Best TVs under $500 2026: 8 Compared (22 Sources)

What are the best TVs under $500 in 2026?

Summary

The reviewers disagree on the top of this list, so the order here follows the measurements. RTINGS now names the 2026 Hisense U6SF Pro its best TV under $500: on 2026-09-15 it replaced the TCL QM6K with it "because the Hisense performs better and costs less" [src1]. Consumer Reports rates the 55U6SF Pro's picture quality excellent, against very good for the 55-inch Hisense QD7 [src15, src16], and Tom's Guide gave the U6SF Pro an Editor's Choice award after measuring 1,265 nits of HDR brightness [src9]. That makes it our top pick. Its catch is price: it lists at $849 and fits this card only on sale. PC Guide found it at $497.99 at Amazon on 2026-09-05, and RTINGS says the 55-inch is regularly under $500 [src1, src22].

Tom's Guide and CNET pick the cheaper Hisense QD7 instead. Tom's Guide calls it "the best TV under $500 right now", and CNET says it has "the best price-to-performance ratio of any model I have ever reviewed" [src8, src14]. It is our value pick: Mini-LED local dimming and quantum-dot colour for about $300-$350 on sale, at the cost of a 60Hz panel, HDMI 2.0 ports and 659 nits of HDR brightness in Tom's Guide's test [src10, src14]. The 55-inch QD7 listing we link had no purchasable offer at Amazon in our check on 2026-10-05.

At the bottom of the range, Walmart's Vizio VQM55C-10 is Yahoo's best budget TV — "the best budget TV by a mile" at a regular $278 — and RTINGS's best cheap TV [src2, src17]. The two labs are cooler than Yahoo: RTINGS calls it "a mediocre TV for most uses", and Tom's Guide found Vizio OS so full of ads that the TV is "hard to recommend over the Hisense models" [src5, src8]. It is sold only through Walmart and Sam's Club [src17]; the Amazon listing we link had no purchasable offer in our checks through 2026-10-05.

For gaming, RTINGS still prefers the TCL 55QM6K, with 4K at 144Hz on two HDMI 2.1 ports and low motion blur; it tells buyers who don't play games or watch much sport to take the U6SF Pro instead [src2, src6]. The QM6K was in stock at Amazon at $497.99 in our check on 2026-10-05. Tom's Guide's gaming pick under $500, the Hisense U65QF, is no longer in stock according to RTINGS [src2, src7]. For the simplest smart TV, Tom's Guide recommends the Mini-LED Roku Plus Series over the cheaper LED Roku Select Series [src13].

Top 8 Models Compared

Prices are for the 55-inch model. Live price and stock for each linked listing are in the picks table above.

Best for Each Use Case

Top Pick: Hisense U6SF Pro 55" (55U6SF Pro, ~$498 on sale, list $849) — Check price

RTINGS names the 55U6SF Pro its best TV under $500 — "a surprisingly good TV for the price" — for its excellent contrast from local dimming, high peak brightness, out-of-the-box accuracy and "a great anti-reflective coating" that keeps dim scenes visible in a bright room [src1, src3]. Tom's Guide gave the U6SF Pro an Editor's Choice award: on the 65-inch it measured 1,265 nits of HDR brightness, 358 nits in SDR Filmmaker mode and 9.3 ms of input lag, and its 2.1-channel, 40W speaker system with a built-in subwoofer "outperforms most stock TV speakers" [src8, src9]. The panel runs at a native 144Hz with VRR, ALLM and FreeSync Premium Pro, and two of its four HDMI inputs are HDMI 2.1 [src3, src9]. Consumer Reports, which expects the 55-inch to perform like the 65-inch it tested, rates its picture quality excellent and its motion very good [src15]. Not everyone agrees on motion: RTINGS measured a very slow response time that makes fast sports and games look blurry, while Tom's Guide made it its best budget TV for sports [src3, src8]. Fire TV is the weak link — Tom's Guide calls it "clunky and full of ads" [src9]. Price: it launched in March 2026 at $849 for the 55-inch and Tom's Guide saw it on sale for $547 at review; PC Guide found it at $497.99 at Amazon on 2026-09-05 [src9, src22]. If it is above $500 when you shop, the Hisense QD7 below is the pick that fits the budget.

Best Value: Hisense QD7 55" (55QD7QF; no purchasable offer at Amazon in our check on 2026-10-05) — Check price

Tom's Guide calls the QD7 "easily the best budget TV we've tested, and it's also the best TV under $500 right now", and CNET makes it its best budget TV of 2026: "the best price-to-performance ratio of any model I have ever reviewed", with contrast "unmatched among its peers" and twice the Filmmaker-mode brightness of the other budget sets it tested [src8, src14]. It pairs full-array Mini-LED local dimming with quantum-dot colour, Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG, and Tom's Guide praises its "surprisingly powerful audio" and "excellent upscaling" [src4, src10]. The compromises are speed and brightness: the 65-inch and smaller sizes run at 60Hz with four HDMI 2.0 ports (no HDMI 2.1), and Tom's Guide measured 659 nits of HDR brightness against a 1,260-nit average and found it "struggles in well-lit rooms" [src4, src10]. RTINGS calls it "an alright TV overall", and Consumer Reports rates the 55QD7QF's picture very good but its HDR of "very limited effectiveness" [src4, src16]. Price: list $499.99; CNET listed it at $347 and advises getting it on sale "for about $300" [src10, src14]. Availability: the 55-inch listing we link had no purchasable offer at Amazon in our check on 2026-10-05. Best you can buy today instead: the top-pick U6SF Pro if you can find it at $500 or less, or the Roku Plus Series 55" below, a Mini-LED set with local dimming that was in stock at Amazon at $349.99 in our check on 2026-10-05.

Best Budget: Vizio VQM55C-10 ($278 at Walmart and Sam's Club; no purchasable offer at Amazon in our checks through 2026-10-05) — Check price

Yahoo's reviewer put the VQM55C-10 at the top of his budget roundup: "priced like a budget TV but premium in nearly every other respect", and side by side with the TCL T7 its brightness, contrast and colour were "vastly superior" [src17, src18]. RTINGS makes the Vizio Mini LED Quantum 4K its best cheap TV and its best 75-inch TV under $500, and notes it is brighter, more colourful and deeper in black than the Hisense QD6QF [src1, src2]. The labs are more reserved than Yahoo. RTINGS rates it "a mediocre TV for most uses", with a low native contrast ratio, visible haloing and very blurry motion [src5]. Tom's Guide, testing the 65-inch VQM65C-1004, liked "a lot of screen for the price" and HDR that beats its measurements, but marks it down for a "busy, ad-heavy Vizio OS" and weak sound [src11]; its budget guide finds the Vizio "so filled with ads that it's hard to recommend over the Hisense models" [src8]. The 55-inch runs at 60Hz with three HDMI inputs and no HDMI 2.1, and unlike the other sizes it has no game mode for 1080p at 120 frames per second [src5, src18]. Setup requires signing in with a Walmart account (or merging an existing Vizio account), and you can opt out of Vizio's Automated Content Recognition in the settings [src18]. Availability: sold through Walmart and Sam's Club; Yahoo notes that Sam's Club adds a five-year warranty at the same price [src17]. The Amazon listing we link had no purchasable offer in our checks through 2026-10-05.

Best for Gaming: TCL 55QM6K ($497.99; in stock at Amazon in our check on 2026-10-05) — Check price

RTINGS calls the QM6K's gaming performance "its strongest suit": very low input lag, 4K at 144Hz and 1080p at 288Hz with VRR on two HDMI 2.1 ports, and motion blur "kept to a minimum" [src2, src6]. It is still the best budget TV RTINGS has tested, and RTINGS says the brighter, better-in-glare U6SF Pro is the better choice only if you don't play video games or watch a lot of sports [src2]. TechRadar lists "great value" first among its strengths and scores its gaming 4.5 out of 5: "Gaming on the TCL QM6K TV is a treat" [src20]. It runs Google TV, whose app catalogue RTINGS rates much larger than Vizio OS's, and supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ [src2, src6]. The weak points: RTINGS rates its HDR brightness "mediocre at best", and TechRadar calls the speakers "meh" [src6, src20]. RTINGS dropped it from its under-$500 list because it was "increasingly hard to find and isn't on sale for under $500 very often" [src1]; it was in stock at Amazon at $497.99 in our check on 2026-10-05.

Best for Ease of Use: Roku Plus Series 55" (2025) ($349.99; in stock at Amazon in our check on 2026-10-05) — Check price

Yahoo's reviewer found the 2025 Roku Plus Series has the "simplest user interface of any TV", a "pleasing, colorful picture", Mini-LED backlighting, a lost-remote finder and Roku's Smart Picture Max [src19]. Tom's Guide recommends it over the cheaper Roku Select Series for anyone set on a Roku TV: its local dimming "is very much worth having at this price point", and it is good enough for casual gamers [src13]. The limits: it "struggles with brightness for HDR content", Dolby Vision content switches off Smart Picture Max, and the 60Hz panel is not ideal for sports or games, although it supports VRR [src19]. It listed at $500 when Yahoo reviewed it; it was in stock at Amazon at $349.99 in our check on 2026-10-05 [src19].

Tom's Guide's Gaming Pick: Hisense U65QF 55" (55U65QF; no purchasable offer at Amazon in our check on 2026-10-05) — Check price

Tom's Guide names the 55-inch U65QF its best TV under $500 for gaming and its best budget 55-inch TV: 144Hz with two HDMI 2.1 ports, and brighter than the QD7 on HDR content in its lab [src7, src8]. TechRadar rates it "great value" and found its brightness outperforms the TCL QM6K and Roku Pro Series [src21]. On 2026-08-21 RTINGS replaced it with the U6SF Pro in the notable mentions of its budget guide "since the former is no longer in stock" [src2], and the listing we link had no purchasable offer at Amazon in our check on 2026-10-05. If it reappears near $500, it remains a strong 144Hz pick; otherwise the U6SF Pro and the TCL 55QM6K offer the same 144Hz and HDMI 2.1 gaming features [src2, src3].

Cheapest Roku: Roku Select Series 55" (2025) (~$230-$250; no purchasable offer at Amazon in our check on 2026-10-05) — Check price

Yahoo names the 55-inch Roku Select Series its best budget TV for ease of use — the best remote and the friendliest interface, at a price "usually below $300" — and CNET names the Roku Select TV (2025) its best budget TV for usability [src14, src17]. Picture quality is the trade: it is a plain LED set without Dolby Vision, CNET rates its picture "only average" with the poorest shadow detail of its group, and its off-axis response was poor in CNET's test [src14, src17]. Tom's Guide gave the newer Select Series 2.5 stars and recommends the Roku Plus Series instead [src13]. The listing we link had no purchasable offer at Amazon in our check on 2026-10-05.

For Alexa+ Homes: Amazon Ember 55" QLED ($489.99; in stock at Amazon in our check on 2026-10-05) — Check price

Tom's Guide tested the 55-inch Ember QLED Series, released in November 2025, and calls it "a fine FireTV for folks who want to welcome Alexa+ into their homes" [src12]. It has full-array local dimming at 55 inches and up, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ Adaptive, but Tom's Guide measured only 251 nits of HDR brightness and a Delta-E of 4.62, saw oversaturated colours and motion-smoothing problems, and counts one HDMI 2.1 port (the eARC) alongside three HDMI 2.0 [src12]. Its verdict: "You can find cheaper alternatives that perform better with 4K/HDR content", and the review points readers to the Hisense QD7 as "probably the best TV under $500" [src12]. It was in stock at Amazon at $489.99 in our check on 2026-10-05, below the $589 Tom's Guide quotes for the 55-inch [src12].

Key Market Trends (2026)

• 2026 Mini-LEDs are reaching $500: the Hisense U6SF Pro launched in March 2026 at $849 for the 55-inch and was selling for $497.99 by September, when RTINGS made it its best TV under $500 [src1, src9, src22].
• The 2025 stock is running out: RTINGS replaced the out-of-stock Hisense U65QF in August and called the TCL QM6K increasingly hard to find in September [src1, src2].
• Walmart's Vizio puts Mini-LED under $300: the VQM55C-10 sells for $278, only through Walmart and Sam's Club [src17, src18].
• 60Hz is still the norm at the bottom: the 55-inch QD7, Vizio, Roku and Ember sets are 60Hz; 144Hz and HDMI 2.1 start with the U6SF Pro, the QM6K and the U65QF [src3, src6, src10, src12, src14, src18, src19, src21].
• Interfaces carry ads: Tom's Guide calls Fire TV "full of ads" on the U6SF Pro and Vizio OS "busy, ad-heavy" [src9, src11].
• Built-in sound is usually weak: Tom's Guide marks the Vizio down for weak bass and TechRadar calls the QM6K's speakers "meh"; the U6SF Pro's built-in subwoofer and the QD7's "surprisingly powerful audio" are the exceptions [src9, src10, src11, src20].

Important Caveats

• Stock and prices move weekly. Availability statements on this card carry the date we checked; live price and stock for each linked listing are in the picks table at the top.
• The top pick fits only on sale. The Hisense U6SF Pro 55" lists at $849; PC Guide found it at $497.99 at Amazon on 2026-09-05 and Tom's Guide saw $547 at review [src9, src22].
• Two named picks had no purchasable offer at Amazon when we checked: the Hisense QD7 55" in our check on 2026-10-05 and the Vizio VQM55C-10 in our checks through 2026-10-05; nor did the Hisense U65QF 55" and Roku Select Series 55" listings on 2026-10-05. The Vizio is sold through Walmart and Sam's Club [src17].
• Most reviews tested 65-inch units. RTINGS and Tom's Guide tested the 65-inch U6SF Pro, QD7 and Vizio; Consumer Reports's 55U6SF Pro rating is extrapolated from the 65-inch; Yahoo tested the 55-inch Vizio [src3, src4, src5, src9, src10, src11, src15, src18].
• Screen size changes the specs. The 75-inch and larger Hisense QD7 models add 144Hz and HDMI 2.1; the 55-inch Vizio lacks the 1080p-at-120Hz game mode of its other sizes [src10, src18].
• The Roku Select Series and Amazon Ember QLED trail on picture: CNET rates the Select's picture only average, and Tom's Guide measured 251 nits of HDR on the Ember QLED [src12, src14].