The best cheap phones in 2024: Top picks from Apple, Google, Samsung, and more

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When it comes to making the best cheap phones, phone makers have to balance more carefully which features to prioritize and which they can sacrifice from their premium and flagship lines. Different phone makers have different ideas about what makes a good, affordable phone, so there's likely a budget phone that's perfect for you.  

For budget phone recommendations, we like models that prioritize performance and camera quality. These are the qualities that most directly affect your experience with a phone, and we think they're the most important over less consequential details, like design. A phone with a desirable design, large screen, and smooth refresh rate won't provide a worthwhile experience if performance is slow and stuttery or the camera is mediocre.

As shown by several generations of excellent affordable phones, Google is the top budget phone maker, and the company's Pixel 8a is our top choice among the best cheap phones in 2024. Its combination of performance, camera and screen quality, battery life, and design simply can't be beat. The Pixel 8a is also among the most expensive budget phones, so if it's out of your price range, we recommend the $300 Motorola Moto G Power 5G (2024) as the next best budget option. 

Our top picks for the best cheap phones

Best overall: Google Pixel 8a - See at Amazon

Best true budget phone: Motorola Moto G Power 5G (2024) - See at Amazon

Best cheap iPhone: iPhone 13 - See at Best Buy 

Best cheap iPhone alternative: iPhone SE (2022) - See at Best Buy

Best camera: Google Pixel 8a - See at Amazon

Best battery life: Samsung Galaxy A35 5G - See at T-Mobile

Best overall

Starting at $499, the Google Pixel 8a might seem out of place in a list of the best cheap phones, but it's still hundreds less than a premium phone and offers several key high-end features. As such, it offers remarkable value, and if your budget allows it, the Pixel 8a should be at the top of your shortlist. 

In more ways than one, the Pixel 8a delivers a premium experience on par with some of the best Android phones. It runs on the same powerful Tensor G3 processor as Google's flagship Pixel 8 series; it has a smooth 120Hz OLED display; its cameras compete with phones that cost twice as much; and it supports wireless charging, a feature typically reserved for premium phones. It also has battery life that competes with other, more expensive 6.1-inch phones. 

As the Pixel 8a runs on the same processor as the flagship Pixel models, it supports many of the same high-end AI features, like Circle To Search, Best Take, Audio Magic Eraser, Magic Editor, Photo Unblur, Live Translate, Call Screen, Hold For Me, and several more. 

The Pixel 8a supports up to 18W wired charging speeds, which isn't terribly fast, but we can easily excuse it thanks to its excellent battery life and the premium features mentioned above. Wireless charging speeds are capped at 7.5W, which is fine for long charging periods while sitting at your desk. 

Our biggest complaint about the Pixel 8a is that it costs $50 more for the variant that supports the fastest mmWave 5G networks, and it's exclusive to Verizon. However, the carrier offers the Pixel 8a for free in exchange for signing up for a specific plan. Still, the basic $499 model supported by all major carriers comes with 5G C-band support, which should offer more than enough data speeds for pretty much anything you do on your phone. And AT&T and T-Mobile have their own deals that dramatically reduce the Pixel 8a's price, too. 

Read our full Google Pixel 8a review and equip the phone with one of the best Google Pixel 8a cases. 

Best true budget phone

If you can't or won't take advantage of carrier deals, and $500 is more than you were willing to spend when coming to this guide, Motorola's Moto G Power 5G is a more affordable option we heartily recommend. Starting at $300, the Moto G Power's price sits more comfortably in the budget category, and it's discounted by $20 down to $280 at the time of writing from various retailers like Best Buy, Motorola itself, and Amazon without carrier conditions. 

At traditional budget prices, the Moto G Power does not offer the same performance and camera quality as the Pixel 8a. Still, it provides a great overall experience that makes it one of the best budget Android phones you can buy. Its MediaTek Dimensity 7020 processor opens and runs apps quickly and smoothly. It only shows its limitations during heavier loads, like opening or closing a game or shortly after booting up the phone. 

The Moto G Power has a 50MP main camera and an 8MP ultrawide. We're happy to see it doesn't include a pointless macro camera for the sake of claiming the phone has three cameras, which many budget phones include. Photo detail is a smidgeon softer than you'd find on more expensive phones, but photos still look surprisingly good with a nice balance of brightness, contrast, and color for the price. It struggles more than premium phones to capture sharp, clear photos of moving subjects, but that's to be expected when spending hundreds less.  

Battery life for the Moto G Power is perfectly acceptable and typical for a phone in 2024, whether budget or premium, and it supports up to 30W charging speeds, which is fast for the price range. In fact, it's even faster than the $800 Galaxy S24's 25W charging. 

The only main grip we have against the Moto G Power is that Motorola will only grant it one Android upgrade (likely Android 15, as it runs Android 14 at the time of writing). As for security updates, Motorola will patch vulnerabilities for three years, which is good for the budget category but poor compared to Google's seven-year support window for the Pixel 8a. 

Best cheap iPhone

Starting at $599, the iPhone 13 is barely clinging to a reason for being on this budget phone list. Yet, if you want the best iPhone at an attainable price point, we feel it's worth buying the iPhone 13 over the cheapest iPhone you can buy, the iPhone SE (2022). 

The iPhone 13 is the second least expensive iPhone you can buy, and it's a worthy pick if the iPhone SE (2022) has too many shortcomings for your taste. It runs on Apple's A15 Bionic processor, which offers the same performance as the iPhone SE (2022), but it's an upgrade in almost every other way.

The iPhone 13 has a larger 6.1-inch display, a second camera for ultrawide photos, better battery life, a modern design, and Face ID to unlock the phone and make mobile payments. It also supports MagSafe accessories, like cases and wireless chargers.

The iPhone 13 is a $170 jump from the iPhone SE (2022), so deciding between these models is not a light task. We do feel that the iPhone 13's larger screen and better battery offer a better overall experience that warrants the price premium, and the other upgrades are nice additions that help to justify the additional cost.

Best cheap iPhone alternative

If you simply can't justify the iPhone 13's price, the iPhone SE (2022), starting at $429, is your best and only bet for those who seek an inexpensive iPhone in new condition. It supports the latest version of iOS, includes the iMessage and FaceTime apps, and works seamlessly with Apple's popular range of devices and accessories, like Mac computers, Apple Watches, AirTags, and AirPods.

Spinning the wheels in the iPhone SE (2022) is Apple's A15 Bionic processor, which runs the iPhone 13 series from 2021. It's still a very capable processor and can easily run any app or game.

Apple has a strong history of supporting iPhones with new versions of iOS and security updates for at least six years, so while the iPhone SE was released in 2022, we wouldn't be surprised if it's supported for several more years. For reference, Apple still supports the iPhone XS series released in 2018.

The iPhone SE (2022) only has a single camera, which is less versatile than the dual and triple cameras on more expensive iPhone models and even less costly budget Android phones. Still, it does the job, and anyone would be happy with the photos the iPhone SE takes, especially after spending less than $500 on an iPhone.

With all that said, the iPhone SE (2022) isn't for everyone. Its small 4.7-inch screen size is divisive, its big-bezel design is antiquated in 2024, and it uses Touch ID for unlocking the phone. It doesn't support certain newer features like MagSafe accessories, and its battery life will prove short for those who spend lots of time on their phones.

Best camera

The Google Pixel 8a features a second time in our best cheap phone guide for its category-defying cameras. If you want an affordable Android phone and care about photo quality, the Pixel 8a should be in your pocket. Other phones in the budget range can also take good photos and do a great job of capturing memories, but the Pixel 8a is in a different league.

The Pixel 8a sports a 64MP main camera and a 13MP ultrawide camera, which take superb photos. Scenery and people are captured in beautifully natural color, with less apparent processing than the artificial-looking results of other major phone makers. We're looking at you, Samsung.

One of the Pixel 8a camera's key abilities is quick focusing. It requires less dependence on steady hands and a still subject to take a clear photo than most budget phones. 

Beyond the camera hardware, Google's AI photo and video features can prove incredibly useful. Some are available on budget phones, like Magic Eraser, but to get the full breadth of Google's AI while spending less, you'll need a Pixel 8a. Features like Best Take, Audio Magic Eraser, Magic Editor, and Photo Unblur are especially useful and worth checking out. 

Read our full Google Pixel 8a review and add one of the best Google Pixel 8a cases to protect the phone. 

Best battery life

The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G has one of the best battery test results of all the current phones we've tested. With 65% remaining after our battery test, the Galaxy A35 beats even premium phones with large screen sizes, like the Google Pixel 8 Pro (62%) and the Nothing Phone 2 (59%). In the Android world, it's only matched by the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which costs almost $1,000 more. 

To be sure, the Galaxy A35's excellent battery life won't likely dramatically transform your daily charging habits. Instead, you might end your day with a higher battery percentage than usual, which is meaningful — it affords more confidence that your phone will keep going when you need it.

The phone supports 25W charging, which is fast for the budget category. It's faster than the Pixel 8a and the same speed as the premium Galaxy S24.

Beyond battery life, the Galaxy A35 is a good phone, and it warrants its $400 price tag with its snappy performance, 6.6-inch OLED 120Hz display, and nice design. Photo quality is generally good, too, but it's occasionally prone to overexposing brighter details.

Our battery test is designed to simulate mixed usage, and it's the same test every single time where possible. It involves streaming a video for two hours, playing music on Bluetooth speakers for one hour, five runs of the Geekbench 6 CPU benchmark, and two runs of the 3DMark WildLife Stress Test.

Best cheap phones compared

FAQs

Which cheap phone is the fastest?

According to benchmark results, Apple's iPhone SE (2022) and iPhone 13, running on the A15 Bionic processor, are the fastest cheap phones. However, there's little perceivable difference in day-to-day use between the iPhones and Google's Pixel 8a, which runs on the Tensor G3 processor.

Which cheap iPhone has the best value?

The iPhone SE (2022) is one of the best phones you can buy for budget value at its $429 starting price. It includes the core Apple experience and access to Apple's popular ecosystem of software and accessories, including iMessage, FaceTime, the Apple Watch, and AirPods, to name a few. 

However, as I mentioned above, the iPhone SE (2022)'s small screen, outdated design, and comparatively short battery life means it's not for everyone. If you can spare an additional $170, we'd rather recommend the iPhone 13 to most people for its larger screen, modern design, Face ID, and better battery life.