Best budget Android phones in 2024

It’s an exciting time for smartphones. Thanks to increasingly powerful new chips, we’re long past the days when you had to choose between spending a bundle on a premium phone or settling for sluggish performance on a budget model.

As the most expensive flagship smartphones strive to deliver console-quality gaming and advanced computational photography experiences, more affordable phones have benefited from a healthy range of powerful mid-range processors that can now easily handle all the daily tasks that most smartphone owners need and won’t need to be left behind when the next Android update comes along.

It would have seemed unthinkable a few years ago, but today you can easily find a budget smartphone for well under $500 that will give you a smooth user experience and easily last you for the next couple of years. Some of these even cross over onto our list of the best Android phones. We’ve rounded up some of the best picks to get you started.

Cheap Android phones that are worth buying

The Pixel 7a is Google’s latest A-series phone, essentially combining the legacies of the Pixel 6a and Pixel 7 into one device. At $500, this is the most expensive A-series phone yet, but you can’t say that price tag doesn’t come with some serious advantages over its predecessor. With a near-identical design to that of the Pixel 7, some shoppers may find that Google’s most recent flagship phone is a bit redundant now. Still, with a slimmer camera bar, a durable back made of plastic, and some colorful new options not available in the rest of the lineup, the 7a might be an easy choice.

That said, some of its improvements come with caveats of their own. For example, although a 90Hz display makes scrolling and gaming smoother than ever, it’s disabled out of the box by default.

Wireless charging also makes its first appearance on the A-series, but at just 5W, it’s better for overnight charges than boosting your battery life throughout the day. While battery life was fairly sub-par on launch, the Android 14 upgrade gives the Pixel 7a new life. It can typically make it through a day, reaching almost 6 hours of screen-on time, with 3 or 4 hours being the experience when it was first released.

Even though the Pixel 7a launched at $499 — a $50 jump over its predecessor — frequent sales have knocked it firmly back into budget territory. If you’re savvy with deals, the Pixel 7a can often be found for as low as $375, making it hard to beat, given all the premium features.

Read our full Google Pixel 7a review.

Motorola Edge (2023)

Premium pick

Best on a good sale

$350 $600 Save
$250

The Motorola Edge offers a gorgeous display and good battery life. While the initial price wouldn’t justify a budget purchase, frequent sales have made the Edge a good value choice. Motorola’s My UX offers relatively stock Android, and the device’s camera is better than systems from Motorola’s past.

Pros

• Strong battery life
• Bright OLED display
• Premium build quality

Cons

• Motorola updates can be slow
• No Gorilla Glass

The Motorola Edge launched at nearly $600, but Moto quickly dropped the price below $400, putting it squarely into the budget category. It features a capable MediaTek Dimensity 7030, giving it decent raw power for daily tasks. Moreover, it sports a gorgeous 6.6-inch P-OLED display refreshing at 144Hz — not a typical budget spec. Unlike previous Motos, the camera system is also improved, taking deep, colorful photos.

If you’re a fan of stock Android, Motorola’s My UX offers a similar experience, with the benefit of Moto gestures. Even though software updates can be a little spotty, Motorola has improved in the last couple of years, with phones receiving the promised bi-monthly updates in a timely fashion. For the security-conscious, the Edge features Moto Secure, which gives users more granular control over access to everything, including microphones and calendars.

It may not be a traditional budget pick, but it’s one to consider. Motorola likes to keep sale prices going, and the Edge is an excellent choice at sub-$400. You get a quality handset with lots of raw power, battery life, and a wonderful eco-leather finish.

Read our full Moto Edge (2023) review.

Samsung Galaxy A14 5G

Best value

Affordable alternative without too many sacrifices

Samsung’s Galaxy A14 5G is one of the latest budget phones from the company, keeping the same adequate performance from its previous generation but with a better display and a cheaper price.

Pros

• A fast, high-res display for just $200
• Improved design over its predecessors
• Headphone jack!

Cons

• No IP rating (so don’t get it wet)
• Mono speaker quality is poor
• Cheap-feeling build quality

While Samsung’s Galaxy A14 5G might not crack through to the top of this list, this is the one to beat if you only have $200 to spend on a smartphone.

The A14 is a bit of an odd duck, at least in comparison to its predecessor. Rather than delivering an across-the-board boost to its specs sheet, Samsung retained nearly identical internals to the A13 — the same MediaTek Dimensity 700, the same combination of 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM, and the same camera array on the back. On paper, it’s difficult to notice a huge difference between the two generations.

So what is new? For starters, the design is more in line with the rest of Samsung’s phones and uses the same “camera island” style we’ve seen on the Galaxy S23 series. The entire phone feels a bit sturdier in hand, and the engrained pattern on the back is pretty eye-catching in this price range. Even better, the display received a huge upgrade to 1080p while keeping its 90Hz refresh rate. It’s still an LCD panel — you’ll need to grab the A54 for AMOLED — but for $200, it’s hard to argue with the screen quality here.

It might sound like a small batch of changes, but it makes the A14 a pretty undeniable deal, especially at this price. By keeping the specs sheet relatively unchanged, Samsung was able to drop the price by $50. It might not be as exciting as foldables or $1,200 phablets, but if you’re looking for a cheap smartphone that gets the basics right, this is the device for you.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy A14 5G review.

Motorola Razr (2023)

Best budget foldable

A fun foldable at a wallet-friendly price

$500 $700 Save
$200

Motorola’s new 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.

Pros

• Same expansive 6.9-inch pOLED screen as its more expensive sibling
• Good battery life
• Available in vibrant colors with vegan leather finishes

Cons

• Small cover screen is less useful than most other foldables
• Middling camera quality

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 even less. 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 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, this latest 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 expensive Razr+ — with 1,400 nits of peak brightness and bold and vibrant colors.

The biggest knock against the new Motorola Razr is the shrunken cover display, which now 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. 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.

Read our full Motorola Razr (2023) review.

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Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

Best Samsung phone

A great Pixel alternative with some excellent additions

$325 $450 Save
$125

Samsung’s Galaxy A54 is an update to one of our favorite budget phones of 2022, delivering improved performance and a sleeker design that looks more in line with the flagship S23 series. With a 120Hz AMOLED display and a capable 50MP shooter on the back, it’s a solid all-around offering for only $450.

Pros

• Excellent, fast display
• Premium design and feel
• Expandable storage

Cons

• No wireless charging
• 25W charging limit feels slow
• Phone can get toasty in regular use

If Google’s A-series isn’t doing it for you, maybe Samsung’s will. The Galaxy A54 is Samsung’s mainline mid-range offering for 2023, and despite some minor year-over-year improvements compared to its predecessor, it really impressed us. Its upgraded Exynos processor makes the phone feel faster than the A53, and its design has been updated to better match the flagship Galaxy S23. Unfortunately, the result is using a phone that feels and looks a lot more premium than it truly is.

All that said, the Galaxy A54 is far from a perfect device. It does get warm during regular use — not just gaming, but browsing as well — and its 25W charging speeds can feel a little slow if you’re coming from a OnePlus device. Likewise, the 50MP camera just doesn’t hold a candle to what Google manages with its Pixel lineup, although it’s certainly capable of collecting a good shot. But that 120Hz AMOLED panel puts the Pixel 6a to shame, and with expandable storage, it’s also reminiscent of the Android days of yore.

Even at full price, the A54 is totally worth it, but if you’re lucky, you likely won’t have to pay full price. Samsung’s phones usually don’t drop in price as quickly or as steeply as Google’s, but we’ve already seen some early Galaxy A54 sales following its launch. With the device already having dipped as low as $375, it’s worth keeping your eye out for sales throughout 2023.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy A54 review.

OnePlus Nord N30 5G

Pixel 7a alternative

A step forward, a step back

$250 $300 Save
$50

The OnePlus Nord N30 is more of a remix than a revolution. Keeping some of the best parts of its predecessor — and losing others — OnePlus has kept the low-end dream alive, albeit at the cost of its excellent design. Sales have made it an attractive bargain for the performance.

Pros

• Same excellent performance
• Affordable, especially when on sale
• Fast charging for under $300

Cons

• No AMOLED display
• Worse battery life than the N20
• Plastic design that shows scratches and scuffs

The OnePlus Nord N30 is the successor to one of our surprise favorite phones of 2022, but in some ways, we still prefer last year’s model. It’s not that the Nord N30 is a bad phone — it’s not — but in so many ways, it’s a step back compared to the N20. Gone is the AMOLED display — replaced by a faster 90Hz LCD panel — and the slick design that made a sub-$300 smartphone feel so premium. Instead, this is a device that feels as cheap as its price tag, with a plastic build that shows scuffs after days, not months.

That said, plenty of the magic that made the N20 shine is still here — largely because OnePlus has maintained several of the key specs. The processor is unchanged, now paired with more RAM for a smoother performance. Charging is also faster than ever, though our review found the N30 suffered from worse battery life than its predecessor. Still, we’ve already seen the Nord N30 for as little as half off, which makes this one of the best budget phones you can buy. Just don’t think about the Nord N20 too much — it’s better not to know what you missed.

Read our full OnePlus Nord N30 5G review.

Samsung Galaxy A04

Entry-level option

Gets the job done at a deeply budget price

The Samsung Galaxy A04 offers budget specs for a budget price. It’s powered by a MediaTek Helio P35, meaning it won’t be a gaming beast, but it will get you through daily tasks and social media. For a price typically under $120, it’s hard to argue with a device running Samsung’s excellent One UI software.

Pros

• Large LCD
• Samsung One UI software
• Low price

Cons

• Only 4GB of RAM
• 64GB of base storage
• 720p resolution

The Samsung Galaxy A04 won’t turn many heads, but it’s a popular phone for a reason. It features 4GB of RAM and the MediaTek Helio P35 chipset, which won’t have you running Call of Duty Mobile at 60fps, but that’s not the point. The Galaxy A04 is an excellent, bare-bones budget option for those who want to do a bit of light scrolling and keep up on social media. It has an all-plastic build, which might sound unappealing, but it keeps the weight down.

It’s not all budget for the Galaxy A04, as it runs One UI, Samsung’s excellent Android skin. It won’t match the performance of phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but you’ll benefit from frequent updates and new features, two things often missing from budget entries. While 64GB of base storage might seem limiting, the A04 sports a microSD card slot for expandable storage — a feature not found on many 2023 smartphones. If you’re looking for a no-frills option that is light on the wallet, the Galaxy A04 is worth considering.

T-Mobile Revvl 6 Pro 5G

Biggest screen

Massive, beastly phone for T-Mobile subscribers

While you might be tempted to shy away from carrier-branded smartphones, the T-Mobile Revvl 6 Pro 5G gets you some pretty impressive specs for the money. It’s not a perfect phone — that display is pretty low-res — but if you’re looking for a big, cheap Android device on the Uncarrier, this is a great option.

Pros

• Pixel-like software experience
• Headphone jack still intact
• Great battery life

Cons

• Terrible fingerprint reader
• Poor video quality
• Massive size might not be for everyone

When you’re on a limited smartphone budget, your purchase always comes down to compromises. You’re not likely to get everything you want for less than $300, so finding a phone that fits your main priorities is key. For plenty of shoppers, the T-Mobile-exclusive REVVL 6 Pro might be just what the doctor ordered. With a massive 6.82-inch display, ultra-long battery life, and a Dimensity 700 SoC, this device is built to stick with you no matter what life throws at you (albeit without the perks and quality-of-life improvements you’ll find in more expensive smartphones).

Performance from MediaTek’s chipset is solid enough for typical usage and some light gaming, and that gigantic 5,000mAh battery lasts for more than a full day on a single charge. The display, while only 720p, looks better than you might think; in fact, you might not notice its low resolution unless you’re holding it side-by-side with another phone. Even the primary camera lens is perfectly adequate in daylight, and with a 3.5mm headphone jack, the REVVL 6 Pro is perfect for anyone trying to rock out on the go.

There are no better budget smartphones on the market, so T-Mobile customers shouldn’t ignore this phone. Although it does cut a few corners to get the price down to $220, it’s a great deal for anyone hunting down a gigantic phablet-size device. Just keep your expectations in check while you give the latest REVVL smartphone a look.

Read our full T-Mobile REVVL 6 Pro 5G review.

The best Android phone for the best price

There’s no shortage of inexpensive Android phones, including 5G phones, and more of them than ever are actually worth buying. If you’re after the best model, Google’s Pixel 7a retains a lot of the best things about the Pixel 7 — like its high-end CPU, excellent camera processing, and solid construction — but brings it to an affordable price point. Frequent sales cut costs even further to $375, making it an attractive package with premium features for less.

The Motorola Edge offers a premium build quality, decent performance, and a gorgeous display while maintaining a budget price. Motorola’s My UX provides a stock Android experience with Moto’s popular gestures, allowing users to turn on the flashlight or open the camera app with a wave of their hand. If you want a clean software experience, but Google Pixels don’t appeal to you, the Edge might be worth a look.

If you’re after a truly budget smartphone with a decent experience, you won’t find many cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G. Although it’s not the cheapest phone on our list — that honor belongs to the Galaxy A04 — it’s only $40 more than that particular smartphone and manages to outperform it in nearly every way. With a 1080p 90Hz LCD, solid build quality, and reliable software support, it ticks all the essential smartphone boxes while delivering solid, if not incredible, performance. You won’t find anything flashy here, but as a basic entry-level phone, it more than gets the job done.

Google Pixel 7a

Best overall

Hard to beat for the price

If you are looking for a new device at a midrange price, the Google Pixel 7a checks off all the boxes. It has a fantastic camera system, strong power, great software support, and good battery life. It may be midrange in price but feels closer to its flagship siblings overall.