Kodi is one of the most popular streaming platforms around, but it won’t run on any ol’ set-top box – you need an Android TV-powered device, or what’s known these days (for better or worse) as a ‘Kodi box’. Here’s are the best ones you can buy in 2018 to get started with Kodi today.

Popular streaming platform Kodi might have some unsavoury connotations, but the fact is it’s a perfectly legal piece of software designed to help cord cutters build the ultimate streaming system.

Looking to get started with all things Kodi? All you need is a decent Android TV box, and while there are loads and loads of options out there, we’d recommend going with a name brand, as there are safety issues surrounding a number the cheap and cheerful devices you’ll see advertised on the internet.

Let’s get started with the best of the best.

The NVIDIA Shield TV is the most powerful Android TV device around. Despite its slender design, this 4K box packs some serious welly, coming not only with HDR support but a Tegra X1 graphics card and 3GB of RAM, so it’s also amazing for gaming.

It’s also the easiest device to install Kodi on, making it a great option for most people.

The other obvious choice is Amazon’s incredibly versatile Fire TV Stick and big sibling the Fire TV 4K. It’s pretty straightforward getting a Kodi on Fire TV devices, and the dongle and box both support most popular streaming services, including Prime Video, Netflix, iPlayer, YouTube and Spotify.

Alternatively, save some space (and money!) and still enjoy a great Kodi (and all round streaming experience) with the marvellous Fire TV Stick.

These are currently the three best Kodi-friendly Android TV devices on the market – again, we wouldn’t recommend no-name Android TV boxes, due to safety concerns. The newly announced Asus Chromebox 3 also holds some promise further down the road, but we’ll need to wait for it be released so we can test it out for ourselves before recommending it.

 

What’s your favourite ‘Kodi box’ or Android TV device? Tweet your favourites to us @TrustedReviews.