Dell E2225HS 21.4" Gray 2024

The Dell E2225HS is a budget 21.4-inch 1080p office monitor with a rare height-adjustable stand and TÜV eye comfort certification. At $126 USD, it's cheap and fine for basic productivity, but display and color quality are in the bottom 16% of our database. Entertainment is nearly unusable at 13.3 out of 100. Buy it for spreadsheets, not for anything fun.

The 5ms response time is fine for spreadsheets and email, but it's not going to impress anyone who plays fast-paced games. VA panels are known for deeper blacks and better contrast than IPS, which helps with text readability in bright offices. But they also tend to have slower pixel transitions, and that 5ms figure is likely a best-case scenario with overdrive cranked up.

Where this panel really falls short is color and display quality. It sits in the 16th percentile for color and 11th for display overall. That means most monitors in our database, including plenty of budget options, outperform it on brightness, color accuracy, and viewing angles. For office work, that's survivable. For anything involving photos, video, or even casual Netflix, it's a weak spot you'll notice.

The competitors in our database are mostly gaming monitors, which makes this comparison a bit unfair but still useful. The LG UltraGear 27G810A-B and MSI MAG 272QPW QD-OLED are in a completely different league, with larger screens, higher refresh rates, and far better color. They also cost several times more. If you're comparing the E2225HS to those, you're not the target audience.

A more realistic comparison is against other budget office monitors. The Acer Nitro XV272U and ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B are bigger and more capable, but they're also gaming-focused and pricier. The E2225HS wins on price and the height-adjustable stand, but loses on basically everything else: screen size, color, connectivity, and versatility. If you can stretch your budget even a little, a 24-inch IPS panel with better color would be a meaningful upgrade.

At $126 USD, the E2225HS is cheap. Not suspiciously cheap, but firmly in the budget tier where you expect compromises. The height-adjustable stand is the standout feature here, and it's something you usually have to pay $50 to $100 more for. So if ergonomics matter more to you than picture quality, this is a decent deal.

But the value proposition gets murkier when you look at what that money doesn't buy. The connectivity is in the 7th percentile, meaning you're probably getting one HDMI and one VGA or DisplayPort, and that's it. No USB hub, no USB-C, no daisy-chaining. For a modern office setup with a laptop dock, that's limiting. The CAD price of $327 and JPY price of 37,225 also suggest this monitor is priced differently depending on where you live, and in some markets it's less of a bargain.

The Dell E2225HS is a 21.4-inch 1080p VA panel aimed squarely at office desks, reception areas, and anyone who needs a basic second screen without spending real money. It's not flashy. It's not fast. But it does have one thing a lot of budget monitors skip: height adjustment. That's rare at this price point, and it's the main reason this thing exists.

Dell is leaning hard into the comfort angle here, with TÜV Rheinland certification for eye comfort and a stand that actually lets you position the screen properly. For a monitor that costs around $126 USD in the US, that's a genuinely useful combination. Most cheap monitors give you a fixed stand and a prayer that your desk height happens to match your neck.

But the scores from our database tell a more complicated story. Office use lands at 28.5 out of 100, total score is 25.3, and entertainment is a rough 13.3. This is a monitor that does one narrow job reasonably well and struggles everywhere else. If you need a basic productivity display and nothing more, keep reading. If you want games, movies, or color work, this probably isn't your monitor.

If you watch videos, edit photos, or play games even occasionally, skip this monitor. The entertainment score of 13.3 out of 100 is one of the lowest we've seen, and the color performance in the 16th percentile means images will look flat and washed out. You'd be better off with a 24-inch IPS panel, even if it costs a bit more.

Also skip this if you need modern connectivity. The 7th percentile port selection means no USB-C, no USB hub, and limited inputs. If you're using a recent laptop that only has USB-C ports, you'll be juggling adapters. Look for a monitor with USB-C power delivery and a built-in hub instead. And if you're outside the US, check local pricing carefully, the CAD and JPY prices suggest this monitor isn't always the bargain it appears to be.

For a pure office workhorse, the E2225HS is acceptable. The height adjustment is genuinely useful, the VA panel's contrast helps with text, and Dell's build quality is usually solid. If you're setting up a reception desk, a back office, or a home workstation where you'll stare at spreadsheets all day, this monitor will do the job without complaint.

But for anyone who wants to watch a video on their lunch break, edit photos, or play even casual games, this monitor falls apart. The entertainment score of 13.3 out of 100 isn't just low, it's a warning. The color and display percentiles are bad enough that you'll notice washed-out images and limited viewing angles. If your budget is tight and your needs are narrow, it works. If you want any flexibility at all, save up a bit more.