The Best Digital TV Antennas for 2023

Cord-cutting has become synonymous with dropping cable and satellite subscriptions in favor of video streaming services. That leaves a lot of live television on the table, which you can get for free. All you need is an antenna to tune into TV stations the old-fashioned way (in high-definition with digital signals, of course). If you want to keep up with local programming or just want some more variety beyond what you can stream, setting up an antenna for your TV is the way to do it. Here's how to choose the best antenna for your needs, along with the products we recommend.

Antennas Direct is a popular brand that offers a wide selection of indoor and outdoor antennas. The Eclipse Indoor HDTV Antenna is a simple, flat, disc-shaped model with a stick-on design. You can slap it on any smooth surface, like a window, without using tape or any other adhesive. It's a multidirectional antenna and features a 35-mile range.

The ClearStream Flex is larger and pricier than the ClearStream Eclipse. Because of its bigger size and included amplifier, this indoor antenna sports a more impressive 50-plus-mile range.

The decidedly retro Antennas Direct DB8e 8-Element Bowtie Antenna is very powerful. It features two panels (each with four elements and a reflector) that you can angle toward clusters of nearby stations to get the best results. It's still a multidirectional antenna, but it has a very useful range of around 70 miles.

The Mohu Leaf + might look unassuming as a flat, indoor multidirectional antenna, but its USB-powered amplifier adds 15 dB of signal strength, giving it a range of over 60 miles. Its reversible design (one side is black and the other is white) means you match it to your decor, too.

Of course, Amazon has TV antennas, though the AmazonBasics indoor TV antenna(Opens in a new window) is no longer available new. Fortunately, there are plenty of no-name, $20 indoor TV antennas like this Amazqi model that appear to be very similar. These are simple, flat antennas with a typical range of around 35 miles. They don't offer many features and likely aren't as reliable as brand-name alternatives, but at least most of them qualify for Prime shipping.

Monoprice remains one of the best-kept secrets for home theater enthusiasts and installers; the company sells reliable and inexpensive antennas, cables, and other A/V equipment. The Monoprice Active Curved HDTV Antenna is a simple, affordable, and slightly curved indoor antenna with an amplifier that enables a 60-mile operating range.

Most indoor antennas are opaque, but the Monoprice Clear Window Antenna is clear, or at least translucent. This means you can attach it to the window and still let plenty of light through. It also features an inline amplifier, so it should have the same 60-mile range as Monoprice's curved model for just a few dollars more.

If you can mount your antenna outside and aim it, the Monoprice Digital HD7 Outdoor Antenna is the most affordable way to get broadcast TV. And even without an amp, the antenna has up to a 65-mile directional range.

Before you start shopping for an antenna, you should check what channels are available near you. AntennaWeb(Opens in a new window) has a helpful tool that lets you enter your location to see where the nearest TV stations are. It even provides a map that shows the distance from each station and the type of antenna you need to get a strong signal. Once you know what stations you can pick up, then you can figure out the best antenna to buy.

AntennaWeb's TV station tool categorizes nearby stations based on the sort of outdoor antenna you need. That's because indoor antennas are highly dependent on the architecture of your home and the presence of any structures that can interfere with signals. This doesn't mean the map is useless for indoor antennas, though; yellow and green stations work with small- and medium-sized multidirectional antennas mounted outdoors, which means you can probably get a signal from them using an indoor multidirectional antenna. For stations that require directional antennas or a preamp, you likely need an outdoor model.

Multidirectional antennas can pick up signals from any direction. They’re typically flat, rectangular or circular sheets that you can mount on a window. With a proper setup, they can tune into any station within range, regardless of their relative position to you.

Multidirectional antennas are the most common kind of TV antenna. Almost all indoor antennas are multidirectional, and many outdoor antennas are as well. They’re easy to set up and don't require you to know the exact location of each station. They tend to be weaker than directional antennas, however.

Directional antennas are, well, directional. They usually look like fins, arrows, or tubes, and require you to point them directly at a station. As such, you need to plan ahead before mounting them. They offer a much greater range than multidirectional antennas and thus let you tune into more distant stations.

Directional antennas typically require an outdoor setup, so they are better for houses than apartments. Pointing an antenna toward a station isn't nearly as effective if your neighboring building's wall blocks its signal, after all.

You might think you can only get 4K video from a streaming service. That's still the case for most people, but the situation is steadily changing because of a new broadcast standard. The vast majority of channels you can get over the air transmit 1080p, 720p, or even lower-resolution video using the ATSC 1.0 standard, which has been in use since the digital TV switchover in 2009. But, a few years ago, the ATSC 3.0 standard arrived (ATSC 2.0 never rolled out). That latest version introduced the ability for broadcast stations to transmit in 4K.

The good news is that you don't need a completely different antenna to watch NextGen TV like you did with the switch from analog to digital transmissions. The bad news is that you might need a completely different TV. You need an ATSC 3.0 tuner, and they've started appearing only recently and mostly in higher-end models. ATSC 3.0-equipped TVs typically mention that standard or have the NextGen TV logo on their packaging, marketing materials, or technical specifications. Separate ATSC 3.0 tuners are emerging as well, but they generally cost a few hundred dollars.

You also probably won't be able to watch NextGen TV for a while unless you live in specific metropolitan areas. A few dozen cities including Austin, Los Angeles, and Seattle have NextGen TV stations, including many relatively smaller cities. However, the rollout is happening very unevenly, and NextGen TV still isn't available in Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. You can check on the NextGen TV website(Opens in a new window) for markets where channels are available and where they're planned.

Antennas are not the only things you need to consider before cutting the cord. Here are the streaming services and devices you need to get started.