Our guide to the best TVs under $1000 includes a good mix of QLED, mini-LED, and even OLED models. That’s because cutting-edge TV technology is starting to trickle down to more affordable and entry-level sets, as evidenced by the Hisense U8K mini-LED, Samsung Q80C QLED, and 48-inch LG 48-inch C3 OLED TV featured in our list. Another addition is the Roku Plus Series, a true budget option from the streaming stick maker that provides good performance and features for the money.
Al Griffin, Senior Editor – Home Entertainment
Many of the best TVs under $1000 are a great option for the majority of people because they bring you the best of both worlds. You get an affordable price, especially in comparison to the most expensive TVs around today, and they can bring solid performance. Sure, you won’t get all the bells and whistles of premium TVs and may need to compromise when it comes to scoring a model with the latest tech features, but what’s currently available for less than $1000 should satisfy the needs of all but the most serious gamers and movie fans.
With your budget set at $1000 and under, you can get yourself a number of new TVs with QLED panel tech, though you may find most, but not all, OLED models to be out of this price range. Instead, QLED sets are able to display pictures with a wider color range than what you’ll find on a more standard LCD screen, and they can also offer improved picture brightness as well.
If you’re in the market for a good TV and don’t have a strict budget in mind, then you can get specific with size instead and check out our 55-inch 4K TVs guide, or the best mid-spec 65-inch TVs that are absolutely worth your consideration. Read on for the best TVs under $1000 for 2024 below, and also check out our guide to finding the best cheap 4K TV deal.
The best TV's for under $1,000
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Best TV under $1,000 for most people
The Hisense U8K provides unparalleled value - a mini-LED panel that makes short work of bright rooms, a brilliant picture and lots of gaming features, all for a budget-friendly price.
The U8K's mini-LED panel and anti-glare coating enable it to thrive in bright rooms which is perfect for sport viewing. We measured its peak brightness at 1590 nits, which is more than enough to handle reflections when combined with all the other elements of its panel. But, the U8K also maintains excellent black levels that will keep movie fans happy. Contrast does fade when viewed from an angle, but it's hard to argue against the picture quality of the U8K at this price.
Gaming is also well catered to in the U8K, with Dolby Vision and 4K 144Hz support, ALLM and VRR compatibility, and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. This is a great suite of gaming features in a budget mini-LED, although it is limited to two HDMI 2.1 ports.
The U8K isn't the most remarkable TV on the market, as there are more premium mini-LEDs and OLEDs available, but for under $1000 the U8K is a strong package. We've seen the 65-inch size, perfect for movie and sport, for $899, which no other TV can match in terms of value, and that's why the U8K is the top choice for most people.
Read the full Hisense U8K review
Best budget TV under $1,000
Most people know Roku for its streaming boxes and sticks, but the company recently started selling its own Roku-branded TVs, and as with its streamers, they are priced at a level most people can afford.
Of the two Roku TV lines, the Plus Series is more feature-packed and consequently priced a bit higher. But higher in this case still means very affordable. Plus Series TVs use a QLED display panel with a full-array local dimming backlight, and there’s support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and HLG high dynamic range. And while they don’t offer nearly the same peak brightness as QLED TVs with a mini-LED backlight, the TV's effective local dimming delivers images with strong contrast.
Along with the company’s own smart TV interface, Plus Series TVs feature AirPlay for wireless streaming from devices and work with Alexa and Google Assistant. You can also conduct hands-free voice searches using the remote control’s built-in mic by first saying “Hey Roku” or by pressing a button on the remote and speaking your search directly.
With a native 60Hz refresh rate, Roku’s Plus series TVs aren’t a top gaming option. (We normally recommend 120Hz 4K TVs for gaming.) But if you’re looking for shows to stream, between the company’s own The Roku Channel and a Live TV portal with an enormous amount of free streaming channels, there’s plenty available to watch here, much of it free. Of course, the Roku smart TV interface also provides almost every streaming service app you could possibly want.
Read the full Roku Plus Series review
Best OLED TV for under $1,000
It's not often you can get an OLED of this quality for under $1000, but LG's OLEDs prices often fall after release and the mid-range LG C3 is no exception. You'll have to pay more for its larger sizes as you can only get it in its 42 and 48-inch size for under $1000, but those models provide fantastic picture and gaming performance in a nicely packaged TV.
Picture is punchy and dynamic on the C3, particularly when it's given HDR sources. During our testing, we viewed a Dolby Vision HDR scene from Elvis and said, "The stage lights in the background popped in a dramatic manner and I could easily see the detail in Elvis’s black outfit". Textures and contrast are indeed two other real highlights in the C3's picture, showcasing what an OLED screen can do. The C3 isn't as bright as other OLEDs, with the Samsung S90C and more premium LG G3 beating it, but you'll have to pay a lot more than $1000 for those TVs.
The C3 also comes with a fairly full list of gaming features, including VRR, ALLM, 4K 120Hz, and AMD FreeSync Premium support across its four HDMI 2.1 ports. And its performance is phenomenal as we measured its input lag time at 9.2ms (in the Game Optimizer Boost Mode), which is sure to please competitive gamers.
Although it is only available at smaller sizes for under $1000, it's great that you can get an OLED TV in that price range, especially one that performs this well and ticks the majority of boxes.
Read more LG C3 review
Best TV under $1,000 for sizes
If you're on a strict budget, the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED is an ideal TV if you want a lot for your money. It has a colorful QLED picture with good HDR support, a few welcome gaming features and is decent in other areas but most importantly, it does all this for a superb price - you can get the 75-inch model for under $1000.
The picture of the Omni QLED is better than you would expect from a budget set. Its QLED screen isn't the brightest, with measured peak brightness levels at 531 nits, but colors still carry a vivid, punchy look and textures are detailed yet subtle. Black tones on the Omni QLED are middling and contrast isn't the best, but what the Omni QLED does as a budget set is still impressive.
Other features on the Omni QLED include Dolby Vision gaming, VRR and ALLM for gamers, hands-free control with Alexa and an Ambient Art mode. The Omni QLED may not be the best TV in any area, but what it does carry for its price will suit a lot of people who are on a lower budget.
Read our Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED review
Best gaming QLED TV for under $1,000
The Samsung Q80C occupies the mid-point in Samsung's TV range as its highest specced QLED model. Despite being priced similarly to mini-LED TVs from Hisense and TCL, it doesn't feature a mini-LED backlight. But the Q80C demonstrates that you can really get excellent bang for your buck, as it has a seriously good QLED picture and a stacked suite of gaming features.
Sharpness and detail, bold colors, excellent lighting control and high brightness for a QLED screen are just some of the things we noticed about the Q80C's picture during testing. Commenting on the Q80C's superb contrast, handled brilliantly by the QLED panel's lighting control, we said in our review that areas with dark tones "are capable of appearing with convincingly rich and deep black tones, even when they’re sharing the screen with fairly bright highlights".
The Q80C is surprisingly stocked for gaming at this price range as well, with a low 9.7ms input lag time plus 4K 120Hz and VRR (including FreeSync Premium) on four HDMI 2.1 ports. Those features are sure to please any gamer, especially those with more than one next-gen console.
However, the Q80C finds itself at the bottom of our list purely because you can get mini-LED TVs, such as the TCL QM8 and Hisense U8K, in larger sizes for less. You can even get an OLED TV for under $1000 in the 48-inch LG C3. But the Q80C is still a fantastic option for those who would like a reasonably priced Samsung TV that is solid across the board.
Read our full Samsung Q80C review
Best TVs Under $1000 - FAQ's
How to choose the best TV under $1000 for you
Finding the best TV under $1000 that's right for you might seem simple. You just pick the one that's cheapest, right? That's not how it works. We've had a lot of experience testing TVs over the years and we can tell you that there's much more to it than finding a bargain.
To pick the best TV that's under $1000 if you're on a budget, you'll need to consider a few things. The first is whether you're looking for a certain kind of panel technology, like OLED or QLED. Take a look at our what is OLED and what is QLED guides to find out more. There was a time when you couldn't pick up a good OLED TV for under $1000, but as tech progresses, prices drop. That's why you'll find sub-$1000 OLED TVs in our guide above.
The next consideration is size. As you'll see from this list, to get a great quality TV for under $1000 you often have to sacrifice on size. Maybe this isn't a big deal because you don't have much space anyway. But if you were hoping to fill a large wall with a new screen you may have to compromise on features so you can go big on size.
Also consider what you'll be using the TV for. If you're paying less than $1000 there won't be many TVs that are fantastic all-rounders, serving up features for sports, movies, gaming and low brightness. You'll have to prioritize and consider how you'll be using your TV and what you'll predominantly be watching on it.
There's more to consider, but being wary of TV tech, size and your personal preferences will give you a great start on your mission to find the best TV under $1000 that'll suit you and your home.
Which TV brand is best value for money?
There are plenty of budget TV brands, but the TV brand that's best value for money is more often than not one of the high-end names, like Samsung, LG or Sony.
In the guide above, we've included some of the smaller or entry-level options from these brands because we think they're fantastic value for money and you can pick one up for under $1000.
If you have a budget that's less than $1000 you might have trouble finding a TV from one of these brands, in which case some of the budget options from brands like Roku and Amazon are still solid choices.
Is OLED better than LED?
There are so many TV tech terms to learn these days that it can be hard to keep up. But the basics between OLED and LED are that OLED TVs have self-illuminating pixels whereas LED TVs have persistent pixels in their display panel that require backlighting.
As a general rule, OLED is better than LED. But there are exceptions. Due to the way the tech works, OLED tends to outperform LED when it comes to colour, response time, black levels and refresh rate, but LED tends to do well in terms of brightness and price.
It all depends on the kind of TV you're looking for and how far your budget can stretch.
How we test the best TVs under $1000
We weren't simply looking for TVs under $1000 for this guide, we wanted those that we feel are truly the best, offering excellent value for money.
We've tested hundreds of TVs over the years and we're looking for excellent picture, high brightness, high color accuracy, good response time and refresh rate, versatile viewing angles and smart features at a price that's in keeping with the rest of the market.
Of course, we also consider specifics too, like gaming features and audio quality, but that's often the case when we're recommending TVs for a specific purpose. For this best TVs under $1000 guide it was all about getting the most for your money when your budget doesn't stretch that far.
We put all of the TVs in this guide through their paces to make sure we weren't suggesting these displays because they're cheap but because you can afford them and you'll still get a solid performance that should suit most homes.
Latest updates to this guide
February 6 2024
Removed TCL 6-series, Hisense U8H, Sony X90J due to stock levels. Introduced Hisense U8K, TCL QM8, Samsung Q80C, Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED and LG C3 into guide. Made this latest updates section to keep people informed of any changes to guide.
