The highest quality MIG welders available in the market are expensive and everyone cannot afford them. Especially if you are not a professional welder then it will be harder to earn back the money spent on an expensive machine.
If you are a guy who knows a little bit of welding and is planning to expand your work then you might be looking for a welder that is under $500. Although it is difficult to find a MIG welder under this narrow range you can find one if you do thorough research.
If you have a budget of $500 then you can get a welder that can give you industrial quality welds on different types of metals.
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What can you expect from a welder under $500?
The MIG welder which is available in the market under this price tag can help you do a wide variety of jobs. You can do home and yard repairs as well as running a small business.
Welding of different Materials
It should be capable of welding a wide variety of materials including steel, mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum.
Duty Cycle
It should have a higher duty cycle as compared to your hobby size MIG welders.
Input Voltage
Having a welder that works on a 110 V input gives you extreme freedom to work anywhere at any time. But if you can have one that supports both 110 and 220 V power input then you must select them because at 220 V the MIG welders can produce more output.
Portability
While purchasing a welder you must keep in mind that it should be light and have longer leads so that you can easily move around in a project which requires more portability.
Spool Gun
The ability to support a spool gun is a characteristic you should seriously consider because without it you would not be able to weld aluminum.
Top 7 MIG Welder Under $500
Here is a list of MIG welders that I have found best in this budget.
Best MIG Welder Under 500
This handy MIG welder is a lightweight, portable and compact machine coming out of the United States. Its build quality is excellent and is very famous among hobbyists, DIY-ers, and professionals as well for light tasks.
Lincoln Electric K2185-1 Handy MIG Welder
It is a small package built with the excellent quality offered by Lincoln Electric, which is famous for producing excellent quality welders.
It is best for home and farm improvement because it operates at 115V, 20 Amps input. With the ability to produce an output ranging from 35 to 88 Amps, it has a duty cycle of 20% at 70 Amps.
Weighing at just 26 lbs. it has overall dimensions of 18” x 10.3” x 16.8”. It comes with continuous wire speed adjustment and four voltage settings. These characteristics make it easy to weld mild steel from 24 gauge to 1/8” thick.
The length of the power cord is 6 ft. and that of clamp cable is 8 ft. It comes with a 1 lb. spool of 0.035” flux-cored wire and a 2 lb. spool of 0.025” solid MIG wire. The package includes three contact tips of 0.035” and 0.025” each.
It is a perfect choice if you are a newbie because it comes with free accessories like chipping hammer, brush and welding hand shield.
2. Forney Easy Weld 140 MP
If you are planning to enhance your welding skills then you might be looking for a multi-process welder. The Forney Easy Weld 140 is a 3 in 1 MIG, DC TIG and stick welder which makes it possible to weld a variety of materials.
Forney Easy Weld 140 MP, Multi-Process Welder
$531.14
The best thing about this welder is that it is extremely easy to use as the name signifies. The three-position switch makes it easy to change the process quickly.
The welder operates at 110 V input and gives a rated output voltage range of 12 to 23 V along with an output current range of 10 to 140 Amps.
The weight of the welder is 24.81 lbs. with the dimensions of 14.19” x 19.31” x 11.61”. It can easily handle 2 and 10 lbs. rolls of wire. It includes a 10’ MIG gun, 8’ electrode holder, 8’ ground clamp, and an integrated handle with torch wrap.
The company offers a warranty of 12 months. It is capable of welding ¼” thick plate. It can easily integrate both gas wire up to 0.35” and gasless up to 1/8” stick electrodes.
Recommended For You: Best Mig Welder Under 300
3. LONGEVITY Migweld 140-140 Amp Mig Welder
If you are looking for a high-quality MIG welder that is capable of welding a wide array of materials then longevity MIG Weld 140 is a good option. With an input voltage of 110 V, it offers a rated output of 140 Amps.
LONGEVITY Migweld 140-140 Amp Mig Welder Capable Of Flux-Core And Aluminum Gas Shielded Welding 110v
This welder can also be used to weld aluminum but for that, you have to buy a spool gun separately.
The overall dimensions of the welder are 16” x 14.5” x 19.6” and weighs at 54 lbs. It is capable of handling an 11 lbs. spool.
One of the best things about this welder is that it supports all the consumable items available at your local store. So you do not have to worry about the compatibility of the accessories.
You can easily weld a 3/8” mild steel plate using LONGEVITY MIG Weld 140. It is extremely portable. In fact, it is one of the best compact welders for home, shop, and repair welding.
4. SUNGOLDPOWER 200Amp MIG MAG ARC MMA Stick DC Welde
This is an all in one welder especially designed for the professionals to enable them to deal with the day to daylight welding tasks on almost every kind of material. It is capable of doing MIG/MAG/ARC and MMA welding with slight adjustments.
SUNGOLDPOWER 200Amp MIG MAG ARC MMA Stick DC Welder 110/220V Dual Voltage IGBT Inverter 200A Aluminum Welding Soldering Machine Gas Shielded/Gasless Flux Cored Wire Solid Core Wire Welding Equipment
At 110 V input, it produces a maximum output of 140 Amps and at 220 V it produces 200 Amps with an excellent duty cycle of 60%. Capable of performing Gas less flux-cored welding and Gas shielded MIG welding it can be used to weld a wide variety of materials. Both the 2 lbs. and 10 lbs. wire spools are compatible with this machine.
The size is 19.6” x 9.4” x 14.9” and weighs at 44 lbs. which is slightly heavier than the other 200 Amps welders in the market. The reason behind its extra weight is that it utilizes a good quality transformer with a full-bridge circuit board along with the IGBT inverter technology.
It can easily weld aluminum but the spool gun should be purchased separately. It produces a very fine bead and can be used for large scale welding due to continuous adjustment of current.
The length of the MIG torch is 118” and that of earth clamp is 47”.
Various materials like stainless steel, mild steel, carbon steel, iron, and aluminum, etc. can easily be welded using this welder.
5. HITBOX New Arrival Mig Welder
Another multifunction welder with the ability to do MIG/ARC and LIFT TIG gas and gasless welding. The HITBOX MIG 250 is a 220 V DC welder equipped with the IGBT inverter technology.
HITBOX New Arrival Mig Welder MIG250 MIG TIG ARC Welding Machine Gas Gasless Welder 220V Mig Welding Machine 3 in 1
It works on an input of 220 V and has the ability to reach a maximum duty cycle of 100% while using a 0.8mm wire. It can easily be used with a generator which makes it a very good option for field and remote welding jobs.
Having a size of 19.9” x 14.2” x 11” it weighs at just 19.4 lbs. Copper, aluminum, and steel are used to make this welder, this is why it is very light.
It holds 5kg and 15kg spools of welding wire and is very convenient to use for the beginners. Having an amazing wire feed speed of 3-18m/min it gives a very fine bead and is good for fast welding. It uses 0.8mm solid wire and 1.0mm flux-cored wire.
It contains some useful accessories with it like earth clamp, MIG gun, electrode holder, and gas tube.
6. Mig Welder Dual Voltage Flux Core – Reboot MIG175
The Reboot MIG 175 operates at both 110 V and 220 V input and produces a maximum output of 175 Amps. It has a maximum duty cycle of 60% at 170 Amps and 100% at 120 Amps.
Mig Welder Dual Voltage Flux Core - Reboot MIG175 Mig Lift Tig Welding Machine 110V/220V Gas/Gasless IGBT Inverter 175 Amps Stick/Lift Tig/Mig 3 in 1 Welders 2.2/11LBs Flux Core Wire (MIG175)
Along with mild steel and stainless steel, it can weld a wide variety of materials. It can perform MIG/Lift TIG/MMA, gas and gasless all types of welding.
The weight of the welder is 28.6 lbs. and the size is 19.8” x 14.6” x 11.1”. An amazing thing about this welder is that its switching frequency is beyond the audio range which reduces noise pollution to a greater extent.
The overall performance of this welder is good but if you have some extra bucks then it is advised to buy a famous brand like Lincoln Electric or Forney.
7. YESWELDER ARC Welder
If you are looking for a welder with smart controls then YES Welder 205DS is the answer. It is very easy to operate because of the provision of synergic controls.
Mig Welder MIG-205 MIG TIG ARC Welding Machine Gas Gasless Welder 110/220V Dual Voltage Mig Welding Machine 3 in 1
$359.99
It’s a multipurpose welder with the ability to do Stick, Lift TIG, gas and gasless MIG welding. Different modes can be interchanged by using the buttons.
This welder operates at both 110 V and 220 V, producing an output of 200 Amp at 220V and 160 Amp at 110V.
The weight of the welder is 35 lbs. with the dimensions 20.1” x 14.8” x 11.4”. It comes with a 10ft MIG gun, a 5ft ground clamp, a 6ft electrode holder and one additional 0.030” and 0.035” contact tips. Other accessories include a brush and a chipping hammer.
This welder is a special gift for the professionals as well as novices because it has 2T for spot welding and 4T for continuous long-term welding. This is the most suitable welder for newbies because it sets ampere and voltage according to the thickness of the material being welded.
Conclusion
The MIG welders under $500 are more capable than the entry-level welders. These welders offer you good quality welds and can be used for a small scale business.
