10 Best Ukuleles 2024 in the United States

People usually associate the ukulele with Hawaii. Well, that’s partially correct. The  name “ukulele” is translated from the Hawaiian as “jumping flea”. But it was brought to Hawaii by Portuguese migrant workers who came to Hawaii in the 1880s, and enthusiastically adopted by the last monarch of Hawaii, King Kalakaua. Its popularity stems from its distinctive, “homey” sound, as well as its portability. If you’re traveling from place to place, you’ll find that a soprano or even concert ukulele can easily fit in your luggage--a great alternative to lugging around a guitar!

As with any musical instrument, your decision of what to buy will be personal preference, depending on what kind of sound you want from your ukulele, whether you want to play only chords, or individual notes as well, and what size of a ukulele can you master. The materials of the ukulele will also factor in your decision.

We’ve composed this buyer’s guide to help you make the right decision when selecting a ukulele. It'll help you:

• Choose the right type of ukulele,

• See useful tips about that particular type of ukulele,

• Read reviews of different quality ukuleles, and what customers are saying,

• Select the right brand of the best ukulele, and

• Compare prices and find the best deals.

We can distinguish between ukuleles based on their size and range:

• Sopranissimo Ukuleles: This is also known as a “pocket uke”, measuring 16 inches (41 cm) in length. With shorter strings, the range of this ukulele will also be the highest.

• Soprano Ukuleles: This is the size that people usually associate when mentioning the ukulele--so much so that it’s also known as a “standard” ukulele. They are 21 inches (53 cm) in size--which doesn’t allow a lot of range to move your fingers, but they will be adequate for playing chords. They’re popular because they’re easy to hold and are light. The Everjoys Soprano Ukulele comes with different colored strings and a tuner.

Everjoys Soprano Ukulele

• Concert Ukuleles: This is also called an “alto ukulele”. It has a longer and wider neck, and thus more frets and room to maneuver. They are 23 inches long (58 cm) and are suitable for playing chords as well as individual notes. A concert ukulele will remain in tune longer--smaller ukuleles will tend to get out of tune as you move your fingers around on the frets.

• Tenor Ukuleles: This is 26 inches long (66 cm),  and offers a deeper and louder sound. There are at least two ways in which tenor ukuleles are strung. In one type, the 4 strings are in ascending order (G3 C4 E4 A4--called “Low G”). But there is also an option in which the highest-pitch string is not to the far right but to the far left (G4 C4 E4 A4--called “High G”). This produces a very different effect when strumming. Because of the larger size, they are recommended for correspondingly larger people with bigger hands. Here is the Kmise Tenor Ukulele, with a gig bag for easy transport and other accessories.

Kmise Tenor Ukulele

• Baritone Ukuleles: This is the same length as a tenor guitar, at 29 inches (74 cm)--but it has 4 strings, as opposed to a guitar’s six strings. (The 4 strings are actually the same as the first four strings of a guitar.) It has a distinctly bass tone--one thing that you should be aware of is that, if you want to learn to play the ukulele yourself, you might have to search a bit before finding a book for a baritone ukulele (most books are written for concert and soprano ukuleles).

We can also distinguish between three predominant shapes of ukuleles:

• Figure-8 Ukuleles: These have the same shape as an acoustic guitar. Just as the ukulele evolved from guitar-like instruments, the first ukuleles also had a guitar-like shape. It’s theorized that the curved shape was to make it easier to hold the guitar, by resting it on your knee--and that was transferred over to the much smaller and lighter ukulele as well.

• Pineapple ukuleles: These have an oval shape and a rounded back, a design developed by Samuel Kamaka in 1928. It has a louder, mellower sound than the guitar-shaped ukulele.

Diamond Head DU-200P Deluxe Natural Mahogany Pineapple Soprano Ukulele

• Boat Paddle Ukuleles: This is another innovation in ukulele design, with a rich tone, such as the Marmite Ukulele.

Marmite Boat Paddle Ukulele

• Special ukuleles: You’ll also see hybrid ukuleles, such as a cross between a guitar and ukulele (“guitalele”, with the size of a ukulele, but using six strings like a guitar) and a banjo and ukulele (“banjolele”, with the neck of a ukulele, but the membrane of a banjo). There are also acoustic-electric ukuleles, which employ an amplifier much like an electric guitar--but they will be much more expensive, such as Kamaka models which can go for as much as $1000!

• Larger hands demand a larger ukulele: People with larger hands are advised to buy a larger ukulele. A soprano ukulele might not be so good for most men since the placement of the hands and the arms will be a little tight. Tenor ukes will be a better choice.

• Price: Solid wood ukuleles from spruce will start at around $170. Different wood combinations will increase the price accordingly, such as employing cedar and acacia wood. Those can go up to $300.

• Best ukuleles for beginners: There are ukuleles that are expressly for beginners. An example is the Kmise Hawaiian Mahogany Ukulele. It costs under $100 and uses carbon-nylon strings. The gears are made from copper, which allows for much greater accuracy when tuning than ukuleles that use brass-plated zinc alloy.

• Materials: Ukuleles can be made of solid wood, laminate (pressed plywood), a combination of solid wood and laminate (where just the top is made of solid wood), and plastic.

  • Solid wood: A professional grade ukulele will have its top, sides, and back made from solid wood. They will have the best tone quality, as well as being the most durable. Solid wood will be more expensive, however. Woods that are used for ukuleles will include mahogany, koa, spruce, and even cedar. Mahogany is a harder wood, and is the most popular, producing softer sounds.  Spruce is considered good over a wide range of frequencies. Koa is a wood native to Hawaii and it lends the ukulele a sort of authentic, Hawaiian sound.

  • Laminate: Beginner and intermediate models will be made from laminate--wood layers that are glued together. They will be less expensive, but will not sound as rich as solid wood ukuleles.

  • Plastic: Plastic ukuleles are the least expensive, but they have noticeable disadvantages. For example, they typically don’t hold their tune for very long. That’s practically a dead-giveaway that it’s more a toy than a real musical instrument.

• Beware of spining: If you buy a used ukulele, look out for poorly-ukuleles that experience  “spining”. This is where the frets start to jut out from the neck of the ukulele. It might get so bad that it will hurt your hand when you slide your hand along the neck when doing fingerings.

• Accessories: Some ukuleles come as a kit, where you can also get an electronic tuner, as well as picks and spare ukulele strings. A gig bag is also a nice idea, to allow you to carry your ukulele around without scratching or damaging it.

• Kamaka has gained a reputation of being the Rolls Royce of ukuleles. They were established in 1916 by Samuel Kamaka, and employed master craftsmen over the years in making their product.

• Kala Brand Music Company, founded in 2005, is a maker of ukuleles, electric and acoustic guitars and bass guitars, and string instrument accessories. They make ukuleles from a wide range of materials and exotic woods, to achieve a different tonal quality. The company is located in Petaluma, California.

• Kmise is based in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China. They make ukuleles, banjos, guitars and guitar accessories, and ukulele hybrids (banjolele, guitalele, and more).

• Everjoys, located in Yi Wu City, China, is a maker of musical instruments such as ukuleles, guitars, recorders, harmonicas, and more. They sell a soprano ukulele beginner pack that includes a digital tuner, songbook, color-coded strings, and more.