Best budget Android phones in 2025
Modern advances in processor and screen technologies mean that today’s budget smartphones can hold their own against even thebest flagship Android phones. Even the most bargain-basement phones no longer suffer from poor performance, weak battery life, and dim, eye-straining screens. Over the past few years, budget smartphones have benefited from a trickle-down effect as manufacturers strive to turn their high-end models intogamingand AI powerhouses.
These changes benefit more than just hardcore mobile gamers. Most smartphone buyers aren’t looking to play Genshin Impact or Assassin’s Creed Mirage on their phones at the maximum settings, but the technology used to make today’s insanely powerful flagship chips has also bolstered the standard silicon used in more affordable phones, giving them sufficient power for everyday tasks and enough efficiency to last at least a full day on a single charge.
Whether you’re surfing the web, checking email, scrolling through social media, or even doing somecasual gaming, you’ll be surprised at how much today’s budget smartphones can do. Vibrant displays, decent camera systems, and longer Android update promises mean you probably don’t need to spend a bundle to get a phone that will meet your needs. Of course, there are still a few compromises, and figuring out where those lines are drawn can sometimes be tricky. The good news is that we’ve reviewed plenty of affordable smartphones over the years and found quite a few that strike the right balance in performance, features, and price.
Cheap Android phones worth buying
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Well-rounded budget champ
Samsung’s Galaxy A25 5G is priced competitively, but it does its best to bring premium features to the budget segment. Things like its AMOLED screen and 50MP triple camera array aren’t very common on phones that retail for under $500, let alone at the A25’s $300 price point. On the software side, photo editing tools like Single Take and Object Eraser add further to the value, making this one of the better budget options to hit US shores.
The Samsung Galaxy A25 is a fantastic blend of performance and value, giving you enough power for most needs at a $300 price point. It starts with the A25’s gorgeous 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display — a high-quality 120Hz panel that belies its modest price tag. The Galaxy A25 is powered by the Exynos 1280, and while it won’t be confused with a flagship chipset, it still has enough zip for daily tasks and modest gaming. Unlike the Galaxy A24, this year’s model is 5G-capable, allowing for better data speeds. Samsung also fitted the A25 with 6GB of RAM, helping smooth the user experience.
Samsung promises four major updates of One UI and five years of security patches, which is an impressive amount of support for $300. One UI is also running well, with all the visual and functional enhancements Samsung brought with version 6.0. Even though the A25’s cameras won’t rival those of the Google Pixel 7a, they can still produce quality images with good lighting.
At this point, Samsung’s cheap phones can’t get much more reliable
With the Galaxy A25, battery anxiety won’t creep up on you, as its 5,000mAh cell provides excellent battery life. The A25 even includes a 3.5mm headphone jack for audiophiles still clinging to their wired headsets. All told, the Galaxy A25 represents great value to users looking for a capable smartphone that won’t break the bank.
Best in class performance
The OnePlus 12R brings the company back to its flagship-killing days with its fantastic performance, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. It also includes an impressive 6.78-inch OLED display, and a massive 5,500mAh battery for hours of use. It’s a lot of flagship power at a firmly mid-range price.
OnePlus broke the budget phone mold with the 12R, giving us outstanding performance and a premium build for $500. It’s a little pricier than the other entries on our list, but you’ll enjoy the additional bang for your buck. It’s powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, last year’s flagship chipset, providing blistering performance for apps and AAA mobile gaming. OnePlus paired all that power with 8GB of RAM, ensuring a smooth user experience. We love its bright, crisp 6.78-inch AMOLED display, perfect for watching content or playing your favorite games.
Even though curved displays are no longer in style, the OnePlus 12R still looks and feels like a premium flagship device, with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protecting its display. We also loved how quick and secure face unlock is on the OnePlus 12R, better than anything currently on a Samsung or Google device. While its cameras are not our favorite in this group, the OnePlus 12R can still produce an image worthy of Instagram likes.
A phone that packs all the power you need for the price you want to pay
The OnePlus 12R boasts phenomenal battery life, allowing you the flexibility of a multi-day battery. When it is time to recharge, OnePlus fitted the 12R with 100W fast charging, capable of providing a full charge in under 30 minutes, best-in-class in this price range. If you’re willing to spend a little more, the OnePlus 12R checks all the boxes you’d want out of a flagship killer.
Lots of screen for the money
The Galaxy A15 is an impressive blend of performance and value, with a fantastic display for $200. It features a Dimensity 6100+, which won’t break any benchmarks, but it does breeze through social media. It sports a 6.5-inch AMOLED display with impressive colors and a 90Hz refresh rate, not always seen at this price point.
If you’re looking for a prime example of how far budget phones have come, look no further than the Samsung Galaxy A15 5G. It pairs respectable performance with a gorgeous 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display refreshing at 90Hz — a combination that would’ve been unheard of under $200 a few years ago. It’s powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 6100+, which easily handles daily tasks, like social media, and provides decent gaming performance. You won’t be playing Genshin Impact on high settings, but if you keep your expectations in check, you’ll enjoy your time blasting through enemies on the A15.
Like the A25, the Galaxy A15 still features a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired headsets. It’s not exactly a premium build, but the A15 is robust, with a sturdy plastic frame. It also borrows design elements from the more expensive S24 series, which is part of Samsung’s effort to streamline its design language. Even though it wouldn’t be our first choice for nighttime photography, the A15’s main 50MP sensor takes crisp, vibrant photos in well-lit environments, with some images rivaling the more expensive Galaxy A54.
It’s not flashy, but the A15 gets the job done for people who don’t read reviews or care about specs
With its 5,000mAh battery, the Galaxy A15 lasts most days with room to spare, allowing you to use your phone freely throughout the day without worrying about topping off your charge. If you’re looking for a device that punches above its weight, the Galaxy A15 does a lot for $200.
The best budget camera phone you can get
The Google Pixel 8a is the best camera you can get on a smartphone for $500 or less. Google’s computational photography means it excels at taking the best possible photos, and while it cuts some corners from its pricier siblings, it still has the same powerful Tensor G3 chip, a great screen, and seven years of software updates.
Google’s A-series Pixel phones have always been the go-to choice for capturing the best possible photos on a budget, and this year’s Pixel 8a is no exception. While the camera hardware remains the same as last year’s Pixel 7a, that just speaks to how far ahead of the curve the Pixel’s photographic prowess is. Google has tweaked the image processing slightly and packed in more advanced computational photography features thanks to the newer Tensor G3 chip. This unlocks new AI features likeBest Take, which lets you capture near-perfect group shots where everyone is smiling and looking at the camera with their eyes open. Beyond that, we found the Pixel 8a produces photos with the same vibrant and natural look it’s become famous for.
However, there’s a lot more to the Pixel 8a than just its cameras. You get a bright and vibrant display to view your photos on that now reaches a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz and fully holds its own against its pricier siblings, at least in terms of quality. We’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that the bezels are far more prominent and the glass is Gorilla Glass 3 rather than the Victus found in more premium phones, but we think these are both reasonable trade-offs at this price. You’re also getting a matte plastic back rather than glass, but some might consider that a plus. It feels great to hold, and you won’t need to worry about fingerprints or fragility.
The Tensor G3 chip here is identical to the one used in the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, and it’s a remarkable improvement over Google’s earlier silicon. While it’s still a bit behind in raw performance, it runs cooler and is more power-efficient, which means you shouldn’t have to worry about it getting too hot to handle during normal use. It still isn’t a gaming powerhouse, to be clear, and we did have at least one incident where the aluminum frame became uncomfortable to hold, but that was an outlier, and it fared a lot better than the Pixel 7a overall.
Google’s hardware lineup is in a tricky spot, and the Pixel 8a only makes things more confusing
More significantly, we found the Tensor G3 has made a noticeable difference in battery life. Even during the break-in period, we had no problems getting through a full day of use with 30 percent battery remaining. You may still want to keep a battery pack on hand for busy travel days, but most folks should only need to hit a charger before bed. That’s a good thing, as you’ll need to rely on overnight charging since the Pixel 8a only supports 18W wired charging and 5W wireless speeds when using a standard wireless charger.
Surprisingly great value for $150
For those on a tight budget, the Moto G Play for 2024 strikes the right balance with respectable performance and a smooth 90Hz refresh rate. Its Snapdragon 680 chipset is good enough for daily tasks and light gaming, and its 4GB of RAM is more than enough for several apps open at once.
When you get below $200, it’s difficult to find a smartphone that delivers a decent user experience while making the right compromises to get to a lower price point. With the Moto G Play for 2024, Motorola struck the right balance, offering solid performance while cutting the right corners for a $150 price tag. At its heart, you’ll find a Snapdragon 680, a chipset we found to be capable of smooth performance in testing. Motorola increased the RAM to 4GB for this year’s model, helping improve the user experience. You’ll still encounter the occasional hitch and hiccup in the performance, but nothing unexpected for $150.
The Moto G Play sports a 6.5-inch LCD refreshing at 90Hz. While it’s less contrasty or vibrant than an OLED, it does more than get the job done for scrolling Instagram or watching YouTube. Motorola borrowed design cues from its more expensive models, giving the G Play a molded rear camera hump. It’s a premium look, even if the build materials are plastic.
Motorola regains its footing after last year’s budget blunder
While the Moto G Play’s cameras are nothing to write home about, its main 16MP sensor gets the job done in good lighting, producing sharp enough images and good color. It’s a serviceable camera system, which is more than you usually get sub-$200. If you’re on a tight budget, the Moto G Play will get the job done, as Motorola made significant improvements to last year’s model, making it a respectable entry-level smartphone.
A fun foldable at a wallet-friendly price
Motorola’s 2023 Razr is amazingly affordable by the standards of foldable smartphones, especially when you consider that its 2020 predecessor launched at twice the price. Motorola has cut its corners carefully to get here, still delivering solid midrange performance, great battery life, and an expansive 6.9-inch inside screen.
With a list price of $700, Motorola’s Razr (2023) may not feel like it belongs on a list of budget phones, but it’s a bargain among foldables, with great value for the price — and it’s not hard to find it on sale for $500 or less, especially now that it’s beenreplaced by a 2024 model. While Motorola has made a few compromises to get here, it’s mostly made the right calls. The older Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 may not win any speed records, but it’s a capable and power-efficient chip to handle all your daily tasks with aplomb — we ran into almost no issues with the phone’s performance during our testing — and helps the phone deliver battery life that will get you through a typical day with room to spare.
Some of Motorola’s more nostalgic fans may be disappointed with the departure from its iconic Razr design. However, Moto’s 2023 foldable goes in a fun new direction, with whimsical colors and a vegan leather finish on all models that feels great in the hand and helps you keep a grip on the phone.
Flip it open, and you’re greeted by an expansive 6.9-inch 144Hz pOLED LTPO screen that’s among the best Motorola has ever made — it’s the same one found on its more expensiveRazr+— with 1,400 nits of peak brightness and bold and vibrant colors. The biggest knock against the Motorola Razr is the small cover display, which measures only 1.5 inches. It isn’t useful for much more than showing notifications and tiles and can’t be used to preview main camera selfies.
It’s not the flashiest or most powerful, but this clamshell foldable is great for the space
The dual-camera system also follows Motorola’s usual pattern of being merely adequate — it produces good everyday snapshots in the right lighting conditions but doesn’t do so well when the lights are down.
A simulated E Ink display makes this phone easy on the eyes
TCL’s 50 XE NXTPAPER 5G cut the same corners as most budget phones in this price range, but it also adds a few unique things that could make it worth a closer look, including a paper-like faux E Ink display and excellent battery life.
The biggest downside to TCL’s 50 XE NXTPAPER 5G (other than its awkward name) is that you’ll only be able to find it on a single carrier in the United States: Spectrum Mobile. However, it’s unique features and affordable price might have you considering a switch just to get your hands on it.
The secret sauce that makes TCL’s phone special is right in its name. NXTPAPER refers to a set of screen technologies that are designed to provide a paper-like experience. It’s not exactlyan E Ink screen, but it does a good job of playing one on TV. An antiglare coating gives it the feel of paper while cutting down on fingerprints and smudges, and a blue light feature provides a warmer look and helps reduce eye strain. Whether you want your phone’s screen to feel like paper is a personal decision, but there’s no arguing it’s a unique feature.
Nevertheless, the underlying screen is still an HD+ (720 x 1612) IPS LCD with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 180Hz touch sampling rate, like most other phones in this category. It’s the NXTPAPER zones that make it stand out from the pack, letting you shift from a regular full-color LCD into color and ink paper views that offer more muted colors or full black and white. This is more than a gimmick; we found the other views genuinely helped reduce distractions and even curb screen time. There’s even a fun ink drop animation and sound effect when changing modes.
The additional screen modes also help extend battery life since you’re not pushing the pixels to the same extremes as a full-color display. Since the paper modes are more than adequate — arguably even better — for reading and scrolling through web pages and social media, using them not only provides a more eye-calming book-like experience, but it also leaves the phone sipping power. We got over two days out of it with modest usage, and it should let even power users get through a full day and then some.
The performance is also reasonably smooth. Don’t expect this to be a gaming phone by any stretch of the imagination, especially since it only packs in 4GB of RAM. Still, the MediaTek MT6835 chip does a competent job of handling everyday tasks with no stuttering or glitches. The standard 128GB of storage is reasonably generous, and it supports microSD cards with capacities of up to 2TB if you need more. We found that was a nice touch in a modern smartphone market that’s slowly abandoning support for removable storage
Do you want a phone that doubles as an e-reader?
However, make no mistake, this is a budget phone, and TCL has had to compromise to get it to this price. We found the haptic vibration motor a bit clunky and overbearing, the speakers tinny and lacking in the bass department, and the 18W charging speeds and lack of promised Android updates disappointing. The cameras can also best be described as “decent,” but nothing to write home about. There’s a 50MP main camera, 5MP ultrawide, and 2MP depth camera that combine to produce Instagram-worthy shots under the right conditions. However, like most budget phones, the quality and usability fall off severely if you have less-than-perfect lighting.
Helps you protect your kids and teens from the dangers of digital life
The Gabb Phone 4 Pro is a unique smartphone that’s targeted at parents who want to protect their kids from the darker corners of the internet. It’s built atop a Samsung Galaxy A15 5G, which means you’re getting quality hardware, with One UI supplemented by Gabb’s own software suite to monitor your child’s calls and texts, the apps they can use, and keep track of their location.
If you’re like many parents, buying a smartphone for your teen can be a worrisome experience. After all, you’re effectively plugging them into the internet and letting them move beyond the safe boundaries of your home Wi-Fi router. Thankfully, Gabb has thought of this and created a smartphone aimed specifically at parents looking to buy their baby boy or girl their first smartphone.
Perhaps the best thing about the Gabb Phone 4 Pro is that the company hasn’t tried to reinvent the wheel. The underlying hardware is a Samsung Galaxy A15 5G — the phone listed as our Best Value pick above. You get the same screen, cameras, battery life, and performance, so nearly everything that makes that a great choice also applies to the Gabb Phone. It’s only the software that’s different.
That’s because Gabb has added a full set of parental control and monitoring tools on top of Android 14 and One UI 6, and taken away a few apps that most parents will be wary of. For example, you can forego the need to figure out which websites your kids can or can’t visit as the Gabb Phone 4 Pro doesn’t include a browser at all. Ditto for social media apps. There’s a Gabb Messenger app that’s secure and has filters to alert parents if concerning discussions creep into their kids' chats, like bullying or harassment, but sadly Gabb hasn’t embraced RCS, which makes sharing photos and videos needlessly awkward.
In addition to the location tracking features typical of most smartphones, Gabb lets you add “safe zones” to alert you when your kids arrive at or leave specified locations, such as their school. This is handled by a companion MyGabb app installed on the parent’s phone. It’s available for both Android and iOS, so the Gabb Phone 4 Pro can be used even by otherwise-iPhone-toting families. That’s good as it offers better protection than Apple’s built-in Screen Time features — and it’s also much easier to set up.
In fact, that’s probably the number one selling point of the Gabb Phone 4 Pro. The software is clean, simple, and easy to understand without compromising on protection features. You won’t have to wade through multiple menu layers or delve into manuals and support articles to get going. In that regard, it’s miles ahead of the basic parental controls offered by Android and even iOS, but it also distinguishes itself from its competitors in the same space. This includes not just setting up the usual parental controls, but also approving and installing third-party apps that your kids may need for school.
Only one thing missing
The only real downside here is you can’t just hit the Play Store and install anything you want at your own risk. Third-party apps need to be Gabb-reviewed and approved before they’re available, and that list can be somewhat limiting. Categories like browsers and social media will never make this list. Gabb is specifically opposed to social media due to how it can “negatively impact kids and teens social and mental development,” and browsers offer too many loopholes to get around parental restrictions. Nevertheless, we discovered some third-party apps with legitimate uses for kids and students were also missing from the list. The good news is that Gabb expands the list regularly, and has an email address where parents can submit requests and corrections.
How to choose the best budget Android phone
It’s no secret that budget-friendly Android phones involve compromises. At this price point, it’s unrealistic to expect a device that excels in every department. Therefore, it’s crucial to prioritize your needs and understand where you’re willing to accept trade-offs.
For instance, if your phone offers stellar two-day battery life, you might find it easier to live without blazing-fast charging speeds. Screen size and resolution are also challenging trade-offs among budget phones, many of which only feature 720p displays. If you value a display that’s easy on the eyes, you might opt for a smaller screen to achieve a higher pixel density (measured in pixels per inch or ppi).
If your goal is capturing the best possible photos on a tight budget, be prepared to stretch your spending slightly toward the higher end of the affordable price range. Don’t be fooled by a massive megapixel count alone – computational photography is king, and how well the phone processes images ultimately matters more.
Finally, carefully consider each manufacturer’s commitment to providing future Android updates. This has a major impact on your phone’s long-term usability.
How we test the best budget Android phones
We’ve been testing a wide range of Android phones almost since the very first ones came out, from budget picks like the one on this list to the most powerful top-of-the-line flagships that money can buy. Our review team has a combination of decades of experience with Android in all of its software and hardware flavors, putting us in a unique position to recommend the best smartphone to meet your needs.
Wethoroughly and extensively test every smartphone we review, not just putting them through paper tests but also bringing them into our everyday lives as our primary smartphones, just like a typical consumer would. This lets us get a feel for each smartphone under real-world conditions and not just how it performs in a lab environment. This includes daily activities appropriate to each smartphone, such as checking email, scrolling through social media, surfing the web, taking photos, and gaming to help us understand and report on performance and battery life under normal use.
Further, our reviews are always completely independent. We choose products to review based on what we think will interest our readers, not on what vendors suggest we should, and we never receive compensation for our reviews beyond the product samples themselves. If we say a phone is horrible, great, or somewhere in between, it’s because that’s what we truly think of it.
The best Android phone for the best price
“Budget” doesn’t have to mean lousy, and the range of affordable Android phones stands as a testament. Not only are5G phonesnow more common in this price range, but they also tend to offer flagship features, from dazzling displays to impressive camera systems. Even if you’re only after a smartphone for simple tasks like calls or texts, these affordable smartphones offer more value than ever.
Speaking of, the Samsung Galaxy A25 strikes a happy medium between reliability, performance, and price. Sporting a vivid 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display, a capable 50MP triple camera array, and four years of major OS updates, it’s a wonder how Samsung slapped on a $300 price sticker. It’s the go-to budget Android phone for most, even if its long-lasting battery takes a while to charge and its night photography isn’t a strong selling point.
For a true flagship killer, the OnePlus 12R is your best bet. Boasting a 6.78-inch OLED display, a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, and a huge 5,500mAh battery capacity, it’s made to put high-priced smartphones to shame with its $500 cost. If you’re able to get used to its unique Oxygen OS setup and push your budget, expect an excellent flagship-like experience for cheap.
Just need a simple daily driver with plenty of screen real estate? The Samsung Galaxy A15 5G will gladly take on that role. For $200, you’ll get a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a dependable Mediatek Dimensity 6100+, and brilliant battery life. It’s well-optimized for scrolling through websites, watching videos, and even some light gaming. Don’t expect any high-end features, but if you aren’t fussed about all that, there’s a lot of value to be found in the A15 5G.
Best blend of performance and value
The Samsung Galaxy A25 represents the best of budget phones. It’s an excellent blend of performance and value. Even though it’s not the most powerful phone on this list, it’s the best pound-for-pound option for most users, especially those coming from older budget devices who need a reliable software experience and consistent updates.
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