It may be trendy to spend $1,000 on the latest flagship smartphone when it’s first released, but it’s not necessary. You don’t even have to spend $500 today to get a decent phone, whether it’s a refurbished iPhone or a more affordable Android phone, as there are plenty of options for up to $160 that can suit your needs.
But navigating the budget phone market can be difficult; Options that look good on paper may not work out, and some phones will end up costing you more when you consider that many of them come with restricted storage space. While we at Engadget spend most of our time testing and reviewing Mid to High-end phonesWe’ve tested a number of the latest budget phones on the market to find out which ones are actually worth your money.
What to look for in a cheap phone
For this guide, our top picks cost between $100 and $300. Anything less than that, you might as well buy a dumb phone or a fancy calculator instead. Since they are supposed to be more affordable than flagships and even mid-range phones, budget smartphones come with compromises; The cheaper the device, the lower your expectations will be in terms of specifications, performance, and experience. For this reason, the best advice I can give is to spend as much as you can. In this price range, even an extra $50 or $100 can get you a dramatically better product.
Second, you should know what you want most from the phone. When buying a budget smartphone, you may need to sacrifice a good main camera for long battery life, or replace a higher-resolution display with a faster CPU. This is what comes with the territory, but knowing your priorities will make it easier to find the right phone.
It’s also worth noting that some features can be difficult to find on cheaper phones. For example, you don’t need to look far for a device with all-day battery life — but if you want a great camera phone with excellent camera quality, you’re better off looking at one of our recommendations. Guide to mid-range smartphoneswhich all come in at $600 or less. Wireless charging and waterproofing are also not easy to find in this price range and forget about the fastest chipset. On the bright side, all of our recommendations come with headphone jacks, so you won’t need to get those Wireless headphones.
iOS is also off the table, since $400 Apple iPhone SE It is the least expensive iPhone in the lineup. This leaves Android as the only option. Fortunately, today, there’s not much to complain about Google’s operating system, and you might even prefer it over iOS. Finally, keep in mind that most Android manufacturers typically offer less robust software features and support for their budget devices. In some cases, your new phone may only receive one major software update and security patches for a year or two after that. This applies to the OnePlus and Motorola recommendations on our list.
If you want to keep your phone for as long as possible, Samsung has the best software policy of any budget Android manufacturer, offering… Four years of security updates On all its devices. However, if software support (or overall device longevity) is your main focus, consider spending a little more on Google Pixel 7a phone, priced at $500And it’s our favourite Mid-range smartphone Software updates are planned through Mid-2026.
Best cheap phones
OnePlus
Screen Size: 6.72 inches | Storage capacity: 128 GB + Micro SD | SIM card type: Nano SIM | Front camera resolution: 16 MP | Rear camera resolution: 108 MP main, 2 MP macro | weight: 6.8 oz | Battery life: 12 hours and 30 minutes
The $300 OnePlus Nord N30 5G It offers the best value of any of the smartphones on our list. No other phone in this price bracket features a processor as fast as the N30’s Snapdragon 695 5G chipset. What’s more, OnePlus specs the N30 with 5G connectivity as well as a generous 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, meaning you probably won’t need to budget for a microSD card or cloud storage. It also comes with an IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is a great feature for both gaming and daily use. Best of all, the N30 comes with a 50W power adapter for fast charging, letting you get a full day of battery life in 30 minutes. The N30 would be almost perfect if it had water resistance and OnePlus has committed to pushing more than one major Android OS update to the phone. — Igor Bonivasic, contributing reporter
Samsung
Screen Size: 6.5 inches | Storage capacity: 128GB/256GB + MicroSD | SIM card type: Nano SIM | Front camera resolution: 13 MP | Rear camera resolution: 50MP main, 5MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro | weight: 7.05 oz | Battery life: 2 days
For only $200 Galaxy A15 5G It is a very wonderful device. It has a 6.5-inch display with a slightly slower 90Hz refresh rate than the Nord N30. However, since it features an AMOLED panel instead of an LCD screen, it has better brightness and richer colors than all of its competitors. It can also be configured with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and its 5,000 mAh battery provides long battery life. Its camera system is solid for its price, offering a main camera that handles everyday shots well and a selfie camera for video calls. Although its design isn’t very exciting, the polycarbonate that Samsung uses on the back has a matte finish that looks more like glass than cheap plastic. Finally, the A15 comes with four years of security updates and three years of operating system upgrades, which is longer than most phones in this price range. —Sam Rutherford, Senior Reporter
Motorola
Screen Size: 6.5 inches | Storage capacity: 64 GB + Micro SD | SIM card type: Nano SIM | Front camera resolution: 8MP | Rear camera resolution: 50 MP | weight: 6.53 oz | Battery life: 46 hours
For those on a really tight budget, 2024 Moto G Play Covers all bases well. It has a fast Snapdragon 680 processor along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. And while that last number may seem small, the phone has a microSD card slot so you can add more space if you need it. The 6.5-inch LCD screen is also surprisingly sharp with a 90Hz refresh rate. The Moto G Play also has an IP52 rating for dust and water resistance. That’s not a lot, but it’s good enough to protect against a splash or two. Sure, G Play is basic, but it’s basic in a good way. — SR
Motorola
Screen Size: 6.5 inches | Storage capacity: 64 GB | SIM card type: Nano SIM | Front camera resolution: 8MP | Rear camera resolution: 50 MP | weight: 6.9 oz | Battery life: 20 hours
The $200 Motorola Moto G Stylus It offers something that none of the other picks on this list do: a built-in stylus. If you love drawing and taking notes, this is the cheap phone to buy. Fortunately, there are some other things going in this direction as well. The Moto G Stylus features a large, responsive 6.5-inch display and a long-lasting 5,000 mAh battery. Plus, it’s available in two beautiful colors: midnight blue and bright pink.
As with other options in this price range, it would be nice if the Moto G Stylus came with a more capable camera, fast charger, and better water protection. One word of advice: Stay away from the Moto G Stylus 5G. It doesn’t offer enough of an upgrade to justify its $400 cost. – International Baccalaureate
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