It may be trendy to spend $1,000 on the latest flagship smartphone when it launches, but it doesn’t have to be. Whether it’s a refurbished iPhone or an affordable Android phone, you don’t have to spend $500 to get a decent phone these days. Because there are plenty of options as low as $160 that fit your needs.
However, navigating the cheap cell phone market can be difficult. Options that look good on paper may not exist in reality, and given that many mobile devices have limited storage, they may end up being more expensive. At Engadget, we spend most of our time testing and reviewing mid- to high-end phones, but to see what’s really worth your money, we’ve taken a look at the latest affordable phones on the market. I tested many.
What to look for in a cheap cell phone
In this guide, our top picks range in price from $100 to $300. If it’s less than that, you’re better off buying a stupid phone or a high-end calculator instead. Budget smartphones are designed to be more affordable than flagship or mid-range phones, so compromises must be made. The cheaper the device, the lower the expectations for specs, performance, and experience. So the best advice I can give is to spend as much as you can afford. At this price point, you can spend $50 or $100 more and get a dramatically better product.
Next, you need to know what you want most from a phone. If you’re buying a budget smartphone, you might want to sacrifice a decent main camera for longer battery life, or swap out a high-resolution display for a faster CPU. It comes with the region, but knowing your priorities will make it easier to find the right phone.
Also note that some features may be difficult to find on cheaper phones. For example, you don’t need to look for a device with all-day battery life, but if you want a great camera phone with great camera quality, you can’t shell out for one of our mid-range smartphone recommendations. It is better to buy it. All of this can be purchased for less than $600. Wireless charging and water resistance are also hard to find at this price point, and you forget about the fastest chipset. On the plus side, all recommended products come with a headphone jack, so you don’t need to buy wireless headphones.
The $400 Apple iPhone SE is the most affordable iPhone in the lineup, so iOS is also excluded. So Android OS is your only option. Thankfully, there’s little to complain about Google’s OS these days. Some may even prefer Google’s OS over iOS. Finally, keep in mind that most Android manufacturers typically offer much less robust software features and support for their low-end devices. In some cases, new phones receive only one major software update, followed by one or two years’ worth of security patches. This applies to the OnePlus and Motorola recommendations on our list.
If you want your phone to last as long as possible, Samsung has the best software policy of any Android manufacturer on a budget, offering four years of security updates on all its devices. That said, if software support (or overall device longevity) is your main focus, consider spending a little more on the $500 Google Pixel 7a. Google Pixel 7a is our favorite mid-range smartphone, with software updates planned until mid-2026.
best cheap cell phones
one plus
Screen size: 6.72 inches | Storage capacity: 128GB + microSD | SIM card type: Nano-SIM | Front camera resolution: 16MP | Rear camera resolution: 108MP main, 2MP macro | Weight: 6.8 oz | Battery life: 12 hours 30 minutes
At $300, the OnePlus Nord N30 5G offers the best value of any smartphone on our list. No other phone in this price range has a processor as fast as the N30’s Snapdragon 695 5G chipset. Additionally, OnePlus specs the N30 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, plus 5G connectivity, so you probably won’t have to budget for a microSD card or cloud storage. It also has a 120Hz IPS display, which is perfect for both gaming and everyday use. Best of all, the N30 comes with a 50W power adapter for fast charging, giving you a full day of battery life in 30 minutes. If the N30 were waterproof and OnePlus promised to push multiple major Android OS updates to the phone, the N30 would be just about perfect. — Igor Bonifačić, Contributing Writer
$230 on Amazon
samsung
Screen size: 6.5 inches | Storage capacity: 128GB/256GB + microSD | SIM card type: Nano-SIM | Front camera resolution: 13MP | Rear camera resolution: 50MP main, 5MP ultrawide, 2MP macro | Weight: 7.05 oz | Battery life: 2 days
At just $200, the Galaxy A15 5G is quite a remarkable device. It has a 6.5-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate, which is slightly slower than the Nord N30. However, it has an AMOLED panel instead of an LCD display, which means it boasts better brightness and richer colors than basically all its rivals. It can also be configured with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and the 5,000mAh battery provides long battery life. The camera system is solid for the price, with a main camera suitable for everyday shooting and a selfie camera for video calls. The design isn’t all that exciting, but the polycarbonate Samsung uses for the back has a nice matte finish that looks more like glass than cheap plastic. Finally, the A15 comes with four years of security updates and three years of OS upgrades, which is longer than most devices in this price range. — Sam Rutherford, Senior Reporter
$173 on Amazon
motorola
Screen size: 6.5 inches | Storage capacity: 64GB + microSD | SIM card type: Nano-SIM | Front camera resolution: 8MP | Rear camera resolution: 50MP | Weight: 6.53 oz | Battery life: 46 hours
For those on a very tight budget, the 2024 Moto G Play covers all the bases well. In addition to the fast Snapdragon 680 processor, it has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. That last number may seem small, but 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. Moto G Play has an IP52 rating for dust and water resistance. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough to prevent an accidental droplet or two. Sure, G Play is basic, but basic in a good way. — S.R.
$110 on Amazon
motorola
Screen size: 6.5 inches | Storage capacity: 64GB | SIM card type: Nano-SIM | Front camera resolution: 8MP | Rear camera resolution: 50MP | Weight: 6.9 oz | Battery life: 20 hours
The $200 Motorola Moto G Stylus offers something the others on this list don’t: a built-in stylus. If you like doodling and jotting down notes, this is a great cheap phone to buy. Thankfully, there are some other features as well. Moto G Stylus features a large, responsive 6.5-inch display and a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery. Plus, it comes in two beautiful colors: Midnight Blue and Glam Pink.
Like other options in this price range, it would be great if the Moto G Stylus came with a better camera, faster charger, and better water protection. A word of advice: avoid the Moto G Stylus 5G. It doesn’t offer enough upgrades to justify the $400 cost. —IB
$178 on Amazon
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