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The 2 Best TVs Under $300 - Winter 2024 Reviews

Updated
Best TVs Under $300

Most big TV companies focus on making the best top-of-the-line TVs, and they're starting to stray away from making cheap entry-level TVs. Some companies still do, and you can find an okay 4k TV for under $300, but it won't have many features, the picture quality won't be anything special, and they'll usually be available in smaller sizes. These are good to have as secondary TVs in bedrooms or kitchens but aren't ideal as your main TV for watching 4k movies or playing games.

We've bought and tested more than 425 TVs, and below, you'll find our picks for the best TVs under $300 that are available for purchase. If your budget is more flexible, see our recommendations for the best smart TVs, the best budget TVs, and the best TVs under $500, or vote on which ones you want us to buy and test. To learn more about the upcoming 2024 models, check out our 2024 TV lineup page.


  1. Best TV Under $300

    The Hisense 55U6K is the best TV under $300, although that's a bit of a stretch as it's slightly above that when not on sale. Still, it's easily the best TV in its price range, with great picture quality that looks fantastic in a dark room thanks to its great contrast ratio and good black uniformity, with no distracting blooming around bright areas of the screen. It also has a local dimming feature that helps improve its contrast further, which is great at this price point. It has good reflection handling, so it can also handle a bit of glare if you have a few windows or keep the lights on, but it's not very bright.

    It's a colorful TV due to its wide color gamut and good color volume, and it's extremely color-accurate without needing to be calibrated. It even has decent upscaling capabilities. The Hisense is also a good TV for gaming, as it has superbly low input lag and variable refresh rate support for a responsive, nearly tear-free gaming experience. It's limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, disappointing for gamers wanting to take full advantage of their Xbox Series X, PS5, or recent gaming GPU. It's still great for visually-intensive games on consoles targeting 4k @ 60Hz in their 'Graphics' mode or for 60 fps PC gaming. Finally, it runs the Google TV smart interface, which has a great selection of streaming channels, so you can easily find your favorite shows.

    See our review

  2. Best Value TV For Under $300

    The Roku 55R4A5R is a decent choice for those on a budget, as it's the best-value TV under $300. It doesn't have the bells and whistles of some higher-end models like the Hisense U6/U6K. Still, it's a decent entry-level TV, delivering surprisingly good picture quality in a dark room thanks to its okay contrast ratio and great black uniformity. It has decent reflection handling, so even though it doesn't get very bright in HDR, it's certainly good enough for a moderately lit room. The TV supports HDR10+, but it isn't nearly bright enough for it to matter. Unlike the more expensive TVs on the list, it doesn't have a local dimming feature to further improve its contrast, but that's the cost of going with a cheaper model.

    It comes with the Roku TV platform, which is easy to use and makes navigating through the menus feel smooth. A few drawbacks are expected from a budget-friendly model, as it doesn't upscale low-resolution content as well as other TVs, which isn't ideal if you watch DVDs or cable TV. The TV also doubles as a great small kitchen TV as it's available in sizes as small as 24 inches. Note that the small 24 and 32-inch models are 720p TVs, while the 40-inch size is 1080p; the bigger models are all 4k TVs. If you're a Costco member, you'll instead want to go for the slightly better Hisense A6/A65K, as the Hisense is almost as good as the more expensive U6K but for a cheaper price.

    See our review

Notable Mentions

  • Samsung CU7000/CU7000D: The Samsung CU7000/CU7000D is a well-priced TV, and you can find its 43-inch model for under $300 or consider its 50-inch and 55-inch models for just a bit more. However, the Hisense U6/U6K is much brighter, has better contrast, supports a wide color gamut, and has VRR support, so it's the better TV overall. See our review
  • TCL Q5/Q550G QLED: The Best Buy exclusive TCL Q5/Q550G QLED is a decent TV from TCL and directly competes with the Hisense U6/U6K. The Hisense is a bit better overall and can emphasize highlights better due to its local dimming. Still, the TCL is the better gaming TV because it outputs 1080p @ 120Hz and 1440p @ 120Hz, with a wide VRR range on the 55-inch and 65-inch models. See our review
  • Amazon Fire TV Omni Series: The Amazon Fire TV Omni Series is similar to the Roku Select Series, each with strengths and weaknesses. Still, the Roku TV is much cheaper than the Amazon TV, and it gets brighter in SDR and has a faster response time, so it's the better option for most people. See our review

Recent Updates

  1. Mar 06, 2024: Added a link to our 2024 TV lineup page and refreshed the text in our Notable Mentions section to better compare those TVs with our picks.

  2. Jan 10, 2024: The Roku Select Series is now the 'Best Value TV For Under $300'. The TV's value proposition and sheer range of available sizes make it the best cheap TV and kitchen TV, so these categories have been removed for now. Also added a few Notable Mentions.

  3. Oct 27, 2023: Replaced the Hisense U6/U6H with the newer Hisense U6/U6K as the 'Best TV Under $300'. Due to availability issues, the Hisense A6/A65K has been replaced with the Amazon Fire TV Omni Series as the 'Best Value TV For Under $300', and the TCL S4/S450G is now our 'Best Cheap TV For Under $300' pick.

  4. Sep 01, 2023: Refreshed the text for accuracy and consistency.

  5. Jun 21, 2023: Verified our picks for accuracy and availability and refreshed the text.

All Reviews

Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best TVs under $300 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 reviews of TVs available under $300. 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.