Best Mandolins of 2025

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Mandolins are stringed musical instruments that belong to the lute family. They are known for their distinctive sound and are often used in folk, bluegrass, and classical music. Mandolins come in various shapes and sizes, with the most common being the bowl-backed mandolin and the flat-backed mandolin. They are typically made of wood and have four pairs of strings that are tuned in unison. Mandolins are versatile instruments that can be played solo or as part of an ensemble, making them a great addition to any musician's collection.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks
Top 10 Mandolins
GEWA Mandolin F-2 Premium Sunburst with Case
The GEWA Mandolin F-2 offers a solid spruce top, which enhances the instrument's resonance and projection, making it perfect for rich sound quality. Its flamed maple back and sides not only provide durability but also contribute to a visually stunning appearance. The fingerboard and bridge are made of Purpleheart, ensuring excellent playability and comfort while you perform. With 24 nickel silver frets and snowflake inlays, you will find it easy to navigate the fingerboard, allowing for precise playing and effortless transitions between notes.
Stagg M50E Electro-acoustic Bluegrass Mandolin
The Stagg M50E Mandolin features a nato top, back, and sides, ensuring a warm, resonant sound ideal for bluegrass music. The rosewood fingerboard offers a smooth playing experience, enhancing your comfort as you play. With an adjustable black-stained maple bridge, you can easily fine-tune your instrument for optimal sound quality. The engraved nickel tailpiece not only adds a touch of elegance but also secures the strings effectively, ensuring durability and reliability during performances.
Ibanez M510E-DVS Mandolin with Pick-ups
The Ibanez M510E Mandolin offers exceptional playability and sound quality. Its Okoume neck ensures greater comfort during long playing sessions, allowing you to enjoy your music without strain. The beautiful Purpleheart fretboard enhances the mandolin's rich tonal character, making each note resonate with clarity. Spruce is used for the top, providing pristine tonal clarity that is essential for acoustic performances. Additionally, the Sapele back and sides contribute a warm mid-range and bright tone, enriching your overall sound experience.
Vangoa Mahogany Acoustic Electric Mandolin
The Vangoa Mandolin offers an outstanding tone with its AAA mahogany body, providing excellent high-end response and warm, sweet sounds. You can play it acoustically or connect it to an amplifier, making it versatile for both indoor use and small performances. The small size and simple design make it easy for beginners to start playing, while experienced players can quickly pick up their favourite songs. Additionally, the thoughtful design features an anti-rust ABS bridge top, ensuring durability and well-maintained intonation for better sound quality.
Traditional Redburst Mandolin by Chord
The Chord Traditional Mandolin features a classic teardrop-style design that is both elegant and comfortable to hold. Its striking redburst gloss finish not only enhances its visual appeal but also protects the wood, ensuring durability. With fantastic quality and build, this mandolin offers excellent sound projection, making it a great choice for both beginners and experienced players. You will appreciate its craftsmanship, which allows for smooth playability and a rich tone, perfect for various music styles.
Chord Electro-Acoustic Mandolin with Tobacco Sunburst Finish
The Chord Electro-Acoustic Mandolin features a stunning Tobacco Sunburst gloss finish that not only enhances its aesthetic appeal but also makes it a standout instrument. With a single coil pickup, you can easily amplify your sound, ensuring your music reaches a wider audience. Individual volume and tone controls allow you to personalise your sound, giving you the freedom to experiment and create the perfect tone for your style. This mandolin is perfect for those looking to blend traditional craftsmanship with modern convenience.
KNA MP-2 Portable Piezo Mandolin Pickup
The KNA MP-2 Pickup offers a remarkable way to amplify your mandolin's natural sound without the hassle of batteries. With its convenient volume output control knob located on the output jack housing, adjusting your sound becomes effortless. The lightweight, wood-encased sensor installs easily in the bridge opening, ensuring no modifications to your instrument. Additionally, the solid ebony, cork-lined Carpenter jack holds securely in place, providing peace of mind during performances while allowing for detachment when not in use.
GEWA Pro Arte Antique Flat Mandola
The GEWA Mandola Pro Arte features a flat, antique-model design with a Portuguese shape, making it visually appealing and comfortable to hold. Its all-solid construction, including a solid spruce top and solid maple back and sides, provides excellent sound quality that enhances your playing experience. The maple neck and black hardwood fingerboard, with 19 frets, offer smooth playability, allowing you to navigate the instrument easily. The slotted headstock with Van Gent machine heads ensures precise tuning, so you can enjoy consistent performance during your sessions.
Vangoa A Style Acoustic Electric Mandolin
The Vangoa A Style Mandolin is a beautifully crafted instrument featuring an 8-string design in a glossy red sunburst finish, making it suitable for a variety of music styles. You can enjoy a warm and bright sound thanks to its mahogany body and solid wood bridge. This electric acoustic mandolin is perfect for both intimate acoustic sessions and amplified performances, with a built-in pickup for seamless sound. Tuning is effortless with the chrome plated closed gear tuners and a convenient clip-on tuner, ensuring you stay in tune with ease.
Kentucky KM-656 F-model Mandolin - Transparent Brown
The Kentucky KM-656 Mandolin boasts a solid German spruce carved top, providing you with clean articulation and a bright, crisp tone that enhances your playing experience. Its solid Alpine maple back and sides add extra punch, making every note resonate beautifully. The high-gloss transparent brown finish not only offers traditional beauty but also adds a touch of elegance to the instrument. Additionally, the choice Santos Rosewood fingerboard ensures silky smooth playability, allowing you to glide effortlessly across the frets.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are the best mandolins to buy?
Up Front Best Mandolins. Kentucky KM-150 A-style Mandolin: Best Overall.Rogue RM-100A A-style Mandolin: Best Budget Friendly.Ibanez M510 A-style Mandolin: Best Quality.Ibanez M522 F-style Mandolin: Best Volume and Tone.Rogue RM-100F F-style Mandolin: Most Attractive.
2. What does a decent mandolin cost?
Most of the players may need to reduce the price range more due to their budget. There is nothing to worry about great quality mandolins can be found at almost every budget level. We expect you to pay a minimum of $300 for a decent mandolin. However, this doesn't mean that each $300 instrument is good in quality.
3. Is mandolin hard to learn?
Fortunately, the mandolin is not a difficult instrument to learn. It's lightweight and compact so you can practice anywhere. It also has less strings than many other instruments, like the guitar, which makes reading tablature much easier.
4. Is mandolin harder than guitar?
When comparing the guitar to the mandolin, the guitar is much more difficult to learn than the mandolin because it has more strings.
During our mandolin research, we found 92 mandolin products and shortlisted 10 quality products. We collected and analyzed 8,356 customer reviews through our big data system to write the mandolins list. We found that most customers choose mandolins with an average price of £193.08.
The mandolins are available for purchase. We have researched hundreds of brands and picked the top brands of mandolins, including Gewa, Stagg, Ibanez, vangoa, Chord.

Hayden was born in Liverpool, and he never left his hometown until university. In his freshman year at the University of Manchester, Hayden was the group leader of a popular music group. Hayden is responsible for the popularity of his music, and this is because of his natural ability to play with keys and strings. He graduated with BFA in 2016 and returned in 2018 as a lecturing staff in the School of Music.