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If you’re after one of the best cheap smartphones you’ll find there’s a lot of choice and a lot of good options, with many handsets now offering surprisingly high-end features for not a whole lot of money.
Of course, what you’ll be able to get will depend on exactly how tight your budget is, and whether you want Android or iOS – the latter being far more restrictive if you’re on a limited budget.
With that in mind we’ve created this guide, covering all the very best cheap smartphones suited to a range of needs, from the iPhone 16e to the Google Pixel 9a, Moto G86 5G and beyond.
Below then you’ll find all the best options split across a number of categories based on price or operating system, with entries ranked from best to worst in each category.
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In this guide |
Best cheap Android phones
The following handsets are among the best Android phones you can buy. For the most part we’ve kept the budget under around £300, but sometimes slightly pricier entries will be included if we think they’re particularly worth highlighting.
Google Pixel 9a
The Google Pixel 9a may stretch your budget a bit, but if you’re in the position to do that then we think it’s worth considering.
It has the same Google Tensor G4 chipset as the rest of the Pixel 9 series, so it’s certainly powerful.
And it has one of the slickest takes on Android too, with day one software updates and the promise of years of support, so you won’t have to replace it anytime soon.
Plus, the Google Pixel 9a has an impressive dual-lens camera setup and a 6.3-inch 1080 x 2424 OLED screen.
It’s the best Android phone you’ll find in this article and a strong rival to our top iPhone pick further down, but it’s also the most expensive Android phone we’ve included.
OnePlus Nord CE5
The OnePlus Nord CE5 is one of the cheapest current handsets from OnePlus, but this is a company that’s known for delivering better specs than most rival phones at the same price, so there’s a lot to like here beyond its price.
The OnePlus Nord CE5 has a 6.77-inch 1080 x 2392 AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide one, a 16MP front-facing camera, and a 5,200mAh battery, with fast 80W charging.
It also has a capable MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex chipset, 8GB of RAM, and a fairly sleek if understated build.
CMF Phone 2 Pro
The CMF Phone 2 Pro by Nothing is perhaps the most stylish and certainly the most visually distinctive phone on this list, particularly if you get it in orange, which includes a two-tone back with silver accents. It also looks quite expensive, yet it’s very affordable.
It’s impressive in other ways too, with a triple-lens camera, including a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP telephoto (with 2x optical zoom), and an 8MP ultra-wide.
The screen is a 6.77-inch AMOLED one with a 1080 x 2392 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, and it has a 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging, all of which is impressive for the money, though its MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro chipset (paired with 8GB of RAM) is more middling.
Best cheap iPhones
After an iPhone? As there aren’t as many iPhones available and Apple typically charges more than other manufacturers, the selection of cheap options isn’t particularly wide, but your best bet is one of the following.
iPhone 16e
The iPhone 16e is Apple’s latest affordable phone, but affordable is a relative term here, as this is still far from cheap.
Still, if you want an iPhone and you don’t want something old, this is the best and – really – only option.
The iPhone 16e has a notch, so while its design is more modern than that of the SE series it seems to be replacing, it’s still an older look than you’ll find on the mainline models.
But that aside this is a compelling handset, with high-end power from its A18 chipset, a great – albeit single-lens – 48MP camera, a 6.1-inch 1170 x 2532 OLED screen, and water resistance.
iPhone SE (2022)
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The iPhone SE (2022) is the most recent ‘SE’ iPhone at the time of writing, but it’s older than the iPhone 16e.
This has 5G and a still fairly powerful A15 Bionic chipset (which you’ll also find in the iPhone 13 range).
Beyond that, the iPhone SE (2022) has a premium if rather dated build, a great – albeit single-lens – camera, and a compact but high-quality 4.7-inch screen.
Best phones for under £200
So the phones above are a bit outside your price range? Not to worry, as below you’ll find a selection of even cheaper phones, all of which are good and can be found for under £200.
Moto G86 5G
The Moto G86 5G packs in a solid assortment of specs, including not just 5G but also a 6.67-inch 1220 x 2712 screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a big 5,200mAh battery, and a dual-lens camera, including a capable 50MP primary sensor and an 8MP ultra-wide one.
The design is fairly modern and sleek too, and there’s a respectable 256GB of storage packed in.
It also performs fairly well on the power front for the money, with a 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset and 8GB of RAM.
CMF Phone 1
The CMF Phone 1 is – like the rest of the CMF Phone line – a stylish handset, and that’s quite a rare thing among phones this cheap. Not only is it stylish, it’s distinctive – you won’t mistake this for another company’s phone.
And while its looks may be the highlight, there’s other stuff here worth noting too, like its 50MP camera, its 6.67-inch 1080 x 2400 AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, its MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset with 8GB of RAM, and its 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging.
For sheer specs we’d give the Moto G86 5G the edge in this category, but if you care about style too then this is worth considering.
Samsung Galaxy A17 5G
The Samsung Galaxy A17 5G is one of Samsung’s more affordable phones, but there’s still a lot to recommend about it beyond the price.
For one thing, it has a 5,000mAh battery, which while not quite the biggest around is still larger than many, and translates into long life.
The Samsung Galaxy A17 5G also has a 50MP+5MP+2MP triple-lens camera, a reasonably large 6.7-inch 1080 x 2340 screen, and expandable storage. Plus, for some people the big brand name is a bonus.
Don’t buy this if you want lots of power, as on that front it’s fine but not great, but otherwise it’s a good all-rounder at an even better price.
Best phones for under £100
We’re now into the territory of the truly cheap. The following are all great examples of some of the cheapest phones you can get that are still actually any good. If you’re on a budget of £100 or less, then one of these could be for you.
Moto E15
Motorola has long been the champion of super-affordable phones, and while the likes of Xiaomi are increasingly challenging it, Motorola is still the brand for double-digit handsets, with the Moto E15 being a prime example.
This phone has a 6.67-inch 720 x 1604 screen, a 32MP camera, a big 5,200mAh battery, expandable storage, and, well, not much else of note, but even those specs we’ve just listed are pretty good for the money.
There’s no 5G, and power is lacking, as it is on many phones at this end of the market, but the Moto E15 can handle the basics just fine.
HMD Pulse Pro
HMD is the company that for a long time made Nokia-branded smartphones, and while this handset lacks that iconic branding, it has many of the same sensibilities.
In short, it gives you quite a lot of phone for not a lot of money, including a 6.65-inch 90Hz screen with a 720 x 1612 resolution, a 50MP camera, a 5,000mAh battery, and expandable storage. It also looks quite stylish aside from its large bezels.
As with other phones in this price range the HMD Pulse lacks 5G, and it’s not particularly powerful either, but in most other areas it’s surprisingly capable for the price.
Xiaomi Redmi 14C
Xiaomi makes phones of just about all prices, and it often does a good job of them too. The Xiaomi Redmi 14C is one of the company’s very cheapest, but yet it still packs in a 6.88-inch 120Hz screen with a 720 x 1640 resolution.
The Xiaomi Redmi 14C also has a large 5,160mAh battery, a 50MP camera, and expandable storage, while having many of the same weaknesses of other phones in this price range – namely there’s no 5G and it’s not very powerful.
The reason we’ve ranked this at the bottom of this section is that from the front its notch leaves it looking a bit dated – though the back is rather more striking. Still, that 120Hz screen and big battery mean this will be the best sub-£100 choice for some.
Conclusion
Hopefully if you’ve read this article in full you’ll now have a good idea of what phone to go for, as there’s something for almost anyone on a budget here.
Our top pick if you want an Android phone is the Google Pixel 9a, followed closely by the OnePlus Nord CE5, then the CMF Phone 2 Pro.
If you’re after an iPhone then the iPhone 16e is the clear winner, followed by the older iPhone SE (2022).
On a budget of £200 or less? Then the Moto G86 5G is our top pick, followed by the CMF Phone 1 and then the Samsung Galaxy A17 5G. And if you’re on a super restricted budget then the Moto E15 is a top option, but the HMD Pulse Pro and Xiaomi Redmi 14C are also worth considering.
