1. The list in brief
2. Best for most people
3. Best budget OLED
4. Best for picture quality
5. Best for brightness
6. Best for design
7. Best for features
8. Best for sound
8. Best cheaper gaming OLED
9. How we choose
10. How we test
The best OLED TVs on the market today deliver beautiful image quality because of the self-lighting pixels that define this kind of technology. What these pixels allow for is rich, precise contrast for HDR in a way that even the best LCD TVs can’t match. That means they deliver an incredible cinematic picture that brings you more detail in darker areas of the screen than you’ll ever get from an LCD TV.
With one of the best OLED TVs, many of which are among the best TVs on the market, you'll also find a starker contrast between light and dark, which is similar to the laser projection in movie theaters – especially if you buy a larger TV, like one of the best 65-inch TVs or best 75-inch TVs. Big TV brands, like LG and Sony, use OLED tech in their premium TVs. Even Samsung, a TV company that’s been holding out on OLED, entered the OLED TV space earlier this year.
We've been testing TVs since long before the first OLED made it to market, and we've seen the technology get better, more popular and more affordable over the years. That means we're in a great position to tell you about the very best OLED TVs for every kind of home and for every budget, as well as telling you which features will really deliver home entertainment heaven.
For more about how OLED TV tech works and why it can be such a big upgrade for your home theater game, read our 'What is OLED?' guide. But here's the short version: OLED TVs deliver more control over how bright or dark an individual pixel can be, so you get stunning HDR and incredibly precise colors.
Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Entertainment, meaning he's in charge of persuading our team to watch the latest movies on gorgeous TVs as well as listen to fantastic speakers and headphones. It's a tough task, as you can imagine. Matt has over a decade of experience in tech publishing, and has been writing about the latest TVs and soundbars since 2017.
The quick list
Want to get straight to the best OLED TV for your needs? Use our quick round-up below to immediately find an OLED that suits you – and you can read more about it by jumping to our full write-ups and explanations using the links.
The best OLED TV for most people
The LG C2 is top of our list because nothing else does everything so well, and at such a good price. Ideal for movies, elite for gaming, and in a big range of sizes.
The best budget OLED
The cheapest TV here by a long way, the LG A2 cuts back on gaming features and brightness to get there, but is still ideal for movie lovers on a budget, thanks to the rich contrast that OLED is famous for.
The best OLED TV for picture quality
Sony's phenomenal picture processing combine with a bright Quantum Dot OLED display to create a TV that's the choice for home theater lovers, but it's not cheap.
The brightest OLED TV
If you have a bright living room, you want this – it's the brightest OLED we've ever tested. Colors and contrast are incredible, and it's top-tier for gaming, too.
The sleekest design on the planet
The LG G2 is uniformly thin all over, and comes with a bracket for totally flush wall-mounting. It's a design marvel – and the picture quality is superb, of course.
The most future-proofed OLED TV
This is the newer version of the TV at the top of our list. Why is it lower? Well, it costs a lot more right not – but if you want all the features at a fair price, it's a great buy.
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The best OLED TV for sound
Sony's clever tech turns the screen itself into a huge speaker here, giving you much clearer audio than the likes of the LG C2. A great pick if you don't want to add a soundbar.
The best cheaper gaming OLED
If you want an OLED with 120Hz and VRR for next-gen gaming at the lowest price, this is it. It's still good for TV and movies, but the LG C2 is better there – this is for gaming on a budget.
The best OLED TVs in 2023
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The best OLED TV for most people
The LG C2 OLED is the best OLED TV for the majority of people. While the LG C3 is now here to replace it (you'll find it elsewhere in this list), we still believe that the C2 offers the best performance-to-dollar ratio thanks to major price drops since its launch, and remains the TV to beat right now when you balance everything out.
The Alpha a9 Gen 5 processor is designed to offer great object enhancement and dynamic tone mapping, meaning everything looks more realistic and clear. As well as that, you’re getting ‘virtual surround sound’, with the TV upscaling stereo content into 7.1.2-channel sound. While we weren’t convinced by the claims of virtual surround sound, the audio performance is good for a TV, and a number of different sound modes means you should be able to find an audio profile that suits your needs.
The C2 OLED carries four separate HDMI 2.1 ports, meaning it's the perfect companion for the PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S – most TVs only offer two HDMI 2.1 ports at most.
The LG C2 isn’t flawless, however. In our tests we found that off-axis color saturation does diminish a bit when you move to the left or right of the screen when compared to new QD-OLED models, such as the Samsung S95C (also in this list). It's also worth noting that LG doesn't support either the IMAX Enhanced or HDR10+ format.
But when you're balancing picture quality, features, sizing options (no other OLED TV model offers the same range of sizes, apart from the C3) and price, the C2 is the option we'd encourage most people to go for.
Read our full LG C2 OLED review
The best budget OLED TV
LG's A2 series TVs are the firm's cheapest OLED offerings, and while they're not quite as feature-rich as their more expensive stablemates they still deliver a lot of TV for the money. LG's OLED panels are wonderful things with superb color and contrast, and while the panel here isn't as bright as the ones in more expensive LG TVs it's still very good and very clear. It also has LG's webOS smart TV operating system, which we think is the best in the business.
The A2 series is outfitted with LG’s Alpha 7 Gen 5 AI Processor, which first appeared in the company’s 2021 models and provides features such as dynamic tone mapping and 5.1.2-channel sound upmixing. The Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG high dynamic range formats are all supported by the A2 series, along with Dolby Vision IQ and HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group). Its Filmmaker mode delivers accurate color and motion settings, and also shuts off any automatic processing that would change the picture from the way a movie’s director originally intended for it to be presented.
Overall, the A2 series is relatively low on features compared to both LG’s other OLED TVs and the best 4K TVs generally. The main differences are in gaming-related specs such as HDMI 2.1 inputs, a 120Hz display, VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), and FreeSync, all of which are available on the company’s step-up B2 series TVs. If you don't need the gaming features, though, this is a very impressive and affordable TV.
Read our full LG A2 review
The best OLED TV for picture quality
The Sony A95K is an OLED TV masterpiece. It masters Quantum Dot OLED technology, combining OLED’s black level prowess and peerless light control with brightness and pure color. Sony’s excellent Cognitive XR processing engine delivers images so good we were truly shocked during our testing. We’d even say that the Sony A95K delivers arguably the most flat-out beautiful images we’ve seen from a consumer television. The new Samsung S95C (also in this list) provides even brighter images thanks to its next-gen QD-OLED panel, but with Sony's refined image processing and support for Dolby Vision HDR, we suspect that cinema lovers will still prefer the Sony.
Not only is the picture a sight to behold, the Sony A95K makes a statement the second we lifted it out of its box. It has a unique design with a full-width metal plate stand that you can sit behind the TV for a minimal look or in front of it for an industrial one. The build quality here is excellent, leaving you in no doubt this is one hell of a premium TV.
Although we’d always recommend pairing your new TV with a soundbar, we found the sound of the Sony A95K to be impressive. This is because it follows previous Sony OLED TVs with Acoustic Surface technology, where the TV’s screen essentially doubles up as its speakers.
As you might expect from such a premium experience, it has an eye-watering price tag to match, coming in at nearly a whole $1000 / £1000 more than some of our other favorite OLED TVs on this list. So although it’s truly deserving of being in our best OLED TV guide for its outstanding picture quality, only those willing to spend a small fortune should consider it.
Read our full Sony XR-A95K review
The best OLED TV for brightness
In our measurements, Samsung S95C is the brightest OLED TV we've ever tested (beating the likes of the LG C2 by about 70%), which means that it not only delivers some of the best HDR images to date, it also delivers rich, clear and accurate colors that are like nothing else on the planet.
In our full review, we said "High dynamic range content, for instance, looks vastly more punchy and realistic – especially as the intensity with which bright highlights like shots of the sun, bright lamps, light glinting off metal and glass and so on is delivered without any compromise to the sort of deep, rich, inky black colors that are the foundation of OLED’s traditional home theater talents."
It does struggle a bit with its motion processing, it lacks Dolby Vision HDR support, and we recommend tweaking the presets to get the best image, which is why we think a lot of cineasts will prefer the Sony A95K for sheer accuracy to the source – but when it comes to spectacle, or simply having something more visible in a bright room during the day, the S95C is astounding.
When you throw in sound that follows what's happening on screen, comprehensive streaming support, and support for all the latest HDMI 2.1 gaming features (including 4K 120Hz and Variable Refresh Rates), it's absolutely one of the best TVs available today.
Read our full Samsung S95C review
The best OLED TV for elite design
The LG G2 will first choice for the interior-design conscious, thanks so some very thoughtful physical touches from LG. The look is just part of it: it features a two-layer effect where a thin black rear ‘slab’ sits proud of and slightly narrower than a chunkier front tier housing the screen that’s encased in a very fetching and opulent-looking silver metal coat. But more importantly, it's evenly thin the whole way across (unlike most TVs, which have a thin top and sneak a thicker part near the bottom to house connections and processors), and comes with a custom wall-mounting bracket in the box so it can be mounted flush against the wall, with no unsightly gap at all. (It doesn't even come with a regular stand, but you can buy one.)
The quality of the G2 OLED’s connections is beyond reproach. In particular, all four of its HDMI ports are capable of handling the maximum 48Gbps of data supported by the HDMI 2.1 standard. This means that hardcore video gamers could simultaneously attach an Xbox Series X, PS5 and cutting-edge PC graphics rig to enjoy full-fat 4K at 120Hz, variable refresh rates and automatic low latency mode switching from all of them. That, plus you'll still have one HDMI left for adding a 4K Blu-ray player or streaming box.
Image quality is mostly similar to the LG C2 at the top of our list (they share the same processor), but it's significantly brighter, and in our review, we found that the extra brightness gives colors more volume and punch, regardless of whether you’re talking about a very vibrant, rich tone, or a subtle, mild one. It's not as bright as the Samsung S95C, of course, but if you're looking for an OLED TV mixing super-premium and super-premium pictures (at a premium price, of course), this is excellent.
Read our full LG G2 OLED TV review
The best OLED TV for future-proofed features
The LG C3 is the 2023 replacement for the LG C2 that sits at the top of our list, though because the changes in picture quality aren't huge, and the C2 is much cheaper, we still think that's the TV most people should go for.
However, make no mistake that the C3 does deliver even better image quality than the C2 – in our review, we noted that the new model is very slightly brighter than the previous version, and also seems to handle contrast better in the processing – but more importantly is even more future-proofed and easy to use.
The smart TV software is excellent, and makes it much easier to find what you actually want, while also putting key settings (that you choose) in a Quick Menu, so can tweak what the TV's doing easily. It's fully equipped for next-gen gaming on all four HDMI ports, with 4K 120Hz, VRR and (this is rare) Dolby Vision gaming for Xbox.
And it throws in new features such as Quick Media Switching, so external devices can change framerate or you can move between HDMI ports without the traditional TV feeling that the whole thing is about to fall over. And LG's new Wow Orchestra feature means the TV's speakers can work with a compatible LG soundbar's speakers, instead of being replaced by them, for even better results – we tested it, and it's impressive.
So while we're steering most people to the LG C2 still, if you want the absolute peak of smart TV features, the C3 should be your pick.
Read our full LG C3 review
The best OLED TV for sound
The Sony A80K is a mid-range option that delivers all the best things you expect from an OLED TV: detailed blacks and well-saturated color, 4K 120Hz support for gaming and Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio+ tech. It's a compelling, high-performance, though not bank-breaking, OLED TV option.
A new wide color gamut panel for the A80K combines with Sony’s XR OLED Contrast Pro, XR Triluminos Pro, and Cognitive Processor XR features to deliver deep blacks and detailed shadows in images, along with rich, fully saturated colors. Overall picture brightness is satisfactory, if a bit below what you’ll get from the very best OLED TVs, such as the LG G2 and also the LG C2 series. Still, Sony’s mid-tier OLED manages to look great even in well-lit rooms, and it stuns in ones that are dimmed for best-quality movie viewing.
In our tests we were pleasantly surprised by the Acoustic Surface Audio+, which has five actuators – three directly behind the screen, and two at the sides – that vibrate it to create full-range sound, accompanied by two subwoofers for enhanced bass. This is that rare thing, a TV that doesn't have us recommending a soundbar as a must-have: it's impressively loud and does a decent job of Dolby Atmos audio.
Read our full Sony A80K review
The best cheaper OLED gaming TV
LG's B-series TVs are among its more affordable models, offering a step up in specification from the even cheaper A series without massively increasing the price.
Inevitably some compromises have been made to get the price down, so the B2 doesn't get the same bright panels as its more expensive siblings. However, it offers a decent specification for a very good price – including an excellent set of HDMI 2.1 gaming features including 120Hz, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), auto low latency mode (ALLM), and more.
Audio performance isn't hugely impressive, although that's par for the course at this price bracket – you're definitely going to want a subwoofer or surround sound system here – but the picture quality is very impressive with exceptional contrast, great HDR and vibrant, detailed images.
If you're buying a TV for gaming as movie watching, this is one of the most affordable OLED options and it performs well for the price – but it's dangerously close in price to the LG C2, which is noticeably superior. However, it has a significantly better specification than the A2, including all those gaming features – if you want a next-gen gaming set at these sizes for lowest-possible price, this is the OLED to go for.
Read our full LG B2 review
How to choose an OLED TV
How to choose the best OLED TV for you
If you're looking for the best OLED TV for you, there are lots of things to consider. We'd recommend starting with the basics and deciding what budget you have to work with and what size TV you need.
In our guide above, you won't find dirt cheap TVs, but some are better value than others. Especially those that are a year or two old but don't have significant upgrades worthy of a much higher price tag.
It's important to consider what size TV is best for you, and to do that you'll literally need to measure the space you have to work with. Remember a TV that fills every available scrap of space in your living room might sound like a great idea, but you'll need to consider viewing angles, screen brightness and whether you'll be able to sit a decent distance from the TV to fully appreciate it.
From there, we'd also advise you check out the HDR capabilities of any new TV – we've detailed these under each OLED TV in our guide – and the smart TV platform each offers, whether it's a proprietary one like Samsung's Tizen and LG's webOS or a third-party one like Google TV. It's also worth considering sound. If you're willing to spend extra on a soundbar, don't pay too much attention to the audio on offer. If you'd like an all-in-one cinema system, consider an OLED TV that delivers great audio as well as a fantastic picture.
How much do OLED TVs cost?
The cost of OLED TVs varies hugely depending on what technologies are thrown in with an OLED panel, such as the resolution, processor, build quality, built-in speakers, and more. But suffice to say that entry-level models sit around (or, more recently, just under) the $1,000 / £1,000 / AU$1,500 mark.
More mid-tier OLEDs at larger sizes (65 inches and above) can double that figure, or even triple it – while experimental 'rollable OLED" screens can go for six-figure sums. 48-inch OLED sizes tend to offer only a small discount, and the same goes for the new 42-inch size class that's just recently become available from LG and Sony.
Sales periods like Prime Day or Black Friday can help with this, though the most savings tend to come on models that are a year or two old. It's worth paying attention to these discounted screens, though, as they'll often carry better processing than newly-launched models at the same price.
Should I buy OLED or QLED?
OLED isn't the only option for savvy TV buyers. Samsung's competing QLED televisions outperform for brightness, while the introduction of Mini LED backlights has only improved peak light output and overall contrast – the areas that OLED generally has the upper hand with, thanks to its per-pixel brightness control.
It's a tighter race than ever, then, though it's worth assessing secondary characteristics for OLED and QLED screens. An OLED with a cheap processor may cause more artefacts and video noise, while a QLED with edge-lighting won't get the true benefit of its enhanced color and contrast. Format or feature support can be crucial if you're hooking up your TV to a PC, a games console, or a 4K Blu-ray player too.
What is the lifespan of an OLED TV?
According to LG Display, the makers of the OLED panels that go into every OLED TV on the list - around 100,000 hours. For most folks that's about 10 years of TV watching and far exceeds the 40,000 to 60,000-hour lifespans of most LED-LCD TVs. That said, OLED TVs can experience something called burn-in when a static image is left on the screen for prolonged periods of time - so be sure to change the channel every few days.
Best OLED TV competitors: what else is out there?
OLED is, for many, the premium TV tech of the moment. Though once weighed down by inaccessible price points, a flurry of cheaper mid-range OLEDs and smaller panel sizes has helped bring OLED closer to the mass market.
Samsung and Sony's current TV lineups include QD-OLED hybrids (they combine OLED panels with quantum dot tech, utilising the self-emissive properties of the former and color enhancements of the latter) – we have a separate guide to whether you should buy a Samsung OLED TV, if you want to read more about them.
For those with cash to splash, you'll be choosing between a high-end OLED TV and Micro LED – a self-emissive panel technology that Samsung has leant into in recent times, but which has proved difficult to offer either affordably or at mainstream sizing (88-inch is the smallest we've heard about so far, as of 2023).
It's a more complicated picture than simply OLED, then, though for deep blacks and true-to-life color – at a size you can actually get into the average living room – OLED may still be the best choice.
Is burn-in a problem in OLED TVs?
Burn-in, also known as screen burn or permanent image retention, is a visual artefact that sometimes appears when a TV has shown the same thing in the same place for a long time. It definitely happens on some OLED TVs, but manufacturers have come up with lots of ways to minimise the likelihood of it happening to yours.
There are three main ways in which OLED TVs can minimise the likelihood of burn-in. They can use image analysis to identify static images – TV channel logos, for example – and subtly dim them. They can gently shift the image around by a few pixels, something that your OLED probably does already without you noticing it.
And there's a more brute-force approach, where the TV automatically dulls the brightness of the whole display when it detects a bright and potentially burn-in item. That latter one is the least popular because if it isn't implemented well it can be quite dramatic and quite annoying. More modern TVs with this tech, known as ABL (Auto Brightness Limiting) are much more subtle about it than older ones.
Last but not least, you can take the DIY route. The default modes such as Vivid Mode on some TVs can be ridiculously bright, so changing them or using less blazing settings will make your eyes happy and reduce the risk of burn-in even further.
Ultimately burn-in is all about heat, hence the name. And the best way to reduce the risk of it and perhaps eliminate it altogether is to manage heat better in OLED TVs. And manufactures are doing just that. You'll find clever heatsink technology and heat dissipation design in OLEDs from Panasonic, LG, Sony and more.
We're not saying burn-in doesn't exist. It does. But the advances in OLED TV tech in recent years means it's much less of an issue than it was in early OLEDs, and for most of us it's something we don't really need to worry about too much.
How we test the best OLED TVs
When TechRadar tests TVs, the first step is to spend a few days using it for casual viewing for break-in and to assess the out-of-box picture presets. The next step is to select the most accurate-looking preset (typically labeled Movie or Cinema) and measure the white balance (grayscale), gamma, and color point accuracy using Portrait Displays’ Calman color calibration software. The resulting measurements provide Delta-E values (the margin of error between the test pattern source and what’s shown on-screen) for each category, and they allow for an assessment of the TV’s overall accuracy.
Along with those tests, we make measurements of peak light output (recorded in nits) for both standard high-definition and 4K high dynamic range using white window patterns ranging from 1% to 100%. Coverage of DCI-P3 and BT.2020 color space is measured, with the results providing a sense of how faithfully the TV can render the extended color range in ultra high-definition sources. Contrast ratio measurements are also performed.
After calibrating the TV’s picture for best accuracy with SDR and HDR sources, we watch a range of reference scenes on 4K Blu-ray discs as well as new material streamed from sources like Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max.
Our final verdicts are based on combining the objective data with our subjective opinions on elements such as how natural the motion processing looks, and then comparing with the key competition to say whether a TV looks like good value or not.
Like our readers, our reviewers’ room layouts differ and may cause slight disparities in testing, however we make every attempt to question our assumptions and troubleshoot our issues with performance in every review.
