The Best Cheap Phones for (Almost) Every Budget [Updated August 2020]

[Karlston]

The Best Cheap Phones for (Almost) Every Budget

There's little reason to pay top dollar for a phone these days. These are our favorite Android devices and iPhones for $200 to $500.

 

 

US wireless carriers like AT&T and Verizon go out of their way to make expensive smartphones seem affordable. You may wonder why you shouldn't buy a Samsung Galaxy S20 if you only have to pay $0 down and $47 a month for it? Whether you pay it all at once or in 24 monthly installments, you’re still spending more than $1,000 on your phone. Your pricey device may also keep you locked to your network, leaving you unable to switch wireless carriers until the phone is paid off.

 

Forget the spendy option and get a seriously great, more affordable phone instead. We’ve tested dozens to find the best cheap smartphones that aren't annoyingly slow. Our top pick, the Google Pixel 4A, is as good as almost any device, and our other choices strike a great balance between price and luxury.

 

Updated August 2020: We've replaced the Pixel 3A with the Pixel 4A and removed the OnePlus 7T as it's out of stock. We're currently testing more budget phones, including the Samsung Galaxy A71 and the Nokia 5.3.

 

Google Pixel 4A ($350)

 

Best Overall

Photograph: Google

Google took everything we loved about the 2019 Pixel 3A and made it even better with the Pixel 4A (9/10, WIRED Recommends). First off, it's cheaper. It's rare to see a phone improve and drop in price. The 4A also has a spectacular camera (the same main sensor as flagship Pixel 4), allowing it to compete with phones three times its price. You can't find another device in this bracket that can take the kind of low-light photos the Pixel 4A can—you can capture photos of the Milky Way with a tripod (provided you're in a dark enough area)—and it's all thanks to Google's Night Sight mode.

 

That's not the only reason why the Pixel 4A, at its $350 price tag, is our favorite Android phone. It's also speedy, the battery lasts a full day, and the 5.8-inch OLED screen looks ultra-modern. It's compact too! Google slimmed down the bezels (the edges around the display) and it makes this one of the best small Android phones around. Other perks include a polycarbonate body, which means the rear won't shatter if you drop it, NFC for Google Pay, and a headphone jack. This phone will also get monthly security updates and Android version upgrades for three years, which is something that isn't even guaranteed on pricier phones.

 

What are the sacrifices? There's no water resistance, no MicroSD card slot, and no wireless charging. The dual speakers are quiet, and the screen is dim when it's especially bright outside. But otherwise, this is the phone most people should buy. It will run everything you use on a day-to-day basis without pause, and the extra software features from Google will make life a little easier, too. For example, Call Screen will automatically filter and silence spam and robocalls so you aren't disturbed.

 

Works on all three major US carriers

 

Pixel 4A costs $350 at Amazon and Best Buy

 

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iPhone SE 2nd Gen. ($399)

 

Runner-Up

A good buy for a teen, or anyone looking for a cheap iPhone without Face ID.Photograph: Apple

The iPhone SE (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is perfect for people who want an affordable phone from Apple without all the bells and whistles on its higher-end models. If you're OK without features like Face ID for authentication or a large screen, the SE works great. It relies on your fingerprint with Touch ID to unlock, and yes, that means the home button is back. It's also a tiny thing, similar in size to the Pixel 4A—not as compact as the 4-inch iPhone SE from 2016, but the 4.7-inch screen still is very small compared to other phones today. You do get some modern amenities like wireless charging and IP67 water resistance, but sadly the headphone jack didn't make the cut.

 

What makes the iPhone SE so special is the processor that's powering it—the A13 Bionic chip, which is the same one you'll find in the iPhone 11 Pro that costs several hundred dollars more. You won't find performance anywhere near as good for this price on another phone. All your favorite apps and games, even if they're graphically intensive, will run without a hitch for years to come. And, as usual, Apple will keep this phone updated for four to five years, which is years longer than all of the Android phones in this guide.

 

The single-camera on the back snaps some nice photos, though since Apple did not bring Night mode down from its high-end iPhones, it won't fare as well in low-light scenes as competitors like the Pixel 4A. The glass back design is also more fragile than Google's phone, so it's a good idea to buy a case.

 

Works on all three major US carriers

 

iPhone SE costs $399 from Apple, Best Buy, and Walmart

 

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Moto G Stylus ($300)

 

Best for $300 or Less

Photograph: Motorola

 

If you're considering this phone, we suggest you save up $50 for the Pixel 4A.

 

Motorola’s G-series phones kick-started the wave of affordable, decent Android phones when they first arrived several years ago. The new Moto G Stylus is another solid entry—though it's not as good a value as its predecessors, as more and more brands jump into the budget market. You get a nice, modern-looking screen, a 4,000-mAh battery that lasts two full days, a headphone jack, a MicroSD card slot for extra storage over the included 128-gigabytes, and a 48-megapixel camera that's decently capable during the day and night.

 

Performance isn't its strong suit. The Snapdragon 665 chip is good enough to run most apps and games, but you'll notice stutters almost every day—something that's not the case on the devices above and even the TCL phones mentioned below. The software is close to a pure version of Android, meaning it's uncluttered and isn't full of bloatware apps that unnecessarily hog your processing power. Unfortunately, Motorola is only promising one Android version update, so don't expect anything after the upcoming Android 11 this year. Security updates are a slightly better story as they should come every quarter, but even that is subject to change.

 

There's also no NFC, so you can't make any contactless payments with services like Google Pay. What you will find tucked away in this phone is a stylus. I didn't find it useful, especially since there's no palm rejection technology. You'll have to scribble without letting your palm touch the screen, and that's not easy if you want to write something legible.

 

If you want the absolute best battery life on a cheap phone, check out the Moto G Power ($250). It's very similar to the G Stylus, except ... there's no stylus. Instead, it packs a bigger 5,000 mAh battery that lasts three full days. It's a little cheaper, so you get only 64 GB of storage, and the camera system is different and not very good at night. And if your budget can't go higher than $200, check out the Moto G Fast, which has the same processor as the two above, but its camera system is similarly poor in low light. We talk about both of these alternatives in our 2020 Moto G series review.

 

Works on all three major US carriers

 

Moto G Stylus costs $270 at Best Buy or $300 at Amazon and Motorola

Moto G Power costs $250 at Best Buy, Amazon, and Motorola

Moto G Fast costs $200 from Best Buy, Amazon, and Motorola

 

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TCL 10 Pro ($450) or TCL 10L ($250)

 

Two More Great Budget Phones

Photograph: TCL

 

You might know TCL for its affordable TVs, but now it's selling affordable phones. Don't worry, it's not its first rodeo—the company has made phones under brands it owns or used to own like Alcatel, Palm, and BlackBerry. But the TCL 10 Pro and 10L are the first phones sold in the US under its own name, and they're a very promising start.

 

The 10 Pro has excellent performance with the Snapdragon 675 chip inside, and its 6.5-inch OLED screen is sharp and bright, even in broad daylight. The 4,500 mAh battery keeps it running for a full day, and the four-camera system does well in a variety of lighting conditions, though it's still not as good as the Pixel 3A. It feels more premium because it's a glass sandwich, but that also makes it fragile.

 

The plastic-backed 10L is more durable and has similarly good performance, even if it uses the slower Snapdragon 665 processor—for $200 less. Its battery can go past a full day, and while it can take some nice photos during daylight hours, the lack of a night mode on this model means your low-light shots are going to look quite poor. Its screen is also a little too dim to see in the sunny outdoors.

 

TCL's biggest drawback is that, like Motorola, it's only promising one Android version update for these phones for now. That's disappointing, and doesn't bode well for the longevity of these phones.

 

Works on all three major US carriers

 

TCL 10 Pro costs $450 at Amazon and Best Buy

TCL 10L costs $250 at Amazon and Best Buy

 

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Should You Buy Now?

 

Yes. Now is as good a time as any to snag a new phone. For the rest of 2020, we're only expecting a few more affordable phones, like the Pixel 4A 5G and the Nokia 8.3 (and perhaps something else from Motorola). Otherwise, you'll have to wait until 2021 for new budget smartphones. You have a lot of good options out there right now, and we're also testing a few other devices, like the Samsung Galaxy A71 5G ($600) and the Nokia 5.3 ($200).

 

Check Network Compatibility

 

If you buy an unlocked phone on this list and try to take it to one of your wireless carrier's retail stores, they may tell you it isn't compatible with the network. It likely is. Just use a paper clip or SIM ejection tool to pop the SIM card out of your current phone, then slide that SIM into your new phone. If it doesn't work at first, reboot the phone or wait a couple of hours.

 

If you need a new SIM, try ordering one online from your carrier, or try to get them to give you a SIM when you activate a line in the store (if you're starting coverage). Tell them you have a phone. Many times, reps will want to sell you a phone; that's one potential reason they might hassle you into buying a different device in the store.

 

Having said that, please make sure whatever phone you buy will work on your wireless network. Listings on retailers like Amazon should state clearly which networks it will be compatible with. Also, make sure the listing says that the phone is being sold "unlocked."

 

Warning for Verizon users: There's a higher chance an unlocked phone will not work on your network. Make sure it is labeled to work on Verizon, or that it says the phone is CDMA-capable. If something strange is going on like you get no texts, you may also need to contact customer service and tell them to enable CDMA-Less roaming. AT&T and T-Mobile are GSM carriers, which is the standard for most of the world; most unlocked phones are compatible with them.

 

If you're nervous, look up the specifications of the exact model you're considering. Make sure it has the LTE bands it needs to run on your carrier. Speaking of networks, none of the phones in this guide support 5G, which is perfectly fine. 5G phones are pricey, and the networks are still only available in a handful of places around the country, so you're not missing much.

 

Avoid These Phones!

 

If a phone isn't listed here, or if it's refurbished, be careful. It's easy to waste money or time when you're shopping for affordable phones. It's hard to get a sense of how a cheaper phone will act in the long term when you use it in a store for five minutes, and retail employees may not be much help. Make sure you read reviews online.

 

For whatever reason, big manufacturers like Samsung like to keep selling their old pre-2019 devices, like the Galaxy S8. A good rule of thumb is to avoid most devices that originally came out before 2019. They probably won't continue to get software and security updates for long, if they're even being supported now.

 

For example, we do not recommend buying the iPhone XR anymore. It's still a good phone (8/10, WIRED Recommends), but at $600, it is only $100 cheaper than the more powerful iPhone 11, and the $400 iPhone SE has a more powerful processor in it. We believe the price of the iPhone 11 will likely lower in October when Apple unveils its iPhone 12, too—or Apple may introduce a new iPhone XR-type model. If you still want to take a look, it's $599 at Apple and Best Buy for the time being.

 

 

The Best Cheap Phones for (Almost) Every Budget

 

[andy2004]

Wouldnt call any of these phones CHEAP.. not a single price under $250.. now if the phones had been under $100 then i would have said GOOD NEWS.. 

None of these phones are in my budget and I will never spend anywhere near $250 on a phone