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Finding the best TV for your money in 2023 can be a little misleading. With so many products on the market today, with all different features and resolutions, “best” can be an incredibly subjective term. So, we sifted through hundreds of TVs online, ranging from smart TVs to OLED TVs to 4K TVs in search of the best of the best. After reading customer and expert reviews and product specs, we chose the top 20 TVs and purchased them so we could put them through extensive testing using the best TV accessories. Just as a side note, we only purchased and tested 4K TVs, which are more affordable now than they ever have been.
During our tests, we measured picture quality, display resolution, HDR availability and much more. We even tested the TVs’ user interfaces and smart TV capabilities. Finally, after we had watched over 100 hours of movies and binged all our favorite Netflix shows, we are proud to say that the Samsung UN65RU7100FXZA 65-inch LED TV is the best TV for your money in 2023 because of its affordable price, simple user interface, and stellar picture quality. Read on in our in-depth guide which breaks everything down on a size-by-size basis to find out more about the Samsung and the other top picks on our list.
Award: Best 65″ TV for Your Money
Price: $647.99 | Features: PurColor technology, HDR functionality, 4K UHD processor | Read Full Review: Samsung UN65RU7100FXZA Review
WHY IT’S A TOP PICK: The Samsung UN65RU7100FXZA is the go-to choice for buyers with big living rooms.
It’s no secret that the once-dominant Samsung has had a tough time keeping up in the competition with brands like LG and Vizio (and budget brands like TCL and Hisense) lately when it comes to selling a lot of 4K TVs. But, Samsung also has some of the best TV monitors that you can use with your PC.
As the latter brands continue to innovate at the cutting edge, Samsung has had to pivot its strategy, focusing its efforts more on the budget consumer to try and eke out their own little niche in a crowded marketplace. The result of that effort is the UN65RU7100FXZA, which while not all that flashy on the outside, still offers one of the best size-to-price ratios of all the sets we have listed here. Plus, this Samsung model features a 4K UHD processor that optimizes performance coupled with the 4K picture quality. It also has OneRemote that can control all compatible devices, and even features Google Assistant and Alexa compatibility.
The UN65RU7100FXZA is the best choice for anyone who has a larger living room and knows they’ll need a big enough set to compensate for the distance between themselves and the TV, and it still manages to cost around half of much as what you’d expect to pay for one of those LG displays that spend half their operating budget on the design of a set, instead of the raw quality picture it can put out. Unfortunately, it’s not an OLED TV, but we’re willing to look past that for this price and the features it does provide. With a powerful set like this, you will want only the best streaming device.
View on Amazon – $647.99
TCL holds onto its title as the go-to choice for budget-conscious consumers
Award: Editor’s Choice/Best 43″ TV for Your Money
Price: $229.00 | Features: LED display technology, 120Hz max refresh rate, Smart TV capability | Read Full Review: TCL TV 43S425 Review
WHY IT’S A TOP PICK: The TCL 43S425 is a modern marvel of 4K technology in a pint-sized package.
TCL is a company that continues to churn out some of the very best 4K TVs in the business, but also somehow manage to undercut and undersell the competition by miles without batting an eye. This ethos for packing high-grade features into affordable sets is no more apparent than in the company’s latest 43″ 4K TV, the TCL 43S425.
Whether it’s the Ultra HD motion-smoothing engine, the 120Hz refresh rate for insane sports performance, or the comprehensive smart TV options like Netflix, Hulu and Roku TV, you’d be in a tough spot if you had to find anything about this TV not to like. For the best local channel reception, pick the right best TV antenna.
View on Amazon – $229.00
Award: Best 49″ TV for Your Money
Price: $346.99 | Features: 120Hz effective refresh rate, Active HDR (HDR10) configuration, LG ThinQ AI | Read Full Review: LG 49UM7300PUA
WHY IT’S A TOP PICK: LG has trimmed their best performing model down for the budget consumer with the 49UM7300PUA.
LG is a company that does a great job of walking the line between hyper-expensive 4K TVs with all the bells and whistles, and pushing out lower-tier models that occupy the lower shelves but still manage to look great doing it.
With an IPS display, the LG 49UM7300PUA has viewing angles unlike any other set here. Add this to its long list of premium features like Active HDR, 4K upscaling, and a 120Hz TrueMotion refresh rate, and you’ve got a TV that has all the extra bonuses of a 4K picture quality, but doesn’t even come close to the “4K price”. And with the included ThinQ AI system, you can also connect the TV to your smart home devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for greater control over your connected home.
View on Amazon – $346.99
Award: Best 50″ TV for Your Money
Price: $249.99 | Features: Built-in Fire TV experience, native 4K resolution, HDR compatible | Read Full Review: Insignia NS-50DF710NA19 TV Review
WHY IT’S A TOP PICK: The Insignia NS-50DF710NA19 is an insanely affordable 50-inch 4K television with plenty of excellent features.
If it wasn’t already obvious, we were hugely impressed with the Insignia NS-50DF710NA19, which despite its confusing name, is hands down one of the best TVs for the money in 2023. Insignia is a relatively unknown brand, but with its recent partnership with Amazon, it’s slowly becoming more popular. This is a TV that was specifically designed to work best with Amazon’s Fire TV and Alexa services, and it’s apparent.
Read: Best 65-inch 4K TV for 2023
The same part of the market that VIZIO held the crown for for so many years is now being handed over to makers like Insignia, whose NS-50DF710NA19 is a prime example of what you can do when you trim off all the unnecessary bits from a 4K TV. This is a set that looks great, costs almost nothing, and continually gets high praise from reviewers and customers alike who are dumbfounded that an unheard of company has made a TV that can easily compete with the big boys in their first years of business.
View on Amazon – $249.99
Award: Best 55″ TV for Your Money
Price: $399.99 | Features: 240Hz refresh rate, SmartTV functionality, Google Assistant built in | Read Full Review: Hisense 55H8F
WHY IT’S A TOP PICK: The integration of Google Assistant and other smart TV features into the Hisense 55H8F is perfect for cable cutters everywhere.
Previously unknown underdog companies from Asia like Hisense and TCL have been seriously disrupting the market in recent months, releasing sets that have all the qualities you could possibly want out of a solid 4K TV, all at prices that make even the most cost-conscience connoisseur do a double take.
Read More: The Best 70 inch TV
The main attraction of the Hisense H8F 55-inch (aside from its Dolby Vision HDR HDR 10 and 60 full array local dimming zones) is the integration of Google Assistant right into the unit itself. This means you can use this 4K tv in your smart home without any kind of hiccup, a fun and intuitive feature that you’ll start to see in more and more 4K ultra HD television sets.
Update: Other premium models we looked at but didn’t review here and that you need to know about include the Sony Master Series and X950G that uses an Android TV OS, the LG C9 OLED and LG B9 OLED with a low input lag, HDMI 2.1, and FreeSync for gamers, Vizio P Series Quantum X, and the TCL 6-Series that’s one of the best budget TV with quantum dot technology. The QLED or quantum dot technology is used on some of these premium new TV models to produce the best picture using quantum dots to improve color accuracy.
The TCL 6-Series comes in 55 or 65 inches and features 4K UHD picture clarity, offering 500,000 movies and TV episodes via Roku TV. The best thing about the TCL 6-Series is its budget-friendly cost, considering all the features it packs, including LED backlighting that highlights the contrast between bright and dark areas of an image.
There’s also the LG CX OLED TV that comes in 48, 55, 65, and 77 inches. The LG Cx features the OLED motion pro, which is an advanced motion handling tech for fast movements in action and sports sequences, with a refresh rate of 120Hz. Built for gaming the LG Cx also has the latest tech in gaming features such as NVIDIA G-SYNC and FreeSync, and we can see why it is more expensive than the TCL 6-Series.
View on Amazon – $399.99
Consumers who are considering new TVs often have a lot of factors to consider. However, most of us don’t even understand the technology behind televisions. In order to understand many of the new features of TVs, it is important to understand how each feature impacts the TV. For example, certain production methods, like those for OLED and LCD TVs, can have a direct impact on the TV and its quality. Plasma was once a huge factor with a big price tag, but plasma TVs are old now, and the new hotness belongs to OLED and QLED units. Meanwhile, other features, like the audio return channel, enhance the TV.
A television is an electronic device that interprets signals to create an image on the screen and the audio that goes along with it. TVs allow consumers to watch TV shows and movies created for entertainment. In addition to standard TVs, there are also “smart” TVs, which allow users to stream content from the internet directly to their TV.
You probably hear about TV resolution all the time, and most people know it roughly refers to the resolution of the image the TV displays. But, you may be wondering, what exactly is TV resolution? In simple terms, resolution directly refers to the number of vertical pixels on a panel (and technically to the number of horizontal pixels as well.) When you see something like 1080p or “Full HD”, that means the panel has 1080 vertical pixels per horizontal pixel. Since nearly all 1080p televisions have 1920 horizontal pixels, this means your typical FHD TV will have 2,073,600 pixels. As you move up in resolution, you increase the number of pixels going in both directions, and this means the television can accurately reproduce higher quality content with better accuracy, making for more stunning images and video quality.
There are only a few types of displays being sold at the moment, including liquid crystal displays (LCD,) light-emitting diodes (LED,) which are actually a form of LCD TV, and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs. Some people still use cathode-ray tube (CRT) and plasma screen TVs, but they are no longer in production. The most common type of display you’ll encounter will be LCD televisions, so it’s worth knowing exactly what LCD TVs are and how they work. We can help!
Smart TVs have become almost ubiquitous in the world of televisions. You may be wondering what being a smart TV means. Simply put, smart televisions still do exactly what “dumb” TVs do, but come with extra features. Like your phone or computer, Smart TVs come with pre-installed apps and have the ability to download new ones. They can connect to the internet, access streaming services and content natively, and do it all over a connection to your home’s internet connection, be it wired or wireless.
If you’re unsure about investing in new TV technology, it’s worth considering what the premium you pay with give you. While newer flat-panel technologies such as 8K resolution and HDR (High Dynamic Range) offer unparalleled fidelity and performance, the content available to the average consumer largely hasn’t caught up with this technology, meaning the high cost of such advanced television lines may not be justifiable until content catches up to the tech and starts to offer you something designed to take advantage of the newest technologies.
Insider Tip
How Long Should A TV Last? Buying a new TV is a considerable investment, so you’re probably wondering how long your television will last. Luckily manufacturers make TVs to last up to a decade. The average life of a TV lasts around 5 to 7 years, but it can last even longer with proper maintenance and repair. That said, certain conditions like burn-in and screen dimming can occur; those issues should not be a factor until your TV is nearing the end of its life. In addition, certain factors like humidity and lack of ventilation can shorten the life of your TV.
Many consumers start looking for a new TV after putting some forethought into what they want. Since we can’t always think of everything, however, here are some things that you should consider. We’ll cover the most important aspect, like budget, size, panel technology and features like smart interface, picture processing tech, and audio performance to help you find that sweet spot.
When it comes to buying a new TV, the marketplace has a wide variety options that it can be overwhelming to understand what you’re getting for your money at any given price point. Add into the mix that TVs come in a huge price range and things start to get hazy. Knowing how much you should expect to spend on a TV is a matter of figuring out a budget and deciding what size, display resolution, and features you can and can’t live without, and taking into consideration any peripherals or other components like a sound bar that you’re going to be purchasing as well.
Bigger is almost always better when it comes to TVs. If the room you’re putting a TV in has room for a 60” TV but you had a 55” in mind, it’s usually worth it to pay extra for the 60” TV.
The size of a TV should depend on the size of the room it is being used in. This idea comes from both the appearance of the TV in the room and the angles that people would be sitting at. The TV should not look massive in a certain room unless that is what you are going for. Additionally, people sitting around the room may want to watch the TV, requiring viewing angle and distance consideration. Generally speaking, your screen size should be as large as you can possibly fit within your budget and the space you have available. Remember that “fit” also includes things like peripherals and cords, so a 65-inch model in a 70 inch nook might be a tight squeeze if you can’t easily set up cables and media decks.
STAT: The average size of LCD TVs in the US has hit 50” as of 2020. It was less than 30” in 1997! (source)
When you are considering different TVs, you should consider whether you want a higher resolution, sharper colors, darker black levels, or greater resilience. Certain types of TVs provide each of these features, though it may be difficult to find all four in one TV. However, many high-end TVs may be designed that have higher resolution, sharper colors, and deep blacks. A common comparison you might make are between LED and LCD TVs, though the increase in available OLED televisions means that you’re also very likely to compare OLED and LED TVs. Some TVs also come with curved panels instead of traditional flat panels, which is supposed to improve viewing angles and immersion in the content on the screen.
Did You Know?
CRTs are often held up as the gold standard for display tech when playing retro games. If you’re interested in retro gaming, there are plenty of old picture tubes you can find on places like eBay – and you may want to consider making a purchase sooner rather than later.
4K TVs provide better image resolution than standard 1080p or high-definition TVs. These TVs typically have around 4,000 pixels along the horizontal axis, which leads to a greater pixel density and more details and offer about 8.6 million pixels in total. It’s worth noting, however, that as size of the TV increases, the pixel density decreases, meaning less pixels in each spot. Keep that in mind when choosing a 4K TV.
Smart TVs allow users to connect to their streaming services through the TV itself and can help make for a smoother viewing experience. If you buy a standard TV, you will need at least one additional device to connect to these applications, like a gaming console. Fortunately, Smart TVs have become more common than “dumb” TVs, and you usually have to go out of your way to find a TV that doesn’t have smart features baked into it. This means choosing a smart TV is less expensive than you might think, because they’re the default type of television on the market now. Common smart TV features include things like pre-installed streaming apps, the ability to connect to Bluetooth and wireless internet, and custom smart platform operating systems, which all serve to round out the smart TV experience.
Available features may make or break a TV choice. One common feature that gets compared in televisions is the type of panel the TV uses. VA (vertical alignment) and IPS (in-plane switching) are the two display techs you’ll see compared most often. When comparing a VA panel against an IPS panel, the winner in most rounds is the VA display, which offers truer blacks and wide viewing angles, making it excellent for maintaining excellent picture quality even in dim rooms. IPS panels, on the other hand, offer improved native refresh rate or even variable refresh rate, vibrant colors and a lower price. Other features worth considering include the overall sound quality of the built-in speakers or a super slim design.
Certain types of displays work better for different situations. Gaming and sports, for example, may show up better on a TV with quicker processing. If you want to game, you should look for a gaming TV with low input lag, high resolution, and high refresh rates. High refresh rates help to reduce the input lag because the image updates more frequently. You may also find yourself comparing a monitor and TV, especially if you’re looking for a smaller TV. Monitors and televisions may look extremely similar, but there are a number of differences when it comes to image quality, refresh rate and size. Monitors, for example, typically have lower screen resolution, and the image quality will be lower than a TV of the same size. They also have higher refresh rates and require less time to process an image than a television. On the other hand, TVs typically come in larger sizes than monitors.
There are dedicated outdoor TV sets, made by dedicated outdoor TV manufacturers!
There is often a lot of confusion surrounding certain TV terms, such as 4K, OLED, and LED. For example, some consumers believe LED and LCD TVs to be different things, when LED refers to the backlight display being an array of LEDs used in an LCD panel. It becomes important to understand each of these terms when you are considering buying a new TV. Terms like “Neo QLED” and Neo QLED TV directly reference Samsung’s take on LED displays, and are an iteration on Samsung’s previous technology, QLED TV. The “Q” stands for quantum and otherwise simply refers to an LED television with proprietary tech.
Should You Buy A Used Or Refurbished TV? Buying a used or refurbished TV is an excellent idea if you want to save some money. That said, buy from an authorized dealer that offers a warranty. If possible, buy refurbished from the original manufacturer so that you have a better guarantee. If you want the most protection possible, you should buy a new TV.
There are many different types of televisions. However, certain types are no longer on the market, such as plasma or cathode-ray tube TVs. The main type of TV currently on the market is liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs, which require backlighting. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) often provide the lighting for LCD TVs, and quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) add an extra layer to the screen of an LED with the goal of better image quality. Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs do not use LCDs, making them one of the few TVs available that does not use LCDs.
Owning a TV often comes with its own set of responsibilities. From maintenance and repair to disposal of previous TVs, consumers have a lot to consider. This section covers everything you need to know to care for your purchase!
Are Extended Warranties Worth It For TVs? If you buy a TV from a major vendor, whether on line or in a brick-and-mortar store, you’ll more than likely be offered an “extended warranty” at an additional cost. Sometimes these warranties are fairly negligible in cost and some come with a bigger price tag, so you may be wondering whether they’re worth the extra expense. The answer to that depends on a few factors- cost of the TV, what’s covered, and the vendor itself. Before making the decision, know what you’re paying for.
Cleaning your TV screen is very easy. You’ll need a microfiber or a dry soft piece of cloth, dish soap, bowl, spray bottle, and a bowl. First, turn off your TV before you attempt cleaning. It’s much easier to spot dirt and dust when the TV screen is off and cooled down. Next, with a lint-free dry cloth, begin to gently wipe the screen in a circular motion. If you have tough stains, use a wet cloth. Add a drop of dishwashing soap on one-fourth of the water and mix. Apply it onto a soft cloth. Lastly, re-wipe it with a dry microfiber cloth.
Most smart TVs now support a useful little feature known as casting. You may have been wondering what that means, and how you cast to your TV. Fortunately, casting is usually as simple as using Bluetooth on your phone, your home’s wireless connection, or plugging a dongle into the television. Casting using Bluetooth or WiFi simply requires you to turn on your own phone’s Bluetooth or connect to your home’s wireless internet. Then load an app that supports casting to televisions, like YouTube, and tap the “cast to TV” button the app provides. When you cast to your television using a dongle, you simply plug the dongle into your TV (usually into an HDMI port or a USB port) and then connect to the device over Bluetooth or WiFi, and then use the app dedicated to connect to and control the dongle.
Certain appliances are made to be used with TVs. However, some may find it difficult to connect to these devices. Fortunately, we can help. Connecting your phone to your television is actually pretty straightforward these days thanks to apps and native support for casting from you phone to TV. You simply need to have Bluetooth on or have both your TV and your phone connected to the same network. Connecting a laptop to a TV is a little more involved, since you might need to use a cable, but most computers come with native applications to help facilitate the entire process.
In some cases, you can troubleshoot problems with your TV using either the manual that comes with it or any additional resources found online. If you’re not sure whether you can repair it on your own, however, it’s best to just call a repairman. Otherwise, it could end up costing you more in the end. We have some useful tips on how to fix a broken TV screen, but the process is involved, so be aware. OLED burn-in, on the other hand, is more a thing you can use some best practices to avoid.
If you want to know how to calibrate your TV, it’s easy! First, open your TV settings, and hover to the “Custom presets /User Mode” or “Cinema/Movie” preset. Next, disable all image manipulation features such as the Soap Opera effect or Black Frame Insertion. When you are done with TV calibration, you could activate these features to see their effect on the image quality. Adjust the contrast and brightness to get the maximum black while ensuring all the black bars remain visible. If you are looking to have a brighter image, it is best to adjust your TV’s ‘Backlight’ setting.
You may notice your TV has “Game Mode” – this feature speeds up the processing of video to reduce input lag and make playing games a much smoother experience. Make sure to turn it off when you’re done gaming though, because it will also cut down your picture quality.