If you want the best cheap phone, we've got you covered. We've reviewed all of the best bargains in the smartphone world, and this list offers the best phones you can buy for around $500 / £500 / AU$850 or less (with one big exception). We've spent weeks testing all of these phones, so you can trust that we aren't just offering advice based on specs and price tags. We've spent quality time with each of these phones and we only recommend phones that are worth your quality time.
If you are in the market for an Android phone, you'll have no problem finding a great device. I just reviewed the Nothing Phone 3a Pro and we have the Nothing Phone 3a in our Future Labs, working on a review now. We've also got new bargain phones from Samsung and Motorola on the way, so this list will grow steadily. Check back if you're still hunting for an affordable smartphone.
Unfortunately, iPhone fans will have a harder time finding a bargain these days, as Apple has jacked up the price on its bargain model considerably. Gone is the iPhone SE, which cost a fair $429 / £419 / AU$719. Instead, the cheapest new iPhone is now the overpriced iPhone 16e for $599 / £599 / AU$999. If you want an iPhone bargain, you're much better off finding a used phone right now, until Apple comes to its senses and drops the iPhone 16e price.
We're constantly testing new phones, and we have more bargain phones in the hands of reviewers right now, so check back soon and we should have even more options if you need to spend less but still get a great phone.
Phil Berne is a preeminent voice in consumer electronic reviews. He has been reviewing phones since before the first iPhone, and he even worked as an internal reviewer for Samsung, offering his opinion on top secret new models before launch. He has reviewed hundreds of phones and tablets, including all of the latest Samsung Galaxy, Apple iPhone, and Google Pixel phones.
Quick List
You can't buy a new iPhone 14 direct from Apple, but it's worth seeking out an older or used model of this phone, since Apple no longer offer any new iPhone that we can consider a cheap or bargain option for less than $500 / £500 / AU$850.
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The Pixel 8a is a great choice if you can find a super deal, but the Pixel 9a is coming soon and we should have a review up shortly. That phone will cost $499 / £499 / AU$849, which makes it a great contender for this list of cheap phones if it performs well in our review testing.
Read more below
The OnePlus 13R packs near-flagship specs into a stylish frame, and sports an absolutely huge 6,000mAh battery. With amazing performance and a triple-camera system, this is a phone that truly feels more premium than its price tag suggests.
Read more below
The Galaxy A35 is a great bargain phone from Samsung, but newer models have been announced and are heading to stores soon. We'll have a full review of phones like the Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A16 in the weeks ahead.
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We're still testing the cheaper Nothing Phone 3a, but the Nothing Phone 3a Pro offers an excellent alternative experience with a unique design and feature set for a bargain price of $459 / £449 / AU$849.
Read more below
The best cheap phones in 2024
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Below, you'll find full write-ups for each of the best cheap phones in our list. We've tested each model extensively, so you can be sure that our recommendations can be trusted.
The best cheap iPhone
- Current best price: $515 on Swappa
- Best price ever (new): $599 at Apple
✅ You want the cheapest good iPhone: The iPhone 14 is no longer available from Apple, but the newer iPhone 16e is much more expensive, so if you need an iPhone around $500 you should look for this one elsewhere, like Swappa.com.
✅ You want to be a blue bubble: There are a lot of Apple features that only work between iPhones, including the iMessage blue bubbles, and new SharePlay and NameDrop sharing features.
❌ You really want a new iPhone: The iPhone 16e is here, but it's much more expensive than the iPhone SE it replaces. Still, it's the latest iPhone and it will get updates for longer than an iPhone 14.
❌ You want Apple Intelligence: You'll need a phone with an Apple A17 Pro or better processor, like the iPhone 16e, to use the Apple Intelligence AI features, this phone will never get them.
Apple has hurt its bargain hunter fans with the release of the new iPhone 16e, a phone that raises the floor for iPhone pricing significantly without adding significant new features.
I'm hoping that Apple realizes its mistake and drops the price, but if that doesn't happen I recommend finding an iPhone 14 for sale at Swappa.com, eBay, or your wireless carrier and sticking with a proven bargain iPhone instead.
Don't be fooled by the iPhone 14's age. Sure, we first reviewed it back in 2022, but Apple keeps phones fresh with new iOS updates for five years, so it's can use almost all the best iOS 18 features.
It's got an Apple A15 Bionic processor inside, and it's powerful enough to take today's best Android phones, let alone the bargain models on this list.
You can buy an iPhone 14 on Swappa for around $515 for a brand New model, or pay less for a slightly used version. The iPhone 14 also gives you two 12MP cameras, including an ultra wide that handles close-up photography, as well as a better selfie camera.
Read our full iPhone 14 review
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Design | Near-identical design to iPhone 13 | 4/5 |
Display | Familiar 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR | 3.5/5 |
Performance | Uses the iPhone 13 Pro's A15 Bionic chip | 4/5 |
Camera | Familiar 12MP main + ultrawide on the back | 3.5/5 |
Battery | Enough juice for a busy day | 4/5 |
Software | iOS 16 is one of Apple's biggest platfomr updates in a while | 4.5/5 |
Value | A good if familiar phone at, fortunately, an unchanged price | 3.5/5 |
The best cheap Android
- Current best price: $399 at Amazon
- Best price ever: $399 at Amazon
✅ You want Pro-ish photos to share: The Pixel 8a takes great photos that look a lot like what the Pixel 8 Pro can shoot, but the photos are smaller and easier to share.
✅ You want the latest AI features: We found all of the latest Pixel AI features on the Pixel 8a when we reviewed the phone, and it gets updates regularly.
❌ You want the new Pixel look: The Pixel got a major redesign with the Pixel 9, so you may want to wait (or save up) if you don't want to look dated.
❌ You don't want the new Pixel look: Google has announced a new Pixel 9a, which looks totally different than any other Pixel and skips the camera bump entirely.
The Pixel 8a is still my favorite bargain Android phone from Google, though the Pixel 9a is here and we're hoping to post a review of that phone as soon as possible. The Pixel 9a costs the same as the Pixel 8a did at launch, $499 / £499 / AU$849, so I wouldn't buy the Pixel 8a for full price, but Google often offers discounts and price cuts on this phone, so if you can buy it for $100 / £100 / AU$175 or so less, I'd go for it.
The Google Pixel 8a is one of the best A-series bargain phones I've seen from Google in a while, and it keeps up with the fancier Pixel 8 family in all the best ways. Most importantly, the Pixel 8a will get Android OS updates for the next seven years, an unheard-of promise for a phone in this price range. That means you can keep it longer and it will still be totally up to date.
I enjoyed using the Pixel 8a with all of Google's cool new AI features, including the generative writing tools to help you write text messages and emails in Gmail. I preferred using Google Gemini to replace the older Google Assistant. Google Photos gets the Magic Editor tool that helps you restyle your photos, and Best Take to perfect your group shots. You really get everything with this bargain model.
If you are looking for an absolute steal, keep a close eye on this phone. Google A-series phones get great deals on Amazon throughout the year, and you should find this one priced even lower than $499. The Pixel 7a dropped to $349 on the regular.
Read our full Google Pixel 8a review
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Value | The same price as last year (in the US at least), and a good value for Google’s long-term software updates and Android support. | 5 / 5 |
Design | Unimpeachably a Pixel, but with great color and a nice finish, it feels both premium and youthful at once. I especially appreciate IP68 water resistance. | 5 / 5 |
Display | Great, bright display, just like the screen we loved on the Pixel 8. It could be bigger, sharper, faster, but it’s very bright, and that’s good enough. | 4 / 5 |
Software | Google’s AI features are getting more useful and more prevalent, and with seven years of Android updates, this is a phone to watch for a long time. It could get even better. | 4 / 5 |
Camera | Photos look very similar to Pixel 8 Pro shots, until you zoom in close. Still great for a phone at this price. The AI editing features are the real standout. | 3 / 5 |
Performance | Google’s Tensor G3 has us questioning whether this phone will last seven years, but for now it’s capable of running all of Google’s best features… with help from the cloud, of course. | 3 / 5 |
Battery | The battery is smaller than the Pixel 8, and battery life suffers. Charging is also a bit slower, whether wired or wireless. If you need more screen time, we have other suggestions. | 3 / 5 |
The best cheap phone for battery life
- Current best price: $599 at OnePlus
- Best price ever: $599 at OnePlus
✅ You want amazing battery life: The OnePlus 13R sports a massive 6,000mAh battery, which is impressive even by flagship standards. If you're an all-day user, this is a phone that'll just keep going.
✅ You want high-quality specs for less: With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, at least 12GB of RAM, and a triple-camera system with 2x optical zoom, the OnePlus 13R is one of the most ambitious phones in its price bracket.
❌ You want great water resistance: The OnePlus 13R carries an IP65 rating, which means it can resist droplets and jets of water, but can't survive being submerged.
❌ You're on a tight budget: The OnePlus 13R is without a doubt great value, but its retail price is one of the highest on this list. OnePlus deals are common enough, however.
The OnePlus 13R brings OnePlus' famously ambitious hardware and stylish design sense to a more affordable price bracket. It's not the cheapest phone on this list, but you might struggle to find one that offers better battery life and performance for the money.
The headline feature for this budget-ized version of the flagship OnePlus 13 is its battery, a 6,000mAh cell that'll power through a full day's use with charge to spare. In our Future Labs tests, we found it was one of the longest-lasting phones you can buy, with well over a day of battery life in normal usage.
As for the other internal specs, you get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset – last years best Android chipset – and either 12GB or 16GB of RAM depending on which configuration you go for (and the region where you live). And the outside of the phone's pretty nice too, with a beautiful 6.78-inch display and modern boxy design.
At a starting price of $599, the OnePlus 13R is definitely towards the upper end of what we'd call a cheap phone – but thanks to a very generous trade in deal, you can get $100 off in exchange for any literally phone in any condition (seriously anything, even an old rotary phone!)
The OnePlus 13R also features a triple-camera system, with main, ultra-wide, and 2x telephoto cameras, offering plenty of versatility when it comes to taking photos and videos.
Read our full OnePlus 13R review
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Value | At $599 / £679 the 13R is well positioned in the market, undercutting core flagships while delivering big on screen, battery, and performance. | 4.5 / 5 |
Design | Premium front to back, the 13R looks and feels the part in the hand, even if it is a little big for small palms. Just don’t drop it in water. | 4 / 5 |
Display | Big, bright, and colorful, the OnePlus 13R display provides an excellent viewing experience, even in direct sunlight. | 4.5 / 5 |
Software | OxygenOS 15 provides plenty of customization options for those who like to tinker with their phone, and OnePlus has committed to four years of updates. | 4 / 5 |
Cameras | A point-and-shoot photography experience you can rely on in most scenarios to produce great shots for sharing on social and in group chats. | 4 / 5 |
Performance | Plenty of performance available courtesy of a powerful chipset at its heart, plus gamers will love the Hyperboost performance settings. | 4 / 5 |
Battery | Superb battery life with two days possible on a single charge, and potentially even longer. Shame there’s no wireless charging though. | 4.5 / 5 |
The best cheap Samsung phone
- Current best price: $253.99 at Walmart
- Best price ever: $253.99 at Walmart
✅ You want a great display for less: At this price, the Galaxy A35 is the best smartphone screen you're going to see. It looks like a premium device.
✅ You want tons of features: The Galaxy A35 has Samsung's pedigree, which means plenty of software features to take advantage of the hardware.
❌ You expect Galaxy S cameras: This is a Galaxy A phone, not a premium Galaxy S, so it's cameras won't measure up to the best camera phones.
❌ You need to charge fast: The OnePlus 13R charges faster and lasts longer, so if battery and longevity are important, you may want to spring for that phone.
The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G impressed us with its top-notch features and its great Samsung display, all for less than $400. We liked diving into Samsung's OneUI software features, which gave us plenty of useful tools, customizations, and shortcuts, especially compared to more basic Android software from Google and Motorola.
Of course, Samsung is constantly churning out new phones, and we're expecting to get newer Galaxy A models like the Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A16 in Future Labs for a complete review, so check back soon to see if either of those newer phones are a better bargain pick.
Compared to other phones at this price, we preferred the Galaxy A35 5G's camera options, with a 5MP macro camera lens in addition to the 50MP main camera and an 8MP ultra wide. It also has solid battery life with a 5,000 mAh battery, the same size you'll find in Samsung's big flagship Galaxy S phones, and in our testing it had no trouble lasting all day.
Samsung's Exynos processor is no slouch, but we still got better performance from the flagship Samsung Galaxy S24. Still, we had no trouble playing our favorite games and browing the web with this Galaxy device. If you need a serious work phone, you'll have to spend more, but for less than $400, the Galaxy A35 5G is the best phone to buy.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy A35 review
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Value | A few areas exceed expectations, while most others match it. | 4 / 5 |
Design | A generic Android phone in a few colors. | 3.5 / 5 |
Display | A great-looking display for the price. | 4 / 5 |
Software | One UI looks good with useful features; bloatware loses points. | 3.5 / 5 |
Camera | A dab AI hand doesn't save some ungainly pictures. | 3 / 5 |
Performance | Middling processing scores don't do justice to this phone's power. | 3.5 / 5 |
Battery | A standard battery for a phone like this, with slow charging. | 3.5 / 5 |
The best alternative cheap phone
- Current best price: $459 at Nothing
- Best price ever: $459 at Nothing
✅ You want a cool and unique-looking phone: The Nothing Phone 3a Pro is totally one-of-a-kind in the design department, with a semi-transparent rear panel adorned with light-up glyphs that can serve several functions
✅ You want a better notification system: If you tend to ignore buzzing and vibration, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro will light up to tell you there's a call or message you need to see.
❌ You want fast performance: You can find bargain phones with much faster processors inside. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro is about style, not speed.
❌ You're photo-focused: The cameras on the Nothing Phone 3a Pro are fine, but they lack detail and features compared to others in this price bracket.
The Nothing Phone 3a Pro is a standout option for bargain hunters, offering a distinctly unique smartphone experience for $459 / £449 / AU$849. It directly challenges uninspired designs found in the budget Android market with its signature transparent back and functional Glyph LED lights.
Where the Phone 3a Pro truly punches above its weight class for budget-conscious buyers is in its feature set relative to its price. You get a large 6.77-inch, 120Hz AMOLED display, a generous 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage configuration (more than many rivals offer at this tier), and notably, a versatile camera system including a 3x optical zoom lens – a feature almost unheard of in this price bracket, offering more photographic flexibility than the typical wide/ultra-wide/macro setups on other budget phones.
The minimalist NothingOS software complements the unique design, offering a clean, distinct look. For bargain hunters tired of generic designs, the Phone 3a Pro delivers a unique "whole experience" that feels special and looks more expensive than it is.
However, the phone uses a mid-range Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset, which, while capable for daily tasks and casual gaming, can lead to noticeable lag and stuttering under heavier load. Furthermore, US buyers need to be mindful of the limited 5G band support, and the phone lacks full IP68 water resistance, offering only splash protection.
Despite these limitations, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro offers exceptional value. Its combination of a truly unique design, a surprisingly capable and versatile camera setup for the price (especially the zoom), excellent battery life coupled with fast 50W charging, and generous memory/storage configurations make it a compelling package.
Read our full Nothing Phone 3a Pro Review
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Value | Nothing Phone 3a Pro offers unique style, versatile cameras, and great battery life compared to other phones in this price range. If you’re aware of its shortcomings, its a great buy. | 5 / 5 |
Design | The transparent back is cool and the glyphs are functional and unique, but the phone is still thick and the essential key isn’t very essential. | 3 / 5 |
Display | A very nice display with a smooth refresh rate and a bright peak, all in service of an interface that tries to be monochrome and low-resolution. Oh well, it’s still pretty, and very big. | 4 / 5 |
Software | NothingOS is like a stylish, minimalist theme with a pack of useful widgets and not many other useful features. The Essential Key and Space weren’t very useful, and AI tools are very limited. | 3 / 5 |
Camera | Much better camera capabilities than you’d expect from a phone this cheap, with high-resolution cameras and real optical zoom. There’s a lot of AI help that makes images look a bit fake, but only if you look really closely. | 3 / 5 |
Performance | Performance was very laggy, with stuttering and stalling in the interface and as I used apps. It wasn’t always a problem, but when the phone got bogged down, it was very frustrating. | 2 / 5 |
Battery | Excellent battery life lasted more than a day in my tests, and just as long as many flagship phones in Future Labs. Charging is also fast, if you buy a fast charger (there’s only a USB-C cord in the box). | 5 / 5 |
FAQs
When does the iPhone (or Galaxy) get cheaper?
Different phone makers drop prices at different times. Apple almost never drops the price of the iPhone before the next edition is launched. It doesn't get the discount sales that the iPad and Macbook might get before the next big thing arrives. Instead, you have to wait for the new iPhone, and then the older iPhone comes down in price. It's still worth buying then, because iPhone devices last a long time.
Samsung's Galaxy phones usually see periodic sales throughout the year. The best discounts happen at launch or soon after, but you may see a discount a month or so before the next Galaxy launches. Samsung keeps its phones around when the next big thing arrives, but they don't always drop in price then, so take advantage of a discount when you see one.
Google's Pixel phones fluctuate in price throughout the year, but they usually hit a low price around the November holiday shopping season, and that's the lowest price we'll see for a while. Once that bottom is established, that's the price you should pay (unless you find it cheaper).
What is the best cheap phone?
The best cheap iPhone is the iPhone 14, because the newest bargain phone from Apple, the iPhone 16e, is too expensive to be considered a bargain phone. The best cheap Android is the Pixel 8a, because it gives you all of Google's Pixel AI features, plus great photos, on a phone for less than $500. The OnePlus 13R is also a great option with incredible battery life, and it's especially cheap if you also have a phone to trade.
How to choose the best cheap phone
If you are looking for a cheap phone, you'll need to first decide on your price range. Our bargain phones cost less than $500, but there are plenty of options that are even cheaper. Then you need to decide what is most important, and what you can sacrifice. You can find a cheap phone with top-notch software features, extra-long battery life, or impressive durability, but usually not all three.
If battery life is the most important thing, choose OnePlus and give up on Samsung's features and durability. If durability is key, choose a Samsung phone, but know that OnePlus charges faster and is more powerful. If the latest features are important, look at the Google Pixel, but it won't have the battery life of a OnePlus phone or the impressive display of the Samsung devices.
Do I need a name brand phone from Apple, Samsung or Google?
You can find a good device cheap from an unfamiliar phone maker, but the question is what happens when something goes wrong? No matter which iPhone, Galaxy or Pixel you buy, you know who to call if you have questions or if it breaks. Apple, Samsung and Google, respectively, all have a reliable track record, and they operate locally so you won't have to ship a broken phone internationally for repairs.
Before you buy an off-brand phone, see if they have a customer service number you can call, and check what the warranty covers and how they handle repairs. That's the worst case scenario, so it's best to be aware in advance.
The other advantage is software updates. Google offers seven years of updates on the Pixel 8a, starting from 2024, and Apple will support each iPhone for at least five years from when it launched. Samsung supports its Galaxy S phones for seven years, but not the Galaxy A phones.
Should I buy a used phone?
I would personally avoid used phones right now, unless you are buying from the most trustworthy source. While you might find an iPhone 15 cheap on Swappa or eBay, you can't be sure that the phone you get is what it claims. If that iPhone broke, was it repaired by Apple, or was it repaired by a company like uBreakiFix, which might swap premium parts, like the display, with sub-par tech for cheap? I would rather get a cheap new phone I can rely upon than buy a used phone and hope I don't encounter shenanigans.
How we test
- Review period: At least one week, usually 2-4 weeks or longer
- Testing includes: web browsing, photo editing, social media, photography, gaming, streaming video, audio playback, writing documents, being creative
- Tools used: 3D Mark: Original, 3D Mark:Extreme, 3D Mark: Slingshot Extreme (unlimited), Geekbench 6.2.2, Geekbench, Crossmark, proprietary tests
We test cheap phones the same way we test all smartphones, by using them as our primary device over a period of weeks. We judge these phones based on what they deliver for the price, so we aren't expecting top performance and professional photographs, but we do expect high quality, because even a cheap phone is an expensive investment.
We use these phones for messaging, phone calls, listening to music and audio, and browsing the web. We watch videos, play games, and use these phones in our cars for navigation and music. We use these phones for work and personal business.
We also test these phones in Future Labs, where they undergo rigorous and scientific testing for performance, display quality, battery life, and much more. We use colorimeter equipment to understand display quality, electrical testing gear to understand charging and battery performance, and other quantitative tools. All phones are given the same benchmark testing and real world expectations.
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