1. The list in brief
2. Best overall
3. Best value
4. Best premium
5. Best soundbar
6. Best cheap Roku
7. How to choose
8. How we test
The best Roku devices are often also the best streaming devices out there. In fact, the two best streaming devices we've ever tested are currently Roku devices. The Roku Streaming Stick 4K in particular, is an excellent streaming device with a portable design, which makes it a perfect gadget for traveling.
So if you're looking for a way to upgrade your streaming setup, you came to the right place. At Tom's Guide, we test every new Roku device by watching tons of shows and movies, putting their features through stress testing and making sure they're not missing any important apps for the best streaming services. We even check out The Roku Channel to watch free content to ensure it's providing you with value.
And once we're done testing, we sometimes even continue using them for our own personal streaming needs. So if you want to know what the right Roku streaming device is for you, read on. There's something for everyone.
The quick list
Here's a quick overview of the best Roku devices you can buy right now based on our testing and reviews. And keep up on scrolling if you want to see our in-depth analysis of all the top streaming devices for every user and budget.
Best overall
The best Roku device
The best Roku for most people, the $49 Roku Streaming Stick 4K is often discounted (it's currently $39 for the holidays) but still earns its price. It offers the same snappy experience you expect, the added Wi-Fi range extender is great and its Dolby Vision upgrade is long overdue.
Best value
The best value Roku device
You can still stream in 4K for just $39 without losing Roku's straightforward interface. This model upgrades yesteryear's remote so you don't need a line of sight to your TV.
Best premium
The best premium Roku device
We love the Roku Ultra for its built-in Ethernet port for stable streaming, but it's also faster than the rest. And its Roku Voice Remote Pro comes with free headphones for privacy mode.
Best soundbar
The best Roku soundbar
Who needs a dedicated streaming device when you can have a soundbar that packs 4K Roku streaming inside? This soundbar will upgrade your TV with more volume, and it's pretty compact.
Best cheap
The best cheap Roku device
The Roku Express is the least-pricey Roku out there, and its upgraded remote reduces the friction of the past model. It streams at up to 1080p, so it can help add smarts to an aging 'dumb' TV, and its performance is good for the price.
The best roku devices you can find today
Why you can trust Tom's Guide
The best roku devices you can find today
The Roku Streaming Stick 4K is our pick for the best streaming device, so it's no wonder it's also the best Roku device. While it's not a huge leap over the older Streaming Stick Plus, it keeps everything we loved and fixes one of the biggest flaws of its predecessor by adding Dolby Vision. Roku has also added a new quad-core processor in the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, which it claims provides 30% faster app boot times. That's a bit hard to measure, but the Roku Streaming Stick 4K felt snappy and fast enough. Major apps opened within 11 seconds. If you find your Roku not working at some point, don't worry, as it's easily fixed.
Now that the stick supports Dolby Vision (along with HDR10/+), you can stream all your shows and movies just as beautifully as anything else. The picture plays in crisp UHD image quality. However, the device is lacking when it comes to audio standards, missing the spatially-focused Dolby Atmos sound technology. And the standard remote works fine, but if you want the superior Voice Remote Pro, check out our write-up of the Roku Streaming Stick 4K+ further down this list. Don't forget to check out our Roku Streaming Stick 4K vs. Chromecast with Google TV face-off to see how it fares against Google's contender for the best streaming stick.
Read our full Roku Streaming Stick 4K review.
The best value roku device
Getting crisp 4K streaming at under $40 is rare, and always comes with a caveat or two. The new Roku Express 4K Plus fixes one of the big annoyances of the Roku Premiere it replaces, by giving you a better remote. This remote doesn't require a direct line of sight, so you can point it in whichever direction you please. That upgrade, plus fast performance and UHD streaming makes the Roku Express 4K Plus a great option for those trying to get a 4K Roku (and all the apps that it comes with) at the lowest price.
That said, we still have two reasons to consider paying a little more. Its design is a little too light, so you might spend a minute fiddling with it to have it lie flat on a surface — making the Streaming Stick Plus' easy-to-use design even better by comparison. Also, there's no Dolby Vision or Atmos Audio, but some might not see that as worthy of going higher up the price chain.
There is a cheaper 4K streaming device, though, so check out our onn 4K Google TV streaming box review. That said, that model is hard to find, and the Express 4K Plus is not.
Read our full Roku Express 4K Plus review.
The best premium roku device
The Roku Ultra is expensive but true to its name, it will give you the most comprehensive Roku experience that money can buy. As with other high-end Roku devices, you get thousands of channels, full 4K resolution and extremely fast navigation. But with the Ultra, you also get an Ethernet port for a steadier Internet connection, as well as a USB port to provide your own videos and music.
Also, the 2020 Roku Ultra is a bit faster in places (though you might not notice it all the time) and offers improved wireless streaming range. The included Roku Voice Remote Pro has many great features, but our favorite is the fact that it doesn't require batteries. Oh, and it also has hands-free voice controls — crucial if you can't find yours. It also has two programmable buttons and a headphone jack for private listening.
Maybe a bit too expensive for most, the Roku Ultra is our former streaming editor's preferred streaming device these days, after they ditched Apple TV 4K for the Roku Ultra. Not only does it have comparable features (just missing Twitch on the app front), but its version of Netflix proves more stable when it comes to Dolby Atmos than the Apple TV 4K.
Read our full Roku Ultra (2020) review.
The best Roku soundbar
When you want the excellence of the Roku platform, but your TV doesn't have the strong sound you want? Well, the Roku Streambar is a great solution that's often on sale. Its design won't take up too much space on your countertop or entertainment center but also provides quality sound with both loudness and clarity. Its bass leaves something to be desired, but that's not a problem for most TVs. And this way, you can combine your streaming device and soundbar into the same package, and save more space.
Read our full Roku Streambar review.
The best cheap Roku
Roku improved the remote for its 2022 edition of the Express, but this streaming device entered a more competitive market. Sure, if you only compare it against other Rokus, you'll see it as a competent $30 HD streaming device. The kind of streamer you buy to upgrade a 'dumb' TV or display that doesn't have any apps. Its performance is relatively snappy for its price point (but by no means as fast as the above models), and it's still a Roku, so you still get all the standards like a customizable home screen and all the apps. Plus, that Remote app allows for wireless private listening.
But, at $30 (currently just $24 for you holiday shoppers), it's got to contend against the Chromecast with Google TV HD, which has a better remote, as well as the Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite, which has a voice-enabled remote. While it's a good streaming device, it's not our favorite Roku by far, and it's not the best $30 streamer either.
Read our full Roku Express (2022) review.
How to choose the best Roku device for you
Figuring the right Roku device for your needs can get a little complicated since the most affordable ones are not too visibly distinct. While we believe the Roku Streaming Stick 4K is best for most people, your mileage may vary. If your budget is tight, the Express 4K Plus is just as good at delivering crisp imagery, but its quality isn't as strong thanks to a lack of support for certain standards.
That said, we love the Roku Ultra for its dedicated Ethernet cord. In areas with highly congested Wi-Fi, it allows you to ensure super-steady streaming. It's also nice that it's got the premium Roku Voice Remote Pro, which is rechargeable (fewer batteries to buy) and includes wired headphones (ever scarce as they are) for private listening. But if you don't want to keep your listening private the Roku Streambar is a great way to get audio worth showing off.
How we test the best Roku devices
We test Roku devices like we test all streaming players: watching movies, shows and more on them. Of course, Roku devices all offer the same operating system, so they all share the same software and access to the same apps, which is a pretty wide range of content.
So, primarily, we test Roku devices by seeing how fast and snappy they are. If one can stand out from the rest by loading 4K content faster than the others, that's worth some points in our scorecard.
We'll also watch a few different shows on a variety of services to gauge the quality of the video and audio, to make sure they look good regardless of if you have one of the best TVs or not. That said? Check out our guide to the best cheap TV deals if you need a discount.