The perfect low cost telephones for 2025

It might be modern to spend $1,000 on the newest flagship smartphone once they first get launched, but it surely’s not crucial. You do not even must spend $500 at the moment to get a good handset, whether or not it’s a refurbished iPhone or an inexpensive Android telephone, as there are many choices as little as $160 that would suit your wants.

However navigating the price range telephone market might be tough; choices that look good on paper will not be in observe, and a few handsets will find yourself costing you extra when you think about many include restrictive storage. Whereas we at Engadget spend most of our time testing and reviewing mid- to high-end handsets, we have examined a lot of the newest budget-friendly telephones in the marketplace to see which are literally value your cash.

What to search for in an affordable telephone

For this information, our prime picks price between $100 and $300. Something much less and also you may as effectively go purchase a dumb telephone or high-end calculator as an alternative. Since they’re meant to be extra inexpensive than flagship telephones and even midrange handsets, price range smartphones contain compromises; the cheaper a tool, the decrease your expectations round specs, efficiency and expertise needs to be. For that cause, the very best recommendation I may give is to spend as a lot as you possibly can afford. On this value vary, even $50 or $100 extra can get you a dramatically higher product.

Second, you need to know what you need most from a telephone. When shopping for a price range smartphone, chances are you’ll have to sacrifice a good foremost digicam for lengthy battery life, or commerce a high-resolution show for a sooner CPU. That’s simply what comes with the territory, however understanding your priorities will make it simpler to search out the proper telephone.

It’s additionally value noting some options might be onerous to search out on low cost handsets. As an example, you gained’t want to go looking far for a tool with all-day battery life — however in order for you an important digicam telephone with wonderful digicam high quality, you’re higher off shelling out for one of many suggestions in our midrange smartphone guide, which all are available in at $600 or much less. Wi-fi charging and waterproofing additionally aren’t straightforward to search out on this value vary and overlook in regards to the quickest chipset. On the brilliant facet, all our suggestions include headphone jacks, so that you gained’t have to get wireless headphones.

iOS can also be off the desk, because the $400 Apple iPhone SE is essentially the most inexpensive iPhone within the lineup. That leaves Android OS as the one possibility. Fortunately at the moment, there’s little to complain about Google’s OS – and chances are you’ll even want it to iOS. Lastly, take into account most Android producers usually provide far much less sturdy software program options and assist for his or her price range gadgets. In some circumstances, your new telephone could solely obtain one main software program replace and a 12 months or two of safety patches past that. That applies to the OnePlus and Motorola suggestions on our listing.

In case you’d wish to maintain your telephone for so long as potential, Samsung has the very best software program coverage of any Android producer within the price range house, providing four years of security updates on all of its gadgets. That mentioned, if software program assist (or system longevity total) is your foremost focus, contemplate spending a bit extra the $500 Google Pixel 7a, which is our favourite midrange smartphone and has deliberate software program updates via mid-2026.

Finest low cost telephones

OnePlus

The $300 OnePlus Nord N30 5G affords the very best worth of any of the smartphones on our listing. No different telephone within the value bracket includes a processor as quick because the N30’s Snapdragon 695 5G chipset. Furthermore, OnePlus has specced the N30 with 5G connectivity along with a beneficiant 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which means you in all probability gained’t have to price range for a microSD card or cloud storage. It additionally comes with a 120Hz IPS show, a function that’s nice for each gaming and on a regular basis use. Better of all, the N30 ships with a 50W energy adapter for quick charging, letting you get a full day of battery life in half-hour. The N30 can be nearly good if it had waterproofing and OnePlus had dedicated to pushing multiple main Android OS replace to the telephone. — Igor Bonifacic, Contributing Reporter

$230 at Amazon

SAMSUNG

For simply $200, the Galaxy A15 5G is a fairly exceptional system. It has a 6.5-inch show with a barely slower 90Hz refresh charge the Nord N30. Nevertheless, as a result of it options an AMOLED panel as an alternative of an LCD show, it boasts higher brightness and richer colours than principally all of its rivals. It may also be configured with as much as 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and its 5,000 mAh battery delivers lengthy battery life. Its digicam system is strong for its value, providing a foremost digicam that handles on a regular basis photographs effectively and a selfie digicam for video calls. And whereas its design isn’t too thrilling, the polycarbonate Samsung makes use of on the again has a pleasant matte end that feels extra like glass than low cost plastic. Lastly, the A15 comes with 4 years of safety updates and three years of OS upgrades, which is longer than most handsets on this value vary. — Sam Rutherford, Senior Reporter

$173 at Amazon

Motorola

For these on a very tight price range, the 2024 Moto G Play covers all of the bases effectively. It has a speedy Snapdragon 680 processor together with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. And whereas that final quantity might sound small, the telephone has a microSD card slot so you possibly can add extra space if and while you want it. Its 6.5-inch LCD display screen can also be surprisingly sharp with a 90Hz refresh charge. The Moto G Play even has an IP52 score for mud and water resistance. That isn’t a lot, but it surely’s adequate to guard in opposition to an errant splash or two. Positive, the G Play is fundamental, but it surely’s fundamental in a great way. — S.R.

$110 at Amazon

Motorola

The $200 Motorola Moto G Stylus affords one thing not one of the different picks on this listing do: a built-in stylus. In case you love doodling and jotting down notes, then that is a budget telephone to purchase. Fortunately, it has just a few different issues going for it too. The Moto G Stylus sports activities an enormous and responsive 6.5-inch show and a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery. Plus, it’s out there in two pretty colours: midnight blue and glam pink.

As with different choices on this value vary, it might be good if the Moto G Stylus got here with a extra succesful digicam, a quick charger and higher safety in opposition to water. One phrase of recommendation: avoid Moto G Stylus 5G. It doesn’t provide sufficient of an improve to justify costing $400. — I.B.

$178 at Amazon

Trending Merchandise

Add to compare