The Corvette has always been an outlier amidst a flurry of muscle cars, particularly in its earlier days in the 1950s to the 1970s. Now that the Dodge Viper has been off the production line for some time, it’s been up to the Corvette to keep America in competition with Europe’s best performance cars. The Mustang is also making waves, but when it comes to alternatives to the Porsche 911, there aren’t many sports cars that offer better value-for-money than the latest Corvette.

The C8 generation of Chevrolet’s flagship sports car saw massive changes, with most stemming from the adaptation of a mid-engine philosophy — the same as the 911. Not only has the layout drastically improved the balance and handling of the car, but the C8 Corvette’s power, even in its base Stingray form, is enough to rival supercars at its price point. Powered by a 6.2L V8, the 2025 Corvette Stingray produces a solid 490 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. Equip it with the performance exhaust for $1,195, and each rating is boosted by five. For the base 1LT trim, the 2025 Stingray starts at just $68,300, with a $1,895 destination charge, which is more than half the price of the 2025 911 Carrera.

One area where the Corvette does trail the Porsche 911 is in luxury, which is something that we picked up in our review of the sports car. Chevrolet doesn’t miss anything essential, but the overly driver-focused layout gives the Porsche the edge.

Just about everything you could want in a sports coupe comes with the BMW M4. Despite being geared towards everyday usage alongside pure performance, it’s still one of the best in its class when it comes to driving dynamics — the latest model comes with all the bells and whistles that make BMW cars as fun to drive as they are comfortable.

Next to the 911, their different design styles and overall layouts make for two very different cars to drive. The M4 sticks thanks to elements like its M Sport differential, but won’t flow through corners like the Porsche, weighing 487 pounds more, but it has more power to allow it to stick with it. Under the hood of the base 2026 M4 is a 3.0L twin-turbocharged inline-six, producing 473 horsepower. If you want more power, the M4 Competitive offers a massive 503 horsepower. The all-wheel drive xDrive trim gets you even more performance at 523 horsepower. We reviewed the 2023 model of the M4 CS, which is essentially the ultimate 911 killer, but we can’t exactly call that an affordable alternative to its neighboring rival.

BMW ensures to make the 2026 M4 just as comfortable as the lower non-M trims, with the Adaptive M suspension engineering to be just as comfortable as it is responsive. Inside, you’ll find standard Merino leather and the brand’s 8.5-inch infotainment system. For the base trim, the 2026 BMW M4 starts at $81,300, going up to $90,600 for the Competition xDrive model.

Toyota brings a sports car that drops the price tag significantly but keeps up on the spec sheet in the form of the Supra. One of the key aspects of the current Toyota Supra is what’s under the hood: the BMW-sourced, turbocharged 3.0L inline-six engine also found in the Z4. This wasn’t a popular choice with some, but when it comes to performance, it gives the 2026 Supra a power output of 382 horsepower and 368 pound-feet of torque. The two also share the same eight-speed automatic transmission.

Despite their similarities, Toyota engineers the Supra for agility and responsiveness. The sports car comes with sport-tuned steering, an active sport differential, and Brembo brakes as standard. Go for the Final Edition trim, and the suspension is upgraded with an adaptive variable system. SlashGear reviewed last year’s 3.0 model equipped with the optional six-speed manual transmission, which proved to be a huge success.

As for pricing, the base 3.0 trim comes in at $57,500 (plus a $1,150 destination charge), $60,650 for the 3.0 Premium, and $68,550 for the Final Edition. The Supra is another affordable alternative to the 911 that trails in terms of overall luxury and comfort, but you’ll still get leather-trimmed seats in the base model. It can’t compete with the 911 in this area in terms of finish or technology, but it’ll still get the job done, particularly for its price point.

If the range-topping 911 is a little out of your budget, there are very few better alternatives to go for than the literal step down in the form of the 718. Smaller than the 911 in every regard, the base trim for the former offers solid performance for its price tag, but stepping up one time to the S trim can get it closer to the latter for outright power. Powered by a punchy 2.0L four-cylinder, the mid-engine sports car produces 350 horsepower and 309 pound-feet of torque in its S guise.

A little less power than other alternatives to its larger sibling, but with a curb weight of 3,040 pounds in the Cayman and 3,086 in the Boxster (both with the six-speed manual), the 718 manages to retain a solid power-to-weight ratio to get the handling as smooth and direct as you’d expect from a modern Porsche. Elsewhere, the chassis is tuned for further cornering capabilities, with optional features like the active suspension and torque vectoring clawing back some of the deficit to the 911.

To buy a brand-new Porsche 718 S, you’ll have to spend a minimum of $87,900 for the Cayman, along with a $1,995 destination charge, which is still considerably less than the 911 Carrera. We tested higher trims such as the 718 GTS that move even closer to the 911, which, while more expensive, can still offer ultra-competitive performance for less money.

At the forefront of Lotus in the modern age is the compact Emira sports car, which was only made available for purchase in the U.S. last year. It also happens to be the only gas-powered Lotus in production, offering two different engine options within the lightweight aluminum chassis. Pricing for the Emira is closer to the latest Porsche 911 with a minimum price tag of $106,900, but the British icon does a solid job of justifying that.

Lotus has done some reshuffling for the Emira in 2025, with the bolstering of the turbocharged 2.0L engine for what is now the base trim being the most notable change. Sourced from Mercedes-AMG, the 2025 Emira Turbo SE produces 406 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. The Toyota-sourced V6 trim does come with a manual transmission as standard to help justify its higher price tag, but the Turbo SE’s dual-clutch automatic didn’t stop us from loving the car in our review of last year’s model, which had less power than what the 2025 model offers.

Alongside being mid-engine like the 911, Lotus tunes the suspension to help the Emira handle in a way very few sports cars can match. The interior is not quite as refined as the 911’s when it comes to overall finish, particularly in terms of technology. However, it still offers high-quality materials to ensure comfort at its more premium price point.

To find five of the best alternatives to the Porsche 911, we went for models that were at least $30,000 cheaper than the base 2025 Carrera model. We also ensured that the models on this list produce similar, if not better, performance specifications than the Porsche, combining the information provided by manufacturers with in-house reviews of the model itself or one very similar.