You've saved up for a first guitar, and you want an acoustic guitar under $500 that you won't need to replace in a year. That's the question we hear more than any other from players who are just starting out, and it's a hard one to answer from a spec sheet, because at this price every listing says "solid top" and "great tone" and the guitars still aren't the same. So we lined up five of the most-asked-about models, scored each one on tone, playability and the extras that come in the box, and ranked them. The spread was smaller than you'd think, and the winner came down to the details most shoppers skip.
The short answer: the Eastman PCH2-OM took first, the Yamaha FS830 took second as the cheapest guitar on the list, and all five are worth playing. Below are the rules we used, the full ranking, and the guitars under $500 you can actually buy from our wall today.
What an acoustic guitar under $500 has to get right
We set three rules before scoring anything, and they're the same rules we'd give anyone shopping for an acoustic guitar under $500:
- A solid top. Laminate back and sides are fine at this price, but the top is the part that moves air, so it should be solid wood. Our solid vs laminate guide goes deeper on why.
- A good setup out of the box. A beginner shouldn't have to fight high action to learn their first chords. Every guitar we ship gets our 23-Point Professional Inspection for that reason.
- The extras that keep it playable. A gig bag, a bone nut and saddle, and electronics if you need them. A bag matters more than people think, because a guitar that lives in its bag survives the first year.
We definitely don't recommend a laminate top. You can get away with some laminates on the sides and back, but try to get a solid top.
We also picked all OM and concert-size bodies. An orchestra model fingerpicks, flatpicks and strums well, and it fits almost everyone, from kids to adults into their senior years. If you're still deciding on a body shape, our dreadnought vs OM comparison lays out the trade-off.
Jump to: the rules at 1:06 · the Yamaha FS830 at 15:27 · the Eastman PCH2-OM at 21:22 · whether you need a pickup at 26:11.
The ranking: the best acoustic guitar under $500, scored
Each guitar got a score from both of us, out of 5, in three categories: tone, playability (setup, neck and action), and the X factor, which covers build quality, finish and everything that comes in the box. These are our scores from early 2025, and the prices in the last column come from our own listings today.
| Rank and guitar | Tone | Playability | X factor | With us today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Eastman PCH2-OM | 4.9 / 4.8 | 4.8 / 4.9 | 4.9 / 4.9 | $499, ask us about stock |
| 2. Yamaha FS830 | 4.8 / 4.83 | 4.8 / 4.7 | 4.6 / 4.5 | $429.99, sold out |
| 3. Breedlove Discovery Concert Edgeburst | 4.5 / 4.6 | 4.8 / 4.8 | 4.2 / 4.6 | Not in stock |
| 4. Alvarez AF60 | 4.8 / 4.7 | 4.5 / 4.6 | 4.8 / 4.4 | Not in stock |
| 5. Guild OM-240E | 4.0 / 4.3 | 4.5 / 4.5 | 4.2 / 4.2 | Not in stock |
5. Guild OM-240E
The Guild brings its archback design, a solid Sitka top with laminated mahogany back and sides, a bone nut and saddle, and Guild/Fishman AP1 electronics. The arched back is something Guild can only do with laminate, because the wood is pressed into that shape, and it gives the guitar more volume than its size suggests. John found it a little thin on the low end and gave the tone a 4. Setup was the good news: we knocked Guild hard on setups a few years ago, and since Yamaha Guitar Group took over the brand they've improved a lot. The catch is that there's no case, and adding one pushes the total right up to $500.
4. Alvarez AF60
The AF60 from the Artist Series surprised us on tone. Its forward-shifted, scalloped FS6 bracing gives it more darkness and fullness than anything else in its price range, and both of us scored the tone 4.7 or better. It has a 1-3/4 inch nut, a real bone nut and saddle, and a 24.8 inch scale, so it plays more like a 000 than a true OM. What held it back was the box: no gig bag, and no pickup unless you step up to the electric version.
3. Breedlove Discovery Concert Edgeburst
Breedlove's back and sides are layered African mahogany, with mahogany on every layer, where a lot of laminate is a thin veneer over a cheaper core wood. We think that makes more sense if the back and sides are supposed to matter. The neck is slim, close to an electric guitar neck, and the tone is even from the bass to the treble without the scooped mids a lot of traditional guitars have. For a player who's still learning, that balance is a good thing. It also has a Fishman Presys pickup with a built-in tuner, one of the better pickups you'll find at this price. It uses Tusk instead of bone, which we'd call the second-best choice, and like most of this list it comes without a bag.
2. Yamaha FS830
The FS830 is a workhorse, and Yamaha's quality control is the reason we almost never send one back. It has a solid spruce top, laminated rosewood back and sides, scalloped bracing and a nato neck (a close relative of mahogany, not genuine mahogany, and Yamaha is honest enough to say so). The tone scored a 4.8 and a 4.83, which is a lot of tone for the least expensive guitar on the list.
It's very rare that we have to reject a guitar that comes from Yamaha.
Two things kept it out of first place. The nut and saddle are plastic, and Yamaha setups tend to run a little high. Some of us prefer that, but a beginner may want the action lowered, and light strings help build calluses while you get there. It's also the guitar you'll probably keep even after you upgrade, as the one that hangs around the house or goes camping.
1. Eastman PCH2-OM
The Eastman won on the details that separate a good acoustic guitar under $500 from a great one. It has a solid thermo-cured Sitka spruce top, the treatment that gives a new top some of the vintage sound of an older one, and at the bigger brands that upgrade alone can add about $1,000 to a guitar. The rosewood back and sides are laminated, with rosewood on every layer. Its 1-3/4 inch nut gives your fretting hand room between the strings, the compensated bone saddle helps it play in tune up the neck, and it adds real pearl in the rosette and a padded gig bag that would cost about $80 on its own. Eastman checks each one again in Pomona before it ships, and our Eastman Pomona post shows what that final setup involves.
The trade-off is the finish. The PCH2 uses an open-pore finish instead of layer after layer of fill, which saves labor and is how Eastman fits all the extras into the price. If you want the deep shine you see on TV, it's not that guitar. There's also no pickup. Our older Eastman PCH2 review covers the line in more detail, and we're the #1 Eastman dealer worldwide.
Do you need an acoustic-electric guitar under $500?
A pickup is a real feature, and the Guild and Breedlove both have good ones. But for most people spending $500, a pickup shouldn't decide it. Most first-guitar owners aren't playing in front of people yet, and by the time you are, you'll probably be shopping for a better guitar anyway. Pick the guitar that sounds and plays best, unless you already know you'll be plugging in at church or an open mic. If you will, the Eastman PCH1-GACE-CLA below has an Eastman pickup by Fishman and a cutaway for $459, and our acoustic-electric guitars page has the rest.
Guitars under $500 you can buy from us today
As of this update, none of the five guitars in our ranking is on the site. Here's every acoustic guitar under $500 we have in stock that passes the same three rules, and every one has a solid top.
| Guitar | Body | Top / back and sides | In the box | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastman PCH1-D #1428 | Dreadnought | Solid Sitka / laminated sapele | Gig bag, bone nut and saddle | $399 |
| Eastman PCH1-GACE-CLA #1853 | Grand auditorium, cutaway | Solid Sitka / laminated sapele | Gig bag, pickup by Fishman | $459 |
| Eastman ACTG1-CLA #2904 | Travel | Solid Sitka / solid sapele | No electronics | $499 |
| Taylor GS Mini Sapele #6107 | GS Mini | Solid torrefied Sitka / layered sapele | No electronics | $499 |
| Taylor BT1 Baby #6001 | 3/4 size | Solid Sitka / layered walnut | No electronics | $449 |
The PCH1-D is the closest thing on the wall to our winner's recipe: a solid Sitka top, hand-scalloped bracing, a bone nut and saddle, a 1-3/4 inch nut and a padded Eastman gig bag, for $100 less than the PCH2. It's a dreadnought, so it has more low end than an OM and a bigger body to hold. The GS Mini Sapele has a torrefied top, the same idea as Eastman's thermo-cured tops, in a body small enough for the couch or a kid's room. If your budget can stretch a little, our guitars under $600 guide covers the next price band up, with ten more guitars tested.
The Acoustic Shoppe is an Authorized Taylor Premier Dealer and Gold Label Advantage Dealer.
Whichever one you choose, it goes through the same inspection as everything else we sell, so the setup problem we docked the Yamaha for gets caught before the guitar leaves the shop. Want the PCH2-OM from our ranking? Ask us about ordering one.
Related reading
- Laminate guitar red flags: how to tell if a guitar is really solid wood
- Best beginner guitar for every skill level
- Taylor acoustic guitars are now at The Acoustic Shoppe
Which acoustic guitar under $500 should you buy?
- Want the best all-around first guitar? The Eastman PCH2-OM, or the PCH1-D from our wall today if you'd rather have a dreadnought for $399.
- Want the most guitar for the least money? The Yamaha FS830, as long as you're fine with plastic nut and saddle parts and having the action lowered.
- Playing church or open mics soon? A guitar with a pickup, like the PCH1-GACE-CLA.
- Buying for a kid, or for travel? The Taylor BT1, the GS Mini or the Eastman travel guitar.
This is the best time there's ever been to buy an affordable guitar you'll love, and an acoustic guitar under $500 today is easier to learn on than the beginner guitars of a few decades ago. Browse every model on our acoustic guitars page or the Eastman guitars collection, or come play them in the shop.
