A few years ago, high-end smartphones cost less than $800. Now, top-end phones will run you $1,000 or more, many of which still lack easily replaceable batteries and other partsmeaning youll probably be buying another one in a couple years. If you just cant stomach the eye-popping prices of todays flagships, budget smartphones are the perfect alternative to keep you connected and your wallet happy.Trying to save a buck on a budget smartphone doesn’t mean you have to miss out on all the premium features found only on the most expensive mobile devices. If anything, you’ll find that multi-camera systems, extra system memory, and display notches have all trickled down to even the cheapest handsets. While it’s easy enough to see the best high-end smartphones sitting at the top of each manufacturer’s catalog, pinpointing the best budget smartphones from the herd of cheap handsets is much harder. Well, you can rest easy because we’ve done all the hard work of picked out the best budget smartphones that won’t cost you a fortune or short out on you just because it’s cheap.TL;DR These are the Best Budget Smartphones:
1. Google Pixel 3a
The Best Budget Smartphone
Screen size: 5.6″ Resolution: 2,220 x 1,080 CPU: Snapdragon 670 RAM: 4GB Storage: 64GB · Battery: 3,000mAh Rear camera: 12.2 MP Front cameras: 8MP OS: Android 9 Pie Size: 5.96″ x 2.76″ x 0.32″ Weight: 5.19oz
While Google’s Pixel line has traditionally been just flagship phones, its new Pixel 3A comes in right at $400, which is right on the cusp between “budget” and “midrange” (the Pixel 3A XL is $480, which is a bit too high to fit into this list). For the price, you get a Snapdragon 670 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a 2220 x 1080 OLED screen. Those are decent specs for the price, but the most shocking inclusion is the Pixel 3A’s camera, which is almost as good as the Pixel 3’s camera, which is one of the best you can buy.It even has a headphone jack, which is a welcome addition for a budget phone (since if youre on a budget, its unlikely youre shelling out for fancy Bluetooth earbuds). If youre looking for something cheaper than todays high-end models but arent willing to make huge sacrifices, the Pixel 3A offers pretty crazy bang for your buck at $400. Of course, nobody has reviewed this phone yet, but on paper it sounds like a heck of a bargain.
2. Nokia 7.1
Pure Android for Less
Screen size: 5.84″ Resolution: 1,080 x 2,280 CPU: Snapdragon 636 RAM: 4GB Storage: 64GB · Battery: 3,060mAh Rear camera: 12 MP Front cameras: 5MP OS: Android 9 Pie Size: 5.89″ x 2.8″ x 0.36″ Weight: 5.64oz
Nokia has made a startling comeback with its new line of Android phones, after a few years producing ill-fated Windows Phones for Microsoft. It dominates the sub-$400 range in the US, with the Nokia 7.1 coming in at $350. As part of Googles Android One program, Nokias phones run the latest version of the OS (9.0 Pie) and are guaranteed to get regular updates for two yearswhich alone is a huge selling point, especially in this price bracket. The 7.1 sports a 5.8 19:9 HDR LCD display with a tiny dewdrop notch along the top for a sizeable but not quite edge-to-edge screen.Inside youll find Qualcomms Snapdragon 636 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage (expandable with a microSD card), and an NFC chip so you can use Google Pay. It even has dual rear cameras, which is pretty great to see at this price point, and a headphone jack, which is great to see period. Its not going to kick the pants off a Galaxy S10 or anything, but for less than half the price, you might be surprised at how well this phone will perform.
3. Motorola One Zoom
Another Great Option for Slightly Less
Screen size: 6.4″ AMOLED Resolution: 1,080 x 2,340 CPU: Snapdragon 675 RAM: 4GB Storage: 128GB Battery: 4,000mAh Rear camera: 48MP (wide), 8MP (telephone), 16MP (ultra wide) Front camera: 25MP OS: Android 9 Pie Size: 6.22″ x 2.95″ x 0.35″ Weight: 6.70 oz
The Motorola One Zoom’s most characteristic feature is its cameras and the fact that it gives you three of them for $349. As it’s name might suggest, this phone is all about letting you zoom; as such you can go from shooting ultra wide to wide and then with up to a 3x zoom. It has a lot of the makings of a flagship phone with a 6.4 inch AMOLED display that’s almost completely bezel-less aside from the notch up top.That said, it only has a 1080p display paired with a Snapdragon 675 and 4GB of memory to for its internals. Battery life is fantastic on this phone, largely thanks to its large 4,000mAh battery paired with its modest specs. If you wanted all the flexibility of three cameras you would typically only find on a flagship phone, the Motorola One Zoom is the handset for you.
4. Moto G7 Power
Battery Life on a Budget
Screen size: 6.2″ Resolution: 720 x 1,570 CPU: Snapdragon 632 RAM: 4GB Storage: 32GB Battery: 5,000mAh Rear camera: 12MP Front cameras: 8MP OS: Android 9 Pie Size: 6.28″ x 2.99″ x 0.37″ Weight: 6.81oz
While the G7 cant quite overtake Nokias awesome 7.1, the G7 Powerwhich is very similar to the G7has a killer feature that makes it stand out from the crowd: battery life. Lots of it. At the expense of a bit of added thickness, the G7 Power boasts a 5,000 mAh battery that Motorola claims can last two full daysand at $50 less than the Moto G7. Sure, it has a larger notch and cuts the RAM to 3GB, but cmontwo full days of battery life! For $250, thats nothing to sneeze at. (It also cuts storage to 32GB, but with a microSD card slot, that isnt a deal breaker by any means.)5. iPhone XR
iOS For Less
Screen size: 6.1″ Resolution: 828 x 1,792 CPU: A12 Bionic RAM: 3GB Storage: 64GB Battery: 2,942mAh Rear camera: 12MP Front cameras: 7MP OS: iOS 13.2 Size: 5.94″ x 2.98″ x 0.33″ Weight: 6.84oz
While Apple isnt exactly known for selling budget-oriented devices, wed be remiss not to include its lower-end iPhone XR (read our review), which packs the guts of an iPhone XS into the modfied plastic body of the same phone. Its hardwarean A12 Bionic and 3GB of RAMis a little dated at this point, but this phone can still hold its own.This phone isn’t nearly as flashy as either of Apple’s latest models, but you still get an almost all-screen handset with FaceID. Plus you can load up the latest version of iOS 13 and enjoy all the exclusive games only available on Apple Arcade.
6. Nokia 6.1
A Decent Option on the Lower End
Screen size: 5.5″ Resolution: 1,080 x 1,920 CPU: Snapdragon 630 RAM: 3GB Storage: 32GB Battery: 3,000mAh Rear camera: 16MP Front cameras: 8MP OS: Android 9 Pie Size: 5.86″ x 2.98″ x 0.32″ Weight: 6.07oz
If you like the cut of Nokias jib but cant quite afford the 7.1, Nokias more budget-oriented 6.1 costs only $200, and comes with the same near-stock Android experience (with the same frequent updates). It lacks the dual cameras and NFC of the 7.1, and the camera isnt quite as good, but its a force to be reckoned with at its price range. Inside, you get a Snapdragon 630 processor and 3GB of RAM, plus 32GB of storage (expandable up to 256GB with a microSD card). The Nokia 6.1 also shrinks the screen a bit, opting for a more traditional 16:9 display with bezels on the top and bottom (which notch haters will probably be just fine with).7. Alcatel 1X Go Edition
For Less Than $100
Screen size: 5.3″ Resolution: 480 x 960 CPU: Mediatek MT6739 RAM: 1GB Storage: 16GB Battery: 2,460mAh Rear camera: 8MP Front cameras: 5MP OS: Android 8.1 Oreo Size: 5.81″ x 2.78″ x 0.36″ Weight: 5.33oz
Look, Im not going to sugarcoat this. Once you get below $100, things get rough. All of the super-budget phones out there are going to be slow, even the ones that come with the pared-down Android Go operating system. Theyll have ugly screens and weak cameras, and you just wont have a good time. The Alcatel 1X, like other $100 phones, has all these things plus a fingerprint sensor, which at least makes it easy to keep your phone secure. But seriously, if you can spare even $30 more, last years Moto E5 Play is a better, if still an imperfect, option. But for the sake of being a completionist, yes: you can buy a phone under $100, and it will work. Just dont expect much.What to look for in a Budget Smartphone
by Kevin LeeWhen buying a budget smartphone, the first questions you should ask yourself is how youre going to use it and whats most important to you. If you watch a lot of movies and video, you might want to prioritize getting a phone with the biggest, brightest, and most colorful screen within your available budget. Alternatively, if you find yourself shooting photos with your smartphone all the time, getting a mobile device with a high-resolution camera or more than one camera could be your top priority.
One simple trick for saving on your next smartphone is to buy a slightly older model, which will often cost a bit less the latest models. All the smartphones from the past three years have all been spectacular, and they still largely hold up thanks to the incremental performance increase seen with mobile processors.
However, be sure whether the slightly older phone youre looking at will be eligible for future software updates. The latest versions of Android roll out extremely slowly even on the latest flagship phones and Apple will inexplicably decide when its devices have hit the end of their life expectancy, so you might want to double check whether your budget smartphone will get Android Q or iOS 13, the next iterations of Android and Apple’s respective mobile operating systems.
One other simple move that might help you buy a phone for less is to get it on contract. Yes, this method has been around forever (aka the 1990s), but subscription-based discounts have become increasingly rare as service providers move more towards payment plans and subscription services like T-Mobile JUMP! and AT&T Next, which allow users to upgrade to a new smartphone every two years but never truly own their devices.
Whitson Gordon is a writer, gamer, and tech nerd who has been building PCs for ten years. He eats potato chips with chopsticks so he doesnt get grease on his mechanical keyboard.