In short
- Cheap is fine, toy-grade is not. A new entry-level electric rifle from a known brand lasts a first season. The clear plastic BB gun below it is not built for a game.
- The same money buys more gun used. Players sell mid-range rifles when they upgrade, often with magazines and a battery. You give up the warranty and the right to return.
- Cheap guns save where you cannot see. In the moving parts, the wiring and the plastic.
- The gun is only part of the bill. A battery, a charger, magazines, BBs (the 6 mm plastic balls) and eye protection come on top.
- A low price changes nothing in law. Nobody under 18 may buy any airsoft gun, and a realistic one is only sold where the seller can show you skirmish.
What cheap means: three price points
Search for cheap airsoft guns and you get everything from a spring pistol for pocket money to a complete electric rifle. To compare fairly this guide uses three budget levels, named in words and not in pounds: prices move, and the live blocks further down show today's.
Three levels of cheap
Pocket money
Spring guns and toy-grade electrics, mostly in bright colours: what a search for BB gun UK usually turns up.
Entry level
The cheapest electric rifle from an established airsoft brand. An electric rifle, AEG for short, fires with a battery and a motor. The real starting point for skirmishing.
Just under mid-range
The top of the budget range new, or a proper mid-range rifle second-hand.
What you get new at each price
At pocket-money level an airsoft BB gun is a spring gun, cocked by hand for every shot, or a small electric one with a clear or brightly coloured body. Two tone airsoft guns, with a bright colour as their main colour, rule this level because any adult can buy one without being a registered player. For cans in the garden they are fine. In a game every hire gun out-shoots them.
One step up is where skirmishing starts: the basic electric rifles of brands such as Specna Arms and CYMA. They share their layout, and many spare parts, with dearer guns.
New, per budget level
| Pocket money | Entry level | Just under mid-range | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical gun | Spring pistol or rifle, toy-grade electric | Basic electric rifle from a known brand | Electric rifle with better electronics |
| Body | Thin or clear plastic | Reinforced plastic | Reinforced plastic or metal |
| Inside | A plastic mechanism, not made to be repaired | A standard gearbox that takes common spare parts | The same, often with an electronic trigger |
| Good for | Garden targets | A first season of skirmishing | Several seasons |
Rifles in the webshop
Shown here: rifles within the limits for Great Britain. In Northern Ireland and Ireland the line is 1 joule.
In stock, ships right away
Airsoft Gun AR15 KeyMod 10" Charlie Eagle Tan
In stock, ships right away
Airsoft AEG URG-1 Sopmod Block 3
In stock, ships right away
Airsoft Rifle GBB CQB-R Block 1
In stock, ships right away
HECKLER & KOCH (Umarex) AEG Rifle G36C Sportsline EyetraceWhere cheap guns fail
A cheap gun rarely fails on the first day. It fails later, because the parts you cannot see were built to the price. Knowing where helps you judge a new bargain and a used one alike.
Where the savings are
-
Gearbox. Softer gears, and plain bushings where dearer guns have bearings. Fine at standard power, short-lived once someone fits a stronger spring.
-
Electrics. Thin wires and simple trigger contacts that burn in time, without a MOSFET, the electronic switch that protects them.
-
Plastics. A body that flexes, a stock that wobbles and a plastic hop-up unit, the part that puts backspin on the BB. Range and accuracy suffer first.
-
The extras in the box. A small battery, a slow charger and one rattling magazine. Count on replacing them.
A cheap gun is not a bad gun. A cheap gun that someone has tried to make powerful usually is.
The same money second-hand
Used airsoft guns change the sum. Players sell good rifles when they upgrade or stop, and the price has already dropped. For entry-level money you can often find a rifle one class up among the used AEGs, regularly with spare magazines or a battery thrown in.
What you give up is the safety net of a shop: no warranty, no return period, and nobody has checked the inside. Most sellers on our marketplace are in the Netherlands and Belgium. If you want to collect and test in person, start with the second hand airsoft guns in the UK.
Electric rifles today: new in the webshop, used on the marketplace
Our own figures, counted afresh every hour.
- listings in AEG on the marketplace
- more than 800
- middle asking price: half ask less, half ask more
- €280
- eight out of ten asking prices fall in this range
- €125 – €600
- products in stock in Rifles in the webshop
- 37
- lowest price of what is in stock in Rifles
- €147
- brands in stock in Rifles
- 4
Airsoft Bazaar data Measured on 13 November 2026
Cheap new against used mid-range
- Cheap new
- Used mid-range
-
Body and finish
- Cheap new
- 2 out of 5
- Used mid-range
- 4 out of 5
-
Internals
- Cheap new
- 2 out of 5
- Used mid-range
- 4 out of 5
if the gun has been looked after
-
Warranty and right of return
- Cheap new
- 5 out of 5
- Used mid-range
- 1 out of 5
a private seller gives neither
-
Low risk of hidden faults
- Cheap new
- 4 out of 5
- Used mid-range
- 2 out of 5
-
Value when you sell it on
- Cheap new
- 2 out of 5
- Used mid-range
- 4 out of 5
Buying used without the gamble
-
Read the seller as well as the listing
Look at the reviews on the profile, the other listings and the reason for selling.
-
Ask for a video and a chrono reading
A chrono reading is the measured speed of the BB. It matters in law too: in Great Britain a gun that can fire automatically stays an airsoft gun only if it cannot exceed 1.3 joules, so "upgraded" is not automatically good news.
-
Pay with buyer protection
With buyer protection your money is held by our payment partner until you confirm the gun has arrived. The buyer pays a percentage and a small service fee for it; the seller pays nothing.
-
Test it the day it arrives
Fire it and check the hop-up. Something wrong? Start a dispute before the money is released, which happens by itself ten working days after payment.
Used electric rifles on the marketplace
Sold by other players; a realistic one needs your UKARA number here too.
Boneyard and spares-or-repair guns
Several British shops have a corner they call the boneyard: returned, faulty or incomplete guns sold cheaply as they are. An airsoft boneyard is tempting on a small budget. Conditions differ per shop, so read them before you order.
The second-hand version is the listing marked as broken, or for spares or repair. The same goes for both: good for tinkerers and for parts, not for the gun you want to play with next Sunday.
A spares-or-repair gun
Why people buy one
- The lowest price for a gun from a real airsoft brand.
- A good way to learn how a gearbox works.
- A donor of parts for a gun you already own.
Why it is a gamble
- You only know the real fault once it is open on the bench.
- Parts and a technician's time can pass the price of a working used gun.
- Usually no warranty and no return.
The price of the gun is not the price of playing. An electric rifle needs a battery and a charger, one magazine is never enough, and no site lets you in without eye protection. A used gun that comes with magazines and a battery can be cheaper than a new one that costs less.
What comes on top of the gun, at today's prices
Read from our webshop as you open this page.
| Item | From | Usually around |
|---|---|---|
| Eye protection buy this new, and never save on it | €7 | €28 |
| Spare magazines | €1 | €40 |
| BBs | €4 | €19 |
| A bag for the journey | €13 | €121 |
| On top of the gun | €25 | €208 |
Our verdict per budget
New, used or both
What is your limit?
As little as possible
Hire first, then buy used
New, this money buys a toy. Hire a gun at your site for a few games, then look for a used entry-level rifle that comes with a battery and magazines.
Used AEGsA middle amount
New entry level, or used one class up
Want a warranty and a return period? Buy a new entry-level rifle from a known brand. Happy to check a gun and its seller? Used gets you more.
Rifles in the webshopEnough for a mid-range gun
Buy new, or buy used and spend the rest on kit
At this level new is a sound buy for years. A good used rifle leaves money for a better battery, magazines and eye protection.
Used airsoft gunsWhatever the budget: eye protection is bought new.
Frequently asked questions
Are cheap airsoft guns any good?
The entry-level electric rifles of established brands are: they shoot well enough for a first season and take standard parts. The toy-grade spring and electric guns below them are not made for games. The line runs between a real gearbox and a toy mechanism, not at a particular price.
What can I get for under 100 pounds?
New, a budget like that mostly means spring guns and the most basic electric ones, and from our webshop shipping and import charges come on top. Second-hand it can stretch to a used entry-level electric rifle, sometimes with a battery and magazines. Today's prices are in the live blocks on this page; trust those over a figure in an article.
Is a used mid-range gun better than a cheap new one?
As a gun, usually yes: a better body, better parts inside, and it holds its value. As a purchase it carries more risk, because a private seller gives no warranty and no return. A video, a chrono reading and buyer protection take most of that risk away.
Where do cheap guns usually fail?
Inside. Soft gears and plain bushings in the gearbox wear, thin wiring and trigger contacts burn, and plastic bodies and hop-up units flex. The battery, the charger and the magazine in the box are usually the first things you replace.
Is a boneyard gun a bargain?
Only if you can repair it yourself. A boneyard or spares-or-repair gun is sold as it is, usually without warranty or return, and you only learn the real fault once it is open. For a first gun a working used rifle is the safer buy.
What is the cheapest way to start skirmishing?
Hire a gun at your site for the first few games. Played at the same registered site, those games also count towards UKARA, the player registration British shops check before they sell a realistic gun, and you find out what you like before you spend. Then buy a used electric rifle with a battery and magazines, and new eye protection.
Sources
- Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, section 36 legislation.gov.uk, 12 November 2026
- Firearms Act 1968, sections 19, 24A and 57A legislation.gov.uk, 12 November 2026
- Player registration UKARA, 12 November 2026
- CORE line Specna Arms, 12 November 2026
- Payment requests with buyer protection; exchanges and returns; warranty and defects Airsoft Bazaar help centre
