- Electronics
- Home theater
The Best TVs
By Lee Neikirk
Lee Neikirk is a writer focused on AV gear. He has tested and calibrated more than 300 displays and once gave an outdoor TV a shower.
Our favorite TVs deliver superior picture quality for a reasonable price.
Whether it’s a big-screen 4K OLED TV that delivers the ultimate videophile performance, a great 4K TV on a budget, or a small, 32-inch HDTV for a secondary space, our recommendations always take into account both performance and value.
This article provides an overview of the top picks across all of our TV guides. We’ve spent hundreds of hours researching and testing to find the best option for any space or budget, so read on to find the right TV for you.
How we picked and tested
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“Just right” pricing
The best TV shopping strategy is Goldilocks-style: Look for a TV that isn’t too cheap but isn’t loaded with frills you don’t need.
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Our testing methods
We use professional measurement equipment to judge a TV’s accuracy, and we evaluate TVs based on how real people actually use them.
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Future-proofed picks
TV tech is always evolving, so we look for TVs that have the specs to stay relevant for many years.
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Best of the best
These TVs are our top picks from our various TV guides, which involved hundreds of hours of research and testing. They won’t let you down.
If you’re eager to buy a new TV but overwhelmed by all the jargon, check out our TV buying guide.
The key thing to know about modern TVs is that shopping for a new one is less about avoiding a lemon and more about making sure you aren’t paying for features you don’t need or won’t use.
But the good news is that even affordable TVs tend to look excellent if you just want the basics.
So start by asking yourself a few questions:
- What kind of content are you going to watch?
- What’s the right screen size for the room?
- How much control do you have over competing light, such as from lamps and windows?
If you’re not planning on playing video games or watching Blu-ray discs, you probably don’t need a TV with a 120 Hz refresh rate, which tends to raise the price.
If you’re buying for a bedroom, you probably don’t need a huge screen.
And if your intended room is especially bright, you may want to spring for a premium LCD TV since such models get a lot brighter than budget LCD TVs or OLED TVs.
Knowing some of these basic points before you start shopping around can simplify the process and narrow down your viable options.
The research
- Great image quality for the price: Best LCD/LED TV
- If you can’t spend as much: Best budget 4K TV
- Upgrade for the best possible performance: Best OLED TV
- If you want a midsize screen: Best 40- to 49-inch TVs
- For small or secondary spaces: Best 32-inch TV
- More resources
- Further reading
Great image quality for the price: Best LCD/LED TV
Who it’s for: An LCD/LED TV is an appropriate choice for the shopper who wants excellent picture quality but isn’t willing to spend a fortune to get the absolute best OLED TV. High-performance LCD TVs are especially well suited for very bright rooms.
Why we like it: The Hisense U8N Series sports all of the advanced TV technologies we like to see—quantum dots for richer color saturation, a mini-LED backlight with local dimming for better black levels and overall contrast, and a 120 Hz refresh rate for improved motion—and it utilizes them to splendid effect. This LCD TV’s image contrast almost rivals OLED quality. It excels with HDR video, thanks to its impressive brightness. We measured a peak brightness of over 3,000 nits in the TV’s Dolby Vision IQ picture mode. The U8N also has all the necessary features to excel as a gaming monitor, with two high-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 inputs (one with eARC) that allow for 4K 120 Hz gaming from the latest Xbox and PlayStation consoles. It comes equipped with the Google TV platform, which we found to be reliable and easy to use.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: Performance is inconsistent among the U8N’s screen sizes. The 75-inch model uses a different type of panel that has slightly lower contrast, and the 55-inch model isn’t as bright as the others (if this is an issue for you, we recommend saving up for the 55-inch version of our upgrade pick, the Samsung QN90D Series). If you purchased an early version of this TV, you may notice some quirky glitches, but Hisense has been rolling out firmware updates to address them. Additionally, while the U8N’s 4K HDR rendering is excellent, it doesn’t do as well when upconverting lower-resolution video.
Available sizes: 55, 65, 75, 85 inches
HDMI ports: four
Smart OS: Google TV
Resolution: 4K (3840×2160)
Screen type: LCD/LED
Top pick
Hisense U8N Series
The best 4K LCD TV for the money
This high-performance LCD TV delivers a great picture at a reasonable price and is equipped with all of the advanced technologies you need.
Buying Options
You save $300 (15%)
(65-inch)
(65-inch)
With scheduled delivery
You save $150 (18%)
If you can’t spend as much: Best budget 4K TV
Who it’s for: The shopper who is willing to sacrifice some image quality and features to get a great deal.
Why we like it: The Hisense U6N Series delivers a great-looking 4K picture, and it comes in 55-, 65-, 75-, and 85-inch sizes. It’s the only TV in its price range to combine quantum dots for rich color, full-array local dimming for maximum contrast, and mini-LED backlighting, producing about 650 nits of brightness with HDR video during testing. It performs especially well with Dolby Vision and 4K HDR content. While the U6N only has a 60 Hz refresh rate, Hisense’s “Game Mode Plus” suite offers attractive features for gamers, like VRR (variable refresh rates) for smooth gameplay and ALLM (auto low-latency mode). Plus, it has our favorite streaming platform built in, Google TV, so you can easily access your favorite video and audio streaming services.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: While the U6N isn’t dim, it doesn’t have the same brightness as a premium LCD/LED TV—meaning the picture won’t look as good in a room with lots of sunlight or ambient light. A common problem with LCD/LED TVs is limited viewing angles, and the U6N isn’t immune to it. Viewers looking at the TV from the side rather than head-on may have some complaints about the picture.
Available sizes: 55, 65, 75, and 85 inches
HDMI ports: four
Smart OS: Google TV
Resolution: 4K (3840×2160)
Screen type: LCD/LED
Top pick
Hisense U6N Series
Best 4K TV on a budget
This TV uses tech like mini-LED backlighting and quantum-dot color for satisfying 4K imaging at a decent price. But it doesn’t have enough brightness for a premium HDR experience.
Buying Options
With scheduled delivery
You save $125 (26%)
Upgrade for the best possible performance: Best OLED TV
Who it’s for: The shopper who is willing to pay a premium to get the best of the best. OLED TVs produce the best HDR picture quality, the best motion, and the widest viewing angles of any TV currently available. Learn more about OLED technology in this article.
Why we like it: The LG C4 Series delivers rich color, perfect black levels, and wide viewing angles to produce a gorgeous picture. It doesn’t use newer QD-OLED technology, but it’s still one of the brighter OLED TVs we’ve tested, so you can watch it comfortably in all but the brightest of rooms. Additionally, the C4 Series is great for gamers because of its low input lag, 120 Hz refresh rate, terrific collection of gaming features via the native Game Optimizer dashboard, Dolby Vision support, and four HDMI 2.1 inputs.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: The C4 doesn’t have the best possible color performance, and you may see a greenish tint if you’re watching from a particularly wide viewing angle. 4K over-the-air broadcasts also aren’t available with the C4’s built-in ATSC 1.0 tuner (but you can purchase a separate ATSC 3.0 tuner). If you’re willing to pay a premium price for QD-OLED technology and a built-in ATSC 3.0 tuner, consider our upgrade OLED TV pick, the Sony A95L Series.
Available sizes: 42, 48, 55, 65, 77, and 83 inches
HDMI ports: four
Smart OS: webOS
Resolution: 4K (3840×2160)
Screen type: OLED
Top pick
LG C4 Series
The best OLED TV
This OLED TV pairs top-notch picture quality with ample features, and it’s available in a wide range of screen sizes. But because it doesn’t use quantum-dot technology, it falls short of delivering the most vivid color.
Buying Options
(65-inch)
(65-inch)
If you want a midsize screen: Best 40- to 49-inch TVs
Who they’re for: People who want a modest-sized screen but also care about picture quality and design.
Why we like them: The smaller screen sizes in LG’s C4 Series are every bit as good as their larger counterparts, delivering wonderful picture quality for movies, TV shows, and games. They boast all the strengths that make OLED TVs the best-looking screens available—namely, perfect black levels that pair with above-average screen brightness to create impeccable contrast, a rich color palette that makes HDR content really pop, wide off-angle viewing, and excellent screen-response time that’s ideal for serious gaming.
If you need a 43-inch screen size for your AV or gaming setup, we recommend the Samsung QN43QN90D LCD TV (shown above). It measured brighter than our OLED picks during testing, but it doesn’t have the same vibrant contrast and perfect black levels that OLED technology offers. The QN90D’s screen is designed to cut down on ambient-light reflections and uses quantum dots for rich color—making it the perfect choice for a bright room. Along with Samsung’s helpful gaming dashboard, this TV has very low input lag and four HDMI 2.1 inputs.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: Both the LG C4 Series and the Samsung QN90D have a built-in ATSC 1.0 tuner, which isn’t capable of showing over-the-air broadcasts in 4K. Additionally, the QN90D doesn’t support Dolby Vision HDR. Our recommendations above land at the pricey, high-performance end, while most TVs around this size are entry-level in performance and features. If you’re looking for a more budget-oriented model that still performs respectably well, check out the 43-inch Roku Select Series 43R4A5R 4K TV.
Top pick
LG OLED42C4PUA
The best 42-inch 4K TV
This versatile OLED TV delivers the best picture quality in the 40- to 49-inch size range and is also great for gaming. But it doesn’t come cheap.
Buying Options
LG OLED48C4PUA
The best 48-inch 4K TV
This versatile OLED TV delivers the best picture quality in the 40- to 49-inch size range and is also great for gaming. But it doesn’t come cheap.
Buying Options
Top pick
Samsung QN43QN90D
The best 43-inch TV
This LCD TV offers the high-performance technologies necessary to deliver peak brightness and picture quality that almost rivals OLED TVs. But that comes at a high cost.
Buying Options
For small or secondary spaces: Best 32-inch TV
Who it’s for: The shopper who doesn’t have much space, has a very limited budget, or is shopping for a secondary room.
Why we like it: The Roku Select Series HD (32R2A5R) is a great small, smart TV that you can quickly and easily set up and use in most any space. It offers the best picture contrast of the models we tested and good sound quality, and the built-in Roku TV smart-TV platform supports all the major streaming video and music services. The Roku remote is simple without being too simplistic, with direct buttons to launch Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, and Netflix, plus a microphone for voice search. The 32R2A5R comes with older AV inputs for things like retro gaming and DVD players, and you get three HDMI inputs (one with eARC compatibility, so it works well with new soundbars).
Flaws but not dealbreakers: None of the 32-inch TVs we’ve tested excel in the brightness department, and their LCD panels don’t incorporate any light-rejecting technology to help improve image contrast—so they aren’t a good choice for bright rooms or watching HDR content. The 32R2A5R’s 720p resolution is not ideal for up-close uses such as desktop work or gaming, and you may want to invest in a soundbar or a better sound system, as it doesn’t produce stellar audio on its own. If you need a 1080p resolution or prefer a different smart-TV platform, consider our runner-up pick, the TCL S3. In addition, the Select Series HD is only sold through Best Buy.
Available sizes: 24, 32, 40 inches
HDMI ports: three
Smart OS: Roku TV
Resolution: 720p (1366×768)
Screen type: LCD/LED
Top pick
Roku Select Series HD (32R2A5R)
The best 32-inch TV
The 32R2A5R is a great all-in-one small TV, offering good performance, an intuitive smart-TV platform, and a variety of connection options.
Buying Options
More resources
Is your TV set up to look its best? Do you need a smart TV? What is HDR, and do you have the right gear to watch it? Check out some of our educational resources below:
5 things our TV expert does to instantly improve a TV’s performance
Simple tips for getting the best picture from your new TV
Ask Wirecutter: Can you recommend a non-smart TV for me?
A $500 TV is usually good enough. But what makes a $2,000 TV worth it?
Do you really need an outdoor TV?
Buying a new TV this year? Here’s what you need to know about OLED
What is an HDR TV? (And why some TVs don’t measure up)
Further reading
Meet your guide
Lee Neikirk
I write about TVs, media streaming devices, TV wall mounts, Blu-ray players, and other AV equipment. Because I’m a musician, I occasionally help test things such as USB audio interfaces.
Further reading
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All the TVs Wirecutter Recommends
by Wirecutter Staff
Looking for a new TV but unsure where to start? Whether you want to shop by size, price, or purpose, we have recommendations.
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Gear to Get Better Sound From Your TV
by Grant Clauser
TVs are made for great pictures, so we recommend the best ways to get great sound too.
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The Best TV Wall Mount
by Doug Mahoney
If you want to hang your flat-panel TV on the wall, we recommend the Sanus VMPL50A-B1 or Sanus VLF728-B2, depending on how much motion you need in your mount.
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The Best 32-Inch TV
by Lee Neikirk
The 32-inch Roku Select Series HD TV provides good picture quality and an intuitive smart-TV experience for a reasonable price.