Buying one of these unlocked phones could save you a ton of money in the long run

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The easiest way to cut down on your monthly cellphone bill is to buy an unlocked phone.

Unfortunately, unlocked phones cost significantly more than their carrier subsidized counterparts. But, if you're willing to sacrifice a few features, or don't care about having the latest-and-greatest, there are some good deals out there. 

The four phones on this list cost under $200 and will pay for themselves in a matter of months. There's representation for all three major phone operating systems, and each phone has its own pros and cons.

If you're at the end of your contract with one of the major carriers, and don't feel like plunking down each month to effectively rent one of their phones, try one of these out.

BLU R1

I wrote about the BLU R1's base model recently, and while it's a steal at $50, I'm going to recommend it's older sibling here. 

This model has more RAM, which helps significantly when loading a lot of web pages, high-end games, or resource-intensive apps. It's also free of "special offers," Amazon's code for baked-in advertising, which is a big deal. When our sister site Tech Insider reviewed the base R1, they dinged it heavily for being ad-heavy; this model eliminates that problem entirely. 

It isn't a powerhouse, but its quad-core processor and extra RAM should be fine for day-to-day tasks. Being able to upgrade your storage through a MicroSD card is also a nice touch, if you like having your music or movies stored locally. It might not be the best phone on the market, but for its price, the BLU R1 HD is in a league of its own.

BLU R1 HD, $109.99, available from Amazon

Lumia 830

If you're deep in the Windows ecosystem and want a phone to match your Windows 10 laptop or Surface Pro, the Lumia 830 is a good choice.

The biggest pro for Windows lovers is that the Lumia 830 is capable of running Windows 10 mobile, so you'll already be familiar with the interface and many of the apps. Non-Windows users can pick that stuff up quickly, and regardless of your operating system affiliation, there's a lot going for this phone. 

Its five-inch 720p screen has a pixel density of 296 pixels-per-inch, so everything, especially text, should look exceptionally sharp. Its quad-core processor and one gig of RAM should be able to handle most apps just fine, although the app ecosystem on Windows 10 mobile isn't as robust as those on iOS or Android.

The Lumia 830 is also the only phone on this list to support inductive charging, which is nice if you'd like to cut charging cables out of your life. Nokia's Lumia line has been the only one to tempt me away from my 9-year relationship with my iPhone. If you have no operating-system loyalties and want to try something new, it's worth a shot.

Lumia 830, $169.99, available on Amazon

Honor 5X

The Honor 5X has earned its place on this list for packing a number of features from high-end phones into a budget package. 

Most impressive among them is a built-in fingerprint reader that's located on the back of the phone, keeping the Honor 5X's face buttonless. Like the BLU R1, the Honor 5X's storage can also be upgraded with a MicroSD card, and it also has two sim card slots. That feature comes in handy if you're traveling abroad, where you'll need a sim card from that region to use your phone. That feature isn't even available on certain top-tier phones.

The Honor's 5.5 screen has a resolution of 1080p, putting it on par with the iPhone 6S Plus; although it probably has the same level of color accuracy. Camera lovers will be happy to hear that this phone has a 13 megapixel camera with five different camera modes to help you take the best shot. It may be the most expensive phone on this list, but the Honor 5X is also the most fully featured.

Honor 5X, $188.96, available from Amazon