Best TV Antenna

With the best TV antenna, you can watch hours of entertainment without paying a cent in subscription fees. OTA (over-the-air) programming offers news, sports, and popular shows for free, and all you need is an HDTV antenna and a TV. If you plan to cut the cord or just want a backup option when the cable goes out, a good antenna is a must-have.

In our TV antenna reviews, we combine careful testing and hands-on evaluation to find the best antennas, including basic indoor antennas as well as amplified models and larger outdoor antennas.

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Every review compares not only the number of channels pulled in and whether they are watchable, but also the equipment included with the antenna, and the ease of use. We also provide advice from industry experts on how to optimize your TV antenna for the best reception.

In general, the best TV antenna is the Mohu Leaf Supreme Pro, which combines a mudflap design with an extra-wide profile and a built-in amplifier that increases the number of channels you can watch. A built-in signal strength meter even helps you find the best location for the reception.

To get the best reception, you’ll want to upgrade to an outdoor antenna, and our favorite is the Winegard Elite 7550 Outdoor HDTV Antenna. Due to its 70-mile range, it is ideal for picking up channels that are difficult to pick up with smaller indoor antennas.

The Mohu Leaf Metro is our budget pick. It’s a great choice for city dwellers because of its small size and good reception in a channel-rich environment. Not to mention the low price.

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As far as TV antennas go, the capable Mohu Leaf Supreme Pro is hard to beat. Its wide design makes it easier to pick up more stations. Bigger and thicker than most flat antennas, this chunky antenna has a built-in amplifier and an integrated signal-strength meter, helping you find the optimal spot to pick up channels.

As a result, it pulls in more than 40 stations, outperforming some of our favorite indoor antennas. There is a detachable coaxial cable as well as a 3-foot USB power cable to power the amplifier, but the antenna comes rolled up in the box and it must be unfurled before it can lay flat.

However, all of the quirks are worth it considering the solid reception it offers, and the Mohu Leaf Supreme Pro is an excellent indoor antenna for suburban areas that may need an extra boost to get the most channels.

  • Solid reception
  • Simple set up
  • Detachable cable
  • Sizable presence on your wall

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Indoor antennas sometimes aren’t enough. The Winegard Elite 7550 is the best outdoor TV antenna if you are looking for excellent reception outdoors.

Even though the Winegard Elite 7550 is a little more expensive, it delivers a whopping 73 channels in our tests. Whether you live in a crowded city or a rural area, this outdoor HDTV should get the job done, pulling in more channels with better signal than any indoor model can.

The Winegard Elite 7550’s $120 price tag is worth every penny, pulling in dozens of channels for less than a month’s cable subscription if you’re having trouble getting the local channels you want.

  • Excellent reception
  • Excellent interference suppression
  • Somewhat loose construction
  • Plastic roof mount

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Our all-time favorite TV antenna is the Mohu Leaf Metro, which has an unobtrusive flat design that’s smaller than most inexpensive antennas while pulling in solid, dependable reception. The signal isn’t amplified, but with a range of 25 miles, it can pick up dozens of channels in cities and suburbs nearby.

The Mohu Leaf Metro’s small size and city-friendly reception make it a great option for urban apartment dwellers.  This is the most affordable option for over-the-air channels.

The compact antenna is designed with a reversible black and white design, so you can flip it to whichever color is less obtrusive, or you can paint it to match the wall it’s mounted on. The antenna even comes with mounting hardware. Most people prefer this option, since it gives them a very simple way to get a lot of local channels without spending a lot of money.

  • Inexpensive
  • Very small
  • Solid, dependable reception
  • Not amplified
  • Limited range and channel selection

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The 1byone Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna, with a 50-mile range and an amplifier included, is an inexpensive indoor antenna that offers everything you need to cut the cord. In addition to its slick packaging and basic black design, it is one of the best TV antennas we’ve reviewed.

In addition to the antenna, which measures just 13.3 x 9.3 inches, the package includes a 10-foot coaxial cable and adhesive patches for mounting.

The simple design and included amplifier provided dozens of watchable channels, and the device could be plugged into any wall outlet or USB port. Amazon’s 1byone is a top seller because it performs well and doesn’t cost a lot.

  • All necessary components included
  • Moderately priced
  • Easy setup
  • Inconsistent performer

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Antop AT-800SBS HD Smart Panel is made to be used indoors and outdoors, and offers some of the best performance we have seen, easily topping many of the indoor/outdoor models we have tested. Furthermore, with an adjustable amplifier, included mounting hardware, and an optional FM connection for radio, it is the best HD antenna option for cord-cutters.

In addition to the table-top stand, the Antop AT-800SBS has an 85-mile antenna that works best outside, where it picked up 68 stations. The amplifier is adjustable, so you can dial in the right amount of power boost to help you pick up the stations you want.

It comes with a 40-foot cable for easy setup, and the cable is included for easy installation. This is the best indoor/outdoor antenna we have tested, and well worth the premium price.

  • Excellent reception
  • Indoor or outdoor use
  • Variety of mounting materials included
  • More expensive than most
  • Bulky

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Though its aesthetics may leave something to be desired, the ClearStream MAX-V is a powerful antenna that offers more stations than even competing amplified antennas, even more expensive models. It’s one of the best TV antennas we’ve reviewed if you want to improve your over-the-air TV reception.

Antennas Direct’s ClearStream MAX-V antenna can capture stations as far away as 60 miles, is highly efficient indoors or outdoors, and is competitively priced.

The antenna outperformed many of our favorite indoor antennas as well as some of the best outdoor antennas, making it a good choice for mounting on a roof, hanging in an attic or simply tucking it out of sight – which may be a problem given the bulky figure-8 design.

  • Good reception
  • Works indoors or out
  • An eyesore in living rooms
  • Necessary cable not included

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With a 17-inch wide side-by-side design, the Antop SBS-301 is essential twice the size of a typical flat indoor HDTV antenna. But it also doubles as an FM radio antenna, complete with a second output for connecting to your sound system. A simple two-sided design with white on one side and black on the other should make it easy to set up without disrupting your decor too much.

This indoor antenna includes a snap-on stand for tabletop use, as well as pins and Velcro patches for hanging it on the wall, installing it behind your TV, or even mounting it permanently with included drywall anchor screws.

In our testing, Top beefed 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. We pulled in between 23 and 33 channels depending on the amplifier setting.

  • Amplifier that can be tweaked for specific stations
  • Built-in FM antenna
  • Expensive
  • Modest overall performance

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At its core, the Eclipse 2 is similar to Amazon’s thin, plastic antenna, but it has a distinctive figure-eight shape that makes it unique. However, whatever engineering Antennas Direct did to pin down this type of design clearly worked, because this amplified long-range antenna is excellent at picking up channels.

It’s rated for 60+ miles and consistently delivered strong reception while pulling in all of the channels we expected to watch. In addition to this, the design comes with two double-sided tape pads on both the upper and lower back, ensuring a snug fit on your wall. It’s a pricey option at $70, but it’s an investment in a quality product.

  • Strong signal pull
  • Distinctive design
  • Long-range
  • It’s a pricier option

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With a steep price and a very large size, the Antop HD Smart Bar (AT-500SBS) might be the answer to your problems if you live far from a broadcast source and/or if you’ve had difficulty with other antennas.

The Antop HD Smart Bar is a 2.5-foot-wide hard-plastic antenna that can be mounted like a soundbar on your wall or propped up vertically with the included base stand. It’s much more visible than nearly any other indoor antenna on the market, however, the trade-off is a much longer promised range of 80 miles.

Furthermore, it has a 4G signal filter, an FM tuner, and the ability to connect to a second TV. The reception was excellent as well. With a $119 price tag, we recommend trying cheaper alternatives first to find out if they meet your needs.

  • Maximum range
  • Can mount to wall or sit in stand
  • Bulky and hard to hide
  • Most expensive

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The FL5500A amplifier from Winegard meets all of the same requirements as the AmazonBasics model listed above. This device has a 50-mile range, is flat and almost paper-thin with black and white sides, and delivers a strong 1080p signal. We were able to find about 50 channels on both locations. The device itself did not disappoint.

It’s only that the FL5500A is more than double the price of the AmazonBasics 50-mile option, and truth be told, we couldn’t tell a difference between the two in use.

While they are nearly identical across the board, the Amazon model will save you over $25 based on current prices. That’s great, but there’s no compelling reason to pay extra that we can see.

  • 50-mile range
  • Easy to set up
  • Pricier than Amazon model

 

If you’re looking for a TV antenna, you’re in luck! There’s no better way to watch live TV for the lowest price: Free! Nevertheless, before you pick up the first TV antenna you see at the store, you want to make sure it’s the right one for your needs.

In or near a city, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to pull in several stations without a big aerial or a powered amplifier if you have several stations within a 10 or 20-mile radius.

An amplified model is best if you’re more than 30 miles from your local broadcast tower. An antenna that’s rated for 50 miles or more will either be a large outdoor unit, or feature an amplifier to boost the signal it gets, or both.

A lot depends on the building you’re in and the environment around you since obstacles like walls and even trees can prevent a signal from reaching an indoor antenna. Antennas for outdoor use are bigger and perform better when installed as high as possible – a rooftop mast is the ideal location.

With a little extra juice, an amplified antenna can help weak signals come in clearly with an additional signal strength booster. Having to give up a power outlet also means having to plug in another device. The price is also higher.

A non-amplified indoor antenna generally costs between $20 and $40, but there are a number of cheap TV antennas available for less than $20 that are acceptable.

An amplified antenna has better performance and will cost between $30 and $100. If you want the best performance, consider an outdoor antenna, which costs $100 or more.

While streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max have taken over the living room, over-the-air (OTA) broadcast TV still has a place. An HDTV antenna provides plenty of great stuff to watch and having a smart TV or one of the best streaming devices doesn’t prevent you from using one.

Smart TVs that stream also have built-in tuners for picking up broadcast channels, and getting your TV channels set up is a simple process—the TV scans for stations and puts together a browsable channel guide in just a few minutes.

In addition, several streaming devices make use of OTA content. For instance, the Amazon Fire TV Cube automatically switches to your TV’s built-in tuner without juggling additional remote controls or switching inputs.

The Amazon Fire TV Recast is a DVR that lets you record OTA content, and then you can watch it using the same Fire TV interface that you might already be using.

We test all TV antennas at the same location in New York City, an apartment that receives dozens of channels from different broadcasters. Each antenna is connected to a Samsung 4K TV, so the TV tuner is consistent, and each antenna is placed in the same position to generate comparable results.

Manhattan offers more than 100 over-the-air channels, so it’s an excellent place to test antenna reception of any range, with more sensitive, long-range antennas pulling in a greater number of channels.

Also, it allows us to see whether those channels are clear and watchable, so we can determine the quality of that reception. Antennas with the best performance will pull in more channels, providing more watchable results.

It is possible that your experience will differ from ours. Depending on how many stations broadcast in your area, as well as unique geographical obstacles, such as buildings, trees, and mountains, your choice of channels will differ considerably.

Despite our recommendations for amplified antennas, we are not entirely convinced of their efficacy. “Amplified” antennas or in-line amplifiers do not actually boost the reception of the signal.

Rather, they enhance the signal that is being picked up, so if you’re receiving a somewhat fuzzy signal, the amplifier will try to artificially boost the TV’s quality.

We’ve had varying degrees of success there, but generally speaking, quality won’t change much. Another important point is that amplifiers should not be used in areas where the signal strength is stable. This can lead to picture quality problems such as noise.

 

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