Best Telescopes 2026: 10 Ranked, and the Specs That Don't Add Up

It takes first place on aperture and on evidence. The 130mm objective is the largest in Celestron's SLT range, the mount carries a database of more than 40,000 objects, and 2,118 ratings average 4.3 — the second-highest review count among the best telescopes here. However, the spec table lists a 325mm focal length beside that 130mm aperture. Divide one by the other and you get f/2.5, a ratio no mass-market Newtonian is built at.

In practice the appeal is the setup. This is a computerised telescope that aligns once you centre three bright objects in the eyepiece, then tracks whatever you pick. StarBright XLT coatings, a StarPointer red-dot finderscope, an altazimuth mount, 5.17 kg all-in, and a 635mm optical tube. Starry Night software comes as a download rather than a disc.

That said, check the maths before you buy. The exit pupil is given as 26mm, which means 5x on a 130mm lens — nothing in the box will do that — while the zoom ratio on the same page says 20. If you want a wide field or long-exposure imaging, this is not the mount for it: an altazimuth head tracks objects but does not rotate with the sky.

This is a Dobsonian telescope whose numbers survive a calculator. The listing says 150mm aperture, 750mm focal length and f/5, and the three agree. Crucially, it is the largest aperture here for £315, and the only tabletop design on the list.

The tube collapses for transport while, according to Sky-Watcher, holding collimation. The primary mirror is borosilicate and parabolic, with a Radiant Aluminum Quartz coating. There is a 1.25-inch helical focuser, a reflex finderscope and rubber feet to damp vibration. Total weight is 10.4 kg, which makes this a table-and-garden instrument rather than a backpack one.

The catch is the mount. A tabletop Dobsonian needs a flat, solid surface at a sensible height, and there is no motor and no GoTo — you find the objects yourself. Worth noting, too, that the exit pupil column says 0.2mm; on a 150mm aperture that would be 750x, which an f/5 focal length cannot deliver. If you want an app to point the scope for you, look further down this list.

This Maksutov Cassegrain telescope is one of only two listings among the best telescopes here whose aperture and focal length agree: 127mm over 1500mm, or f/11.8. It is a long, slow tube, which suits the Moon and the planets. The Dawes limit is quoted at 0.91 arc seconds, consistent with that aperture, and the exit pupil at 3.53mm.

The mount does the work: more than 40,000 objects, SkyAlign on three bright stars, automatic tracking. The optical tube measures 381mm and the complete setup weighs 8.21 kg. By contrast with the 130mm reflector above, this one trades field of view for focal length — 1.7 degrees is what the page lists.

Even so, at £599 it is the joint most expensive item here, and its 1,149 ratings average the same 4.3 as the £499 reflector. A Maksutov also needs time to settle to outside temperature, and f/11.8 gives you a narrow window on anything wide. If faint galaxies matter more to you than planets, a bigger aperture costs less than this.

Of everything on this list, this is the smart telescope for astrophotography: a 1.35 kg unit with two lenses, app control and automatic tracking. It also carries the best score here, 4.5 from 428 ratings. However, a single cell in the spec table gives the focal length three times over — '35 mm f/4.28', '150 mm focal length' and '737 mm equivalent focal length' — and those describe different things.

In use it works from a phone. The telephoto lens handles deep-sky targets and daylight subjects; the wide-angle lens covers the Milky Way and star trails. Processing happens in the DWARFLAB app, so no computer is needed. It measures 22.2cm wide and weighs 1.35 kg including the battery, and the page lists a 10-year spare part availability window.

That said, there is no eyepiece, so you look at a screen rather than through glass, and a 35mm objective will not show you Jupiter the way a 127mm Maksutov will. The box includes the scope, a carry bag, magnetic solar filters and a USB-C cable. If you want to observe with your own eye, skip it.

Here is where the arithmetic gets awkward. The listing gives 130mm aperture and a 260mm focal length, and 260 divided by 130 is f/2. At the same time, the same page quotes an optical zoom of 130.0, which is the aperture figure reused as a magnification. Either way, £299.99 buys the cheapest 130mm instrument here.

In practice the mount is the point: a CG-3 equatorial head with setting circles and a motor drive that tracks objects as they drift. That is the right design if you ever want to try imaging. The steel tripod is adjustable and full height and weighs 3.4 kg on its own, while the complete scope is 7.71 kg. Starry Night Basic software is a download, with a 36,000-object database.

That said, this carries the lowest rating here at 4.2 from 1,956 ratings, and the 20mm and 10mm eyepieces supplied would give roughly 13x and 26x on a 260mm focal length — far too little to be useful. An equatorial mount also takes longer to set up than a tabletop Dobsonian. If you want a first scope for the Moon and planets, the £315 f/5 above is the easier buy.

The 4SE has the smallest aperture of any of the best telescopes on this page, and the only orange tube. It is fully automated, with a GoTo database of more than 40,000 objects, and 740 ratings average 4.4. However, the page lists a 102mm mirror with a 204mm focal length — again f/2, the same ratio as the two reflectors above.

Used as intended, it is a compact Mak: 10.4 kg in total, a 343mm tube, XLT coatings and a motorised altazimuth mount that finds and tracks. The field of view is quoted at 0.11 degrees, the narrowest on this list, which makes it a Moon-and-planet instrument above all.

That said, £599.99 is the highest price here, and there is no equatorial mode for long exposures. The exit pupil is listed as 0.5mm, which on a 102mm lens means 204x; no eyepiece is named on the page, so that figure cannot be checked. If you want wide views or a cheap first setup, this is not it.

If you are hunting the best telescope for beginners under £150, this 80mm refractor is the obvious candidate: 227 ratings at 4.4 and a 900mm focal length, the longest here relative to its aperture. The listing also quotes a zoom ratio of 10x, yet the bullets say the 10mm and 20mm eyepieces deliver 90x and 45x. Both figures cannot be right.

In practice the tripod matters more than the optics at this price. SOLOMARK fits a super azimuth gimbal with altitude and azimuth scales to an aluminium full-height tripod, and adds a 5x24 finderscope, an erect-image diagonal and a phone adapter. Everything packs into the supplied bag, and the kit weighs 4.49 kg.

That said, the focus type is listed as fixed focus, which sits oddly with an eyepiece-based refractor, and the exit pupil of 0.89mm implies roughly 90x — plausible with the 10mm eyepiece, not with the 20mm. The mount is manual, so you point it yourself. If you want tracking or GoTo, step up to the computerised models above.

If you want the best refractor telescope here for the least money, this is it. It is a telescope for adults astronomy at a starter price: 80mm aperture, 600mm focal length, K20 and K9 eyepieces giving 30x to 66x, and 642 ratings at 4.4. The catch is the paperwork. The same 80mm/600mm refractor, with the same two eyepieces, is listed at £69.99 and at £99.99, and the two spec tables give the kit's weight as 840 g on one page and 3.15 kg on the other.

In use it does the simple things: an altazimuth mount with a scaled positioning gimbal, a 5x24 crosshair finder, a phone adapter and a backpack. It suits the Moon, bright planets and daytime landscape viewing. As a result it is a reasonable first instrument for a child of 8 to 12.

However, the zoom ratio field says 64 while the eyepieces work out at 30x to 66x, and a 2.3 kg gap between two weights for the same set is not a rounding error. The mount is manual and the focuser is basic. If you want to see structure in galaxies or hold a planet steady at high power, this will frustrate you.

With 14,391 ratings at 4.3, this is the most-reviewed item here by an order of magnitude. The 70mm aperture and 700mm focal length give f/10, and the two supplied eyepieces, 20mm and 10mm, deliver 35x and 70x. As a cheap first look at the Moon with a backpack, that is a long-proven combination.

The kit travels: a full-height tripod, a panning handle with clutch for smooth pointing, a StarPointer red-dot finder, a diagonal and a custom backpack, with the optical tube at 1.91 kg. The glass is fully coated and the listing offers a two-year warranty.

Worth noting the exit pupil column, which says 35mm. On a 70mm lens a 35mm exit pupil would mean 2x magnification, while the eyepieces in the box give 35x and 70x — roughly seventeen times apart. The eyepiece description also says 'Barlow', although no Barlow appears in the box list. If you want a wide field or a driven mount, keep looking.