Buying guide for Best 4K TVs under $500
If you don’t own a 4K TV yet, you might feel like you haven’t caught up with the times. But in fact, when 4K TVs first came out, there wasn’t much 4K content available. What’s more, the TVs were quite expensive.
Good news for TV show and movie lovers: Today, a plethora of 4K content — offering four times the resolution of a full HD TV — is available for streaming. And 4K TVs are a lot more affordable these days, costing $500 where they used to cost $1,000.
If you have access to the 4K content offered by so many streaming services, a 4K TV is a must-have for an immersive viewing experience. You simply can't get this experience on a standard or full HD TV.
Our top pick in 4K TVs is the Samsung 55-Inch Class Crystal 4K UHD AU8000 Series Smart TV. It delivers lifelike visuals and vibrant colors, and it’s loaded with smart features. There are plenty of other great choices as well.
Best 4K TVs under $500
This Samsung 4K TV is an excellent all-around smart TV and a top Amazon seller for several reasons. Its low cost is surprising given its features and high-quality image. Dynamic Crystal technology delivers rich colors, and HDR offers a full range of lights and darks for excellent detail and clarity.
This TV is suitable for people who enjoy watching sports and action movies because of the Motion Xcelerator feature, which minimizes motion blur for a pleasant viewing experience. The ultra-slim design blends seamlessly with decor and fits well in many tight spaces.
Other noteworthy features include access to voice assistants such as Google Assistant and Alexa, which let you schedule recordings, search for content, adjust settings and more. If you own a Samsung smartphone running Android OS 8.1 or higher, you can use Tap View to mirror your phone on the big screen with a simple tap.
Amazon makes many terrific electronics, and its 4K TVs are among the best. The picture quality may not be as dynamic as a Samsung TV, but it gets pretty close, and its smart features are fantastic.
Omni Series Fire TVs are truly hands-free because, unlike other TVs where you have to press a button on the remote to access voice assistants, you can simply use your voice to activate Alexa and check sports scores, weather updates and more.
If you’re familiar with the Fire TV Stick streaming devices, using the Fire TV’s interface will be a breeze. It has the same layout for downloading and customizing your favorite apps, and you’ll have access to Luna, Amazon’s proprietary gaming service. Based on our testing and research, we think it’s an excellent smart TV and will be a big hit in your household if you’re a fan of Amazon products.
Toshiba’s affordable TVs are appealing if you’re sticking to a budget. This lower-cost 4K TV, often on sale, is an excellent TV for a bedroom, living room or basement and one of the best models if you want something high-quality at a value price.
This TV runs a Regza Engine 4K and uses PQ technology to deliver stunning visuals and vivid details. The sound quality is solid thanks to DTS Virtual X technology, and Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10 enhance brightness levels, color contrast and overall picture quality.
It’s a Fire TV, so the interface will be familiar if you’ve ever used a Fire Stick. The remote is simple, but it has a dedicated Alexa button that allows you to launch apps, control your TV’s power and more with your voice.
Look no further if you want an affordable 55-inch smart TV. This TCL Class-5 Series TV uses quantum dot technology, known as QLED backlighting, to deliver millions of colors with excellent volume and accuracy. The lifelike picture quality creates an immersive viewing experience no matter what you’re watching.
For a great price, you’ll get a big-screen TV suitable for any home theater setup. It’s loaded with fantastic features like Contrast Control Zones for an improved distinction between light and dark areas for superior detail and depth. It’s great for gamers thanks to a Game Mode, which automatically adjusts picture settings for fast-response gaming.
Hands-free control lets you access Google Assistant to manage your other home smart devices, search for your favorite movies and shows and even find your remote if you’ve misplaced it. Plus, the full-view edge-to-edge display gives it a clean-cut appearance that’ll look great in any room in your home.
This LG TV looks fantastic and has all the features you need for an optimal entertainment or home theater setup. It’s a customer favorite because of its quick setup, slim frame and user-friendly interface.
The A5 Gen 5 AI processor enhances picture and sound quality, allowing you to see every little detail as if you’re there. What’s more, you’ll be able to upscale standard or HD content to 4K. WebOS is fluid and comes preloaded with the most popular streaming apps, including Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+ and HBO Max. You’ll also get access to over 300 free LG channels.
It supports Google Assistant, Alexa, AirPlay and HomeKit, and the Game Optimizer lets you adjust picture settings in one place to get the best gaming experience. The Magic Remote is a particularly nice touch, allowing users to quickly point, scroll and click to find their favorite movies and shows.
Hisense TVs aren’t as glamorous as those by brands such as Samsung and LG, but they’re more affordable, and you’ll typically get more bang for your buck. This 4K TV is built much like a standard QLED 4K TV and produces comparable picture quality.
Its large 55-inch display makes it suitable for entertainment and home theater setups, and Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos create an immersive viewing and listening experience. If you’re a gamer, you’ll love the Automatic Low Latency Mode and Variable Refresh Rate, which deliver smooth and fluid gameplay.
The integrated Roku user interface is comparable to a Fire Stick, but many prefer it because of its streamlined look and minimal ads. You can arrange your dashboard to display only the apps you want and use the rechargeable remote to access Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri to search for content across channels.
We recommend this Insignia TV if you’re interested in saving some money. Although we’ve seen it retail for over $400, you can often get it on sale for a lot less than that, making it an absolute steal of a 55-inch TV.
The Fire TV interface automatically places it above 4K TVs with clunkier smart platforms, and features like HDR and DTS Studio Sound deliver a fantastic experience. If you’re a first-time subscriber, you can download the most popular streaming apps and get an extended free trial to FuboTV, Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple TV+.
It supports AirPlay and has an HDMI eARC port to hook up a soundbar without cluttering cords. Further, it has easy-to-use parental controls that lock content based on ratings or channel content. The frame isn’t as sleek as other 4K TVs, but for the price, you won’t be disappointed.
The price of this 4K TV from Sony fluctuates above $500 at times, but it’s such a great TV, we had to include it.
If you’re willing to spend closer to $500 than some of the other TVs on our list, this one is well worth it. In fact, it’s one of our favorite picks. The Google TV interface is fluid, easy to navigate and keeps your favorite apps organized neatly. The 4K Processor X1 delivers a smooth and clear picture and reproduces rich colors and detailed contrast. 4K Upscaling is a great feature, but you’ll notice the difference on this TV as 4K X-Reality Pro recovers lost texture and clarity. Intelligent motion handling allows for blur-free fast-moving action, which is excellent if you’re a gamer or enjoy watching sports.
How we tested
After researching the most affordable 4K TVs on the market, we pared our list down to the top eight above and tested the 50-inch Amazon Fire TV Omni Series to see how it did in the following areas.
Setup
- We followed the included instructions step-by-step to set up the TV and signed in with an Amazon Prime account to get started.
Picture and audio
- We tested the picture quality of this TV by comparing it side by side with an older 4K TV while streaming the same 4K content.
- We evaluated the built-in speakers of this TV based on how they sounded while watching different types of content, such as movies and dialogue-heavy content.
- Gaming was tested with casual online gaming using an Xbox One console.
Smart features
- We navigated the user interface thoroughly to determine how fluid it is and how easy it is to find the most popular apps and then download and install them.
- We tested the Alexa voice assistant feature by executing various tasks such as launching apps, searching for titles and managing volume.
FAQ
Q. Are 4K TVs available with only a 60-hertz frame rate?
A. Many 4K TVs have a 120-hertz frame rate, but they’re more expensive than those with a 60-hertz frame rate, generally costing well over $500.
Q. Are 8K TVs better than 4K TVs?
A. 8K TVs have a higher image resolution than 4K TVs, but they’re expensive and not worth it since there is a shortage of available 8K content at this time.
Q. Can I use a 4K TV as an external computer monitor?
A. Yes; they’re great for slideshows and presentations. But because most 4K TVs are over 40 inches, you may find using one for everyday work uncomfortable.
Q. How fast should my internet connection be for 4K streaming?
A. For buffering-free 4K streaming, you need a reliable internet connection that can handle download speeds of at least 50 megabytes per second.
