wireless carriers in the US go out of their way to make expensive smartphones seem affordable. You may wonder why you shouldn’t buy a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra if it costs nothing down and is only $33 a month. The answer is that over 36 monthly installments, you’re still spending more than a thousand dollars on a phone. Your pricey device may also keep you locked in the network, unable to switch wireless carriers until the phone is paid off.
Forget the spendy option and get a seriously great affordable smartphone instead. I’ve tested dozens to find the best cheap phones that perform where it counts and aren’t annoyingly slow. Our top pick, the Google Pixel 6A, is as good as almost any device, and our other choices strike a great balance between price and luxury.
Be sure to check out our many other guides, including the Best Android Phones, Best Phones With a Headphone Jack, Best Google Pixel, and Best iPhones.
Updated February 2023: We've added the Moto G Play 2023, Samsung Galaxy A14 5G, Doogee S89 Pro, and Nokia G400.
- Best Overall: Google Pixel 6A
- Best Cheap iPhone: iPhone SE (3rd Gen.)
- Runner-Up: Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
- Best Under $300: Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G 2022
- Best Under $200: Samsung Galaxy A14 5G
- Honorable Mentions
- Avoid These Phones
- Should You Buy Now?
- Consider Last Year's Flagship Phones
- Do You Need a 5G Phone?
- Check Network Compatibility
- A Word of Caution
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Google's Pixel 6A (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the best phone you can buy for the money. It's powered by the Tensor processor, the very same that's in the top-end Pixel 6 series. That not only makes it the most powerful Android phone under $500 (at least in the US), but it also enables every single smart software feature found on the Google flagships, from Assistant Voice Typing, which lets you ditch the keyboard for your voice, to Magic Eraser, which lets you erase unwanted objects in the background of your photos. You'll get 5 years of security updates, but Google is only promising three Android OS upgrades, which is oddly less than what Samsung offers for its devices.
This is a great phone for anyone who shuns large screens. The 6.1-inch AMOLED display isn't the tiniest around, but it's on the smaller end of most phones today—it's easy to grasp and use. The front is protected by Gorilla Glass 3, so you'll want to install a screen protector, but the rear is a plastic composite, so you have one less area to worry about if you drop it. (It's nothing like the cheap plastic on most budget and midrange phones, and actually feels luxurious.)