Best Crossbow Under $500, $600 [2023 Reviews]

Sometimes, the budget is tight, and you cannot splurge on a new bow as much as you want.

That is why we promise to provide you with upper-low and mid-range crossbows that are the best value for money.

All bows listed here are best crossbows under $500, making them a good choice when you want something affordable.

Let’s get started:

Best Crossbow Package Under 500, 600 Dollars:

Best Crossbow Under 500 Reviews:

1. Centerpoint Sniper 370 Crossbow:

Centerpoint’s 370 crossbow is, without a doubt, the best crossbow under $500. It does an amazing job at hunting while staying pretty affordable for a mid-range crossbow!

Adjustable Buttstock & Foregrip

That means this crossbow can fit various sizes, as it can help shorten the cocking rope if you’re not tall, especially for young kids.

Big Size

Weighing 7.9 pounds and 36.5" x 21.5" in size, this crossbow is pretty heavy. However, it holds steadily, helping you have more confidence when hunting.

If you have a more delicate frame, do keep in mind that carrying this crossbow can make you feel tired when walking longer distances to your treestand.

This isn’t exactly the most compact crossbow out there, as it is 21.5 inches wide and 18 inches wide when cocked.

As for the length of the bow, this bow measured at full 40 inches.

Decent Speed & Accuracy

With a decent draw weight and a power stroke of 13.5 inches, this crossbow is rather fast.

Reaching speeds of 370 FPS, this crossbow is more than suitable for taking down big game like bears and elk.

It does make some noise when shooting, though.

Accuracy is on par with the speed - a 20 yard bullseye is something you’ll enjoy hitting with this one!

Sturdy Design

One of the principal things about a crossbow is that it’s durable and well-made.

Despite this crossbow costing under $500, its components are high-quality, making it very durable.

The 370 crossbow comes with quad limbs made from compressed fiberglass, no less.

This made the crossbow rather tough and durable - since the quads are fitted with an aluminum cam and a shoot-through riser.

Average Draw Weight

With 185 pounds of draw weight, this crossbow can pose a true challenge to cock, especially for someone with a smaller frame.

Luckily, this bow packs a rope cocker to make it easier for the hunter to load. There is no stacking, as the string pulls rather smoothly.

Accessories

This crossbow comes with 3x 275-grain arrows, which are a nice start. However, the shoulder sling and a carry bag are not included.

The scope that comes in the package is a multi-reticle one. It’s not high-end but not a budget scope either.

The scope is super easy to sight in, hold zero as long as you need it - so unless you’re looking for an exceptional scope, this one will suffice.

Easy to Assemble

What we liked is that this crossbow is relatively easy to assemble fully, despite the poor instructions.

The instruction manual is poorly written and missing so many important sections; it can leave you lost.

You should consider taking the crossbow into the hunting shop for help if you’re a newbie.

Pros:

Cons:

2. Barnett Whitetail Hunter II Crossbow:

Barnett made many high-quality crossbows during the years, but the Whitetail Hunter II stands out. It’s the best crossbow under 400 dollars and offers so much to the hunter.

Super lightweight

At 6.4 lbs, this crossbow is super lightweight and easy to carry.

Even if you have a shoulder injury or just a smaller frame, this crossbow will be simple for you to take along.

Crisp Trigger

The trigger is super crisp, offers zero creep, and it’s somewhat easy to pull, considering it’s a 4-pound trigger.

Compact

With a length of 34 inches and a width of 18 inches (16 when cocked),  meaning you can easily use it in tight spaces like a ground blind.

Fast Speed

The Whitetail Hunter II can reach speeds of 350 FPS, using 380-grain arrows, which are fast enough to kill a deer.

The power stroke is rather decent - 12.5 inches, as well as the kinetic energy of over 100 pounds - and both of these specs enable this crossbow to be this powerful.

Superb Design

We liked that this crossbow comes with an adjustable buttstock, but it truly isn’t much - it’s adjustable by 0.75 inches.

All parts are made of stainless steel, making the crossbow rather durable and resistant to the elements.

The crossbow comes with the Real Tree Extra Camo print to help you blend into the surroundings.

Light Pulling

The Whitetail Hunter II may come with a slight draw weight of 150 pounds, but it still is very powerful.

The 150 pounds of draw weight could be too heavy for women to cock, which is precisely why Barnett decided to include a rope cocking mechanism to make it easier.

However, you can always opt for the crank cocker to reduce loading effort.

Accessories

The first thing we noticed about the accessories is the fantastic bolts this bow comes with.

The bolts are two high-quality, 20-inch Headhunter arrows, 400-grain, which enable your bow to shoot out bolts at 330 FPS.

However, the scope this bow comes with isn’t exactly high-quality, and we advise you to change it for something that suits your needs better.

The scope is a 4x32m multi-reticle scope - and it takes forever to sight in, and it will take a lot of adjustment to work properly.

It’s much easier to upgrade the scope for something easier to use.

Simple to Assemble

The assembly of this crossbow is a piece of cake, basically, and shouldn’t take over 10 minutes of your time.

Some parts come pre-assembled to make it easier - the manual is very well-written, making it pretty simple to do everything yourself, even on your first try.

Pros:

Cons:

3. Barnett Whitetail Pro STR Crossbow:

We have talked about Barnett and the quality they offer to the market.

However, the Whitetail Pro STR truly goes the extra mile to prove what Barnett offers to the user without the need to invest lots of money!

Super light trigger

The first thing that comes to mind is the super-light trigger. With just 3 pounds of pressure, you can easily pull your trigger no matter what!

Simple to use

The crossbow is relatively easy to use, so it’s not likely that you will experience issues finding your way around the bow.

The TruBark camo helps you blend in completely in your surroundings.

It’s better

What’s even better, the bow comes with a CNC-designed flight rail and not one but 3 Picatinny tails.

One is already used to hold the scope, while the other can be used for whatever you need!

Fast Velocity

The Barnett Whitetail Pro STR truly offers something new to the user in the affordable range of crossbows.

This crossbow can reach speeds of 400 FPS, which is far more than what we’re used to.

This speed makes it easy for you to hunt down whitetail deer without any problems!

Average Draw Weight

With 187 pounds of draw weight, this crossbow isn’t exactly too easy to draw - but it shouldn’t pose a problem for beginners or people with a shoulder injury.

The Whitetail Pro does come with a rope cocking mechanism designed to make it a bit easier for you.

However, you can still decide to invest in a Barnett crank cocker, making cocking a breeze.

With a crank cocking mechanism, you can truly enjoy shooting and save pulling pressure for other things!

Lightweight

Weight is a principal part of every crossbow because if it’s too heavy, it’s never going to leave your shed and go hunting with you.

Barnett recognized the need for a lightweight crossbow, and therefore, the Pro STR only weighs 6.9 pounds, making it super easy to carry around.

Long size

About the size of the crossbow, this is the perfect crossbow for someone over 6 feet tall.

For taller people, the length of 36.5 inches will offer excellent holding, along with 20 inches of width.

Made In The USA

One of the many advantages that make this crossbow a great buy is that it’s made in the USA.

The crossbow and each part were delicately designed and manufactured in the USA since there aren’t many manufacturers that produce their weapons here.

Accessories

The included scope is rather impressive - it’s a 4x32mm multi-reticle scope, offering a clear-as-day picture.

It’s pretty accurate once you sight it in, offering a clear view up to 60 yards away.

As for the arrows, the included arrows are two 22-inch Headhunter arrows. They aren’t of great quality, so you should try to replace them with something better soon.

The quiver is alright, but it can fall off easily.

Pros:

Cons:

4. Killer Instinct Burner 415 Crossbow:

Like the name says, Killer Instinct is the go-to company if you want some serious success hunting.

Their Burner 415 is an amazing crossbow, and it doesn’t require taking out multiple credit cards to buy!

Compact Dimension

The Burner 415 is a compact crossbow, considering it is 34.5 inches long and 18.75 inches wide.

Weighing just 6.7 pounds, this crossbow is super lightweight and easy to carry, making it a perfect suit even for someone with a long-term shoulder injury or just a smaller frame.

Adjustable buttstock and foregrip

What’s even better, it comes with an adjustable buttstock.

Thanks to this AR-15 style rear stock, you can customize the crossbow to fit you - whether you need it to be smaller or larger.

The foregrip is X-Lok, and it’s adjustable as well. The foregrip is rubber molded, comfortable, and easy to handle.

Wicked Fast

This crossbow is perhaps offering the best speed of all the crossbows listed in this article.

With 415 FPS, this crossbow can take down any game you want it to, big or small!

Using the HYPR Lite 370-grain bolts, you can achieve this amazing speed of 415 FPS. With the right bolts, you maximize the power of the crossbow.

Powerful Draw Weight

The Burner 415 comes with a 220-pound draw weight, making this a very powerful bow.

However, pulling this draw weight is somewhat hard, even when the included rope cocking mechanism comes to help.

That is why we strongly advise you to invest in a DS Dead Silent Crank to make cocking the crossbow a breeze!

Awesome Design

The beautiful design of the Burner 415 is related to the gorgeous camo design, but the limbs can break rather easily, unfortunately.

The design is simple, as well as the assembly, so it’s no problem to assemble your bow, as it takes less than 10 minutes.

The trigger offers zero creep and a perfectly smooth pull, with just 3.5 pounds of pressure.

Not High-Quality Accessories

The most notable accessory in this package is the Lumix 4x32mm IR-W scope with illuminated reticles.

The reticles improve contrast and allow the hunter to have a clear view even in very low-light conditions.

However, they aren’t too great, so you should replace them with your scope.

The HYPR lite bolts are decent, with 0.003” stiffness.

They aren’t the best ones on the market right now, but they are tough enough to fly straight. We advise you to upgrade them when possible!

What is great about this crossbow is that it comes with a lifetime warranty!

Pros:

Cons:

5. PSE Archery Fang HD Crossbow:

PSE Fang is one of the most well-known affordable crossbows you can buy. It does a great job at hunting, and the PSE Fang HD is the upgrade you have been looking for all this time!

High Speed & Power

PSE Fang HD reaches the amazing speed of 405 FPS, using the included 125-grain crossbows.

This crossbow packs 205 pounds of it about the draw weight, which can pose a real challenge.

Thanks to the stirrup and the crank cocking mechanism, it’s not too difficult for someone with a smaller frame!

Long Size

The crossbow is very long, over 35 inches more precisely, and 18 inches wide uncocked.

Remember that it will be challenging to cock this crossbow using the rope cocking mechanism if you have a smaller frame.

Front Heavy

The crossbow weighs 7.3 pounds without accessories, which isn’t too much, but because this is a compound design, it makes this crossbow front-heavy.

To have more stability when shooting with the PSE Fang HD, we advise you to use a shooting stick to make each shot more steady.

Moreover, the stock is adjustable so that you can fine-tune it to your liking.

Good Design

The first thing you can notice about the PSE Fang HD is the composite limbs and buttstock, making this crossbow rather durable.

This bow is built to withstand all weather conditions you may come across during the hunting season.

The grip is pistol-like, made to fit hunting gloves, and make your hands comfortable when holding the bow for extended periods.

Thanks to the reverse cams technology, the power increases while the crossbow is pretty compact - making it suitable for tree stands and ground blinds.

We liked the True Timber Viper camo design on the crossbow, as it enables you to stay unseen while hunting.

The crossbow comes with limb dampers and string silencers that reduce noise and vibration. We didn’t like the noise dampening system, as it’s not too great - it may still spook some prey.

Not so Good Accessories

The scope that comes with this crossbow is worth mentioning.

It’s a PSE HDV-425 1.5-5x32mm scope, with illuminated reticles, and it’s so high-quality that it improves brightness and clarity, making it easier for you to hit your target.

The PSE Fang HD comes with three 22-inch carbon bolts. The issue is that the crossbow bolts aren’t very high quality, so you should aim to invest in better bolts.

The only flaw is that it comes with a rather poor instruction manual.

You may have issues assembling your PSE Fang HD, so ask for help at your hunting shop if you do!

Pros:

Cons:

6. Wicked Ridge Invader 400 Crossbow with Acudraw:

Wicked Ridge makes fantastic hunting equipment, and what’s better, it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

The Invader 400 has a lot to offer to the hunter without breaking the bank!

Highly powerful

The Invader 400, like the name, says, can reach the speed of the shot of 400 FPS.

The only issue with the speed is that this crossbow can be pretty noisy when shooting, potentially spooking your prey.

It comes with a 13.5 inches power stroke and enables you to reach good speeds without being too bulky or adding on the draw weight.

Minimal Drawing

What makes the Invader 400 such a great buy is that this crossbow is extremely easy to load.

Thanks to the built-in ACUdraw Pro crank cocking device, which reduces the cocking effort to an astonishing 5 pounds only.

Or you can also opt for the ACUdraw 50 rope cocking device for the Invader 400.

It reduces the cocking effort to half, making cocking xbow a breeze.

Extremely Light

The first thing you can notice about the physical aspect of the Invader 400 is how lightweight it is.

It weighs only 6 pounds and is light enough to carry for hours without creating a strain on your shoulders.

Compact Size

What we liked about the Invader 400 is how compact it is.

With 19 inches of length and 15 inches of width when cocked, this crossbow is ideal for use in cramped spaces like tree stands, ladders, and blinds.

Crisp Trigger

One of the main things we liked about the design was the crisp trigger, which requires only 3.5 pounds of effort to shoot.

The trigger is so smooth, giving you very stable shots every time.

Ergonomic design

Another good thing is the featured air lite stock that is super easy to handle.

The stock is precisely engineered to make the bow easy to maneuver. It also features a light riser and CNC-machined aluminum limbs.

The Invader 400 features a trendy camo design that helps you fall into the background like most crossbows.

Advanced Accessories

This crossbow is pretty accurate, helping you achieve success on your hunting weekend without experiencing many problems.

That is due to the advanced scope - a 3x Lighted Pro-View scope, which is super simple to dial in and use, giving you a crystal-clear view.

The bow comes with nice arrows as well, offering a 0.003” straightness, which provides consistent flight, and it’s stiff enough to penetrate a deer’s shoulder.

The arrows included are a 3-pack of Wicked Ridge XX75 arrows, which are rather good for hunting and target practice.

Made in USA

This quality bow and the accessories are made in the USA.

When a company makes its bows in the USA, you can ensure that everything is held to a much higher standard during the manufacturing process.

The safety and quality control are relatively high, so you can be sure that this crossbow is high-quality and safe to use!

What we didn’t like about this crossbow is the non-adjustable buttstock, which doesn’t give you enough flexibility to fine-tune the crossbow to your liking.

Pros:

Cons:

7. Excalibur GRZ2 Crossbow:

Excalibur excels in making fantastic weapons for hunting - from high-end to more affordable ones.

The GRZ2 is a more affordable crossbow, that is sure - but it still offers a sensational hunting experience!

Nice Speed

As for the speed, this crossbow reaches a velocity of 305 FPS.

It’s a good speed, but it still falls behind all the crossbows in this article. However, the shot speed is still enough to take down a deer if you shoot the vitals.

The flaw of this speed is that the bow makes noise during shots. That can “jump the string,” making you miss the shot entirely.

Simple Recurve Design

The GRZ2 crossbow features a recurve crossbow technology, which enables the crossbow to have a simple design.

Thanks to that simple design, replacing the string is easy when you’re out on the field.

What’s even better, you have the option to decock a crossbow at any given point without shooting.

The crossbow uses a simple rope cocker instead of a high-end cocking mechanism.

Large width

The crossbow is 33 inches long and 30 inches wide uncocked.

That can be too wide for some people, and it can be difficult to use in cramped spaces like ground blinds and ladders, but it’s ok to use for spot and stalk hunting.

Easy to use

It’s easy to conclude that this crossbow offers exceptional experience as well as comfort.

The rubber grip on the forearm is ergonomic and easy to hold for hours without getting a cramp.

The trigger guard is oversized, and it will certainly be convenient when you’re hunting in below-zero temperatures.

Heavy Loading

The draw weight of this crossbow is relatively large, measuring 200 lbs.

If you’re an average man, that shouldn’t be too difficult to cock, as the bow features a rope cocker that reduces the draw weight by half (100 lbs).

However, cocking this crossbow can be nearly impossible if you’re dealing with any kind of physical limitation.

If that is the case, you should invest in an Excalibur crank cocking mechanism, as it will reduce the cocking effort to a meager 12 lbs.

Accessories

The included scope gives the hunter pinpoint accuracy, ensuring you are hitting your desired target every time.

The included scope is a Fixed Power scope, which enables you to stay accurate at 60 yards.

The fixed power scope is easy to sight in, and it’s accurate within deer effective range - up to 40 yards.

Remember that you shouldn’t target deer at over 40 yards, as these shots aren’t ethical.

Bolts

The crossbow comes with 4 Diablo 18” 150-grain arrows. The arrows are of decent quality, so you can use them for hunting and standard target practice.

The GRZ2 comes with a limited lifetime warranty, which is a great sign.

However, the instruction manual is not great, and it can be challenging to set up the crossbow yourself.

Pros:

Cons:

What to Expect in The Best Crossbow Under $500?

Going for the affordable crossbow means saying goodbye to certain features, but many bows don’t break the bank and have plenty to offer!

Picking out a budget-friendly crossbow from one of the best brands means the bow can still do a great job hunting!

So now, let’s get into different specs of bows under $500 and what you can expect from them!

Power & Speed

The most expensive crossbows go well over 450+ FPS, but some more affordable ones will not. From your affordable bow, you can expect a speed around 350 FPS, a little more or a little less.

That may not seem like a lot, but it’s still packing enough power to take a deer down without any issues.

You don’t need a super-powerful crossbow for hunting, as you can still do target practice with a bow that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and you can easily hunt down a small black bear.

It’s expected that your crossbow will be packing a little less kinetic energy than a high-end model due to a shorter power stroke.

However, don’t pick out a larger/heavier crossbow to compensate for that, as it can be far too heavy or difficult to operate.

Accessories

Trying to save money on a crossbow sometimes means saying goodbye to specific accessories.

However, that is usually not the case, as the manufacturers will still sell crossbows as a full package rather than a basic one.

Commonly, you will get at least a quiver, a cocking rope, a sling, lube, wax, and a scope.

Do note that it’s somewhat expected to get a scope that could be of better quality - so consider replacing it with some high-end optics.

Safety

All crossbows come with certain safety mechanisms - the standard being the anti-dry-fire system that prevents injury to the hunter and the crossbow.

Another decent addition is the auto-safety lever that resets the safety before drawing, keeping you safe all the time.

Safety wings are a nice touch as well, as they help keep your hand safely below the flight deck and away from the string when shooting.

Warranty

Despite being affordable, crossbows can still come with a decent warranty.

After all, you are looking for some shooting equipment that ought to last you a long time. So, check if the crossbow you like comes with a 5-year warranty.

Bottom Line:

To conclude, the affordable crossbow market has plenty to offer to the new user.

Despite saying goodbye to certain features, budget-friendly crossbows still have plenty to offer.

Picking out our favorite, best crossbow under $500 wasn’t easy. But we had to pick out the Centerpoint 370 Sniper.

Editor choice:

It’s fast, has very durable components, and it’s super easy to use!

What is your favorite choice for a crossbow under $500? Let us know in the comments!