Televisions are becoming more and more affordable, but a meager investment in one of the best TVs under $1,000 can nab you some seriously flashy devices. For anyone looking for an eye-catching living room screen, or perhaps a show-stopper for a home theater, spending a little more than usual isn’t just prudent, it’s necessary for big, bright screens with fantastic audio and immersive picture quality. Luckily, many of these offerings are still a great value, with screens made for everything from streaming to gaming. Here’s everything you need to know about the best TVs under $1,000.
— Best Overall: Samsung 55-Inch Class QLED Q70A Series – 4K UHD Quantum HDR Smart TV
— Best for Gaming: Sony X90J 55-Inch TV Bravia XR Full-Array LED 4K Ultra HD Smart TV
— Best OLED: LG OLED C1 Series 48-Inch Alexa Built-in 4K Smart TV
— Best Value: Hisense ULED 4K Premium 65U6G Quantum Dot QLED Series 65-Inch Android 4K Smart TV
— Best 75-Inch: TCL 75-inch 5-Series 4K UHD Dolby Vision HDR QLED Roku Smart TV
How We Picked The Best TVs Under $1,000
A good television can be had for a couple of hundred dollars nowadays. Good, but certainly not great. For that, you need to shell out a bit more, especially if you’re looking for a larger screen size. Keeping that in mind, here are some of the things we looked for when picking out the best TVs under $1,000.
Screen Size: One of the obvious upgrades you can enjoy when dropping extra cash on a TV is a larger screen. Large is relative, but for our purposes, “big” means larger than 50 inches. Of course, televisions in the under $1,000 price range do come smaller, usually with tech that improves screen quality, audio, or both.
Picture Quality: Sadly, some really expensive televisions provide less than optimal picture quality. If you’re spending $1,000 or a little less on television, there’s really no excuse for that. This includes the usual upgrades that make screens immersive and bright, such as OLED, QLED, and similar screen types.
User-Friendliness: Flashier tech occasionally means more features and functionality. But what uses are all the upgrades if adjusting contrast, brightness, or turning motion blurring on and off requires you digging through complicated menus with a super slow UI? Getting the most of your television should be done easily, especially when it comes to a “smart TV” backend. Cheaper televisions occasionally have bad streaming interfaces, but screens at this price level have no excuse but to be great, or at the very least, usable with few annoyances.
Price: For the purposes of this compilation, television prices will run anywhere from $500 to $1,000. Television prices near the higher end of the spectrum are worth the extra cash. Conversely, the more inexpensive models should at the very least be a good value.
Best TVs Under $1,000: Reviews and Recommendations
Best Overall: Samsung 55-Inch Class QLED Q70A Series – 4K UHD Quantum HDR Smart TV
Why It Made The Cut: A big, AI-powered screen with immersive picture quality and slim design makes it worth the splurge.
Specs:
— Dimensions: 27.9 inches L x 48.5 inches W x 1 inch D, without stand
— Screen Size: 55 inches
— Weight: 34.2 pounds, without stand
— Display: QLED
— Resolution: 4K (3840 x 2160)
— Refresh Rate: 120Hz (hertz)
Pros:
— One of the best in 4K picture quality
— Super fast, super reliable
— Sleek, thin build
Cons:
— Pricey
For reliably great picture quality, you can always bet on Samsung, and its 55-Inch Class QLED Q70A Series Smart TV comes in just under $1,000.
The bright, immersive, downright cinematic picture on this TV is enough to ruin you completely for lesser screens. It’s not just some of the best 4K you can watch, it’s the smartest. Samsung’s Quantum Processor 4K uses machine learning so everything on screen always looks its best. Dual LED backlights come packed with dedicated warm and cool settings for the best brightness and contrast configurations imaginable. This TV is seriously fast, its Motion Xcelerator Pro won’t slow down even during thrilling live sports or when you’re doing some next-gen gaming. Out of the box, it’s a streaming beast, complete with Samsung TV Plus, which offers plenty of complimentary shows, movies, and sports without the need for a subscription, along with the popular Tizen-powered streaming backend. All this comes in a screen that blends perfectly into any wall. Expect to pay more for all these upgrades though.
Best for Gaming: Sony X90J 55-Inch TV Bravia XR Full-Array LED 4K Ultra HD Smart TV
Why It Made The Cut: For gaming, especially on PlayStation 5, Sony X90J 55-Inch TV Bravia XR would fit right into any home arcade.
Specs:
— Dimensions: 28 inches L x 48.54 inches W x 2.87 inches D, without stand
— Screen Size: 55 inches
— Weight: 38.4 pounds, without stand
— Display: LED
— Resolution: 4K (3840 x 2160)
— Refresh Rate: 120Hz
Pros:
— Optimization for PlayStation 5
— Built for speed and clarity
— Packs remarkable color levels
Cons:
— Screen not as bright as OLED or QLED
The PlayStation 5 is one of the best consoles going right now, and the Sony X90J 55-Inch TV Bravia XR Full-Array LED 4K Ultra HD Smart TV.
Hooking your PS5 to this Sony Bravia unlocks the best out of both devices. PS5’s native 4K will look as optimized as possible, whether you’re playing “Spider-Man: Miles Morales” or “Elden Ring.” If you’re looking for input lag, you won’t find it here, with response times as low as 8 milliseconds. Aside from being wholly game-ready, Sony Cognitive Process XR delivers picture quality so good it practically looks real. The Google TV backend makes it a great streaming device, but that’s only the beginning. Exclusive access to Bravia Core lets you watch the latest and greatest movies the way directors intended, with theater-like quality. There are billions of colors here, even if the screen runs a little less bright than a fancy OLED or QLED screen. As a Sony TV, it’s also one of the speediest televisions in the bunch. Here are more of the best 55-inch TVs.
Best OLED: LG OLED C1 Series 48-Inch Alexa Built-in 4K Smart TV
Why It Made The Cut: When it comes to OLED screens, there’s the LD OLED C1 Series, and there’s everyone else.
Specs:
— Dimensions: 24.3 inches L x 42.2 inches W x 1.8 inches D, without stand
— Screen Size: 48 inches
— Weight: 32.8 pounds, without stand
— Display: OLED
— Resolution: 4K (3840 x 2160)
— Refresh Rate: 120Hz
Pros:
— One of the best OLED screens available
— Intense blacks, whites, and color
— Cinematic picture quality
Cons:
— Smaller screen but still pricey
It’s hard to go back to a non-OLED screen once you bask before one, and the LG OLED C1 Series 48-Inch Alexa Built-in 4K Smart TV is among the best offerings.
Inside this screen are eight million individual pixels that turn on and off independently, for a picture quality that’s not just unfathomably bright, but precise. Rich blacks, flashy whites, and over a billion colors make everything from new nature documentaries to old “Breaking Bad” reruns look better than you once thought imaginable. A built-in Game Optimizer won’t slow you down whether you plug in your gaming PC, Xbox Series S, or PlayStation 5, with lightning-fast, silky-smooth gaming. The a9 Gen4 AI Processor 4K provides automatic picture adjustment whether the content you’re watching is natively in 4K or not. Cinema buffs will adore Filmmaker Mode, which delivers true theater-quality authenticity, minus the over-priced popcorn and sticky floors. All of these fantastic features may leave you cold, considering it’s the smallest screen offered in this compilation. There’s just no denying that picture quality though, so you can decide if the tradeoff is worth it to you.
Best Value: Hisense ULED 4K Premium 65U6G Quantum Dot QLED Series 65-Inch Android 4K Smart TV
Why It Made The Cut: A few compromises make the Hisense ULED 4K Premium TV an excellent bang for the buck.
Specs:
— Dimensions: 33.1 inches L x 57 inches W x 3.5 inches D, without stand
— Screen Size: 65 inches
— Weight: 43 pounds, without stand
— Display: QLED
— Resolution: 4K (3840 x 2160)
— Refresh Rate: 120Hz
Pros:
— Powerful QLED screen
— Above average screen size
— Rapid refresh for gaming and live TV
Cons:
— Weaker black levels
— Difficult to mount
Hisense televisions usually run a little more affordable than popular brands like LG and Samsung, but models like the Hisense ULED 4K Premium 65U6G Quantum Dot QLED Series 65-Inch Android 4K Smart TV pack a surprising amount of features.
Its Quantum Dot screen provides billions of shades to produce some seriously rich and accurate colors along with 32 dimming zones fto urther enhance color, contrast, and detail. AI Picture optimization lacks behind the more powerful TVs in this class, but it’s still no slouch. Picture and sound adjust intuitively no matter what you’re watching. As far as using this to stream, you could do worse than an Android TV backend, which packs all your favorite content destinations. There’s even a built-in Chromecast in case you want to blow content from your smartphone or PC up on a big screen. And with “Hey Google” capabilities, you can adjust everything from screen brightness to volume using simple voice commands. The refresh rate is high enough to use as a gaming television. Despite its status as a QLED screen, its black levels are a little less optimized. Plus, mounting it is more annoying than it has to be compared with the other TVs listed here. Still, it’s one of the more affordable options for a premium-grade television. Here are more of the best 65-inch TVs.
Best 75-Inch: TCL 75-inch 5-Series 4K UHD Dolby Vision HDR QLED Roku Smart TV
Why It Made The Cut: The TCL 75-inch 5-Series 4K QLED Roku Smart TV is a massive streaming powerhouse.
Specs:
— Dimensions: 37.9 inches L x 65.8 inches W x 3.6 inches D, without stand
— Screen Size: 74.6 inches
— Weight: 79.4 pounds, without stand
— Display: Mini-QLED
— Resolution: 4K (3840 x 2160)
— Refresh Rate: 120Hz
Pros:
— Huge, gorgeous Bezel-less screen
— Powerful sound and video quality
— Roku is as reliable as streaming gets
Cons:
— Less than great remote
Obvious and less obvious flaws occasionally melt away on a massive screen like the TCL 75-inch 5-Series 4K UHD Dolby Vision HDR QLED Roku Smart TV. Luckily, there aren’t too many flaws here.
This TCL 75-inch TV isn’t just massive, you get even more screen than usual considering there’s no bezel here. A Quantum Dot LED screen enhances image performance and quality with unfathomable brightness. This TV even detects when you plug in a console, and automatically optimizes visuals and sound for some surprisingly immersive gaming, with lightning-quick refresh rates to boot. With the Roku OS, this television sings as a dedicated streaming screen. Roku provides access to thousands of streaming channels big and small, including Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, and even niche ones like Crunchyroll and Epix. Access to the Roku Channel alone is worth the price of admission, with a crazy amount of totally free shows, movies, and even live TV. For such a fancy television, TCL cheaped out a little on its remote. You can fix this annoying little pratfall by grabbing a good third-party model or using the Roku App (available on App Store and Google Play).
Things to Consider Before Buying a TV Under $1,000
Don’t Settle For Less
Once you get to televisions in the $500-$1,000 range, there should be features that should come standard. This includes a responsive UI, a reliable streaming OS, and stellar screen quality. Just about every screen in this compilation of best TVs under $1,000 is also a more powerful LED screen, whether it’s OLED or QLED. The one outlier, the Sony X90J 55-Inch TV Bravia XR Full-Array LED 4K Ultra HD Smart TV is still rather impressive visually. If the refresh rate isn’t at least 120Hz standard…consider picking out another screen. It’s not totally uncommon to find slower refresh rates in TVs in this class, but it usually portends below-the-surface problems.
FAQs
Q: What size TV can I afford for $1,000?
TVs $1,000 or less come in a myriad of sizes. Televisions in this best of compilation run from the low end of 48 inches with the LG OLED C1 Series 48-Inch Alexa Built-in 4K Smart TV and a high of 75 inches with the TCL 75-inch 5-Series 4K UHD Dolby Vision HDR QLED Roku Smart TV.
Q: Can I get an OLED TV for less than $1,000?
You can get an OLED TV for less than $1,000 but the screen size may be smaller than you’d like, such as our favorite OLED TV, the LG OLED C1 Series 48-Inch Alexa Built-in 4K Smart TV.
Q: Do TVs under $1,000 work with Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri?
TVs under $1,000 come with Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, but in many cases, so do way more affordable televisions.
Q: Which TV brands last the longest?
There’s no conclusive evidence on which television brand lasts the longest, but brands known for their longevity include Samsung, LG, and Sony. If you’re looking to upgrade, here is our guide to the how to recycle electronics.
Final Thoughts on TVs Under $1,000
Yes, televisions are more and more affordable. But the truly great features, screen size, and picture quality don’t truly show themselves until you pony up, at least a little bit. Our overall favorite best tv under $1,000 is the Samsung 55-Inch Class QLED Q70A Series – 4K UHD Quantum HDR Smart TV for its seriously stellar performance on an above-average sized screen. For the absolute biggest screen at this price point, the TCL 75-inch 5-Series 4K UHD Dolby Vision HDR QLED Roku Smart TV is as gorgeous as it is reliable.
This post was created by a non-news editorial team at Recurrent Media, Futurism’s owner. Futurism may receive a portion of sales on products linked within this post.