Best cheap phones in Australia 2024: the top budget handsets you can buy
Discover the best budget smartphones on the market
1. The list in brief
2. Best overall
3. Best budget iPhone
4. Best budget Android
5. Best under AU$500
6. Best for photos
7. Best for gaming
8. Best for toughness
The best cheap phones aim to offer a near-flagship experience without the flagship price tag. And, while there was once a stark contrast between the experience of a flagship device and a budget phone, today, there is little to separate the two. In fact, new budget phones are only becoming more and more impressive.
As prices keep going up for the premium handsets which top our list of the best phones overall, great affordable options are only becoming more important, allowing those with tighter budgets find alternatives that won't break the bank or see you miss out on too much in the areas of performance and power.
So to help you discover the top options at approachable prices, we've put a large number of candidates to the test in order to determine the best cheap phones most worth your time. Looking closely at performance, design, cameras and more, you’ll find the right smartphone for you and your budget in the list below.
The quick list
Below you can find a roundup of our choices for the best cheap phones in Australia. You can quickly jump to a more detailed review of each pick, and view the latest deals for each using our price comparison tool.
The best cheap phone overall
The best looking phone in this list, as well as a premium design, the Samsung Galaxy A55 offers an impressive display, stellar performance, detailed photos and great battery life.
The best cheap iPhone
Now that it's more affordable, the iPhone 13 replaces the iPhone SE as our pick for the best cheap iPhone. Super speedy, a good camera and a raft of colour choices make it a solid choice.
The best cheap Pixel
Offering an affordable entry point into the Google ecosystem, the Pixel 7a is a fine choice. It's not perfect, we have to admit, but there is still a lot it does very well indeed.
The best cheap phone under AU$500
Delivering a smartphone experience that seriously belies its low price, the Moto G54 5G is a true return to form for the budget phone king.
The best cheap camera phone
Now it’s seeing discounts, the Moto Edge 30 Fusion is a great choice for budget-minded photographers. Daylight snaps are detailed and sharp and low light images are impressive for the price.
The best cheap phone for gaming
If you're looking for affordable gaming thrills, the Oppo Find X5 is one of the best, offering a virtually lag-free experience.
Reveal the next products...
The best cheap rugged phone
If you spend a lot of time outdoors and don’t want to worry about damaging your phone, the Nokia XR20 is the one to get.
The best cheap phones in Australia 2024
Why you can trust TechRadar
Below you’ll find more in-depth reviews for each of the best cheap phones in Australia, along with links to full reviews written by TechRadar’s team of smartphone experts.
The best cheap phone overall
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Improving on its predecessor (the Samsung Galaxy A54, which previously topped this list) in every way, the Samsung Galaxy A55 is an exceptional mid-range handset. With a bigger 6.6-inch display that provides equal clarity and brightness (peaking at 1000 nits), an improved Exynos 1480 chipset to boost performance even further and improved camera functionality, it is the Galaxy A55's design that sets itself apart from its predecessors and competitors.
Often the most obvious difference between flagship handsets and their cheaper alternatives is the way they look. Usually, you'll see a lot of plastic used with affordable phones. That's not the case here. A super stylish combination of metal and glass, the Galaxy A55 looks and feels like a premium phone that belies its price, and its performance doesn't let it down either.
While its Geekbench performance benchmark scores of 1155 and 3468 outperform its predecessor, they don't stack up against the top phones. That’s to be expected in this price bracket however, but make no mistake the Galaxy A55 runs smoothly, whether you're scrolling social media, video-calling or getting into an intense fight in an online shooter, and you'll be able to do all of that all-day long thanks to its long-lasting battery that will easily see you through a day of use.
And for those with a love for photo-taking, whether it's artistic ultra-wide nature shots or showing off your breakfast, the Samsung Galaxy A55 is more than up to the task. While it retains the 50MP main, 12MP ultra-wide camera, 5MP macro and 32MP front cameras of the Galaxy A54 – a combination we loved – the A55 manages to make them work far better, particularly in low-light conditions. Whether it's dimly-lit romantic selfies or bed-time photos of your pets, the A55 has no issues capturing in low-light thanks to its much-improved night-mode feature.
A premium design at a mid-tier price range, the Samsung Galaxy A55 is everything you could want from a more affordable smartphone and offers excellent value at its price.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy A55 review
The best cheap iPhone
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
It's now two generations old, but the iPhone 13 is still available to buy, even direct from Apple itself. Its age works in its favour too, as it means it's now more affordable than ever, and can be picked up from AU$1,099. It's technically not the cheapest iPhone you can buy, that title still belongs to the iPhone SE (2022), but for our money it offers a far superior performance.
There's no one single area it outperforms the SE, but across the board the iPhone 13 is a solid choice, offering good battery life and a great camera setup. The A15 Bionic processor is the same as that found in the SE, but it's put to better use in the iPhone 13, such as with image processing.
We also can't forget the fact it's available in a range of fun colours and is far more up-to-date in terms of mod-cons, such as offering Face ID, as opposed to the iPhone SE's Touch ID home button.
Read our full iPhone 13 review
The best cheap Pixel
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The Pixel 7a arrived as a more affordable option in the Pixel 7 lineup (which comprises the 7 and 7 Pro) yet without sacrificing too much on features. While there certainly are compromises to be made, the low price makes them somewhat justifiable.
The headline grabbing feature here is the camera and since this is realistically one of the features most buyers will be looking at, we felt including the Pixel 7a in this list was an easy decision. At 64-megapixels, coupled with Google's seriously impressive image processing technology (powered by the Tensor G2 chip) you're able to take some stunning shots.
As for the compromises, we struggled to get even a day of use from the battery and support for future OS updates is shorter than those provided by Apple and Samsung. But on the whole, with the Pixel 7a you're still getting a vanilla Android experience that is quick and enjoyable to use on a daily basis.
Read our full Google Pixel 7a review
The best cheap phone under AU$500
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
If you want to spend as little as possible – like really not a lot of money at all – but you want to maximise your smartphone experience, the Moto G54 5G is an excellent choice. You get all the essentials you could need from a smartphone, including 5G connectivity and a beautiful display.
Battery life is also pretty commendable, lasting a day with ease, and it now supports slightly faster charging compared to its predecessor, at 15W. The standout feature for us, however, is the screen, which is much improved over the previous G53. It's bright and vibrant, and you'll find very little to separate it from screens on phones costing six or seven times as much.
And as for the camera, you'll get decent shots, but not class-leading which is to be expected at this price point. You could step up to the Moto G82 and still remain under the AU$500 budget for better photos, although we feel as an overall wallet-friendly package, there is much to like about the Motorola Moto G54 5G.
The best cheap camera phone
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The Motorola Edge 30 Fusion fuses together an incredibly well-built phone that wouldn't look out of place amongst more expensive devices, with specs and a price tag that makes it accessible to the masses. At least, now that it's received a significant price drop since it first launched, which is what has allowed it to earn a spot on this list.
For less than AU$500 from most retailers, you get a bright OLED display, a metal and glass build and a camera that performs better than the Moto G62 listed above. All in all, as our reviewer put it, the Edge 30 Fusion is "a phone that lets you feel you found a good deal, without needing to hunt down sales or discounts."
The best cheap phone for gaming
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The Oppo Find X5 is an exceedingly good and enjoyable phone that delivers great performance across virtually all areas. In fact, if it weren't for its slightly inflated price compared to the Galaxy A54, it could have well earned the number one spot on this list, as it offers what is essentially a flagship performance and spec, without the sky-high price tag.
We've chosen it as our mobile gaming champion in the wallet-friendly space, thanks to its lag-free performance and ability to handle more graphic-intensive titles, compared to other entrants on this list. And those games are presented on a gorgeous 6.55-inch AMOLED screen that delivers when it comes to brightness, and one that handles contrast well, too.
Photos taken on the triple lens camera are admirable, even those taken in diminishing light conditions, and selfies taken on the front-facing 32MP won't leave you looking pale as a ghost. We admit, its asking price of AU$799 is going to more towards the top end of what can truly be considered cheap, but when you consider you're not making that many compromises compared to the flagships of the world, we think it's a bargain.
The best cheap rugged phone
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Straight off the bat, the Nokia XR20 won't be for everyone. That doesn't make it a bad budget smartphone. In fact it's arguably one of the best, particularly in the rugged category, but it fits slightly more into niche territory than many of its competitors. As a rugged smartphone, however, with quality durability and competent performance features to match, it's impressive.
5G-enabled, shockproof and water resistant, the Nokia XR20 is a clear choice for the more adventurous types or who require a smartphone they can worry less about damaging. The front screen is a tough Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, while the phone's exterior is verified as military durability quality with a MIL-STD-810 rating. An IP68 water resistance rounds out the XR20's resume in this arena. Add in to consideration Nokia's generous three-year warranty and there's little to worry about with respect to damaging the handset.
2x2 MIMO antenna technology allowing for superior Wi-Fi reception and support for 18W fast charging also elevate the XR20 particularly as a travel option, however the phone's performance does leave a little bit to be desired when stacked up against mid-range and premium smartphones and even many of its better budget competitors. While it's certainly no slouch in the performance department, particularly for a rugged smartphone, it nonetheless lacks an ability to quickly perform the more arduous tasks that might be thrown at it, such as mobile gaming.
The XR20's camera is also a disappointment, particularly when compared to the Oppo Reno8 and Samsung Galaxy A53 above. While these offer triple and quad lenses respectively, the Nokia XR20's rear camera offers only two and with less performance value. The front camera is even worse, offering only an 8MP wide lens which pales in comparison to the 32MP lenses of both the Reno8 and A53.
Still, if you're looking for a rugged smartphone at an approachable price point and which doesn't sacrifice too much with regards to performance and overall value, the Nokia XR20 is a solid option.
FAQ
How to choose the best cheap phone for you
It's no secret that the best cheap phones don't have it all, as their low price means there are almost always compromises to be made. So the first step to choosing one is deciding which aspects of the phone are most important to you, and what you can live without.
Do you need excellent battery life? A bright and vivid screen? Or a well-performing camera? Perhaps you require a high refresh rate, or consider 5G to be vital.
Another consideration, which isn't specifically price related, is the screen size – a smaller screen makes it easier to use with one hand, and easier to fit in small pockets, while a bigger screen can make apps, games and videos more pleasant to watch and interact with.
Whatever the case, once you've decided what you do and don't need, you can read through the entries above to find a phone that fits. Whatever balance you ultimately decide on there's likely to be an ideal option above, and we've tested all of these phones extensively, so you can be sure they're good.
What is the best cheap smartphone?
The best cheap smartphone regularly changes and is somewhat subjective, but our pick for the best cheap option is whatever's currently in the number one spot on the list above. At the time of publishing, this is the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G.
How we tested
We only include a handset on this best cheap phones list once we've fully reviewed it, so you can be assured that every entry has been tested in full.
Our testing process involves using the phone as our main handset for days or even weeks, and testing all the key factors, from the power to the battery life, the cameras, the screen, and beyond.
That means we know exactly how each of these performs in reality - not just on paper, and we use that knowledge to rank them, while factoring in the all important price and value.
- Check out how these cheaper models compare to our overall top Aussie smartphone picks
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Max is a senior staff writer for TechRadar who covers home entertainment and audio first, NBN second and virtually anything else that falls under the consumer electronics umbrella third. He's also a bit of an ecommerce fiend, particularly when it comes to finding the latest coupon codes for a variety of retailers. Hailing from the United Kingdom, Max spent a combined five years writing for What Hi-Fi? and Pocket-lint, before moving to Australia in 2018. After a brief stint writing for men’s lifestyle publications, Max is back to working on his first passion of technology.
- Max DelaneyStaff Writer