Perfect blacks and a full gaming suite, without flagship money
LG C5 OLED
LG
Reviewed by
Eran Yorkovsky · Founder, PickGrade
The default OLED for most movie-and-gaming rooms: flagship picture fundamentals and a complete 144Hz gaming suite at a mainstream price.
LG's 2025 mid-range OLED and the easiest TV to recommend for most people: reference-grade contrast and perfect blacks, a full four-port HDMI 2.1 gaming suite at 144Hz, and webOS smarts — all for far less than a flagship OLED.
$1,399.99
$2,699.99
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Last reviewed Jun 8, 2026
What we like
- ✓Excellent contrast
- ✓Strong gaming features
- ✓Great movie-room picture
Trade-offs
- −Lower peak brightness than mini-LED and premium OLED (~1,200 nits)
- −Reflections are visible in bright rooms
- −Built-in 2.2ch sound is only adequate
- −No HDR10+ support, and DTS audio was dropped
Best for
Most buyers who watch movies and game in dark-to-moderately-lit rooms and want perfect blacks plus a full HDMI 2.1 gaming setup without paying flagship prices.
Avoid if
Your room is bright and sunny, or you want the highest possible brightness — a mini-LED like the Sony Bravia 9 or Hisense U8QG, or the brighter Samsung S95F, will suit you better.
The three lenses
How we grade →- 9.3/10
Value & Longevity · Eran Yorkovsky
- 8.0/10
Design & Fit · Michal Zucker
Score breakdown
- gaming features9.5/10
- picture quality9.5/10
- size value8.5/10
- motion handling8.5/10
- brightness room fit7.5/10
Specs
- HDR
- Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG
- Audio
- 2.2ch Dolby Atmos
- Panel
- OLED evo (WOLED)
- Sizes
- 42, 48, 55, 65, 77, 83 in
- Gaming
- VRR, G-Sync, FreeSync, ALLM, ~10ms lag
- Smart OS
- webOS 25
- Processor
- Alpha 9 AI Gen8
- Refresh rate
- 144Hz
- HDMI 2.1 ports
- 4
- Peak brightness
- ~1,200 nits HDR (3% window)
How we know
High confidenceLast checkedIndependent testing places the C5's HDR peak around 1,200 nits on a 3% window — a modest step up from the C4, but still below mini-LED sets and brighter premium OLEDs like the G5. Reviewers (RTINGS, TechRadar, What Hi-Fi?) consistently praise its perfect blacks, infinite contrast, accurate Filmmaker Mode, and class-leading gaming: four HDMI 2.1 ports at up to 144Hz with VRR (G-Sync/FreeSync) and input lag measured near 10ms. The main caveats are screen reflections in bright rooms and merely adequate built-in audio. It won What Hi-Fi? Awards in multiple sizes and is widely cited as the best-value OLED for most buyers in 2025.
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Video reviews
Andrew Robinson — LG C5 OLED Review (2025's Best OLED?)
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Head-to-head matchups
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LG C5 vs Sony Bravia 9
LG C5 vs Sony Bravia 9: reference OLED against flagship mini-LED, $1,000 apart. Which panel your room actually needs — and when the Sony premium is justified.
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LG C5 vs Samsung S95F
LG C5 vs Samsung S95F: the C5 is the value OLED with Dolby Vision for dark rooms; the S95F is brighter with the best anti-glare screen for bright rooms.
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LG C5 OLED vs TCL QM8K
LG C5 OLED vs TCL QM8K: the TCL pushes 4,000+ nits for bright rooms; the C5's OLED gives perfect blacks and four HDMI 2.1 ports. Match the panel to your room.
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