Every TV shopper wonders: what are the best TV brands? When you're on the hunt for a great TV, knowing which manufacturers offer the best TVs can save you some anxiety as you scroll through Amazon listings or browse the aisles of your local Best Buy. So we've boiled down our experience of reviewing dozens of TVs to help you know which brand is right for you.
The brand of TV you pick will determine more than just the name on the box, or the logo on the TV. Each brand has its own identity, from unique software to differing strengths and weaknesses in TV performance. From exclusive features and technologies to overall performance and recurring problems, here's how brand-name fits in when you're weighing which TV you want to buy.
- The best TVs we've reviewed
- What you need to know: Our TV buying guide
- Everything you need to know about smart TVs
We review dozens of TVs every year, with hours of lab testing for every TV we review, and quality time spent with each set watching shows, playing games, and checking out every facet and feature of each TV.
To answer the question, most TV brands are pretty great, but we definitely have our favorites, and our favorite TVs from each manufacturer.
In this guide, we highlight every major name in the TV world, as well as their current top models, to help you find the right brand as you shop for your next 4K smart TV.
Best TV Brands: Our current ranking
Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.
We spend a lot of time reviewing TVs at Tom's Guide. It takes a team of four to preview a TV before it's launched, get that TV into the labs for testing, and then provide anecdotal data with hands-on viewing. All of that culminates in a Tom's Guide TV review. We hope that you feel our reviews are as comprehensive as possible while remaining understandable to the non-videophile. That's our goal.
To find out who truly makes the best TVs, we've taken all the reviews from a given manufacturer over the last three years and calculated the average review score.
- LG (average review score: 4.36)
- Sony (average review score: 4.31)
- Hisense (average review score: 4.21)
- Samsung (average review score: 3.96)
- TCL (average review score: 3.91)
- Vizio (average review score: 3.7)
Some TV makers like Roku and Amazon didn't have enough models for us to get a real average, but we still generally recommend those brands, though you'll need to read individual TV reviews to see which specific models are better than others.
The best TV brands: Why does the brand matter?
With so many 4K TVs on the market boasting smart capabilities and listing features like HDR support and gaming modes, it's easy to think that all TVs are pretty much the same. After reviewing dozens of TVs, we can safely say that's far from true.
Perhaps the single biggest aspect of current smart TVs that manufacturers determine is what software the TV runs on. Major manufacturers may use their own proprietary software, such as Samsung's Tizen operating system, or LG's webOS. Others may rely on third-party software, such as Google TV or Roku TV.
These smart TV software options do more than provide a pretty interface as you choose between Netflix and HBO Max. Rather, they serve as the operating system for your smart TV, and can influence what apps you have available, what smart home features you can use, and even how you interact with the TV thanks to voice control from the likes of Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Display technology is another big differentiator, as companies like Samsung and LG pour enormous amounts of money into new display panels, higher resolutions and new twists on delivering color, brightness and contract.
Finally, the TV brand will also help you determine what sort of price range you'll be working with and what level of quality you can expect. Brands like Samsung, LG and Sony deliver top-notch quality across the board, but often at premium prices. Brands like TCL, Hisense and Vizio will sell for lower prices, while still providing great quality, if not as many fancy features.
LG Electronics: The OLED Leader
LG's brand is well known, well respected and has earned a place on our list of the best TVs year after year for one reason above all others: OLED. With OLED displays offering a clear best-in-class alternative to less expensive LCD panels, LG's position as the top OLED maker in the world overshadows everything else about their TVs. If you want the best picture quality, you want an OLED TV. And for the leader in OLED TVs, LG is the brand we recommend.
But there are plenty of other reasons to get an LG set, even if it's not an OLED model. Overall, the LG has a well-earned reputation for high-quality designs and great picture quality, whether it's on mid-range systems like LG Nanocell or LG QNED TVs, or budget-friendly models, like LG UHD models, which use basic LCD panels. LG's webOS smart TV software is also easy to use, offers most of the apps and features anyone could ask for, and combines with the motion-controlled LG Magic Remote to provide one of the most intuitive navigation experiences you'll find on a premium smart TV.
Looking for specific recommendations? Check out our guide to the best LG TVs.
Sony: Best upscaling and motion processing
In the TV world, Sony is the equivalent of old money – they've been making high-end TVs since the late ’60s, and that experience shows in the highly polished Bravia TVs they sell, and the excellent performance those TVs provide.
Sony also delivers some of the best sound you'll get on any TV, thanks to technologies like Acoustic Surface Audio+, which uses the glass of an OLED TV panel to create dialogue and sound effects, making for incredible realism.
Pretty much the only problem we have with Sony's superb TVs is the price, which consistently runs more premium than the competition.
Looking for specific recommendations? Check out our guide to the best OLED TVs
Hisense: A budget-friendly competitor
A company once best known for making appliances like air conditioners has become a pretty great TV maker, and one of the best affordable TV brands on the market. We've been routinely impressed by the quality Hisense TVs offer, and definitely recommend giving them a look.
Depending on the model, Hisense offers both Roku and Googled TV options, giving you the choice of two of the best smart TV platforms available. Hisense has also embraced technologies like QLED to pack more of a punch and provide better color and brightness than you would normally expect from TVs in this price range.
In its most recent lineup, Hisense has managed to bring Mini-LED backlighting to the sub-$1,000 price bracket. That has meant better contrast and grey uniformity on its panels than any of its budget competition.
You can find a number of Hisense TVs on our lists of the best TVs under $1000 and the best TVs under $500.
Samsung: QLED TVs are best in brightness, hands down
By volume, Samsung sells the most TVs in the world by offering a huge selection of 4K and 8K Smart TVs, and is the long-established leader in quantum dot technology, even as it faces more competition on the QLED front. Samsung TVs use the proprietary Tizen Smart TV platform, which offers a great ecosystem of apps, along with some of the richest smart features you'll find: you get unique offerings for everything from smart home control to fitness-oriented features, plus support for video chat and productivity that other TVs simply can't match.
Samsung is also dedicated to reimagining what the TV looks like and how it fits into our lives. From The Frame, an artwork-inspired TV that hangs on the wall, to The Sero, a TV that rotates to display mobile content vertically, Samsung's Lifestyle TV collection delivers some of the most unique TVs on the market.
Samsung TVs also have their quirks, like opting for the Samsung-led HDR10+ format instead of the more popular Dolby Vision HDR format, but these are minor issues compared to the quality Samsung offers.
Looking for specific recommendations? Check out our guide to the best Samsung TVs
TCL: The value champ
If there's a brand that gives you the most for your money, it's TCL. A relative newcomer in the North American market, TCL has exploded into one of the largest TV brands, and for good reason. TCL TVs offer premium technologies such as mini-LED and QLED at budget-friendly prices, include gamer-friendly features like THX Certified Game Mode, and deliver performance that is well above average for prices that are among the most affordable. There's even an 8K TV – the TCL 6-Series 8K Roku TV (R648) – if you want to be an early adopter without spending a ton.
TCL also offers the best Roku TVs on the market. Thanks to a tight partnership between TCL and Roku, you will get the best version of Roku TV, from the intuitive interface to advanced voice interaction. You'll see a lot of Roku TVs from different brands in the budget section of the TV aisle, but by and large, they don't offer what you'll get with a TCL TV.
Looking for specific recommendations? Check out our guide to the best TCL TVs
Vizio: A value-friendly up-and-comer
Another so-called budget TV brand that's making waves is Vizio. Vizio's first forays into the smart TV market were hampered by missing features sacrificed in the name of affordability, and a limited smart TV experience. But the most recent Vizio TVs have raised the bar considerably, offering great features and expanded smart TV capabilities. But what Vizio delivers consistently is quality, and that's best seen in the Vizio OLED TV, currently one of the best-value buys in the TV world.
The only caveat around Vizio TVs is that Vizio's SmartCast platform does have some limitations you won't encounter on most smart TVs. App selection is limited, with the expectation that you will use the TV's built in Chromecast and AirPlay compatibility to cast other apps to the TV from your phone or tablet.
Recently Vizio was acquired by US retail giant Walmart and the two have big plans for offering more affordable TVs than ever to the masses.
Amazon Fire TV: The sure-fire sales TV
If you've paid any attention during sales events in the last year, you’ll undoubtedly have seen Amazon Fire TV edition smart TVs selling for a song. Thanks to low prices, Amazon's smart TVs are big bestsellers, even if the Fire TV platform is less prominent than other smart TV operating systems. If you're an Amazon die hard, you'll love the interface, which prominently highlights content from Amazon Prime and Amazon-affiliated services, such as IMDb TV. You will definitely appreciate Amazon Alexa being baked into the system, complete with easy integration with all of the Amazon Echo smart speakers in your home.
Our only real problem with Amazon's smart TVs is the tendency to advertise a bit aggressively; you'll never forget that it's an Amazon TV, and that Amazon has something it thinks you want to buy.
Finding the right TV for you
While selecting a TV brand goes a long way toward helping you choose a great TV, there's more to it than picking a manufacturer. We recommend finding the TV size that is best for your home, determining what features you must have and which you can live without, and then getting the best model that meets your criteria.
We think smart TVs are the way to go in today's world of streaming shows and movies, and we strongly recommend getting a TV with 4K resolution – anything less will be a disappointment, and 8K TVs are a waste of money (for now). Features like HDR support and additional HDMI ports are worth paying a little more for, but don't forget to think about other details, like how you want to mount the TV, or what apps are most important for you.
Finally, all of our TV reviews include in-depth testing, hands-on experience and close examination of everything from the design of a TV to the smart TV software and remote control.
Here's the best of our TV buying advice:
- TV buying guide: 9 things you need to know
- Smart TVs: Everything you need to know
- What size TV should you buy?
If you've narrowed down your TV shopping by brand, price range or screen size, check out our picks for the best TVs in each.
Best TVs | Best 4K TVs | Best smart TVs for streaming | Best TVs for gaming
The best TVs under $1000 | The best TVs under $500
Best Samsung TVs | Best TCL TVs | Best LG TVs | Best Roku TVs | Best OLED TVs | Best QLED TVs | Best 8K TVs
The smallest smart TVs | Best 43-inch TVs | Best 50-inch TVs | Best 55-inch TVs | Best 65-inch TVs | Best 70-inch TVs | Best 75-inch TVs | Best 85-inch TVs
And don't forget to watch out for the latest TV reviews.
