With the cost of living on the rise, viewers are looking for ways to cut back on their home entertainment budgets. TechRadar’s editors are keenly aware of this trend and are going the extra mile to offer up-to-the-minute advice on products that can save you money. A good example of this is antennas that deliver free over-the-air TV broadcasts in the U.S., and do so with the same level of high-definition picture quality you can expect from cable and satellite pay TV services.
Al Griffin, Senior Editor, Home Entertainment
Indoor TV antennas are a necessity if you want to cut the cord from your cable provider, stop paying for satellite TV or stop spending so much money on streaming services. That's because while the likes of Netflix hog the headlines, there are really great over-the-air HD channels that are absolutely packed with great shows to watch – and they don't cost a cent. In the current climate that means they're even better value than ever.
Your TV antenna can unleash a world of content including sports, news, sitcoms, soaps, dramas and pretty much anything else you might want to watch. The only real downside is that the shows are funded by commercials, so you don't get the same seamless viewing experience you get from some streaming services -- although many free, and some paid, streaming apps also break up their shows with ads.
There isn't quite as much choice with over-the-air broadcasts as there is with a cable or satellite TV package, however. And what's available will largely depend on your location: if you're close to broadcasters like local NBC, ABC, CBS or FOX you'll be fine.
One of the best things to hit broadcast TV in recent years is a new technology called ATSC 3.0, which is sometimes marketed as NextGenTV. It's the latest version of the digital broadcast TV standard and delivers exceptional quality: 4K resolution with high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos audio, just like the most expensive streaming services. Earlier this year, ATSC 3.0 was already broadcasting in 40 US markets and reaching 45% of the population, with that expected to rise to 75% by late summer.
You're probably wondering, what's the catch? Well, in order to watch ATSC 3.0 you don't just need an aerial. You also need your TV to have a built-in ATSC 3.0 tuner, which is something you won't find in older models.
So which is the best indoor antenna to use with your 4K TV? Read through our guide to the best indoor TV antennas on the market in 2022 to find the one that's reight for you. And keep checking back as we’ll regularly be adding new antennas to this list.
Best indoor TV antennas of 2022 in full:
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For a mid-price antenna that delivers rock-solid HD channels within its 50-mile radius, your search stops here. The trade-off is that it's not exactly a small unit – that big, thin panel could cover most of a window – but if that's not a problem then it's great value.
In our testing, we found that it pulled in 48 channels, where more expensive and powerful antennas could receive 54 channels. But in terms of the picture quality and stability of the channels it did receive, including the HD ones, many of them were in just as good quality as more powerful options provide.
That's helped partly by the in-line amplifier, which you can switch on and off at will. The 12-foot coaxial cable is a decent length – you can get a bit longer out of the box from some other options, but this will probably cover most people.
Setup is easy, partly thanks to the free Antenna Point app, which tells you where cable stations are located, so you can point your antenna in the right direction to pick up the most stations.
Read the full review: Antennas Direct ClearStream Flex
Mohu’s Arc indoor antenna is easy to set up, fairly compact, and nice-looking enough to blend with a range of decors. Its clip-on bracket allows wall-mounting or tabletop use – though the latter arrangement is a bit tippy.
The Arc’s construction could be more robust, and its clip-in installation could be better. But despite its compact format and passive, un-amplified design, we encountered impressive signal-pulling performance.
Note that the Arc is not amplified, so if you need to extend its feed to a more-distant TV set, an amplified model like Mohu’s own Arc Pro is likely a better bet. But for a simple installation in an urban or suburban locale of reasonable terrain and elevation with desired signals in multiple directions – within the range of, say, 40 miles or even a bit more – the Arc should be an effective choice.
Read the full review: Mohu Arc
Winegard’s FlatWave Amped Pro TH-3000 antenna offers good performance, and uses an effective app for initial setup that shows you real-world reception potential prior to installation.
The TH-3000’s fully flat, zero-footprint, on-window/on-wall design will appeal to the decor-conscious, and it can be relied upon to pull in digital TV stations from as far off as 60 miles. You can find antennas offering similar performance for less, but they are likely to be bulkier and less easily hidden from sight.
Read the full review: Winegard FlatWave Amped Pro TH-3000
The Mohu Leaf Supreme Pro Amplified Indoor TV Antenna is, in many respects, very good at this job. Its 15db amplifier helps pull in a dozen or more channels that load up fast and don’t have much noticeable artifacts or pixelation. Its wide design, although a bit unwieldy and not the most eye-catching, is effective and simple to set up, too.
Like most good tools, though, the Mohu Leaf Supreme Pro does cost more than the average HD antenna that should only set you back between $20 and $30 and may not always offer a significantly improved experience for those of us who already live close to broadcasting stations. Overall, however, folks who live 30 to 45 miles out of town should certainly consider it as a great alternative to the cheaper and weaker models out there.
Read the full review: Mohu Leaf Supreme Pro
If you live far from a broadcast source and/or you've had trouble with other antennas, the Antop HD Smart Bar (AT-500SBS) could solve your issues—if you're willing to pay a steep price and tolerate the very large size.
The Antop HD Smart Bar is a hard-plastic antenna that measures 2.5 feet wide and can be mounted on your wall like a soundbar, or you can use the included base stand to prop it up vertically. In any case, it's much more visible than nearly any other indoor antenna on the market, but the trade-off is a much longer promised range of 80 miles. It also has a 4G signal filter, an FM tuner, and the ability to connect to a second TV, plus the reception was excellent in our testing. However, with a $119 price tag, we recommend trying cheaper alternatives first to see if they'll meet your needs.
Read the full review: Antop HD Smart Bar AT-500SBS
Antop's HD Smart Antenna (SBS-301) keeps most of the perks as the Antop model above, but does so with a slimmer design and slightly lower price. It's a flat plastic design like Amazon's antenna, but actually looks like two of them merged together. You can stick it to a wall with the included Velcro pads or prop it up using the simple plastic stand. In our testing, it pulled fewer channels on the stand next to the TV than when it was mounted higher up on the wall.
This amplified antenna's range is slightly less than the Smart Bar at 70 miles, but it still has the 4G signal filter, FM tuner, and ability to connect to two TVs at once. The $89 price point is easier to stomach too, even if it's higher than all the other non-Antop antennas on this list. The signal looked great to us, but as with the Smart Bar above, this might be an option for those who are having reception issues using other antennas.
Indoor TV antenna FAQ
Do I need an antenna with a smart TV?
That depends. TV antennas receive content rather differently than the Wi-Fi or Ethernet enabled streaming apps on most smart TVs. An antenna picks up broadcast signals from local channels, such as local news – or national programming from local broadcasting stations.
Anything you get over your TV antenna in the US is free, too, so if you don't want to cough up for a Netflix subscription – or if your internet connection isn't super reliable – it will be a great option. Keep in mind though that many smart TVs also offer free TV, as with Roku TV Channels or Samsung TV Plus.
Do I need an HD or 4K antenna?
There's technically no such thing as an HD or 4K antenna – so you don't need an upgraded model to make the most of new broadcasting standards like ATSC 3.0.
Best indoor TV antennas: how we tested
For this piece, we tested indoor antennas that remain near your TV, both standard antennas that connect solely via coaxial cable, and amplified ones that add a USB connection or must be plugged into a wall outlet for a powered-up range boost.
We tested several current indoor TV antennas from the top makers in the business, watching to see how many channels each antenna could find, how easy it was to set up, how crisp the signal looked, the style and size of the device, and the price and overall value.
Our testing environment was a two-story house just outside of Chicago, less than 15 miles from downtown. Each antenna was tested on two televisions: one on the first floor, and another upstairs on the second floor.
Even if modern antennas are more reliable than the old versions, they can still be fickle: your distance from broadcast towers is important, but so too is where you place the antenna, where you are in your home, and what's around it. Your experience may vary to ours, as a result, and you may need to experiment with location to yield the most channels to watch.
These are the best indoor TV antennas that we've tested so far, and we'll be adding more to the list once we try more models.
- Best 4K TVs: great sets for watching digital broadcasts
The best indoor TV antennas are absolutely essential for anyone planning on cutting the cord. Buying an indoor TV antenna for your home is a cheap and easy way to get access to many free over-the-air channels in HD, and a good way to supplement any streaming services you currently subscribe to.
The best TV antennas offer a portal into the world of sports, sitcoms, news, and more that are all on offer across America’s TV networks. And did we mention that digital broadcasts are completely free to watch? (Provided you’re fine with also seeing commercials – something you’ll also find on free TV streaming apps.)
However, what you can get with a TV antenna isn’t without its limits. Over-the-air broadcasts offer fewer choices than any cable or satellite TV package and their quantity and quality will depend on how far away you are from broadcasters like your local NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX stations.
A new addition to the free over-the-air TV landscape is ATSC 3.0, the latest version of the digital TV (DTV) broadcasting standard. ATSC 3.0 (also known as NextGenTV) offers major enhancements over earlier DTV standards, including 4K resolution video with high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos audio. As of early 2022, it was available in 40 U.S.markets in the covering covering 45% of the population and is expected to reach 75% market penetration by summer 2022. The catch here is that, while a special antenna is not required to receive NextGenTV broadcasts, you will need a TV with a built-in ATSC 3.0-compatible tuner.
So which is the best indoor antenna for your 4K TV? That's exactly what we wanted to find out, so we’ve tested a whole range of them from different tech brands and put them to work. What you'll find below is our round-up of the best indoor TV antennas on the market in 2022. Keep checking back as we’ll be adding new antennas to this list.
