The 5 Best Red Dot Sight Magnifiers

Need the versatility that a red dot sight magnifier can bring to your rifle? In this post, we take a look at the best red dot magnifiers on the market today and offer up about 5 of the best ones.

If you’re interested in an EOTech magnifier, make sure to see our post on the best magnifiers for EOTech here.

So let’s get right into our top picks for the best red dot magnifiers out there below.

TMS Tactical 3x Magnifier Scope with Quick Flip to Side FTS Mount

If you are looking for a solid 3x magnifier for you new red dot, the TMS Tactical is a good place to start. It’s a rugged design with a 90 degree flip mount. This one is set to center at 36mm, so make sure that is what you need. The company also provides a 42mm model if you want it to sit higher. The lenses are fully coated, and the small turrets makes reticle adjustment easy.

The glass could be a better, but the mount is solid. Eye relief can be a bit short, so while this would work well on a carbine or 223, you probably don’t want your eye quite so close on a 30cal.

This particular magnifier is a steal right now for this price.

UTG 3X Red Dot Magnifier with Flip-to-side QD Mount

If you are looking for a quick detach mount on a budget, this is a good one. The flip mechanism on it is simple and it sits at 42mm center height, which is typical of dot-sight combinations.

Rugged, sealed to be fog-proof, and you don’t need to worry about a little rain. The multi-coated lenses allow for excellent light transmission. It has plenty of eye relief for comfortable shooting, and for the price, it’s a very nice scope to throw in front of your red dot for a very good price.

YTCOM Tactical 3x/5x Magnifier FTS

If you’re on a tight budget and want a decent magnifier to play with at the range, the YTCOM is a solid budget magnifier. Clear image, and a sharp sight picture will increase your accuracy at 100 yards without damaging your bank account.

The flip mount is on the flimsy side, so while optically this is a good scope, if you decide to upgrade it later, I would start with the mount. That’s not to say it would fail in normal range or day to day use, but it simply isn’t as strong as other designs. The springs are on the weak side. Like I said, the glass is solid, the rest of the mounting could use a little work. For the price, it’s a sacrifice worth making.

Vortex VMX-3T Magnifier with Flip Mount

When it comes to a higher quality magnifier, without the price-tag of an EOTech, the Vortex is a wonderful substitute that gets the job done. A favorite of shooters everywhere, this magnifier is the right height, transmits plenty of light, contains quality optics, and the mount is super sturdy.

While it’s more expensive than the other scopes listed, it’s still very budget friendly for what it is. A high quality magnifier on a high quality mount.

This mount does not feature a quick detach system of any kind, making this a semi-permanent installation on your AR or AK-47. If that’s a deal breaker, you might go with a different optic or purchase another mount.

Sightmark 3x Tactical Magnifier

The Sightmark is a combination of quality glass, quality housing, and quality mount. When it comes to eye relief, that’s where this Tactical Magnifier shines. At three and a half inches of eye relief, you’ll feel perfectly comfortable mounting this on an AR-10, or even heavier weapons, and Sightmark has included the ruggedness to handle that extra recoil.

Wrapped in rubber armor, everything about the scope is designed to be sturdy. That said, the mount is not the strongest point, so while the scope itself can handle anything, don’t be too rough on the mount if you want to keep the wiggle out. Normal use should be fine, as long as it doesn’t get banged up while snapping it open or closed.

Sightmark makes some great products and this is one of them. Right now, it’s at a great price too.