The best TV antennas are a critical element of any living room. I couldn't live without my TV antenna. It's as important to me as any streaming service because it allows me to watch sports, sitcoms and news without having to pay a monthly fee. These days, the best TV antennas are digital. Digital antennas are the successors to bunny ears, sure, but they're better in almost every respect, from resolution to reception.
How do you know which of the three antennas you need? If you live in a more rural area, you may find that an outdoor antenna is better suited for accessing and maintaining a connection to various TV channels, though some suburbanites might also want to consider an indoor/outdoor solution to ensure the best reception.
If you live in a major metropolitan area, the Mohu Gateway Plus (our first pick), should be more than sufficient to pick up all your local stations.
The quick list
The Gateway Plus is the most dependable indoor TV antenna that I've found after testing more than a dozen models. It's larger than other models, but that big footprint helps it deliver clearer channels.
Made for use inside and out, this 85-mile antenna was at its best out in the elements, where it pulled in 68 watchable stations. It's the best indoor/outdoor antenna we've tested, and well worth the premium price.
The Winegard Elite 7550 is the smart option and the best TV antenna for outdoor installation. It may cost a little more, but the Winegard Elite 7550 pays dividends, delivering a whopping 73 channels in our tests.
Best TV antenna
Like our favorite indoor antenna, the Mohu Leaf Supreme Pro, the Gateway Plus can pull in dozens of channels with its 60-mile range and shows you how strong of a signal it’s receiving with its four front LEDs.
Speaking of reception, the Gateway Plus is designed to be multi-directional, meaning it can be placed forwards or backwards and should be able to still receive a signal. That said, the front of the antenna has the LED signal indicator lights, so you’ll probably want those facing inside so you can see them.
For us, the Mohu Gateway Plus was a solid indoor antenna. It picked up 41 channels with an astounding 34 of them playing flawlessly. Yes, there was still the occasional stutter — especially in the morning when there was inclement weather — but on a sunny day the Mohu Gateway Plus managed to surpass our top TV antenna, the Mohu Leaf Supreme Pro. Ultimately, choosing between the two comes down to what you're looking to spend.
Read our full Mohu Gateway Plus review.
Best indoor/outdoor
Made for use inside and out, the Antop AT-800SBS HD Smart Panel offers some of the best performance we've seen, easily topping many of the indoor/outdoor models we've tested. With its adjustable amplifier, included mounting hardware and optional FM connection for radio, it's a versatile HD antenna option for anyone who's serious about cord-cutting.
The Antop AT-800SBS also has a table-top stand for indoor use, but this 85-mile antenna was at its best out in the elements, where it pulled in 68 watchable stations. This makes it a great pick for both people looking for a permanent, outdoor antenna as well as those shopping for a powerful indoor antenna. Its 68 channels compared favorably to the Winegard Elite 7550, which pulled in 73 channels, but the Winegard Elite is an outdoor-only antenna.
A 40-foot cable is included for easy installation, and the adjustable amplifier lets you dial in the right amount of power boost to help you grab the stations you want. It's the best indoor/outdoor antenna we've tested, and well worth the premium price.
Read our full Antop AT-800SBS HD Smart Panel Antenna review.
Best outdoor
Sometimes an indoor antenna just won't cut it. When you need an outdoor antenna with excellent reception, the Winegard Elite 7550 is the smart option, and the best TV antenna for outdoor installation.
It may cost a little more, but the Winegard Elite 7550 pays dividends, delivering a whopping 73 channels in our tests. Whether you're in a crowded city or a rural community, this outdoor HDTV should get the job done, pulling in more channels with better signal than any indoor model can offer. One of the reasons it excels in a crowded city is because of its built-in LTE filter, which Winegard claims is specifically designed to fight interference from cell towers. We should know: We tested it in New York City. Simply put, it's built for cleaning up signals.
If you don't envision using an antenna indoors, the Winegard Elite 7550 is a better choice than our indoor/outdoor pick, the Antop AT-800SBS. It's simply better at pulling in channels and avoiding dropouts.
If you're having difficulty getting local stations you want — or you just want better, more consistent reception — the Winegard Elite 7550's $120 price tag is worth every penny, pulling in dozens of free channels for less than a month's cable subscription.
Read our full Winegard Elite 7550 Outdoor HDTV Antenna review.
Test results
It can be overwhelming to sift through as much data and hands-on information as we publish alongside each of our TV antenna reviews, so we've placed the most important information in an easy-to-digest table.
Antenna | Price | Range | Channels Received | Amplified |
Mohu Gateway Plus | $69 | 60 miles | 41 | Yes |
Winegard Elite 7550 | $114 | 70 miles | 73 | No |
Antop AT-800SBS | $149 | 85 miles | 68 | Yes |
As you can see, our pick for the best TV antenna you can buy, the Mohu Gateway Plus, is one of the more affordable models we've tested (especially compared to our pick for the best indoor/outdoor antenna, the Antop AT-800SBS).
Despite its mid-range price, the Mohu features a decent range of 65 miles and pulls in 41 channels cleanly. There are better-performing models in our guide, but they're either pricier, or in the case of the ClearStream MAX-V, not as aesthetically pleasing.
How we test the best TV antennas
All of the TV antennas we review are tested in the same location. Each antenna is connected to the same TV, so the TV tuner remains consistent, and each one is placed in the same position to generate comparable results.
We're located just a few miles outside of a major metropolitan area, a location that provides an excellent testing location for antenna reception of any range, with more sensitive, long-range antennas pulling in a higher number of channels. It also gives us a chance to determine the quality of that reception, by seeing whether or not those channels are clear and watchable. The best antennas will pull in more channels, with a higher number of watchable results.
Your experience may differ from our test results. Depending upon how many stations broadcast in you area, and unique geographical impediments to over the air signal – such as buildings, trees and mountains – your own channel selection will vary considerably.
Other TV antennas we've tested
How to choose the best TV antenna
How to choose the best TV antenna for you
Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.
If you're shopping for a TV antenna, you're in luck, because there's no better option for getting live TV for the lowest price possible: Free! But before you pick up the first TV antenna you see at the store, you want to make sure that you're getting one that will work for you.
Location and range: If you're in or near a city, there's a good chance you can make do with a small indoor antenna, since you'll have several stations within a 10 or 20 mile radius that can be pulled in without a big aerial or powered amplifier. If you're more than 30 miles from your local broadcast tower, you'll want to step up to an amplified model. Any antenna that's rated for 50 miles or more will either be a large outdoor unit, or come with an amplifier to boost the signal it gets, if not both.
Indoor or outdoor: Whether or not to get an outdoor antenna will largely depend upon the building you're in and the surrounding environment, since obstacles like house walls and even trees can prevent signal from getting through to an indoor antenna. Outdoor antennas are larger, and work better when positioned as high up as you can get it – a rooftop mast being the ideal installation.
Non-amplified or amplified: An amplified antenna uses an additional signal strength booster that can help weak signals come in clearly with a little extra juice. But that also means having another device to plug in, and another power outlet to give up. It also means a slightly higher price.
Non-amplified indoor antennas generally sell for between $20 to $40, but there are plenty of cheap TV antennas that sell for less than $20 that offer acceptable performance. An amplified antenna offers better performance, and will cost between $30 and $100. For the best performance, consider an outdoor antenna, which costs $100 or more.
Getting an antenna is the first step toward cutting the cord or pulling in free local channels. You don't need to spend a lot of money – the best cheap TV antennas do a great job, and even a $12 set of bunny ears might do the trick – and you don't even need a TV. (Check out I just discovered a new way to cut the cord — and there’s no subscription fee to learn about USB tuners that don't need a TV.)
But simply having an antenna won't automatically solve all of your over-the-air TV woes. Better antennas and optional amplifiers will go a long way toward bringing in more channels, but that's only part of the equation.
We recommend researching beforehand to determine what range of antenna you need, and whether you want an indoor model or an antenna made for outdoor installation. The best place to start is AntennaWeb.org, which lets you enter your address or ZIP code and see what stations are broadcasting in your area, as well as how far away the broadcast towers are.
Check out our other advice for TV antennas to help you get yourself properly equipped and set up for the best reception:
- Top cheap TV antennas (under $20) ranked best to worst
- How to get better reception with your TV antenna
- Help Me, Tom's Guide: Is my antenna cable causing signal loss?
What is ATSC 3.0?
Nearly all TVs offer ATSC tuner support, but not every TV supports the newest version, ATSC 3.0. It grant access to the digital broadcasting standard of 3.0, first introduced back in 2020.
ATSC 3.0, otherwise known as NextGen TV, essentially supports video broadcasts of up to 4K at 120 frames per second in HDR and in a wider color gamut.
Worried about future proofing for ATSC 3.0 as it rolls out to new cities? The good news is that your existing antenna will work, and may even pull in more channels under the new standard. The bad news is that you'll need to buy a new tuner or an ATSC 3.0-equipped TV, and these are only now coming to market.
To learn more about NextGen TV, check out our guide to ATSC 3.0.
Using a TV antenna with smart TVs and streaming devices
While streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max may be taking a more prominent place in the living room, there's still room for over-the-air (OTA) broadcast TV. Whether you want free access to local news or just want to get more sports without shelling out for another subscription service, an HDTV antenna can still provide plenty of great stuff to watch, and having a smart TV or one of the best streaming devices doesn't prevent using an antenna.
All of the best smart TVs for streaming also have built-in tuners for pulling in broadcast channels, and getting your TV channels programmed is an automatic process, with the TV scanning for stations and putting together a browsable channel guide in just a few minutes.
And several streaming devices are built with OTA content in mind. The Amazon Fire TV Cube, for example, can switch over to your TV's built-in tuner seamlessly, without having to swap TV inputs or juggle extra remote controls. You can even get something like the Amazon Fire TV Recast, a DVR that lets you record OTA content, and enjoy it all using the same Fire TV interface your TV might already be using.
