Best 50-inch TV: Quick Menu
The best 50-inch TVs offer many of the features and much of the picture quality of the more popular 55- and 65-inch variants, just in a smaller frame. While there aren’t as many 50-inch TVs as there are larger-sized models, Samsung, Sony, TCL and Hisense have stuck with 50-inch TVs with more coming soon.
Although it’s a relatively strange size to request, some folks simply need a 50-inch TV for their space. A 55-inch TV just won’t fit in some bookshelves, while a 43-inch TV leaves too much room on the sides. A 50-inch TV can sometimes be the only solution to a built-in cabinet or small home theater. If you fall into that camp, we totally understand and we’re here to help.
So which one is right for you? Every model in this list has been through Tom’s Guide TV testing process, which sees a set evaluated for color accuracy and reproduction, brightness and lag time. And of course we also spend plenty of hands-on time with it, so that we can give you our real-world impressions.
Nick Pino
My name’s Nick and I look after our guides to the best TVs, best OLED TVs and best 4K TVs. Most of my day is spent watching and evaluating new screens from LG, Samsung, Sony, Hisense, TCL and Vizio. I have 10 years of experience in AV, and before I joined Tom’s Guide I was formerly the Senior Editor, TV and AV at TechRadar. I love helping people find the perfect TV, so please feel free to reach out over email or tag me on Twitter and I can help you out.
The quick list
Here’s a quick overview of the best 50-inch TVs you can buy right now based on our testing and reviews. And keep up on scrolling if you want to see our in-depth analysis of all the top TVs for every budget.
The LG C3 OLED is the best value OLED
It’s not quite 50 inches, but the 48-inch LG C3 OLED offers a great performance at a reasonable price. It’s highly recommended by our editors, writers, and readers.
The best QLED TV you can buy
The Samsung QN90C Neo QLED TV is the premium QLED set to get. With best-in-class brightness, a clever design and every feature you need from a smart TV, the QN90C is tough to beat.
The best OLED TV
The Sony A90K OLED incorporates all of Sony’s industry-leading picture technologies resulting in a set that does just as well in technical benchmark tests as it does in everyday movie and television viewing.
4. TCL 5-Series Google TV
The best value TV
The TCL 5-Series Google TV (S546) wowed us with its solid performance and great value for your dollar. The move to Google TV gives the affordable 4K smart TV a more premium smart TV platform.
The best cheap TV
For a TV that costs less than $400, the Hisense U6H has a surprising amount of power and picture potential. It delivers good brightness in our testing, low input lag for gaming and the intuitive Google TV interface.
Best entry-level TV
Sony’s entry-level TVs might not have the looks of an OLED TV, but the X80K punches well above its price. With fine picture quality backed by Sony’s technological innovations, it’s better than you might expect.
The full list: Best TVs in detail
If I needed a 50-inch TV, the 48-inch LG C3 OLED would be my first port of call. LG’s mid-range OLED model is available for just under a grand, and it offers the performance of TVs that cost twice as much.
What makes it so great? Well, it uses LG Display’s 2nd-generation EVO panels that last longer than older OLED panels while offering significantly increased brightness. You’ll still want to reduce glare in the room whenever possible as the screen can be highly reflective, but the C3 should work for most living room spaces.
Besides higher brightness, the C3 OLED uses the latest a9 Processor for better upscaling and motion handling, which makes it great for sports lovers, as well as four full-spec HDMI 2.1 ports that can handle 4K gameplay at 120 frames-per-second.
For the money, the C3 OLED is the best 50(ish) inch TV on the market.
Read our full LG C3 OLED review.
The best QLED TV
The Samsung QN90C Neo QLED TV combines Samsung’s highly refined quantum dot technology with the tight control of mini-LED backlighting, resulting in one of the best TV displays you’ll ever see. Brilliant color and unmatched brightness make for superb performance, and Samsung pairs that with a bounty of smart TV functions and genuinely intelligent features, like a solar-powered remote control that eliminates the need to swap out batteries – delivering eco-friendly design and unbeaten convenience at the same time.
For those who aren’t familiar, Mini-LED backlighting delivers high levels of brightness while maintaining realistic color and gradations of luminance. And though the QN90C Neo QLED isn’t the most premium of all the 4K Samsung 2023 TVs, it’s the one that you’ll probably be most tempted to buy.
Its gorgeous 1-inch-thick design contains a huge array of smart features, potent Dolby Atmos sound and HDMI 2.1 connectivity for gamers that measured in at an impressive 9.8-millisecond lag time in our testing.
Read our full Samsung QN90C Neo QLED TV review or browse our Samsung promo codes
The best OLED TV
The Sony Bravia XR A90K, only available in either a 42-inch or 48-inch screen size, is a little TV that thinks big. You can’t get it in enormous sizes, but you don’t have to — it’s equipped with an OLED screen and incorporates all of Sony’s industry-leading picture technologies to result in a set that does just as well in technical benchmark tests as it does in everyday movie and television viewing.
The A90K’s remote is also the upgraded version we previously saw with the A95K, upping the set’s swank factor still further. Instead of matte-black plastic, it has a shimmering gunmetal sheen; the buttons are all backlighted; and finding the remote when it’s lost is as easy as activating the TV’s far-field microphone, saying “Hey Google! Find my remote!”, and then following the beeping sound the lost unit produces.
Want terrific picture quality, but you don’t have room for a full-size TV? The A90K will (literally and figuratively) brighten up any room, and is a major offering that should not be dismissed merely because of its minor size.
Read our full Sony Bravia XR A90K review.
The best value TV
Yes, the Samsung QN90A is the top 50-inch TV on our list, but if you don’t have close to a grand to spend on a new TV, the TCL 5-Series Google TV delivers exceptional performance for its modest price point. With the 50-inch model selling for less than $500, you get the superb color and brightness of QLED, as well as the Google TV smart TV interface, which offers amazing content recommendations.
In addition to the excellent color accuracy and full color gamut offered by the QLED display, it offers top-of-the-line HDR support, with Dolby Vision in addition to basic HDR10 and HLG formats. With input lag clocking in at around 10 milliseconds, it’s also one of the best affordable gaming TVs you can buy. And it’s roughly half the price of Samsung’s equivalent QLED TV, making it one of the best values in smart TVs.
Read our full TCL 5-Series Google TV (S546) review.
The cheap TV
The Hisense U6H is the entry-level offering in Hisense’s ULED series of TVs, utilizing local dimming on its backlit LCD to boost brightness and quantum dots to kick up the color. Hisense’s gamble is that the combination of these features, plus its suite of ULED picture-enhancement technologies, will allow this set to deliver more than you’d expect to see for less than you’d expect to pay — and it’s one that generally pays off.
The U6H may not get quite as bright as its splashier siblings, the U7H and the Hisense U8H, but for its class, it fares pretty well. Its SDR brightness as measured in Filmmaker Mode (the mode that most closely matches out-of-the-box calibration) lands at 537 nits — decent but not spectacular, but enough to win against competitors such as the Amazon Fire TV Omni, the Samsung Q60B, the TCL Series-6 Roku TV, and the Vizio M-Series Quantum.
Are you likely to be thoroughly wowed by what the Hisense U6H can do? Probably not. But a TV that combines this level of quality with this level of affordability doesn’t come around every day. So, the U6H is well worth your time and attention.
Read our full Hisense U6H review.
Best entry-level TV
Sony’s entry-level line of TVs might not seem to offer a lot to the discriminating shopper, but the Sony Bravia X80K punches above its price. With fine picture quality and backed by Sony’s cagey technological innovations and sharply honed attention to fit and finish, the X80K is, in most ways, better than you might expect.
That’s not to say it’s ideal for everyone. It wouldn’t be the best set to use as the centerpiece of an entertainment center in a larger-than-average living room, for example. But if you want something that’s highly affordable and looks as though it’s in a loftier price tier, the X80K is one smart TV that’s a smart way to go.
For a simple TV at an affordable price, the Sony X80K is an attractive and effective compromise candidate. Just keep the volume down.
Read our full Sony Bravia X80K TV review.
How to choose the best 50-inch TV for you
How to choose the best 50-inch TVs for you
When looking for a 50-inch TV, follow our TV Buying Guide tips. If you put some thought into what you need from a TV, you’ll be able to enjoy your purchase for years to come.
Size: Wondering what size room a 50-inch TV is perfect for? Check out our guide What size TV should you buy?. It shows that a 50-inch 4K TV is best for viewing when you’re sitting about four feet from the unit. That makes them a great match for a bedroom or small apartment. Then decide if you’re locked into a 50-inch model.
If your space will allow for a larger unit, we recommend you go bigger — even if you think you’ll be happy with a smaller screen, a bigger one helps make the experience of watching more engaging. And moving up to a 55-inch TV will bring more options and features.
Price: Expect to pay around $300 for most 50-inch TVs, although those with better features or an established brand name can cost $500 or more.
Features: Consider which ports you need and how many. The number of HDMI ports you need depends on how many devices you plan to plug in — a streaming stick, game console or cable box, for example. Most of these TVs have four HDMI inputs, but some have three. If you plan to use a sound bar, you may need an optical digital audio or a 3.5 mm auxiliary output. You may also want a TV that supports Bluetooth so you can listen on your headphones without disturbing people around you.
Gaming: If you’re going to be doing a lot of gaming on your new TV, and particularly if you have one of the next-gen consoles, consider TVs with HDMI 2.1 ports. This will support Variable Refresh Rate, for super-smooth 120Hz gaming.
If you’ve narrowed down your TV shopping by brand, price range or screen size, check out our picks for the best TVs in each.
Best TVs | Best 4K TVs | Best smart TVs for streaming | Best TVs for gaming
The best TVs under $1000 | The best TVs under $500
Best TV brands | Best Samsung TVs | Best TCL TVs | Best LG TVs | Best Roku TVs | Best OLED TVs | Best QLED TVs | Best 8K TVs
The smallest smart TVs | Best 43-inch TVs | Best 55-inch TVs | Best 65-inch TVs | Best 70-inch TVs | Best 75-inch TVs | Best 85-inch TVs
And don’t forget to watch out for the latest TV reviews.
How we test the best 50-inch TVs
How we test 50-inch TVs
Of course, we also consider the smart TV functions and apps for each TV, looking at everything from the remote control design to the voice interaction.
