Monitors with a 4K UHD (3840×2160) resolution are excellent displays not only for gaming and watching movies but also for productivity or office work. On a 4K display, texts will be sharper and images will be more detailed, with the latter being especially beneficial for those involved in art-related work.
There are a lot of 4K monitors currently out on the market, from budget 24-inch displays to high-end ones selling for more than $1,000. With so many options to choose from, shopping for the best 4K monitors can be a daunting task.
We’ll make things a lot easier for you. In this guide, we have compiled the top 4K monitors that you can get today, allowing you to choose from an already curated list. While some are best used for pure gaming, most of the products listed here are all-around monitors that will work well for gaming, productivity, and general use.
Asus MG28UQ
Selling for less than $400, the Asus MG28UQ is one of the more budget 4K monitors out on the market. It has a more basic aesthetic compared to models under the Asus Republic of Gamers brand. The monitor’s stand has good ergonomics, offering height adjustment, tilt, swivel, and pivot options.
A 28-inch TN display, this Asus monitor has an anti-glare screen coating and a decent peak brightness, allowing it to work well in a bright room. It features a small joystick, located at the back, for navigating the on-screen display (OSD). For video input, the monitor has one DisplayPort and three HDMI ports, one of which is an HDMI 2.0 port, which is good news if you want to use the monitor for PS4 and Xbox One gaming. Furthermore, it has two USB 3.0 ports, both of which are down-facing at the back, along with all the other ports.
Being a TN monitor, the MG28UQ is not the most suitable for productivity and watching movies. It has limited viewing angles, which leads to less accurate images when viewing the screen from the side. The MG28UQ is best used for pure gaming, with the monitor’s fast response time and low input lag being especially beneficial in fast-paced first-person shooters such as Overwatch.
In addition, this Asus monitor has FreeSync technology, which dynamically adapts the monitor refresh rate to the graphics card output. This eliminates screen tearing, which is when the monitor is displaying multiple frames at the same time with ugly horizontal lines or “tears” across the screen. While not as versatile as some of the other products on this list, the MG28UQ is a great option if you have a limited budget for a monitor.
BenQ EL2870U
The BenQ EL2870U is similar to the Asus MG28UQ in that it sells for less than $400 and has a TN panel with a 60 Hz refresh rate. It’s best used for pure gaming as well, featuring a fast response time, a low input lag, and FreeSync support. It has one DisplayPort and two HDMI ports, all of which can support a 4K resolution at 60 Hz, which is great if you want to use it for gaming on both PC and consoles.
Compared to the Asus gaming monitor above, this 28-inch BenQ display has a more limited design, which easily sets it apart from the former. It has poor ergonomics, with the stand only offering a tilt option, which is not good considering the viewing angle issues of TN panels. There are no USB ports on this monitor as well, which might disappoint some of you.
Like the Asus MG28UQ, the EL2870U is an excellent monitor for fast-paced first-person shooters, racing games, and sports games. But for single-player games with pretty graphics, it’s not the best option since the picture quality is not that great. Although it supports HDR content, the HDR performance is not good, which isn’t surprising for an HDR monitor selling for less than $1,000. If you are in the market for a relatively budget-friendly 4K monitor, the EL2870U is another solid option.
LG 32UD59-B 4k Monitor
The LG 32UD59-B is a 4K monitor with a VA panel. It’s a more versatile unit than the Asus and BenQ monitors above. You can use it for regular gaming, productivity, and watching movies, with the 32-inch screen allowing for easy multitasking with several windows open at the same time. It sells for about the same price as the BenQ EL2870U, which makes it a good alternative if TN monitors are not your cup of tea.
Regarding aesthetics, this LG monitor won’t impress you. It has a plain design, with fairly narrow bezels at all sides and a simple stand with a crescent base. The stand only offers height and tilt adjustments, with no option to swivel to adjust the horizontal viewing angle. If you want a more flexible setup, you can mount the monitor to a monitor arm or wall mount.
Featuring two HDMI 2.0 ports and one DisplayPort for input, the 32UD59-B boasts an excellent contrast ratio, translating to more vibrant images, which is great for games and movies. It has good color accuracy and decent peak brightness. In addition, it has a good response time and FreeSync support, both of which are beneficial for gaming. Overall, the 32UD59-B is a good 4K monitor for all-around use, offering great value for the money.
You may also be interested in some of the best 1080p monitors from our list. Check them out.
Dell U2718Q 4k Monitor
One of the best IPS monitors on the market, the Dell U2718Q is a fantastic monitor for productivity, especially if your work is art-related. It has excellent color accuracy and boasts wide viewing angles, the latter of which is a staple for IPS monitors. It has good connectivity, featuring one HDMI 2.0 port, one DisplayPort, one Mini DisplayPort, one audio out port, and four USB 3.0 ports. Of the four USB ports, two of which offer fast charging, which is convenient.
A 27-inch display, the U2718Q has a professional design similar to other Dell office monitors. It has thin bezels, which makes it a good option if you are building a multi-monitor setup for productivity. It comes with a fully adjustable stand with integrated cable management in the form of a round hole in the stand neck.
Although it’s clearly designed for productivity, the U2718Q is also a good option for both PC and console gaming. It has a fast response time and a good input lag. It’s a great monitor for single-player games such as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Final Fantasy XV, and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, but for fast-paced competitive games, it’s not the best option. If you want a high-quality 4K monitor that works well for both productivity and regular gaming, get this Dell unit.
LG 27UK650-W Computer Monitor
Often considered the best 4K monitor for PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, the LG 27UK650-W is a 27-inch monitor with an IPS panel. It has great overall picture quality, with superb color accuracy, wide viewing angles, HDR support, and good peak brightness. It’s an outstanding monitor for gaming, featuring a fast response time, a low input lag, and FreeSync support.
The 27UK650-W has a simple design, with thin bezels at the top and sides and an all-white back panel with outward-facing ports for easy access. The ports include two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort, and one analog audio out port; all input options support a 4K resolution at 60 Hz. Unlike the Dell U2718Q, this LG unit does not come with a fully adjustable stand. The stand, which has the familiar crescent base commonly seen in LG monitors, offers all adjustment options except for swivel.
In addition to being a great monitor for gaming, the 27UK650-W is also suitable for productivity and general use. You can use it for photo editing, web development, processing spreadsheets, and watching movies, among other things. Overall, it’s one of the best 4K monitors on the market and is a recommended option if you are looking for a well-rounded IPS monitor with great picture quality and excellent gaming performance.
ViewSonic XG3220
Selling for just under $500, the ViewSonic XG3220 is a great VA cheap gaming monitor, especially if you love to play survival horror games and other games with a lot of dark scenes. It has a superb contrast ratio, which translates to more vibrant images with inky blacks. It offers multiple input options – including a pair of HDMI ports – which makes for a more versatile unit, with all inputs capable of supporting a 4K resolution at 60 Hz.
The monitor has a USB hub as well, with two of the four USB 3.0 ports located on the right edge for easy access. Compared to the LG monitor above, this ViewSonic display has a more stylish design and looks more like a gaming monitor. It comes with a fully adjustable stand with a small hole for cable management and a headphones hook at the top. It has built-in speakers as well, which are surprisingly decent for monitor speakers.
A 32-inch display, the XG3220 has good gaming performance, featuring a fast response time for a VA monitor and FreeSync support. While not as good as the Dell U2718Q, the XG3220 is also good for office work and general use, with its large screen and high resolution allowing for easy multitasking. In all, this ViewSonic product is a well-rounded unit that works well for both gaming and non-gaming use.
Acer Predator XB271HK
The Acer Predator XB271HK is a versatile unit that combines good picture quality with great gaming performance, making it a suitable option for those who are looking for a 4K monitor for all-around usage. It has an IPS panel, which automatically translates to better viewing angles compared to TN and VA monitors.
Featuring a fully adjustable stand, this 27-inch Acer display has a straightforward design with none of those attention-grabbing cosmetics seen in other gaming monitors. The bezels at the top and sides are thin while the back panel is plain. For input, the monitor has one HDMI port and one DisplayPort, both of which are down-facing at the back. In addition, it has one audio out and four USB 3.0 down ports.
The XB271HK has good out-of-box colors and works well in a bright room. Concerning gaming performance, this monitor is excellent, boasting a fast response time and a low input lag. Moreover, it is a G-sync monitor, which is essentially the same as FreeSync in functionality but offers more consistent and stable performance. G-Sync will only work if the monitor is connected to an Nvidia graphics card, though, and only when connected via DisplayPort. The XB271HK is a great product overall, offering good value for the money.
LG 32UD99-W
The LG 32UD99-W is basically the souped-up version of the LG 27UK650-W, featuring a larger screen, more connection options, and decent-sounding internal speakers. It’s one of the best IPS monitors currently out on the market and works well for both productivity and regular gaming.
In design, this 32-inch display is almost identical to the LG 27UK650-W, featuring thin bezels, an all-white back panel, a joystick for menu navigation, and a sturdy stand with a crescent base. The stand, which has cable management, also doesn’t offer a swivel option. If you want to mount this monitor to a wall mount to save desk space, there is a VESA mounting interface at the back.
Outward-facing on the back panel, the connection ports include two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort, one USB-C port, one audio out, and two USB 3.0 down ports with fast charging. The USB-C port is an all-in-one port that supports data transfer, power delivery, and video input using only one cable, which is great if you have a laptop that supports USB-C input.
The 32UD99-W is an all-around monitor. The overall picture quality is great, with excellent color accuracy, decent HDR performance, and wide viewing angles. It’s great for multitasking with several windows open at the same time, which is good news if your work requires you to constantly look at references in different tabs.
While not as good as monitors built specifically for competitive gaming, this LG unit is also a good option for both PC and console gaming, offering a fast response time, a low input lag, and FreeSync support. If you can afford to spend around $900 for an all-around IPS monitor, the 32UD99-W is one of the best options out there.
Philips Momentum 436M6VBPAB
Of the monitors in this guide to the best 4K monitors, the Philips Momentum 436M6VBPAB is the most different in design. It looks more like a regular TV than a 4k computer monitor, featuring a 43-inch screen and a wide stand similar to a TV stand. It sells for about a grand and is best used for watching movies and console gaming, featuring a better input lag than TVs.
An HDR monitor with a VA panel, this Philips monitor offers a long list of connection options. It has one HDMI port, one DisplayPort, one Mini DisplayPort, one USB-C port, one audio in, one audio out, and two USB 3.0 ports, all of which are down-facing at the back of the monitor. The USB-C port supports data transfer and video input over a single cable, which is convenient. Like the LG 32UD99-W, the 436M6VBPAB has built-in speakers that sound better than most monitor speakers, which is a nice bonus.
The 436M6VBPAB has excellent overall picture quality, boasting the best contrast ratio among the monitors in this guide, which is great for both games and movies. It’s one of the few monitors on the market that carry a VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification, which is the highest level in the VESA HDR standard. It has good HDR performance, with wide color gamut support and an extremely high peak brightness in HDR mode. If you want a large 4K monitor that’s great for watching movies and console gaming, get the 436M6VBPAB.
Our guide to the top ultrawide monitors offers more quality products like this. Check them out.
Acer Predator X27
The Acer Predator X27 is a top-notch 4K monitor that sells for around $1,800, easily making it the most expensive product listed here and one of the most expensive monitors on the market. It’s an exceptional unit that works great for all-around use, featuring G-Sync support, a 144 Hz overclocked refresh rate, and proper HDR support.
Featuring a well-built chassis with narrow bezels, this extremely high-end IPS monitor has a 27-inch screen and comes with a set of removable blinders for glare reduction. It has a sturdy stand that easily supports the screen and offers decent ergonomics. The stand has cable management and a carrying handle at the top, which is convenient. For menu control, there is a small joystick at the back, with the power and function buttons sitting above it.
Compared to the Philips 436M6VBPAB, the X27 has fewer connection options, only offering one HDMI port and one DisplayPort for input, with G-Sync limited to the latter port. The computer monitor also comes with a USB hub composed of four USB 3.0 ports, with two of them located on the left edge for quick access; one of the side-mounted ports also supports fast charging.
The X27 has great overall picture quality, with wide viewing angles, good peak brightness in standard mode, and excellent color accuracy once fully calibrated. It’s great for photo editing, graphics design, and other color-critical work. Like the Philips computer monitor, the X27 is a certified VESA DisplayHDR 1000 monitor, which means it offers good HDR quality.
For gaming, this Acer product is a great display, especially if you love to play single-player games with gorgeous visuals. It has a fast response time, a good input lag, and a high native refresh rate, all of which are great for gaming in general. If money is not an issue for you, the X27 is the best 4K monitor that you can get today.
For more quality display options, be sure to browse our list of top-rated touchscreen monitors.
Buying Guidelines
When shopping for 4K monitors, there are many factors to consider – including the screen size and the panel type – which can make things very confusing. Here are some of the most important aspects that you need to consider:
Screen Size
4K monitors come in different screen sizes, with screen size defined as the diagonal length of the screen, typically listed in inches. There are monitors smaller than 30 inches and there are monitors larger than 40 inches. For a 3840×2160 resolution, we recommend a screen equal to or larger than 27 inches, with screens larger than 30 inches being the most ideal for productivity.
With a larger screen, it’s easier to multitask with several windows open at the same time. In addition, it makes for a more immersive gaming experience, especially if you mostly play single-player games with pretty graphics – such as Final Fantasy XV, Far Cry 5, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Panel Type
There are three panel technologies used in monitors: In-Plane Switching (IPS), Twisted Nematic (TN), and Vertical Alignment (VA). Each of them come with a set of pros and cons that you need to carefully consider.
IPS monitors offer the best color reproduction and viewing angles, which makes them excellent for office work, especially if your work is art-related (e.g. photo editing, graphics design). They are also great for gaming, with some models featuring high refresh rates and fast response times – with response time defined as how fast a pixel can change from one color to another, measured in milliseconds. But on the other hand, IPS monitors are expensive and have a subpar contrast ratio.
TN monitors are the cheapest since TN panels, the oldest panel tech among the three, are cheap to produce. They also offer the fastest response times and usually feature a refresh rate higher than 60 Hz, both of which are great for fast-paced competitive games such as Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. On the downside, TN computer monitors have subpar color reproduction, poor viewing angles, and mediocre contrast.
VA monitors are like the middle ground between IPS and TN monitors. They are more suitable for office work and general use than TN monitors but are not on par with IPS monitors. They have decent response times but are not as fast as IPS and TN monitors. Most notably, they have the highest contrast ratio among the three panel technologies, translating to more vibrant images, which is great for both games and movies. In terms of pricing, VA monitors are cheaper than IPS monitors in general.
For 4K monitors, the best panel technologies are IPS and VA, with the former being the more suitable option if you are going to use your monitor strictly for productivity. For regular gaming, both panels are good. But if you love to play survival horror games, VA is better due to its higher contrast ratio, which is beneficial in very dark scenes. TN is only a good option if you have a tight budget and/or put more stock in response times than picture quality.
Refresh Rate
The refresh rate is the number of times a monitor refreshes the image on the screen per second, measured in Hertz (Hz). If the monitor has a 60 Hz refresh rate, it means it updates the image 60 times per second. A high refresh rate translates to increased smoothness when gaming, which is especially beneficial when playing fast-paced games such as first-person shooters. For productivity and general use, a 60 Hz refresh rate is more than enough.
For 4K monitors, the typical refresh rate is 60 Hz. If you want a 4K monitor with a 100+ Hz refresh rate for gaming purposes, then you’ll have to pay an arm and a leg for one, because such monitors are extremely expensive, not to mention there aren’t many of them at the moment. For console gaming, a 60 Hz refresh rate is enough since console games typically don’t go over 60 frames per second.
Inputs
4K monitors usually come with one DisplayPort and at least one HDMI port for video input, with the former being the primary input option for computers. The most common DisplayPort found in 4K monitors (and most monitors in general) is DisplayPort 1.2, which can easily support 3840×2160 at 60 Hz.
And as for HDMI, many monitors come with HDMI 1.4, which is limited to 30 Hz when running in 4K resolution. If you are going to use your 4K monitor for gaming on PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, make sure the monitor you are considering has at least one HDMI 2.0 port for input. Unlike HDMI 1.4, the newer HDMI 2.0 can fully support 3840×2160 at 60 Hz.