Best Guitar Pedals Under $50

Last Updated on March 16, 2023 by Justin

Did you know, you can put together an entire pedalboard of different effects pedals for under 50 bucks each? In this review, I’ll show you exactly how.

Guitar pedals are a great way to expand your electric guitar horizon as well as explore your creativity. and create new sounds and tones with the simple switch of a button.

Once you’ve picked up the electric guitar and plugged it into an amplifier, you’ll eventually find yourself needing some guitar effects pedals. The task of buying yourself some awesome stompboxes does not have to be an expensive excursion.

Back when I started playing guitar, it was very hard to find cheap guitar pedals. However, that has all changed now. In fact, today some of the cheaper guitar pedals you can buy sound so good that they make people question the need to ever buy an expensive guitar pedal again. There are so many options out there within this price range. And you can choose from a wide range of different effects.

My 10 Best Guitar Pedals Under 50

I’ve owned and tried all of these pedals and can assure you that for the price, there is simply no way you can be misguided. They all sound great in their own right and give the expensive pedals a decent run for their money.

1) Joyo Vintage Overdrive

Joyo Vintage Overdrive

The Joyo company is one of the most renowned for making cheap guitar pedals. This Vintage overdrive pedal by Joyo is probably the most popular drive in the world at this price point. I’ve owned this pedal now for about 7 years and whilst some pedals stay and some go, this one has remained on my pedalboard.

Essentially, this is a clone of an Ibanez tube screamer. But, not just any tube screamer. It is based on the old TS808 pedals. Nowadays, the tube screamer-type pedal is as popular as ever.

With every pedal company making some sort of clone or version. But who’d expect that the Joyo Vintage overdrive would be the pedal to make people think twice about buying the real thing? The price on these is phenomenal when you consider the pedal that you’re getting.

When it comes to sound, the Joyo Vintage OD, just like the Tubescreamer, is designed to emulate the sound of a classic overdriven tube amp. Furthermore, It adds warmth and sustain to your guitar tone. And it can be used to create a range of different overdrive sounds. Anything from a signal boosts to subtle overdrive. All the way to crunchy tones bordering ever so slightly on the edge of distortion.

Lastly, Joyo’s Vintage Overdrive pedal features three controls. These include Level, Tone, and Drive.

I talk more about this pedal in my Joyo clone list if you’d like to read more.


2) Behringer Digital Reverb Pedal

Behringer DR600 Digital Reverb

What I love about the Behringer digital reverb guitar pedal is that it offers 6 different types of awesome-sounding reverb for an astonishingly low price. These include Hall, Plate, Spring, Modulate, Room & Gate. You can get such a wide variety of reverbs from this pedal and it can go into territories that can’t be put into words.

This Behringer reverb pedal easily competes with its Boss competitor which is double its price. The issue that many people seem to have with this specific range of Behringer guitar pedals is that they’re made from plastic.

However, this pedal has been on my board for quite some time and it has taken a beating yet has never broken. Don’t confuse this pedal with the awesome Behringer RV600 Reverb Machine.


3) Donner Echo Square Delay

Donner Echo Square 7-Mode Digital Delay

The Echo Square by Donner is a very versatile delay pedal. It features True bypass and very similar knobs to most delay pedals on the market.

The only difference is that you have a total of 7 different delay settings. Which is absolutely fantastic when you think about how small it is and how affordable it is.

The delay effects include digital, analog, Tape echo, mod echo, sweep, lo-fi, and reverse delay which is quite a tough effect to get right. But donner has absolutely smashed it along with all the other delay sounds packed into it.


4) TC Electronic Honey Pot Fuzz

TC Electronic Honey Pot Fuzz

Fuzz is a pedal that should be in everyone’s guitar arsenal. And my personal choice happens to be under 50 dollars. It is the TC Electronic Honey Pot fuzz. This is a heavy-sounding fuzz pedal that can produce huge tones. The pedal’s gain control is incredibly versatile. Allowing you to dial in the perfect amount of grit and fuzz. The sustain is simply amazing. Providing endless sustain that’s reminiscent of indie-rock sounds.

One of the best things about the Honey Pot is its build quality. It is built like a tank in a metal enclosure. And can withstand the toughest gigging environments. The true bypass feature also ensures that your signal remains intact when the pedal is switched off, so you don’t have to worry about any loss of tone. This is something that older fuzz pedals don’t have so this is a great bonus.

With only three knobs to master, the Honey Pot is easy to use. And allows you to focus on playing rather than tweaking knobs. The pedal covers a wide range of musical styles. From gritty overdrive tones to dense fuzz. Sweet highs and fat tones make it perfect for anything from The Arctic Monkeys to Radiohead.


5) Joyo Splinter Distortion

Joyo Splinter Distortion

If you want to play any form of Rock music, a distortion pedal is a must-have. For many guitar players, distortion is one of the first effects that they try. And for me, that was no different.

However, I just used to use distortion to make my parts louder. But as I grew and learned more about pedals and tone, I realized how to really use distortion. It is actually a very versatile effect. And, covers many different sound landscapes.

I’ve played many Joyo guitar pedals over the years. In fact, I’d say they’re one of my favorite brands especially when it comes to effects.

The JOYO JF-21 Splinter is one of their more recent pedals. It is essentially a clone of the Proco Fat Rat distortion pedal. Except, the Joyo is literally a fraction of the price when compared to its original counterpart.

I still can’t believe how affordable this pedal is. Especially when you consider the versatility, features, and sound that you get.

Joyo’s SPlinter is a simple 3-knob control pedal with 2 extra switches. The tone controls include distortion, filter, and volume. The filter allows you to change the tone of the pedal. Whilst the distortion allows you to add the amount of gain and the volume controls the overall output of the pedal. But, what makes this pedal unique and different from most distortion pedals out there are the two switches.

The first switch lets you choose between STOCK or MOSFET clipping circuits. The difference is that the stock setting uses germanium clipping whilst the Mosfet uses silicone clipping diodes. This changes the characteristics of the tone.

The germanium tone has a “dirtier” tone. Whilst the silicone has a more articulate and tighter tone. Lastly, there is a FAT and STOCK setting. The stock setting is a brighter more open tone. Whilst the Fat is a nice and thick tone, great for rhythm tones.

Overall, this is an amazing pedal and for the price, you seriously cannot go wrong.


6) Looper Pedal

Lekato Looper Pedal

I often get asked by people, what is the quickest way to get better at guitar. My answer is always a loop pedal. In my experience, it was practicing with a loop pedal that ultimately lead me to become a better guitar player.

Back in my early days of guitar, loop pedals were expensive pedal. And, whilst there are still many expensive loop pedals. The pedal market today is such that there are affordable loop pedals that allow any guitar player to buy one and begin getting better at guitar immediately.

Practicing with a loop pedal not only lets you explore your creativity but also lets you practice over yourself with a quantized tempo. Therefore, it is like playing to a metronome, only way more entertaining and fulfilling to play along to.

For practicing, you don’t need a fancy loop pedal. The Lekato looper is literally under $40 and does the job brilliantly. Plus, the Lekato has an extra feature. And that is that you can hook it up to your PC or Mac via a USB cable and transfer loops to and from your PC and pedal.

Overall, you can get away with any of the looper pedals for under 5 dollars on the market. And I can assure you that daily practice with a loop pedal with yield results and improvements in your playing in a very short space of time.


7) Flamma FC05 Modulation (11-in-one)

Flamma FC05 Modulation

The Flamma FC05 is a versatile and powerful mini-modulation pedal. It offers a wide range of classic modulation effects at an exceptionally affordable price. Inside this tiny enclosure are 11 high-quality effects. The effects include chorus, flanger, tremolo, phaser, vibrato, rotary, liquid, auto-wah, stutter, ring, and low bit. The CF05 gives you an insane amount of options for adding depth and texture to your guitar sound.

One of the great things about the Flamma is how easy it is to control. The four knobs allow you to adjust all of the necessary parameters to craft the perfect modulation. The largest control allows you to change between the 11 effects. Whilst the remaining knobs include CTRL, SPEED, and DEPTH controls. There is of course an LED indicator light that shows you if the pedal is on or off.

With true bypass technology, this pedal delivers a transparent tone and won’t color your sound. It’s also incredibly lightweight and easy to transport, making it perfect for gigging musicians who need a variety of effects in a small and compact design.

My personal experience with this pedal has been absolutely great! I don’t use much modulation in my live performances. But this pedal gives me all the effects I could ever need inside such a space-saving stompbox. If you’d like a stand-alone chorus pedal, check out my review of the best chorus pedals.


8) Rowin Compressor

Rowin Compressor

Compression is one of those pedals that took me a long time to understand what it does and how it functions. However, after watching a few tutorials online, I saw the light. And I was able to see the many benefits of implementing a compressor into my signal chain.

A compressor pedal is like a magical helper for your guitar. It makes the loud sounds quieter and the quiet sounds louder, so everything sounds at the same volume. Imagine if you were singing a song and you got really loud in some parts and really quiet in others – it would be hard for people to hear you! But with a compressor pedal, it helps keep your singing (or guitar playing) at a nice even volume, so everyone can hear how awesome you are

The Rowin Compressor Pedal is a fantastic addition to any guitarist’s pedal board. It produces a smooth, sustained sound that is perfect for a clean tone or soaring leads. In my opinion, this pedal rivals compressor pedals that are double the price.

With 3 function knobs – Level, Comp, and Tone – this pedal allows you to dial in your desired sound easily. The 2 modes, Normal and Treble, give you even more control over your sound.

The pedal is made of high-quality zinc alloy, making it durable and sturdy. The true bypass provides a transparent tone, and the LED indicator shows the working state. The mini size of this pedal means that it is small and exquisite, saving a lot of space on your pedal board.


9) LokFy D250X Preamp/Overdrive

LokFy D250X

If you’re looking for versatility in a small enclosure then this is the pedal for you. It is essentially a 2-in-1 pedal both of which are based on two classic overdrive/distortion pedals respectively. These are the DOD Overdrive/Preamp and the MXR Distortion+ pedals. Both pedals are similar overall but each pedal has its unique tonal characteristics. The MXR Distortion+ has more gain and allows you to achieve a more saturated guitar tone. Whilst the DOD is more of an overdrive with a midrange bump. Which is great for cutting through a mix for solos.

This pedal in particular, as I mentioned, has both of these classic pedals in one. A toggle switch allows you to choose between them. The MXR is denoted by an “M” and the DOD is denoted by a “D”. There’s also a level and gain knob just like the two originals. All in all, this is an incredible pedal at a very affordable price.


10) TC Electronic Spark Boost Mini

TC Electronic Spark Boost Mini

First and foremost, the Spark mini is a clean boost pedal. I could’ve added in something like the Mooer Pure Boost which has extra bass, treble, and volume controls. But the TC is such a good pedal. And legendary guitarist Steve Morse uses this on his board.

It’s a compact pedal that can only run on power. But has up to 20 decibels of boost. With just a single and simple level knob, It makes any amp just sound better.

Features include True bypass and Momentary switch. Which is perfect for solos. The momentary switch can be held for however long you want to boost your signal. And when you let go it disengages the effect.

Or you can just use it as a regular on/off switch. This is a great pedal to raise your volume, push an amp into overdrive, or as always an always-on pedal. In fact, it is my number 1 choice on this list of best boost pedals for guitar solos.


Some Notable Mentions

There are some pedals that didn’t quite make the list. But still, deserve a mention. So I added two extra pedals which I believe could’ve easily made the top 10 above.

Tuner Pedal

A tuner pedal is an essential part of any pedal chain or pedalboard. Owning a guitar tuner pedal for electric guitar can make life so much easier, especially at a gig or practice situation.

Having a clip-on tuner is not ideal, that’s why I always go for a tuner pedal. The Snark is definitely my chosen budget-friendly tuner. and it has a large and brightly lit display.

Whilst this is not an exciting effect, it is a highly necessary piece of gear for any guitarist.


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