The best TVs under £500 can give you a lot more tech and screen space than you might think – the last couple of years has seen the price of big-screen TVs fall dramatically, with what used to be more premium spec features following them down. As a result, the best TVs under £500 tick off a lot of the latest and greatest features while still saving you money.
It’s true these aren’t as slim or as design-focused as the very best TVs around, but for under £500 each offers 4K UHD resolution, solid HDR compatibility and a worthwhile smart TV experience.
And while we mentioned that finding bigger TVs at this price is easier then ever before, this is also the price range where you tend to find the smaller sets, including bedroom- or office-friendly sizes.
Need more advice? Our guide to buying a sub-£500 TV is at the bottom of the page
These TVs under £500 are largely at that price because their RRP was already in that region, but you will also find great cheap televisions that were previously more expensive, but have had a price cut. And as 2020's new models get released, these will only come down further.
If you think you can stretch a little higher, our best TVs under £1000 roundup includes some sets in the £600-£700 region, so it's worth a look even you can't push your budget all the way to the £1k mark.
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What is the best TV under £500?
Right now, our pick as the best buy for a TV under £500 is the Samsung UE55TU7100 – it's a 55-inch TV that doesn't compromise on image quality despite giving you such a big screen. It doesn't include the QLED tech from Samsung's higher-priced TVs, but the quality here belies the price.
It does still have some clever screen tech – a new backlighting system that uses two different hues for richer blacks, particularly – but the real draw here is that it's a TV with pretty good image quality and HDR support, but really great smart features.
At under £500, you're never going to get the latest and greatest screen tech, but you can get effectively the same user-friendly experience as the high-end TVs, and that will actually be the most important thing for lots of people: what use is a good-looking TV if you can't find what you want to watch?
The best TVs under £500, in order
• Read our full Samsung TU7100 review
This TV doesn't offer the strongest image quality of all the sets here, but it punches well above its price for visuals, while also letting you put more money into going bigger – it's the best image quality you'll find at 55 inches under £500.
Samsung's dual-LED backlight produces impressively true blacks, and contrast is solid. Crucially, since you're able to go for a bigger size with this TV, it offers really good upscaling, so whether you're watching a lot of native 4K or are streaming a lot of stuff that the set will have to punch up to 4K, it does a great job.
HDR looks good too, and HDR10+ support is good for making the most of its admittedly limited brightness, though we wish it had Dolby Vision support too, since that form of dynamic HDR is more common.
It's also well-equipped when it comes to smart TV, and the interface. Better than most budget TVs, this has the same options as more expensive Samsung TVs, though it's a little less smooth to use. But the important part is the feature list, including Bluetooth and AirPlay 2, and apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV and loads more. It's all presented in an easy-to-understand way.
The gaming mode is fast, and auto switches when it detects a console is connected, so it's among the best options at this price for gamers.
All in all, it's a fantastic-value TV – if you want to go big at a low price while still reaching for pleasing image quality, it's our pick.
• Read our full Samsung TU8500 review
This is the fanciest non-QLED TV Samsung makes, and while no QLED TV fits into our £500 category, you still get a level of care and attention to match more expensive TVs, and a surprising number of sleek high-tech features.
HDR is catered for, from the live broadcast-friendly HLG to HDR10+ dynamic metadata, and the 4K UHD resolution is augmented by integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Apple AirPlay 2 connectivity. The Tizen-based operating system is identical to that sported by the pricier QLED TVs, and a response time of just 11.7ms will appeal to gamers.
Best of all, performance could easily be from a more expensive screen. Samsung is using an innovative new backlight tech this year, with two colours of LEDs in the backlight helping to improve contrast and giving better black levels than you might expect. That's combined with a reasonably bright picture overall, giving things a lovely pop in either SDR or HDR.
It's quite a capable upscaler too, crucially – it takes HD streaming or Blu-ray up to 4K comfortably, and keeps native 4K looking crisp and sharp.
The audio quality is nothing special, but it works perfectly well, and the TV supports passthrough of Dolby Atmos audio, so you could upgrade it with a great soundbar later.
We also thoroughly recommend the 50-inch version, which just about breaks our price limit for this article.
• Read our full Hisense Roku TV R50B7120UK review
This is the UK's first Roku TV, which means it uses Roku's smart platform (usually found on plug-in HDMI sticks or set-top boxes) as its operating system. And it's brilliant – Roku TV is really easy to navigate, has every streaming service you could want, and has a universal search feature across them all to make it easy to find things in those services.
And that's paired with a TV that really impresses with image quality for its price, especially given that this is a generous 50 inches of screen estate (and you can step up to bigger sizes for really reasonably prices – see below).
It avoids all the pitfalls of budget TVs – the backlight is uniform, colours are realistic, and it upscales from HD to 4K impeccably. It's not so strong for handling motion, but we can live with that. It's also a shame that it doesn't support Dolby Vision HDR, but other HDR types are supports, and look strong.
Between giving you better image quality than its price suggests and having a smart platform that's the easiest to use on the planet, this is a simply brilliant buy.
This is Panasonic's entry-level 4K TV from 2020, which means you get more limited HDR support than its higher-end sets, but that still includes Dolby Vision, so we're off to a good start. You get more basic image processing and lower brightness too, but nothing out of the ordinary compared to the competition – and they're still backed up with Panasonic's usual approach to making cinematic viewing, so it's very watchable indeed, and excellent value at this size.
That said, with quite basic smart TV functions, we'd recommend adding one of the best media streamers to get yourself a better interface with a more comprehensive app selection.
You also don't get Dolby Atmos decoding for a soundbar here, but that's not necessarily a problem if you get a soundbar with HDMI passthrough anyway. Connectivity is really strong, with more HDMI ports than the average budget TV, plus older connections options too.
Got a hankering for a nice big 4K UHD TV (without the nice big price ticket that so often goes along with it) from a brand with proper credibility? Want a big slice of the performance that’s generally associated with more expensive alternatives? LG is ready to sort you right out.
The 49UM7400 is by no means the sveltest or best-specified TV in LG’s extensive line-up. But thanks to its 4K resolution, its support for the HDR basics, its full suite of smart TV apps and its eminently watchable picture, it just might represent the sweet spot of LG’s entire LED range.
There’s no denying the LG’s black tones could be deeper, but that should be balanced against the TV's great screen uniformity and smooth motion handling. Upscaling of sub-4K content is very well handled too, and gamers will appreciate the super-low 12ms response time. It even summons meaningful bass from its little speaker array, even if there’s not much width or separation to its sound.
Happily, the old ‘never mind the quality, feel the width’ adage doesn’t apply here. Oh, the Hisense has plenty of width – but it has the quality to go along with it.
This modest sum buys a bit 4K LED LCD TV with every HDR standard bar HDR10+, Freeview Play (with all its attendant catch-up services), a satellite receiver, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It also buys a genuinely attractive unibody design, a half-decent operating system (with plenty of streaming app options) and a passable remote control. It even buys some ‘Works with Alexa’ voice control.
Most importantly of all, it buys a TV that’s capable of nicely balanced, even-handed and quite detailed images. It needs the right source material to do so, mind you, because the Hisense isn’t the most composed upscaler of lower-resolution content - but given the best chance, the 55B7500UK can summon dynamic, colourful and pretty insightful pictures. No, they’re neither as bright nor as dark as the best alternatives on this list. But they’re considerably bigger, and for some people that will be just the ticket, especially if 2020's summer of sport goes ahead.
Our tips for buying a cheap 4K TV
So what should you look for when buying a cheap 4K telly, and what compromises can you expect to make?
Screen sizes obviously vary dramatically, depending on brand and price. A growing number of manufacturers are now pushing out smaller (40-43-inch) 4K panels to meet booming demand.
All TVs worth their salt are net connected, via Wi-Fi or ethernet, so check whether they support all the streaming and catch-up services you want them too. But bear in mind that just because a set doesn't include everything, that doesn't have to be a deal-breaker – the best media streamers include a huge range of services, and cost from only around £40, so if you're making a big saving on the TV, you still won't break the bank.
It’s also worth double checking that your shortlisted set has enough HDMI ports for your games consoles, Blu-ray player, set-top box and maybe that extra streamer if it's – this is an area where compromises are often made to get the retail price down.
Freeview Play is a handy bonus as it serves as both your programme guide looking forward and also lets you seamlessly delve into catch-up TV that you might have missed, without needing to load up separate apps.
HDR (high dynamic range) compatibility is a bonus, although these entry-level sets typically won’t be bright enough to dazzle with spectral highlights in the same way an 800-nit OLED panel will.
Another element that is usually majorly skimped on with cheaper TVs is the audio. So if you've got a few quid left over, consider buying a best soundbar or soundbase.
