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You can go for fancy fragrances, sure. We write about the on-trend stuff, and we write about complex, ultra-high-end colognes. Give us the French names we can’t quite pronounce, the beautifully engraved glass bottles from designer houses, the notes list that reads like a poem with scents we’ve never smelt in real life so can’t officially ascertain if they are there or not. But when the Esquire editors sit down and look at our data on how men buy grooming products on the internet, one trend is glaringly clear: Most guys don’t drop several hundred dollars every time they want to smell nice.
Luckily, there are plenty of affordable men’s fragrance brands out there making good stuff—smart, well-blended scents that might not go toe-to-toe with our favorite noses, but they’ll give them a good scare. These scents will be more straightforward than what we’re usually recommending, but they all come in under $100. These are the affordable names to build out your fragrance wardrobe.
Cremo
We have to start off with one of our favorite men’s fragrance brands that just happens to be super affordable, and that’s Cremo. I’ve already devoted an article to our five favorite spray colognes from the brand, so check that out if you want a more detailed review. But the gist of it is that Cremo makes an accessible line up of EDTs that smell expensive and are impressively long lasting for being under $25. You read that right: All of Cremo’s spray colognes are under $25 and available on Amazon and at places like Target and Walmart. The brand also makes some great men’s grooming staples like body wash, deodorant, shaving cream, hair pomade, and more.
Fine’ry
Yes, you can smell manly and luxurious for just $30—it’s not a scam. Clean fragrance brand Fine’ry has an impressive men’s line that leans into deeper, more masculine profiles than its other scents, and each men’s fragrance also comes in a deodorant body spray and body wash so you can work the scent into every step of your routine. Like Cremo, Fine’ry is also easily available to buy on Amazon and at Target. A few standouts from the collection: In the Oud EDP, with warm saffron, vintage suede, and rich oud; The Gent EDP, with fresh pineapple, salty marine notes, and vanilla woods; and Jungle Vetiver, an intriguing earthy scent with cardamom, black tea, and carrot seed.
Papatui
Did you know that alongside being a WWE superstar, movie actor, and father, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson also has his own successful skincare brand? I know. It’s like, how much time in a day does this guy have? But seriously, we tried Papatui’s first men’s cologne line, consisting of three masculine EDPs: the woody, earthy P-01 Leather & Woods; the fresh, ambery P-07 Amber & Cypress; and the smoky, boozy P-21 Smoke & Bourbon. Our verdict: These fragrances are well worth the $40.
Snif
Snif is a brand with an exciting new take on fragrance—every product is clean, genderless, and inspired by a particular feeling, experience, or food. The bottles are creative and colorful, and you’ll find some surprising scent notes in these fragrances like laundry accord, surf wax, even fresh dairy. Our favorite collection from the brand is definitely Notewrks, a line of three colognes that includes Clean Getaway, a crisp, fresh blend of apple, laundry accord, rice, and amber; Sunny is a Feeling, a bright, citrusy scent with notes of mandarin, grapefruit, and bergamot; and Room for Dessert, a delectable gourmand with strawberry, crème brûlée accord, and vanilla. All three of these ring in at just $74 for a full-size bottle.
Huron
We adore all the Huron products we’ve tried, from skincare to shampoos and deodorants—we even included the brand’s new hair clay in our 2026 Grooming Awards. Everything is clean, high quality, and very reasonably priced. That includes Huron’s colognes. It’s not a super extensive line up: There are just five great scents, including the new Oud Wood + Musk, which we’re excited to try out. My personal favorite is the Original Citrus + Eucalyptus EDP, which is as refreshing as can be.
NOYZ
Do you want your personal fragrance to smell like stepping out of the shower? Taking the scenic route on a drive through the woods? Getting wrapped in a warm hug? NOYZ designs every fragrance with inspiration from real stories and raw feelings. Every fragrance is clean, cruelty-free, and genderless, so everyone can enjoy them. I’m currently obsessing over the brand’s newest fragrance: the Rinse Cycle EDP, which is clean, fresh, and musky. With notes of juicy guava, crisp pear, musk flower, and sandalwood, it evokes images of clean sheets and freshly sliced fruit. Each 1.7-oz EDP is just $85, but you’ll smell like a million bucks.
Orb Oils
Sometimes you don’t want to have to spray your fragrance and risk creating a cloud for other people to walk into (or bothering your coworkers if you’re spritzing it at the office). But fragrance oils don’t have that problem—they just melt into your skin and are, oftentimes, more subtle than spray colognes, and definitely easier to travel with. There’s a new brand out there making genderless fragrance oils that many people have already fallen for, and that’s Orb Oils. You can try out the brand’s four oil-based fragrances with the discovery kit, or pick the one you know you’re going to love and it’s yours for less than $100.
Tone
Speaking of fragrance oils, Tone makes roll-on fragrance oils for just $15 that are super easy to travel with and apply, and they’re not too complex—just universally appealing scents with a few key notes. The Fresh cologne oil, for example, is a clean scent with notes of citrus, fresh water, and teakwood. The brand also makes cologne sprays in tall spray bottles with minimalist packaging that look, well, manly. And those ones are only $20, so you can get a few different scents and see what you like.
