The best budget TVs of 2024

Sometimes, when in search of the perfect television, you come across a deal that seems far too good to be true, the Hisense 50A6KTUK is precisely that television.

Hisense is consistently ruling the roost of the budget television market - with an enormous range of low-price, solid-quality televisions that are cheaper than the competition by hundreds of pounds, but out of Hisense's entire budget catalogue, none are quite as affordable as the 50A6KTUK.

Packed with AI picture optimisation, motion smoothing, HDR and even Game Mode support for some additional smoothness, the 50A6KTUK offers some genuinely impressive visuals and exciting features to keep you on the edge of your seat, and at its price - you really can't knock the value.

Perfect for wall mounting, the Hisense 50A6KTUK has practically non-existent bezels that melt away when you're absorbed in a series or amidst the chaos of your go-to FPS shooter, for its price, there are high-end TVs with thicker bezels and uglier designs.

When comparing the display itself to a high-end TV, however, there are some noticeable flaws with this cheap television - colour and vibrancy are lacking somewhat, bright white tones can appear dull on occasion, whereas some of the darker tones can appear far more impressive, despite its price.

What's more, the Android TV smart platform can be lack-lustre: with some sluggishness and perpetual advertising becoming somewhat eye-roll-inducing after consistent use, but for its price, it's genuinely tough to complain.

Hisense's 50A6KTUK smart TV is potentially one of the best budget TVs ever made - a solid screen, impressive ultra-thin bezels and heaps of QOL features culminate in an experience that feels far more premium than its price tag, if you need an affordable upgrade to your home cinema setup, you really cannot fault it.

Samsung's CU8000 consistently tops our lists as one of the best budget UHD TVs on the market, and there's no mystery as to why.

Using some clever post-processing to sharpen and enhance colours without the need for pricey QLED or OLED TV technology, the CU8000 has a wonderful warmth and beauty that reaches far beyond its price point.

At 50 inches the CU8000 is undoubtedly a fantastic 4K TV under £500 - and yet, as with competing brands - its value doesn't come at a significant cost of quality. From its solid Crystal UHD screen to the breathtaking build quality, which is rarely ever sub-par with Samsung, home cinema builders can expect nothing but quality from the BU8000, which isn't easy at its price.

Of course, there are some minor nitpicks we can spot from the get-go, the screen itself, while excellent at its price, can appear dull at times - though it is rare, and its average refresh rate isn't the most exciting for gamers, yet at its size for its price - these criticisms are easily left on the wayside.

Philips has consistently made some of the most astonishing budget televisions on the market in recent years, and the PUS8108 is perhaps one of their most excellent designs so far.

Packed with colour, beautifully designed and engineered with Ambilight functionality, and at a great size - the Philips PUS8108 is one of the very best cheap TVs we've come across so far this year, and its brilliance is no mystery.

Along with HDR10+ (which is rare amongst budget televisions) and Dolby Vision, which isn't even in some high-end displays, Philips' PUS8108 truly looks the part at its price - movies and television shows appear exciting, full of life and detail, and when paired with Ambilight, it's truly difficult to look away.

As for its build quality, the Philips PUS8108 is one of the best-looking smart TVs in its price range - in large part thanks to its non-existent side bezels that give the screen an ethereal, boundless look while absorbed into a film.

Where problems arise is specifically when dealing with the notoriously underwhelming Android TV which lacks any and all gloss compared to Samsung's TizenOS - a minor, yet progressively nagging issue that you might want to consider in your television search.

Sound on the Philips PUS8108 is also a little lacking, despite having a plethora of sound-throwing programs and extras to boost its fairly small speakers - it's just not enough to bring that cinematic boom and rumble that the screen deserves.

If you primarily use your TV for watching movies or binge-watching shows on streaming services, you'll definitely appreciate the LG LED UR78. It has 4K upscaling, so you can enjoy superb resolution on content that wasn't originally made in 4K. Alternatively, if you prefer to go the authentic route, Filmmaker mode automatically adjusts settings to match what the movie or show was originally meant to be viewed as, so you can see it in its ideal form.

The UR78 is a fuss-free experience, and that's in part due to its webOS. Some budget TVs can feel clunky to navigate, but that's not the case here. Everything is simple to understand at a glance and things are exactly where they feel they should be, so no more getting lost in menus.

It's exceedingly rare to find a QLED television for less than £1,000, so when Samsung releases the Q60B - a 50-inch QLED television that's below £450 - it most certainly catches our eye.

Colour, colour, colour - the Q60B is certainly not lacking for any boldness or vibrancy - QLED TVs are decisively our favourite TV technology in terms of sheer beauty, and the Q60B is yet another example of why Quantum Dot technology is just so powerful.

Perfectly built for wall mounting, with a truly flush back, or for simply positioning comfortably on a table - the Q60B is both visually pleasing to watch and in its aesthetic beauty.

The Q60B is, at its heart, a mid-range QLED television - it doesn't have the bells and whistles of a £2,000 Neo-QLED monster television, with enough brightness to sear your retinas, but what it does do is pretty exemplary.

LG, generally speaking, is not known for their budget televisions - a lot of their televisions are typically high-end, we're of course thinking of the C2 OLED TV, one our favourite televisions of last year - but that's not to say that LG is incapable of nailing a truly brilliant budget television - enter the UQ75.

With HDR10 and some excellent sharpness - the LG UQ75 offers what is a pretty fantastic user experience for the cost - colours and images are represented incredibly accurately, without being too exaggerated or underwhelming - it's a stunning balance that only serves to show the brilliance of modern 4K technology which is now so much more affordable than ever before.

In terms of design, the screen is fairly lack-lustre - the back panel and the bezels appear somewhat flimsy-looking with very little design flare or style to set it apart from other smart TVs. Then there's the trouble of contrast - sometimes the UQ75's HDR10+ overcompensates, giving you ultimately drab-looking scenes with odd contrast ratios, which leaves something to be desired. Often, bright scenes look fantastic, but with intermittent night scenes in games, films and television - they just don't deliver quite the excitement we'd see in a more expensive television.

And yet, we simply cannot stay away from this terrific LG TV - from its easy-to-use user interface to its solid display - it's a great example of what an affordable television truly should be.

If you prioritise the sound of a TV more than the visuals, you might want to consider this model from Panasonic. It still sports a solid set of visual specs, but the sound is where the TX-43MX610B really shines. It has the always-brilliant Dolby Atmos, so the audio is rich and highly immersive.

The size of this TV is likely to appeal as well. At 43 inches, it's neither too big nor too small; it's suitable for just about any room you could want to put it in. Factoring in the affordability, we think it's a great choice for those after a bedroom TV.

Bezels are the black lines of the frame of a screen, monitor, or TV, and this TCL 65RP630K manages to have very thin ones. That's a great feature, as the less noticeable they are, the easier it is to get immersed in what you're watching. The addition of Dolby Vision further serves that.

Just be sure to consider where you're placing this TV. It's lightweight, making it a solid option for wall-mounting, but as such you will want to be careful to not accidentally knock it.

We mentioned a TV that favoured sound quality earlier, but for the best audio experience, you want a Sony BRAVIA TV. Dolby Atmos combines with a set of powerful speakers to produce an experience that doesn't need a soundbar to impress. If you like to stick music on while you're working, now you can have your TV cover the room with all the sounds you want.

We're also impressed by the ports of this TV. It has a couple of USB connections, which is a nice luxury that not all budget TVs have, but it's the total of four HDMI ports that we really love. If you have multiple consoles or devices, this is a great hub for them.

Amazon has its own range of TVs, and we think this Fire TV is ideal for wall mounting. It's reasonably lightweight without being flimsy, and at 43 inches, it's pretty much the perfect size for any room. You don't need to fret about struggling to see detail from further away either; it's a QLED screen, so the visible detail is excellent.

The Fire TV is also great due to its convenient design. Wall mounting it is an easy process, scrolling through its menus feels natural, and the set of connections is well-placed are easy to manage.