21 Best Jeans Under $100 2026, According to GQ Editors

In an era that won’t be known for affordability, there are a few holdouts. For instance, there are still a ton of jeans under $100. Thankfully, the best cheap jeans for men are no longer so cheap-looking. Gone are the junky pieces that stretch and sag, or come only in stale blue. Now you can find affordable jeans with subtle rinses, exciting fits, and much better durability than you remember. To prove it, we rounded up the best cheap jeans you can buy—with a few of our favorites even coming in under $50.

Just to set the bar at the right height, the best jeans under $100 aren’t going to win you any knowing nods from hardcore denimheads (you decide if that’s a pro or a con). Across the board, the affordable jeans skip fancy details like hidden rivets, and lined rear pockets. If that’s a problem, step right up to our guide to the best jeans for men, regardless of price point. If those terms mean nothing to you, then good news: you’re in the right place.

Because for less than $100, you can still get some hallmarks of top-tier jeans: Japanese denim, selvedge denim, and raw denim are all on the table. As the demand for indigo-dyed cotton has increased, so, too, has the capacity to make great denim at scale—and the 21 pairs we’ve highlighted below are proof.

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Best Cheap Jeans Overall: Levi’s 501 Original Fit Jeans

Levi’s helped bring blue jeans into existence, and thanks to the 501’s straight-leg fit, it’s every bit as relevant today as it was when it debuted in the late 1800s. Though the starch-stiff raw shrink-to-fit jeans are great and true to the brand’s roots, they’re certainly not for everyone.

The more common pre-shrunk versions come in a myriad of washes and finishes, each with that same iconic Levi’s denim which continues to be among the highest quality for the price. Add to that the brand’s perfect straight fit jeans, the iconic 501, and you’ve got menswear gold. For more, check out our breakdown of the best Levi’s jeans by the numbers.

Best Cheap Selvedge Jeans: Uniqlo Selvedge Jeans

Asking for raw selvedge Japanese denim for under $100 is laughable. But Uniqlo takes the request seriously and has been the one consistent retailer of such ludicrous fantasies. Selvedge denim takes longer to make and is much less common then the regular stuff. Since selvedge denim is woven on looms that leave a densely-woven, non-fraying self edge (that tell-tale stripe on the outer leg seam, usually white and red, and flexed with an upturned cuff), the result is a beautiful, rarer product, the kind of denim that fade-chashing nerds drool over. Also? It’s more expensive.