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Size is one of the most important factors when deciding on a new TV. Many brands use 65 inches as the flagship size to showcase their top models, and we think this option is perfect for buyers who want a big screen that still fits in most living rooms. The best 65-inch TV for your needs will vary depending on your budget and viewing habits, but several great options exist.
Through a combination of hands-on testing and expertise informed by more than a decade covering the home entertainment industry, we selected the best 65-inch TVs you can buy. Our top recommendation is the Samsung S90C 4K TV. Thanks to its OLED panel and quantum dot technology, it delivers stunning contrast and color. But if that’s too expensive, the Hisense U6K is the best 65-inch TV you can snag on a budget. Despite its low price, it boasts advanced image quality features like a Mini LED backlight.
Below, you can find all our picks for the best 65-inch TVs. Our recommendations cover every display type and budget, so you’re sure to find something here to suit your needs.
Our top picks for the best 65-inch TV
Best overall: Samsung S90C – See at Amazon
Best on a budget: Hisense U6K – See at Amazon
Best midrange: Hisense U7K – See at Amazon
Best for home theaters: Sony A95L – See at Amazon
Best OLED for wall mounting: LG G3 – See at Amazon
Best with high brightness: TCL QM8 – See at Amazon
Best designer display: Samsung Frame – See at Amazon
Best overall
Samsung S90C 65-inch 4K OLED TV
The S90C is our pick for the top TV you can buy right now. It delivers premium 4K image quality with top-of-the-line contrast and quantum dot color for less than similar OLEDs from LG and Sony. Currently, it’s back down to the deal price we saw on Black Friday.
When it comes to balancing performance and price, Samsung’s S90C is the best 65-inch TV — and our pick for the best TV period — that you can buy. For the money, there simply isn’t a better display out there.
Unlike OLED TVs from LG, the S90C uses quantum dots to enable brighter colors. Coupled with the TV’s infinite contrast ratio, the S90C’s quantum dot filter leads to gorgeous high dynamic range (HDR) images. We measured an impressive peak brightness of around 1,000 nits during our testing. You’d have to pay $700 more to get a 65-inch OLED that delivers better picture performance than this.
The Samsung S90C has better color performance than other 65-inch OLEDs in its price range.
Ryan Waniata/Business Insider
And though it’s disappointing that Samsung doesn’t support Dolby Vision, which can provide a more finely-tuned HDR image, the S90C’s HDR10 and HDR10+ capabilities are so strong that we don’t think most people will notice a difference. The TV also upscales lower-resolution content well, though it can’t match the picture processing on a high-end Sony display.
Whether you’re watching 4K movies at night or just flipping through cable channels in a bright living room, the S90C looks fantastic. The smart TV interface is also solid, though we prefer other platforms like Roku OS. On the plus side, Samsung’s operating system is the only smart TV platform supporting Xbox Game Pass, which lets members stream high-end games without a console. The TV can even support a high 144Hz refresh rate when paired with a gaming PC.
Read our Samsung S90C OLED 4K TV review.
Best on a budget
Hisense 65-inch U6K QLED 4K TV
Hisense’s U6K is one of the best budget TVs you can buy. The 4K display boasts quantum dots, local dimming, and a Mini LED backlight to deliver better contrast and color performance than most competitors in its price range. This isn’t the lowest price we’ve seen, but it’s still an incredible deal for a Mini LED TV.
Hisense’s U6K proves you can still snag a great 65-inch TV on a budget. Despite some performance tradeoffs compared to our more expensive picks, the U6K delivers incredible value at this size.
This budget-friendly TV uses a QLED display with local dimming and quantum dots. And while you might find some similarly priced options from competitors with those features, the U6K is the only TV in its price range that also uses Mini LED technology. Mini LEDs can enable more precise control of a TV’s dimming zones to produce better contrast and less blooming.
Hisense’s U6K is the most affordable 65-inch Mini LED TV you can buy.
Ryan Waniata/Insider
The U6K’s dimming performance is great for its class, but its black levels aren’t as deep as you’d see on more expensive sets. The U6K also has limited brightness compared to high-end QLEDs, so it’s not as good for rooms that let in a lot of light.
But at a peak of around 600 nits, the TV can still deliver highlights with just enough pop to show off the benefits of high dynamic range content. And thanks to its quantum dot filter, it delivers an expanded range of colors when watching HDR programs. You’ll just want to watch those programs from a centered view since colors and contrast fade when sitting off to the side. However, this level of off-axis performance is the norm for TVs in this price range.
For a common sale price of around $500-$550, there simply isn’t another 65-inch TV that balances price and performance like the U6K.
Read our Hisense U6K 4K TV review.
Best midrange model
Hisense 65-inch U7K QLED 4K TV
The Hisense U7K delivers great picture performance for its class, with excellent HDR brightness and advanced gaming features.
You can find plenty of 65-inch TVs in the $800 price range, but few deliver all the picture quality perks you get with Hisense’s U7K. Like the U6K, the U7K uses quantum dots for wide color support and a Mini LED backlight, but this model steps things up with more dimming zones and a brighter picture.
With a peak brightness of around 1,000 nits, the U7K gets plenty bright and delivers great HDR performance. It supports all major formats, including HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. Contrast is also great for a QLED thanks to the TV’s Mini LEDs and local dimming, which enables it to adjust brightness across precise zones.
The Hisense U7K delivers bright HDR performance and a high refresh rate for a great price.
Ryan Waniata/Business Insider
Black levels are excellent for a TV of this type, but while reviewing the set, we found local dimming fluctuations to be a bit more noticeable than on pricier QLEDs. The U7K’s Google TV interface can lag a little, too, and the display has mediocre viewing angles, so this isn’t the best 65-inch TV for viewers who plan to sit off-center from their display. We recommend buying an OLED TV or one of Samsung’s high-end QLEDs, like the QN90C, for better off-axis quality.
But considering its low price, it’s hard to find much fault with the U7K’s picture performance. It even packs in a 120Hz panel that can go up to 144Hz with a PC for high-frame-rate gaming. If you just want a great all-around 65-inch QLED for under $1,000, the U7K should be at the top of your list.
Read our Hisense U7K 4K TV review.
Best for home theaters
Sony 65-inch A95L OLED 4K TV
Sony’s A95L is the best high-end TV you can buy. Though pricey, its QD-OLED panel delivers the most impressive picture quality we’ve seen. It’s also got a premium design and Google’s convenient smart TV interface.
Sony’s A95L OLED is built for home theater enthusiasts. It’s expensive, but the display edges out the picture performance of every other 4K TV on the market.
Compared to its already impressive predecessor, the A95K, the A95L offers a big upgrade in one key area: peak brightness. We measured a peak of around 1,500 nits with the TV set in its most accurate picture mode. That’s a 50% increase over the previous model and the highest brightness performance we’ve ever seen on an OLED. This lets the TV display specular highlights with more realistic intensity when watching HDR content graded beyond 1,000 nits.
Sony’s A95L has the best picture quality of any 65-inch TV on the market.
Steven Cohen/Insider
The A95L also distinguishes itself from competitors thanks to Sony’s proprietary picture processing powered by its “Cognitive Processor XR.” Though that sounds like marketing jargon, this tech makes a difference when optimizing the TV’s images. Its HDR tone mapping is also more accurate than Samsung’s, and it supports Dolby Vision, so you’ll get superior high dynamic range performance.
The display complements its high-end picture with a premium design and a unique stand that can be attached in a low- or high-profile configuration. Low allows the TV to sit flush with your entertainment console, while high gives you enough room to put a soundbar in front.
The A95L also boasts reliable Google TV streaming and comes with a webcam that can be used for video calls and gesture controls, which is a cool extra perk. From image quality to design, the A95L fully earns its premium status. We do wish it had more HDMI 2.1 ports and a 144Hz mode for PC gaming, but those omissions are minor compared to everything the A95L does right. Though most people will be satisfied with a less expensive TV, the A95L is ideal for shoppers willing to pay a premium to get the best movie-watching experience.
Best OLED for wall mounting
LG 65-inch G3 OLED 4K TV
The G3 uses new micro-lens array technology to get brighter than most other OLED TVs while still offering perfect black levels. It also has a thin “Gallery” design that makes it ideal for mounting on your wall.
Those who want a design-focused 65-inch TV that also manages to deliver top-notch home theater performance should check out the LG G3.
Like Samsung’s popular Frame TV, it has a thin profile and a flush wall mount, so you can hang it on your wall with virtually no gap. But unlike the Frame, the G3 uses an OLED panel for superior picture quality with much better contrast, black levels, and viewing angles. You do miss out on the Frame’s matte screen, separate connection box, and interchangeable bezels, but the jump in image performance is substantial.
The G3 is designed for hanging on your wall and looks best when mounted that way, but you can buy a traditional stand separately.
Steven Cohen/Business Insider
And despite not using quantum dots like high-end OLEDs from Sony and Samsung, the G3 is one of the brightest OLEDs on the market, coming second only to Sony’s more expensive A95L. This high brightness also distinguishes the G3 from its otherwise similar predecessor, the G2 OLED TV. During our tests, we measured a peak of around 1,470 nits on the G3, while the G2 topped out at around 1,000.
But while the G3 looks gorgeous on a wall, it’s not a top pick if you plan to put it on an entertainment console. It doesn’t even come with a stand, so you’d have to buy one separately, which adds to the cost, and we don’t like how the panel tilts back slightly when it’s attached to its stand. The G3 is still a great value for its performance, but you’re better off sacrificing brightness and going with the less expensive S90C if you want a 65-inch OLED that comes with a stand.
Best for high brightness
TCL 65-inch QM8 QLED 4K TV
TCL’s QM8 is its latest flagship 4K QLED TV. It offers excellent contrast and brightness with a Mini LED backlight and up to a 144Hz refresh rate for a great price. Right now, it’s more affordable than ever, with this price drop matching the previous all-time low.
If you want a bright display, the TCL QM8 is easily one of the best 65-inch TVs you can buy. The QM8’s QLED panel can deliver a peak of around 2,000 nits, which makes it among the brightest TVs on the market. This impressive brightness makes HDR images pop while enabling better SDR performance in rooms with a lot of ambient light.
Of course, it’s not enough for a TV to just get really bright. A display must also have excellent control over its light output to maintain great image quality. And thankfully, the QM8 does just that. With its Mini LED backlight and local dimming capabilities, the TV can precisely adjust its contrast to produce deep black levels and vibrant specular highlights, and we didn’t encounter any notable blooming around bright objects during our review. You also get extensive gaming features, with 144Hz support when paired with a PC.
The TCL QM8 can reach a whopping 2,000 nits of peak brightness.
Ryan Waniata/Insider
On the downside, like most QLED TVs, the QM8’s viewing angles are mediocre, which causes colors to fade and contrast to distort if you sit to the side of the display. And though the TV looks fantastic in bright rooms thanks to its high light output, we noticed that its anti-reflective coating can cause a rainbow-streak effect when it reflects certain overhead lights. If you want a similarly bright 65-inch QLED without these issues, we recommend the Samsung QN90C, but you’ll have to pay at least $500 more.
The QM8 uses the Google TV operating system with access to all of the best streaming services, and it includes a Google Assistant voice remote. Navigation is snappy, and performance is a bit smoother than what we encountered on the Hisense U8K, which is the QM8’s direct competitor. However, we did run into an odd WiFi issue with our internet setup that caused false “WiFi Not Connected” messages to pop up. This appears to be an isolated problem, though, and not one that other customers have experienced.
Despite minor quirks, the TCL QM8 is a true standout for the money, with a bright QLED panel that offers high-end image quality for a midrange price.
Read our TCL QM8 4K TV review.
Best designer display
Samsung 65-inch The Frame QLED TV (LS03B)
Samsung’s Frame TV isn’t the best for image performance, but it’s a favorite among design-conscious buyers who want a matte-screen TV that can be wall-mounted like a hanging piece of art.
The Samsung Frame TV is perfect for buyers who want a 65-inch display that can blend seamlessly into their living room decor. Built with an emphasis on design, the TV features interchangeable bezels and a matte screen that can make it look like a piece of art hanging on your wall.
The bezels come in different styles that magnetically attach to the TV. The Frame also has a Slim-Fit Wall Mount that lets you hang it flush against your wall. And unlike most TVs, the Frame uses a separate One Connect Box to house all its ports, so you just need one cable running from the display. If you need to connect a cable receiver, streaming device, or gaming console, you simply hook those up to the TV’s external box, which gets rid of all those unsightly wires on your wall.
The screen features a matte finish rather than the glossy look of most modern TVs. This helps reduce reflections and gives the Frame a canvas-like appearance. The Frame also has an “Art Mode,” which lets it display paintings, photos, or other images when not in use as a TV. Built-in motion sensors can be activated so the Art Mode turns on when the TV senses someone in the room. You can use your own images or have the Frame cycle through art from Samsung’s Art Store (subscription required).
But while the Frame’s design is high-end, its picture quality is a mixed bag. The QLED panel offers wide color support, but brightness is limited compared to Samsung’s top QLEDs. It also lacks local dimming, which results in the worst contrast and black-level performance of any 65-inch TV in this guide.
The Frame isn’t geared toward wowing you with high dynamic range imagery. Instead, it’s meant to appeal to buyers who want a 65-inch display that can serve as both a design piece for their living room and a capable smart TV for casual viewing. And in that sense, it excels.
How we test 65-inch TVs
We evaluate key factors like smart TV navigation and picture quality on every 65-inch display we test.
Steven Cohen/Insider
To pick the best 65-inch TVs for our guide, we used a combination of hands-on testing and research bolstered by more than a decade’s worth of expertise covering the home entertainment product industry. When we test displays, we evaluate them for general picture clarity, contrast performance, HDR peak brightness, color, off-axis viewing, smart TV interface, and value for the money.
Brightness is measured using an X-Rite iDisplay Plus colorimeter. Other objective display capabilities are evaluated using test patterns found on the Spears & UHD HDR Benchmark 4K Blu-ray disc.
To get a sense of real-world performance, we also watch scenes from movies and TV shows with clips specifically selected to emphasize a display’s black levels, highlights, color capabilities, and upscaling. Our demo material includes a mix of 4K, 1080p high definition (HD), and standard definition (SD) content from streaming devices, cable TV, and Blu-ray discs.
The best 65-inch TVs will also have excellent smart TV features, so we test overall navigation speed and app stability, as well as voice search, digital assistant integration, and extra perks like game streaming support.
65-inch TV FAQs
We think 65 inches is the ideal size for buyers who want a big-screen display that can still fit in most living rooms.
Ryan Waniata/Insider
Is it worth buying a 65-inch TV?
If you have the space for it, we think 65 inches is the ideal size to consider when shopping for a new TV, especially a 4K model. Many brands use 65 inches as their flagship size to show off their best 4K TVs, and this size is great for delivering big-screen immersion without taking up too much room.
However, you can still find excellent TV models in smaller sizes if you need something more compact. Check out our guide to the best 55-inch TVs for our top picks at that size. Likewise, top displays are available in larger sizes if you want an even more immersive screen. Check out our guide to the best 75-inch TVs for extra-large display recommendations.
How much should you spend on a 65-inch TV?
Exactly how much you should spend on a 65-inch TV depends on your viewing needs. The best 65-inch TVs range in price from around $500 to over $3,000. You can also find cheaper entry-level 65-inch TVs for under $400, but we generally recommend paying a bit more to get one of the options we highlight above.
Buyers shopping for a midrange 65-inch TV should expect to spend $500-$1,000. You can find 65-inch QLED TVs in this price range that offer advanced picture quality features, like local dimming, and good brightness performance that can reach 600-1,000 nits.
Buyers who want an upper-midrange or high-end 65-inch TV should be looking to spend $1,000-$3,000. You can find advanced 65-inch QLED TVs that deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness in the $1,000-$2,000 range, while the best OLED TVs with infinite contrast ratios tend to sell for $1,600-$3,000.
How far should you sit from a 65-inch 4K TV?
The benefits of a 4K screen become most noticeable when you sit at a distance of around one to 1.5 times the size of your TV. At that distance, you’ll be able to see the extra detail that 4K resolution offers compared to a 1080p high-definition screen. The ideal viewing distance for a 65-inch 4K TV should be between 5.4 and 8.1 feet from your TV.
You can sit farther away and still enjoy a 65-inch 4K TV, but that range will yield the best visible detail. Otherwise, you’ll want a bigger screen to get the full benefits of 4K.
Should you purchase a 65-inch 8K TV?
Though some brands do sell 65-inch 8K TVs, we don’t recommend buying one in this screen size. When viewing it at a reasonable distance, 65 inches just isn’t big enough to show off the benefits of an 8K resolution screen.
A 75-inch or larger 8K TV is much better suited for highlighting the additional detail you get with 8K resolution, but even then, the benefits are subtle. We recommend saving money and going with a 4K model if you want a 65-inch TV.
Do 65-inch TVs have good sound quality?
Though some 65-inch TV models have better built-in speaker systems than smaller displays, performance is still limited compared to a separate soundbar or surround sound setup. Speakers integrated into most TVs use small audio drivers that can lead to weak bass and muddy dialogue.
To get better audio performance, we recommend buying a soundbar. For the most immersive experience, you should look for models that support Dolby Atmos, a spatial audio format that can spread sound effects around your room.
Check out our guides to the best soundbars and the best Dolby Atmos soundbars for our top picks.
Do TVs include free access to local networks?
The best 65-inch TVs all feature integrated digital tuners that allow you to hook up an antenna (sold separately) to receive free over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts. So long as you have good reception in your area, this means you can watch local channels like ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox without a cable subscription.
Check out our guide to the best indoor TV antennas to see our top recommendations.
