TV deals so cheap that they sound fake are a modern pillar of Black Friday. Walmart’s doorbusters usually lead the charge.
By all means, hop on those deals if the bullet point at the top of your TV checklist is price. But let’s consider this question that has to be asked about the cheapest-of-the-cheap TVs: Is that TV really that much of a steal if you decide it sucks a year later and want to replace it?
If your tight budget is slightly more flexible — like over $200, but still less than $500 — you still have plenty of solid upgrade options that don’t require waiting until a sale season. Depending on size, finding a decent TV under the $500 mark isn’t hard. But comparing factors that make your watching or gaming experience as high-end as possible (like color saturation, brightness, contrast, responsiveness) might be. We’re here to narrow it down for you.
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What’s a good price for a TV?
That answer, of course, isn’t one size fits all — or rather, isn’t one price fits all sizes.
We’ve capped this list’s budget at $500 because of the range of sizes that price covers in 2023. A ton of good 55-inch or smaller TVs fall under the $500 price point even when they’re not on sale, as well as a few decent 65-inch models. Finding a 75-inch TV that retails for less than $500 is a trickier task.
TVs are on sale more often than you think
The good news is that you almost always have more options under $500 than you think, because TVs are constantly on sale. (We keep track of those TV deals on a weekly basis.) You can almost always find $600, $700, or even $800 4K TVs on sale for less than $500 at Best Buy or Walmart for no reason other than because they felt like it. Unless you’re looking for the absolute cheapest TV you can find, there’s little reason to wait for Black Friday or Prime Day.
Given the impact a sale price could have on the variety in this list, we’ve included TV models that fall under $500 at full price and TV models that frequently fall under $500 when on sale. If that price only occurs with a deal, we’ll note it in the TV’s “best for” category.
If you’re set on a 75-incher, expanding your budget by $50 or preferably $100 will make a serious difference in your purchasing pool.
Whether you’re down to pay full price, wait for a sale on a better model, or are willing to exceed your budget by a few bucks, we have suggestions. Here are the best TVs you can get under $500 in 2023:
