Best TV wall mounts 2022: Fittings to suit all screen sizes

Dec 17, 2023

Top choices for getting your TV out of the way

eing able to mount your TV on the wall is one of the most convenient things about the switch away from old-fashioned CRT sets, especially as modern TVs are particularly thin and light.

It removes the need for a TV cabinet, gives you more space in your room, and makes it easier to place the TV centrally within your surround sound speakers, if you have them.

Every TV has a series of screw holes in the back to attach a mount, often referred to as a VESA mount and which are drilled a specific distance apart: 100mm, 200mm and 400mm are common. All you have to do is line up part of the mount on the back of the TV and screw it in, then attach the other half to the wall, and join them together. Voila! Your TV is wall-mounted, and the chances are that, if you change your TV set in the future, you won’t need to change the wall mount, just transfer it over.

And while it may appear that one wall mount is very much like another, the differences can be surprising. Some TV manufacturers produce their own for specific TV models, but there are huge numbers of third-party universal mounts out there too, and these can often represent better value for money. Some are flat, others stick out, some swivel, others tilt, and there are various methods of attaching the TV to the mount.

The lightness of LCD and OLED TVs means you don’t need to worry much about attaching the mount to the wall with industrial-grade bolts, as you did with heavy plasma TVs at the beginning of the flatscreen era, though as with putting up a normal shelf, you do have to be careful about how much strain you put on your plasterboard. Making sure you use the bolts that come with the mount is a good idea.

The other thing to make sure of is that your mount is suitable for the size of your TV, as while using a mount rated for TVs much larger than the one you’re mounting may stick out at the sides, trying to use a TV that’s much too big for the mount can result in a heartbreaking accident.

Shop the best TV wall mounts below

Capable of supporting a 70-inch TV, this is a full-motion mount that can hold up to 30kg. Its three-arm structure, with joints at the backplate, in the middle, and where it joins the TV, means that it can be pulled out, pushed back, pivoted from side to side, and tilted up and down too.

Its fits a standard VESA mount of up to 400mm, and while it comes in two parts the connection between the part you mount on the wall and the one on the back of the TV is quite small, so it may be tricky to line up when holding a massive TV - getting someone to help you is definitely recommended.

A mount that can bend its arm in this way is particularly useful if you want to mount your TV in the corner of a room - you just set it up on one of the walls, having calculated how far it needs to be from the corner so the TV will fit - and it will hang there as if suspended in thin air.

It’s probably best to start with a basic model, so here it is. For £10, or sometimes less, this will hold your TV flat against the wall, with just a 2cm gap behind it. It will support TVs from 17 to 42 inches across the diagonal, with a 200mm standard VESA mount, and which weigh a maximum of 30kg (that’s 66lbs). That’s a little bit more carrying capacity than you need, as 42in LCD TVs without their stands generally weigh in the region of 6-10kg.

Made of steel, and with wall bolts supplied, it’s made for mounting on concrete or brick walls, and you may need to find an alternative solution if you want to attach it to plain plasterboard.

It’s worth checking that the size and weight restrictions will allow you to mount your chosen TV on it, but as long as you’re sure you’re not going to want to tilt or swivel your TV, or indeed do anything to change the angle away from being flat against the wall, then this is really all you need.

For a larger TV, many mounts come with a pair of hooks you screw onto the back of your TV, then mount the backing plate to the wall and hang the set like a painting.

That’s exactly what this one from Eono (an Amazon brand) does, it offers a secure place to hang a TV up to 55in and 45.5kg with a 400mm VESA mount or smaller. It’s compact, and protrudes just under 3cm, meaning that while your TV may be big, it doesn’t have to be obtrusive.

The mount can be installed on concrete or brick walls, or screwed into the wooden studs if you can find them, but it isn’t suitable for direct mounting onto plasterboard. You get a wall anchor kit and a little spirit level in the packaging, so if you’ve got a suitable wall, you’ve got all you need except a screwdriver.

If you’ve got a bigger TV and want to adjust the tilt, you’ll need a larger and stronger mount with the hinging capability built in. The weight capacity of this tilting bracket is 75kg, and it’s good for TVs up to 70 inches.

It will fit TVs with a VESA mount of 600mm x 400mm or smaller, and gives 15° of tilt so you can nudge it up or down at your convenience. The backplate - the bit that attaches to your wall, is made from a single piece of metal, and provides a solid ridge for the parts that attach to the TV to hang from. They’re not fixed in place, so you can slide the TV left and right a tiny bit, as long as the hooks don’t fall off the sides of the backplate, but it’s best to leave them as central as you can.

Sets of fixings for different wall types are included in the package, along with a useful spirit level to help keep the whole thing level as you mark out the screw holes. The mount is made of steel and weighs about 3kg, and because of the tilting mechanism it sticks out from the wall slightly more than mounts that don’t tilt.

If you’ve got a 90-inch TV, this one’s for you. Capable of carrying a weight of 80kg, this unobtrusive mount can take sets down to 32in, but really shines when asked to carry something a little larger.

The clever engineering here allows for one-person mounting. We’re not sure we’d be carrying something as expensive as a 90in set around without another person present, but the mount has an integrated locking mechanism that attaches to the TV’s VESA mount (400mm or smaller) and clicks into place when pressed up against the right part of the backplate, and unlocks just as easily should you need to take it down. There’s even a bracket levelling system that uses just a screwdriver to ensure your telly isn’t wonky.

It comes with all mounting materials, such as screws and wall anchors, but doesn’t tilt or swivel, so is best used on a simple flat wall in a place you can sit directly opposite and not have to worry about moving the screen around.

Perlesmith, a company based in Missouri, makes a lot of mounts, and this one allows for a larger TV to be swivelled and tilted with ease. It’s compatible with sets up to 65in or 45kg, using the 400mm VESA mount, but can connect to smaller fixtures if you’re mounting a smaller TV.

Essentially two triple-arm mounts in one, it has the extra strength in its steel construction to support the larger screen even at its maximum extension of 40cm, though when folded back it protrudes only 8cm from the wall. Tilting is 5° up and 50° down, and it can swivel 45° in either direction. You can also level the TV by up to 3° once it’s mounted, allowing you to even out any discrepancies in your installation, though a small spirit level is included in the package.

It’s another mount that’s not suitable for mounting straight on plasterboard, but concrete or brick walls, or screwing directly to stud supports, is no problem.

Here’s something different. This clever wall mount still screws into your TV’s VESA holes - requiring a mount larger than 200x100 (topping out at 800x800mm), so really only suitable for larger sets - but attaches to the wall using a cable, which runs between two discs and hooks over two more attached to the wall.

It’s ingenious, and allows the set to sit very flush to the wall - only a gap of about 1.5cm - and makes it easy to move the TV on and off. As there are only two wall-mounting discs, it uses fewer screws than many other mounts, and comes with fixings for wood and brick walls.

Once it’s up there’s no adjustability, though you may be able to vary the length of the cable to alter the straightness of the TV, and it may take a few tries to ensure you have enough slack in the cable to get the set at exactly the level you require.

An alloy steel mount for TVs up to 70 inches, this mount allows you to extend its arms to 50cm out from the wall, while folding back to just 6cm.

The arms have compression hinges so they won’t bend, and integrated cable management grooves too. There’s a lot of movement on offer, from the long arm extension to 8° of tilt and up to 160° of horizontal motion. It attaches to a 200x200 VESA mount or larger, and can support up to 50kg.

It’s a premium-looking mount designed to take a heavy TV, perhaps something that’s going to be forgotten as OLED sets become ever lighter, but using an attachment to fix something like a soundbar to your wall-mounted TV can increase its weight.

Verdict

Mounting TVs on the wall makes a lot of sense when you consider the advantages of extra space and an elevated viewing position - especially important if you want to watch TV while laying in bed. Choosing the best mount for you depends entirely on the size and weight of your TV, and where exactly you want to hang it. Being able to mount your set on any wall is convenient, so check that your preferred mount is compatible with the walls in your house.

Our top choice is the basic model. It will hold your TV, as long as it’s not too heavy, but won’t do much else. This is, however, fine, as it’s not worth wasting money on features you’ll never use. How often do you swivel your TV around? Tilting is more important, as a TV mounted in a position such as above a fireplace may need to be tilted down slightly to make sure the viewers are within its ideal viewing angle. The swivel mounts are more useful for awkward angles, allowing them to be placed in the right position and left there, rather than being used to constantly twist the screen back and forth.

Bedroom TVs and those in smaller rooms benefit from mounts that are particularly slim, so they don’t stick out into the room too far, and we’ve got you covered there too, with slim mounts from click4av and One For All.