Best Places to Buy Cheap Furniture Online

If you're on the hunt for an inexpensive sofa, desk, dining set, or another piece of furniture, you can spend hours — if not days — browsing all of the home furnishing retailers online. To make your task simpler, we've whittled down the list to a handful that we consider the best, rating them on a scale of 1 to 5 based on criteria including price, selection, shipping and return policies, and user experience.

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Shopping Score: 4.75
Shop Deals

Prices
Sofas: $93 and up
Accent chairs: $50 and up
6x9 area rugs: $54 and up
Bedroom sets: $165 and up
Desks: $122 and up
Bookcases: $95 and up
Dining sets: $195 and up

Shipping: Free on orders over $35; $4.99 otherwise
Returns: 30-day window; buyer pays shipping

Whether you're just looking to spruce up a room with a new chair or want to furnish an entire home, Wayfair probably has what you need in stock. In addition to furniture, both indoor and outdoor, they sell home decor, appliances, pet goods, kitchenware, storage solutions, and more. With the exception of our other top pick, Overstock, none of the other vendors in this roundup has quite the same expansive inventory. Browsing the site is fairly straightforward, and the 3D Room Planner (tucked away under the menu icon in the upper left corner) is both easy and fun to use. Like most furniture websites, you can sort by price in ascending or descending order, but promoted items (which are rarely the cheapest items available) frequently get priority when results are displayed, which can be annoying when you're trying to hunt for bargains.

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Shopping Score: 4.75
Shop Deals

Prices
Sofas: $289 and up
Accent chairs: $47 and up
6x9 area rugs: $75 and up
Bedroom sets: $446 and up
Desks: $60 and up
Bookcases: $30 and up
Dining sets: $142 and up

Shipping: Free standard shipping on orders (excludes Alaska, Hawaii)
Returns: 30-day window; buyer pays shipping (refundable if item is defective or due to retailer error)

Like Wayfair, Overstock sells just about everything you could need to furnish a dorm room, apartment, or house, from furniture to floor tile, appliances to bathroom fixtures. In general, prices are very competitive with Wayfair, and the site is just as easy to browse. There's no 3D room planner, but Overstock does have a fairly robust Tips & Ideas section, which includes design look books and practical advice on buying and decorating. Serious shoppers will want to join Club O. For $19.95 annually, it gives you 5% cash back on all purchases (up to 40% on select items) and free returns, no questions asked.

Shopping Score: 4.5
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Prices
Sofas: $196 and up
Accent chairs: $90 and up
6x9 area rugs: $76 and up
Bedroom sets: N/A
Desks: $30 and up
Bookcases: $31 and up
Dining sets: $72 and up

Shipping: Free
Returns: 30-day window; buyer pays shipping (refundable if item is defective or due to retailer error)

Hayneedle's inventory isn't quite as vast as that of Wayfair or Overstock — you won't find renovation supplies like floor tile or white goods like washing machines, for example — but they carry plenty of furniture for every room of the home, as well as small appliances, bed and bath goods, and pet items. If you don't want to shop Wayfair or Overstock, Hayneedle is a fine alternative, with an easy-to-browse site and a colorful Styles & Inspiration section.

Shopping Score: 3.75
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Prices
Sofas: $250 and up
Accent chairs: $100 and up
6x9 area rugs: $56 and up
Bedroom sets: $506 and up
Desks: $46 and up
Bookcases: $37 and up
Dining sets: $115 and up

Shipping: Varies
Returns: 30-day window; buyer pays shipping (refundable if item is defective or due to retailer error)

Although its primary focus is on home renovation and redecoration, Houzz also has a sizable furniture selection as well. You'll also find tile, vanities, kitchen and bath fixtures, as well as kitchen appliances, cook and bakeware, linens, and more. Site navigation isn't as intuitive as our top picks — the main furniture section requires clicking away from the home page — but it is functional. Where Houzz really shines is its extensive, photo-centric Home Design Ideas section, which features work by homeowners and professionals alike, and in their extensive directory of professional services from contractors to landscapers.

Related: Home Improvement and Decor Trends for 2021

Shopping Score: 3.25
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Prices
Sofas: $760 and up
Accent chairs: $289 and up
6x9 area rugs: $126 and up
Bedroom sets: $865 and up
Desks: $350 and up
Bookcases: $128 and up
Dining sets: $1,380 and up

Shipping: Free on orders over $35; $4.99 otherwise
Returns: 30-day window; buyer pays shipping

Birch Lane has a more focused inventory than its corporate parent Wayfair, and prices on a whole are definitely higher. You'll find a mix of contemporary, midcentury, and farmhouse furnishings, as well as kitchen and bathroom fixtures, furniture for kids and babies, plus renovation supplies like tile and vanities. The site is colorful, easy to navigate, and invites browsing (especially their Room Ideas section). Inventory is more limited than Wayfair but not as small as World Market; Birch Lane carries 170 sofa models, as compared to the 20,000-plus on Wayfair. Somehow, we don't think most shoppers will mind the difference.

Shopping Score: 3
Shop Deals

Prices
Sofas: $800 and up
Accent chairs: $250 and up
6x9 area rugs: $40 and up
Bedroom sets: N/A
Desks: $150 and up
Bookcases: $130 and up
Dining sets: $230 and up

Shipping: Varies based on order total; in-store pickup also available
Returns: 60-day window; buyer pays shipping (refundable if item is defective or due to retailer error). Returns can also be made in stores.

World Market's offers two advantages over the other retailers in our cheap furniture roundup: They've got physical stores, and their return window is twice as long. Prices are slightly higher than other retailers in this roundup, but selection is considerably smaller (World Market sells just 33 sofas and loveseats, compared to more than 2,000 at Overstock, for example). One perk worth noting: World Market Rewards members receive 10% off all curbside pickup orders as well as free shipping for online orders of $49 or more, not to mention earn points on purchases toward future discounts. It's free to join.

There is no shortage of places to buy cheap furniture. Big-box retailers like Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, and Big Lots all sell furniture and home furnishings with prices and inventories similar to our top picks, Wayfair and Overstock. Don't overlook that pioneer of cheap, some-assembly-required furniture, Ikea, either. If your budget is higher, consider Joss & Main and AllModern. These two furniture sellers (both of them Wayfair subsidiaries) specialize in modern and contemporary styles.

Related: 18 Secrets and Hacks for Shopping at Ikea