Best budget e-scooters of 2024 to supercharge your scooting

Best for: Sheer style, smooth ride

For reasons both practical and obvious, all e-scooters look alike. Two wheels, a deck, a steering column and handlebars – everything that's essential and nothing that isn't. However, the latest model to roll off Yadea's considerable production line, the Artist, has a certain style all of its own that helps it stand out from the rest of the e-scooter swarm. It's slim, slick, sexy and futuristic and yet... there's also an absolutely undeniable feel of the Sinclair C5 about it (the C5 being the pedal-assisted electric tricycle car created by British inventor Clive Sinclair back in 1985 with the intention of spearheading a revolution in personal transport).

But where the C5 ultimately failed, the Artist's place on the winners' e-podium seems assured. Straight out of the box, easy to assemble with just a power connection to be made between the steering column and the handlebars, followed by a handful of screws used to secure the two, the Artist charges to full in 4.5 to 5.5-hours, which then gives it enough juice to cover a maximum range of 18.6-miles, while carrying a load of up to 110kg.

A decidedly comfortable ride, too, the Artist features nicely sized 9-inch anti-skidding tubeless tyres, front and rear dual suspension shock absorbers and a pleasingly padded deck, the combination ensuring the worst of the bumps and vibrations don't hit your knees and back. Meanwhile a front drum brake and rear electric brake work in tandem to allow for quick but controlled braking, so that you don't end up being hurled through the air on your way to toothchipper land every time you stop.

Featuring a powerful 600W (peak) motor and three-speed modes, you can cruise at a relaxing 3.7mph, up the ante to 9.3mph if you're in more of a hurry, or open her up and top-out at 15.5mph, all of which can be accessed and set via Bluetooth on the Yadea smartphone app. Speaking of which, very intuitive to use, you can also lock and unlock the Artist via said app and set some personal preferences.

As the UK is a wildly unpredictable place when it comes to atmospheric conditions, the IPX5-rated Artist shrugs off damp weather, so you can even pootle about in heavy rain, all the while keeping an eye on speed and battery level on the handy handlebar-centred multifunction LED display.

With LED lights front and rear so that you can 'be safe, be seen', as the Road Safety slogan goes, and blinking indicators on the handle ends so other road users know where you're heading next, the Yadea Artist may be the heaviest of the e-scooters I've looked at here, and at 18.6kg, yes, it's got some substance to it, but then it is utterly tricked-out with everything possible to give the safest, smoothest, most stylish e-scooter experience available. And that's exactly what it does, so get building those biceps... even if 'leg days' are now a thing of the past completely.

Best for: Compact folding and carrying

Conventional e-scooters not foldy enough for you? Find a bifold still too cumbersome for the spaces you occupy? Looking to liven up your e-ride life with a bit of three-way action? Well, you saucy minx, have Riley got something for you: RS3.

Yes, giving 'living the life of Riley' a whole new spin, the RS3 is not only exceptionally light for an adult e-scoot, at 14kg, it also features a nifty fiddly diddly (technical term) trifold system that allows the RS3 to collapse, origami-ing down to just 47.4 x 27.2 x 64.9cm to be easily carried onto a train, stashed away in the boot of a car, or stored under a café table without attracting the ire of other commuters, leaving no space for other auto accessories, or tripping fellow coffee-loving patrons as they pass and causing them to distribute their overpriced Venti Caramel Frappuccino all over the place.

With a peak power of 350W, the RS3 is – as with all – restricted to a top rate of 15.5mph. But it can comfortably convey riders up to 120kg, and the 5.0Ah battery gives a maximum range of 15 miles. The 8.5-inch puncture-resistant tyres keep you forging forward regardless of any broken glass, nails, or any other stupidly sharp stuff you accidentally e-scoot over.

It features three drive modes of Eco, Comfort and Performance - depending on how hard you want to ride, front eABS brakes and a disk brake and foot brake to the rear to bring you to a steady stop. What's more, while fully charged in just two hours, the Riley RS3 also has a particularly special skill up its e-sleeve, namely a removable battery, so if you have a charged backup to hand in a backpack, you can double your range.

Offering a comfortable ride, thanks to those nicely squishy pneumatic air tyres, a handlebar-central LED display keeps you in the loop as to speed and power, while the companion app allows for locking/unlocking and ride tracking.

With LED lights front and back and reflectors on the wheel forks to keep you safely in sight, the Riley RS3 is a lot of compact, convenient e-scooter for the money. So, if lightweight fun, flexibility and the ability to go further tick all your e-scooter boxes, you can stop reading now, your chariot awaits.

Best for: Hardcore hill tackling

Probably the most common brand seen e-scooting along the streets, other than those rental ones, of course, Pure was formed in 2018 to combat the chaos caused by overcrowded roads and the accompanying pollution that overcrowding of cars causes. A British company with a decent range of models on offer, sticking with the more 'budget' end, I've picked the Pure Electric Pure Air3 as it's light, loaded with features and, thanks to a combination of a powerful motor and large, puncture-resistant 10-inch tyres with excellent tread, the perfect Pure for those who have to deal with an excess amount of hills. In fact, good to go on hillocks with gradients of up to 14 per cent, the Pure Air3 powers through where others may simply grind to an unceremonious e-halt.

With a huge 550W (peak) motor, limited to a legal 15.5mph, the Air3 comes packing a 7.2Ah battery which makes it good to go for up to 19 miles, while the wide deck and those aforementioned chunky 10-inch make it a regal ride too, taking the uneven streets of 21st century Britain in its comfortable e-stride.

With zippy acceleration, pulling away into traffic is not a problem, while LED indicators on the ends of the handlebars and LED lights front and rear help you see clearly under the cloak of night and also lets other (private) road-users see where you are and where you're going next.

Fully rain- and puddle-proof, as with most other models, there are three-speed modes; Pedestrian, Normal and High to keep you motoring at a pace suitable to you, while the use of drum brakes makes coming to a stop a far smoother experience. Add to this a unique steering stabilisation system that automatically returns said steering to the central position and the ride becomes almost effortless.

Finally, with an LED display front and centre showing speed and power reserve, plus a Pure app for lock/unlocking, setting cruise control and reviewing speed, range and mileage, the Air3 is the complete performance package.

Best for: Teenage tearabouts

One for the kids now, from the people who brought you those self-balancing, lean-directed two-wheeled whatnots way back in 2002, Segway, the Ninebot KickScooter C2 B comes with a recommended age range of 6-12 and is suitable scaled and specced as such. With a maximum load weight of 50kg, the 130W motor (peak) delivers a child-friendly top speed of 10mph, while the 2.5Ah battery gives a range of around 6.5-miles, so you'll not have to chase your overly exuberant offspring too far when they whizz off into the distance.

A fun little thing designed to suit nippers from around 3ft to 5ft, the KickScooter C2 B keeps it kiddie, so while there are no head- or tail-lights there is adjustable, 256-colour ambient lighting available underneath the deck to let your little one tailor the look to their liking.

Running on 7-inch hollow-out tyres, the C2 B features three speed modes, Standard, Sport and Power Assisting, so your precious little un can pootle along or go full pelt, depending on what you deem they can handle. And if they find they can't, then a small grip brake lever keeps stopping within reach of tiny hands and drum brakes make the stopping smooth.

Rated IPX4 for light showers and shallow puddles, the kiddie KickScooter is, in essence, a toy but still falls under the same rules as big kid e-scooters, so riding in public places is prohibited, but for gliding around the garden and, perhaps, less occupied areas of the public park (nark-free), it's probably the most fun a tween can have away from a screen.

Best for: Access all areas

At first glance, you may think that the Pure Advance cast pretty much the same shadow as any other e-scoot. But look again. See it now? Yes, the Pure Advance has taken the idea of the e-scooter and added a twist... or rather removed a twist. For, featuring twin decks on either side of the chassis, the Advance can be ridden facing forward, with your feet firmly planted in comfort as opposed to the torso-turning skateboard style of all others.

So that's any sore issues with hips and lower back sorted, but the Advance is far more than just an easy rider. With a whopping 710W (peak) motor, accelerating away and hacking up hills is a doddle, and the equally prodigious 9.6Ah battery allows for an epic 24.8-mile range, that's almost enough to get you from the top of Enfield to the tip of Croydon (as the crow flies)! Although, that does mean you'll end up stuck in Croydon with a flat battery.

Capable of carrying a maximum load of 120kg at the legal top speed of 15.5mph, the Pure Advance's 10-inch tubeless tyres add to the smoothness of the ride, absorbing the lump and bumps in the road as you roll relentlessly on, while the centralised steering system keeps turning tight.

Visibility-wise, indicators feature on both the handlebars and the footpads, so there's no excuse for other (private) road-users not knowing where you're going, and a bright, 150-lumen LED headlight illuminates the path ahead, keeping you safe from any surprise potholes that lurk in your way.

Handsome too, in an odd way, with a sleek, sweeping body, the Pure Electric Pure Advance is currently down in price from £649 to £599, putting it the exact same price bracket as the Yadea Artist.

An excellent e-scooter with plenty of power and a uniquely comfortable ride, the Pure Advance may normally be scooting above what I would generally term as "affordable" when it comes to e-scooters, but at the current cut price there's no doubt that this little beauty is well worth the extra outlay.