Buying guide
A first banjo should play in tune, sound like a banjo, and not fight you while you learn. These are the ones we hand to beginners — plus exactly what to look for, so you buy once and start playing instead of troubleshooting.
Some links are affiliate links — if you buy through them we may earn a small commission. It never costs you more, and it never changes our picks. We buy and play every instrument we rank.
We weight playability out of the box, tone, and how far the banjo takes you before you feel the need to upgrade — all judged at a beginner budget. Every banjo here we have played or set up ourselves. We do not rank on spec sheets, and a commission never moves a banjo up the list. For the wider view of who makes what, see our guide to the best banjo brands.
Whatever you buy, set aside $40–60 for a setup from a tech before you write the banjo off. It lowers the action, seats the bridge in the right spot, and dresses the frets. A cheap banjo that has been set up plays better than an expensive one that has not.
Four decisions cover almost everything that matters when you are starting out. Get these right and the rest is detail.
A resonator has a wooden bowl on the back that projects sound forward — louder, punchier, the bluegrass sound. An open-back is lighter and mellower, the clawhammer and old-time choice. Pick the one that matches the music you want to play, not the price.
The 5-string with its short drone string is what most people mean by "banjo," and it has by far the most beginner tutorials, tab and songbooks behind it. Save 4-string tenor and plectrum banjos for later if Irish or jazz pulls you that way.
A factory banjo often ships with high action and a bridge that is not seated right. A $40–60 setup from a tech lowers the action, seats the bridge and dresses the frets. It changes how the instrument plays more than the last $100 of the price does.
If you know you are in, buy once in the $400–500 range and skip the upgrade cycle. If you are testing the water, a $149 banjo plus a setup gets you playing honestly and loses little if you decide to resell it.
Once the banjo arrives, learn to tune it to open G before anything else — an out-of-tune banjo teaches your ear the wrong thing. If you are still weighing which shape suits you, our guide to the different types of banjos lays out 5-string, tenor, plectrum and banjolele side by side.
Buy these alongside the banjo and you are set for your first month — a tuner so you always start in tune, picks to get the bluegrass tone, a strap so you can play standing, and a spare set of strings for the day one snaps.