The Best Compound Bows Under $800 for 2023: Top 4 Models Reviewed

1. Best Overall: Diamond Archery Deploy SB Compound Bow

We always admire bows from Diamond Archery because of the care they put into designing their products. And Deploy SB does not feel any different in that sense.

This bow will be a solid choice for hunting as it's highly portable due to the low mass weight but also offers great power and impact. It's hard not to fall in love with this bow once you pick it up.

Pretty sure you'll find a suitable draw weight with this bow no matter what your build is. The bow offers you good flexibility at that with a range of 50 – 70 lbs. draw weight.

It’s ergonomic design is another feature that gives the user an upper hand. The riser-on is carbon made and claimed to be aerospace inspired.

This special carbon build makes the bow lightweight yet packed with heavy impact. With the innovative riser's help and a synchronized binary cam system, the bow can shoot arrows at a speed of 330 fps maximum.

Another thing we loved about this bow is its smooth draw cycle. Combined with lightness, this smoothness can offer you tremendous agility. Unfortunately, the bow isn't much adept at mitigating noise and vibration. This might hurt your accuracy a bit.

What Makes It Stand Out?

• Offers great mobility due to the reduced weight
• Robust build and innovative design offer heavy impact at each shot
• Flexible draw weight adjustment for personal comfort
• The draw cycle is very smooth
• Shoots arrows at an impressive speed of 330 fps

What Could Be Better?

• Doesn't come with any accessories for mitigating shock and vibration
• Comparatively shorter axle-to-axle length reduces stability a bit

2. Runner Up: PSE Madness 32 Compound Bow

The name "madness" suits this bow well because the quality it offers lower price is actually crazy! To us, it seems that the bow often doesn't get the acclaim it deserves because of its surprisingly low price.

It comes with an aluminum riser that assures sturdiness while keeping the cost and body weight relatively low. The stylish design on the bow looks even more attractive because of the careful finish.

This bow offers good flexibility for its user. You are sure to find your comfortable draw weight from the huge range of 40-70 lbs. that it offers.

It has a shorter brace height which is well compensated by an 80% let-off that lets you hold the draw for longer. This allows you to manage a more accurate shot.

Unlike past models of the Bow Madness series, this one comes with a hybrid cam system. Just when single cams seemed to become the trademark style of the series, PSE introduced the hybrid system.

This hybrid single-string cam system lets you shoot arrows at an exceptional max speed of 340 fps. Although the string quality in this bow is adequate, it's no match to the strings they use in the Pro series.

What Sets It Apart?

• 80% let-off enables longer draws and more accurate shots
• Sturdy aluminum build with a smooth finish
• Offers a very smooth draw cycle for consecutive shootability
• Lightweight-ness along with 80% let off allow extended holding time
• Flexible range of draw weight 

What Cons Did We Find?

• Shorter brace height slightly affects the stability
• String quality is comparatively poorer than the other bows in the list

3. Top Rated: Bear Archery Divergent EKO Compound Bow

Bear Archery is best known for its flagship products; however, they did a fascinating job on this valued project of theirs. Divergent EKO will be the best choice for people who loves shorter axle-to-axle bows.

Only having a 30 inches ATA length, this bow is very compact and maneuverable. Fitting into tight spaces shouldn't be an issue with this bow.

Small bows are often said to be torquey which hurts the shooter’s accuracy. That's why many people don't really find them suitable for their choice. Even though its compact build, this bow has less torqueyness and provides satisfying stability due to its longer brace height.

To us, adjustability is the prime attraction of this bow. The bow allows you to adjust the draw length with a half-inch incrementing scale. You can also adjust the let-off from 75% to 90% to match your preferred setting.

The let-off setting is particularly important as this bow is a stiff draw bow. It means you'll very much feel the difference between each draw weight setting. The Draw cycle is smooth, and all but the pulling force curve might feel a bit inconsistent sometimes.

Its sturdy aluminum riser lets it be lightweight yet power-packed. Such a compact bow shooting arrows at 338 fps is really impressive. It does make some noise, though. We won't say the bow is loud, but it's not Bear's quietest product.

What Are The Good Sides?

• The aluminum riser provides a sturdy build
• Compact, lightweight, and highly maneuverable
• Four different let-off settings offer great flexibility
• A longer brace height provides good stability
• Can shoot arrows at an impressive max speed of 338 fps

What Are The Bad Sides?

• A bit noisy
• Might be too short for some people

4. Best Efficient: Darton Archery Cyclone Compound Bow

As We stated earlier, many people aren't fond of shorter bows because of stability issues. Those who do face a hard time finding a short bow that is solid in every way.

That is exactly why we loved this bow from Darton Archery so much. It might not pack as much power as the other typical bows of this price range, but the stability it offers is unparalleled.

The bow comes with Darton's new Dualsync cam system with a special cam stabilizer installed to prevent cam leaning. The longer brace height of the bow will improve your shooting with more accuracy.

Due to the shorter ATA length and lightweight aluminum build, the bow is very compact and maneuverable. You will be able to adjust the draw length from 27-30 inches with half-inch increments.

The let-off of 80% isn't adjustable, unfortunately. This bow is light and quick, but most of all, it's quiet. Yes, it doesn't show any sort of noise issues which is very impressive for a bow of such a low price.

It also has a really smooth finish. But the finish designs are very limited. So, if you're a person concerned with aesthetics, this bow might disappoint you in that category. Other than that, this bow is a very solid choice for short bow lovers.

What Pros Did We Find?

• Sturdy aluminum and lightweight construction
• Compact and highly maneuverable
• Smooth draw cycle enhances agility
• Cam system is equipped with a cam stabilizer
• Noise-free operation

What Are The Flaws?

• Limited finish designs to choose from
• Might be too compact for some