The Best Cruelty-Free Beauty Under $20
Cruelty-free beauty doesn't have to be expensive. Here are the best affordable cruelty-free (and mostly vegan) skincare and makeup picks under $20 — and how to verify the claim yourself.
Shopping cruelty-free used to mean paying a premium. Not anymore — some of the best-value beauty on the shelf is also certified not tested on animals. Here are affordable cruelty-free picks under $20, plus how to actually verify a brand's claim so you're not taken in by vague marketing.
First: how to tell if a brand is really cruelty-free
"Cruelty-free" isn't legally regulated, so look for a third-party certification rather than a bunny drawing a brand put on itself. The two that matter:
- Leaping Bunny (the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics) — the gold standard. Companies must end animal testing at every stage, recommit annually, and stay open to third-party audits.
- PETA's Beauty Without Bunnies — a widely used certification with a searchable database. Note PETA also has a separate "Vegan" mark for products with no animal-derived ingredients.
One important nuance: cruelty-free ≠ vegan. A product can be not-tested-on-animals but still contain animal-derived ingredients (beeswax, lanolin, carmine, collagen). If vegan matters to you, look for the specific vegan claim, not just cruelty-free.
The picks (all under $20)
e.l.f. — anything
e.l.f. is the easy winner: certified by both Leaping Bunny and PETA, and 100% vegan across the entire line. Almost everything is under $20. Two fan favorites: - e.l.f. Power Grip Primer — the cult gel primer. See it. - e.l.f. blending sponge — a few-dollar makeup-sponge alternative. See it.
The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
Cruelty-free and vegan (part of DECIEM), and one of the best-value serums in skincare at well under $10. Great for oil, pores, and texture. See it.
NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray
NYX is PETA-certified cruelty-free with many vegan products (it's not 100% vegan, so check the individual item). The setting spray locks makeup in for a few dollars. See it.
Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector
Cruelty-free and 100% vegan. A little above $20 at full price but frequently on sale below it — the bond-repair treatment fans swear by. See it.
Quick reference
- e.l.f. — cruelty-free, 100% vegan — certified by Leaping Bunny + PETA
- The Ordinary — cruelty-free and vegan — part of DECIEM (uncertified, but confirmed)
- NYX — cruelty-free, with some vegan items — certified by PETA
- Olaplex — cruelty-free, 100% vegan — uncertified, but confirmed
A note on what we didn't include: popular drugstore brands like CeraVe, Maybelline, and L'Oréal are not cruelty-free (they're sold in markets that require animal testing), so we don't tag them as such here — even though they're great products in other respects. Honesty over hype.
Shop the filters
We tag every product by its real status, so you can browse straight to what you care about: cruelty-free, vegan, clean, and fragrance-free. We track the prices so the ethical pick is also the cheap one.