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The 3 Best Budget TVs - Fall 2024

Updated Aug 22, 2024 at 10:18 am
Best Budget TVs

Whether you're on a strict budget or looking for the best cheap 4k TV, you don't have to spend a ton of money to get a decent display that's good enough for watching your favorite shows and movies. Today, even cheap and budget-friendly TVs can deliver a decent viewing experience for most uses, and many of them have great smart features, eliminating the need to spend more on an external streaming device if you want to look for the best cheap smart TV. You can also find these models in a wide range of sizes, so you aren't limited to just small sizes.

We've bought and tested more than 450 TVs; below are our picks for the best budget models. You can see our recommendations for the best TVs under $500, the best TVs under $1,000, and, if you need a soundbar but don't want to spend too much, the best budget soundbars. You can also vote on which ones you want us to buy and test. To learn more about the 2024 models, check out our 2024 TV lineup page.


  1. Best Budget TV

    The best budget TV in 2024 we've tested is the Hisense U6/U6N. What separates it from similarly-priced models from other brands is its effective local dimming feature that gives the TV fantastic contrast, so you get deep blacks in a dark room that mostly stay deep when highlights are also on screen, although there's some noticeable blooming. Still, the TV provides excellent overall picture quality due to its wide color gamut, good upscaling, and very good SDR brightness, which makes it usable in a room with some lights on. Unfortunately, the TV isn't as bright in HDR as in SDR, but it's still enough for a somewhat impactful HDR experience. You also get Dolby Vision HDR, HDR10+, and DTS audio support.

    Regarding gaming, the TV is limited to 4k @ 60Hz and doesn't have HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, but it does support VRR for a nearly tear-free gaming experience. You can also choose to forgo some resolution to play in up to 1440p @ 120Hz, although VRR doesn't work when you do that. If you're looking for a budget-friendly TV and don't need modern gaming features like 4k @ 120Hz, the Hisense U6/U6N is an excellent option.

    See our review

  2. Best Premium Budget TV

    Current Deal: The Hisense U7N [U7, U75N] 55" has dropped in price by $252 at Amazon.com.

    If you like the Hisense U6/U6N but want even better picture quality and modern gaming features, the best premium budget TV we've tested is the Hisense U7N. It has even better contrast than the U6N, so you get deeper blacks in a dark room. The TV also displays more vibrant, lifelike, and brighter colors. The biggest advantage it has over the lower-end model is how much brighter it gets, meaning it's well-suited for use in a bright room and delivers more impactful highlights in HDR. It's also more accurate, so it sticks closer to the content creator's intent. You also still get support for all three major HDR formats, and it supports DTS audio formats.

    In addition to better overall picture quality, it's a fully featured gaming TV with HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two ports for up to 4k @ 144Hz and VRR support. This makes it fully compatible with modern gaming consoles and pairs well with powerful gaming PCs. It also has a quick response time, so fast motion has minimal blur behind it.

    See our review

  3. Best Cheap TV

    Current Deal: The Roku Select Series 65" has dropped in price by $80 at BestBuy.com.

    The Roku Select Series is the best cheap TV we've tested if you want something affordable that gets the job done. Unlike our two picks above, this TV doesn't have local dimming, so you don't get the same deep blacks as you do on those TVs, but it still provides a decent dark room viewing experience. It has good enough SDR brightness to use in a room with some lights on, but it's dim in HDR, so HDR content lacks impact. It supports the standard HDR10 and the more advanced HDR10+ formats, but you don't get Dolby Vision HDR or DTS audio support.

    The Roku has low input lag and a quick enough response time for a smooth gaming experience, but you won't find any modern gaming features on this TV, so you're limited to 4k @ 60Hz without any sort of VRR, and you do see some screen tearing. Still, if you're searching for the cheapest possible TV that still looks pretty good, the Roku is the way to go.

    See our review

Notable Mentions

  • TCL Q5/Q550G QLED: The TCL Q5/Q550G QLED is a good budget TV from TCL and directly competes with the Hisense U6/U6N. The Hisense is better overall for most people due to its superior contrast, but the TCL is an interesting option for gamers. Like the Hisense, the TCL supports up to 1440p @ 120Hz, but VRR works on the TCL when you do that. This makes it slightly better for gamers looking for the best performance. See our review
  • TCL QM7/QM751G QLED: The TCL QM7/QM751G QLED is the Hisense U7N's primary competitor but isn't as good overall as the Hisense. The TCL does get slightly brighter, but the Hisense has the edge in contrast, reflections, and accuracy, so it's the better option for most people. See our review

Recent Updates

  1. Aug 22, 2024: Replaced the Hisense U6/U6K with the Hisense U6/U6N in the 'Best Budget TV' category and refreshed text throughout for clarity.

  2. Jun 26, 2024: Replaced the Hisense U7K with the Hisense U7N in the 'Best Premium Budget TV' category. We also refreshed some text throughout the article for clarity and accuracy.

  3. May 28, 2024: Confirmed that our picks are accurate and still available.

  4. May 03, 2024: Added mentions of the Hisense U6N and the Hisense U7N in the 'Best Budget TV' and the 'Best Premium Budget TV' categories, respectively.

  5. Apr 04, 2024: Confirmed the availability of our picks and refreshed the text in the introduction to make it more relevant to the article.

All Reviews

Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best cheap TVs to buy for most people. We factor in the price (a cheaper TV wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no TVs that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).

If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here is the list of all our TV reviews, with a price limit of $650. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no TV is perfect, most TVs are great enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.