The audio interface market has never been better for budget buyers. The €100–150 price range now gets you hardware that was genuinely professional-grade ten years ago, and the competition between Focusrite, Audient, SSL, and Arturia has kept quality high and prices low.
The problem: there are now so many options that choosing between them is confusing. This guide cuts through that. We tested six interfaces in this price range over several weeks of real-world recording sessions and gave each one to a different type of producer to assess.
What to Look For in a Budget Audio Interface
Before the list, a quick guide on what actually matters when you’re spending under €150:
- Preamp quality — The preamp is the amplifier inside your interface that boosts your microphone signal. A noisy preamp will add hiss to every recording.
- Latency — The delay between playing a note and hearing it back. Anything above 10ms becomes noticeable and distracting. All modern interfaces handle this, but some better than others.
- Driver stability — Some interfaces are notoriously buggy on Windows or newer versions of macOS. We tested all of these on both platforms.
- Number of inputs — Do you need one mic input, or two? This is the primary decision that separates most beginner interfaces.
The Rankings
🥇 Best Overall: Focusrite Scarlett Solo (4th Gen)
The Scarlett Solo is, straightforwardly, the best single-input interface under €150. Focusrite has spent years iterating on this design and the 4th generation shows it — the preamp is clean and low-noise, the drivers are rock solid on Windows 11 and macOS Sonoma, and the companion software (Focusrite Control) is genuinely useful for routing headphone mixes.
The main limitation is that it has only one microphone input. If you ever want to record two sources simultaneously — a vocal and an acoustic guitar, or a podcast with two hosts — you’ll need the 2i2.
Buy this if: You need one mic input and want the most reliable, best-supported interface in the price range.
🥈 Best Two-Input: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (4th Gen)
Yes, this is technically over our €150 limit — but at €159 it’s close enough to include, and its popularity means it would be dishonest to leave it out. The 2i2 is one of the best-selling pieces of audio hardware ever made. The 4th generation added improved preamps (genuinely better than the 3rd generation) and a more useful headphone output.
If there’s any chance you’ll record two mics at once — even occasionally — pay the extra €40 over the Solo. Regretting a Solo purchase and upgrading later will cost you more.
Buy this if: You might need two inputs now or in the future, and you want the most proven interface on the market.
🥉 Best Alternative Preamp: Audient EVO 4
Audient makes high-end studio consoles and the EVO 4 uses a simplified version of the same preamp design. Objectively, it sounds slightly cleaner than the Scarlett Solo when recording condenser microphones — but the difference is genuinely small and you’d need professional ears or A/B testing to notice it.
What’s more practical: the EVO 4’s “Smart Gain” feature automatically sets your input gain by asking you to record for a few seconds, which is useful for beginners who aren’t sure where to set their levels. The downside: drivers have historically been slightly less stable on Windows, though recent firmware updates have improved this significantly.
Buy this if: You want the best preamp quality in this price range and are on a Mac, or on Windows with up-to-date firmware.
Worth Considering: SSL 2
SSL makes some of the most revered recording consoles in the world, and the SSL 2 brings their preamp character to a budget interface. The standout feature is “4K Legacy mode” — a subtle circuit that adds warmth and presence to recordings, similar to the sound of classic SSL consoles.
Whether that colouration is a feature or a limitation depends on what you’re recording. For vocals and guitars, it adds pleasant character. For electronic music where you want complete neutrality, it’s less useful. If you record live instruments and want a slightly “analogue” flavour, this is the most interesting option in this price range.
Buy this if: You record live instruments and want a warmer, more characterful sound than the Focusrite or Audient.
What We’d Skip
We also tested the Behringer UMC22 (€49) and the M-Audio Air 192|4 (€89). Both are functional interfaces that work without problems, but their preamps are noticeably noisier than the Focusrite, Audient, and SSL options — and the noise floor difference is audible, especially when recording quiet acoustic sources or condenser microphones at moderate gain levels. Save your money and buy something from the list above.
The Bottom Line
If you’re buying your first interface and don’t know what you need, buy the Focusrite Scarlett Solo. It’s reliable, well-supported, sounds excellent, and has been the industry standard for beginners for good reason.
If you think there’s any chance you’ll record two sources simultaneously, buy the 2i2 instead. The €40 difference is not worth the regret.
If you’re upgrading from a Scarlett and want a genuine sonic improvement, try the Audient EVO 4 or the SSL 2 — both offer meaningfully better preamps for the same price.