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Best Budget Sim Racing Steering Wheels in 2025: Best Wheels Under £/$300
Discover the best budget-friendly sim racing steering wheels. All of these steering wheels cost under £/$300, with recommendations including wheels from Logitech, Thrustmaster, SIMAGIC, Fanatec & More.
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In 2025, the number of sim racing brands has grown, and the choice available is the largest its ever been. While this is an excellent thing for the sim racing landscape, it can make decisions on what hardware to buy even harder.
The budget sim racing hardware space is among the most crowded, as its where most sim racers start. You can find budget steering wheels from a large number of brands including big names such as Logitech, Thrustmaster, Fanatec, MOZA, SIMAGIC and more.
In this buyer’s guide, I’m going to recommend the best budget sim racing steering wheels for 2025. Every steering wheel in this guide is in stock and available, and costs less than £/$300.
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TL;DR: The best budget sim racing steering wheels
I first want to share my top 5 recommended budget sim racing steering wheels before looking at the best in more detail. I’ve included wheels from some of the most well-known sim racing brands, with options for both Xbox and PlayStation sim racers.
The best budget-friendly sim racing steering wheels under £/$300
| Steering wheel | Category | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | MOZA KS wheel | Best budget F1 wheel | EU: €249 US: $249 |
 | SIMAGIC GT Neo | Best budget GT wheel | EU: €289 US: $289 |
 | Thrustmaster Evo 32R Wheel | Best budget round wheel | EU: €269 US: $269 |
 | Fanatec McLaren GT3 V2 | Best budget Xbox wheel | EU: €219 US: $219 |
 | Logitech Pro GT D Wheel | Best budget PS5 wheel | EU: €269 US: $269 |
All of my recommendations for the best budget steering wheel sit within the £/$200-300 price range. There are cheaper wheels available, although the quality can vary as you shop under £/$200. There are also some fantastic mid-range steering wheels that are slightly more expensive than my £/$300 budget.
Some of the best mid-range steering wheels include
| Steering wheel | Description | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Fanatec Formula V2.5X | One of the best mid-range F1 steering wheels. | €/$349 |
| MOZA FSR2 | Incredible formula wheel with a large in-built display. | £/$650 |
| Fanatec Porsche 911 GT3 R | One of the best all-round steering wheels. | €/$549 |
What defines a budget sim racing steering wheel?
The term budget can be very subjective. For this buyer’s guide, I consider sim racing steering wheels under £/$300 to be within the budget category. The £/$200-300 price range is where you can start to find good steering wheels with a wide feature set.
Sim racing steering wheels can stretch into the thousands, with some special wheels topping £/$2000. Between £/$300 and £/$600 are a host of great mid-range wheels. While anything over £/$600 is in a premium and high-end price category.
What is the absolutely cheapest sim racing steering wheel?
So, lets say you’re shopping for a sim racing steering wheel, and looking for the absolute cheapest steering wheel you can buy. What are the best options?
In this extreme budget scenario, an all-in-one sim racing bundle such as the Logitech G923 or Thrustmaster T128 would offer the best value for money. These bundles provide everything you need to start racing, a racing wheel with steering wheel attached and a set of pedals. However, the steering wheels aren’t detacheable, and you cannot buy the steering wheel on its own.
If you already have a wheel base and want the cheapest steering wheel to accompany it, I’d once again recommend Thrustmaster. Both Logitech and Thrustmaster battle for the honor of the best budget racing wheels. But Logitech doesn’t offer many super cheap steering wheels. Thrustmaster does.
The cheapest Thrustmaster wheel is the TM Open wheel add-on, which costs £139.99 or $139.99. This steering wheel add-on is Xbox, PS5, and PC compatible and works with most Thrustmaster wheelbases, including the TX, T300, T-GT II, TS-XW, and TS-PC.
The best budget GT steering wheel
SIMAGIC GT Neo technical specs
- Style: Butterfly shaped
- Diameter: 300mm
- Grip material: Rubber
- Inputs: 10x buttons, 6x encoders, 2x joysticks, 18 RGB LEDs, Dual clutch paddles
- Compatibility: All third-party wheel bases
- Connectivity: Maglink
- Price: EU: €289 / US: $289
There are a lot of options when choosing the best GT sim racing steering wheel. GT wheels come in a wide variety of styles and sizes, with the most common being either a rectangular butterfly-style wheel or a D-shaped circular wheel.
The SIMAGIC GT Neo falls into the first category with its traditional butterfly shape. At just £/$289, it is one of the cheapest GT steering wheels you can buy. However, it packs a lot of functionality inside a really well-built and well designed steering wheel.
You get enough inputs to be able to comfortably control your car mid-race, with ten push buttons, six encoders, two joysticks and a set of dual-clutch paddles. The chassis is constructed from a carbon fibre composite which feels great in your hands.
As a whole, SIMAGIC really knocked this one out of the park, creating a steering wheel that out performs wheels double its price. And thanks to the SIMAGIC Maglink adapter, you can use the GT Neo with any brand’s wheel base.
Pros
- Well priced: The GT Neo costs under £/$300, making it one of the best budget GT steering wheels.
- Fantastic design: The SIMAGIC GT Neo is one of the nicest looking budget steering wheels.
- Widely compatible: Can be used with almost any third-party wheel base.
- Variety of inputs: Just as many inputs as much more premium steering wheels.
Cons
- Rubber hand grips: The rubber hand grips aren’t the comfiest on the market.
- Composite build material: The carbon fibre composite chassis divides opinion with some loving it and others not.
The best budget formula wheel
MOZA Racing KS technical specs
- Style: Formula-style
- Diameter: 300mm
- Grip material: Rubber
- Inputs: 10x buttons, 5x encoders, 2x joysticks, 10 RGB LEDs, Dual clutch paddles
- Compatibility: All third-party wheel bases
- Connectivity: Universal Hub
- Price: EU: €249 / US: $249
Despite having a range of sim racing steering wheels I can choose from, the MOZA KS wheel still gets a good rotation when I’m sim racing. It’s a budget F1 or GT steering wheel that isn’t spectacular in any way but does all of the fundamentals right.
The design of the wheel is fine, with few flares and quirks. However, all inputs (of which there are many) are well positioned and in reach of your thumbs. The two thumb encoders are built into the grips which make brake bias adjustments incredibly easy to make while sim racing.
One place where some cheap steering wheels suffer, the ergonomics, is a strong point for the MOZA KS. There are well-designed grooves in the rubber hand grips allowing you to find a really comfortable racing position.
On the rear of the wheel, you get the usual MOZA quick release, but importantly, there is also a data port underneath. This lets you hard wire the MOZA KS wheel to your PC via the Universal Hub. By doing this, you open up compatibility with all third-party wheel bases, meaning you can use this MOZA wheel with a Fanatec wheel base, or any other third-party brand.
Pros
- Good value: This is one of the cheapest good sim racing steering wheels you can buy in 2025.
- Good number of inputs: A variety of push buttons and encoders make it very easy to interact with your car thanks to this wheel.
- Simple design: The design is solid, if not unspectacular, but uses quality materials.
- Third party compatible: You can use the KS steering wheel with all third-party wheel bases thanks to the data port on the rear of the wheel.
Cons
- Plastic throughout: Elements of the wheel are plastic, including the encoders. To be expected on a budget wheel, but not ideal.
- Flat shifter paddles: The shifter paddles aren’t ergonomic, resulting in an average shifting experience.
- Shifters too close to chassis: The distance between the rear of the wheel and the shifter paddles is too close. Shifters can hit your thumb.
The best budget round steering wheel
Thrustmaster Evo 32R Wheel technical specs
- Style: Round
- Diameter: 320mm
- Grip material: Leather
- Inputs: 9x buttons, 4x encoders, 1x joystick, 7 rev lights
- Compatibility: Thrustmaster wheels
- Connectivity: Thrustmaster quick release
- Price: EU: €269 / US: $269
Round sim racing steering wheels offer a much more well-rounded and versatile sim racing experience compared to formula or GT wheels. They can be used for all disciplines of sim racing, including road cars, rallying, drifting and even GT racing.
The Thrustmaster Evo 32R is the perfect example of a budget round steering wheel. It uses a 32 inch diameter, making it feel large enough to not feel toy-like, which is a trap that many budget wheels fall into.
There are a large number of inputs on the face of the wheel, which can be unusual for a round wheel. You get nine push buttons paired with four rotary encoders. These can be programmed and mapped in game, and one of the best things about the 32R is that it is fully Xbox and PS4/PS5 compatible.
The leather-wrapped hand grips and metal chassis allow this round wheel to feel remarkably high quality. And this allows it to stand out from some other budget circular wheels, which don’t use the same high-quality materials.
Pros
- Console compatible: The 32R is compatible with all consoles and PCs.
- Good number of inputs: A variety of push buttons and encoders.
- High quality build: Metal and leather construction make the wheel feel more premium.
- Customisable: The rim and the paddle shifters are removable, allowing you to use different wheel rims with the hub.
Cons
- Only compatible with Thrustmaster: Unfortunatly, this wheel cannot be used with any third-party, restricting you to Thrustmaster racing wheels.
- No dual clutch option: Only available with single shifters.
- Poor quality rev lights: The plastic rev lights on the top of the wheel look and feel rather cheap compared to integrated LED lights.
How we tested these steering wheels
Testing and using sim racing steering wheels is incredibly enjoyable, as you get to sample different styles of wheel. You can really appreciate great design and functionality when you hit the track in ACC or iRacing with a good steering wheel.
All of the budget steering wheels that I’ve recommended are third-party compatible, allowing us to test them using our Fanatec ClubSport DD+ and Simucube wheel bases. We did break out our Thrustmaster T818 wheel to try a range of Thrustmaster wheels, with the impressive Evo 32R making the list as my favourite round budget sim racing steering wheel.
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Frequently asked questions
Can you buy a good sim racing steering wheel for under £/$400?
£/$400 is a great budget when choosing a new sim racing steering wheel. There are a large number of options from all of the popular sim racing brands. Most Fanatec and Thrustmaster wheels fall within this price range, as do some MOZA and SIMAGIC wheels. For £/$400, you get a large choice of quality steering wheels.
What is the cheapest detachable sim racing steering wheel?
The Thrustmaster TM Open wheel add-on is the cheapest detachable steering wheel. It costs just £/$139.99, making it really affordable. It is however, only compatible with Thrustmaster T series racing wheels.
Which sim racing steering wheel offers the best value?
Steering wheels such as the MOZA KS and SIMAGIC GT Neo offer great value for money. These steering wheels are built to a high quality and feature a wide range of inputs as well as good third-party compatibility. Both are available for under £/$300, making them extremely good value.
Article written by Rich
Rich is the founder, F1 car setup creator and content writer for SimRacingSetups. With over a decade of experience as a graphic designer, marketing director, competitive sim racer and avid motorsport fan, Rich founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers. Regularly writes for sim racing website SimRaceReviews.com
View all articles written by RichDisclaimer: Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links. We may earn commission from any sale after clicking a link. Read our affiliate policy.
