The best TV antennas are easy to set up and provide a constant stream of live content, all for free. With HD broadcasts and access to major networks, like ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, all you need is a TV and HDTV antenna to get shows, movies, sports and news, without spending a cent. Whether want to cut the cord in the new year or just a backup option, a good antenna is a must-have.
Our TV antenna reviews rely on hands-on evaluation and careful testing to find the best TV antennas available, whether it’s a simple unamplified antenna that hangs on the wall, an amplified unit that’s set on a shelf, or even a larger outdoor model that pulls in stations from miles away. In every review we examine not only performance, but also the equipment that’s included with an antenna, and the ease of setup and use.
What are the best TV antennas?
The Mohu Leaf Metro is the best indoor HDTV antenna, delivering plenty of clear channels, often for less than $20. The ultra-affordable antenna boasts a very compact reversible design that’s well-suited to apartments and other city dwellings, where the antenna’s 25-mile range is perfect for pulling in local stations.
For a more affordable option, we love the popular 1byone Amplified HDTV Antenna, which is an Amazon best seller thanks to its low price, excellent reception and easy-to-install amplified design.
The best TV antennas you can buy today
A longtime favorite of ours is the Mohu Leaf Metro, a compact TV antenna that has an unobtrusive flat design that’s smaller than most inexpensive antennas, yet pulls in channels with solid, dependable reception. It’s not amplified, but with a 25-mile range capable of pulling in dozens of channels in cities and nearby suburbs, it doesn’t need to be. The small size and city-friendly reception make it great for urban apartment dwellers, and the Mohu Leaf Metro lives up to its name. If you want the best-performing, most-affordable option for over the air channels, this is it.
The compact antenna has a reversible design, with white on one side and black on the other, so you can flip it to whichever color is less obtrusive, or you can simply paint it to match the wall it’s on. It even comes with mounting hardware. It’s the best option for most people, since it gives you a dead simple way to pull in plenty of local channels without paying much money.
Read our full Mohu Metro Leaf review.
Sometimes an indoor antenna just won’t cut it. When you need an outdoor antenna with excellent reception, the Winegard Elite 7550 is the smart option, and the best TV antenna for outdoor installation. It may cost a little more, but the Winegard Elite 7550 pays dividends, delivering a whopping 73 channels in our tests. Whether you’re in a crowded city or a rural community, this outdoor HDTV should get the job done, pulling in more channels with better signal than any indoor model can offer.
If you’re having difficulty getting local stations you want — or you just want better, more consistent reception — the Winegard Elite 7550’s $120 price tag is worth every penny, pulling in dozens of free channels for less than a month’s cable subscription.
Read our full Winegard Elite 7550 Outdoor HDTV Antenna review.
The Mohu Arc Pro is a stylish amplified indoor antenna with a 50-mile range and an attractive design that stands out in a field of flat, mud flap-inspired competitors. As the follow up to a previous favorite, the discontinued Mohu Curve 50, the Mohu Arc Pro is more than just beautiful. In our reception testing it delivered more watchable channels than most of the models we’ve tested in recent months.
In addition to pulling in some tough-to-receive stations, the Arc Pro’s included vertical stand and elegant curved design will turn heads for all the right reasons, and a built-in signal strength indicator makes it easy to find the optimal position in your home. It also offers signal interference suppression, ensuring that the channels it pulls in are watchable.
Read our full Mohu Arc Pro Indoor HDTV Antenna review.
For a simple, indoor antenna that offers everything you need to cut the cord, the 1byone Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna offers a 50-mile range and included amplifier, all for a fairly reasonable price. With slick packaging and a basic black design, it’s not only an Amazon best-seller, it’s also one of the best TV antennas we’ve reviewed.
Measuring just 13.3 x 9.3 inches, the antenna includes everything you need to connect to the TV, with a 10-foot coaxial cable and included adhesive patches for mounting. The simple design and included amplifier delivered dozens of watchable channels, and can plug into any wall outlet or USB port. There’s a good reason the 1byone is a top Amazon seller: It performs well and doesn’t cost a lot.
Read our full 1byone Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna review.
When you need something with really long range, the ClearStream 2Max is a strong and flexible indoor/outdoor HDTV antenna that reliably pulls in a variety of stations. This figure-eight-shaped offers a 60-mile range and solid performance. But, unlike the competition, this antenna is tough enough to use out in the elements.
While this non-amplified antenna offers decent performance compared to other indoor antennas, the outdoor capability lets you mount the antenna where the signal is strongest, beyond the obstacles posed by walls and furniture. The antenna comes with both a tabletop stand for indoor use and an outdoor mast and bracket for mounting on a roof or exterior wall.
Read our full ClearStream 2Max HDTV Antenna review.
With a 17-inch wide side-by-side design, the Antop SBS-301 is essentially twice the size of typical flat indoor-HDTV antennas. But it also does more than most TV antennas, doubling as an FM radio antenna, complete with a second output to connect to your sound system. With a simple two-sided design that’s white on one side and black on the other, you should be able to set it up easily without disrupting your home decor much.
The indoor antenna includes a snap-on stand for tabletop, as well as pins and Velcro patches for hanging it on a wall, sticking it behind your TV, or even more permanent mounting with included drywall anchor screws. Antop beefs up the SBS-301 with the Smart Boost adjustable amplifier, which lets you dial in the right power boost to pull in the channels you want to watch – depending upon the amplifier setting, we pulled in between 23 and 33 channels during testing.
Read our full Antop HD Smart Antenna SBS-301 review.
For TV viewer’s ready to ditch their cable or satellite bill without giving up local channels, the Mohu Releaf is the best TV antenna for under $40. The simple design makes for easy installation, and since the antenna flap is lighter on one side than the other, it can also blend in with some decor. The 30-mile indoor antenna pulled in an impressive 62 channels in our testing, offering better reception than even some amplified antennas on this list.
Made of recycled packaging and crushed cable boxes, it’s also the most eco-friendly HDTV antenna we’ve seen. They even print the instructions on the box to eliminate the extra waste of an instruction booklet. But the real reason to buy is the combination of a no-fuss design and top-notch performance. It’s one of our favorite unamplified HDTV antennas, but it goes in and out of stock, so grab it while you can!
Read our full Mohu ReLeaf review.
Made for use inside and out, the Antop AT-800SBS HD Smart Panel offers some of the best performance we’ve seen, easily topping many of the indoor/outdoor models we’ve reviewed. And with an adjustable amplifier, included mounting hardware and optional FM connection for radio, it’s a versatile best HD antenna option for anyone who’s serious about cord cutting.
The Antop AT-800SBS also has a table-top stand for indoor use, but this 85-mile antenna was at its best out in the elements, where it pulled in 68 watchable stations. A 40-foot cable is included for easy installation, and the adjustable amplifier lets you dial in the right amount of power boost to help you grab the stations you want. It’s the best indoor/outdoor antenna we’ve tested, and well worth the premium price.
Read our full Antop AT-800SBS HD Smart Panel Antenna review.
How to choose the best TV antenna for you
If you’re shopping for a TV antenna, you’re in luck, because there’s no better option for getting live TV for the lowest price possible: Free! But before you pick up the first TV antenna you see at the store, you want to make sure that you’re getting one that will work for you.
We recommend researching beforehand to determine what range of antenna you need, and whether you want an indoor model or an antenna made for outdoor installation. The best place to start is AntennaWeb.org, which lets you enter your address or ZIP code and see what stations are broadcasting in your area, as well as how far away the broadcast towers are.
If you’re in or near a city, there’s a good chance you can make do with a small indoor antenna, since you’ll have several stations within a 10 or 20 mile radius that can be pulled in with a basic indoor antenna. If you’re more than 30 miles from your local broadcast tower, you’ll want to step up to an amplified model.
Any antenna that’s rated for 50 miles or more will either be a large outdoor unit, or come with an amplifier to boost the signal it gets. Whether or not to get an outdoor antenna will largely depend upon the building you’re in and the surrounding environment, since obstacles like house walls and even trees can prevent signal from getting through to an indoor antenna.
Non-amplified indoor antennas generally sell for between $20 to $40, but there are plenty of cheap TV antennas that sell for less than $20 that offer acceptable performance. An amplified antenna offers better performance, and will cost between $30 and $100. For the best performance, consider an outdoor antenna, which costs $100 or more.
Worried about future proofing for ATSC 3.0 as it rolls out this year? The good news is that your existing antenna will work, and may even pull in more channels under the new standard. The bad news is that you’ll need to buy a new tuner or an ATSC 3.0-equipped TV, and these are only now coming to market.
How we test TV antennas
All of the TV antennas we review are tested in the same location in New York City, an apartment that receives dozens of channels from a variety of broadcasters. Each antenna is connected to a Samsung 4K TV, so the TV tuner remains consistent, and each one is placed in the same position to generate comparable results.
With more than 100 over-the-air channels available in Manhattan, it provides an excellent testing location for antenna reception of any range, with more sensitive, long-range antennas pulling in a higher number of channels. It also gives us a chance to determine the quality of that reception, by seeing whether or not those channels are clear and watchable. The best antennas will pull in more channels, with a higher number of watchable results.
Your experience may differ from our test results. Depending upon how many stations broadcast in you area, and unique geographical impediments to over the air signal – such as mountains – your own channel selection will vary considerably. We encourage antenna shoppers to be aware of what channels are available to them by using an online look-up tool like AntennaWeb.org. We also offer a handy guide to better antenna reception to help you cut the cord more easily.