Best Budget TV: Quick Menu
The best budget TVs offer a surprisingly good picture for their price. Yes, they may be lacking in some of the advanced features of more expensive OLED or QD-OLED TVs, but the budget TVs listed below absolutely nail the basics.
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.
With that said, while we’d strongly recommend checking out some of the top-tier models like the Hisense U6K (easily the best TV under $500) or the Roku Plus Series QLED TV. Other companies like TCL, Vizio and Amazon all make decent budget TVs that are worth considering, but you should probably stay away from the new Amazon Fire TV 2-Series that only scored two-and-a-half stars in our review.
Also, if you can, we’d advise you to stick with the former brands rather than the super budget-friendly Element or Insignia TVs, as brands like TCL, Hisense and Vizio offer a better picture for just a few dollars more.
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 budget 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 full list: Best budget TVs in detail
You can’t have a list of the best budget TVs without mentioning the Hisense U6K. It might not have the peak levels of brightness that the Hisense U8K has, but it sports a Mini-LED backlight that enables enables better contrast with above-par black levels and a quantum dot for color saturation. Tack on Google TV and VRR support for consoles, and you’re getting a lot of the best features at a much lower price point.
Why we think it’s better than all the rest is that, thanks to its Mini-LED backlight system, the U6K has much better brightness and contrast and a lower likelihood of the dreaded Dirty Screen Effect from non-uniform lighting elements compared to the competition. It also uses Google TV which, although a bit temperamental, is one of the slickest smart TV platforms available.
If you want the best bang for your buck, the Hisense U6K can’t be beat.
Read our full Hisense U6K Mini-LED TV review.
2nd best budget TV
The Roku Plus Series 4K QLED TV marks the streaming giant’s first foray into sets after long focusing on software and set-top and plug-in devices — and the move is a successful one. In addition to delivering a ton of screen for its starting price of $499, these TVs also give you surprisingly good picture quality and sound, two things that are usually the first to go with budget sets.
Despite its price, the Plus Series does not look cheap: A gray, metal bezel surrounds the screen on all sides, measuring less than an eighth-inch on the left, right, and top, and about two-thirds inch on the bottom to allow for a front-and-center chrome Roku logo.
The Plus Series uses quantum-dot LED technology to produce more and more vivid colors and increased brightness. And in everything we watched, we found that the TV lived up to Roku’s claims. Picture vibrancy does start fading as you move away from the center of the screen, but it took a fair distance for the display to look unbearable.
All in all, the Plus Series is well-suited to watching just about anything except super-fast action such as sports, thanks to the panel’s limited 60Hz refresh rate.
Read our full Roku Plus Series 4K QLED TV review.
The best TV for gaming
With above-average color accuracy and industry-leading input lag, the Samsung Q60C is definitely suited for a secondary or tertiary set for your dedicated gaming room, guest’s or child’s bedroom.
What makes it such a good choice for gamers is its impressively low impact lag and above-par color accuracy. Thanks to both, it acquits itself decently against other major TVs in this low price range, especially from frequent champion Hisense.
It’s also available in smaller screen sizes that make it easier to get into dorms and home offices, plus its Tizen operating system also has a built-in Gaming Hub that collects all your apps, consoles and even music in one place.
Read our full Samsung Q60C QLED review.
The best budget OLED
No matter their price range, OLED TVs promise near-perfect black levels and exquisite colors, and that’s exactly what you’re getting with the LG A2 OLED.
To wit, the LG A2 OLED offers a decently sized OLED panel with top-notch color, surprisingly good sound, and low input lag. Its smart platform, webOS, is a clean, well-organized interface for navigating the TV and accessing its features and despite it being paired by only 20-watt, downward-firing speakers, there’s no lack of clarity even in hectic scenes where dialogue, action sounds, and music are all blazing at once.
Admittedly, you won’t get everything with the A2 that you will with pricier and tonier LG TVs. You’ll have to settle for a lower refresh rate, an older HDMI standard, and lower brightness. But considering that it wasn’t that long ago that OLEDs were unthinkable at the sub-$1,300 price point — to say nothing of the sub-$1,000 price point at which the smallest model can currently be found — those features might be small prices to pay if all you can pay is a small price.
Read our full LG A2 OLED review.
The best Google TV
The TCL 5-Series Google TV (S546) wowed us with its combination of smart TV features, solid performance and great value for your dollar. Building on the foundation of the already-good 5-Series, the move to Google TV gives the affordable 4K smart TV a more premium smart TV platform, one that offers personalized and customizable suggestions, a huge assortment of smart features, and deep Google Assistant integration that makes it a viable center for the entire home of connected gadgets. But it also offers a step up in other aspects of the TV.
As we found in our extensive testing, the 5-Series Google TV is a more polished version of the 5-Series TV when it comes to everything from color quality to lag times. And as well as delivering an excellent QLED 4K display, you also get a slick remote control, and a surprisingly wide array of gaming features for a 60Hz TV. For a smart TV that sells for under $1,000 for most size options, it’s easily one of the best TVs on the market.
Read our full TCL 5-Series Google TV (S546) 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 ($449 as tested) 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.
If you don’t need or want a TV with outlandish performance, you don’t have to pay for it — and you can still get a respectable TV. You get a lot for your $449.99 with the Sony Bravia X80K, as far as the picture, input lag, and the quality of Google TV and the remote. Comparably sized models of the Samsung Q60B and the Vizio M-Series Quantum better the Sony in some ways, but cost more.
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 budget TV for you
Buying a budget TV definitely means making a few sacrifices (2,000-nit brightness on a budget TV? No way) but hopefully now you know that you can find the essential features at an affordable price. So what should you be on the lookout for when buying a budget TV model?
4K resolution: 4K resolution is so affordable, and the quality so much better than 1080p or 720p, that we always recommend going for 4K. Unless you’re on a shoestring budget, getting a proper 4K TV won’t even cost you much money, but you will notice the difference.
Screen size: You may not always be able to score a premium 65-inch TV for under $500, but you can still get a decent 55-inch model, so don’t settle for some dinky 43-inch set unless it’s the right size for the space.
HDR support: If there’s one feature we recommend, it’s high dynamic range (HDR). Even basic HDR support provides better color, brighter highlights and richer shadows, giving you a better picture in every respect. If you can find a set with Dolby Vision, that’s even better, but you may pay more for that feature.
Connectivity: More HDMI ports are always better, so you don’t find yourself having to awkwardly swap plugs on the TV every time you want to fire up a Blu-ray or jump into a game.
Gaming: For affordable gaming TVs, we recommend looking for sets with higher refresh rates of 60Hz, but the latest Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles can actually go higher. Lag time is another concern, so check out individual reviews to find sets that have a lag time of shorter than 20 milliseconds for the best performance.
What features are worth paying more for?
Budget TVs are great. They are. And yet, you might be wondering what you’re missing by not spending the big bucks on a flagship model. Unfortunately, there are a few features that you just simply can’t find on a budget TV model unless you’re willing to flex the budget a bit.
Screen size: This one is a given. Unfortunately, you’re not going to get a 75-inch or 85-inch TV for the same price as a 55-inch model. Bigger screens cost more money. It’s like the law of gravity. Now, you can find a 75-inch TCL 4-Series for around the cost of a 65-inch 6-Series, but there are trade-offs in other areas to get that bigger size.
Class-leading picture quality: It’s a shame, but you can’t get class-leading picture quality on a budget. You can get close (see: the TCL 6-Series) but you’ll never get an LG OLED or Samsung QLED TV’s performance at the same price as, say, the TCL 5-Series. That means missing out on the best contrast, best color saturation, best upscaling and motion handling, and the best speed when navigating the UI.
Sound quality: Oof, we’ve all heard awful-sounding TVs and they can ruin the whole experience. While today’s budget TVs do a lot of things well, sound quality isn’t one of them. If you’re going for something that’s super cheap, expect weak and tinny sound from 10W speakers. The good news? You can buy a super cheap TV and then add one of the best soundbars later to get better audio.
How we test the best budget TVs
Evaluating TVs is about more than just kicking back to watch a movie. We lab test every TV, measuring color gamut, color accuracy and brightness to objectively see which sets are the best for these key indicators. We also test for lag time – a key detail for gaming – measuring to the millisecond how long it takes for content to travel from the original source to the screen. We use these results to make numbers-based comparisons about color and display quality.
We put all of that data together with our real-world testing and stack it against the price of the TV. The result is a score that we feel best represents the totality of that model, and how well it stands up against its contemporary rivals. A TV that scored highly five years ago may not score as highly against a newer model, but we do our best to update reviews when newer models become available.
Interested in a specific TV 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 | Best HDMI 2.1 TV | Best TVs with ATSC 3.0 | Best TVs with Chromecast
The smallest smart TVs | Best 43-inch TVs | Best 50-inch TVs | Best 55-inch TVs | Best 65-inch TVs | Best 70-inch TVs | Best 75-inch TVs | Best 85-inch TVs
