We've chosen the LG 32LQ6300 as the best 32-inch TV for most people based on our testing, thanks to its great picture quality, solid gaming performance and intuitive smart TV platform. It may not be the best in every single area, but it's at least good in all areas, and is a reliable smart TV that comes at an extremely competitive price.
James Davidson, TV Hardware Writer
The best 32-inch TVs are smarter than you think. In fact, many of the best 32-inch TVs are packed with a stack of smart features, useful tech, and deliver strong picture performance, despite not featuring the same high-end screen tech as larger models. But this means they're much cheaper than their bigger siblings – when so many of us are watching our money to make sure we're not spending more than we can afford, 32-inch sets are often very wise buys.
It's worth pointing out that if you're looking for a 4K TV you won't find it at this size. That's because at 32 inches you simply won't get the benefit of all those extra pixels – so you'd be paying for something you can't really see. These TVs have either HD or 1080p resolution and that's more than sharp enough; we don't think you get any benefit from 4K until you step up at least one size to one of the best 40-inch TVs. It's much better to have HDR instead: that gives you much more dynamic and lifelike images no matter what display resolution you have, and some of these TVs include it.
We still test 32-inch TVs the same way we test anything else, though – we're looking for rich contrast, realistic colors, and user-friendly smart TV software with all the key services on. We just obviously expect a different level of performance from these much cheaper TVs compared to more expensive models, and we take their price and size into account when judging them.
Unfortunately, one feature that many of the TVs we've chosen have inherited from larger models is fairly lackluster sound. That's an easy fix: we'd definitely recommend investing in one of the best soundbars to truly bring things to life. The Sonos Ray is a particularly good, more affordable option that's the right size for these kinds of TVs.
The best 32-inch TVs for 2024
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The best 32-inch TV for most people
The LG 32LQ6300 may not be the most well-equipped 32-inch TV on the market, but it does so many things well. Providing a good picture, solid gaming performance (despite a lack of next-gen features) and above-average audio, the LQ6300 is a great all-around performer, and with a competitive price tag to boot.
The LG 32LQ6300's picture is natural, with defined textures and great overall color, especially when it comes HDR images. It does suffer from black uniformity issues (which means how evenly black tones can be displayed across the screen by the TV's backlight) and struggles with fast motion shots, but its still one of the better 32-inch images we've seen.
Although the LQ6300 may not have any next-gen gaming features, it's still punchy and dynamic and performs well at 60Hz, displaying those fast-paced sequences well. The built-in audio isn't going to shake the foundations of the room, but it's plenty clear and carries a nice weight to it for such a small set.
Although there are 32-inch sets with a more defined picture or more gaming features out there, there aren't many who will do what the LQ6300 does for the price it's at. It demonstrates its value with ease and that's why it's the best 32-inch TV for most people.
Read our full LG 32LQ6300 review
The best cheap 32-inch TV in the US
The Amazon 32-inch 2-series is a cheap, small-screen TV that gives you access to Amazon's Fire TV smart TV platform, decent built-in sound for a TV this size. Although its overall picture is inconsistent, when you can realistically expect to pay $119 for this set, it's hard to argue against. (The 32-inch 2-series is also available in the UK, with prices dropping to £149 at times, but we think the JVC CR230 is marginally better.)
While the Amazon 2-series' picture can be a mixed bag, it still shows plenty of vivid punch in colorful scenes for a small LED set. Black levels and contrast are lacking, but that's to be expected at this price. It won't blow people away anytime soon, but the picture should suit most people looking for a cheap TV just fine.
The Amazon 2-series fares better In some other areas, with clear, built-in audio that surprises and access to plenty of apps via the Fire TV smart TV platform. But the real highlight here is the price, especially if you can pick it up for $119 during one of Amazon's regular sales.
Read our full Amazon 2-series review
The best cheap 32-inch TV in the UK
The JVC LT-32CR230 is a Currys exclusive TV that aims for simplicity and delivers. Its Roku TV smart TV platform provides a streamlined, no-frills option for accessing movies and TV shows. It may be inconsistent in other areas, such as picture quality, but at £139 it offers a budget option to those seeking a secondary, small screen.
Similar to the Amazon 2-series, the JVC 230's picture is a mixed bag. Black levels are sub-par, with the edge-lit LED panel creating a clouding effect and showing darker tones as gray rather than black. However, its colors are vibrant enough. Motion can also be hit-and-miss and there are no motion settings to compensate.
Roku TV is the JVC 230's real highlight, but gaming is also solid enough. It doesn't carry any gaming features, but when tested with Battlefield V on an Xbox Series X, the 230 more than adequately handled the graphically intense moments.
We've seen the LG 32LQ6300 sell for £179, and it's definitely worth the extra money. But for those looking to save, the JVC CR230 will serve as a good enough TV for your spare room, and at £139, it's a good value.
Read our full JVC LT-32CR230 review
The TCL 3-Series isn't the most technically impressive model in our best TCL TVs guide, but it does offer a lot for the price. At a 32-inch size, this small TV packs in Full HD resolution, direct full-array dimming (no edge lighting then) and even the excellent Roku operating system found on a host of other TCL TVs.
Roku is the saving grace of this cheap TV, adding a sleek and well-organized smart platform with substantial app support: Netflix, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Hulu, and more. Three HDMI ports give you a lot of connectivity options too, while the 60Hz panel doesn't hurt either.
TCL TVs have a tendency towards quite aggressive overprocessing and high contrast images, which will only be more prominent on its cheaper screens – but for an affordable model that won't be a nightmare to navigate, the 3 Series is a good bet for one of the best 32-inch TVs.
And while we haven't reviewed this model ourselves, we've seen enough TCL TVs to get a good sense of what's on offer.
Cello might be a humble British TV brand, but it knows how to cater to those on a tight budget and those in need of a smaller-than-standard screen. The Cello Smart Android TV starts at just £179 for a 24-inch size, and comes in at £199 for a 32-inch TV size.
For that price you're getting Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, and surprisingly comprehensive smart TV features. The Cello Netgem smart TV that used to be in this guide made do with a very basic operating system – without even Netflix support – and the move to Android for the latest TVs from this range can only be an improvement.
Sure, there are better interfaces than Android for higher-end sets, but it's highly unusual at this price, packing in Chromecast, Google Assistant support, and the best streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Rakuten. You even have Freeview Play – for the UK's terrestrial broadcaster catch-up services.
Picture performance is decent for the price, too, with consistently lit pictures and generally smooth motion from HD/SDR sources.
Read our full Cello Smart Android TV review
The best 32-inch TVs 2024: FAQ
What are the perks of a small 32-inch smart TV?
Size isn't everything, as the best 32-inch TVs can attest to. Many of these smaller screens offer much sharper 720p or 1080p picture quality thanks to their compact display. This means there's much less risk of the displayed image appearing blurry as a result of poor upscaling on a larger 4K-capable TV. Some even offer HDR, injecting that smaller, sharper screen with a burst of color.
The smaller size of a 32-inch TV also means that they're offered a good degree more in the way of portability. Need to move the TV to a different room or house? It's far more manageable with a smaller 32-inch TV than with a 4K giant.
How much does a 32-inch smart TV cost?
Prices vary between brands, but even the best 32-inch TVs are cheaper than even the most basic, entry-level 4K tellies. Prices can also vary depending on what features you're looking for.
UK buyers on a budget might look for the Cello Smart Android TV, which costs £199 for a 'gets-the-job-done' level experience. For something more premium, the great-looking (in more ways than one) Samsung The Frame 32-inch QLED TV costs around £449.
In the US, the Vizio D-Series' 32-inch model, which is our top choice at the moment, is somewhat equivalent to the Cello Smart Android TV, costing just $179 for a basic, but functional experience. The TCL 3-Series is similarly affordable at $219 but with a few quality features like full 1080p HD, 3 HDMI ports and loads of streaming apps built in.
Is a 32-inch TV too small for a living room?
That totally depends on the size of your living room, how far away you want to be from your TV in order to watch it and what you'll be using it for, like watching movies and TV shows or playing games and catching up with sports.
Generally speaking, the viewing distance between you and your TV should be at least 1.5 times the diagonal screen size of the TV. So if you have a TV that's 55-inches, then the minimum viewing distance needs to be 82-inches, around 6.8 feet.
However, some people might still find that way too close for comfort and it'll all depend on personal preference.
What to look for in a 32-inch smart TV
Shopping for a new TV can feel pretty overwhelming these days: there are so many different technologies and each manufacturer seems to put all kinds of acronyms in their product descriptions to make things feel even more confusing. Never fear. That's why we're here.
Other than the price, there are only a few really crucial things you need to consider when you're shopping for a 32-inch TV. The first is resolution, which is how many dots – pixels – the screen is made of. The more dots, the better the picture. At this size you'll see models described as HD or Full HD. The latter is better. HD resolution is the same as a DVD disc, so the screen has 720 rows of pixels from top to bottom. Full HD has 1,080. That means more detail, especially if you're sitting fairly close to the TV.
You'll see the acronym QLED on a lot of TV sets in general, especially ones from Samsung. QLED is a modern TV technology that's designed to deliver brighter, more colorful pictures – it's a big step up over the non-QLED options you get among 32-inch TVs.
There are two more acronyms to look for: HDR and HDMI. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, and it means that the contrast between the lightest and darkest bits of the picture is very dramatic. That's great for movies and for gaming. And HDMI refers to the most important connection the TV has, which is the HDMI sockets it has for connecting external devices such as games consoles, streaming boxes or Blu-ray players. Soundbars can also connect over HDMI, but most can also connect over a digital optical port, and that's what we'd recommend with most 32-inch TVs, since they tend to have a limited number of HDMI ports you'll want to use for other purposes.
