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Ranking Refractor Telescopes
$75 range
Gskyer Telescope 70mm Refractor
Rank 1
2.5/5
Not Recommended
$110 – $200 range
Explore Scientific FirstLight 90mm Doublet Refractor Telescope with AZ Mount
Rank 2
3.1/5
The FirstLight 90 is relatively simple in its mounting and accessories, but it’s super lightweight, easy to use and delivers a wide field of view for deep-sky viewing. However, those interested in a scope optimized for lunar and planetary views might want to choose a longer focal ratio refractor with less chromatic aberration.
List Price: $159.99
Rank 3
3.1/5
List Price: $199.95
Celestron PowerSeeker 80AZS Refractor
Rank 4
3.1/5
The PowerSeeker 80AZS is almost useless for planetary and lunar observing thanks to its high levels of chromatic aberration, but makes for a great wide-field instrument for viewing large deep-sky objects. However, it’s dragged down by its low quality included eyepieces and diagonal, and the mount leaves much to be desired.
List Price: $179.99
Celestron Inspire 70AZ Refractor
Rank 5
3/5
List Price: $189.95
$200-$300 range
Rank 1
4/5
The Omni XLT 102AZ has great optics, an easy-to-use alt-azimuth mount, a sturdy tripod, and a decent supplied eyepiece and finder. It is functionally identical to the StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ apart from the StarSense Explorer technology and one eyepiece being absent on the Omni. The Omni has a better focuser than the StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ but is largely identical in performance and shares the same mount.
List Price: $245
Explore Scientific FirstLight AR80 White Refractor with Twilight Nano
Rank 4
3.7/5
The FirstLight AR80 is cheap and lacks a good set of accessories, but it’s hard to argue with its good optics, simple and sturdy mount, and almost unmatched convenience. It’s great for travel or as a “grab n’ go” scope, and its wide field of view makes it great for viewing large deep-sky objects. With a focal ratio of f/8, it doesn’t have too much chromatic aberration and can thus provide thrilling views of the Moon and planets.
List Price: $239.99
Celestron Inspire 80AZ
Rank 6
3.4/5
List Price: $269.95
Celestron AstroMaster 90EQ
Rank 7
3.2/5
List Price: $299
Meade Polaris 90mm
Rank 8
3.1/5
The Polaris 90 has decent optics and accessories, but it’s not exactly the sturdiest and delivers poor value in viewing capabilities or build quality for the price. It’s slightly lower quality than the AstroMaster 90, which is a similarly mediocre instrument.
List Price: $299.99
$300-$500 range
Best Computerized
Rank 1
4.2/5
Sporting the same great features as the StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ but with a significantly lower price, this scope is quite a bargain for what you get and compares favorably in view quality to 114mm reflectors in its price range. The StarSense Explorer technology is a nice bonus that’s included for essentially no extra cost.
List Price: $314.95
Rank 2
3.8/5
Like the DX130AZ, the StarSense Explorer DX102AZ has a smartphone-aided PushTo system that allows you to easily locate almost any object in the sky. However, with a relatively small aperture and a price tag big enough to obtain a larger and/or fully computerized instrument, it is not the most economically justifiable scope.
Rank 3
3.5/5
The AstroView 90’s long f/11 focal ratio makes for a great planetary scope with remarkably little chromatic aberration, and the included Sirius Plossl eyepieces provide crisp and sharp views. The scope’s EQ-2 mounting is also rock solid. However, the AstroView 90’s small aperture means it simply cannot compete in light grasp or resolution with larger 114mm and 130mm reflectors, and it is outclassed in convenience by the 90mm Maksutov-Cassegrains at and below its price range.
List Price: $349.99
Celestron Inspire 100AZ Refractor
Rank 4
3.5/5
The Celestron Inspire 100AZ is a telescope designed with beginners in mind— from its included tray light and lens cap/smartphone adapter to the simple alt-azimuth mount and focus markings. However, the included mount is rather poor and lacks fine adjustments, and the scope itself suffers from a lot of chromatic aberration. It’s not terrible, but you can tell this instrument was made to satisfy a price point and some marketing requirements.
List Price: $359.95
Bresser Comet Edition 102mm Refractor
Rank 5
3.5/5
The Comet Edition 102mm is a fast achromatic refractor, making it a poor performer on planets and double stars requiring low chromatic aberration and high resolution. The telescope’s star diagonal is also built into the back of the scope beneath the 2” focuser. However, you do get an excellent wide-field instrument with great deep-sky views, along with a nice wide-angle 20mm eyepiece and even a pair of 7×50 binoculars thrown in.
Celestron Astro Fi 90 Refractor GoTo
Rank 6
3.4/5
The Astro-Fi 90 has good optics, is super easy to use and can be controlled wirelessly via your smartphone or tablet. However, the amount of objects that a 90mm telescope can show you that really require GoTo to locate is low, and if you must have a GoTo scope, we’d recommend something at least 4″ in aperture.
Sky-Watcher StarTravel 102 AZ3
Rank 7
3.3/5
The StarTravel 102AZ3’s build quality is great, and its short 500mm focal length and 2″ focuser make it great for wide-field deep-sky sweeping, but the scope’s fast f/4.9 optics make it unsuitable for lunar and planetary viewing, and its supplied mount and star diagonal are far from good for the price.
List Price: $400
Celestron AstroMaster 90EQ
Rank 8
3.2/5
List Price: $299
Explore Scientific FirstLight 102mm Doublet Refractor with EXOS EQ Nano
Rank 9
3/5
The FirstLight 102mm f/10 has great optics. The Exos Nano EQ-3 mount is adequate, though weighing it down somehow might be a good idea. It lacks the high-quality 2″ focuser of its more expensive, Twilight I-mounted sibling. The included accessories are also abysmal. If you already have a good mount and accessories, however, and don’t mind adding a new focuser, this scope is really a bargain.
Explore Scientific FirstLight AR102 Twilight Nano
Rank 10
3/5
$500-$750 range
Celestron Omni XLT 102 Refractor
Rank 1
3.9/5
The Omni XLT 102 is well-made and offers great lunar, planetary, and deep-sky views. While the equatorial mount and long optical tube are more cumbersome than the shorter, faster altazimuth-mounted refractors also available, the Omni beats them at high-power views, and the equatorial mount is a lot easier to keep pointed at the Moon and planets—especially if you add an aftermarket motor drive.
Rank 2
3.7/5
Explore FirstLight 102mm Doublet Refractor with Twilight I Mount
Rank 3
3.6/5
The FirstLight 102mm f/10 is a great scope optically, and the version sold with the award-winning Twilight I mount makes for a rock-solid piece of equipment. However, the included accessories are very poorly made, and an equatorial mount like that of the Celestron Omni XLT or Orion AstroView scopes might be more appealing to a refractor user.
Orion AstroView 102mm Refractor
Rank 4
3.4/5
The AstroView 102 has a lot of chromatic aberration, uses a lot of plastic parts, and it’s undermounted too. A longer refractor is more likely to give good lunar and planetary views; a fast achromat should be mounted atop a steady alt-azimuth mount and preferably retail for a lower price. The AstroView 102 is simply not a good choice and is not worth the asking price.
Sky-Watcher StarTravel 80 AZ-GTe
Rank 5
3.4/5
The lightweight and portable design of the AZ-GTe mount makes for a great pairing with this wide-field, short-tubed 80mm f/5 refractor. The included accessories are great, too. However, considering the high price tag and the huge amount of chromatic aberration inherent in a cheap fast refractor, we’re not sure who this telescope is intended to appeal to.
Takahashi Starbase 80 Achromatic Doublet Refractor Alt-Az
Rank 7
3.3/5
The Takahashi Starbase 80 is an extremely high-quality achromatic refractor. It’s great for beginners, and it is probably one of the highest-quality achromats on the market today. However, for a bit more money, you could just get an apochromat, which is more compact and suitable for imaging, though Takahashi’s products in this category are equally extremely expensive for what you get.
Explore Scientific FirstLight 80 mm Refractor with iEXOS Equatorial GoTo
Rank 8
3.2/5
Think of the FirstLight 80 and iExos package as a star tracker with a decent telescope tube thrown in. They’re not a great match for each other, though both are fairly good quality. However, if you’re looking for an astrophotography rig, you’re going to need a bigger budget, and for a purely visual telescope, an alt-azimuth mounted and preferably larger refractor might be a better choice in this price range.
Sky-Watcher StarTravel 120 AZ3
Rank 9
3/5
The StarTravel 120 AZ3 is a great wide-field instrument for observing large deep-sky objects like star clusters, but it’s hobbled by the mediocre included mount and disastrously bad erecting prism. Even without these problems, the scope is borderline unusable for high-magnification, detailed views of the Moon and planets. The AstroView 120ST offers a better deal, but either one should be avoided if you want a good, general-purpose instrument.
Rank 10
2.7/5
Not Recommended
Above $1000 Refractors, Sorted Price-wise
Explore FirstLight 127mm Doublet Refractor with Twilight I
3.5/5
The FirstLight 127 Doublet/Twilight I is a great scope paired with a great mount. Unfortunately, said scope is a bit on the large side for its mount. The tripod is a bit too short and a bit too light-duty to properly accommodate the massive 127mm doublet OTA and allow it to reach its full potential.
Explore FirstLight 102mm Doublet Refractor with EXOS2GT GoTo Mount
3.1/5
The FirstLight 102mm is well supported by the EXOS-2GT mount, but this pairing comes with poor accessories, GoTo is unnecessary for a small, primarily planetary telescope, and the mount is complicated and difficult to use. The Twilight I combo with this optical tube is preferable.
Not Recommended
Explore FirstLight 127mm Doublet Refractor with EXOS2GT GoTo Mount
3.3/5
The FirstLight 127mm Doublet is certainly less under-mounted on the EXOS-2GT than on the Twilight I, but the mount is still not up for the task of such a long and heavy telescope, nor is it particularly easy to use, low in price, or provided with much in the way of useful accessories.
Not Recommended
Explore FirstLight 152mm Doublet Refractor with EXOS2GT GoTo Mount
3.1/5
Undermounted compared to the Advanced VX 6” refractor, a similarly bulky setup, and with worse accessories, there’s little value in the FirstLight 152mm refractor despite its excellent optical performance.
Not Recommended
Celestron Advanced VX Series 6″ Refractor GoTo
3.2/5
The 6” Advanced VX Refractor suffers from some chromatic aberration, is a bit cumbersome, and is certainly not the astrophotography-ready platform that marketing material might suggest. It’s a great choice for those who want a big refractor, though you might want to ponder what it is that’s so appealing about such a rig before purchasing.
Not Recommended