The Best Monitors for the Mac Mini

Just about any monitor can work with a Mac Mini. It doesn't need to be made by Apple or have any official certification. There's a case to be made for using a cheap 1080p monitor with the Mac Mini, but most Mac users will want something a bit more premium. As you can see by options like the Dell 27 Plus 4K, that doesn't have to mean overly expensive. Either way, here are the four elements to consider when shopping for a good monitor to go with your Mac Mini.

Size and resolution: 27-inch and 32-inch monitors are the most common sizes these days, and there are larger options. I would also consider a 34-inch ultrawide monitor if you like the wider, 21:9 aspect ratio with the curved shape. With Apple, resolution is king. There's a reason it invests so much in high pixel density for every screen it sells, even down to the entry-level options like the MacBook Air. Pixel density is what gives a screen its sharpness, and you need a lot more pixels when they're stretched out across a large, external monitor. If you want to keep the fidelity up, I wouldn't buy anything under 4K, and bumping up to 5K or 6K on a 32-inch monitor can be helpful. You also want to consider the refresh rate here. A 120-Hz refresh rate is what the MacBook Pro has, offering smoother animation, especially in games.

Adjustability: Apple monitors and iMacs aren't exactly known for adjustability. They often have none at all, and cost more when they do. That isn't the best for your posture and ergonomics. Famously, the Pro Display XDR charges an extra $1,000 to add a Pro Stand with proper adjustability. For ergonomic purposes, the top of the screen you're working on should be as close to eye level as possible, and that ranges depending on someone's height. If a monitor doesn't have height adjustability, you'll have to depend on a separate monitor stand or arm. Other than height adjustment, many monitors also have a stand that can swivel, tilt, and rotate, all of which are important when using multiple monitors together. This is also needed if you want to use a second monitor vertically, which has become increasingly popular.

Ports: Even the cheapest monitors will always have HDMI as a connection, which is all you need to connect directly to the back of the Mac Mini. Some monitors have USB-C that support display, which will let you connect to one of the Mac Mini's Thunderbolt ports. The M4 Mac Mini comes with three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, and an Ethernet jack. The M4 Pro model has the same ports, except the ports are Thunderbolt 5 instead of 4. You'll need to use at least one of these Thunderbolt ports if you want to connect more than one external monitor. These monitors also tend to have other ports, such as USB-A. These can be useful, as the Mac Mini doesn't have any on its own.

Image quality: Apple prides itself on the image quality of its Macs, so in the case of the Mac Mini, you'll likely want to get something worthy of your Mac. This is especially important for content creators, photographers, and designers. So, you'll want to consider a monitor's brightness, color accuracy, color coverage, and contrast. While some IPS displays offer decent color and contrast, mini-LED or OLED displays will guarantee better image quality. These also have significantly higher peak brightness in HDR content, which really brings games and movies to life.

The latest Mac Mini with the M4 chip can support up to three external displays, using the three Thunderbolt or one HDMI port on back. Regardless of the resolution (up to 8K) or refresh rate (up to 240 Hz), if you're just plugging in a single monitor, any one of these ports will do. Use whichever your monitor has or whichever is the most convenient. But when you start needing multiple displays, that's where things get complicated. Here's a table explaining the differences.

If you haven't already bought your Mac Mini, you might be wondering if it's a better deal than the iMac. After all, both are desktop Macs with similar specs and performance. The M4 Mac Mini starts at $599, which gets you 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. The M4 iMac, on the other hand, costs you $1,299. It comes with the same memory, storage, and chip, but has the 24-inch 4480 x 2520 resolution display, a 12-megapixel webcam, and some decent speakers. You get that for a $700 difference in cost.

It's hard to quantify, though, as there aren't any many 24-inch 4.5K monitors out there. The 24-inch monitor size has largely gone away, outside of ultra-budget displays or professional esports gaming monitors. However, you can certainly buy a 27-inch 4K or 5K monitor for less than $700, with plenty of room to add on peripherals such as a webcam or computer speakers. So, in terms of cost savings, grabbing the Mac Mini is a smart way to go. You're paying extra for the iMac, and for the convenience of it being an all-in-one system.