The best Realme phones are a great proposition for anyone looking for a mid-range or budget smartphone. The company often offers useful features in its devices without breaking the bank.
Since launching its first ever phone in 2018, Realme has gone from strength to strength, proving to be one of the more interesting companies around. The manufacturer is so interesting, we've even written a guide on its history.
Typically, Realme phones offer great specs and features, while keeping prices relatively low.
Offering a few phone ranges, the top one is the Realme GT line which began in 2021, and includes phones like the Realme GT 2 and Realme GT Neo 3. The GT family replaced the X line which is still worth considering.
For cheaper options, Realme also has its numbered line of low-cost phones like the Realme 9 4G.
Realme has become a highly prolific phone producer in 2022 and it has some great options on the market. That's why we've ranked the best Realme phones below. Each entry includes specs, pros and cons, along with a link to the full review to find out more.
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Best Realme phones 2022
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The Realme GT easily earns its place as the top handset from the company, and it'll likely be one of the highlights of 2021. It's a great way for Realme to kick off its newest line of smartphones, also called the GT line.
The Realme GT has a top-end Snapdragon 888 chipset, super-fast 65W wired charging, a distinctive faux-leather rear broken up by a black stripe, and an easily-totable body thanks to its small size.
The real clincher, though, is the low price of the Realme GT, as it sits comfortably in the low-mid-range section. That more than makes up for the one or two little shortcomings we found with the phone, which include its tendency to heat up, and the fact that it has a few bloatware apps out of the box.
Note: in some regions, like Europe, the Realme GT is only on sale through AliExpress, not the standard retailers which our pricing tool pulls through. You can find the official product listing here.
Check out our full Realme GT review.
A budget phone yet somehow packing in some surprising features, the Realme 9 Pro Plus has two unique abilities. It has a heart rate monitor built into the fingerprint scanner, albeit hidden away amongst menus. More noticeable is its rear which changes color in sunlight and looks positively eye-catching.
Elsewhere, it offers some above-average performance for the price range, along with a camera that works particularly well in low-light conditions. The rest of the time, its 50MP main snapper, 8MP ultra-wide, and 2MP macro does a good job of providing bright and bold imagery.
It's all pretty good for such an inexpensive phone and easily makes the Realme 9 Pro Plus worth your consideration.
Check out our full Realme 9 Pro Plus review.
If you're looking for a great cheap Android phone, the Realme 8 Pro is a great choice - it's the top-end member of the company's 2021 numbered series, which are generally Realme's most affordable handsets.
We found this Realme phone was a cheap and cheery alternative to the huge handsets which often crowd this market segment. Plus it had a super-high-res main camera, impressively fast charging, and a comfortable-to-hold textured plastic back.
It's not perfect for everything - if you want a large display, 5G, a high-refresh-rate screen or the absolute best processing power, you might find it misses a trick or two. But if you just need a useful budget phone, it's a great choice.
Check out our full Realme 8 Pro review.
The second of its family, the Realme GT Master Edition takes some of the specs of the original GT but cuts some corners, and sells for a lower price as a result. Ignore the name, though - this isn't the master of the series.
The GT ME has a slightly weaker chipset, smaller battery and less eye-catching design than its sibling, but it also costs a fair amount less. So it's a good option if you like the look of the GT but don't need all its top specs.
Note: in some regions, like Europe, the Realme GT Master Edition is only on sale through AliExpress, not the standard retailers which our pricing tool pulls through. You can find the official product listing here.
Check our our full Realme GT Master Edition review.
The Realme GT Neo 3 packs plenty in for a good price. One huge highlight is it includes a 150W wired charger so you can get back up to 100% in just 15 minutes. Granted, it has a small battery so this will be needed more often, but that's a small trade off.
Elsewhere, the Realme GT Neo 3 offers up a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, that works well in most lighting. It also has a great 50MP main camera lens although the lack of telephoto lens will disappoint some.
With speedy performance across the board for the price, and a reasonable style, the Realme GT Neo 3 is a decent all-rounder.
Check out our full Realme GT Neo 3 review.
If you don't need 5G, the Realme 9 4G offers a fair amount for the price. It has a 108MP main camera lens that works well with a plethora of software options boosting its performance.
A long-lasting 5000mAh battery means no need to find a charger too often, while its 6.4-inch AMOLED display offers a decent 90Hz refresh rate.
The only place the Realme 9 4G truly falters is with mediocre performance, but if you're solely looking for a daily phone rather than a gaming device, it's got you covered.
Read our full Realme 9 4G review.
The Realme 9 5G is a fairly competent phone for the price. Compromises have been made to squeeze in 5G connectivity but it still looks pretty good. Feeling like the Pro version of the range, it has a plastic frame and rear but has an eye catching color to it that looks good and glitzy.
The 6.6-inch screen isn't so exciting being only a LCD display but it has a 120Hz refresh rate which proves useful when browsing.
Elsewhere, a 50MP main camera does a good job of providing decent throats in good lighting with a nice natural tone to its results. However, the lack of an ultra-wide lens and only 2MP depth and macro sensors feel a bit poor. Still, as a budget phone, the Realme 9 5G covers the key bases if you're not a photographer.
Check out our full Realme 9 5G review.
If you're looking for super low-cost 5G, the Realme 8 5G is one of the best options for you, as it lets you access the next generation of data connectivity for a lower price than most other devices.
In many ways, this is your basic budget Android phone with a standard design, a fair processor, an average camera and a big but good-looking display.
It's the price and 5G combination that really make this an interesting phone, and if you're keen to get yourself some super-speedy internet without breaking the bank, it's worth paying attention to the Realme 8 5G.
Check out our full Realme 8 5G review
Despite being the only Realme 8 phone without a suffix, the standard model isn't technically the weakest - it's actually a more powerful phone than the 5G model, though of course it only connects to 4G networks.
This is a decent budget Android phone that's well-rounded where it matters, especially in the display and performance areas, where it's a good device for the cost.
We weren't too sure on the design - you probably had your own thoughts as you scrolled past the image just above this listing - and if you need 5G or particularly high specs, another Realme phone is probably better for you. But this is a valiant cheap choice too.
Read our full Realme 8 review.
The Realme X series was replaced by the GT line, so there are no more coming out, and the X3 SuperZoom was one of the last ones.
This is a fairly high-end phone with a chipset that was great as of the X3's release, and its six cameras and long-lasting battery are all impressive too.
It's not a perfect phone - as you can expect for a low-placed entry in our list of the best Realme phones. Our main gripes are its uninspiring design, the LCD screen, and the fact the camera strategy was clearly 'quantity over quality', with some inconsistent results.
Read our full Realme X3 SuperZoom review
Realme phones Q&A
Is Realme a good phone brand?
We've sung the praises of Realme in various reviews, and the reason is that the company's phones are great value for money.
The devices often come with specs you don't tend to find at the price, especially in the chipset department, and have fewer rough edges (literally and metaphorically) than cheap phones from other brands.
Sure, a Realme phone won't compete with your top-end Samsung Galaxy or Xiaomi handset in terms of specs or features, but the low price makes up for that.
Should I go for Realme or Redmi?
Redmi is Xiaomi's line of low-cost phones, and in most markets it's arguably Realme's biggest competitior.
Redmi phones tend to be pretty big, with huge batteries and massive screens, which makes them large powerhouses for gaming and streaming media. However, the problem with that is that they can be annoying to use as your average smartphone, due to their giant size, especially if you've got small hands or shallow pockets.
Realme devices are often smaller and focus on the design and charging speeds - their svelte builds often make them easier to use as day-to-day handsets, but in the gaming or streaming department, they might miss out thanks to their restricted screen space.
What are the main Realme phone lines?
Realme launched the GT line in 2021, which replaces the X series and offers top specs at mid-range prices. The other main line is the numbered series, like the Realme 7 or 8 - these often come with 5G and Pro versions, and have price tags which land them in the budget category.
In some regions, Realme has other lines, like the Narzo or V series, but these generally don't sell in any of TechRadar's main regions, so we haven't tested them. That's why you won't find them on this list.
If that changes, as we've heard it will for the Narzo line, maybe you'll see more handsets infiltrate this list soon.
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