The best cheap phones in 2025

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Spending $1,000 on the latest flagship smartphone a few years ago might have been sleek, but for most people it is neither practical nor necessary. Whether it’s a refurbished iPhone or an affordable Android phone, you won’t even have to spend $500 to get a good phone, as there are plenty of good options as low as $160.

However, the navigation budget phone market can be tricky. The option that looks good on paper may not be in practice, and some devices end up making you even more loss when you think many devices come with restrictive storage. While we spend most of our time reviewing mid-to-high-end phones on Engadget, we have tested the latest budget-friendly phones on the market to cut it down to the best cheap phones you can get right now.

The best cheap phone

Samsung

The Galaxy A16 5G offers a huge value for $200. I didn’t have a chance to test it, but I’m confident to recommend it because Samsung took an already great phone in the A15 5G and made it better. Compared to its predecessor, the A16 has a thinner design, thinner bezels and a larger 6.7-inch screen. It also includes a new, faster and more efficient Exynos 1330, as well as incredible six-year promised software support.

The only disappointment with the A16 is that Samsung doesn’t update the phone’s camera bag, but considering the $200 you receive for the phone, it’s hard to be responsible for the company. Oh, the A16 doesn’t have a headphone jack, so budget for wireless earbuds. – Igor Bonifacic, senior reporter

$175 on Amazon

OnePlus

The OnePlus Nord N30 5G was our first choice before. Priced at $300, usually $100 more than the A16 5G. But if you can find it for sale for less, it’s still worth considering on the A16. First, the N30 has a faster 120Hz display and its Snapdragon 695 chip, which is older than the A16’s Exynos 1330, but still performs well in some areas.

Another reason to consider the N30 on the A16 is that it ships with a 50W power adapter, giving you a full day of battery life in 30 minutes. If you want to use your new phone for as long as possible, the A16 is a better choice, but the N30 can be a compelling choice. – IB

$206 on Amazon

Motorola

For those with a very tight budget, the 2024 Moto G drama covers all the basics. It has a pretty fast Snapdragon 680 processor, as well as 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Although the last number looks small, the phone has a microSD card slot so you can add more space if you need it.

Its 6.5-inch LCD screen is also surprisingly sharp at a 90Hz refresh rate. Moto G gaming even has an IP52 rating of IP52, which can be used for dust and waterproofing. This is not much, but it’s enough to prevent a splash of one or two errors. G-games are basic, of course, but it’s a good foundation. – Senior Reporter Sam Rutherford

$128 on Amazon

Motorola

$400 Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G offers other options on this list: a built-in stylus. If you like to doodle and take notes, then this is the cheap phone to buy. Thankfully, it has a few other things. The Moto G Stylus 5G has a responsive 6.7-inch display and a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery. Plus, it looks pretty good.

Like other options in this price range, it would be nice if the Moto G Stylus 5G comes with a more powerful camera, faster charging and waterproof protection. With this advice, be sure to avoid paying full price for the Moto G Stylus 5G. Thankfully, this is not difficult with the frequent sale of mobile phones. – IB

$380 on Amazon

What to look for in cheap phone calls

For this guide, our preferred price ranges from $100 to $300. There are few things, you might as well buy a stupid phone. Since they are more affordable than flagship phones or even midsize phones, budgeting smartphones involves compromise. Cheap equipment, the lower your expectations for specifications, performance and experience. Therefore, the best advice I can offer is to spend as much as possible. In this price range, even $50 or $100 can bring you better products.

Second, you should know what you want most from your phone. When buying a budget smartphone, you may need to sacrifice a decent main camera for long battery life, or swap a high-resolution display for a faster CPU. That’s why the field comes with it, but knowing your priorities will make it easier to find the right phone.

It is also worth noting that certain features are difficult to find on cheap phones. For example, you don’t need to search for devices with full-day battery life, but if you want a phone with excellent camera quality, you’d better have one of the suggestions in our Midrange smartphone guide, which all sells for $600 or under.

Within this price range, wireless charging and waterproofing are not easy to find, forgetting the fastest chipset. On the plus side, most of our recommendations come with a headphone jack, so you don’t need to buy wireless headphones.

iOS isn’t on the desk either, because the $599 iPhone 16e is now Apple’s most affordable product after the iPhone SE is discontinued. This makes Android the only option for $300 under $300. Thankfully, there are few people complaining about Google’s operating system today – you may even prefer iOS.

Finally, remember that most Android manufacturers usually offer much less software features and support their budget devices. In some cases, your new phone may only receive a major software update, and in addition to that, security patches have a year or two for security patches. This works with OnePlus and Motorola suggestions on our list.

If you want to keep your phone for as long as possible, Samsung has the best software policy for any Android manufacturer in the budget space, offering at least four years of security updates on all of its devices. Recently, it even started to support the $200 A16 5G for six years, which we recommend below. That said, if software support (or device lifespan overall) is your main focus, consider spending more on the $500 Google Pixel 9A, or even the previous “Pixel 8A” (a software update planned to be mid-2031).

Admin 3 hours ago

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