When you’re trying to stick to a low budget, it can be very difficult to fair a pair of quality boots. If you have particular tastes, it can be even more challenging. However, we’ve done the work so that you don’t have to.
In this guide, you will discover the best Best Men’s Boots Under $100 that you can buy online:
- Chukka Boot: Timberland Earthkeepers Brook Park
- Chukka Boot: Nunn Bush Savage Plain Toe
- Chelsea Boot: Giorgio Brutini Aaron
- Monkstrap Boot: Stacy Adams Kason
- Work Boots: Caterpillar Thresholdc
- Tactical Boots: Magnum Response III
If you see something that you like, use the links above to jump ahead. At the end of this guide, we’ll also explore what to expect from this price point.
What Are The Best Boots For Men Under $100?
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- Style: Chukka Boot
- Formality: Business Casual
- Pricing: $90 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
Offering some of the best quality that we’ve seen at this price point, the affordable Earthkeeper chukkas from Timberland are made from full-grain leather. They also feature Timberland’s anti-fatigue comfort technology and ecological Green Rubber outsole.
How To Wear
Quite dressy for chukkas, especially at this price point, these are great casual or business casual boots. We think they’d look their best with either jeans or chinos and a buttoned-down shirt.
Best Colors
Unfortunately, these are only available in black. It’s a shame as a brown pair wouldn’t go amiss. Nevertheless, they look pretty good in black and are probably the best run for your money under $100.
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- Style: Chukka Boot
- Formality: Business Casual
- Pricing: $95 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
Featuring leather uppers with a stylishly burnished finish, these brogue-style chukkas are an excellent alternative to the classic style above. With contrast stitching in the sole and an elegant leather finish, these are very stylish indeed.
How To Wear
Thanks to their more refined finish, these are dressier than the chukkas above. These are best suited to business casual wear but would look fine in more laid-back business professional environments too.
Best Colors
Unlike the chukkas above, there are a number of colours options available. You can choose between black, tan or brown. We have a preference for the brown boots thanks to their burnished finish.
- Style: Chelsea Boot
- Formality: Business Casual
- Pricing: $75 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
A great alternative to the Chukka is the Chelsea boot. Popularised by the Beatles during the 1960s, they’ve grown to become a very versatile boot that can be worn both formally and informally.
How To Wear
As mentioned above, these are ideal for versatile wear. Whether you’re pairing them with a business professional suit or a pair of jeans, they add a stylish flair to the overall ensemble.
Best Colors
Although they’re only made in black, this is absolutely fine as brown would risk being too casual. The advantage of black boots is that they can seamlessly be worn formally if needed.
- Style: Double Monkstrap
- Formality: Business Casual
- Pricing: $75 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
An unusual fusion of several shoe styles, the Kason features a double monkstrap buckle on a Chukka boot frame. Furthermore, they include a balmoral cap toe and broguing details for a truly eclectic boot.
How To Wear
These are boots which have a formality that is largely dependant on the colour. The lighter leathers will render them quite casual while black makes them ideal for business professional or even cocktail occasions.
Best Colors
As mentioned above, the colours will change the formality of these boots. Therefore, choose according to your needs. We prefer the mid-brown leather but it’s ultimately up to you.
Overview
If you’re looking for work boots under $100, then these are probably going to give you the best value for money. Owned by Wolverine, Caterpillar is well-known for providing affordable safety footwear.
Key Features
As well as full ASTM-approved safety standards thanks to the steel toe, these feature a cushioned footbed with ERGO comfort technology. The durable rubber outsole is also oil and slip resistance.
Best Colors
You can either go for a stealthy black with a yellow caterpillar logo or brown with black accents. We tend to prefer work boots in brown yet the black pair do have their own appeal.
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- Type: Tactical Boots
- ASTM: F2413-11
- Pricing: $105 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
As for as tactical boots go, there are also some excellent affordable options. Whether you’re in the reserves, a military cadet or just need a cheap pair of tactical boots, you can rely on Magnum. Furthermore, these are a great step up from the previous Response II boots.
Key Features
Featuring a safety toe and the necessary ASTM standards, these offer the necessary protection for the field. Thanks to a side-zip, they’re easy to slip on and off when necessary. There’s also a fibreglass shank for added support and stability while the carbon rubber outsole offers solid traction.
Best Colors
As these are tactical boots, they’ll only available in black as is standard.
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What To Expect From Budget Boots
It can sometimes be difficult to put aside a larger budget for footwear. After all, shoes and boots aren’t cheap so it’s perfectly reasonable to want to save money when you can.
Not all of us can afford premium $300 boots so we’re obliged to look at lower budgets. However, those familiar with Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels are quite familiar with Samuel Vines’ Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness.
In Discworld’s Men At Arms, Vimes muses on how a poorer man can afford $10 on boots that last a year before falling to pieces. Meanwhile, a rich man can spend $50 for boots that last 10 years.
In the end, the poor man will spend twice as much in the long term. Yet he will still have wet feet.
Unfortunately, this isn’t far from reality and it’s a thought worth holding for near the conclusion of this guide.
Before then, let’s take a look at what you can expect from dress boots under $100.
Leather Uppers
When looking for boots under $100, you may struggle to find quality leather uppers. At worst, you’ll come across some foreboding terms like “man-made”, which suggests that they’re synthetic.
Synthetic materials tend not to last very long and will crack very easily. Furthermore, they don’t breathe and you’ll easily find yourself with sweaty feet that can cause sores and blisters.
However, there are some boots that are made with leather. Nevertheless, be weary of terms like “genuine leather”. Although it sounds promising, genuine leather basically means that it’s leather rather than synthetic. In fact, it’s the lowest grade of leather that you can get.
Therefore, it tends to be of poor quality. Not only may its appearance feature visible veins and blemishes, but it will wear quickly and can even crack.
Nevertheless, you can sometimes find some decent leathers that will last a few likes like in the boots we’ve listed above.
Unfortunately, premium leather is otherwise quite hard to find and tends to require a slightly higher budget of just above $100. Therefore, consider checking out our guide to the best boots under $200, you may be surprised by what you find.
Cemented Soles
When buying boots under $100, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll come across Blake Stitch or Goodyear welt constructions.
These construction methods offer the best quality and longest durability. However, they’re quite labour-extensive and costly for the manufacturer.
Therefore, the chances are quite high that boots under $100 will be constructed using a cemented method. This involves the use of an adhesive paste, which holds the uppers and soles together.
While it’s certainly cheap, it tends not to last more than a few years. Eventually, the soles will come apart, which can’t be repaired.
Furthermore, the shoes can be recrafted with new soles as the construction method isn’t made with this in mind.
As such, you’ll have to buy a new pair. Meanwhile, spending slightly more will give you access to better construction methods that do give you the ability to recraft.
This will give you considerably more mileage and, consequently, better value for money.
Rubber Soles
Although the sole material is largely a question of personal preference, you won’t get much choice under $100.
While some people prefer leather soles for their appearance, others like rubber as it’s more durable and gives the wearer more traction.
Alternatively, you can have soles that use a variety of different materials with stacked leather heels and rubber inserts for traction.
Unfortunately, you’re unlikely to find these in a budget under $100. Of course, some rubber soles are fine and it doesn’t make much of a difference with a cemented construction.
However, if you do up your budget very slightly to $200, you’ll be able to access a much wider variety of sole materials.
Are Sub $100 Boots Worth It?
Although it is indeed tempting to grab a pair of boots at a low price, you might be better holding off until you have a little extra in your pocket. By spending just a little more, you’ll have boots that will not only look better but will last exponentially longer.
For instance, our guide to boots under $200 features a Chukka boot for only $160 that comes with leather soles and a Blake welt construction. They’re also made from a fine leather that will age well if properly maintained.
While the chukka boots here are very good for their price point, they’ll never be as good as the chukkas linked above.
Indeed, the price is higher but since they’ll last longer, you’ll actually be saving money. After all, you’ll have more time to enjoy them before they need replacing.
Of course, this isn’t always possible, which is why we worked hard to find good quality boots despite the low budget. Not all of us can save more for better boots and sometimes we have to make do with what we have.
Even if you have to stick to you sub-$100 budget, we’re sure that you’ll be happy with one of the above purchases.
What Next?
Now that you have discovered the best men’s boots under $100, consider seeing some of our related guides below:
- Best Men’s Boots Under $300
- Best Men’s Boots Under $200
- Top Work Boots For Men
- Best Dress Boots For Men
- Most Comfortable Men’s Shoes
"Very helpful, thanks! Was on a tight budget and worried about getting bad boots. Thanks for this guide."Rating: 5.0 ★★★★★
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