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I’ve been reviewing home theater gear for more than a decade, and I test all the latest TVs every year. Though there are a few types of displays to choose from, two options consistently rank among the best TVs you can buy: QLED and OLED.
When comparing QLED versus OLED, both options have pros and cons. QLEDs, like the TCL QM8, have an advantage in brightness and affordability, while OLEDs, like the Samsung S90C, have an edge in black-level quality and viewing angles. There are also a few subsets of each display type that you should be aware of since certain features can make a big difference in overall performance.
To help explain all the technical jargon and make it easier for you to decide which TV type is right for you, I broke down all the ins and outs of each panel technology and put them head-to-head in a few key categories. Here’s how the battle between QLED and OLED is shaping up in 2024.
What is a QLED TV?
QLED TVs are a type of LCD (liquid crystal display) that incorporate a color technology called quantum dots into their screens. Like other LCD TVs, these displays rely on LED (light-emitting diode) backlights to illuminate their picture since each pixel can’t emit light on its own.
To get to the “QLED” branding, manufacturers simply married the “Q” from quantum dots with “LED.” But, the “QLED” acronym is more of a marketing term than a truly distinct TV technology. In other words, when you buy a QLED TV, you’re really buying an LED-backlit LCD that just happens to have quantum dots. That said, quantum dots are a cool feature and they can make a big difference when it comes to picture quality.
Quantum dots are nanocrystals that can emit different colors when exposed to light. QLED TVs include a layer or filter of quantum dots, which enables them to produce a wider and brighter range of colors than displays without quantum dots. QLED TVs are available from every major brand, including Samsung, Sony, TCL, Vizio, and Hisense. LG also sells TVs that incorporate aspects of QLED tech, but it brands them as “QNED.”
QLED TVs may or may not include an additional feature called full-array local dimming. This feature enables a QLED to brighten or darken specific zones across its backlight to enhance its contrast and produce brighter highlights while maintaining deeper black levels. Some QLEDs even use Mini LEDs in their backlights rather than regular-sized LEDs, which allows them to have more dimming zones for more precise contrast control.
Entry-level QLEDs with local dimming start at around 16 to 32 zones, while midrange models often have a couple hundred, and high-end options with Mini LED backlights can have over 1,000. But even with thousands of zones, local dimming on a QLED can’t produce pixel-level contrast control since there are over eight million pixels in a 4K display.
What is an OLED TV?
OLED TVs use “organic light-emitting diode” panels. Unlike QLED TVs, which are a type of LCD, OLED TVs rely on an entirely different technology.
Whereas a QLED TV requires a backlight in its screen to illuminate its pixels, OLED TVs don’t need a backlight at all. Instead, each subpixel in an OLED panel can emit light. This enables perfect precision over contrast and black levels with the ability for each pixel to completely dim or brighten independently, something that QLEDs can’t achieve.
OLED TVs are available in the US from LG, Sony, Samsung, and Sharp. There are a few different variations of OLED TV technology, but they all provide the same general contrast and black-level capabilities. However, certain types of OLED panels can offer different color and brightness performance.
The standard type of OLED is called WRGB OLED, and this is the type of panel you’ll find in most entry-level and midrange OLED TVs from LG and Sony. Compared to other OLED types, these panels tend to be the dimmest and can’t reach the same color volume as more advanced OLEDs.
To help improve brightness, LG makes some WRGB OLEDs with an additional panel feature called MLA (Micro Lens Array) technology. MLA allows a WRGB OLED to get much brighter, and it’s currently used in LG’s high-end G3 and G4 OLED TVs.
Finally, there are also QD-OLED TVs to consider. The “QD” before OLED stands for quantum dots. Yep, that’s right, this type of OLED incorporates quantum dots just like QLED TVs do. By using quantum dots in their panels, QD-OLEDs can achieve a brighter image with a wider range of colors than a WRGB OLED. Samsung sells various QD-OLED models like the S90C 4K TV, while Sony also uses the tech in its premium A95L 4K TV.
QLED vs. OLED: Contrast and black levels
Though some high-end QLEDs can get close, OLED TVs are still the kings of contrast and black levels, no matter which model you buy.
Thanks to their self-illuminating pixels, OLEDs can achieve an infinite contrast ratio while producing perfect black levels since their pixels can completely turn off. QLEDs, on the other hand, rely on a backlight, which can cause black levels to look elevated while veering more toward a gray or even slightly blue appearance. This can give images an overall washed-out, milky, and flat look, especially when watching TV with the lights off.
However, QLED models with local dimming can greatly reduce this issue, and there are several high-end options, like the Samsung QN90C and TCL QM8, that get remarkably close to producing OLED-like black levels. But even the best local dimming implementations still introduce side effects that OLED TVs don’t suffer from.
Most notably, local dimming can cause an issue called “blooming.” This results in a halo-like effect around bright objects against dark backgrounds, like burning candles, since even top QLEDs simply don’t have enough zones to dim every pixel surrounding these objects precisely.
Blooming is usually hard to see when watching TV with the lights on, but it can be distracting when watching certain scenes in a dark room. Likewise, blooming becomes more noticeable when you sit off to the side of a QLED.
Though manufacturers continue to make improvements with local dimming, for now, OLEDs still have a clear edge in the contrast and black-level department, and these picture quality attributes have the most dramatic impact on overall image performance.
QLED vs. OLED: Brightness
For a long time, top QLED TVs were the undisputed champs of brightness, but the gap between a high-end QLED and a high-end OLED has narrowed in the last two years. The most expensive QLEDs are still brighter than even the most advanced OLEDs, but high-end OLED TVs are no longer as dim as they once were.
When evaluating brightness on a TV, the industry uses a unit of measurement called a “nit.” The more nits a TV can output, the brighter its image appears. Entry-level QLED TVs can hit about 250 to 400 nits of brightness, while midrange models offer around 600 to 1,000 nits, and high-end QLEDs can achieve 2,000 to 2,500 nits. The upcoming Sony 2024 Bravia 9 QLED TV is expected to hit an even higher number, with a peak of around 4,000 nits.
On the other hand, entry-level OLED models are capable of 500 to 700 nits, while midrange models can hit 800 to 1,000 nits, and the very best OLED TVs can max out at around 1,400 to 1,700 nits. So, even at their brightest, top OLEDs are still about 600 to 800 nits dimmer than a typical high-end QLED.
High brightness is most handy when watching TV in a room that lets in a lot of light since pumping up the brightness can help overcome glare and reflections. Likewise, high brightness enables a TV to accurately reproduce high-dynamic-range movies and TV shows with the full intensity that filmmakers intended.
Most HDR content is graded for a max of 1,000 nits, so ideally, you want a TV that can get as close to that peak as possible. Some movies are graded for an even brighter peak of 4,000 nits, which is where top QLEDs have an advantage over OLEDs. For more info about high dynamic range formats and display technology, check out our HDR TV guide.
Ultimately, most OLED TVs can still get bright enough for an average room, and their pixel-level contrast helps them deliver exceptional HDR performance even if some especially bright objects look a little dimmer than they would on a QLED. But, if you want the absolute brightest image you can get, a high-end QLED TV will yield the best results.
QLED vs. OLED: Color performance
Regarding color, OLED and QLED TVs offer very similar performance. That said, high-end QLEDs have a slight edge.
Thanks to quantum dot technology, the best QLED TVs can provide a wide spectrum of colors, along with high color volume, which enables those colors to look very bright when called for. Meanwhile, all OLED TVs, even those without quantum dots, can also achieve an equally wide spectrum of colors, but color volume isn’t as high on an OLED as it is on a QLED.
QD-OLED TVs, which also use quantum dots, can offer higher color volume than a regular OLED, but they still can’t match the color volume of a premium QLED TV. Ultimately, this means that some extremely bright colors may look dimmer than they’re supposed to on an OLED, while they’ll get closer to their intended vibrancy on a top QLED TV.
QLED vs. OLED: Viewing angles
All OLED TVs offer better viewing angles than even the best QLED models. This means you can sit off to the side of an OLED display without seeing any major shifts in color, contrast, or overall picture quality. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for a QLED TV.
Though there are certain QLED panel types and screen filters that can help reduce this problem, many QLED TVs suffer from poor viewing angles. This is especially true on entry-level and midrange models from budget-friendly brands like TCL and Hisense. While image quality looks great on these TVs when sitting in a centered position, colors fade and black levels distort if you move off to the side.
Some LG and Samsung QLED TVs, like the QN90C, are much better at handling off-axis viewing than cheaper options. But even those models are inferior to the wider viewing angles of an OLED TV. If you want the same picture quality no matter where you sit in your room, an OLED TV is the display type to go with.
QLED vs. OLED: Burn-in
Burn-in is an issue that can occur on some displays when you leave a static image on the screen for an extended period of time. When burn-in happens, a faint outline of the static image gets stuck on your display.
Though QLED TVs are not 100% protected from this problem, cases of burn-in on a QLED are so uncommon that they’re not considered to be at risk. The same can’t be said about an OLED TV. Burn-in can occur on an OLED in extreme cases if you don’t take the proper precautions.
For instance, if you frequently watch the same cable network with a big static logo at the bottom of the screen all day long without ever changing the channel, you could eventually encounter an issue with burn-in. But while viewers should be mindful of this, all OLED TVs have built-in features designed to reduce the risk of burn-in, including pixel-refreshers, pixel-shift modes, and logo dimmers.
I’ve had an LG CX OLED TV for more than two years. I use it to watch cable TV, stream movies, and play video games (with lots of static elements), and the screen shows no signs of burn-in. QLEDs do have the advantage here since burn-in isn’t something QLED owners ever need to think about, but I don’t think people with regular viewing habits should consider the idea of burn-in to be a dealbreaker when deciding whether to buy an OLED.
QLED vs OLED: Price
Compared to OLED TVs, QLEDs are available across a wider range of budgets, with more affordable entry-level and midrange options to choose from.
You can find budget-friendly 65-inch QLED TVs, like the Hisense U6K, for under $500 and midrange models for around $650 to $1,000. Meanwhile, the cheapest 65-inch OLED TVs start at around $1,200, and midrange options start at around $1,600. Once you jump up to larger screen sizes, the price difference between QLED and OLED models gets even more dramatic.
However, it’s important to note that image quality varies much more across different QLED models depending on which budget class you buy, while the difference between an entry-level OLED and a premium OLED’s picture performance is far less substantial.
The bottom line
QLED and OLED TVs each have pros and cons, with OLEDs having an edge in contrast and viewing angles, and QLEDs having an edge in brightness and color volume. Ultimately, which is right for your needs really comes down to what you prioritize most, how much you want to spend, and what kind of room you plan to put your TV in.
When it comes to overall picture quality, an OLED’s superior black-level performance and infinite contrast ratio offer a more noticeable benefit than any of a QLED’s unique strengths, especially if you like to watch movies with the lights off. However, top QLED TVs can be better suited for bright rooms and you can find a larger assortment of affordable midrange models to choose from so long as you’re willing to step down in performance.
Consider an OLED TV if …
- You want the best movie-watching experience in a dark room
- You want an infinite contrast ratio with perfect black levels
- You want wide viewing angles so you get great picture quality no matter where you sit
- You’re willing to spend top dollar, especially at larger screen sizes
Consider a QLED TV if …
- You want an extra-bright display to combat glare in a well-lit room
- You want the brightest colors and most intense HDR highlights
- You want more budget-friendly options to choose from, albeit with downgraded performance
- You don’t want to ever think twice about burn-in
