OLED vs QLED vs Mini-LED: what each TV costs
At 65 inches, the middle OLED TV costs $1,421.48 at Amazon today, a Mini-LED $836.47 and a QLED $849.99, across 10, 12 and 7 models.
OLED makes its own light, pixel by pixel; QLED and Mini-LED are LCD TVs lit from behind, Mini-LED by thousands of small LEDs that dim zone by zone. At one screen size the price tends to climb from QLED to Mini-LED to OLED, and the table below prices all three at Amazon today, size by size.
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Three ways to light a picture
QLED is an LCD TV with a layer of quantum dots, particles that turn the backlight’s blue light into purer reds and greens. The liquid-crystal layer makes dark areas by blocking the backlight, so a black screen is a lit panel with its shutters closed, and in a dark room it reads as dark grey.
Mini-LED is also an LCD, lit by thousands of LEDs small enough to be grouped into hundreds or thousands of zones that dim on their own. Dark parts of the picture get darker and highlights brighter. Most carry quantum dots too, which is why Samsung sells its Mini-LED sets as Neo QLED and TCL writes “QD-Mini LED”.
OLED has no backlight. Each pixel is an organic diode that lights itself, so a black pixel is simply off, and the picture keeps its colour and contrast when watched from the side.
What each one does best
OLED: the deepest black and no glow around bright objects, which matters most for films in a dark room, plus the widest viewing angle and the fastest pixel response. Its limits are full-screen brightness, below a good Mini-LED’s, and burn-in: a logo or a game’s display left on screen for hours a day can leave a permanent trace.
Mini-LED: the brightest of the three, which suits a sunny room, sport and HDR highlights, and no burn-in. Black comes close to OLED’s in most scenes, but a bright object on a dark background can show a halo, called blooming, where a zone lights more than the object.
QLED: the least money at each size, and bright enough for most rooms. With few dimming zones or none, dark scenes look grey, and on most sets the picture washes out when watched from the side.
Reading the kind off a listing
The panel is in the model name more often than in the headline. LG’s C and G series and Samsung’s S90 and S95 are OLED; TCL’s QM sets, Hisense’s U8 and Samsung’s Neo QLED are Mini-LED. A title that says both QLED and Mini-LED is a Mini-LED set.
UHD and 4K name the resolution, 3,840 by 2,160 pixels, not the panel. A 4K UHD TV can be any of the three, or a standard LED set with none of them, which is usually the cheapest TV at its size.
What the extra money buys
Between QLED and Mini-LED at the same size, the difference is contrast: the zones are what make a dark scene look dark. Between Mini-LED and OLED it is black and viewing angle against brightness. For a bright room and daytime viewing, a Mini-LED set gives more for the money; for films at night, OLED’s black is what the higher price pays for.
Compare within one size. A 65-inch QLED can cost less than a 55-inch OLED, so a gap across sizes says more about the screen than about the panel.
What each kind costs at each size, today
The middle price of the new TVs we price at Amazon, with the cheapest and the number of models under it. A kind needs 3 models at a size to get a figure.
| Size | QLED | Mini-LED | OLED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55″ | $379.99from $209.99, 9 models | $819.99from $497.99, 3 models | $1,648.98from $1,299.99, 4 models |
| 65″ | $849.99from $499.99, 7 models | $836.47from $429.99, 12 models | $1,421.48from $799.99, 10 models |
| 75–77″ | — | $997.99from $674.97, 6 models | $2,099.99from $1,297.99, 3 models |
Questions people ask
- How much more does an OLED TV cost than a QLED?
- At 65 inches, the middle OLED TV costs $1,421.48 at Amazon today, a Mini-LED $836.47 and a QLED $849.99, across 10, 12 and 7 models.
- Is OLED better than QLED?
- For contrast and viewing angle, yes: an OLED pixel switches off for black, while a QLED’s backlight still shines through. QLED is brighter for the money and carries no burn-in risk, and at the same size it usually costs less.
- Is Mini-LED better than OLED?
- Brighter, yes, and free of burn-in. OLED keeps the deeper black, the wider viewing angle and no halo around bright objects.
- What is the difference between QLED and Mini-LED?
- Both are LCD TVs, and most of both use quantum dots. A Mini-LED set’s backlight is split into many small zones that dim separately, so it shows deeper black and brighter highlights. Samsung calls its Mini-LED TVs Neo QLED.
- Is UHD the same as QLED?
- No. UHD, or 4K, is the resolution: 3,840 by 2,160 pixels. QLED is a kind of panel. Most TVs sold today are 4K UHD, whatever their panel.