounds facing the Catskill Mountains, providing the kind of wide-open country views that anyone trapped in their pandemic abode dreams about. Their design-savvy team transformed the once rundown motel into a hip getaway that attracts a younger city crowd for the convivial atmosphere and photo-worthy interiors. 

In the summer and shoulder seasons, the area is known for wonderful hiking trails; the autumn brings leaf peepers chasing dazzling fall foliage; in the winter, Windham is a well-regarded regional ski hub. In the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when I visited, it's not really any of these things. However, the off-season provided a perfect opportunity to snuggle up and enjoy the cozy ambiance of the Lushna Suites. 

This is glamping done right, with lots of modern elements making the sleek pine units inviting. However, this is not a luxury hotel stay. If you need a lot of personal attention or pre-planned activities, you won't find them here. And with a pricey three-night minimum and extremely limited dining options during the week, a stay here definitely presents some downsides.  

However, if you're looking for a socially-distant getaway where you can enjoy standalone accommodations and outdoor activities at your fingertips, this may be just the ticket to relaxation you've been looking for. 

• The first impression
• The room
• On-site amenities
• What's nearby
• What others say
• What you need to know
• COVID-19 policies
• The bottom line
• Book the Eastwind Hotel & Bar starting at $279 per night

Keep reading to see why I was so impressed by the Lushna Suites at Eastwind Hotel.

I felt my phone vibrate around 1:15 p.m. as I was winding my way from New Jersey into the Catskill Mountains, about two hours before Eastwind's 3 p.m. check-in time. I had been concerned I hadn't heard from the property with an email about the contactless check-in they offered, but just in the nick of time, there was a welcome message with a key code for my door and directions for how to find my unit and where to park. Also included, a note to "kindly wear your mask around others and in all local stores," a few suggestions for where to get take-out food in the area (more on this later), and several recommendations for nearby hiking trails.

A second text received moments later described in detail what to expect in my preordered breakfast basket for the next morning (coffee, yogurt, fresh fruit, and pastries) and asked what time I'd like it have it delivered. As a coffee addict and breakfast food aficionado, this was the cheeriest welcome I could hope for, and I perked up on the rest of the drive even as the skies turned an ominous gray. 

A light snow was falling as my husband and I climbed the mountain into Windham, which sits at around 1,700 feet above sea level and is traversed with scenic hiking and skiing trails, waterfalls, and barns and fields. Luckily, we spotted the navy-blue main building of the hotel and pulled off the twisting path of Route 23 before the storm picked up. The coating of white on the ground, though, made it hard to find the path to follow up to the Lushna Suites.

We stopped at the lower parking lot to get our bearings since there is no signage on property, and Jason, a hotel employee, immediately popped out wearing a mask, and asked if we needed help. When I said I was looking for the Lushna Suites, he guessed correctly that I was staying in Unit 3 and directed us to our suite at the top of the next driveway, adding, "I just dropped off a s'more kit for you," which was another welcome mood brightener.

My wheels slipped a bit as we climbed to the uppermost corner of the property on a long, non-paved driveway. Lushna Suite number three is the last unit on the property, and definitely the premier location as it offers the most privacy. While it was welcomingly secluded for a couple's retreat, if I had been staying on my own it may have felt more isolating than cozy. Since we were the last unit, Jason said we could leave our car in front of unit, which was helpful in avoiding a long icy walk. 

Thanks to the contactless check-in, I easily entered the four-digit code on the keypad attached to the door and headed directly into my home for the night, with no further staff interactions needed.

Straight ahead on what looked like a wall of shelves was the cutely packaged s'mores kit we had been promised, complete with saber sharp bamboo sticks. We popped our bags on the other shelves and admired the main living space. This was the highlight of the Lushna Suite thanks to the soaring wall of windows offering panoramic views of the forest stretching to the top of snow-kissed Windham Mountain. Large glass doors opened to an expansive deck with Adirondack chairs, ideal for watching the natural world outside. Swagged canvas drapes gave the feeling of looking out from inside a tent adding to the glamping atmosphere. 

The living room had a long futon couch along one wall, a vintage-style coffee table, and an etagere augmented with antique travel guides and a duck decoy. The space was also cleverly decorated with old books and sporting gear hung on the wide walls. I loved the lofted ceiling and knotty pine – everything smelled and felt as fresh and new as if we were the first people to stay. 

After turning a corner I found a large closet, a surprise feature in a small space, stocked with extra sheets, pillows, and towels. The next door revealed a contemporary bathroom with an inviting pizza-size rain shower head, green art deco tile floors, and photo-ready striped Pendleton terry hoodie ponchos. 

Back out to the living room I retraced my steps to the front door and turned left, where there was another closed door. I assumed it must be the door to the loft, but instead, I discovered a "secret" writer's nook tucked along the wall with a long built-in desk and vintage typewriter. There were also complimentary large bottles of Smart Water, swanky bottles filled with hand sanitizer, a modern wireless phone charger, lightning cord station, and rechargeable lantern. A mini-fridge was tucked away, too, for stashing snacks. I searched every cubby and cabinet for a coffee station or kettle but sadly came up short, which I found surprising. 

Still searching for the door to the loft, I finally moved our bags and the s'mores kit. As it turned out, those weren't shelves, they were shelf-like stairs. Up we went to discover just a queen mattress tucked into treehouse-like loft with a large window looking out over our car.

I can't lie, both my husband and I were trepidatious at first about spending the night in such a small space. But after just a few hours in the Lushna Suite, we started to think of it as a tiny house. We mostly hung out downstairs in the living room, and only climbed the stairs to sleep in what turned out to be a very cozy nook, outfitted with silky Frette sheets.

As an adult, I don't get invited to many (okay, any) treehouse slumber parties, and for a night I was able to enjoy the whimsical feeling of it. There were outlets so we could charge our phones and check the time, and I carried the lantern up for light, which honestly felt very romantic (although on closer examination in daylight there were also LED lights that just hadn't been functioning). 

We both slept well in the complete silence, but woke up early because even though there's a curtain blocking the window that frames the bed, there's no covering on the windowed door that faces the stairs to the loft, so it got bright early. I also suggest keeping the bedroom curtain at least half down at all times since passersby in the parking lot below can look right in, which was slightly off-putting. 

A great deal of staying in the Lushna Suite is enjoying the privacy that comes with it. In addition to the porch right off the suite, that includes a hammock strung on an adjacent tree, a personal firepit that staff will light on request any time, and an outdoor shower (not quite the right season now, but surely delightful in hotter weather).

We only stayed the one night, but note that for the Lushnas, both suites and standard units, there is currently a three-night minimum stay (for regular hotel rooms there is a two-night minimum). During a typical stay during COVID, there is no housekeeping, but staff will bring additional towels, sheets, or other needs on request. 

If you can't book a Lushna Suite, which is a distinct possibility since there are only three units, there are several other options for overnighting at Eastwind. The main hotel building has 10 rooms, although only half are available at any time due to COVID-19 booking restrictions. These are a much more affordable option, starting at $279 per night. However, you don't have the convenience or safety of a standalone accommodation and may encounter other guests in the hallways and common areas, which is a downside amidst the pandemic. There is also a suite with its own entrance and a private fireplace connected to the main building that starts at $429.

Additionally, up the hill from the main building is the Hill House where there are five rooms each with an outdoor entrance that start from $329. And then there are the basic Lushnas, which are basically a standalone, tent-shaped pine room with a large window looking out over the landscape. 

If you like elbow room, regular Lushnas aren't a good option, since they mostly comprise a mattress with a view, and the bathroom, while private, is a few feet away in a separate structure. There are three units by the Hill House that abut the parking lot, and then four more units in the upper section of the property, across the gravel path from the Lushna Suites. I found the units in the upper section to be more private, but the units near the Hill House offer views of Windham Mountain (but also look out over the main lodge and the parking lot).

Price-wise, the basic Lushna units start at $359 for a midweek stay, and the Lushna Suite is $429 for a similar stay and includes an ensuite bathroom and more than twice the square footage. I highly recommend splurging on the Lushna Suites, especially if your dates are flexible, thanks to the added privacy, idyllic views, additional space, and the added safety of a standalone room. However, the Hill House rooms make for a nice compromise if you want a private entrance and the space of a typical hotel room. Just be aware the views aren't quite as nice from these rooms since they're right along the parking lot. 

Compare room types and prices for the Eastwind Hotel

During non-pandemic times, Eastwind has an on-site restaurant and fireplace lounge in the main hotel building. However, both are closed for normal service due to the pandemic. The restaurant is currently offering three-course dinners with drinks for $100 per person (plus tax and tip) on Friday and Saturday evenings for hotel guests only and with a reservation, with two seatings of three tables per evening. The dinner can also be delivered for in-room dining. During the rest of the week no food is available on the property. 

More accessible is a drinks-on-demand service. Simply text the front desk and select from a list of curated cocktails and a masked employee will bring your beverage wherever you are on the property. For my husband and I, this translated into a winter special of warm mulled wine that we were able to order by the thermos ($25), a cold-weather highlight that we sipped while we played with the wood-tile Scrabble we discovered in the room. 

Another great pivot for the property is the addition of delivery breakfast baskets, my favorite perk of my pandemic stay, filled with warm pastries, a thermos of hot coffee, fruit, yogurt and granola, OJ, and warm hard boiled eggs ($30). This was delivered right on time to the door and was a lovely way to start the day.

There are two stand-alone outdoor saunas for guests, one barrel-shaped option by the lower end of the property and one on the road to the suites designed like a ski gondola. These are open year-round, and are free to use (and there's no resort fee at the property) with times reserved by text; saunas are sanitized before each use.

For outdoor lovers, Eastwind is an ideal location to explore the protected Catskill Forest. The easy Windham Path is .25 miles from the property, longer and more challenging trails, including Giant Ledge and Westkill Mountain, are a short drive to the trailheads. In the winter, you'll be able to spot the snow-covered trails of Windham Mountain right from the Lushna Suite windows, and Hunter Mountain Resort is just a few minutes down the road. 

Dining is a real issue, unfortunately, if you stay during the week. Of the five recommendations for take-out options in my welcome text, four were closed on Wednesdays, when I stayed, and one was a convenience store. It pays, however, to communicate directly with the staff. When the lovely Maria brought our mulled wine and I described my dilemma, she offered up a "locals favorite" dining spot: The Brandywine. Just seven minutes down the road, we were able to score a full pasta dinner, including entrée, salad, bread, for $11.99. However, it seemed to truly be the only option anywhere remotely nearby that was open during the week.

About five minutes down the road is the quaint town of Windham where you'll find shopping boutiques and more dining options during the weekends. Check the Eastwind Field Guide, available in the room, for options. I made a quick stop at indie Briar & Brambles Books, a short walk from Eastwind. Also in the area is Ze Windham Winebar that gets high marks from visitors for its "secret garden" patio, gourmet bites, and large selection of wine and beers. 

Nearby are some of the Catskills great art communities, including Saugerties (about 40 mins east) where the spectacular OPUS 40 sculpture park is located. Pro tip: Although the property is closed for the winter, you can still book a private, small-group entrance for parties of five or less. I tried it out and it was glorious to wander the Brobdingnagian bluestone sculptural paths without a crowd. About 45 minutes south is the artsy town of Woodstock for gallery hopping and shopping; from there it's a quick 15-minute hop to another local's favorite dining spot, the all-day comfort food offerings of Phoenicia Diner. 

Check flight prices to Windham on Expedia

Eastwind Hotel has 4.5 out of 5 stars on Trip Advisor and an 8.9 out of 10 on Booking.com. There are definitely two schools of thought on staying here. Positive reviews on Booking.com all laud Bjorn, the owner, for being "very helpful and responsive," and while I can't attest to that since he wasn't on property during my stay, the accolades for the natural setting as a "space for couples who need a quiet getaway with little distractions" is completely spot on. On Trip Advisor, a Hill Room review noted that, "The view was awesome..the room was big and very clean."

On the flip side, some reviewers on Booking.com felt that while the staff was eager to help, "they were certainly spread thin and … communication … could certainly be improved to fully take advantage of all amenities." I also agree with this assessment. Since there's no front desk, it's hard to get a lay of the land, especially since the welcome text includes outdated info and there's no info on hotel procedures in the room. A review on Trip Advisor noted that in the main building, "The room was very cute but extremely small and they have closed the common area ... there wasn't really anywhere for us to hang out," which we heard from others as well.  

Read reviews, compare prices, and book the Eastwind Hotel on TripAdvisor

Who stays here: Hip New York City residents looking for an escape from urban life; outdoor enthusiasts; dog lovers (pets are welcome with a fee). 

We like: Managers on duty make house calls to do everything from delivering extra blankets to laying fires and bringing s'mores kits.

We love (don't miss this feature!): The cocktails and hot breakfast baskets delivered straight to our room was a huge hit, and enjoying them with the mountain views only added to the experience.

We think you should know: Windham is a food desert midweek and there is no room service and no coffee making facilities in Lushna Suites. Rooms don't have TVs, but we found the Wi-Fi sufficient to surf the web. Also, Lushna Suites are not a good option for anyone with mobility issues or fear of heights. 

We'd do this differently next time: Although Eastwind is a four-season resort, and the ski area is nearby, I would prefer to experience a Lushna Suite in warmer weather when I could explore the surrounding hiking trails, relax in the hammock, and enjoy the firepit without fear of frostbite. 

Eastwind has a robust COVID safety playbook in effect. New protocols include:

• All rooms are empty for a minimum of 24 hours between stays to ensure time for cleaning and sanitation.
• Contactless check in is offered for all rooms, with keyed-entry instead of a front desk.
• The main building is operating at 50% capacity. 
• The bar is closed and drinks are delivered wherever you're lounging around the property, so there's no worries about drinking without a mask at a crowded bar. 
• Firepits were changed from communal areas to private fires for everyone. 
• Masks are required throughout the property. 
• Eastwind also uses EPA approved cleaning and sanitation supplies. 
• Staff does not enter rooms while guests rooms are booked, meaning no housekeeping during your stay. 

I found the property very COVID compliant, with all staff masked whenever I encountered them, including when they brought supplies to the room. Hand sanitizer was available throughout the property and in our room, as well. The contactless check-in also worked well to minimize interactions with staff.

The Lushna Suites at Eastwind delivered what I was looking for: An unplugged overnight close to home that felt like a true getaway. I appreciated the tranquil natural setting, peaceful property, and relaxed atmosphere. Plus, the attention to keeping the property COVID-19 compliant eliminated any pandemic stress. 

At $429 even for a midweek stay, Lushna Suites are pricey. And currently, they require a three-night minimum to book. However, if you're able to splurge, I found the standalone Lushna Suites to be well worth the cost for the upgraded privacy, space, and amenities. That said, the property also offers standard rooms starting at $279, and the Hill House rooms offer a nice compromise since they are more traditional rooms, but with private entrances, starting from $329. 

One major downside right now is that during the week, much of the surrounding area is closed. With the on-site restaurant only open on weekends and serving a special menu for $100 per person, and nearly all restaurants within an hour's drive closed during the week, dining during your stay can be a legitimate issue.

However, for a quick getaway from the New York metro area, especially for anyone who wants to try elevated glamping and spend time outdoors, this is a prime option. 

Book a room at the Eastwind Hotel starting at $279 per night

• Online wine clubs deliver cases of wine right to your door for convenience and can help you learn more about wine and develop your palate. 
• The best online wine subscriptions we tested offer straightforward ordering experiences, safe and reliable shipping, well-curated selections, and resources to make you a more informed wine drinker.
• Winc is the best online wine subscription we've tried over the years because it offers all of these things, and it's always in tune with the latest wine trends. 
• Read more: The best wine glasses
• Sign up for Insider Reviews' weekly newsletter for more buying advice and great deals.

This content is intended for readers 21+. Please drink responsibly. If you or anyone you know is dealing with alcohol abuse, get help. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) provides a free, confidential, 24/7, treatment referral, and information service.

To an outsider, the world of wine — with all its varietals, regions, tasting techniques, and pairing rules — can seem intimidating and difficult to navigate. Online wine clubs, however, aim to bring these barriers crashing down and make the process so easy you don't even need to leave your house. 

These wine clubs are typically subscription-based with monthly or quarterly shipments of wine that fit your existing tastes while helping you expand your horizons and discover new favorites. 

"No one is born with a great palate," said Vanessa Price, a sommelier, wine writer for New York Magazine, and author of Big Macs & Burgundy: Wine Pairings for the Real World, "they develop it over time. The more you expand your experiences with different types of wine, the more evolved your palate will become." 

Online wine subscriptions can fast-track that evolution if you don't necessarily have the time or energy to do all the work. 

"Generally, wine clubs are great for those who want to be introduced to new things, but who may not be confident enough yet to select new things for themselves," said David Hamburger, director of special events at Acker, the oldest wine shop in America. "A good wine club should be somewhat instructive, sharing with members enough information about each wine to provide background, but also allow members the flexibility to enjoy it their own way — with a recipe, or food pairing suggestions." And if you need extra guidance on how to taste or store your wine, head over to our FAQs here.

In testing some of the most popular online wine subscriptions, we found that safe and reliable shipping standards, subscription flexibility and customization, and unique, high-quality offerings are also important factors to keep in mind. 

With every service below, our bottles arrived on time and securely packaged. Member experience was also great across the board. You can easily skip shipments or cancel your subscription directly from your online account. 

Remember, an adult 21+ years old must be present to sign for the wine shipment. 

Here are the best wine subscriptions in 2021

• Best wine subscription overall: Winc
• Best for sampling: Vinebox
• Best for natural and organic wine: Plonk
• Best for sparkling wine: Mumm Napa
• Best for value: Firstleaf
• Best curation: Parcelle Wine Drop

Prices and details are accurate as of 1/12/21. Following testing, we've added Eater Wine Club as another option we recommend. We're currently looking for new clubs to test, such as Primal Wines and SommSelect. 

SEE ALSO: The best wine openers and corkscrews you can buy

The best subscription overall

The modern wine club model is nearly perfect in Winc's hands, from its large and on-trend bottle variety to its streamlined browsing and customer rating system.

Pros: Wines are all based on consumer interests and trends, easy-to-navigate interface, many varietals

Cons: Wine info and notes are only online, a la carte stock goes quickly

Subscription frequency: Every month

Shipping fee: $9 for orders of three bottles or fewer; free for orders of four bottles or more

A la carte shop: Yes

As a new member at Winc, you start by taking a quick quiz that asks about your tastes and preferences. Then you're matched up with wines that align with your "Palate Profile," and from there you can create your own cart of wine selections. In addition to the suggestions presented to you, you can browse by category. The shop features clear ratings from other members and easy-to-digest descriptions of each wine.

This design provides a good balance of guidance and personalization — you get suggestions but you also have the freedom to pick out other wines that catch your eye. 

Winc works directly with vineyards and makes all the wines it sells, producing over 664 wines from 78 grape varieties and 97 regions across 12 different countries since launch. You may see some of these wines also sold at Whole Foods, Vons, and Kroger stores. Since Winc uses subscriber data and ratings to inform new wine production, most of the wine you see will line right up with emerging trends. 

On the downside, this rapid production model means it can be difficult to re-purchase some of your favorites, so it's best not to get too attached to a particular bottle. 

I've tried Winc a few times over the last couple of years and always found something I liked while further developing my tastes and preferences. It's through Winc that I've grown to appreciate Chenin Blanc from South Africa and how I realized Touriga Nacional, a dry red wine popular in Portugal, is not so popular with my taste buds. 

You can only see each wine's tasting notes and descriptions online, which is slightly inconvenient as you try out your monthly shipment. However, the online-first system ultimately works in your favor because you'll have your entire order history and personal notes all in one place to reference later.   

Since the wines are based on your preferences, there aren't any seasonal or holiday offerings.

Read our full review of Winc here.

The best subscription for sampling

Vinebox packages European wines in sleek and distinctive single-serving glasses so you can try nine different kinds without committing to whole bottles.

Pros: Good sampling size, memorable packaging, useful info cards

Cons: Can't always find or buy the full bottle in the shop

Subscription frequency: Every 3 months 

Shipping fee: Free 

A la carte shop: Yes 

It's easy to distinguish Vinebox from the pack: you get no less than nine wines, neatly packed into individual glass tubes and accompanied by a well-designed informational booklet, all stored in sturdy yet gift-worthy packaging. 

Each quarter's box is pre-curated so you can't customize it to your tastes, but you'll have plenty of fun sipping and sampling each wine. The best part is that you won't feel bad opening and finishing a whole "bottle" because it's only a single serving. Vinebox's design is great for casual wine drinkers who hate commitment, plus it's convenient and practical because you don't even need a bottle opener or corkscrew to enjoy your drink. 

If you do happen to fall in love with one of the samples, you can make use of the $15 credit given to you each quarter. This can be used towards a purchase of the full-sized version. You may also want to gift this unique and beautiful box to a friend whose wine preferences are eclectic or unclear — with so many varietals packed into every shipment, they're bound to enjoy at least one.

The particular box I received featured all light and medium-bodied wines, which I just so happen to enjoy. But it would've been even better to see some full-bodied wines represented, for additional variety and range. 

Vinebox has a popular seasonal offering that only comes around the holidays, an advent calendar called 12 Nights of Wine. The limited-quantity box costs $129 and contains 12 glasses of wine, and it usually sells out, so be on the lookout in the winter. 

Read our full review of Vinebox here.

The best subscription for natural wine

For natural, organic, and biodynamic wines, you can rely on Plonk to take care of the expert vetting, thoughtful curation, and spot-on food pairing recommendations.

Pros: Only natural wine offerings, pre-curated, easy to skip shipments or cancel your subscription 

Cons: Pricey, cannot be personalized

Subscription frequency: Every month

Shipping fee: Free

A la carte shop: Yes 

Plonk, which is British derogatory slang for cheap, low-quality wine, provides wines that are anything but. The online club focuses exclusively on natural wines that are grown with organic, biodynamic, and sustainable vineyard practices, meaning they don't contain pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or commercial additives (like colorants or artificial sugars). There's also an impressive selection of sulfite-free and unfiltered bottles. 

If you're interested in the specific distinctions among the terms "natural,""organic," and "biodynamic," founder Etty Klein breaks them down here.

Plonk prides itself on selecting and importing wines from small, boutique winemakers and lesser-known wine regions, flouting big industry names to give you a carefully vetted selection. While other online wine subscriptions may offer natural and sustainable options, few can boast both the convenience and range of Plonk's one-stop natural shop. 

When you sign up, you have your choice of an all-red, all-white, or mixed variety box, with either four or 12 bottles per shipment. What the included informational printout lacks in glitzy presentation, at least compared to other services, it makes up for in precise tasting notes and ultra-specific food pairings courtesy of Food52. For example, one of my favorite Plonk discoveries, a 2019 Pinot Noir from Margaret River, Western Australia, should be enjoyed with stuffed peppers with lamb, orzo, and halloumi cheese. 

Plonk has seasonal offerings throughout the year, including a Thanksgiving bundle and a sparkling wine sampler around the holidays. 

The best subscription for sparkling wine

If you like celebrating with a bubbly drink, Mumm Napa has more than enough variety with its quarterly wine club. It uses French techniques to make its delicious wines and offers discounts, exclusive events, and free tastings for its members. 

Pros: Great variety and high-quality production of sparkling wine, informative booklet included, many membership perks 

Cons: Total annual price is expensive, may not be suitable if you're seeking sparkling wines made from different producers 

Subscription frequency: Every 3 months

Shipping fee: Varies based on location 

A la carte shop: Yes 

Mumm Napa has roots that go back to the 1800s with the French Champagne house G. H. Mumm & Cie. The parent company of Mumm Napa, Mumm is one of the largest producers of Champagne globally. Its Napa Valley vineyard continues to use traditional Champagne-making techniques to make its sparkling wines, the best of which are showcased in the Club Vivant subscriptions.

There are currently two different clubs, the DVX and the Collector's Edition. The DVX subscription is for passionate Mumm Napa fans and includes six bottles of the winery's signature DVX series of rosés and bruts. This club ranges from $350-$800 per shipment and only ships two times a year.

The Collector's Edition is a little more accessible and meant for people who want to enjoy bubbly more regularly — which is what I tested. The Collector's Edition ships quarterly and costs $200-$275 per shipment, depending on the bottle variety. It contains six full-sized bottles per shipment, including the winery's signature DVX annual release wine and limited production wines. You'll also get a detailed pamphlet of notes for each wine. 

I loved the sparkling Pinot Noir and the Brut Reserve, and the pairing suggestions (like truffle popcorn with the Brut Reserve) were helpful and spot-on. I also appreciated the general variety that the club provided, from the sparkling rosé to the sparkling chardonnay. I have more experience with still wines, but Mumm Napa's carefully produced assortment showed me that sparkling can be just as diverse and fun. It also gave me an excuse to celebrate exciting moments in my life, no matter how big or small. 

In addition to the actual wines, there are perks accessible to both DVX and Collector's Edition members like 20% off Mumm Napa sparkling and still wines, 20% off gift shop purchases, and 30% off club selection re-orders. You'll also get access to exclusive wines and invitations to virtual events. The membership is even more worth it if you live close to Napa — once a month, you can enjoy a complimentary select tasting for up to four people (note: this may be temporarily unavailable due to restrictions from the novel coronavirus pandemic).

The best subscription for value

You'll never have to pay more than $15 a bottle at Firstleaf, where the quality and personalization are top-notch.

Pros: Flexibility to swap out pre-selected bottles in your order, attractive intro offer, good overall value

Cons: May take a few boxes/rounds of ratings for the system to understand more specific preferences

Subscription frequency: Every one, two, or three months 

Shipping fee: $9.95 

A la carte shop: Yes 

Like Winc, Firstleaf has you start out with a quiz so it can better understand your preferences.  When you're finished, it serves up six wines it thinks you'll like, and you can read about each one and decide whether you want to make any swaps. However, you only have six swaps per shipment. So, Firstleaf is that nice "Goldilocks" service where you have a bit of control, but you're still steered in the right direction. 

To draw you in, Firstleaf has a very competitive introductory offer of $39.95 for six wines, including shipping. Afterward, the price goes up to $80, plus $9.95 shipping, but you're still only paying $15 for each bottle, many of which are industry award winners.

After you've tried every wine in your monthly shipment, you can rate them online. This step is important because Firstleaf will use your ratings to become smarter and hone in on an even better curation for you next month. As your wine knowledge and tastes evolve, so too will the service. 

I've had the chance to try Firstleaf a few times in the last couple of years, and it's always been reliable. I appreciate that I don't have to do quite so much work in picking out the bottles and that the main effort only comes afterward, once I've tried everything. 

On top of the existing value of the service, there's a strong referral program: if you share Firstleaf with a friend, they'll get $40 and you'll get $40. 

Firstleaf has seasonal offerings, like the Halloween Bundle, a mix of red and white wine; and the Autumnal Reds bundle, which includes wines that pair well with fall foods. Both cost $150 and contain 12 bottles each. 

Read our full review of Firstleaf here. 

The best subscription curation

Parcelle Wine Drop combines a truly unique selection of bottles with an informative yet unpretentious wine education from Michelin-starred sommeliers.

Pros: Pre-curated, unique variety, beautiful info cards, impressive expertise

Cons: Not personalized, could buy the bottles individually for less

Subscription frequency: Every month

Shipping fee: Free

A la carte shop: Yes

I love Parcelle's Wine Drop because it has the feel of a cool and exclusive local club but it ships nationwide. Parcelle is based in New York City and enlists the curation and expertise of Michelin-starred sommeliers like the former wine directors of Eleven Madison Park and Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare. 

The experience indeed feels like you're asking for wine recs at a restaurant. It's arguably even better because your three wines also come with beautifully illustrated info cards and a copy of Parcelle Press, a mini journal that is, again, visually stunning. 

Founder Grant Reynolds told Insider Reviews, "The Wine Drop is our shortlist of our favorite wines to have around the house at that time of year. Nothing too fancy but always smart, a bit different, and from small producers focusing on making wines unique to the place they are from."

If you prefer more customization, you'll probably enjoy one of our other picks more, but if you want to leave it up to the pros, try Wine Drop. All three wines I received were hits, and they helped me realize a new love for orange wine. 

Depending on the wine, the total cost of the individual bottles could come out to less than $95. The Wine Drop I received during September, for example, was $85. In other months, the total may be more. While fluctuating prices may be a dealbreaker for some, I found Wine Drop's tight curation and immersive experience to be compelling enough reasons to continue my subscription. 

Each month's Wine Drop has a different theme so the selection is curated and intentional. For example, October's trio is neither too light nor heavy since it's a transitional fall month. We expect holiday months like November, December, and January to have more festive wines.

What else we recommend

Eater Wine Club: We always look to Eater to find local restaurant and bar recs, and now it's making use of its expertise and community connections to curate a monthly wine club. The new club, which launched in late 2020 and sends you four bottles of wine every month, has already featured cool, memorable themes like Greek wines and celebration-worthy wines that aren't Champagne. I loved that the roster of monthly curators and wine experts hailed from all over the country, so that even in the midst of a pandemic, it felt like I was traveling to and exploring a new food and wine scene. As a member, you'll also be invited to a virtual tasting with each month's curator and receive an exclusive newsletter. 

What else we considered

Usual Wines: Usual Wines' single-serving beaker bottles are certainly eye-catching and memorable. However, the company only offers its subscriptions in red, rosé, and brut, and these wines don't change month-to-month. On the plus side, its wines contain no added sugars or sulfites, and the grapes come from sustainable farms. If you're looking for a straightforward subscription you don't really have to think about, Usual Wines is a good candidate. Otherwise, our picks above provide better opportunities for education and discovery. 

Acker Wines: Acker has wine clubs for a variety of budgets and levels of enthusiasm, from the $89/month Access Club to the $999/month JK Club for fine and rare wines. Acker's Access Club seems promising for wine amateurs, but it's geographically limited to New York City residents. The next club level up jumps to $299/quarter for three bottles, which may be inaccessible for many shoppers.  

Elicit Wine Project: Elicit Wine Project helps incubate and launch cool, innovative wine brands, so if you're tired of seeing the same stuffy labels, you'll like shopping here and putting together your own subscription box. The downside is that there aren't many varietals to choose from right now. Perhaps as the service grows, we'll see a better variety. 

What we look forward to testing

The Grand Tour: This club by online and brick-and-mortar shop Verve Wine takes a geographic approach to wine discovery by highlighting four bottles (usually two red and two white) from a different region each month. Why does the region matter? Well, soil, climate, and topography all affect the winemaking process and the final product.  

The Sip: This Black-owned bi-monthly subscription service focuses exclusively on sparkling wines for all your bubbly needs. In addition to three flights of luxury sparkling wine, you'll get priority access to new wine releases. It's the perfect wine club for people who are always looking for an excuse to celebrate. 

Primal Wine Club: Another natural wine club that looks promising is Primal, which offers red, white, and mixed wine clubs as well as education about the oft-confusing world of natural, biodynamic, and organic wines. The price per bottle is on par with Plonk's, so the points of differentiation we'll be looking for are curation, variety, and reliability of delivery. 

SommSelect: An impressive roster of sommeliers picks out the wines in this Sonoma-based club. There are a few clubs to choose from, including "The Blind 6," which wraps up the bottles in black paper and is complete with notebooks and tasting notes so you can have your own blind tasting experience at home. 

Wine FAQs

How to store wine

Do: Lay the bottle on its side in a cool dark place, preferably in a cabinet lower to the floor. 

Don't: Stand it up on the counter or leave it in direct sunlight. 

Do: Store your opened bottle in a wine fridge so it can keep a little longer. 

Don't: Store wine in a regular refrigerator. "The same qualities that keep your food fresh will not have the same effect on your wine," says Price. See our guide to the best wine coolers and fridges. 

How to taste wine

Go slow and use the right techniques. "Tasting wine to learn something about it is different from just knocking a glass back casually with friends," said Price. "Take the time to think about what you are tasting. Make sure you stick your nose in the glass and really smell the wine. When you drink it, coat your entire palate. After you swallow, think about how long the flavors and textures linger in your mouth." 

The sommelier and wine writer also recommended starting a tasting group with your friends or family. "Pick a theme and have everyone bring a bottle within that theme. For example, if you want to understand Syrah, the line-up should include a Northern Rhône (FR), Barossa Valley (AU), Stellenbosch (ZA), Paso Robles (US), and Tuscany (IT) bottling amongst others. Each person should bring their bottle wrapped so you can't see the label (don't forget to take the neck foil off, that one is an easy giveaway!), and put the wines out for everyone to taste and guess which wine is which. It's helpful to write your tasting notes down so you see how you progress over time. The entertainment value goes up even more when afterward you discuss your impressions as a group, enjoying the wines you brought with friends."

How to choose the perfect wine for a gift 

Make it personal. "The best way to gift a bottle of wine is to know a little piece about the recipient. Whether it's a birth year or wedding vintage, a favorite place, or just their personal taste, those small things will make a gifted bottle of wine far more special," says Hamburger. 

What's the difference between Champagne and sparkling wine? 

All Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne. Champagne refers specifically to sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France. Because of this geographic distinction, that means there are only certain grapes — like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir — that can be used to make Champagne.

Check out other related guides

• The best wine glasses
• The best wine openers and corkscrews
• The best wine coolers and fridges

• LinkedIn identified the top five hard skills employers are looking for in 2021, such as data analysis and project management. 
• Through January 31, the platform is offering free classes to learn those skills — no LinkedIn Learning signup required.
• Also included are general career development courses, from preparing for job interviews to negotiating a higher salary.
• Read more: Coursera's free online resume course will teach you how to organize, write, and format a resume that gets to the top of the stack
• Sign up for Insider Reviews' weekly newsletter for more buying advice and great deals.

Whether you're aspiring to jump into a new field or want to stand out in your current one, it helps to know what employers are actually looking for. Based on the most in-demand roles right now, such as software developers, digital marketers, and project managers, LinkedIn compiled data on the top hard skills managers are currently looking for. 

Additionally, LinkedIn examined the broader traits recruiters and hiring managers want to see in applicants, from solid interviewing and communication skills to eye-catching resumes. 

To help job seekers gain a competitive edge, LinkedIn is free offering online video courses around the most sought-after career skills through January 31. You don't need a LinkedIn Learning account to access them — simply click the link and you should be able to stream the classes.

One thing to note is that you won't be able to receive a certificate of completion at the end — you need a LinkedIn Learning subscription to get one. You can try it out for free for a month (after the trial ends, it costs $29.99/month month-to-month and $19.99/month annually). A full membership gets you unlimited access to all the LinkedIn Learning courses, with no extra charge for professional certificates. You can read a more detailed breakdown of the service here.

Below are the top skills employers are looking for according to LinkedIn, and the free classes you can take to build on them.

The top 5 hard skills applicants are being hired for in 2021:

Software development

• Python for Data Science Essential Training: An introductory course to the popular programming language Python, with a step-by-step data science project included.
• Programming Foundations: Object-Oriented Design: Learn the fundamentals of object-oriented design, which teaches developers to plan out applications into manageable parts before starting the coding process.
• Programming Foundations: Algorithms: Algorithms are crucial to programming, and this intro class covers the basics of the most popular ones, as well as common data structures.

Project management

• Cert Prep: Scrum Master: To get certified as a Scrum Master, you'll need to pass an exam. This course walks you through what you'll need to know to ace exams such as the Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or Professional Scrum Master (PSM).
• Cert Prep: PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®: The agile approach to project management is all about being quick to adapt to rapidly changing industries. This course breaks down agile project management responsibilities so you can decide if you want to pursue getting certified via an Agile Certified Practitioner exam.

Data analysis

• SQL Essential Training: If you're interested in SQL, the most widely used language for data analysis, this course will give you a breakdown and even a small application project to get some practice in.
• Data Science & Analytics Career Paths & Certifications: First Steps: Curious about a data science career but not sure where to start, or what jobs are out there? This course walks you through the many growing career opportunities, as well as any certifications or training you'll need.
• Six Sigma: Green Belt: In this course, you'll learn the basics of Six Stigma, a very commonly used, customer-focused data analysis methodology that helps improve product or service performance.

Digital marketing

• Marketing Tools: Digital Marketing: Learn how to navigate the different types of marketing, from social media and email marketing to digital advertising and SEO.

Product management

• Becoming a Product Manager: Not sure what a product manager does or how to become one? This course answers all your questions and covers the main skills you'd need to pursue a career in this field.

The top 5 career development skills to work on in 2021:

• Expert Tips for Answering Common Interview Questions: This course covers the most common interview questions and how to answer them, including how to explain an employment gap or negotiate a higher salary. 
• Resume Makeover: Sharpen your resume to make it stand out to employers. Plus, learn tips on how to actually get an interview.
• Creating Great First Impressions: From simple body language cues to strong icebreakers, this research-based class teaches you how to make the most out of a first meeting.
• Communicating with Confidence: This course covers easily applicable tips to reduce nerves and improve how you communicate, from posture to wording.
• Complex Negotiation Tips: Whether you're negotiating a raise or a big change on your team, the advice in this course can help you navigate complicated scenarios to emerge with stronger relationships and outcomes.

This page includes information about the Discover it® Miles, which are currently not available on Business Insider and may be out of date.

Cash-back credit cards

Not everyone travels enough to make cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card worth it. If you'd prefer to earn money back on your spending, you have plenty of great options as well. Unless otherwise specified, these cash-back cards don't have an annual fee.

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express— This card has a $95 (waived the first year if you apply by 12/10/2020) annual fee (See Rates), and it has some great bonus categories. These include 6% back on select U.S. streaming services, 6% back on up to $6,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets each year (then 1%), 3% back at U.S. gas stations and on transit, and 1% on everything else. Read the Blue Cash Preferred Card review.

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express — If you don't want to pay an annual fee while you earn cash back, this Amex card is worth a look. Bonus categories include U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations, and select U.S. department stores. Read the Blue Cash Everyday card review.

Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card — If you want to earn extra cash back on your dining purchases, this is a good pick. The Savor card earns an unlimited 4% back on dining and entertainment, 2% back at grocery stores, and 1% back on everything else. There's a $95 annual fee, and no foreign transaction fees. Read the Capital One Savor card review.

Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card—  For those who don't want to worry about different cash-back bonus categories, the Quicksilver is a straightforward choice. It earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. Read the Capital One Quicksilver card review.

Chase Freedom Flex℠ — This new card replaces the original Chase Freedom, which is no longer open to new applicants. it earns 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in rotating bonus categories each quarter, and it also earns bonus cash back on dining, drugstores, and more. Plus, there's no annual fee.Read the Chase Freedom Flex review.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®— This card offers a solid flat rate (1.5% back) on most purchases, and it's one of the most flexible cash-back cards around, because it gives you options (the Freedom Unlimited also recently started offering bonus cash back on eligible travel, grocery, and drugstore purchases). If you decide you'd like to get into travel rewards further down the line, you can combine your cash-back earnings from the Freedom Unlimited with Chase Ultimate Rewards points from a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred to use them toward travel. Read the Chase Freedom Unlimited review.

Chase Freedom®—  Like the Freedom Unlimited, the Chase Freedom earns cash back on every purchase. But instead of offering a flat cash-back rate, it offers 5% back on up to $1,500 spent each quarter of the year in rotating bonus categories, such as gas stations and streaming services, and 1% back on everything else. You have to activate the bonus each quarter to earn the 5% back. The Freedom's cash-back earnings can be combined with Ultimate Rewards points if you have a more premium Chase card. Read the Chase Freedom review.

Citi® Double Cash Card— If your priority is simplicity when it comes to earning cash back, the Citi® Double Cash Card is hard to beat. You'll earn 2% cash back on every purchase: 1% back when you buy, and 1% back when you pay your bill. There's no annual fee, and there are no bonus categories to keep track of. If you have another Citi card, you have the option to redeem your cash back as Citi ThankYou Rewards points that can be used for travel. Read the Citi Double Cash review.

Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card— This is a top cash-back card thanks to its many bonus categories. You'll earn 3x points (3% cash back) on eating out and ordering in, on travel, gas stations, rideshares, and transit, and on popular streaming services, and 1% back on everything else. It's also one of the rare no-annual-fee cash-back cards to waive foreign transaction fees. Read the Wells Fargo Propel Amex card review.

0% APR and balance-transfer credit cards

Credit cards that offer introductory APR periods can save you money on interest if you need to transfer an existing credit card balance or finance a large purchase over several months. Just remember that you need to pay off your debt by the end of the introductory period to avoid interest; if you don't, the fees will add up quickly.

Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express— Not only is this card a great option for earning Amex Membership Rewards points without paying a sky-high annual fee (it's a reasonable $95), but this card also offers 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months, then a 12.99% to 22.99% Variable APR.Read the Amex EveryDay Preferred card review.

Citi Simplicity® Card— This card has one of the longest introductory APR periods for balance transfers: 18 months with 0% APR, then a rate of 14.74% - 24.74% (Variable). There's no annual fee, and no rewards — the point of the card is to help you maximize your time to pay off debt without accruing interest. Read the Citi Simplicity card review.

Travel rewards credit cards

First up are the cards that can get you the most value if you're willing to put in the work: travel rewards credit cards that earn Amex, Chase, and other bank points. You can transfer these points to various airline and hotel partners, as well as use them to book travel directly through your credit card issuer.

The mega-popular Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, American Express® Gold Card and others fall into this category.

American Express® Gold Card— If dining is one of your top spending categories, the Amex Gold is a great card for you. It earns 4x points at restaurants (and 4x at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 each calendar year, then 1x) and each month you get up to $10 per month in statement credits when you use the card at GrubHub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shacks. There's a $250 annual fee (See Rates). Read the Amex Gold Card review.

American Express® Green Card— Amex recently revamped its Green card from the ground up, and the result is a great rewards card with a moderate annual fee of $150. That fee is especially easy to justify if you can use the card's annual statement credits: up to $100 toward CLEAR membership each year, and up to $100 toward airport lounge access through LoungeBuddy each year. Read the Amex Green card review.

Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card— This card has a $95 annual fee and earns 2x points on travel and dining, and 1.5x points on all other purchases. If you have a lot of money parked with Bank of America and you enroll in the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program, you could get even more bonus points. Reader the Bank of America Premium Rewards card review.

Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card—Like the Sapphire Preferred, the Venture Rewards Card packs in a lot of benefits for a sub-$100-annual-fee card. You'll earn 2x miles on all purchase, and you can redeem miles to cover travel purchases on your statement, or transfer them to a selection of airline programs.Read the Capital One Venture Rewards card review.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card—  The rewards card that started it all. For a $95 annual fee, you get 2x points on travel and dining, not to mention valuable protections like primary car rental insurance and baggage delay insurance. Read the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card review.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®— The premium sibling to the Sapphire Preferred has a $550 annual fee, but offers more perks like a $300 annual travel credit and 3x points on travel and dining. Read the Chase Sapphire Reserve review.

Citi Premier℠ Card— This card doesn't get nearly as much attention as the Chase Sapphire Preferred, but it offers similar valuable perks at the same price of $95 per year. It earns 3x Citi points on air travel and restaurants and offers a high sign-up bonus. Read the Citi Premier card review.

Citi Prestige® Card— This premium card has a $495 annual fee, but it could be worth it for frequent travelers thanks to a $250 annual travel credit and a 4th Night Free benefit that you can use twice per year to save money on hotel stays. Read the Citi Prestige card review.

Discover it® Miles— This card isn't a premium travel rewards cards with airport lounge access and statement credits. It has no annual fee, and it earns 1.5x miles on every purchase. You can redeem the Discover miles you earn to cover any travel purchases you make with your card.Read the Discover it Miles review.

Platinum Card® from American Express— It's one of the most premium personal credit cards out there, with a $550 annual fee and a long list of benefits (See Rates). You get annual statement credits for airline incidental fees, Saks purchases, and Uber rides, and can access a variety of airport lounges including Amex's own Centurion Lounges. Read the Amex Platinum review.

Business credit cards

If you run your own company or even if you just have a side gig like freelancing or selling items online, a business credit card is a great way to separate your work expenses and earn rewards targeted to business spenders. Many business credit cards offer bonus points on categories like office supplies, and if you opt for a high-end card you can enjoy luxury travel benefits like airport lounge access.

Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business — The Spark Miles for Business earns 2 miles per dollar on all purchases with no cap on what you can earn, and you can either redeem your miles to cover travel expenses or transfer them to airline partners like Air Canada and Singapore Airlines. There's a $95 annual fee, but it's waived the first year. Read the Spark Miles for Business review.

Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business— This card is similar to the Spark Miles for Business, except it has no annual fee and earns cash back instead of miles. You'll earn 2% back on all your purchases, with no cap on how much you can earn. Read the Spark Cash for Business review.

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card— This Chase Business card has one of the best sign-up bonuses around, and it offers great points-earning potential on categories like travel and online advertising for a reasonable $95 annual fee. Read the Ink Business Preferred card review.

Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card— This no-annual-fee business card from Chase earns bonus cash back on categories like office supply stores, internet, cable, and phone services. If you pair it with a Chase card that earns Ultimate Rewards points, you can redeem the Ink Card's cash back as travel rewards with partners like British Airways and Hyatt. Read the Ink Business Cash card review.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express— The business version of the Amex Platinum Card comes with several unique benefits, including up to $200 in statement credits for Dell purchases each year, and a 35% points rebate when you book eligible air travel through Amex. There's a $595 annual fee, but it could be worth it for frequent business travelers. Read the Amex Business Platinum card review.

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express— This is a great option for anyone who's looking to earn Amex points and can qualify for a business credit card. The Blue Business Plus has no annual fee, and it earns 2x points on the first $50,000 spent each year (then 1x point). Read the Blue Business Plus card review.

American Express® Business Gold Card— If your business spends a lot on categories like U.S. advertising and airfare purchased directly from airlines, the Business Gold is a great choice. It earns you 4x points on your top two spending categories each month (from a list of six categories), on up to $150,000 in combined purchases each year (then 1x). The card has a $295 annual fee. Read the Amex Business Gold card review.

Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card— This card has no annual fee, and earns a flat 1.5% back on every purchase. If you want a simple card that doesn't require keeping track of any bonus categories, this could be a good choice. Read the Ink Business Unlimited review.

Brex Corporate Card for Startups and the Brex Corporate Card for Ecommerce — Brex's corporate credit card comes in two versions with slightly different benefits tailored for startups and ecommerce companies. Both flavors have no annual fee, and if you make the Brex card your exclusive corporate credit card, you can earn up to 7 points per dollar on spending, and transfer points to airlines like JetBlue. Read the Brex corporate card review.

• Related Content Module: More Credit Card Coverage

Airline credit cards

If you're loyal to a specific airline — or even if you just travel with the same airline multiple times a year — it could be worth holding a co-branded credit card to get a free checked bag, priority boarding, and other perks. Airline credit cards run the gamut from entry-level to premium options, and the best choice for you will depend on how frequently you travel.

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature credit card— Alaska miles are very valuable, and also hard to come by. Alaska's co-branded card (with a $75 annual fee) is a great way to earn them, and you also get a companion fare each year. Read the Alaska Airlines Visa review.

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®— This is one of the best credit cards for American Airlines flyers, offering 2x miles at gas stations, restaurants, and eligible American Airlines purchases, along with a free checked bag on domestic itineraries with the airline. Read the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select card review.

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card— If you want to earn Delta SkyMiles without paying an annual fee, this card is a good option. You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on eligible Delta purchases and at restaurants, and 1 mile per dollar on everything else. You'll also get 20% off eligible in-flight purchases with Delta. Read the Delta SkyMiles Blue Amex review.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card— If you fly Delta a handful of times each year, this card is a good option. It has a $99 annual fee (See Rates) that's waived the first year, and offers the basic airline perks like a free checked bag when you fly Delta, priority boarding, and 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases (and at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets). Read the Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex review.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card — For more frequent Delta flyers, the Platinum Delta Amex could make sense thanks to additional benefits like an annual companion certificate and the ability to earn Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) toward Delta Medallion elite Status. The card has a higher $250 annual fee (See Rates), but if those perks are useful to you, it can be worth it. Read the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex review.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card— Delta's most premium credit card offers an annual companion certificate and the ability to earn MQMs, but also complimentary access to Delta Sky Clubs and American Express Centurion lounges when you're flying Delta. It has a $550 annual fee (See Rates). Read the Delta Reserve Amex review.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card— If you qualify for a small-business credit card and you frequently fly Southwest, this card gives you lots of benefits to make your travel more comfortable. You get four upgraded boardings per year (where available), in-flight Wi-Fi credits, and up to a $100 statement credit to cover the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. You also get 9,000 points each year after your cardmember anniversary. There's a $199 annual fee. Read the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business card review.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card— This card has a $99 annual fee. One of the top reasons to consider it — or any other Southwest credit card — is that the sign-up bonus you earn from meeting the minimum spending requirement counts toward the Southwest Companion Pass. The Companion Pass lets you designate one person to travel with you on Southwest for free (minus taxes and fees) when you have a flight booked. Read the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card review.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card— Southwest's most premium personal credit card has a $149 annual fee and comes with some valuable benefits for the frequent Southwest flyer. You get up to $75 in Southwest travel credit each year, plus four upgraded boardings per year (where available). The points you earn with this card count toward the Companion Pass as well. Read the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card review.

United Club℠ Infinite Card— If you're a regular traveler and United is your airline of choice, this card could be a smart option, in large part because you get full United Club membership just for holding the card. Given the airport lounge benefit, this card charges a $525 annual fee. Read the United Club Infinite card review.

United℠ Explorer Card— United's co-branded credit card with a $95 annual fee (waived the first year) stands out for offering bonus miles on categories other than just United purchases, and an application fee credit for up to $100 for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. As a cardholder, you also get access to additional low-level award space, which makes it easier to stretch the miles you earn. Read the United Explorer card review.

United℠ Business Card— This card has a $99 annual fee (waived the first year), and it offers bonus miles at gas stations, office supply stores, and restaurants, in addition to on United purchases. Read the United Business card review.

Read more:The best airline credit cards

Hotel credit cards

Hotel credit cards can get you complimentary elite status, bonus points on stays, and other solid perks. As with airline credit cards, the options run the gamut from basic cards with annual fees under $100 to premium picks that offer fancier benefits.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card— This card has a $450 annual fee, but if you have even just a few Hilton stays in a year it can be well worth it. You get complimentary Hilton Diamond status, which can get you free breakfast and complimentary room upgrades, and each cardmember year you'll get up to $250 in Hilton resort credits and up to $250 in airline fee credits each calendar year. Read the Hilton Aspire card review.

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card— If you qualify for a small business credit card and are a Hilton loyalist, consider this card with a moderate $95 annual fee and benefits like bonus points on Hilton stays and complimentary Gold Hilton status. Read the Hilton Honors Amex Business card review.

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card— If you don't want to pay the $450 annual fee of the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card but still want to enjoy some benefits with Hilton, this card is a good option, with a moderate $95 annual fee (See Rates). You get complimentary Gold Hilton status, and you'll earn 12 points per dollar on eligible Hilton purchases. Read the Hilton Honors Surpass card review.

IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card— This card gets you a lot in exchange for a fee of $89, waived the first year. Each year you get an anniversary night that you can use at hotels that cost up to 40,000 points, and you get complimentary IHG Platinum status. It often runs lucrative sign-up offers, to boot. Read the IHG Rewards Club Premier card review.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card— If Marriott is your hotel chain of choice but you don't stay in hotels often enough to justify a higher-annual-fee card, the Boundless card (with a $95 annual fee) is a great option. Each year after your cardmember anniversary, you get a free night at any property that costs 35,000 points or less. Read the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card review.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card— Marriott's premium consumer card has a $450 annual fee (See Rates) but offers lots of benefits to justify it, like up to $300 in annual statement credits for eligible Marriott purchases (including stays) and complimentary Platinum Elite status with your Card for the 2021 status year (offer Expires 1/13/2021). Read the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex card review.

Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card — If you're a small-business user who stays at Marriott hotels when you're on the road, this card offers bonus points and complimentary Silver status to make your stay more rewarding. Read the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex review.

The World Of Hyatt Credit Card—  Hyatt has a smaller portfolio of hotels than some of the other chains like Hilton and Marriott, but it has some great luxury properties, and there are some real sweet spots in the Hyatt award chart. This card earns you bonus points on Hyatt stays, at restaurants, on gym memberships, and more, and it gets you a free night at a Category 1-4 hotel each year. Read the World of Hyatt card review.

Sheldon Adelson, owner of the world's largest casino company and a prominent Republican donor, died on January 11 at the age of 87.

He passed away from complications related to treatment for non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, according to a statement from Las Vegas Sands, the company he owned.

Adelson was the Las Vegas billionaire behind some of the world's most iconic casinos and hotels, including the Venetian and the Palazzo hotels in Las Vegas and the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore made famous by "Crazy Rich Asians." He was the chairman and majority shareholder of the world's largest casino operator, Las Vegas Sands.

The casino tycoon, who was worth an estimated $33 billion before his death, gave millions of dollars in political contributions to high-profile Republican politicians. Adelson gave at least $17 million in political contributions to Newt Gingrich during his 2012 presidential campaign, according to The New York Times. And he made at least $25 million in political contributions to Trump, earning him the nickname "Trump's Patron-in-Chief."

In 2020, Adelson donated more than $120 million to Republican causes and candidates including Trump, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Adelson was married to his wife, Miriam, for more than 30 years. The couple reportedly lived in a Las Vegas megamansion, owned a 300-foot superyacht, and traveled in a 380-passenger private jet.

Here's a look at the late Las Vegas billionaire's life, career, and wealth.

SEE ALSO: In the land of billionaire megadonors, Sheldon Adelson was king

DON'T MISS: Alexandre Arnault, the 28-year-old son of Europe's richest man, is now an executive at Tiffany & Co.

Sheldon Adelson, who died on January 11 at age 87, was the billionaire behind the world's largest casino operator, Las Vegas Sands.

Las Vegas Sands operates properties worldwide including the Venetian Las Vegas, the Palazzo Las Vegas, the Sands Expo & Convention Center, the Sands Macao, the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, the Sands Bethlehem, and more. 

The company reported $13.7 billion in revenue in 2019.

Adelson came from humble beginnings, according to Bloomberg.

The son of a cab driver in Boston, his first jobs included selling newspapers on street corners, selling ads in trade magazines, and serving as a court reporter.

Adelson first started making big money in trade shows. He launched COMDEX, a technology trade show in Las Vegas, with partners in 1979.

The trade show became one of the most attended in the world, and in 1995, Adelson and his partners sold it along with other smaller shows to SoftBank for $862 million.

Adelson didn't get into the casino business until he was 55 years old. In 1989, he bought the Sands Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas for $128 million.

He demolished the hotel in November 1996.

It took two years and cost $1.5 billion to build The Venetian.

To imitate Venice, Italy, Adelson ordered detailed renderings of the Doge's Palace, Rialto Bridge, and Campanile tower.

He also enlisted the help of a historian from Venice who worked with the hotel's architects and interior designers.

The Venetian opened in April 1999, celebrating 20 years on the Las Vegas strip in 2019.

"The Venetian's success in Las Vegas, and particularly our convention-based business strategy, would end up being the basis for our company receiving coveted licenses in Macao and Singapore," Adelson said in a 2019 statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a newspaper he owns.

In 2004, Adelson opened the Sands Macau, which cost at least $265 million to build.

It opened in 2004 as Asia's first "American-style" casino and went on to become "extraordinarily successful," according to Forbes.

Adelson's Las Vegas Sands has reigned as the world's largest casino operator by revenue for years. But the COVID-19 pandemic hit the global casino industry hard.

In 2019, the company reported $13.7 billion in revenue.

But in 2020 in Macau, where Adelson's company owns several properties and was planning further investment, casinos recorded their worst year in history, with revenues down 97%.

Adelson was also in the media business.

In 2015, he bought the Las Vegas Review-Journal for $140 million.

The newspaper was among a handful of publications that endorsed Trump in the 2016 election.

Adelson was married to doctor Miriam Adelson.

Both were divorced when they met in the late 1980s.

It was reportedly Miriam's idea to make The Venetian in Las Vegas Venice-themed after the couple vacationed in the Italian city for their honeymoon.

"Sheldon was the love of my life," Miriam said in a January 12 statement following Adelson's death. "He was my partner in romance, philanthropy, political activism and enterprise. He was my soulmate."

The Adelsons' home is reportedly a megamansion in Summerlin, an affluent Las Vegas planned community.

The multimillion-dollar home on Trophy Hills Drive appears to include a swimming pool and tennis courts.

In addition to the Las Vegas mansion, Adelson was said to have owned $52 million worth of property in Malibu, California. The billionaire reportedly spent about $52 million on several properties in the Colony, an exclusive gated community in Malibu, which is beloved by Hollywood celebrities.

Adelson also owned a 300-foot superyacht that he named "Queen Miri" after his wife, Miriam.

The yacht was originally called Annaliesse when it was built in 2004 and then later renamed Delma.

After Adelson bought the yacht in 2015, he had it remodeled and extended in length by more than 21 feet, according to Beam Yachts. One yachting website puts Queen Miri's value at about $70 million.

The Las Vegas billionaire traveled by private jet.

Adelson reportedly owned an Airbus A345, which he once used to set a record for the longest flight ever to depart from Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport. According to Haaretz, he made a 17-hour and 40-minute flight from Israel to Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2017.

Adelson and his wife donated millions to Republican politicians and causes over the years.

Adelson gave at least $17 million in political contributions to Gingrich during his 2012 presidential campaign, according to The New York Times.

In 2015 and 2016, Adelson donated thousands to Republican presidential candidates including Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Trump, as well as to the National Republican Congressional Committee, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

And in the 2018 election cycle, Adelson and his wife were the top individual donors to federal candidates and campaigns, donating almost $124 million to Republican causes, mostly via super PACs.

Adelson has made at least $25 million in political contributions to Donald Trump, earning him the nickname "Trump's Patron-in-Chief."

The Adelsons wrote checks amounting to $20 million during Trump's campaign and donated an extra $5 million for the inauguration festivities in 2016, according to ProPublica.

During Trump's reelection campaign in 2020, Adelson donated more than $120 million to Republican causes and candidates, including $45 million to the pro-Trump super-PAC Preserve America and $11,200 directly to Trump, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

"I would put Adelson at the very top of the list of both access and influence in the Trump administration," Craig Holman of the watchdog group Public Citizen told ProPublica in 2018. "I've never seen anything like it before, and I've been studying money in politics for 40 years."

Adelson is also a major donor to Jewish organizations.

He's given at least $410 million to the Birthright program that provides funding for trips to Israel for young Jewish adults, according to Forbes.

He also gave about $50 million to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum and memorial in Israel, and was a major donor to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

In March 2019, it was reported that Adelson was being treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Ron Reese, a spokesman for Adelson's company, told Fortune that Adelson was experiencing side effects from his medication.

"These side effects have restricted his availability to travel or keep regular office hours," Reese told the magazine in a statement. "They have not, however, prevented him from fulfilling his duties as chairman and CEO."

But on January 7, four days before his death, the Wall Street Journal reported that Adelson was stepping back from his duties at his company for cancer treatment.

• If you have too many shoes and not enough space, there are tons of organizational solutions to help.
• With these 14 organizers, you can store your shoes vertically, side by side, or in individual boxes. 
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Of all the clothes and accessories we have to store in our room, shoes are among the most egregious problem item. We possess too many pairs for our own good, and they're often bulky or come in weird shapes. 

It's time to stop tripping over your heels or digging through mismatched sneakers every time you want to leave the house and look presentable for society.

There are many different ways you can organize your shoe mess, whether you prefer to stack them or line them up — or maybe you'll take any configuration as long as it saves space and makes your shoe situation neater. 

14 shoe organization products to make the most of your closet space:

A combination shoe rack and hallway bench

SONGMICS Shoe Bench, 3-Tier Shoe Rack

This organizer-meets-bench is a nice-looking entryway option where you can put the shoes you wear more often or the casual shoes you wear out for quick errands. It fits around 3 pairs of shoes comfortably, or four pairs if you stash flats on their sides. You can also sneak flip-flops, sandals, and low-profile sneakers like Converse under the bottom row to hold even more shoes.  

A waterproof shoe rack

Songmics 5-Tier Shoe Rack

This shoe rack features waterproof, non-woven fabric tiers that you can wash. It stores up to 25 pairs of shoes and the metal tubes are removable so you can adjust each layer's height. 

A hanging closet organizer

mDesign 10 Shelf Soft Fabric Closet Organizer

To make the most of the vertical space in your closet, get this hanging closet organizer. Its deep, narrow shape is optimized for all types of shoes.

A stackable shoe rack

Seville Classics 3-Tier Resin Slat Utility Shoe Rack

This rack is very easy to assemble, plus you can build upon it once your shoe collection grows by stacking multiple units on top of each other. 

Clear shoe boxes

Drop-Front Shoe Box

Our resident shoe fanatic Amir Ismael swears by these clear boxes to keep his large shoe collection organized. They also protect shoes from dust. If you're scared of stinky shoes, don't worry — they have ventilation holes. 

A spinning shoe tree

Honey-Can-Do Shoe Tree with Spinning Handle

Spin your way to your favorite pair of shoes every morning. The heavy-duty chromed-steel shoe tree comes in chrome, bronze, or white, and is available with either three or four tiers. 

A shoe cabinet that doesn't take up too much space

3-Drawer Shoe Cabinet

Mount this cabinet to the wall (it comes with all the hardware) and you can store up to nine pairs of shoes. The drop-down drawers help keep its profile slim.  

A shoe organizer that slides under your bed

Woffit Under The Bed Shoe Organizer

The space under your bed is the hidden area you're probably not taking proper advantage of. Store 12 pairs of shoes in this fabric organizer, which has two handles to allow for easy access. 

Hanging shoe pockets for your closet

PEVA 18-Pocket Shoe File

The clear pockets let you see all your shoes. It's perfect for lighter shoes like flats, sandals, and sneakers. 

A stackable cube organizer

Songmics 15-Cube Plastic Shoe Storage Organizer

Arrange these cubes in any order that works for your space. The cubby-like system provides a better organization than an open shelf. 

A rolling rack like the ones you see in clothing stores

Whitmor 10-Tier Rolling Shoe Rack

Do you have 50+ pairs of shoes? You might need to get serious with a 10-tier metal rack like the kind you see in department store sale sections. It's an easy, affordable way to deal with your shoe obsession. 

A slanted organizer you can use for more than shoes

Umbra Charcoal Slant Shoe & Accessory Organizer

High heels can be tricky to store. This mesh shelf organizer keeps both your floors and heels safe, and is also suitable for accessories like handbags. 

A high-quality wall rack

Elfa Utility Shoe Storage Door & Wall Rack

This Container Store exclusive isn't cheap, but it is sturdy and multi-functional. Assembling the rack is as simple as sliding the hooks over your door. 

An under-$10 organizer

AmazonBasics 24-Pocket Over-the-Door Medium-Size Shoe Organizer

On the other hand, if you don't want to spend more than $10, this basic AmazonBasics over-the-door fabric organizer can also get the job done. 

• We're not shy about advocating for products we love (see: 21 game-changing products we swear by in our everyday lives or the 34 best products we discovered in 2020, to name a couple). 
• But just because we love them now doesn't mean we initially expected to. 
• We had our initial doubts about these 22 products — and you may, too — but in the end, taking the leap of faith proved to be rewarding. 

For better or for worse, preconceptions are built into human nature. As product reviewers, we also fall victim to our own preconceived notions about the items we test. 

Our previous experiences with the brand or with similar products can affect how we approach the latest thing we're testing. Combine that with high standards for quality and general skepticism about a market filled with shoddy products, and we sometimes end up with experiences that surprise us in the best way possible. 

If you're feeling hesitant about trying any of these 19 products, we were once right there with you. Testing them revealed that they were actually quite useful, comfortable, or stylish. They overcame our initial expectations to become some of our favorite products.  

22 products we weren't sure we'd like, but now know we do: 

A flattering pair of tights

Lululemon Wunder Under High-Rise Tight, $98, available at Lululemon

I didn't think there was anything special about Lululemon leggings and that the hype was just a marketing ploy to get you to spend $100+. But, I finally gave in and tried a pair of the popular Wunder Unders and wore them almost every single day of 2020. The stretchy, buttery material is extremely comfortable and flattering, and the high-rise waistband never rolls down (unlike all my other pairs). They're also really lightweight and move with your body, and the fabric never feels stuck around the knees. They're perfect for lounging and light workouts, but I've worn them on outdoor runs too. —Ashley Phillips, style and beauty editor

A popular facial cleansing brush

Foreo Luna 2 Cleansing Brush, $169, available at Amazon and Sephora

Having tried a few different facial cleansing brushes that never made a difference on my skin, I was expecting the Foreo Luna 2 to be another to toss in the pile. But this best-selling brush really does clean and gently exfoliate your skin effectively. I use it a few times a week to keep my skin soft and glowing, and I also love that it has a long battery life. —Connie Chen, Insider Reviews senior reporter

Read our review of the Foreo Luna 2 here.

A flask with attached tumblers

High Camp Firelight Flask 750, $125, available at Huckberry

Trying to make a better flask in the 21st century sort of seemed like trying to reinvent the wheel to me. The tried and true hip flask is discrete and holds just enough to get you, and maybe a friend, through a tough social function. But the HighCamp Firelight Flask looked like it would also make a great tea thermos. It comes with two double-walled mugs and holds about 750 ml of liquid; I could take it on a hike, on a kayak paddle, or to the park for a lazy afternoon.

The two tumblers fit elegantly over both ends of the "flask" and stay snug thanks to a little magnetic pull. I used it for tea couple of times, and while some heat passed through the double-walled tumblers, it worked just fine.

Then I filled it with bourbon, took it camping and realized the true beauty of the thing: It's a decanter on the go. Apart from an O-ring in the lid, it is nothing but brushed, heavy-duty stainless steel. No more shattered bottles or spilled spirits on my adventures.

Yes, at $100 it is an investment, but if you've dropped and smashed half as many handles in your travels as I have, you'll also quickly find it to be the shatterproof bottle of your dreams. —Owen Burke, Insider Reviews senior reporter

A classic pair of Crocs

Crocs Classic Clog, from $27.95, available on Amazon

Well, I hate to say it, but I love Crocs. It turns out that despite their bulbous, buggy look, they're the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. Crocs are truly the perfect house shoe for those of us who are spending a lot of time barefoot at home. They're squishy and comfy and have a ton of support for my arches, which is great while I'm cooking or cleaning. If I leave the house in them it's for quick errands like moving the car or walking around the block, but given that I'm seeing them all over Instagram right now anyway, I'm somewhat less embarrassed to wear them in public than I would have been a year ago. —Sally Kaplan, senior editor

A sleek electric toothbrush

Electric Brush, from $25 + $5 refills every 3 months, available at Quip

For years the only factor that went into picking my toothbrush was its color — that all changed when I tried a battery-powered one from Quip. The toothbrush vibrates for two minutes with a short pause every 30 seconds so you know when to move to a different part of your mouth.

The coolest thing about Quip is that it's part of a subscription service. Every three months, the startup will send you a new brush head, which you can attach by popping off the old one, and a battery to replace the old one. It only costs $5 per shipment, and ensures that you can use the same toothbrush for years without compromising your oral hygiene. —Brandt Ranj, former Insider Reviews associate editor

Read our review of the Quip Electric Brush here.

Soft and flexible flats

The Day Glove, $118, available at Everlane

Everlane's shoes are very hit or miss for me, so I'm always skeptical of trying new styles. But the Day Glove, which is a favorite among pretty much every woman on the Insider Picks team, was such a pleasant surprise. They're incredibly comfortable (so much so that I recently ordered a second pair!), require zero break-in time, and they're perfect for work. I've walked miles at a time in them over the weekend, and I wear them to the office all the time. Any shoe that can be worn comfortably and confidently on commutes, long walks, and to important meetings is a winner in my book. —Sally Kaplan, Insider Reviews senior editor

Read our review of the Everlane Day Glove here.

A salon-grade hair dryer

Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer, $399, available at Nordstrom

I tried the Dyson hair dryer when it first came out and wasn't impressed. The cool air took way too long to dry my very long, very thick hair. Then, I was gifted one with a magnetic attachment that concentrates the airflow and it was a game-changer. Now my hair dries in around 10 minutes (it takes 30 minutes with other dryers), and it looks smooth and shiny — nothing like the dry, poofy mess I'm used to thanks to damage from years of color treatments. It works so well that I can't imagine using anything else. —Ashley Phillips, style and beauty editor

Fluffy makeup towels

Makeup Towels (Pair), $40, available at Weezie

Towels made specifically for one thing — like removing makeup — make me think of the joke that women get sold products made laughably hyperspecific, like lotions for an elbow patch, while men get six-in-one bottles of shampoo that can also clean their car upholstery.

But, these towels are actually really nice to have, and I've bought them for friends since getting them myself. They're soft, my nice towels no longer have black mascara stains, and — I'll admit it — it's kind of fun to have a cute set of matching face towels for my daily routine that I don't hate leaving out. —Mara Leighton, Insider Reviews senior reporter

A luxury shower cap

Shhhowercap, $43, available at Net-A-Porter

$40 seems like a lot to pay for a shower cap, but you'll realize how much better this premium one is after a few uses, and you'll end up using it over and over again. The material is more durable and comfortable than one of those sad and flimsy plastic caps. Water slides right off and the cap dries quickly, and it's held together by a secure, silicone rubber band. Another big and obvious draw is that it's available in a variety of stylish prints. —Connie Chen, Insider Reviews senior reporter

Read our review of the Shhhowercap here.

Headphones that truly stand out among the many we've tried

Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones WH1000XM3, $341.04, available at Amazon

I've been regularly testing headphones for over three years, which is why I'm always surprised when a pair really stands out. Sony's WH1000XM3s not only sound excellent, but they offer world class noise-cancelling that turns my commutes, walks, and desk into a silent disco. If you love music, or travel often, this pair of headphones deserves a place in your life. —Brandt Ranj, former Insider Reviews associate editor

Read our review of the Sony WH1000XM3s here.

A designer clothing rental membership

Rent the Runway subscription, from $69/month

I'm wary of subscriptions (besides for Scribd, the reading app) because I never seem to get enough use out of them. However, Rent the Runway is an exception — I shop far less, finally felt comfortable enough to throw out clothes I "might wear someday," and have more fun trying trends I would otherwise never buy. It also makes me feel better about pretty much recycling 90% of my clothes. I'm a full 180-degree convert. —Mara Leighton, Insider Reviews senior reporter

Read more about our experience with Rent the Runway here.

A custom shirt

Custom Shirt, from $88, available at Woodies

My typical criteria for picking a shirt to wear into the office is whether or not it's clean, but Woodies showed me there's more to it than that. The startup's custom-fitted shirts actually make me look (and feel) better than anything I've bought off the rack. The shirt's moisture-wicking, stain-repellent material makes it a good choice for every season, and its timeless colors and patterns will never go out of style. —Brandt Ranj, former Insider Reviews associate editor

Read our review of Woodies custom clothing here and here.

A waffle maker that lets you skip a trip to the diner

Krups Belgian Waffle Maker, $59.99, available at Crate & Barrel

I assumed that waffles were one of the few foods I would always have to order at a restaurant, but Krups proved me wrong. Its waffle maker is easy to use, simple to clean, and delivers diner-like results in about 15 minutes. I'm generally skeptical of single-use kitchen gadgets, but this one has earned its place in my small, New York City apartment. —Brandt Ranj, former Insider Reviews associate editor

Read our review of the Krups Belgian Waffle Maker here.

Custom chino pants

Chinos, $50, available at Indochino

I had heard other people's positive experiences with Indochino, but it wasn't until I tried it for myself, that I really understood why the brand was so loved. I customized two pairs of chino pants and it changed my perspective on tailored menswear as being too finicky. Although you can independently measure yourself (which is made easy with a tutorial online), you can also buy your items online and then go into the store for a professional fitting.

I chose to do the in-store measurements and was met with great attention to detail and the best-fitting chinos I have in my closet. And the best part is that they're cheaper than most brands that sell off-the-shelf apparel. —Amir Ismael, Insider Reviews reporter

Read our review of the Indochino Chinos here.

A memory foam pillow infused with essential oils

Blu Sleep Products Essential Oil Pillow, $99, available at Blu Sleep

I was never really looking for a scented pillow, but this green tea infused pillow from Blu Sleep has definitely helped improve the way I sleep. While the scent was intimidatingly strong when I first opened the pillow, it has dissipated to a point that I hardly notice it anymore. Overall, the true benefit of the pillow isn't its smell, but the water-expanded memory foam that perfectly cushions your head and gently cradles you into a night of deep sleep. —Danny Bakst, Insider Reviews senior story producer

An insulated coffee mug

Hydro Flask 12 oz Coffee Mug, $24.95, available at Amazon

I often get so deeply entrenched in checking emails in the morning that I forget to drink my coffee quickly. This mug has saved me from so many cups of lukewarm coffee I can't even count! It keeps my drinks hot for hours, and I like that it's shaped like a normal mug instead of a travel tumbler — it gives me a sense of separation from my morning commute when I carry an insulated thermos to drink from on the train.  —Sally Kaplan, Insider Reviews senior editor

Read our review of the Hydro Flask Coffee Mug here.

Sunscreen spray that contains natural fruit essences

Hint Sunscreen Spray (6-ounce), $17.99, available at Hint, and Amazon

Hint is best known for its healthy fruit-infused waters, which is why I was slightly confused and skeptical when it started making sunscreen sprays. The sunscreen turned out to be highly effective, and it smelled great, too, because it's also infused with natural fruit essences like pineapple and grapefruit. Even better, it's oxybenzone- and paraben-free and uses an environmentally friendly spray method. —Connie Chen, Insider Reviews senior reporter

Read our review of Hint sunscreen here.

A warm sweater

Organic Cotton Quilt Snap-T Pullover, $149, available at Patagonia

I used to not really understand why people loved Patagonia so much. But once I tried this sweater, I got it, and now you can count me in among their cult following. This pullover is incredibly soft and warm, and it's so cozy that I bought one for my partner, too, which also turned her into a believer. I have a feeling we'll both be wearing ours for the next ... forever. —Sally Kaplan, Insider Reviews senior editor

Read our review of the Organic Cotton Quilt Snap-T Pullover here.

A personalized pillow

Personalized Pillow, $95, available at Pluto

I'm always skeptical about products that claim to be personalized, but aren't visibly unique — and the Pluto Pillow is the perfect example of that. The brand uses a short quiz to create custom pillows for your comfort and sleep preferences. I worried that the pillows would end up just feeling like a generic soft or hard option, but much to my surprise, the pillow I received met all of my specific requirements. It's been about seven months since I first got it and it's not worn out and flat like many of the other pillows I've gone through. —Amir Ismael, Insider Reviews reporter

Read our review of the Pluto Pillow here.

Shampoo that doesn't come in traditional bottles

Ethique Eco-Friendly Solid Shampoo Bar for Normal-Dry or Frizzy Hair, $15, available at Ethique

I have rebellious, dry, reconstruction-of-a-cave-woman hair, and I didn't think eco-friendly bar shampoo and conditioner would stand a chance of hydrating and smoothing it satisfactorily. Plus, we often buy into the idea that "green" products — especially beauty products — require us to look worse in order to feel better about ourselves.

This is not the case. These shampoo bars work well and they last far longer than bottles of shampoo that includes water as one of its ingredients (these are super concentrated). It also doesn't hurt that it's founded by a woman scientist. My only tip is to use less than you think you need — it doesn't lather, so most beginners overdo it. —Mara Leighton, Insider Reviews senior reporter

Read our review of Ethique Solid Shampoo Bars here.

A silk memory foam pillow that won't mess up your hair

Night Pillow, from $83.99, available at Bloomingdales

I've tried many pillows (at one point they consumed 60% of my bed), but my favorite, to my surprise, has been this memory foam one encased in a silk pillowcase. At $150, it's not cheap, but here's why it's worth it: the proprietary, machine-washable TriSilk material keeps your hair smooth and shiny and your face clean while you sleep, the black color won't reflect light back into your eyes, the memory foam is light but supportive, and it has a three-year warranty. —Connie Chen, Insider Reviews senior reporter

An affordable clay mask

Aztec Secret Clay Mask, $14.95, available at Amazon

This hyped-up $11 mask with over 10,000 five-star reviews that's everywhere from the Sephora beauty blog to vlogs with 4 million plus views is the real deal, but it's definitely a labor of love. What I mean by that is that while the clay mask acts like a vacuum for your pores in the 5-15 minutes that it's on, it also might feel like your face is going to fall off in the duration.

You can find my full review here, but basically, I use it because it noticeably helps the clarity of my skin rather than because it's just a fun addition to a girls' night in. In fact, it really isn't fun to wear — but it works. And the fact that it's $11 and so long lasting that it might outlive me is also a bonus. Pro tip: it's usually a few dollars less if you buy it on Thrive Market (currently $6.59). —Mara Leighton, Insider Reviews senior reporter

Read our review of the Aztec Secret Clay Mask here.

Oil is set to stage a recovery after one of the worst years for the commodity that has been the backbone of economic growth for the past century.

In 2020, oil took a huge hit, with tensions in the Middle East remaining from 2019 followed by the lockdown-induced evaporation of travel - demand fell through the floor. By April,  Western Texas Intermediate prices went negative, with the WTI hitting lows of  -$40.32 a barrel, making the barrel storing the oil more valuable than the crude itself.

However, in 2021, oil's fortunes are changing. Leading banks including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are optimistic on the short term outlook, according to research notes published this week. Oil prices have already rallied sharply this year, with global benchmark Brent trading at a post-COVID high of $55 a barrel - a far cry from the lows around $27 a barrel last spring.

"Our oil strategists upgraded their oil price forecasts, seeing a backdrop of improving fundamentals, the return of inflation and further dollar weakness translating into oil prices moving higher," Morgan Stanley said in a note published Monday.

The Morgan Stanley team upped their oil price forecasts by $5 for 2H 21 and 2022.

Morgan Stanley base their bullish oil position on these five reasons:

1. Oil market in balance: Oil demand is ~6mb/d below last year's levels but the physical market is still in healthy territory, the note said, judging by observable inventories and with major crude benchmarks in backwardation.
2. Demand set to recover: With markets still broadly down 18% on pre-Covid levels, and in particular aviation reduced 44%, the expected 2021 vaccine-fueled economic recovery should boost oil demand, the note said. The strategist estimate total product demand to recover ~4mb/d by 4Q, it added.
3. OPEC+ meeting a positive: Continued cohesion within OPEC+ and last week's announcement of a supply cut "improves the narrative around commodity prices," the note said, highlighting the limited spare capacity from non-OPEC countries.
4. Macro backdrop is favorable: Rising inflation expectations and the weakening USD usually aid commodity prices, including oil, the note said.
5. Short-term signals in positive territory: 
   1. Brent above its 25-day moving average
   2. Time spreads are positive and showing positive momentum
   3. Positioning is improving from low levels

Goldman Sachs has accelerated its bullish oil price expectations by six months, forecasting Brent prices will average $60/bbl in 2Q21 and reach $65/bbl in July vs. December previously, according to a note published Wednesday.

In addition, the oil and gas sector offers very compelling valuations, the note said, with relative dividend yield of 1.75x  - still at the upper end of its historical range.

"On top, the average FCF yields of 9% is nearly double the market's, and price-to-cash flow below 4x is also at a discount to historical levels," it added.

With this positive outlook for oil, Morgan Stanley is getting bullish on certain oil majors, including Total and Shell. However, the team are bearish on Repsol and ENI, the note highlighted.

Morgan Stanley also remain constructive on mining, the note said, arguing that it will be a reflation beneficiary, "offering cheap/reasonable valuations and fewer structural/ESG concerns than energy," the strategists wrote.

But, the valuations are nowhere near as cheap, they noted, as the mining sector has somewhat still kept up with the rise in commodity prices.

For investors looking to play the oil recovery, but are weary of directly playing the energy sector or commodities, there are also many cyclically-linked stocks which offer opportunities, the note said.

"We are cognisant of the fact that many investors are restricted in their ability to invest in oil stocks directly given ESG concerns," the note said, offering the following stock picks to play the recovery.

OMV AG

• Ticker: OMV.VIE
• Sector: Energy
• Overweight
• % upside to PT: 19%

Analyst commentary:

"Given the strong dividend cover, we believe that the company has potential to increase dividends at a perpetual growth rate of 3% (up from 2% previously) and lower our target dividend yield to 5% from 6%. As a result, we raise our price target to €44, up from €36.7, which provides an 19% upside from current levels," a note published on Friday said.

Total

• Ticker: TTA.LON
• Sector: Energy
• Overweight
• % upside to PT: 17%

Analyst commentary:

• "Total has emerged as the strongest and most consistent performer amongst the global majors in recent years. Return on capital is the highest amongst the seven majors across the US and Europe, quarterly earnings volatility is lower and balance sheet gearing has been managed. As a result, Total was the only European major who was - credibly - able to maintain its dividend in 2020," a note published on Friday said.

Royal Dutch Shell A

• Ticker: RDSA.LON
• Sector: Energy
• Overweight
• % upside to PT: 11%

Analyst commentary:

"When setting our price target, we assume a period of 10% annual dividend growth for 4 years starting in 2023, after which dividend growth reverts back to 4% pa and eventually 2% pa into perpetuity. Discounting this dividend stream at 7% p.a. yields our new price target of 1630p. Together with Shell's current yield of ~4%, this implies a target TSR of ~14% over the next 12 months," a note published Friday said.

Equinor

• Ticker: EQNR.NYSE
• Sector: Energy
• Equalweight
• % upside to PT: 13%

Galp Energia SGPS B

• Ticker: GALP.LS
• Sector: Energy
• Equalweight
• % upside to PT: 9%

Aker Bp

• Ticker: AKRBP.OSL
• Sector: E&P
• Overweight

Analyst Commentary:

"Similar to Lundin Energy, we set our price target for Aker BP using a weighted average of our base case (50%), bull case (40%) and bear case (10%) valuations. In our base case valuation of 260 NOK, we use our house-view of oil prices, including the long-term Brent oil price forecast of $47.5/bbl and our bull case valuation of 343 NOK and our bear case valuation of 153 NOK incorporate a long-term oil price of $60/bbl and $35/bbl, respectively. Together with the 2021e dividend yield of ~5.4%, our end 2021 price target of 280 NOK implies a total return of ~27% by end-2021," a note published on Friday said.

Energean

• Ticker: ENOG.LON
• Sector: E&P
• Overweight

Lundin Energy

• Ticker: LUNE.STO
• Sector: E&P
• Overweight

MS is overweight on Lunedin for these three reasons, according to a note published Friday:

1. Robust financial outlook leading to resumption of strong dividend growth

2. New credit facility removes the tail-risks of limited liquidity headroom

3. Favorable ESG characteristics

ArcelorMittal A

• Ticker: MT.AMS
• Sector: Materials
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 17%

Infineon

• Ticker: IFX.ETR
• Sector: Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 3%

Valeo

• Ticker: FR.EPA
• Sector: Automobiles & Components
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 11%

ACS ACTIV CONST Y SVCS

• Ticker: ACS.BME
• Sector: Capital Goods
• Equalweight
• % Upside to PT: 15%

Daimler

• Ticker: DAI.ETR
• Sector: Automobiles & Components
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 4%

Faurecia

• Ticker: EO.EPA
• Sector: Automobiles & Components
• Equalweight
• % Upside to PT: 3%

STMICROELECTRONICS

• Ticker: STM.EPA
• Sector: Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 6%

Renault

• Ticker: RNO.EPA
• Sector: Automobiles & Components
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 4%

Eiffage

• Ticker: FGR.EPA
• Sector: Capital Goods
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 44%

Bouygues

• Ticker: EN.EPA
• Sector: Capital Goods
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 17%

Evonik Industries

• Ticker: EVK.ETR
• Sector: Materials
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 15%

Persimmon

• Ticker: PSN.LON
• Sector: Consumer Durables & Apparel
• Equalweight
• % Upside to PT: 2%

LAFARGEHOLCIM

• Ticker: LHN.SWX
• Sector: Materials
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 18%

Amadeus IT Group A

• Ticker: AMS.BME
• Sector: Software & Services
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 27%

Capgemini

• Ticker: CAP.EPA
• Sector: Software & Services
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 10%

Worldline

• Ticker: WLN.EPA
• Sector: Software & Services
• Equalweight
• % Upside to PT: 5%

WPP

• Ticker: WPP.LON
• Sector: Media and Entertainment
• Equalweight
• % Upside to PT: 9%

HeidelbergCement AG

• Ticker: HEI.ETR
• Sector: Materials
• Overweight
• % Upside to PT: 3%

• At CES 2021, many laptop makers are introducing new models tailored for working from home.
• Laptops from HP, Lenovo, and others have better cameras and microphones to improve the video conferencing experience, for example.
• Some of our favorite laptops from CES 2021 include the HP Elite Dragonfly Max, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga, and new LG Gram 17.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) may be synonymous with robots, futuristic cars, and enormous televisions, but it's also a place where major PC makers launch their new laptop lineups for the year ahead. 

The announcements made at CES usually provide a glimpse at the direction we can expect the PC industry to move in, and this year is unsurprisingly all about optimizing laptops for remote work.

Business laptops were everywhere at CES 2021, with HP, Lenovo, and Dell introducing new models with features like improved microphones and cameras for video calls, human presence detection for locking and unlocking the laptop when you're nearby, and display technology to reduce the strain from blue light on your eyes.

Otherwise, we're seeing many laptops with optional 5G connectivity, affordable new Chromebooks, and a few promising gaming laptops as well. Here's a look at the best laptops of CES 2021. 

SEE ALSO: The best laptop stands

HP Elite Dragonfly Max

Many companies are tailoring their products for a work-from-home life at CES 2021, and that's especially true with the HP Elite Dragonfly Max.

The business-focused laptop has features that are optimized for dialing into video conferences, like four wide-range microphones that use artificial intelligence to optimize audio, and a 5-megapixel camera, which is significant since most laptops typically offer 720p cameras. 

Those are the biggest features that separate the Elite Dragonfly Max from the Elite Dragonfly G2, which the company also announced at CES. Otherwise, both laptops run on 11th-generation Intel processors, will be available in 4G/5G options, and feature 13.3-inch screens.

In yet another sign that the Max is built with remote work in mind, it also has EyeSafe technology to reduce eye strain after prolonged use. HP says both Dragonfly laptops should be launching in January but has not revealed the price. 

HP Elite Folio

Tech giants like HP, Apple, and Microsoft among others have all tried to bring the benefits of mobile devices to the laptop experience over the past five to seven years. HP's new Elite Folio 2-in-1, which is expected to launch in February, is the company's latest attempt to do so in 2021. 

The HP Elite Folio runs on Qualcomm's 8cx Gen 2 Arm processor, which is expected to allow for super-long battery life and faster performance. Arm processors are chips made for laptops that run on the same basic architecture as those designed for mobile devices, with the goal being to bring the quick always-on responsiveness and all-day battery life found on smartphones to laptops.

HP claims the Elite Folio can provide 24.5 hours of local media playback before its battery depletes, and there's also an option for 5G connectivity.

But the HP Elite Folio's defining characteristic is its display, which you can pull forward to cover the keyboard for times when you only need to use the screen — like when watching movies, for example. There's also dedicated storage space for the Elite Folio's accompanying stylus located above the keyboard. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga

Business notebooks are all the rage at this year's CES, and Lenovo's 2-in-1 ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga is certainly among the most eye-catching of the bunch.

The 13.5-inch ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga, one of the many new laptops Lenovo announced at CES, is less than half an inch thick at 0.45 inches, making it thinner than even the 2020 MacBook Air at its thickest point. 

As its name implies, it comes in a sturdy-looking titanium finish and also runs on Intel's 11th-generation processors. Like other laptops announced at the show, Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga was also designed with remote work capabilities in mind, considering it has four far-field microphones for video calls and human presence detection to automatically lock your device when you move away. There's also an option to buy this notebook with 4G LTE/5G support.

It'll be available in January starting at $1,899.99.

LG Gram 17 (2021)

The LG Gram 17 is already one of our favorite laptops thanks to its incredibly sleek design, which crams a 17-inch screen into the size of a 15-inch laptop, and long battery life. 

That's why we're looking forward to trying LG's newest model powered by Intel's new 11th-generation processors. The new LG Gram comes in five different models: the LG Gram 17, the LG Gram 16, the LG Gram 14, and convertible 2-in-1 designs for the 16-inch and 14-inch models. 

The upgraded processors and wider variety of models are the biggest upgrades, but LG is also making the 16:10 aspect ratio standard across the whole lineup to make the screen more useful. LG says it's made other design enhancements as well, such as making the already-slim bezel even thinner on all four sides and increasing the size of the keyboard and touchpad. At 2.98 pounds, the 17-inch model is still as light as its predecessor.  

LG hasn't announced pricing or launch information yet.

Acer Predator Triton 300 SE

Acer appears to be giving Razer's popular Blade lineup some fresh competition with its new Predator Triton 300 SE, which aims to combine the power of a gaming laptop with the portability of a standard business machine. 

The Predator Triton 300 SE runs on the H-series of Intel's 11th generation processors, which are designed for thin-and-light gaming laptops, and is also configurable up to Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3060 when it comes to graphics. It should offer up to a 10% performance boost over its predecessor also, thanks in part to its fan wingtips and wind guide, which the company says increases air intake and redirects air flow toward important components.

The Acer Predator Triton 300 SE comes with a 14-inch FHD screen with a 144Hz refresh rate and is said to last for 10 hours on a single charge. It has a backlit RGB keyboard with three zones and includes Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2, and HDMI in terms of connectivity. 

But, of course, it's the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE's portability that makes it stand out. The device is 0.7 inches thin and weighs 3.75 pounds, making it just a bit heavier than Apple's 3-pound M1 MacBook Pro. 

It's launching in North America in March starting at $1,399.99.

Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE

It wouldn't be CES without a wild-looking multi-screened laptop. Enter the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE, which has a secondary screen located between the keyboard and the main screen. The laptop builds on Asus' existing lineup of Zenbook dual-screened laptops.

Asus is positioning the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE's second display as being ideal for gamers looking to stream or record gameplay while running games, in additional to more traditional multitasking. The company also says it's worked on interactive content for the secondary display with developers, but hasn't revealed more details about what that entails just yet. 

Like many of the laptops unveiled at CES, Asus' dual-screened gaming machine has been optimized for audio and video capabilities, with two-way AI noise cancellation and upgraded speakers.

It runs on an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor with Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics. The main screen measures 15.6 inches with the secondary display measuring 14 inches. It's already up for preorder on Asus' website for $2,899.99.   

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2

Samsung's original Galaxy Chromebook from last year's CES had an attention-grabbing design that's uncommon for a Chromebook, but its high price and short battery life limited its appeal. 

Now, Samsung has addressed those criticisms with the Galaxy Chromebook 2, a revamped version of its Google-powered laptop that comes at a cheaper starting price of $549.99 compared to the previous model's $999.99 price tag.

To make the price more reasonable, Samsung had to make some changes to its second-generation Galaxy Chromebook. The latest model comes with a QLED touch screen compared to the 2020 version's 4K AMOLED display, for example. 

But considering that Chromebooks are generally meant to be less expensive alternatives to Windows laptops designed for casual computing, that compromise feels like a sensible one. It also probably means the Galaxy Chromebook 2 will offer longer battery life than last year's model. The new Galaxy Chromebook also no longer comes with Samsung's S Pen.

Otherwise, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 features a 13.3-inch screen and a convertible design with a premium build available in the same vibrant red color as the original. It's available with an Intel Celeron or Intel Core i3 processor with either 4GB or 8GB of memory (RAM) and 64GB or 128GB of storage. 

All told, it's another sign that laptop makers are trying to balance affordability with high-end design when it comes to Chromebooks. It will become available in the first quarter of 2021.

Quantum Metric, a technology platform that helps companies design and manage their digital products, has raised a $200 million funding round at a valuation north of $1 billion, the company said on Thursday.

Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, 5-year-old Quantum Metric splices together analytics from different divisions across an organization to help them manage their apps, websites and other customer-facing digital products. Its clients include Lululemon, Carhartt and IHG.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit and sent people into lockdown, retailers had to quickly figure out how to translate their in-store experiences to online. Businesses in sectors such as finance, telecoms and travel also had to improve their digital products and customer service offerings to meet the surge in consumer demand.

Quantum Metric CEO and founder Mario Ciabarra told Insider the company's revenue almost doubled in 2020 versus 2019 as a result, though he declined to give specifics. The company decided to focus in growth over profitability and doubled its headcount versus the prior year to 220 employees, said Ciabarra.

Read more: The pitch deck used to raise $17 million for a startup that helps advertisers and publishers comply with privacy laws

Quantum Metric intends to use the new funding to help accelerate its sales and marketing efforts in the US, build its EMEA teams and expand to the Asia PAC region, Ciabarra said. The company also plans to invest in its product, which could include acquisitions. 

Ciabarra said Quantum Metric is also thinking about the path to IPO, though he emphasized there was no set timeline.

More broadly, Ciabarra wants Quantum Metric to create a category around "continuous product design"— its catchphrase for how it uses real-time analytics to help companies continuously design and iterate digital products.

"If you look at someone like Salesforce creating a category around the system of record for the customer, [Quantum Metric wants to create a] system of record around the digital experience and digital product," said Ciabarra.

The Series B funding round was led by growth-stage venture capital firm Insight Partners, which was also the lead investor in Quantum Metric's $25 million Series A round in 2018. Quantum's total financing to date is now up to $251 million, which includes a $25 million debt facility the company secured in 2020.

Lonne Jaffe, managing director at Insight Partners, said his firm decided to increase its investment in Quantum Metric after "a huge tailwind" following the pandemic.

"Talking to [Quantum Metric's] customers [we understood it was] not a temporary shift," said Jaffe. "The nature of the product category went from the thing you know you should do to: 'If we don't get this done right now and put it in the center of what we are working on, we don't exist'."

Quantum Metric gave Insider the sales presentation it uses to pitch prospective clients. Here are some of the key slides.

"Continuous Product Design," a term the company introduced in 2020, sits at the core of Quantum Metric's pitch.

Quantum Metric calls out companies like Spotify, Amazon, Google and Netflix as leaders in digital product design (though they're not customers).

"Enterprises talk about. 'I want to do it like a startup'," said Ciabarra. "Those brands [listed in the presentation slide] still feel like a startup because the digital teams are all aligned around where they can improve the experience, fundamentally."

If the pandemic has shown anything, speed has defined how Quantum Metric's customers want to operate, Ciabarra said.

Quantum Metric emphasizes that companies' analytics related to digital products can often be siloed.

"When executives [in marketing, engineering, and operations] ask, 'What is the no. 1 thing we can do as an organization to make the biggest impact to the company,' they would all point in different directions," said Ciabarra. "And the worst part about it is, they would use data to do it."

Its platform attempts to bring all the data and telemetry businesses use to develop their digital products into one place.

It says this approach helps companies build and enhance their digital products and services quickly.

Quantum Metric says it pulls together signals and data to alert clients to issues that customers might have, say, difficulty in adding an item to their online cart.

Ciabarra said Quantum Metric's main clients tend to be digital or product chiefs, but also include CMOs and CTOs.

Quantum Metric's client list also includes Western Union and Alaska Airlines.