5 Cheap Smart TVs That Will Last You Years – BGR

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Shopping for an affordable smart TV can often mean risking build quality and brand reputation. As such, cheap smart TVs don’t always last as long as most shoppers might hope. Cheap TVs are everywhere among online retailers, so the challenge isn’t necessarily finding an affordable TV, but finding an affordable TV that won’t conk out or become obsolete overnight. Things like brand-name reliability, smart TV software, and cutting edge features can help a smart TV remain relevant for a longer period of time.

Fortunately, there are several reputable manufacturers with affordable smart TV models in their lineups. Big name brands like LG, Samsung, and Hisense have budget lineups with plenty of different sizes to choose from, and Consumer Reports sees them all as quite reputable. But there are many more cheap smart TV models that should hold up over time, and we used brand reliability and owner satisfaction scores from Consumer Reports, as well as features available on certain models, to narrow down some smart TV selections.

The Samsung U8000F is the company’s entry-level 4K TV from its 2025 lineup. It ranges from $250 for the 43-inch model to $900 for the 85-inch model, with several sizes in between. The U8000F has a lot of impressive features for an entry-level TV, including HDR10+ support, built-in voice assistants, and Samsung’s Crystal Processor 4K. All of these contribute to the potential for the TV to remain up-to-date and relevant well into the future.

Consumer Reports gives the Samsung U8000F an overall score of 67, but the smart TV scores well when it comes to owner satisfaction, scoring an 82/100. It also has a predicted reliability score of 85/100, so it’s worth considering for shoppers in search of a smart TV that will hold up over time. For a TV that goes for as little as $250, the scores make the U8000F a safer purchase than many competing models. And with the ability to upscale everything you watch in real-time, it even brings older content into the modern 4K standard resolution right as you watch.

With a reliability score of 92/100, LG is the most reliable smart TV brand according to Consumer Reports. LG has a number of premium smart TV options, but the LG UT75 Series delivers a lot of future-proof features at comparatively affordable prices. The smallest size available is 43 inches, priced at $330. The 75-inch model is the version of the TV that Consumer Reports took a look at. Its overall score falls right in the middle of other tested smart TVs, but the UT75 Series has an owner satisfaction score of 83/100, and can lean heavily on LG’s brand reliability score when it comes to longevity.

Some standout features of the UT75 Series are its Alpha 5 AI Processor Gen7 and a Filmmaker Mode, one that upscales everything you watch to 4K resolution for lifelike details and a sharper overall image. LG utilizes the webOS 24 smart TV platform, which includes more than 300 free channels of sports, fitness, cooking, and other quality content. webOS comes with five years of software updates and feature refreshes, so LG has positioned its UT75 Series TVs to hold up well as newer models hit the market.

Because LG is the highest-scored smart TV brand in terms of reliability at Consumer Reports, it’s worth taking a look at another model. The LG QNED82A is a step up from LG’s entry-level offerings, but it still checks in at an affordable price point. The 43-inch version goes for $429, and the 75-inch version, which is the specific TV Consumer Reports took a look at, is priced at $1,049. The step up in price gets you LG’s QNED picture technology and Alpha 7 AI Processor Gen8, both of which are newer technologies that help future-proof this TV.

Consumer Reports gives the QNED82A a middle-of-the-road overall score, but like the UT75 Series mentioned above, it leans on LG’s brand reliability score for its own predicted reliability score of 92/100. Owner satisfaction is high as well, as it scored an 83/100 on this metric. While this TV does come in at a slightly higher price point than what some consumers might consider “cheap,” it sees hefty discounts at Amazon throughout the year — with deals that knock the 65-inch model down to as low as $500 sometimes taking place.

Hisense makes one of our favorite smart TVs for sports fans. It also makes a TV that offers quite a bit of value in the Hisense QD7 Series. This is a QLED TV, which delivers premium picture technology at affordable price points across the lineup. The 50-inch model goes for $350, and while the 85-inch model is priced at $1,000, the QD7 Series offers a chance to truly maximize your screen real estate, as it’s one of the few TVs with a 100-inch model available.

The TV’s premium picture quality is one way to future-proof a smart TV purchase, as it will hold up longer even as new technologies become available. The native refresh rate on this TV is 144Hz, making it a great option for users who play a lot of video games or watch a lot of fast-paced content. Consumer Reports gives this TV a predicted reliability score of 72/100. While that may only seem average at best, the QD7 Series scored above average across the board in regard to image quality, which should keep this TV worth watching for years to come.

One of the cheapest yet still capable brands on the market is Insignia, and the Insignia F50 Series rates surprisingly well at Consumer Reports with an 87/100 predicted reliability score. It’s not heavy on features, but it does have HDR10 support and the ability to integrate into a smart home setup. It’s able to do this by utilizing the Fire TV platform, also including built-in access to paid streaming services like Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix, and Disney+. Free streaming services like Pluto TV and Tubi are also on offer.

This is a pretty basic TV, but that’s one of the things that can contribute to it lasting longer. A simple hardware setup doesn’t have a lot of under-the-hood needs. If anything stands out about it at Consumer Reports, it’s that it only gets a 29/100 owner satisfaction score. But the Insignia F50 Series comes with 4K resolution, DTS Virtual-X sound, and that 87/100 predicted reliability score. Those, in combination with the affordability of the entire size lineup, make it likely to remain a worthwhile component in your content-watching setup for several years.

There are a lot of smart TVs out there with relatively low starting price points, but here we wanted to focus on affordable TVs that have a good shot at lasting you several years. Brand reliability scores at Consumer Reports were our primary consideration, and from there we chose smart TVs that have both been released in the last year and come with features that are likely to remain relevant even as updated software and hardware hit the market. Additionally, while the term “cheap” is a fairly relative one, we tried to focus on smart TVs that max out in the $800 range yet still have price points in the $250-$350 range for smaller sizes.