Best cheap phone: five smartphones for under $500

Some of us take the approach to gadgets as “I eat to live” rather than “I live to eat.” They are tools to help you get the job done, not something you want to invest a lot of time or money into. A worthwhile way to spend $1,000 more than buying a phone.

Cheap cell phones can save you. These devices cost around $500 or less and are more powerful than ever. You won’t get all the bells and whistles, but you’ll save a little money to spend on, I don’t know, really fancy stuff. This is your world.

Many of our picks are around $400 or $500, but there are also great options for $300 and under. You can find bright HD OLED screens or batteries that last for days. If you can focus on the one or two features that matter most to you, and you’re willing to compromise on other areas, you can get a phone that suits your needs for half the price of a flagship phone.

What compromises do you make with a budget phone? A combination of a few factors: a slower processor than a flagship phone, less storage, and a worse camera, pretty much across the board. Many devices have low-resolution screens, and most lack official waterproofing ratings, wireless charging and NFC chips for contactless payments.

screen: 4.7-inch, 1334p LCD monitor / processor: A15 Bionic camera: 12 million pixels f/1.8, with OIS, 7 million pixels selfie / TOLL: 20W wired, 7.5W wireless/ Weather resistance grade: IP67 rating

If your budget has a strict $500 limit and you’re looking for a new iPhone, the choice is simple. 2022 iPhone SE is only New iPhones cost less than $500. It’s the cheapest way to get into the iOS ecosystem, and it’ll get the job done, but I’d strongly encourage anyone eyeing SE to consider whether they could spend a little more iPhone 14, now on sale for $599.

The important thing to know about the SE is that it has a very small, very dated 4.7-inch screen. It’s the same size as on the iPhone 6, which starts to feel cramped in an era when apps and web pages are designed for larger screens. The SE’s large bezels also make the device look dated, but the availability of smaller screens will become a bigger factor in the coming years.

This is the biggest blow to SE – and an important one at that. But if you’re not worried about a cramped screen, the SE has a lot going for it. Its A15 processor is the same one found in the iPhone 13 Pro Max, so performance is very good.

It’s IP67 waterproof and wirelessly charging – something unusual in this price range – and despite using an older 12-megapixel camera, it takes very nice photos and high-quality video clips. The camera doesn’t have a night mode, which is an odd omission – basically every Other mid-range phones offer some kind of low-light photo mode, and the phone’s processor is certainly up to the task. Apples are apples.

Read my full review of the Apple iPhone SE (2022).

screen: 6.1 inches, 1080p OLED, 120Hz / processor: Tensor G3 camera: 64 million pixels f/1.89, with OIS, 13 million pixels ultra-wide, 13 million pixels selfie / Battery: 4,492mAh/ TOLL: 18W wired, 7.5W wireless / Weather resistance grade: IP67 rating

Google offers some really good high-end phones Pixel 9, 9Professional and 9 ProfessionalXLbut the one that makes the most sense is the company’s budget phone. At $500, the Pixel 8A offers many of the benefits of its pricier sibling but costs half as much.

It’s a modest update to the Pixel 7A, which you can still buy, but the 8A has one major upgrade over the previous generation: seven years of operating system and security updates. That’s a big deal if you’re the kind of person who likes to hold on to your device for longer periods of time – especially in the budget category, where other phones may only offer one or two platform upgrades.

The 8A is also Google’s first budget phone to feature a 120Hz display, so scrolling and animations look super smooth. You also get wireless charging and IP67 water resistance. The camera system is solid, but this is the most obvious place where Google had to make some compromises to keep the price low. It’s a great all-around camera, but upgrading to one of the latest Pixel models gets you improved low-light performance, an updated ultra-wide-angle camera, and a host of artificial intelligence features.

Read my full review of the Google Pixel 8A.

screen: 6.78 inches, 1264 x 2780 120Hz OLED / processor: Snapdragon 8 second generation camera: 50 million pixels f/1.8 (with OIS), 8 million pixels ultra-wide, 2 million pixels macro, 16 million pixels selfie/ Battery: 5,500mAh/ TOLL: 80W wired/ Weather resistance grade: IP64

The OnePlus 12R costs $500, but it could easily fool you into thinking it costs twice as much. It features a very large, very beautiful screen with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and all the way down to 1Hz, providing a smooth scrolling experience when you need it and saving battery life when you don’t. This is a feature rarely seen on phones under $800.

The 12R comes with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which is a generation behind the popular 2024 processors, the 8 Gen 3. The not-so-good: The 12R has an IP64 rating, which means it’s splash-proof but not fully submersible like the Pixel 8A.

Fast charging is a OnePlus trademark, and the 12R stays true to the brand, offering up to 80W of fast wired charging in the US (up to 100W in other regions). This is great if you want to charge your phone during a more compact time, such as in the morning instead of at night.

Personally, I’d rather use slower wired charging if it meant I could have a feature not available on the 12R: wireless charging. This is again something the Pixel 8A offers. But that’s the beauty of the 12R – it knows what it is and what it isn’t. If you want a low-cost phone with a big screen, high-quality screen, and great performance, look no further than the 12R.

Read my full review of the OnePlus 12R.

screen: 6.6 inches, 1080p resolution, 120Hz OLED / processor: Exynos 1380 camera: 50 million pixels f/1.8 (with OIS), 8 million pixels ultra-wide, 5 million pixels macro, 13 million pixels selfie/ Battery: 5,000mAh/ TOLL: 25W wired/ Weather resistance grade: IP67 rating

The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G costs $399, but its specs are surprisingly powerful. You won’t really spot these features from the outside, but they’re important, especially its IP67 dust and water resistance rating. Unlike almost every other phone in its price range, the A35 5G can withstand water immersion, so you don’t have to worry if your phone falls into a toilet or puddle.

Here’s another exciting spec: four years of operating system updates and five years of security updates. It’s not the best in the budget category — the Pixel 8A earned that honor through seven years of updates — but it’s much better than the two or three years we typically see in phones under $500.

The camera is lackluster; it performs well in bright light but poorly in dim and mixed indoor lighting. It also doesn’t have the best processing power under $500, and the Samsung-made Exynos processor occasionally stutters when switching quickly between tasks. I was horrified – horrified! – When I accidentally texted my husband an auto-generated reply because it popped up at the last moment when I was trying to click on something else. These things don’t happen when everything loads quickly.

But overall, it’s a compelling product, especially with its popular large OLED display and strong battery performance. If you’re a light user and not fussy about camera quality, the A35 5G offers some upgrades that can make a real difference in the long run.

this 2024 Motorola Moto G Power It has all the makings of a good budget phone, including a lovely vegan leather exterior and wireless charging. But it’s loaded with the worst bloatware, and that alone makes it fall short of our recommendation criteria. Read our impressions.

We also tested OnePlus Nord N300which does not appear in our recommendations. The N300 is very affordable at $228, but it makes a lot of changes in terms of fast charging. The pricier 12R we recommended above offers better overall performance. Read our review.

this Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is another phone with great features, but it doesn’t get a recommendation here. Regardless, the $649 price tag is a bit outside the scope of this guide, but you do get a telephoto lens and a nice big screen for that price. Still, you’d be better off saving a chunk of money and picking up a Pixel 8A or waiting Galaxy S25 – It will likely be available in early 2025, accompanied by Samsung’s typically generous trade-in promotions. Read our review.

Finally, if you’re looking for something completely different, No phone 2 is an option with a sleek look and a flashy interface (literally flashes) – just know that it’s not fully compatible with the Verizon network.

Updated December 16th: Removed recommendation for Google Pixel 6A because it is out of stock. Removed note about Samsung Galaxy S23 FE and added more details about Galaxy S24 FE.