While most serious airsoft players will never sacrifice quality and performance for a lower price tag, there are still many beginners out there who are not ready to shell out $100+ for an airsoft rifle. Luckily, there are many, MANY airsoft guns that cost under $100, but they are usually significantly lower quality than the more expensive ones, and tend to shoot at a lower velocity as well.

So what are the biggest benefits of the higher end airsoft guns? Well, most of them are either "mostly metal" or even "full metal", meaning that many the parts on them are made out of metal, rather than plastic. Not only does this make them much more durable, it also makes them much more realistic looking as well. Also, more often than not, the higher end airsoft rifles tend to shoot at a much higher velocity, and have greater accuracy than the cheaper, lower quality rifles. However, even the cheaper, lower grade airsoft guns still shoot at a pretty high velocity, and those made out of ABS plastic are fairly ruggid and durable as well.

When it comes to the electric airsoft guns, the lower end ones are generally referred to as "electric airsoft guns", while the higher performance airsoft guns are usually known as "automatic electric" or "AEG" guns. The cheaper, lower grade "electric airsoft rifles" generally shoot at about 200-300 FPS, while the more expensive, higher end airsoft rifles usually shoot at 370+ FPS. Also, much like with the electric airsoft rifles, the airsoft sniper rifle guns pretty much follow the same rule of thumb: the cheaper ones shoot at a lower velocity, are less durable, and are less realistic looking, while the higher end ones shoot at a higher velocity, while also being more durable and realistic looking.

As far as price goes, the cheaper, lower quality airsoft rifles, such as the airsoft M4 rifle, usually sell for between $30 and $80 or so. The higher quality AEG airsoft rifles usually sell for between $120 and $300. Lastly, the airsoft sniper rifle guns are pretty much in the same price range, however, the low end electric airsoft rifles usually cost a little less than the low end airsoft sniper rifles.