What are the best budget TVs?

While there are obviously more budget-friendly LED 4K options than there are QLED 4K, QLED’s dwindling novelty and production costs are contributing to a healthy selection of budget-friendly QLED models, too. This wasn’t the case in 2017, but on a normal day, you can find a decent 55-inch QLED near the $500 mark. Brand is a huge factor in pricing. Smaller players like Insignia, Toshiba, and TCL are on the lower end (all make solid budget options with the Fire TV platform built in, BTW) while bigger powerhouses like LG, Samsung, and Sony are typically more expensive. However, even the last three brands offer some super fairly-priced entry-level TVs, made even cheaper during big sale events like Prime Day.

When do TVs go on sale?

You can find pretty amazing TV deals at any point in the year, but the most intense discounts happen during Black Friday and throughout the holiday season. Prime Day is a great time to find TVs on sale as well, though the best deals typically come from retailers like Best Buy trying to compete with Amazon. Outside of shopping events like these, the cyclical nature of yearly TV releases also triggers TV deals at one other big time of year: spring. Models for the upcoming year are usually announced and/or released in January, and retailers make room by clearing out old stock through heavy discounts.

Best October Prime Day TV deals: Grab your cheap QLED now for the rest of football season

UPDATE: Oct. 10, 2023, 2:00 p.m. EDT This story has been updated with the best TV deals from Amazon Prime Big Deal Days and competing sales at Best Buy and Walmart.

Best October Prime Day TV deals at a glance:

Best 43-inch TV deal

Amazon 43-inch 4-Series 4K Fire TV

$249.99 at Amazon (save $110)

Amazon Fire TV with blue, purple, and black light streak screensaver

Best 55-inch TV deal

TCL 55-inch Q5 QLED TV

$329.99 at Best Buy (save $120)

TCL TV with football player on field as screensaver

Best 65-inch TV deal

LG 65-inch B3 Series OLED TV

$1,299.99 at Best Buy (save $1,100)

LG TV with yellow, pink, and purple ribbon screensaver

Best 75-inch TV deal

Amazon 75-inch Omni 4K Fire TV

$819.99 at Amazon (save $230)

Best 85-inch TV deal

Samsung 85-inch Q80C QLED TV

$2,199.99 at Samsung (save $1,100)

Samsung TV with blue abstract liquid screensaver

Amazon's Prime Day events are some of the best times to buy a TV on sale, but not for the reason you're thinking.

During its flagship Prime Day sale in July and Prime Big Deal Days (its fall iteration for 2023), the only reason your TV deal search should stop at Amazon is if you're set on getting a mid-size Fire TV for extra cheap: Amazon doesn't usually go very hard on premium TV deals from top brands like Samsung, LG, and Sony.

The real hack here is that any Prime Day-esque event from Amazon provokes competing sales from Best Buy and Walmart. They pick up the slack on discounts on flagship 65- to 85-inch QLED and OLED models from those premium brands as well as budget brands (which still offer excellent QLED options) like TCL and Hisense. Samsung's website itself is also all over the fall sale game and has been quietly tacking deep discounts onto many of its 2023 TVs since Labor Day.

Regardless of which brand you're loyal to, we're keeping track of all of the best TV deals you can shop at major retailers while Prime Big Deal Days is still live through Oct 11. Read on for our top picks.

Note: All newly added deals are marked with a ✨. Deals with a ~~strikeout~~ were either sold out or expired at the time of writing.

Best Samsung TV deal

Credit: Samsung

Our pick: Samsung 85-inch Q80C QLED TV

$2,199.99 at Samsung (save $1,100)

Why we love it

Of the handful of 85-inch Samsung TVs on sale this week, we think the deal on the Q80C is the best bang for your buck — now with an extra $200 discount on top of the sale price it was seeing for much of September. The Q80C is Samsung's most advanced QLED (before meeting the Neo QLED side of the family), packing 96 precisely-lit local dimming zones for the meticulous brightness necessary for watching sports in the daylight. Also present are advanced gaming features like a 120Hz refresh rate and VRR support.

More great Samsung TV deals

Samsung 55-inch The Frame QLED TV — $997.98 ~~$1,499.99~~ (save $502.01)
Samsung 55-inch S90C OLED TV — $1,449.99 ~~$1,899.99~~ (save $450)
Samsung 65-inch Q90T QLED 4K TV — $798 ~~$2,699.99~~ (save $1,901.99) ✨
Samsung 65-inch S90C OLED TV — $1,699.99 ~~$2,599.99~~ (save $900) ✨
Samsung 65-inch The Terrace Full Sun Outdoor QLED TV — $7,499.99 ~~$9,999.99~~ (save $2,500)
Samsung 75-inch Class CU7000B 4K TV — $668 ~~$749.99~~ (save $81.99)
Samsung 75-inch QN90C QLED TV — $2,519.99 ~~$3,297.99~~ (save $778)
Samsung 77-inch S90C OLED TV — $2,699.99 ~~$3,599.99~~ (save $900) + free 1-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership
Samsung 83-inch S90C OLED TV — $3,999.99 ~~$5,399.99~~ (save $1,400)
Samsung 85-inch Q60C QLED TV — $1,599.99 ~~$2,299.99~~ (save $700)
Samsung 85-inch Q70C QLED TV — $1,799.99 ~~$2,799.99~~ (save $1,000) + free 1-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership
Samsung 85-inch QN90C QLED TV — $2,999.99 ~~$4,799.99~~ (save $1,800)

Best LG TV deal

Credit: LG

Our pick: LG 65-inch B3 Series OLED TV

$1,299.99 at Best Buy (save $1,100)

Why we love it

LG's OLED models got a glow-up in 2023, and the B3 model is the most affordable one — and with Best Buy's discount on the 65-inch model now topping $1,000, it's basically begging to be in your living room.

The B3's lower price point can mostly be attributed to its less-advanced a7 processor compared to the C3 and G3's Alpha a9. However, the B3 runs laps around the cheapest-of-the-cheap 4K TVs with Dolby Vision and next-gen gaming features like a 120 Hz refresh rate, both of which help to push those 8.3 million self-lit pixels to their fullest potential.

More great LG TV deals

LG 43-inch UQ7070 4K TV — $258 ~~$338~~ (save $80)
LG 48-inch A2 OLED TV — $649.99 ~~$1,299.99~~ (save $650); extra $100 off for paid My Best Buy members
LG 55-inch UQ70 4K TV — $359.99 ~~$499.99~~ (save $140)
LG 55-inch B3 Series OLED TV — $1,299.99 ~~$1,699.99~~ (save $400)
LG 55-inch C3 Series OLED TV — $1,399.99 ~~$1,799.99~~ (save $400)
LG 65-inch UQ9000 4K TV — $478 ~~$599.99~~ (save $121.99)
LG 65-inch C3 Series OLED TV — $1,699.99 ~~$2,599.99~~ (save $800 + free $100 Best Buy gift card
LG 77-inch C3 Series OLED TV — $2,699.99 ~~$3,599.99~~ (save $800) + free $100 Best Buy gift card
LG 77-inch G2 Series Gallery OLED TV — $3,299.99 ~~$3,799.99~~ (save $500)
LG 83-inch C2 Series OLED TV — $3,999.99 ~~$4,499.99~~ (save $500)
LG 86-inch UQ7070 4K TV — $998 ~~$1,198~~ (save $200)
LG 86-inch 80 Series QNED TV — $1,899.99 ~~$2,799.99~~ (save $900)

Best Sony TV deal

Credit: Sony

Our pick: Sony 65-inch A80L OLED TV

$1,799.99 at Best Buy (save $800)

Why we love it

A cheap OLED to Sony and a cheap OLED to the rest of us mean two very different things, but this sale price makes Sony's lowest-tier OLED from the 2023 TV lineup look pretty approachable. The A80L is bright and starkly contrasted with flawless black uniformity — a combination a TV needs to ace in order to pop in both bright and dark rooms. The A80L is still armed with the same Cognitive Processor XR that the pricier 2023 Sony OLEDs are, making it a perfectionist when it comes to upscaling low-res content.

Note that Best Buy did inflate the original price to make the sale seem even better. According to Sony's website, the original price of this TV is $2,199.99, not $2,599.99. However, that doesn't discount the bottom line, which is the fact that a larger size of one of the latest Sony OLEDs is going for $1,799.99.

More great Sony TV deals

Sony 55-inch A80L OLED TV — $1,499.99 ~~$1,899.99~~ (save $400)
Sony 65-inch X90L 4K TV — $1,099.99 ~~$1,599.99~~ (save $500)
Sony 65-inch X93L Mini LED TV — $1,699.99 ~~$2,399.99~~ (save $700)
Sony 75-inch X77L 4K TV — $929.99 ~~$1,099.99~~ (save $170)
Sony 75-inch X90K 4K TV — $998 ~~$1,899.99~~ (save $901.99)
Sony 75-inch X90L 4K TV — $1,599.99 ~~$2,199.99~~ (save $600)
Sony 77-inch A80L OLED TV — $2,699.99 ~~$3,599.99~~ (save $900)
Sony 85-inch X90L 4K TV — $1,999.99 ~~$3,299.99~~ (save $1,300)

Best TCL, Hisense, and Fire TV deals

Credit: TCL

Our pick: TCL 55-inch Q5 QLED TV

$329.99 at Best Buy (save $120)

Why we love it

Almost every 2023 TCL TV has been seeing increasingly better sale prices at Best Buy over the past few weeks, but this model in particular deserves a special shout-out. In what seems to be a Best Buy exclusive situation, TCL's Q5 series recently became available and knocked the Q6 Series out of its spot as the brand's most affordable QLED. And with Best Buy's $120 discount, it easily becomes the cheapest 55-inch QLED on our list — a quick scroll up to our mid-size QLED picks from Samsung, Sony, and LG make the rarity of a $329.99 55-inch QLED TV palpable.

The Q5 has most of the same specs as the Q6 including HDR PRO+ with Dolby Vision, Motion Rate 240 motion smoothing technology (a win for gamers on a budget), three HDMI ports, and built-in Google Assistant.