The best cheap phones aren't as flashy as the very best phones, but they do excel at the basics and, as a result, offer great value for money.
In this guide, we've rounded up the best cheap phones from brands including Samsung, Apple, and Google, leveraging our significant phone-testing experience (we've tested over 1,000 handsets since 2005) to bring you a definitive list.
Our current guide includes newly released all-rounders like the Samsung Galaxy A56 and Google Pixel 9a, but if you're after a cheap phone for a more specialised use case, then the Oppo Reno 12 Pro, OnePlus Nord 4, and Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro are worth considering, too.
Of course, if you can spend a bit more, then one of the best Android phones, best iPhones, or best camera phones might be a more suitable fit.
Quick list
Samsung's 2025 mid-ranger offers great battery life, an impressive 6.7-inch display, and a design that looks and feels more premium than its affordable price tag suggests.
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The iPhone 16e isn't 'cheap' in the traditional sense, but it's now the cheapest iPhone available as new from Apple directly, and you'll get market-leading longevity for your money.
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The Google Pixel 9a is the most affordable way to access Google's impressive suite of AI features, offering excellent cameras and stellar longevity to boot.
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For photography fans, the Oppo Reno 12 Pro offers a flagship-level 50MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom, as well as a host of Pixel-style AI image editing features.
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Despite its seemingly mid-range chipset, the OnePlus Nord 4 is a formidable performer. It comes with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which is quite frankly indulgent in this price range.
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If battery life is your priority, the Poco X7 Pro's almighty 6,000mAh cell will see you through two days of casual use. The phone's Mediatek Dimensity 8400 Ultra chipset is seriously impressive, too.
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I'm TechRadar's Phones Editor, and have been reviewing and writing about the best mobile devices for several years. Based in the UK, I handle news and feature coverage for the phones section of the site, and regularly edit TechRadar's phones-related reviews and buying guides. You'll find my byline on over 1,500 TechRadar articles.
The best cheap phones in 2025
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Below, you'll find full write-ups for each of the best cheap phones on our list. We've tested each model extensively, so you can be sure that our recommendations can be trusted.
The best cheap Samsung phone
Samsung's Galaxy A series smartphones regularly rank among the best Samsung phones for value, and the company has again delivered a supremely well-rounded (and great-looking) product with the Samsung Galaxy A56.
Bigger, thinner, lighter, and just generally more premium-feeling than its predecessor, the Galaxy A56 delivers a near-perfect midrange package that will satisfy all but the most demanding buyers.
Specs-wise, this phone delivers a whole lot of great hardware for its relatively modest £499 price. You get a great-looking, IP67-protected metal design, a vibrant 6.7-inch AMOLED display (which is larger than the screen on the Galaxy A55), and a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery.
On the cameras front, the phone packs a 50MP main snapper, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP Macro camera, so you can take quality photos in a variety of lighting scenarios. Of course, the A56 is not the best camera phone around (and the Pixel 9a is arguably a better budget snapper), but we were impressed by the phone's photographic versatility and quality during testing.
Our main criticism of the Galaxy A56 lies with its Exynos 1580 chipset, which is plenty powerful enough for everyday smartphone tasks like streaming, scrolling, and texting, but can't handle graphically demanding mobile games. Mind you, that's not what this phone is designed for, so we doubt that you'll be disappointed by the Galaxy A56 if you're looking for a long-lasting, feature-packed everyday handset.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy A56 review
The best cheap iPhone
The launch of the iPhone 16e saw Apple discontinue the iPhone SE (2022) and iPhone 14, meaning the company's new entry-level iPhone 16 is now the cheapest iPhone available as new from Apple directly.
Sure, at $599 / £599 / AU$999, it's not as cheap as some other models on this list, but that price will at least get you a supremely powerful chipset, impressive battery life, and industry-leading software longevity.
Versus more expensive iPhones, you'll lose out on the Dynamic Island, MagSafe compatibility, and dedicated telephoto and ultra-wide cameras (which you will find elsewhere on this list) by going for the iPhone 16e, though Apple's iPhones are renowned for lasting, a very, very long time, so this really is a safe choice if you don't care about flagship bells and whistles.
To see how the iPhone 16e stacks up against its more expensive siblings, check out our iPhone 16e vs iPhone 15 and iPhone 16e vs iPhone 16 comparisons. Put simply, though, this is the best cheap iPhone in 2025.
Read our full iPhone 16e review
The best cheap Pixel Phone
If you're a fan of Google's camera bar-based phone design, the Google Pixel 8a remains an attractive, now-even-cheaper option in 2025. However, its successor, the Google Pixel 9a, takes the crown as the best cheap Pixel phone by virtue of its excellent cameras, intuitive software, and superior durability (even if it looks a tad boring by comparison).
Sure, we don't love its design, but in almost every other department, the Pixel 9a delivers. It boasts the cleanest version of Android to date (complete with plenty of useful software features like call screening and AI transcription), a supremely bright 6.3-inch Actua display, and a long-lasting 5,100mAh battery (though Google hasn't markedly improved this phone's battery life versus last year's Pixel 8a).
Our favourite thing about the Pixel 9a, however, is its cameras, which are some of the best in this price range. While it lacks zoom capabilities, Google’s latest budget Pixel is a macro photography champion, and its 48MP main lens is no slouch, either. If you need a telephoto lens, you'll have to go for the Oppo Reno 12 Pro or Oppo Reno 13 Pro (see below), but the Pixel 9a is a fantastic, affordable camera phone in its own right.
Unsurprisingly, Google's Tensor G4 chipset lags well behind faster chipsets from the likes of Apple and Qualcomm, but the Pixel 9a won't have any trouble sailing through everyday smartphone tasks, so you needn't worry about power if you're not planning on using the phone for mobile gaming or intense productivity tasks.
Read our full Google Pixel 9a review
The best cheap camera phone
If you're a keen mobile photographer but don't want to splash out on one of the best camera phones (think the iPhone 16 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S25, or OnePlus 13), then the Oppo Reno 12 Pro is worthy (and, crucially, more affordable) alternative.
Only available in the UK and Australia, the Reno 12 Pro boasts a 50MP main camera, a 50MP telephoto camera (with 2x optical zoom), an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 50MP selfie camera. You won't find equivalent camera hardware anywhere else on this list, and although the Pixel 9a boasts an impressive suite of AI photo editing features, the Reno 12 Pro gets its own fair share of AI tricks (including AI Eraser, AI Clear Face, AI Best Face, and AI Studio).
Other specs include a 6.7-inch, 120Hz AMOLED display, a Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Energy chipset, and a 5,000mAh battery, all of which make the Reno 12 Pro a well-heeled smartphone for 2025 wants and needs.
Our only real qualms with the Reno 12 Pro are its cheap-feeling design and significant out-of-the-box bloatware, but the latter can be deleted at your leisure, while the former is to be expected from a mid-range device that offers so much elsewhere. Do note, though, that Oppo recently released the Oppo Reno 13 Pro, which we're currently putting through its paces in our testing labs.
Read our full Oppo Reno 12 Pro review
The best cheap gaming phone
The OnePlus Nord 4 offers the best power-for-money ratio of any midrange phone on the market right now. The phone's Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 chipset might not sound flashy, but when paired with up to 16GB of RAM, it carries the OnePlus Nord 4 to near-flagship levels of performance.
As such, the Nord 4 is something of a gaming powerhouse. It can't rival, say, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra or iPhone 16 Pro Max for graphical fidelity or cooling prowess, but relative to its competition, the Nord 4 is a capable gaming handset, tackling titles like Genshin Impact and Call of Duty: Mobile with ease. As we noted in our OnePlus Nord 4 review, the phone is a "beast for gaming."
Other key features of the Nord 4 include an eye-catching two-tone metal frame, IP65 dust and water resistance, a 5,500mAh battery, and, best of all, a 6.74-inch AMOLED display that can be used even with wet hands (thanks to OnePlus' neat Aqua Touch feature).
Being a midrange phone, the Nord 4's cameras aren't anything to write home about, but at £429, you can't expect the world. If you're keen to save even more money, the cheaper OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite is worth considering, too.
Read our full OnePlus Nord 4 review
The best cheap phone for battery life
If you're someone who's prone to battery anxiety, the Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro is guaranteed to banish it. With a 6,000mAh power pack, this is one of the longest-lasting handsets in the midrange category, and there are very few phones on the market, period, that offer such a large battery.
But the Poco X7 Pro is worthy of plaudits beyond its two-day battery life. Like the OnePlus Nord 4, this phone's seemingly mid-tier chipset defies expectations to deliver buttery smooth performance, and you're given a choice of two RAM capacities: 8GB or 12GB (the OnePlus offers 12GB or 16GB).
On the cameras front, the Poco X7 Pro has a 50MP lens and an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and while neither bowled us over in our Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro review, the phone is set to benefit from a healthy helping of photography-related AI features throughout its lifespan.
All told, then, the Poco X7 Pro is a powerful, long-lasting handset that defies its £309 price tag and then some. As a value proposition, this is indisputably one of the best Xiaomi phones, well, ever.
Read our full Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro review
FAQs
What is the best cheap phone?
The best cheap phone for you will depend on what you do (and don't) value in a smartphone. If you prefer a Samsung, then the Samsung Galaxy A56 could be for you. If you're already embedded in Apple's ecosystem, the iPhone 16e is your best bet. Alternatively, the Google Pixel 9a offers an affordable way into Google's AI-powered ecosystem, while the Oppo Reno 12 Pro, OnePlus Nord 4, and Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro offer a little bit of everything.
How to choose the best cheap phone for you
Even the best cheap phones don't have it all; that low price means there are almost always weaker elements, so the first step to choosing one is deciding which aspects are most important to you, and what you can live without.
Do you need excellent battery life? A sharp screen? Or capable cameras? 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 a phone 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.
How we test
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, 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 handsets performs in reality, not just on paper, and we use that knowledge to rank them, while factoring in their all-important price and value.
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