The best TVs under $1,000 get you a well-rounded display without all the frilly unnecessary add-ons. We're looking for quality builds with several enticing features to make the sets stand out with striking potential, often set on a hefty discount or pushed out by one of the more budget brands, like Hisense or TCL.
These aren't quite budget, but should have just enough oomph where it counts. With our many years of testing TVs and reviewing some of the best sets in the space, we know where to look when it comes to value. Plus, you don't have to nab one of these options as your main display if you're looking for something that's more of a secondary TV or PC monitor solution.
What can that sub-$1,000 price tag net you? The LG C3 OLED, of course! It's 42-inch, which costs a measly $900, is ideal best for PC set ups or secondary TVs. At that size, it's quite the small window though, so you may want to find something a bit larger for your main display — like the Roku Plus Series, a stellar QLED that's just $648 for its 65-inch model.
When it comes to these value picks like these, you'll want to make sure you have great gaming coverage and ample HDR support. You'll also especially want to keep your eyes peeled on HDMI 2.1 ports, interface functionality, and audio, as TV speakers tend to be quite bad (and even worse on these more budget options).
The best TVs under $1,000
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Without a doubt, the LG C3 OLED is the best pick for folks who want the best performance under $1,000. You can find TVs with better sound, but there aren’t many out there that offer you this much for the same price.
The LG OLED evo C3 is loaded with features that make it ideal for watching — or playing — anything your heart desires. The 42-inch model sport full arrays of HDMI 2.1 ports and uses LG’s evo OLED panel, which was first introduced on the LG G1 OLED TV. With it, the LG C3 hits around 820 nits at peak brightness and covers 98.98% of the UHDA-P3 Color Gamut.
It has its shortcomings (see: sound quality) but it's a great value option.
Read our full LG C3 OLED review.
The Samsung QN90C Neo QLED TV has almost everything you’d expect from a premium 4K Mini-LED TV — outstanding HDR brightness, a good selection of sizes, consistent upscaling, ample support for a variety of content, and more.
For those who aren’t familiar, Mini-LED backlighting delivers high levels of brightness while maintaining realistic color and gradations of luminance. And though the QN90C Neo QLED isn’t the most premium of all the 4K Samsung 2023 TVs, it’s the one that you’ll probably be most tempted to buy.
It might not be as inherently exciting as the company’s QD-OLED innovations in larger screen sizes — the Samsung S95C still holds the top spot as the best TV we’ve tested this year — the compact Samsung QN90C Neo QLED TV reminds us why Samsung is still the king of Quantum Dot technology.
Read our full Samsung QN90C QLED TV review.
The Roku Plus Series 4K QLED TV marks the streaming giant’s first foray into sets after long focusing on software and set-top and plug-in devices — and the move is a successful one. In addition to delivering a ton of screen for its starting price of $499, these TVs also give you surprisingly good picture quality and sound, two things that are usually the first to go with budget sets.
Despite its price, the Plus Series does not look cheap: A gray, metal bezel surrounds the screen on all sides, measuring less than an eighth-inch on the left, right, and top, and about two-thirds inch on the bottom to allow for a front-and-center chrome Roku logo.
The Plus Series uses quantum-dot LED technology to produce more and more vivid colors and increased brightness. And in everything we watched, we found that the TV lived up to Roku’s claims. Picture vibrancy does start fading as you move away from the center of the screen, but it took a fair distance for the display to look unbearable.
All in all, the Plus Series is well-suited to watching just about anything except super-fast action such as sports, thanks to the panel’s limited 60Hz refresh rate.
Read our full Roku Plus Series 4K QLED TV review.
The Hisense U7K Mini-LED TV comes in at just $800 for its 65-in model, the perfect price point for those looking to nab a stunner of a Mini-LED TV under $1,000. It’s marked most especially for its several awesome gaming enhancements, which even includes both Dolby Vision Gaming and AMD FreeSync Premium for expert screen tearing coverage.
Although it doesn’t wield as sophisticated a Game Bar as other contenders among the best gaming TVs, like LG or Samsung, the Hisense U7K still holds its own due in large part to a sophisticated color coverage of 99.79% of the Rec709 Gamut and 98.13% on the UHDA-P3 scale. At 13.2ms, its input lag is pretty good too for the price.
Beyond gaming, though, this display does not slouch. In our review, we noticed some compromises in terms of its motion processing potential and 4K upscaling. Despite these complaints, the U7K still holds up remarkably well via this aforementioned color volume. Those looking to experience some brilliant animated content or stellar gaming at an affordable price won’t be steered wrong with the U7K.
Read our full Hisense U7K Mini-LED TV review.
Obviously OLED is going to be the best pick for gamers given its native 120Hz refresh rates, low input latency and beautiful black levels, but if you're a gamer who want to maximize screen size, then the TCL Q7 QLED is a great second choice.
In terms of test results, the Q7 scored right in the middle of the pack with a peak brightness of 592 nits, UHDA-P3 color gamut coverage of 93.38% and a Delta E color accuracy of 2.3594. That last bit is lower than a lot of the competition (including the Hisense U6K!) and overall it performs pretty well when fed HDR content. Audio performance is this TV's big weakness with most shows and movies sounding just OK during our testing process and its off-axis viewing made it hard for folks sitting on the perimeter of the room to see the full range of colors.
Where it really shines, though, is gaming. Not only does it sport multiple HDMI 2.1 ports, but one of those ports can even accept a 144Hz input from a gaming PC. Gamers will also appreciate this TV coming with Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) up to 240Hz when you drop in resolution and Auto Low-Latency Mode (ALLM).
If you want a 75-inch gaming TV for under $900, you won't find one any better.
Read our full TCL Q7 QLED TV review.
TCL's S4 is a worthwhile investment for gamers, making itself known with a remarkably low input latency of 9.0ms. It might only have a native refresh rate of 60Hz, but that's more than ideal for gaming enthusiasts, especially those running a PS5 or Xbox Series X.
Beyond its gaming chops, the S4 has stellar SDR color coverage. It struggles in HDR, with a UHDA-P3 gamut of just 78.82% and a Rec.2020 of 57.42%. But, on the Rec.709 gamut, the S4 can hit 95.9869%, making watch-alongs of animated content like "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End" all the more enjoyable.
You also won't have to fret about price. At just $399, the S4 is extremely accessible for those on a budget, making it one of the best TVs under $1,000.
Read our full TCL S4 S-Class 4K TV (65S450G).
Amazon is getting more serious about TV hardware. The company has long offered great streaming sticks on a budget for those in its ecosystem — but last year, it announced the new Omni series, aimed at those who want a complete TV experience, with Alexa and all your favorite Amazon services, from end to end. This year, it’s iterating on that concept with the new Fire TV Omni QLED — which brings quantum dot technology to its relatively inexpensive TVs.
The Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED is a solid TV. The image quality is generally good, and it offers a few unique features, like the ambient mode. If you want a native Fire OS experience in a solid-looking TV, the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED is the way to go.
Read our full Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED review.
How to choose the best TV under $1,000
At the end of the day, the most important aspects of any TV are pretty simple. Find a set that fits your budget, has the main features you want, and then check reviews to make sure it doesn't have any performance issues.
For less than a grand, you can still check off most of the must-have features you've envied on more expensive sets, like QLED for better color and brightness, a full-featured smart TV experience, complete with voice control and smart home integration, and features like Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos sound. You might have to look at last year's sets, but they're still great and offer fantastic value.
Size: You won't have to compromise on screen size, either. Our recommendations above include great options at 55, 65 and even 75-inch sizes, so your budget doesn't have to prevent you from getting a TV that's just as big as you want. Find the screen size that works best for you in our article What size TV should you buy?
HDR: For the best picture, we recommend getting a set that offers high dynamic range (HDR) support. HDR10 is the base standard, while HDR10+ and Dolby Vision are higher-caliber formats; we recommend opting for for one of the latter when you have the choice, or better still both.
Pay attention to ports: We recommend getting a TV with 4 HDMI ports whenever possible. And even though they do cost more, we prefer TVs that have HDMI 2.1 connections. They offer better gaming features and will keep your TV up to date for much longer.
Smart TV features: Pretty much every TV on the market is smart these days, so don't hesitate to get a smart TV. However, make sure that the operating system of the TV in question has the apps you want because not all of them do. And some platforms offer advanced features like smart home controls and voice assistant capability.
From smart functions to port selection, we offer plenty of advice in our TV buying guide, which explains the ins and outs of features like HDR, different types of display, and even extended warranties. And if you still have questions about smart TV features and capabilities, check out Smart TVs: Everything you need to know.
What features are worth paying more for?
While you can get most of what you want in a smart TV for $1,000 or less, there are a few exceptions.
Bigger screens: If you want to get a really big screen, today's largest TVs go bigger than 75 inches, and as a general rule, anything over the 75-inch mark will be more expensive, and almost always costs more than $1,000. Sometimes a lot more.
OLED: Then there's OLED. As the uncontested premium display technology, OLED screens don't come cheap, and even the most affordable OLED TVs have a regular price that exceeds the $1,000 budget. However, if you watch out for sales, you can sometimes score a deal that will get you the 55-inch Vizio OLED TV (OLED55-H1) for just under the limit, so don't write it off completely.
8K resolution: Even as 8K TVs become more common and start to climb down from the astronomical prices they debuted at, there's still nothing on the market that can be considered affordable. With the cheapest 8K sets still selling for thousands, there's just no way to get that sort of resolution for under $1,000. (The good news? Even if you wanted to spend more, we still wouldn't recommend an 8K TV, so don't sweat it.)
Whether any of these features are important to you comes down to your own expectations and needs, but if you've got your heart set on these premium features, get ready to go beyond the $1,000 mark, because they don't come cheap.
If you've narrowed down your TV shopping by brand, price range or screen size, check out our picks for the best TVs in each.
Best TVs | Best 4K TVs | Best smart TVs for streaming | Best TVs for gaming
The best TVs under $1000 | The best TVs under $500
Best TV brands | Best Samsung TVs | Best TCL TVs | Best LG TVs | Best Roku TVs | Best Google TVs | Best OLED TVs | Best QLED TVs | Best 8K TVs | Best HDMI 2.1 TV | Best TVs with ATSC 3.0 | Best TVs with Chromecast
The smallest smart TVs | Best 43-inch TVs | Best 50-inch TVs | Best 55-inch TVs | Best 65-inch TVs | Best 70-inch TVs | Best 75-inch TVs | Best 85-inch TVs
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