The 3 Best Ukuleles for Beginners of 2025

The Caramel MC12 concert-size ukulele was our former recommendation for best beginner uke for live performances and recordings because it had a built-in pickup to connect to an amplifier or USB audio interface. This affordable model looked and played like a much more expensive ukulele, and we liked it a lot. Unfortunately, it disappeared from the market shortly after we added it to the guide, and most of Caramel’s other ukes are listed as sold out on the company’s website.

The Cordoba 15CM concert uke is a previous pick. We still like it, but availability is inconsistent.

The Cordoba 15SM is the soprano version of the Cordoba 15CM. One panelist ranked it among their favorites, but no one else had particularly strong feelings about it.

The Donner DUS-1 is the soprano version of the DUC-1 concert model. It’s harder to play than some other sopranos we tested.

Our testers said that the sound of the Fender Venice and Fender Seaside soprano ukes was “shallow and pinched.”

The Flight DUC380 Topaz and Flight Elise Ecklund concert ukes we tried had major problems staying in tune.

The Flight TUS-50 Travel Series soprano sounds good and plays well, but we prefer the Enya Nova U because the TUS-50’s rounded plastic back can make it more difficult to hold.

The Harley Benton UK-10S is a no-frills budget uke with sound quality and playability comparable to that of the Kala KA-C, but at present it’s available only from German vendor Thomann and subject to fluctuating tariffs and high shipping fees. The $56 review sample we purchased ended up costing us over $100 in fees, so for the time being, we cannot recommend it.

The Ibanez UEWS5 concert model has a body cutaway that makes fingering high notes and chords easier, but most panelists thought the sound wasn’t as enjoyable as that of our picks.

We removed the Idyllwild by Monoprice Sapele Soprano Ukulele as our budget pick because it was rarely in stock, and the company switched to a lower-quality uke without changing the model number.

The Kala KA-15S Satin Mahogany and KA-20S Burled Meranti sounded a little too quiet for our taste.

In our tests, the Kala Makala Shark and Makala Dolphin sounded and played okay, but our panelists found them rather heavy and thin-sounding.

Kohala’s KPP-C concert model is a strong competitor to the Kala KA-C; for about $10 more, it comes with a gig bag and a digital tuner. However, the KA-C sounds a little clearer and stays in tune better.

The Orangewood Harper Concert Acacia is our former upgrade pick, but it goes out of stock too often for us to keep it as a pick.

We liked the look, feel, and sound of the Oscar Schmidt OU2 concert uke, but a couple of the tuning knobs buzzed because they were loose. Tightening them helped only temporarily.

The $40 RockJam RJUK-712C-N concert ukulele has a cool ergonomic body cutout, a nice sound, and many included accessories, but its fret edges feel rough.

The SoundSmith SMS/C/T concert uke sounds more harmonically rich than the Kala KA-C, and it plays great, but its tuning machines were of low quality, and it had problems staying in tune.

The Vangoa Concert ukulele looks nice for its very low price, but our sample had an intolerable buzz at the first fret.

This article was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.