The best 48- to 50-inch TVs can be extremely useful and versatile – you can get a great budget option for an office or bedroom TV, you can get a premium model as a top gaming display, or something at any budget for a smaller living room.
As TechRadar's TV reviewer, plenty of the best TVs I've tested are available in 48-50-inch sizes, and that includes some of my favorite TVs I've tested in the last couple of years – including some I've given five stars to.
I've been testing and reviewing TVs for TechRadar since 2023 and before that I worked in AV retail for several years. I've had hands-on time with TVs ranging from 32-inch to 163-inch and watched TV technology rapidly evolve in a number of years. When I'm not testing the latest TVs in TechRadar's labs, I'm checking out the latest 4K Blu-rays.
February 22, 2026
Swapped the LG B5 in for the Amazon Omni QLED as 'best budget in the US'. Introduced the TCL C6K as the 'best budget in the UK'. Updated the 'TVs coming in 2026 section'.
The best 48- to 50-inch TVs you can buy
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Best 48- to 50-inch TV for most people
✅ You value exceptional picture quality: With amazing contrast, vibrant colors and life-like detail, the C5’s picture performance feels far more premium than its price tag suggests.
✅ You want a great TV for gaming: With four HDMI 2.1 ports and full support for 4K 144Hz, VRR, and Dolby Vision gaming, the C5 is an excellent choice for gamers.
❌ You want the best built-in sound: Audio performance is decent for everyday viewing, but it doesn’t quite match the C5’s stellar picture quality.
❌ You need HDR10+ support: The C5 supports Dolby Vision but not HDR10+, which is increasingly common on major streaming services.
The LG C5 builds on the success of the C4 that came before it, delivering a superb balance of picture quality, gaming performance and smart features in a sleek design. With the new Alpha 9 Gen 8 AI Processor onboard, it delivers a modest brightness boost over the C4 and enhanced AI picture and sound processing, making everything from movies to gaming sessions look and feel more dynamic. While it's upgrades are minimal, it's still one of the best TVs I tested in 2025.
Picture quality here is outstanding, with vivid colors, deep contrast, and refined detail that rival more expensive OLEDs. It’s also a dream for gamers, with four HDMI 2.1 ports supporting 4K 144Hz, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync), ALLM, and Dolby Vision gaming. Input lag is low, motion is smooth, and the Game Optimizer makes tweaking settings simple.
Running on LG’s latest webOS 25, the C5 adds handy AI features too, like Voice ID and personalized picture and sound modes while keeping the interface intuitive and fast. Audio is clear and will do for some people, but it does lack the power to match its stunning visuals, so we’d recommend a Dolby Atmos soundbar to pair with it. The C5 is the definitive TV in the 48–50-inch market you can buy today for its balance of performance, features and value.
Read our full LG C5 review
Best budget 48- to 50-inch TV in the US
✅ You want OLED for cheap: The LG B5 delivers the perfect contrast of OLED TVs, with really rich and cinematic pictures.
✅ You want a fantastic TV for gaming: Four HDMI 2.1 ports, a full suite of features and snappy performance: the B5 is a superb gaming TV.
❌ Your room is really bright: While the B5's brightness is fine at this size, it is much dimmer compared to both the step-up LG C5 and Samsung QN90F (both on this list), and so is more prone to reflections.
❌ You want the best sound quality: The B5 has a very basic built-in sound system and although fine for day-to-day viewing, it could benefit from a soundbar.
It's rare I can recommend an OLED TV as the best 'budget' option on a best-of list, but in the US, the B5 really is the best choice thanks to its competitive price. While there are cheaper 48-50-inch TVs available, they can't beat the B5's value in its regular discounts.
I found the LG B5's picture quality brilliant during my testing. Sure it lacked the brightness of step-up models, but this was my only complaint. Its colors are bold, its detail is refined and contrast is powerful: everything you could want from a more premium OLED.
I also rate the B5 as one of the best gaming TVs you can get at this size, because it supports 4K 120Hz, all variable refresh rate flavors, and Dolby Vision gaming – all four HDMI ports support these features. Its 9.1ms input lag time is among the best, and it means regardless of what game you play, performance will always feel smooth.
At an average price of $599 for a 48-inch OLED, the B5 really is unbeatable value. There isn't any other affordable TV that can deliver what the B5 can at this size so for those looking for a jack-of-all-trades 48-inch, look no further.
Read our full LG B5 review
Best budget 50-inch TV in the UK
✅ You want a cheaper TV that’s also great for gaming: The C6K supports 4K 144Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro and Dolby Vision gaming – a great list of features for such a cheap price.
✅ You want unbeatable value: For the picture quality it delivers and the features that are built-in, there aren't many better value 50-inch TVs than the C6K.
❌ You want to watch from an angle: The C6K's contrast and black levels fade when viewed off-center, so it's weaker in a family room where people sit off to the side.
❌ You want the best TV for movies: While it has very good picture quality overall, I did notice some black crush in some scenes during my testing.
The TCL C6K is the definition of value, delivering good overall picture quality and a great set of features – especially for gaming – for a very affordable price.
The C6K offers mini-LED at a lower budget, and it's easily one of the best-looking cheaper TVs I've tested. Colors are punchy, textures are crisp, and contrast is strong. I was also pleasantly surprised by just how good its black tones looked. They were deep and inky, something that is never a guarantee with mini-LED. It's not all great news, with middling brightness and viewing angles and some black crush in certain scenes, but for the money, the C6K's picture is solid.
The C6K also excels as a gaming TV. It supports 4K 144Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming: a packed feature list at this price. With a respectable 13.6,s input lag time, it also delivers smooth gameplay that will keep most gamers happy.
There are more premium, better-performing TVs on this list, but in terms of value for money and a great TV that won't break the bank, you really can't go wrong with the TCL C6K.
Read our full TCL C6K review
Best 48-50 inch mini-LED TV
✅ You want a TV to watch in bright rooms: With an effective anti-glare screen and high brightness, the QN90F is perfect for viewing in bright rooms.
✅ You want a great TV for gaming: With 4K 165Hz, ALLM, and VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium Pro) support across its four HDMI 2.1 ports and ultra-low input lag, the QN90F is a full-featured gaming TV.
❌ You want to save money: The QN90F is a superb performer, but that comes at a price. It's easily one of the most costly TVs in this guide.
❌ You want Dolby Vision HDR support: Like all Samsung TVs, the QN90F supports the HDR10 and HDR10+ high dynamic formats, but not Dolby Vision.
The Samsung QN90F is brilliant TV, delivering excellent picture quality for movies and responsive performance for sports and gaming. And with its anti-glare screen, it's a great option for those watching in a bright room.
In our testing, we were impressed by the QN90F's effective local dimming, vibrant color display and strong contrast. but its anti-glare screen is what wowed us the most. As we noted in our review, "even with overhead lights turned on, the TV's screen was free of reflections". It also handles motion well and has a wide viewing angle. Our final assessment in our review? The QN90F is "the mini-LED TV to beat in 2025".
The QN90F is an accomplished gaming TV, with a full list of features supported across four HDMI 2.1 ports, including 4K 165Hz, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium Pro), ALLM, and HDR10+ gaming. It also has an ultra-low 9.5ms input lag time for fast, responsive gaming performance, as well as a ton of cloud gaming options available via its Samsung Gaming Hub.
The QN90F even delivers in the sound department, with an accurate presentation and plenty of clarity and power. It may be an expensive TV, but given what it delivers, the QN90F is worth the investment. It's no surprise we awarded it 5-out-of-5-stars in our review.
Read our full Samsung QN90F review
How to choose the best 48- to 50-inch TVs
What is the best 50-inch smart TV?
Currently, the best 48-50 inch TV available is the LG C5. We've seen it available for as low as $899/£949 and it gives you everything you could need in a TV for movies, gaming and smart features plus has the added benefit of a crisp, dynamic OLED panel.
How much should you pay for a 50-inch TV?
It all depends. If you want the TVs with the most amount of features, expect to pay close to $800 / £700 / AU$1,000. That said, you can easily find 50-inch TVs at half that price if you don't mind skimping out on performance. If you consider yourself a cinephile and love to watch movies at their best, it's better to spend a bit more for a more premium model.
What should you look for in a 50-inch TV?
Like shopping for any other TV, there are a few important specs to pay attention to: resolution, contrast, native refresh rate and HDR support all matter here. Ideally, you're looking for a 4K 120Hz TV with a peak brightness of around 1,000 nits and support for Dolby Vision and/or HDR10+. That's hard to find outside of our top pick – but that's what you're looking for in an ideal world.
For gamers, you definitely want to find HDMI 2.1 ports like the ones you'll find in our second pick while sports watchers should pay extra attention to a TV's motion handling. The latter is tough to suss out through specs, but definitely something you can spot in-person if you go to the store.
What makes shopping for 50-inch TVs tricky is that manufacturers typically don't make their flagship TVs in that size. That means you're basically stuck shopping between all the B-list TVs and lower.
If you can stretch your budget – and wall – a bit further, we'd really implore you to consider a 55-inch TV instead. There's a much wider selection of models available and many of them are the brand's flagship TVs. If, however, a 50-inch is all you fit, then hopefully you've found at least a few options above.
What 48, 49 and 50-inch TVs are coming in 2026?
We have a rough idea of what most major TV brands will be focusing on this year. While the 48-50-inch market isn't getting the attention larger sizes are getting, here's a list of some sets we know are coming.
From LG, we'll be getting the LG C6, successor to the #1 TV on our list: the LG C5. On paper, there aren't may major differences but we'll be keen to get our hands on it. Unfortunately, we do know that it won't be getting the upgraded Tandem OLED panel the LG C6H will be getting – that's only coming at 77-inch and 83-inch sizes. We know the LG B6 is coming, and looks likely to have a brighter and cheaper type of OLED screen, but we have no other details confirmed yet.
As for Samsung, the Samsung S90H OLED will once again have a 48-inch size, but it'll be joined by the entry-level Samsung S85H, coming to a 48-inch size for the first time. We'll be eager to test these two OLEDs.
We're still waiting to hear about 48-50-inch sized TVs from the likes of Hisense, TCL, Sony and Panasonic, but we'll be sure to update this section when we get more news.
One thing we know not to expect from 50-inch TVs this year is next-gen RGB mini-LED TV technology. No one has announced any panels under 55 inches so far, and it looks like they're simply not being manufactured – yet, at least.
Other 48-, 49- and 50-inch TVs we've tested
Below is a list of other 48-, 49- and 50-inch TVs we've tested that haven't made the list (yet, in some cases).
Samsung S90F: Samsung's 2025 mid-range OLED TV and rival to the LG C5, the S90F is a feature-packed TV that is great for gaming. We've only reviewed the 65-inch model with a QD-OLED panel, so we can't fully comment on the 48-inch S90F, which uses a W-OLED panel. On paper, however, it carries a lot of similar specs to the C5.
How we tested the best 48-, 49- and 50-inch TVs
Our testing regimen for TVs in the 50-inch and under size range follows the same process used for TVs with larger screen sizes. We carefully evaluate picture quality, sound quality, and gaming performance, and consider these factors in the context of the TV’s price to help determine overall value.
Our process relies on both subjective evaluation and objective testing using specialized equipment. The subjective part involves an initial period of casual viewing using standard-definition, high-definition and 4K HDR sources – both streaming and physical media – to determine the most accurate picture presets and to get a rough sense of a TV’s overall performance. We’ll note its upscaling of standard- and high-def sources at this time, since most content is still viewed in those formats, even on 4K TVs.
The next subjective step involves viewing special video test patterns and reference movie and TV clips to evaluate contrast and shadow detail, overall picture detail, color accuracy, and motion handling. We’ll also check factors like black uniformity and off-axis picture uniformity during this phase, along with local dimming performance if the TV uses an LED or mini-LED backlight.
Our objective tests use a colorimeter that measures specialized video test patterns, with the results recorded by Portrait Displays’ Calman calibration software. This allows us to gauge a TV’s peak brightness – important for picture contrast and rendering highlights in programs with high dynamic range. We also measure its fullscreen brightness, which is important for programs like sports and for daytime viewing, where screen reflectivity – another performance factor we evaluate – also comes into play.
Other objective tests measure color accuracy for the TV’s Filmmaker Mode (or an equivalent picture mode such as Theater or Movie), which typically provides the most accurate color reproduction. We will also measure the TV’s coverage of the UHDA-P3 color gamut – the same one used for mastering movies for 4K Blu-ray disc and 4K streaming – along with the more advanced BT.2020 color gamut.
For gaming performance, our objective tests involve measuring the TV’s input lag in milliseconds using a Leo Bodnar 4K input lag meter with the TV set to its Game picture mode. Results under 15ms on this test are generally considered to be ideal for gaming.
We aim to keep our tests and conditions consistent. Some of our reviewers do use different testing equipment, though we follow a similar testing process to achieve the same level of accuracy.
Latest updates
February 22, 2026
Swapped the LG B5 in for the Amazon Omni QLED as 'best budget in the US'. Introduced the TCL C6K as the 'best budget in the UK'. Updated the 'TVs coming in 2026 section'.
October 24, 2025
Swapped the LG C4 for the new LG C5 as our 'Best 48- to 50-inch TV overall' based on our recent testing and review.
August 8, 2025
Added benchmark testing results for each entry in the list. Updated New TVs coming in 2025 with TVs we hope to test in future. Updated Other 50-inch TVs to consider section.
June 9, 2025
Replaced the Samsung QN90D with the Samsung QN90F due to the latter's effective anti-glare screen and overall impressive performance.
Read more updates
April 4, 2025
Added a 'New TVs for 2025' section with the latest models set for release in 2025 that could be added to this list. Added a 'Other TVs we've tested' with other 48-, 49- and 50-inch models we've tested.
February 5, 2025
Added Quick List for navigation, photo galleries for each listing, and 'How we tested' section.
December 6, 2024
Added 'Buy it if' and "Don't buy it if" boxes for each entry to provide succinct buying advice.
October 10, 2024
Replaced the Samsung QN90C with the Samsung QN90D due to its higher brightness levels.
August 9, 2024
Replaced the Samsung Q80C with the Samsung Q80D due to its improved brightness and contrast levels.
June 11, 2024
Replaced the LG C3 with the LG C4 as 'best TV for most people' due to the C4's improved brightness, processing and gaming features.
March 28, 2024
Changed the LG C3 to the 'best overall'. Introduced the Amazon Omni QLED as 'best budget' and Samsung Q80C as 'best mid-range'. Samsung QN90C became 'best mini-LED'. Removed Philips OLED807, LG A2 and Samsung BU8500 due to stock levels. Added in this latest updates section.