Buying guide
The Best TVs Under $1,500
At $1,500 you can choose between a great OLED and a great big mini-LED. Our 2026 picks: the LG C6, the TCL QM8L, and the Sony Bravia 5 — and how to choose between them.
$1,500 is the budget where TV shopping gets genuinely fun. It's enough for a 65-inch LG C6 OLED at its current LG.com price, a 75-inch TCL QM8L mini-LED, or a 65-inch Sony with the industry's best processing — three very different TVs that each win in a different room.
Our picks synthesize published professional reviews and manufacturer specs; they're not our own lab measurements. Prices are approximate street figures from our October 5, 2026 research — they change constantly, so check the live price before buying.
The short list
| # | Best for | TV | Est. price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Best overall |  | OLED | ~$1,500 |
| 02 | Best for bright rooms and big screens |  | Mini-LED QLED | ~$1,300 |
| 03 | Best for streaming and movies in mixed light |  | Mini-LED QLED | ~$1,400 |
Prices are rough street-price estimates, not live quotes.
Ranked
Our picks
- 01
Best overall
LG C6 OLED
- OLED
- 2026
- 42–83"
- ~$1,500
Around $1,500 for the 65-inch at LG.com in early October 2026 — perfect blacks, excellent gaming features, and the most well-rounded picture at this budget.
Highlights
- Highlight: Per-pixel OLED contrast with perfect blacks for dark-room movies
- Highlight: Four HDMI 2.1 ports with up to 4K/165Hz, VRR, G-Sync, and FreeSync
- Highlight: Dolby Vision (including Dolby Vision gaming on Xbox) plus Filmmaker Mode
- Highlight: Alpha 11 AI Processor Gen3 and a mature webOS platform
Trade-offs
- Trade-off: Not as bright as mini-LED or glare-free QD-OLED rivals in a sun-filled room
- Trade-off: Glossy screen can pick up reflections in bright rooms
- Trade-off: Static logos left on for many hours a day carry a small long-term burn-in risk
- Bright room
- 3 out of 5
- Dark room
- 5 out of 5
- Movies
- 5 out of 5
- Sports
- 4 out of 5
- Gaming
- 5 out of 5
- Value
- 4 out of 5
Editorial fit scores, 1–5 — not lab measurements.
Check priceAffiliate link — opens a retailer search.
- 02
Best for bright rooms and big screens
TCL QM8L
- Mini-LED QLED
- 2026
- 65–98"
- ~$1,300
Gets you to 75 inches at roughly the same money as a 65-inch OLED, with far more brightness for a sunny room.
Highlights
- Highlight: Huge peak brightness and strong local dimming for the money
- Highlight: Available in very large sizes (75/85/98) at aggressive street prices
- Highlight: Good gaming feature set with high refresh and VRR
- Highlight: Google TV with a full streaming app catalog
Trade-offs
- Trade-off: Blooming and viewing angles trail premium OLEDs and Sony processing
- Trade-off: Google TV can feel less polished than webOS on some days
- Trade-off: Build and speakers are value-tier versus flagship brands
More views
Images: TCL
- Bright room
- 5 out of 5
- Dark room
- 4 out of 5
- Movies
- 4 out of 5
- Sports
- 5 out of 5
- Gaming
- 4 out of 5
- Value
- 5 out of 5
Editorial fit scores, 1–5 — not lab measurements.
Check priceAffiliate link — opens a retailer search.
- 03
Best for streaming and movies in mixed light
Sony Bravia 5
- Mini-LED QLED
- 2025
- 55–85"
- ~$1,400
Sony's processing makes everyday streaming and cable look its best, in a bright mini-LED that handles daytime viewing well.
Highlights
- Highlight: Bright mini-LED picture that handles daylight well
- Highlight: Sony upscaling and motion that elevate everyday streaming
- Highlight: Strong sports and movie performance in one set
- Highlight: Google TV and solid (if not class-leading) gaming features
Trade-offs
- Trade-off: Costs more than TCL/Hisense rivals with similar brightness
- Trade-off: Limited HDMI 2.1 count versus LG gaming OLEDs
- Trade-off: Local-dimming blooming can show on tough dark-scene content
More views
Images: Sony
- Bright room
- 5 out of 5
- Dark room
- 4 out of 5
- Movies
- 5 out of 5
- Sports
- 5 out of 5
- Gaming
- 4 out of 5
- Value
- 3 out of 5
Editorial fit scores, 1–5 — not lab measurements.
Check priceAffiliate link — opens a retailer search.
How to choose at $1,500
At this budget, the decision is mostly about light and size. If you watch in the evening or in a room you can darken, the LG C6's per-pixel contrast is the best picture you can buy for the money. If your room is bright, or you want a bigger screen, put the money into a mini-LED instead.
- Dark or dim room, 65 inches: LG C6.
- Bright room or 75 inches: TCL QM8L.
- You watch a lot of streaming and cable and value clean motion: Sony Bravia 5.
- Dark room, tighter budget: LG B6 (around $1,300 at 65 inches in our research).
Other TVs we considered
Samsung's S85H OLED launched at $1,999 for 65 inches and may dip into this range on sale; it's worth a look if you prefer Samsung's Tizen platform, but it's less bright than Samsung's pricier S90H. The Hisense U8QG is the value alternative to the QM8L and costs closer to $1,000 at 65 inches — the savings can go toward a soundbar.
Don't forget sound
Thin TVs have small speakers, and none of our picks will match even a modest soundbar. If you're spending close to $1,500 on the TV, budgeting $200–$400 for audio is the single biggest upgrade you can make to movie night. If you plan to use a soundbar or receiver, check which HDMI port carries eARC — on some TVs it's one of the few high-bandwidth ports you'd want for a console.
About the video
The embedded video is RTINGS' review of the LG C6, our top pick here. It's a good look at what you get from LG's mid-range OLED this year — and why the reviewer calls it "more of the same" compared with the C5.
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to get a 65-inch OLED or a 75-inch mini-LED for $1,500?
In a dark room where picture quality matters most, the 65-inch OLED. In a bright room, or if your seating is 9 feet or more away, the 75-inch mini-LED. Size is very noticeable day to day; so is OLED contrast at night.
Is the LG C6 really $1,500?
LG.com listed the 65-inch C6 at $1,499.99 on October 5, 2026, against a $2,699 launch MSRP. Prices change often, so check the live price — and watch for further cuts around Black Friday.
Should I worry about OLED burn-in?
For normal mixed viewing, it's a small risk with modern OLEDs, which use pixel refreshers and logo dimming. If you leave the same static image on screen for hours every day — a news ticker, a PC desktop — a mini-LED avoids the issue entirely.
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Disclosure: Our picks are independent and editorial — a synthesis of public reviews and specs, not our own lab measurements. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no extra cost to you.