The Android platform is home to a myriad of budget-friendly phones that pack more power than their puny prices project. If you’re looking for a new phone that breaks expectations (and NOT the bank), then continue reading. Here’s a list of 10 great budget Android phones.
Top 10 Best Budget Smartphones – December 2022 Summary
Finding the best budget Android smartphones can be a bit of a tedious affair; there are quite a few of them out there. So, here is a quick summary of the phones that are on this list. It’s recommended that you read below to see a full description of the phones. The descriptions will tell you which aspects make these phones great and why you should buy them. However, if you don’t want to bother with the descriptions, here’s a chart of the phones. It tells you the full names of the devices, their price, and a link to buy them. Just know that prices can change as time goes on, so the prices that are written might not reflect the final price when you visit the page.
Best budget water-resistant phone
Ulefone Armor 8 Pro
If you’re looking for a phone that you can take out with you and not worry about getting wet, then you’ll want to look for water-resistant phones. If you’re looking to save a buck, then you’ll want to consider the Ulefone Armor 8 Pro. This is a pretty tough and rugged phone that you can take with you anywhere. It comes with Android 11 out of the box. That’s not the newest version, especially since Android 13 is coming out later on this year. However, it’s still plenty good. This phone has IP68 water and dust resistance. This means that it can be submerged under 1.5 meters of freshwater (it needs to be freshwater!) for up to 30 minutes. Just don’t take it to the pool or the beach.
Best budget gaming smartphone
Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro
If you’re a serious mobile gamer, then you know about the gaming prowess of more expensive phones. However, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro is plenty powerful to be your next gaming phone. This phone comes with an upper-tier mid-range Snapdragon processor. It’s the Snapdragon 695, and that’s more than enough to play most of the games on the market. Also, this comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage.
Best budget rugged Android smartphone
Blackview BV6300 Pro
If you’re looking for a well-equipped phone that can take a beating, then you should look at the Blackview BV6300 Pro. This company isn’t as well-known as Samsung, but it’s more than capable of giving you a good smartphone experience. As you can guess, this phone come with the typical slew of certifications. It has IP68 water and dust resistance. This means that it can be submerged under up to a 1.5 meters of fresh water for up to 30 minutes. You’ll want to be careful around seawater and pool water. Also, this phone has the MIL-STD-810G protection standard. This means that the phone will be able to survive multiple fall and other impacts and still keep functioning. When it comes to power, there will be more than enough to get the job done. It uses the MediaTek Helio P70 SoC. This is definitely a mid-range processor. While this is the case, this phone still has 6GB of RAM and 128GB, so you shouldn’t have a problem with getting good performance.
Best cheap smartphone for battery life
Moto G Stylus (2022)
Motorola’s phones are great when it comes to battery life. This year’s stylus phone continues that tradition. It was able to last through our test with about 8 hours of screen-on time. Along with that, this phone has a nice screen, nice speakers, a decent camera, and a solid build. There’s also the built-in stylus that you can use to write on it. Moto G Stylus 5G 2022 - BestBuy
Best cheap stylus phone
Samsung Galaxy Note20 5G
Price: From $255Where to buy: Back Market
Even though the Galaxy Note 20 was an expensive flagship phone when it launched, it’s much cheaper nowadays. Getting an older flagship phone today can still give you great performance. Also, this phone isn’t all that old. The main thing about this phone is the built-in stylus that adds a ton of added functionality. You’re able to draw, take notes, sign documents, etc. with the S Pen. Samsung stuffed a ton of features into the pen, so this is a great phone to get if you need that. Also, you can bet that you’re getting an amazing display.
Best cheap Android phone with a great display
OnePlus N300 5G
Price: From $228Where to buy: T-Mobile
This is the latest budget-friendly phone from Chinese OEM OnePlus, and it’s a pretty solid device. It’s not meant for the power user, but it’s nice for peolpe who like to watch a lot of video content. This phone has a screen that exceeds its price tag. It’s a very vibrant display that makes whatever you watch look beautiful. Not only is its screen vibrant, but it has really nice contrast. You’ll love watching video content or playing games using this phone.
Best cheap smartphone for 5G
Motorola One 5G Ace
If you’re looking for a cheap phone from Motorola with some decent specs, then you should look no further than the One 5G Ace. This phone has a design different from most other Motorola devices, but it will still bring the great Moto experience. This phone, along with having a large FHD+ display, a large 5000mAh battery, and 128GB of onboard storage, has the fast 5G connectivity. You get Sub-6 5G, which isn’t the fastest out there, but it’s still really fast compared to 4GLTE. This is a great phone to get if you’re looking for an affordable 5G phone.
Best cheap smartphone with stock Android
Google Pixel 6a
This is Google’s newest budget phone, and it’s barely that. Google fit its flagship-grade Tensor chip in this phone, so it runs perfectly smooth. Also, it has a great display, great speakers, and a great camera. This phone, as you can guess, runs stock Android. You’re getting pure and fresh software right from the company, and you can expect speedy updates.
The best budget smartphone that’s nearly a flagship
Nokia G50
Some budget phones have such a robust feature set that they’re hard to distinguish from premium phones. The Nokia G50 is one of those phones. We reviewed this phone, and it quickly became one of our favorite budget Android smartphones. The Nokia G50 was able to pack a good display, big battery, good processor, and decent camera package into a premium body. It’s a phone you should get if you want a premium look and feel.
Best of the cheap Android smartphones with 256GB of storage
Poco X3 Pro
Regardless of how much money you spend on a phone, it’s always good to have enough storage. The standard storage configuration for smartphones is 128GB, but what if you want more than that? This is where the Poco X3 Pro comes in. This phone has a good mix of specs that will make it a grab for anyone looking to save cash. It has an older flagship processor, but it also has a 1080p+ HDR10 LCD display that can run at 120Hz. Also, it has a large 5160mAh battery. There’s a variant of the phone that has 256GB of onboard storage. Not only that, but this phone also has microSD card expansion.
