🎨 Cheap monitor colors look noticeably off for photo editing, is a better panel actually worth it?

Picked up a fairly basic budget monitor about eight months ago mainly for general use, browsing, some work documents, nothing especially demanding at the time I actually bought it for that specific everyday purpose. Recently started getting more seriously into photo editing as an actual hobby, and I have noticed colors on this particular screen look noticeably different, sometimes quite dramatically so, compared to how the exact same edited photo looks once viewed properly on my phone or a friend's laptop screen side by side. Did a bit of reading and apparently this is a fairly common and well known issue with cheaper monitor panels specifically, limited color accuracy and coverage compared to panels genuinely built and calibrated with actual accurate color reproduction as a real priority during manufacturing rather than just cost cutting wherever possible on the specific display component itself. Looked into proper color calibration tools as a possible cheaper fix instead of buying an entirely new monitor outright, and while that apparently does genuinely help to some real degree, several reviews I read suggested there is only so much calibration alone can actually correct on a panel that has fairly limited color range and accuracy baked into the hardware itself from the start, regardless of any software adjustment applied afterward. Budget for an actual proper color accurate monitor built specifically with photo and video editing in mind is honestly higher than I initially expected going into this research, noticeably more than what I originally paid for my current basic screen, which makes me want to be genuinely confident this is worth it before actually committing to that kind of specific additional expense for what is still currently just a hobby rather than any real professional need. For anyone who has actually made this exact same specific upgrade themselves for photo editing purposes, did the improved color accuracy genuinely feel meaningfully worth the added cost in your own real day to day editing experience, or did a cheaper calibration tool alone end up being reasonably sufficient for your own particular needs instead?

Found a mid range panel with decent color coverage for photo editing that cost noticeably less than the fully professional options reviewers kept recommending, more than adequate for hobby level editing work without needing the absolute highest end specs meant for actual professional print production use. Worth checking mid tier options carefully before assuming the expensive tier is truly necessary for what is currently still just a hobby for you.

Bought a calibration tool for my own budget monitor first hoping it would fully solve the color problem, helped somewhat but skin tones and certain greens still looked noticeably off compared to a properly color accurate panel a friend let me compare against side by side. Ended up buying the better monitor anyway about two months later, and honestly wish I had just skipped the calibration tool step entirely and gone straight there.