Best cheap TVs under £300, £500 and £1,000

With 4K HDR models available for less than £500, you don't need to sacrifice many features for a cheap TV. But not all of them are worth your money. Our tests uncover poor performers. 

You'll also got some top tips on how to pick up a TV for under £300 and what to kind of features you can expect if you're looking to spend a bit more. 

There are some stand-out TVs that prove you don't necessarily have to pay top whack to get a good model, even if you have your heart set on a particular brand. You don't have to settle for a small TV either. If you like the idea of having a big screen experience in your living room, then you can. 

You can also see our latest TV deals. Want to save even more money? Find out more about how to buy a second-hand or refurbished TV.

Best cheap TVs under £300

When TVs launch none of them are this cheap, aside from HD 32-inch models perhaps, and it takes almost a year on sale before we see any TVs reach around the £300 mark. Even then, you're only going to see 40 to 43-inch TVs cost between £300 and £400, although some smaller models do sneak below the £300 mark on occasion.

The only televisions we tend to see for less than £300 are supermarket models, such as JVC, Bush and Logik. We don't test these models any more, and this is largely because they don't stay on sale for very long. By the time we've bought them, sent them to our lab and tested them, they can already be off sale. We prioritise TVs from leading brands, such as LG, Samsung and Sony, since these are more popular, more people buy them and they are more likely to be worth buying.

When we have tested supermarket brand TVs they've been universally poor and there's no sign things have changed. TVs is an area where paying more tends to get you a better TV, although, as you can see in the models we've picked out here, there are TVs that do well in our tests despite costing far less than some Best Buys.

If you want to purchase a TV under £300, we recommend scouring the used market for Best Buy TVs.

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If we haven't listed the TV you're interested in here, or if you want more choice, see our expert TV reviews.

Only logged-in Which? members can view our recommendations. Get instant access to all of our online reviews - from TVs to soundbars - join Which? today.

Unfamiliar brands or ones unique to certain stores don't do as well in our tests as bigger brands, such as LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony. See our guide on store brand TVs for more information on them.

What is a great value TV?

To get a Great Value badge from us a TV needs to score at least 65% and cost less than most other models.

Since TVs come in several different sizes we treat each bracket differently.

So when we check the average prices of TVs we don't include the cost of a 65-inch TV when we're determining what price constitutes a Great Value 43-inch TV.

The size brackets are:

• 24 to 32-inch TV
• 40 to 43-inch TV
• 48 to 50-inch TV
• 55 to 58-inch TV
• 65 to 75-inch TV

Seeing a Great Value badge on a TV guarantees that it's good enough to consider buying and it costs less than most other TVs of similar quality. 

Cheap TVs: what should I look out for?

• Screen size: Typically, the smaller the screen the cheaper the TV. It is possible find bigger-screen models that did well in our tests, but if you see a 50-inch TV or larger that costs less than £300 it's unlikely to be a decent performer. Always check our TV reviews to find the best cheap TVs and use our TV screen size tool to see which screen size is best for your room.
• Display type: Most manufacturers now favour LCD TVs with LED backlighting (generally referred to as just LED TVs). Cheaper TVs will be LCD, but you can now get QLED TVs and OLED TVs for less than £1,000 and prices continue to drop each year.
• Resolution: The vast majority of TVs released are 4K HDR. The price of 4K TVs has come down considerably as a result, with many available for less than £400.

What you're less likely to get at lower prices

• Twin tuners: Many TVs let you record programs onto a USB hard drive, but some with twin-tuners can record two different shows at once or let you watch one while you record another. You'll only find two tuners on premium sets.
• Higher refresh rates: Some TVs have screens that can refresh the picture up to 120 frames per second, which can result in a smoother picture. Cheaper TVs usually top out at 60 frames per second.
• High-end gaming features: Technologies like VRR (virtual refresh rate), G-Sync and FreeSync, improve the look and feel games through an PS5 or Xbox Series console, but you'll only find them on expensive TVs.
• Latest display technology: While QLED and OLED TVs have dropped in price of late, the latest Neo QLED and OLED evo TVs remain expensive. However, the difference in quality, particularly between OLED and OLED evo, isn't huge, so you're not missing out on much.

Cheap TVs to avoid

Get it wrong with a cheap TV and you could be faced with awful picture quality, tinny sound and a frustrating interface. 

Don't be sold be on specs alone, either. Most TVs are 4K, almost all are listed as smart TVs and support HDR (High Dynamic Range, which lets you see more detail). Simply put, these aren't features that separate a good TV from a bad one.

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Get the best deal on a cheap TV

The price of a TV drops soon after it's first launched, so choosing the right time to buy is vital. You'll also find amazing deals available throughout the year (particularly around Black Friday).

For the latest offers, see our guide to the best TV deals - all the deals we list are for TVs that score well in our independent lab tests, so you can be confident you're not buying a dud and we update them every month.

Where to buy a cheap TV

We've picked a handful of retailers that offer a good range of TVs costing under £500, including many of our Great Value TVs. Retailers were chosen based on popular searches, and how many budget-friendly options they had available.

• AO stocks just over 70 different TVs that are priced under £500 and we've spotted a few of our Great Value TVs, too. They offer next-day delivery from £4 to £30 depending on where you live and which time slot you choose. There's also an AO eBay store where you can purchase refurbished TVs and save some money.
• Argos offers over 120 TVs, all priced at less than £500, including a wide selection of our Great Value TVs. You can order free click-and-collect from a local store, or you can choose same-day delivery from £5.95 depending on which TV you buy, and where you live. At the time of writing, Argos does not offer refurbished TVs. 
• Currys carries a selection of over 120 TVs that cost under £500. You can find several of our Great Value TVs within that range. Currys' offer free delivery on orders over £40 or free click-and-collect from stores with TVs in stock. At the time of writing, Currys doesn't have any refurbished TVs listed on their website or eBay clearance store, however, they do offer open-box deals where you can save some money.

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Buying a used TV

When buying a used TV, your best bet is to go for a refurbished model. You can buy these from sites such as Amazon Renewed, Appliances Direct and Box.

Some manufacturers also have their own refurbished online stores, such as Panasonic's eBay store.

If you're buying second-hand from eBay, be sure to check the full listing and images for signs of damage or problems. Your purchase will be protected by eBay to some degree, and you can get a refund if there's an issue that wasn't detailed in the listing. However, you fail to spot something that was mentioned in the listing, then you could be stuck with the TV.

Buying from Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace means you should have a chance to see the TV when you pick it up. Be sure to check that it picks up all channels, connects to the internet, plays audio without distortion and doesn't have any blemishes on the screen. It's also worth checking each button on the remote control.

See our guide on buying a refurbished or second-hand TV for more details on how to bag a bargain safely.

If you want more great tech without burning a hole in your pocket, we've found the best cheap laptops starting from under £200