The Best Cheap TVs for 2025

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Budget-friendly TVs often make compromises compared with higher-end counterparts, but you can still get a good-looking, feature-filled TV for less than $1,000 if you know where to look. And you should start here. I'm a certified TV calibrator and THX home theater expert, and I put every TV I review through its paces using specialized equipment to measure its brightness, contrast, color accuracy, color range, and input lag. Currently available for less than $700 for 65 inches, the Hisense U6N is the best cheap TV on the market, offering excellent picture quality and loads of features thanks to its Google TV platform. If you're searching for a 75-inch TV for less than $1,000 or a decent guest bedroom TV for under $250, we also have options for you. Read on for the best cheap TVs we've tested, followed by tips to remember while shopping.

What Is the Best Cheap TV Brand?

The biggest names in TVs include LG, Samsung, Sony, and other brands that enjoy a global presence. Big names don't always mean the best values, however. Although we've seen some incredible TVs from these manufacturers, they're almost all flagship models that cost a few thousand dollars each. Their more affordable TVs are often less impressive and generally get much less attention.

The best brands for budget TVs might be unfamiliar to you: Hisense and TCL. These Chinese companies have made inroads in the US over the last several years with highly affordable models that offer surprisingly good picture quality. They occupy the land Vizio used to dominate, one which that company has somewhat ceded to maintain its strong position in the midrange TV market.

The Best Cheap 4K TVs

We're far past the point where 4K is a high-end luxury, especially with 8K gearing up to become a major force in a few years (emphasis on years; don't worry about it yet). You might be able to find a smaller TV that's still 1080p, but most screens on the market are 4K. With that in mind, we recommend you don't go any lower than 4K.

Simply put, there is no reason to buy a 1080p TV at this point. 4K models offer many advantages and no longer demand a premium price. In addition to being sharper, 4K TVs are more likely to support high dynamic range (HDR), which means they can be brighter and more colorful than 1080p TVs with standard dynamic range. And, since most major streaming services support 4K HDR now, you can get plenty of 4K content out of the box without worrying about replacing your DVD or Blu-ray collection.

The Best Cheap Smart TVs

Like 4K, smart TV platforms are now basically universal, even for budget TVs. If you get a new TV, it likely has some way to watch Netflix and probably many other streaming services. Because of Amazon Fire TV, Android/Google TV, and Roku TV, any television manufacturer can easily slot a connected interface into their product. This is part of how Hisense and TCL have made such strong gains in the budget TV market; they rely on the prebuilt Android/Google TV or Roku TV packages, which don't require any internal development effort. The majority of TVs on this list use one of these three third-party smart TV platforms.

What's the Difference Between Cheap and Expensive TVs?

Cheaper TVs generally don't get as bright as pricier panels; they have higher black levels that result in much lower contrast ratios, and they don't have nearly as wide color ranges. Moreover, the devices are usually a bit thicker and typically look less streamlined than midrange and high-end offerings.

Near the high end of the budget range, you can find some excellent TVs with fairly bright panels, dark blacks, wide colors, and stylish designs. However, if you want to pay less, expect to get less in terms of picture quality and design. That said, you really can't go wrong with any of the options we've tested here.

Meanwhile, if money is no object, take a look at our list of the best TVs overall, the best 65-inch TVs, and the best 75-inch (and up) TVs. And if a fast response time is important to you, consider one of the best TVs for gaming.