The 4 Best 4k TVs Under $500 - Summer 2022 Reviews

If you're limited in space and can only get up to a 50-inch TV, then the TCL 50S546 is the best TV under $500 for your needs. It's a good overall TV that performs well for a variety of uses. If you want to use it in a dark room, it displays deep blacks thanks to its high native contrast ratio, and the black uniformity is excellent. It also has a full-array local dimming feature that aims to improve the picture quality in dark scenes, but it isn't that effective. You won't have issues using it in a well-lit room either, as it has decent reflection handling and gets bright enough to fight glare.

Its built-in Google TV interface is ideal if you want to stream your favorite content as there are many apps you can download, the interface is user-friendly, and it saves you the hassle of buying an external streaming box. Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks as it has terrible out-of-the-box accuracy, resulting in a red tint. If that doesn't bother you, it's a good overall TV available at a low cost.

If you want something bigger than 50 inches and want another option than the TCL 5 Series/S546 2021 QLED, then the Hisense 55U6H is a great choice. Although the TCL is also available in a 55-inch size, the Hisense is slightly cheaper for the 55-inch model and offers better overall performance, meaning it has better value for its size. Its out-of-the-box accuracy is fantastic, so you don't have to get it calibrated if you don't want to, and it displays a wide range of colors in HDR. Speaking of which, it's very good for HDR thanks to its high contrast ratio and decent local dimming, and while its HDR peak brightness is just okay, some highlights stand out.

Its good reflection handling and good peak brightness are ideal if you want to use it in a room with a few lights around, but it has a narrow viewing angle that makes the image look washed out from the sides. Like the TCL, the U6H also comes with a user-friendly Google TV interface, but if you don't like that interface, the Hisense U6GR is a similar TV that uses Roku instead, so you can get the model with the platform you prefer.

While both the TCL 5 Series/S546 2021 QLED and the Hisense U6H are available in 65-inch sizes, they're both slightly over $500. If you're on a tight budget of under $500 and want a 65-inch TV, you can get something like the TCL 65S455. As you go for larger sizes in this price range, you lose out on some features and performance, which is the case with this TV compared to the S546 and the Hisense, but it's still decent overall. It has Roku built-in, which generally doesn't have as many apps to download as Google TV, but it's easier to learn if you haven't used it before.

The TV has a high contrast ratio and remarkable black uniformity, but the difference from the other TVs is that it doesn't have a local dimming feature to improve the picture quality in dark scenes. It also doesn't get bright enough to fight glare, so it's best to use it in a dim or moderately-lit room, but its reflection handling is still decent.

If you want the biggest size you can get for under $500, the Insignia NS-70F501NA22 is a great choice. In terms of performance, it isn't much of a step down versus the TCL 4 Series/S455 2022, so you're still getting okay overall performance for a large TV. It gets brighter and still has decent reflection handling, so it performs well in bright environments. It displays deep blacks with good black uniformity, but as expected for a low-cost model, it doesn't have a local dimming feature.

The 70-inch size isn't very popular, but as 75-inch TVs are hard to find for under $500, it's the biggest size you can get for this price range. It uses Amazon's proprietary Fire TV interface, which isn't much different than Google TV and is easy to navigate through the menus. The remote it comes with has a mic that gives you access to the Alexa voice assistant, which is great if you have other Alexa devices and want to use your voice to search for content.