If you're shopping for a new TV, it's easy to get caught up in all the jargon, like HDR, 120Hz and HDMI 2.2. Then there's OLED and QLED. These terms describe entirely different TV technologies, and in our side-by-side comparison reviews, one is better than the other. For the last few years, Samsung has been branding most of its TVs "QLED." Its 2025 QLED lineup includes Neo QLED models in 4K and 8K resolution. Samsung isn't the only one: TCL also makes QLED TVs.
On the other side of the OLED vs. QLED fence are OLED TVs. For the last few years, LG has dominated the OLED market, and its 2025 OLED TV lineup is more extensive than ever. Sony and Sharp also sell OLED TVs in the US. Adding to the confusion, Samsung has an OLED TV of its own, meaning it sells both OLED and QLED TVs. So what's the difference? Excellent question.
Read more: How We Test TVs
QLED vs. OLED: Quick summary of the TV technologies
Let's start with a quick breakdown.
- OLED stands for "organic light-emitting diode."
- QLED (according to Samsung) stands for "quantum dot LED TV."
- OLED is a fundamentally different technology from LCD, the major type of TV.
- QLED is a variation of LED LCD, adding a quantum dot film to the LCD "sandwich."
- OLED is "emissive," meaning the pixels emit their own light.
- QLED, like LCD, is "transmissive" in its current form and relies on an LED backlight.
- Both QLED TVs and OLED TVs are smart TVs in that they have built-in apps
- Both technologies are capable of vivid colors and bright images, but some models are better than others
A QLED TV is just an LCD TV with quantum dots
The size of the quantum dot determines what color it emits when supplied with energy. Currently that energy is supplied by blue LEDs or blue OLEDs.
The main takeaway is that QLED is closer to regular old LCD than it is to OLED, which I (and most other experts) consider a distinctly different class of television, much like plasma before it.
Quantum dots are microscopic molecules that, when hit by light, emit their own differently colored light. In QLED TVs, the dots are contained in a film, and the light that hits them is provided by an LED backlight. That light then travels through a few other layers inside the TV, including a liquid crystal, or LCD, layer, to create the picture. The light from the LED source is transmitted through the layers to the screen's surface, which is why we say it's "transmissive."
A look at the "sandwich" of layers in an LCD TV, where an LED backlight shines through a quantum dot layer (among others) and on to the LCD panel itself.
Samsung has been using quantum dots to augment its LCD TVs since 2015 and debuted the QLED TV branding in 2017. Samsung says those quantum dots have evolved over time -- that color and light output have improved, for example. In my experience, however, improvements caused by better quantum dots are much less evident than those caused by other image quality factors (see below).
Other TV makers also use quantum dots in LCD TVs, including Vizio and Hisense, but don't call those sets QLED TVs.
An OLED TV is not an LCD TV at all
LCD is the dominant technology in flat-panel smart TVs and has been for a long time. It's cheaper than OLED, especially in larger sizes, and numerous panel-makers can manufacture it.
OLED TVs don't need LED backlights so, in addition to image quality benefits, they can get amazingly thin.
OLED is different because it doesn't use an LED backlight to produce light. Instead, light is produced by millions of individual OLED subpixels. The pixels themselves -- tiny dots that compose the image -- emit light, which is why it's called an "emissive" display technology. That difference leads to all kinds of picture-quality effects, some of which favor LCD (and QLED), but most of which favor OLED.
Aside from the US brands mentioned above, Panasonic, Philips, Grundig and others sell OLED TVs in Europe. All OLED TVs worldwide use panels manufactured by either LG or Samsung.
Until 2022, LG was the only company making OLED panels, but that year Samsung started making its own panels using QD-OLED technology. Samsung promises improved color and brightness compared with current OLED TVs because its TVs use quantum dots -- just like QLED TVs -- and in our tests, the color of the Samsung S95C QD-OLED was superb. But we liked the LG G3 better, in part because it uses another new OLED panel technology called MLA (for micro lens array) to improve brightness. We expect OLED technology to continue evolving in the coming years, like one of the latest developments: 4-stack.
Read more: What's the Best OLED Screen Type?
QLED and OLED vs LED
Aren't these all just "LED TVs?" No, at least not technically speaking. As mentioned above, all LED TVs are LCD TVs that use LED lights as their backlight. Or to put it another way, all QLEDs are LEDs but not all LEDs are QLEDs. Despite sharing many letters, OLEDs are not LED TVs, at least not as far as marketing nomenclature is concerned. They use a different technology than what's in LED TVs.
You might also see Mini-LEDs TVs. These are an evolution of LED TVs and are more comparable to OLED.
QLED vs. OLED image quality
Based on my reviews of both QLED TVs and OLED TVs, here are some general comparisons.
QLED TV picture quality varies more than OLED
Samsung and TCL each have multiple QLED series, and the most expensive ones perform a lot better than the cheaper ones. That's mainly because the biggest improvements in the picture quality of QLED sets don't have much to do with quantum dots. Instead, they're the result of mini-LED backlights, better full-array local dimming, bright highlights and better viewing angles, which help them outperform QLED (and non-QLED) TVs that lack those extras.
Meanwhile, every OLED TV I've reviewed has very similar image quality -- all have earned a 10/10 in picture quality in my tests.
OLED has better contrast and black level
One of the most important image-quality factors is black level, and their emissive nature means OLED TVs can turn unused pixels off completely, for literally infinite contrast. QLED/LCD TVs, even the best ones with the most effective full-array local dimming, let some light through, leading to more washed-out, grayer black levels and blooming around bright sections.
QLED is brighter
The brightest QLED and LCD TVs can get brighter than any OLED model, which is a particular advantage in bright rooms and with HDR content. In my tests, however, OLED TVs can still get plenty bright for most rooms, and their superior contrast still allows them to deliver a better overall HDR image than any QLED/LCD TV I've tested.
The author reviewing OLED TVs, QLED TVs, and other smart TVs in CNET's testing lab.
OLED has better uniformity and viewing angles
With LCD-based displays, different areas of the screen can appear brighter than others all the time, and backlight structure can also be seen in some content. Even the best LCDs also fade, lose contrast and become discolored when seen from seats other than the sweet spot directly in front of the screen. OLED TVs have almost perfectly uniform screens and maintain fidelity from all but the most extreme angles.
Resolution, color, video processing and other image-quality factors are basically the same
Most QLED and OLED TVs have the same resolution and 4K, and both can achieve 8K resolution, too. Neither technology has major inherent advantages in color or video processing. Both technologies are capable of accurate primary colors, i.e. reds, greens and blues, but not all will be accurate out of the box. QD-OLED can deliver improved color. Check out OLED vs. LCD and What's the Best OLED Screen Type? for more details.
QLED can get bigger and smaller (and cheaper)
The largest OLED TV is the 97-inch G2.
There are six sizes of OLED TV on the market today. Two more sizes, 42-inch and 97-inch, were new since 2022.
OLED TV sizes
- 42-inch
- 48-inch
- 55-inch
- 65-inch
- 77-inch
- 83-inch
- 88-inch
- 97-inch
Meanwhile, as QLED TVs are LCDs, they can be made in a greater range of sizes. Non-QLED LCD TVs can get even smaller.
QLED TV sizes
- 32-inch
- 43-inch
- 50-inch
- 55-inch
- 58-inch
- 65-inch
- 75-inch
- 82-inch
- 85-inch
- 98-inch
One big advantage that QLED and LCD have over OLED is the cost of mainstream sizes over 65 inches. Large televisions are the fastest-growing segment of the market and show no signs of slowing down. However, 77-inch OLED TVs cost $2,200 and up, significantly more than most 75-inch QLED TVs, and in larger sizes the difference is even more drastic.
What about OLED burn-in?
Burn-in happens when a persistent part of the image -- a channel logo, a news ticker or a scoreboard on a TV, for example -- remains as a ghostly background no matter what else appears on screen. All OLED screens can burn-in, and from everything I know, they're more susceptible than LCD displays, including QLED.
All things considered, however, burn-in shouldn't be a problem for most people. Burn-in is typically caused by leaving a single, static image element, like a channel logo, on the screen for a long time, repeatedly. That's an issue if you keep Fox News, ESPN or MSNBC on for multiple hours every day and don't watch enough other programming, for example. But as long as you vary what's displayed, chances are you'll never experience burn-in.
Check out our guide on OLED screen burn-in for more.
Electroluminescent quantum dot prototypes, which could pave the way for direct-view quantum dot TVs.
Which is better in 2025 and beyond, QLED or OLED TVs?
As I mentioned above, when I pit an OLED TV against a QLED TV, OLED wins every time.
What about the future? Beyond its QD-OLED TV, Samsung is researching a direct-view quantum dot, which dispenses with the liquid crystal layers and uses quantum dots themselves as the light source. Emissive QLED TVs have the potential to match the absolute black levels and "infinite" contrast ratio of OLED, with better power efficiency, better color and more. That's pretty exciting, but it will be a few years before we see emissive QLED TVs for sale. Hopefully, they'll think up a new acronym by then (EQLEDs?).
Then there's MicroLED. It's another emissive technology, once again spearheaded by Samsung but also sold by LG, that's on sale now for the super-rich -- the largest examples cost more than $1 million. As you might guess from the name, it uses millions of teeny-tiny LEDs as pixels. MicroLED has the potential for the same perfect black levels as OLED, with no danger of burn-in. It can deliver higher brightness than any current display technology, wide-gamut color and doesn't suffer from the viewing angle and uniformity issues of LCD. It's also friggin' huge. It doesn't involve quantum dots, at least not yet, but who knows what might happen when it comes to market. QDMLED, anyone?
For now, however, OLED rules the picture-quality roost over QLED.
QLED vs. OLED FAQs
Is OLED or QLED better?
For picture quality? OLED. However, QLED TVs tend to be brighter, which is good in rooms with a lot of natural light. OLED TVs typically have better contrast, so their images appear more lifelike. That said, we've liked TVs using both technologies and have recommendations for both on our Best TV list, so it broadly comes down to your specific priorities and the model of TV you're considering.
What is the lifespan of an OLED vs. QLED TV?
Manufacturers tend to be a little cagey when it comes to specific lifespans of their TVs. Generally speaking, a TV should last at least five years -- and probably a lot more. Lots of old LCD and plasma(!) TVs are still out there working. OLED TV owners do have to worry somewhat about burn-in, but the concerns about that tend to be overblown.
The truth is, your next TV could last 20 years or just two; it depends a lot on usage and the manufacturing of that specific model. The good news is, TVs get cheaper per screen inch every year. They're one of the few modern products to consistently come down in price. So while no one wants to have to replace a TV, in five years, the same size and performance TV you get now will likely be significantly cheaper.