The 4 Best TVs Under $300 - Summer 2022 Reviews

If you're looking for the best TV under $300, there's a good chance you'll have to look for a smaller TV instead of larger sizes. If you want a small TV for kitchens or bedrooms, then a 32-inch TV like the TCL 32S327 is a good choice for your needs. It's a rather simple TV with a 1080p resolution on the S327 variant, but make sure you get that model and not the S325 model which has a lower 720p resolution. It's a decent TV for streaming content as it comes with Roku TV built-in, which has a ton of apps available to download, and you won't have to connect external boxes to watch your favorite content.

It doesn't have any trouble upscaling lower-resolution content, which is important if you watch cable TV. It also has excellent out-of-the-box accuracy, so you get accurate colors without any calibration, which is great because you can't calibrate the TV. As this is an entry-level 1080p TV, there are a few downfalls, like the fact that it doesn't support HDR and its overall picture quality isn't the best, but that's what you need to expect for a low-cost 32-inch TV.

If you want better picture quality or prefer getting something bigger, there are more 43-inch TVs you can get for under $300, like the TCL 43S455. It's a 4k TV with better picture quality than the TCL 3 Series 2019 because of its higher resolution, and it also displays deeper blacks with nearly perfect black uniformity for a satisfying dark room experience. Even if you want to use it in a room with a few lights around, it has decent peak brightness but doesn't get bright enough to fight a ton of glare. It comes with Roku TV built-in, and it has a few extra features like a built-in mic on the remote that you can use for voice control.

This TV also supports HDR; however, it doesn't add much because it can't display a wide range of colors and doesn't get bright enough to make highlights stand out. However, there aren't many TVs under $300 that look good with HDR, so you aren't losing much here. For watching SDR content, it has okay out-of-the-box accuracy, so you'll only need to calibrate it if you want the most accurate colors possible.

You can also find larger TVs for under $300 without sacrificing much in terms of picture quality. The Insignia NS-50F501NA22 is an okay overall TV that provides good value for its cost. It's a 50-inch model that's a better choice than the TCL 4 Series/S455 2022 if you have space for the larger display, but if you need something smaller, it's better to stick with the TCL because the Insignia isn't available in a 43-inch size. Unlike most TVs in this price range, it uses quantum dot technology to display a wide range of colors, which is particularly useful for watching HDR content. Its HDR brightness isn't bad either, and it displays deep blacks, so while you don't get the same HDR performance as more expensive models, it's better than most TVs under $300.

It uses the Fire TV smart interface, which is user-friendly, and navigating through the menus feels smooth. There are many apps you can download through the app store, and the mic on the remote gives you access to the Alexa voice assistant, so you can ask it to open apps or search for content.

If you want a 55-inch display around the $300 mark, your selection is much more limited than with smaller sizes, and you might have to pay a tiny bit more. That said, if you don't mind sacrificing a little bit of quality, the Hisense 55A6H is an okay overall smart TV. It's different from the TCL 4 Series/S455 2022 or the Insignia F50 QLED because it has a different panel type that results in a lower contrast ratio. It means that blacks look gray in the dark, but instead, it has a wider viewing angle that makes the image look consistent from the sides, which is ideal for wide seating areas.

It comes with the latest Google TV interface, which has new accessibility features compared to other versions. It comes with the same app store, and the remote has a built-in mic for voice control. In terms of picture quality, it isn't the best as it has low peak brightness, so it isn't that good in well-lit rooms, but it's better for moderately-lit rooms. Luckily, it doesn't have any trouble upscaling lower-resolution content, and the out-of-the-box accuracy is excellent.