How wide should a TV stand be?

A TV stand for a 65 in television should be about 70 in (178 cm) wide, roughly the screen's diagonal in inches. IKEA rates none of its 32 US TV benches narrower than 69 3/8 in (176 cm) for a 65 in set, and the 57 in (145 cm) screen plus 6 in a side comes to 69 in. The 50 to 60 in figure that circulates on furniture sellers' pages is a different number: roughly where the feet of many 65 in sets land. It fails on LG's basic 4K UHD set, whose feet sit 54.6 in (139 cm) apart.

Three widths: the screen, the feet and the top#

Screen width is the outside of the panel. A 65 in 16:9 picture is 56.7 in (144 cm) wide whatever the brand, because the diagonal fixes it: 65 x 16 / 18.36, where 18.36 is the diagonal of a 16 x 9 rectangle. The 18 models below measure 56.46 to 57.7 in (143 to 147 cm), so bezels add under an inch.

Stand width is what the TV stands on. LG's US pages call it stand width; TCL's say pedestal width for a centre base and stand separation distance for two feet. Neither maker says whether feet are measured to their outer edges or their centres.

Bench width is the furniture's listed outside width, which on a flush-topped bench, as every IKEA unit here is, is also the usable top.

The stand width decides whether the TV can stand at all; the screen width decides how it looks. The glossary keeps the terms apart, and TV size, distance and mounting height chooses the screen from where you sit.

18 televisions at 65 in, by what they stand on#

Eighteen current 65 in models from LG's and TCL's US sites whose pages give a stand figure. LG's QNED85A, QNED9M and UA7050 pages give none. The C5's depth is taken from the identical C4 and C6.

Twelve of the 18 stand on feet toward the ends, 34 to 54.6 in (86 to 139 cm) apart, median 45.9 in (117 cm). Six sit on a centre pedestal 15.2 to 19.1 in (39 to 49 cm) wide, as does the QNED85B in its narrow position. So a 55 in bench holds 17 of the 18. The exception is the UT7570, which needs 54.6 in of top, and the outside of its feet may be wider still.

Why the lightest stands are the widest#

LG lists each model's weight with and without its stand, and the difference is the stand. Feet weigh almost nothing: 0.4 lb (0.2 kg) on the B4 and B5, 0.5 lb on the UT7570 and QNED70A, 0.8 to 1.1 lb on the QNED82A, 80U and 92A. Pedestals are plates of metal: 4.2 lb (1.9 kg) on the C5 (40.8 - 36.6) and 10.1 lb (4.6 kg) on the G4 (62.6 - 52.5). TCL's QM7K pedestal is 4.2 lb (43.8 - 39.6).

Two feet near the corners resist tipping by spreading the support almost to the width of the panel, so each foot can be a light bracket. A pedestal resists the same tipping from a base a third of the width, so it carries its mass low down instead.

IKEA's rule: the bench is as wide as the screen's diagonal#

IKEA gives every US TV bench a maximum TV size and a maximum TV weight. Set against the bench's width, the 32 rated units collapse into one rule.

Divide the rated diagonal by the bench width and all 32 fall between 0.95 (the 47 1/4 in units, rated for 45 in) and 1.02 (the 70 7/8 in units, rated for 72 in). IKEA lets the diagonal in inches equal the bench width, give or take 3 in. A 16:9 screen is 0.87 times as wide as its diagonal, so for a 65 in set that leaves about 4 in (10 cm) of bench beyond the panel at each end. IKEA does not say what sets the ratings, and it rates a 13 3/4 in deep bench the same as a 19 in one, so read them as proportion and load, not as a check on any television's feet.

The site's own rule, from media console and equipment rack dimensions and the furniture scale guide, is the screen width plus 6 in (15 cm) a side: 57 + 12 = 69 in (175 cm) for a 65 in set. IKEA's ratios give 64 to 68 in, and its stocked widths jump from 63 3/4 to 69 3/8 in. Both land on 70 in.

70 in for a 65 in TV, and the other sizes#

The same numbers for every size the LG and TCL lines cover. The recommendation is screen width plus 12 in (30 cm), rounded.

From 65 to 86 in the widest feet grow from 54.6 to 64.8 in while the screen grows by 18 in, so feet fall from 96 to 87 per cent of the panel width. At 98 in the pedestal disappears: TCL's QM7K and QM8K sit on 15 to 16 in pedestals up to 85 in, then switch to feet 71.2 and 73 in (181 and 185 cm) apart, and no IKEA bench in the US range is rated for the size. Most such screens go on the wall, which TV wall mount dimensions, VESA and stud spacing covers.

Depth and height: the pedestal is the deep part#

A TV's depth on its stand is the stand's depth, since the panels are only 1 to 2.7 in (25 to 69 mm) thick. At 65 in it runs from 8.6 in (22 cm) on the OLED B6 to 14.5 in (37 cm) on TCL's QM7K and QM8K pedestals. IKEA's benches are 13 3/4 to 19 in (35 to 48 cm) deep. The two LACK units are shallower than either TCL pedestal, and VIHALS and TONSTAD, at 14 5/8 in, clear them by an eighth of an inch. Equipment behind doors needs more: about 22 in (56 cm) inside for a receiver with its plugs, and air around a games console, which gaming setup dimensions sizes.

Height follows from the stand too. The site centres a screen at 42 in (107 cm) for a seated viewer. A TV's lift is its height with stand minus its height without, and the screen centre sits that lift plus half the panel above the bench top:

So a 65 in set wants a bench top 22 to 24 in (56 to 61 cm) high. IKEA's two 70 7/8 in BESTÅ units bracket it: the 15 in (38 cm) version puts an OLED C's centre at 33.35 in, nearly 9 in low, and the 25 1/4 in (64 cm) version at 43.6 in. Screen size and viewing distance and living room seating layout set the eye height the centre has to meet.

Weight: 33 to 63 lb on benches rated 35 to 90 lb#

A 65 in TV on its stand weighs 33.1 lb (15 kg) for the UT7570 up to 62.6 lb (28.4 kg) for the OLED G4. IKEA rates the benches wide enough for one at 55 to 90 lb (25 to 41 kg), and two cases fall short. The 70 7/8 x 25 1/4 in BESTÅ is rated at 55 lb, below the G4 and the 61.5 lb LX7, though its 15 in sister takes 66 lb. The KALLAX units, rated at 35 lb (16 kg), are below 17 of the 18 sets. The figure to read is IKEA's max TV weight, not the shelf load, and a soundbar on the same top counts against it; its position is in speaker placement dimensions.

The reason to care is the fall. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission counted 217 tip-over deaths reported from January 2013 to July 2023, and 103 involved a television: 49 a television alone, 54 a television and furniture falling together. Twenty-seven of the dresser deaths also involved a falling television. A television alone accounted for an estimated 2,600 emergency department injuries a year. Anchoring bench and set is covered in kids room safety clearances and, for tall units, bookcase dimensions.

Where these figures stop applying#

A wall-mounted TV. The bench then carries only equipment and its width is pure proportion. On a chimney breast the wall sets it, as fireplace and media wall dimensions explains.

A different stand. TCL's A300W ships for the wall; its optional stand puts the feet 34 in (86 cm) apart. Any swivel or replacement stand resets the figure.

The models. The 18 are current US LG and TCL models that publish a stand figure, read in October 2026, not every model either maker sells. Samsung, Sony and Hisense are absent because their US spec figures could not be read. Foot positions change between lines: the QNED80U and QNED82A differ by 4.2 in.

The furniture. IKEA's ratings cover its own benches. A sideboard of the same width has no published rating; ask its maker for a TV weight.

The rest of furniture dimensions works the same way, and the TV size and viewing distance calculator picks the screen first. Sources follow the site's standards, codes and sources policy, and an 88 in bench needs the same delivery path check as a sofa.

Six checks before you buy a TV stand#