Best budget TVs to give in 2024
Toshiba 43-inch C350 Fire TV
This model from Toshiba is one of the cheapest ways to get a 4K TV from a recognizable brand. The Toshiba Class C350 Fire TV has an LED display, built-in Alexa, HDR and a 60Hz refresh rate. You also get three months of Apple TV Plus thrown in for free. The price shown here is for the 43-inch size.
When we compared the best budget TVs side by side, the picture quality of Vizio V-Series clearly emerged as the leader of the pack. The Vizio offered the most balanced and accurate picture during our comparisons, and it comes with some useful extras such as Dolby Vision support, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth compatibility and variable refresh rate for potentially smoother gaming. The biggest downside of the Vizio is its smart TV platform, Vizio SmartCast. It's crowded, slow and littered with ads for platforms such as Tubi and Kidoodle TV. Even when you factor in the cost of adding a new streaming device, however, the V-Series remains the best overall entry-level TV that we tested.
The price shown here is for the 50-inch size.
There are more expensive TVs on this list, but the affordable TCL 4-Series Roku TV will make both the gift-giver and the recipient happy. Its picture quality was only a slight step behind the Vizio V-Series (also on this list) in our budget TV test, and the differences between the two are slight enough that you'd really have to have them set up side by side to notice anything at all.
The 4-Series lacks the Dolby Vision, Bluetooth connectivity and AMD FreeSync with a variable refresh rate, all of which the Vizio offers. The 4-Series' advantage over the Vizio is that it comes with the excellent Roku Smart TV system built in. That makes it a great choice for those looking for a one-stop smart TV solution, without having to add an external streaming device.
We reviewed the S455 series but other variants, including the S451 and S452, should be basically the same according to their specifications. The price shown here is for the 55-inch size.
50-inch Amazon Fire TV 4-Series
If you're looking for a 4K smart TV with Amazon's Fire TV OS built in, this is a good option to consider. It lacks some of the perks you'll see from higher-end models, like Dolby Vision and AMD FreeSync. But it offers the brightest screen out of all the budget models we've tested.
Best TVs if you're looking to spend more
The TCL QM8 didn't perform quite as well as the LG C3 OLED, but if you want to give the gift of a gigantic screen, it's our top pick. This mini-LED based TV has amazing image quality thanks to a bright image, making it our favorite TV overall for 2024. Its smallest size is 65 inches, and it's also available in massive screens all the way up to 98 inches. That's a lot of wrapping paper.
The price shown below is for the 65-inch size.
The Hisense U8K has spectacular image quality that's handily outperforms any of the cheaper TVs on this list, so it's sure to please the image quality stickler on your list. It also includes all of the high-end gaming extras that Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 fans have come to expect, including 4K/120Hz input and VRR. Sure it's a hefty price for a gift, but it's still more affordable than the high-end options.
The price shown here is for the 55-inch size.
If you're looking to spend a little more on a TV gift, the Plus Series is a great starting point. Unlike the TCL Roku TV higher on this list, this one is all Roku, with no other brands on board. It adds a couple of step-up extras, including QLED and full-array local dimming, which help deliver a better picture than the TCL 4-Series, for example. And of course, it offers the simple Roku system that will make your gift recipient's streaming as pain-free as possible.
The price shown here is for the 55-inch model.
OK, let's be honest. Most people who are buying an OLED TV as a gift have only one recipient in mind: themselves. And if that's you, we're not going to judge. The LG C4 OLED is an incredible gift no matter who receives it, with top-notch image quality, excellent features and all the sleek styling you could ask for.
The price shown below is for the 65-inch size.
Other stuff to know about giving a new TV for the 2024 holidays
We're sure you'd be happy with any one of the TVs above, but a new set can be a big investment, so maybe you're looking for a bit more information. Here's a quick and dirty list.
- In our opinion, bigger is better. In general, your money is best spent on large screen sizes rather than a slight upgrade in image quality.
- If you don't like the built-in smart TV system, you can always add a streaming device from Roku, Amazon, Google or Apple. They're generally cheap and easy to use for streaming services -- and they receive updates more frequently than most smart TVs. See our picks of the best streaming device for 2024.
- The sound quality of most built-in speakers is terrible, so it's worthwhile to pair your new set with a sound bar or other speaker system. Good ones start at around $100. See our picks for the best soundbar for 2024.
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