What is the Best Speedlite for Under $100?

If you're new to photography and want to dip your toe in the waters of flash, you could be forgiven for not knowing where to start. There are speedlites ranging from cheap through to expensive by anyone's standards, and it can be difficult to delineate which option is the best value. Here is one photographer's answer to the best low-cost speedlite.

It wasn't that long ago that buying a speedlite for under $100 was unlikely to yield a product that would grow with you and last a while. Then, rather gradually over the last decade or so, manufacturers of budget lighting alternatives began cropping up. At first, they were seen as cheap, low-quality knock-offs from China, but the world soon learned that China knows a thing or two about manufacturing, and their native brands were becoming highly competitive.

There has been a lot of talk about Godox in recent weeks after a controversial video called them out for not being for professionals due to how long they proposedly last. Regardless, if you're a new photographer looking at getting your first speedlite, or a more experienced photographer looking to try out multi-light setups, you can hardly go wrong with the Godox TT600 Thinklite. This flashgun with a built-in wireless radio system shows just how far entry-level speedlites have come, because for everything a beginner would want from one, Godox provides the TT600 for $59 at the time of writing this.

To get lights of this quality 10 to 15 years ago, you would have had to have spent 5x the price or more, which prohibited many of us from trying multi-light setups early in our photography careers.

Is there a better option for under $100? Share it in the comment section below and what makes it better.