The best TV size for your wallet
MyBroadband analysed the prices of several mainstream 4K TVs in the most commonly available sizes in South Africa and found that smaller TVs generally provide better value for money.
Most major TV makers — including Hisense, LG, and Samsung — have migrated their primary models with size options beyond 40-inches to 4K resolution.
For a comprehensive representation of prices, we looked at TVs listed on Takealot, Everyshop, and Kloppers.
The models we used from each manufacturer were as follows:
- Hisense — A6G/A6Gs
- LG — UP7500/UP7550
- Samsung — UA7000
Aside from the size differences, each of the TVs within each brand offered the same set of features.
We found that the smaller 43-inch and 50-inch models from these three companies generally worked out to be cheaper per inch than 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch units.
The price-per-inch surged radically beyond the 55-inch panels.
On average, the 43-inch and 50-inch models cost R169 or R170 per inch, compared to R181, R217, and R273 for the larger options.
Hisense was the cheapest for all sizes compared, with Samsung and LG alternating taking second and third spot.
The table below shows the findings of our comparison, revealing which brands and sizes were the cheapest per inch.
| 4K TV prices by brand and size | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size/brand | Average price | Price-per-inch | ||
| 43-inch | ||||
| Hisense | R6,399 | R149 | ||
| LG | R7,766 | R180 | ||
| Samsung | R7,665 | R178 | ||
| Average | R7,277 | R169 | ||
| 50-inch | ||||
| Hisense | R8,131 | R163 | ||
| LG | R8,662 | R173 | ||
| Samsung | R8,666 | R173 | ||
| Average | R8,486 | R170 | ||
| 55-inch | ||||
| Hisense | R9,032 | R164 | ||
| LG | R10,432 | R190 | ||
| Samsung | R10,332 | R188 | ||
| Average | R9,932 | R181 | ||
| 65-inch | ||||
| Hisense | R11,266 | R173 | ||
| LG | R15,332 | R236 | ||
| Samsung | R15,666 | R241 | ||
| Average | R14,088 | R217 | ||
| 75-inch | ||||
| Hisense | R18,499 | R247 | ||
| LG | R21,999 | R293 | ||
| Samsung | R20,000 | R280 | ||
| Overall | R20,749* | R273 | ||
| *Calculated over eight prices instead of 9. One of the stores did not have this model in stock. | ||||
The analysis revealed an interesting trend compared to other tech appliances or components, where pricing often has a “sweet spot” somewhere between the low-end and high-end models.
A good example of the “sweet spot” phenomenon is hard drives. According to Petapixel.com, hard drives with between 6TB and 10TB capacity generally offer the best value in terms of price per terabyte.
TVs have been an altogether different matter for several years.
There is another factor at play which distorts the comparison between the prices — the way we measure TV sizes.
To indicate a TV’s size, manufacturers use the diagonal length from the bottom corner on one side to the top corner on the opposite end.
The result is that seemingly minor size variations translate into significant increases.
A 10-inch diagonal increase might not sound like a lot, but it makes a big difference in the overall size of the TV.
For example, a 65-inch TV has around a 40% larger viewing area than a 55-inch set.
Considering this, it makes sense that the average price of a 65-inch TV is around 41% more expensive than a 55-inch set.
Notably, the average price of the 65-inch TVs was 95% more expensive than the 43-inch, while having a 129% larger surface area.
A 75-inch TV is about 204% bigger than a 43-inch TV, but the average price of the 75-inch TVs we included was only about 185% more expensive than the 43-inch units.
The graph below shows how 4K TV prices per inch correlate with the overall panel size.
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