Roku is well known for its streaming devices, which can add the brand's intuitive smart TV interface to a display, but it also sells its own line of TVs with its platform built in. The Roku operating system stands out from rivals thanks to its streamlined homepage, which features large icons for all your favorite apps instead of cluttering the screen with content recommendations. The best Roku TVs combine ease of use with solid 4K high-dynamic-range (HDR) picture quality.
I've been reviewing home entertainment products for over a decade, and I've used that experience to recommend the top Roku TVs you can buy. Based on my team's hands-on testing, the Pro Series is the best Roku TV overall. Its advanced Mini LED backlight enables an impressive high-contrast image. Meanwhile, the less expensive Plus Series is a better fit for the budget-conscious. The Plus Series can't get as bright as the Pro, but it offers good color performance.
Roku also licenses its operating system to other TV brands like TCL and Hisense. However, those models generally lack the picture performance capabilities of Roku's offerings. For that reason, I've focused solely on Roku's own smart TVs in this guide.
Our top picks for the best Roku TVs
Best overall: Roku Pro Series QLED 4K TV - See at Amazon
Best budget: Roku Plus Series QLED 4K TV - See at Amazon
Best overall
Roku's flagship Pro Series TV is a great all-around 4K QLED. Though similarly priced TCL and Hisense models have an edge in image quality, Roku's intuitive smart TV interface, handy backlit voice remote, and easy assembly make the Pro Series a worthy competitor.
- Great black levels and contrast for a QLED
- Good brightness and quantum-dot color performance
- Simple and intuitive Roku smart TV interface
- Voice remote is rechargeable and backlit
- Narrow viewing angles
- Minor motion and picture processing issues
- Notable screen reflections in bright rooms
- No dedicated gaming bar feature
When it comes to balancing cost and overall performance, the Pro Series is the best Roku TV on the market. It's an excellent upper-midrange display that delivers good picture quality for the money.
The Pro Series uses a QLED panel with a Mini LED backlight and local dimming. All that tech delivers image quality that's a step above the brand's cheaper models, with superior contrast control, deeper black levels, and a brighter picture. Occasional light bleed did pop up in certain scenes during testing, but the display's overall performance is similar to rival Mini LED models like the TCL QM7. Our reviewer was also impressed with the set's vibrant colors, which look especially brilliant when watching HDR content in HDR10, Dolby Vision, or HDR10+. You can learn more about HDR formats in our HDR TV guide.
Gamers should also note that the Pro Series is Roku's only TV with a 120Hz screen and variable refresh rate (VRR) support. These features enable smoother gameplay when playing compatible titles through a PS5, Xbox Series X, or Nintendo Switch 2. However, the Pro Series falls short of offering a dedicated gaming bar and 144Hz support with a PC, which are options provided by many competing TVs in this class.
Viewing angles are narrow but similar to those of other QLED sets in this price range. The TV looks great when seated in a centered position, but the image fades and colors distort when you're off to the side of the screen. You can get wider viewing angles from a high-end Samsung QLED, like the QN90D, or one of the best OLED TVs, but those options cost a lot more.
Roku includes its latest Voice Remote Pro 2, one of my favorite remotes. It has voice control via a dedicated button or hands-free wake word, a "lost remote finder" chime, and even a built-in battery that's rechargeable via USB-C. Its keys are backlit and automatically illuminate when you pick it up, so you can see buttons when watching TV in the dark.
Roku's emphasis on ease of use extends to the TV's setup. Unlike most stands that need screws to assemble, the Roku Pro Series uses simple left and right feet that attach to the panel with a tool-less knob system. This leads to quick and painless installation. You can also choose between a low or high position to accommodate a soundbar or have a more flush look.
The Pro Series is Roku's most expensive display, but its performance justifies its price, cementing it as the best TV the brand sells.
Read our Roku Pro Series 4K TV review.
Check out our guide to all the best smart TVs and best 4K TVs.
Best on a budget
Roku's Plus Series is the company's budget-friendly QLED TV. The display boasts local dimming and quantum dots to deliver solid contrast, color, and brightness performance for the money. It also uses our favorite smart TV interface and includes a handy rechargeable remote.
- Solid HDR performance on a budget
- Intuitive Roku smarts
- Great remote and app
- Poor off-axis viewing
- Local dimming not as effective as that of Mini LED models
- No VRR or 120Hz support
The Plus Series is the best Roku TV for buyers on a budget. This QLED display sits one step below the brand's flagship Pro Series. Though it cuts some of that pricier model's more advanced features, it still offers good value.
There are no major differences between the Plus Series' smart TV capabilities and those of the company's other sets, but the Plus Series does have some image quality and design differences that set it apart from Roku's more expensive and cheaper offerings.
Like the Pro Series, the Plus Series uses a QLED panel with wide color support and local dimming. But this model has regular-sized LEDs rather than Mini LEDs and has fewer dimming zones. As a result, this set's contrast isn't as high, and it can't get as bright as the Pro Series. Still, the TV offered solid HDR playback during our review, with performance that's comparable to similarly priced sets from competitors. You will see a bit more blooming (halos around bright objects) than you would on more advanced Mini LED displays, but that's to be expected.
Another area where the Plus Series differs from the Pro Series is its refresh rate. The Plus Series has a 60Hz refresh rate instead of 120Hz. It also lacks VRR (variable refresh rate) capabilities. This means the TV doesn't support high frame rate modes on gaming consoles and can't reduce screen tearing or stuttering. It's still perfectly fine for casual gaming but not suited for enthusiasts who want the smoothest performance.
The Plus Series' viewing angles are narrow, so image quality degrades if you sit off-center from the screen. This is common across Roku's entire lineup and most QLED TVs in general, but it's a bit worse here than it is on many direct competitors. The display's stand consists of separate left and right feet, but they attach with screws rather than using the tool-less knob system you get with the Pro Series. The setup is still straightforward but not quite as convenient.
The Plus Series comes with Roku's first-gen Voice Remote Pro. This edition has cool features like hands-free voice support, a rechargeable battery, and a lost remote chime, but it's missing the backlit keys found on the Pro TV's remote. It also charges using a Micro USB connection rather than USB-C, which isn't as convenient since Micro USB is less common these days.
There are definite concessions made to lower the cost of the Plus Series versus the Pro Series, but it's still a solid budget QLED, and it offers a clear step up in image quality over Roku's cheaper Select Series.
Read our Roku Plus Series TV review.
Check out our guides to the best budget TVs and best TVs under $500.
What else we considered
Roku's TV lineup also includes an entry-level model called the Select Series, which is available in 4K and HD editions. This set is the brand's most affordable option, and it's geared toward casual buyers who want a cheap smart TV for basic viewing. However, it has picture-quality limitations, and there are better displays from other brands that cost the same. For that reason, the Select Series doesn't quite make our list of top picks.
The Select Series uses a regular LED panel rather than a QLED screen, which means it doesn't have quantum dot color technology. Though the 4K models still support HDR processing, their lack of quantum dots limits their range of colors, so HDR content won't look as accurate as it would on the Plus or Pro Series. The Select Series also completely lacks local dimming, so it can't control its light output across specific portions of the screen. As a result, brightness and contrast are lower than Roku's other models, which leads to less impactful images and a more washed-out look when watching dark scenes with the lights off.
The Select Series still looks decent when flipping through channels or streaming TV shows, but its entry-level performance is geared toward people who don't prioritize advanced picture-quality features. It's also important to keep in mind that there are competing TVs, like the TCL Q65 and S5, that offer better color capabilities for around the same amount of money. But those models all use the Google TV or Amazon Fire TV interfaces, instead of Roku's more streamlined operating system.
Like the Plus Series, the Select Series has a 60Hz screen and lacks VRR support, so it's not the best for gaming enthusiasts who want to unlock smooth 120Hz modes on a console or PC. Its viewing angles are also similar to Roku's other models, so color and contrast distort if you're off-center.
The Select Series comes with a Roku Voice Remote, but it's a less advanced version than the ones that come with the brand's Pro and Plus models. This remote lacks hands-free voice control and doesn't have a built-in rechargeable battery. However, you can buy the upgraded Voice Remote Pro 2 separately if you want those features.
How we test Roku TVs
To test the best Roku TVs, our team of experts focused on key elements of picture quality and overall usability. Our evaluation points include brightness, color performance, contrast, local dimming capabilities (if applicable), viewing angles, navigation speed, design, and overall value.
To record a TV's brightness, we use a colorimeter and test patterns from the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark 4K Blu-ray disc. But while test patterns are great for measuring certain metrics, they're no substitute for real-world content. To see how the best Roku TVs perform with actual movies and TV shows, we watch a variety of videos in bright and dark environments. Our curated selection of demo material features clips specifically chosen to showcase HDR performance, black levels, color gradient quality, overall picture clarity, and upscaling. We watch content in various quality levels and across different sources, including 4K Ultra HD, high definition (HD), and standard definition (SD) via cable, streaming services, and 4K Blu-ray discs.
Since this guide covers the best Roku TVs, we also placed a specific emphasis on comparing features and performance across the brand's lineup to highlight the differences between each model and get a sense of what type of user each is best for.
For more information on our review process, check out our breakdown of how we test tech products.
Why trust us to recommend Roku TVs?
I've been reviewing home entertainment products for over a decade, and every year my team tests the latest displays from every major brand. I also attend annual product launches and reviewer workshops to get an early look at upcoming TV models.
I've used my extensive experience as a tech product reviewer to develop our TV testing methodology, which ensures that all of the displays we review are thoroughly evaluated across key metrics that cover image quality and ease of use.
My experience with TV models from every company helps me highlight the specific features that make Roku TVs unique while still addressing areas where they may fall short of the competition. Our TV coverage extends across all brands, sizes, and types, so be sure to check out our other guides for more recommendations:
- Best 100-inch TVs
- Best 85-inch TVs
- Best 75-inch TVs
- Best 65-inch TVs
- Best 55-inch TVs
- Best 50-inch TVs
- Best Samsung TVs
- Best sports TVs
Roku TV FAQs
Do other brands sell Roku TVs?
Though Roku sells its own smart TVs, the brand also licenses its operating system to other manufacturers. Companies like TCL, Hisense, Sharp, and Philips sell TVs with the Roku OS built in. However, most Roku TVs from those partners are entry-level models that are beaten in value and performance by Roku's own offerings. Generally, the best Roku TVs sold today are the ones made by Roku itself.
That said, there's one exception worth mentioning: the Sharp Aquos Roku OLED TV. This is the only OLED TV available with the Roku interface, and it offers the same contrast and black-level benefits that all OLED displays are known for. You can learn more about the benefits of an OLED panel in our QLED vs. OLED comparison.
Sharp's TV is a solid option for people who want an OLED with the Roku interface, but similarly priced LG and Samsung OLED models offer better picture performance.
What's the Roku OS like to use?
Roku's interface is one of our favorite smart TV operating systems thanks to its reliability and streamlined design. It's one of the easiest platforms to navigate and avoids a lot of the bloat that other interfaces suffer from.
The homepage presents large icons for all your favorite services, which you can reorder as you like. There are also icons for the devices you have connected to your Roku TV, so you can switch video inputs from the same screen.
Many rival operating systems, like the Fire TV OS, place a heavier emphasis on content recommendations and sponsored apps on their homepages, which can cause a cluttered appearance. But if you do prefer to see content suggestions you can access the "What to Watch" section on the Roku interface's sidebar menu. This screen features various recommendations across genres and services. It also lets you save a watchlist for titles you want to stream later.
The Roku system's voice search works well, and it does a comprehensive job of presenting all of the services currently streaming whatever movie or show you're looking for.
Can you add the Roku interface to a TV?
Roku sells several stand-alone streaming devices that allow you to add the Roku system to an existing TV. These devices are great for older displays that lack streaming capabilities or for people who want to use Roku's interface instead of the OS built into their TV.
There are no major differences between a Roku TV and a Roku streaming player when it comes to app support and interface design. Navigation speed can vary slightly depending on the model you buy, with the Roku Ultra offering the quickest performance. Video quality capabilities also vary, with some models limited to HD and others supporting 4K Ultra HD with HDR. The company also sells soundbars, like the Roku Streambar, that include built-in video streaming support.
If you already own a Roku TV, there's no reason to purchase a separate Roku player. For more media player recommendations, check out our guide to the best streaming devices.
What other products does Roku sell?
In addition to smart TVs and streaming players, Roku sells soundbars, wireless speakers, a subwoofer, and a collection of smart home devices, including cameras, doorbells, lights, plugs, and motion detectors. These products are all designed to work together so you can create a unified Roku smart home setup.
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Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.
