The Best Cheap Phones of 2021

These are the best cheap phones under $400 based on our tests and reviews.

Best Cheap Phones - it's not just good prices; they will make you wonder why people spend $800 or more on a new phone. Based on our testing, you can get a very good smartphone for less than $400 with all the features most buyers want, whether you're an iPhone aficionado or an Android fan.

Those on a tight budget will find that the best cheap phones offer quality cameras, displays large enough for watching videos and playing games, and enough battery life to get you through most of the day.

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In this price range, you really have to compromise, as you won't always find the most powerful processors, the biggest screens, or 5G connectivity. But overall, you'll be pleasantly surprised by what the best cheap phones have to offer.

What are the best cheap phones?

best cheap phonewhich you can buy right now is Google Pixel 4a. It has one of the best cameras you'll find on any phone, and at $349, it's $50 less than the iPhone SE. We also like the newer Pixel 4a 5G, but this phone costs $499. If you want a 5G phone for less than $400, we recommend the TCL 10 5G UW.

Phone SE - Another great option for an inexpensive phone. The $399 Apple phone includes an incredibly fast A13 Bionic processor, very good rear and front cameras, and a bright and colorful 4.7-inch display. And all this in a compact waterproof case with support for wireless charging.

If you want to spend even less on your phone, get the new Moto G Power, which delivers outstanding phone battery life for less than $200. We're also keeping an eye on the new Samsung A52 and other A-series phones coming to the US soon.

The Best Cheap Phones You Can Buy Today

1. Google Pixel 4a

For $349, you won't find better quality than the Google Pixel 4a. Google's latest budget phone has everything that made the Pixel 3a such a hit, but in a device that costs $50 less.

As before, there's only a single 12.2MP rear camera, but Google is adding some software features like Super Res Zoom and Live HDR+ to it. Many of the photographic features you'll find on the more expensive Pixel 4 are here, and the result is some of the best photos you'll see from a phone at any price.

The Pixel 4a can't match the performance of the iPhone SE, but for most smartphone users, Google's phone has enough processing power from its Snapdragon 730G chipset to handle most tasks. Throw in an attractive design, vibrant OLED screen, and 128GB of storage, and you've got a Pixel 4a phone that offers a lot at a low price. Google Pixel 5a is rumored later this year, but it's never expected before the end of spring anytime soon.

The iPhone SE 2020 is what happens when you make a cheap phone that isn't cheap. For $399, this iPhone offers the same high performance as the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro thanks to the A13 Bionic processor. And that same chip gives the iPhone SE the photography capabilities that most budget Android phones lack. This includes portrait mode for the front and rear cameras, Smart HDR, and high dynamic range when shooting video.

The iPhone SE with its 4.7-inch display is best for those who prefer smaller phones, but the screen is bright and colorful. You also get a Touch ID button for unlocking the device, Apple Pay and entering passwords, and a waterproof design. The new iPhone SE also supports wireless charging.

The new iPhone SE is well made, with a glass and aluminum body, but the bezels are oversized. Also, you don't get the night mode for the camera offered by the iPhone 11. But overall, it's the best cheap phone out there.

In our battery test, the truly durable phone lasted over 11 hours. The new Moto G Power impresses with its speed of 14 hours and 4 minutes. That's one of the best battery life numbers we've ever seen on a phone, and it's really remarkable when you consider that the Moto G Power costs less than $250. (And there's a $199 version, if you can live with less RAM and storage.) But that's not the only reason this Android phone made our list of the best cheap phones.

The Moto G Power also features a large 6.6-inch Full HD display and fairly powerful triple-lens cameras, including a 48MP main camera, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor.

The powerful 5,000 mAh battery inside the Moto G Power at 7.3 ounces certainly contributes to its weight. And the screen on this phone could be brighter. But overall, the Moto G Power is one of the best cheap phones out there.

4.TCL 10 5G UW

You won't find too many 5G capable devices on the best cheap phones list - 5G modems can be quite an expensive addition. And yet, here's the TCL 10 5G UW that can connect to Verizon's ultra-fast 5G network while still costing you less than $400.

5G explains the appeal of TCL's phone. The 6.53-inch display, although a bit dim, delivers great colors and gives you plenty of screen real estate. The TCL 10 5G UW has the same Snapdragon 765G processor you'll find in more expensive phones, delivering comparable performance. This 5G connection doesn't affect battery life either, as the TCL phone lasted over 11 hours on our battery test.

You don't have to spend big money on a phone like the Galaxy Note 10 to get a stylus with your phone. The Moto G Stylus is $299, and there's a handy stylus in the bottom right corner of the phone. While you won't have S Pen functionality, you can remove the stylus and start taking notes on your Motorola phone's screen, all without having to unlock your device. The stylus can also help you take screenshots and edit photos.

In many ways, the Moto G Stylus is exactly the same as last year's Moto G Power. They share the same screen size and processor, although the G Stylus comes with more storage and a larger main camera sensor. The biggest trade-off, however, is the battery, where the Moto G Stylus makes do with a 4,000mAh power bank. Even with the smaller battery, the G Stylus lasted over 12 hours in our battery test, making it a long-lasting phone for people who need a stylus for productivity.

6. Samsung Galaxy A51

After last year's successful Galaxy A50, Samsung's new Galaxy A51 is even more value for under $400 with its 6.5-inch AMOLED display, a quad-lens camera that includes ultra-wide, depth and macro, and an extensive built-in 128 GB memory. • We especially like the design of the A51; It's made of plastic but looks well-built, and its full-screen proportions and thin bezels make it more appealing to the middle class than even the new iPhone SE.

Well, at least until you try to use these cameras in low light. The Galaxy A51 is a very beautiful phone, although it suffers from camera quality and performance. Sometimes apps can take a long time to open and the device can get nervous when you have a lot going on at the same time. Samsung's latest budget offering isn't as eye-catching as the iPhone SE, Pixel 3a, or Moto G Power, but it's a respectable choice nonetheless, especially if you want a big AMOLED screen for less than $400.

7.TCL 10L

A cheap phone doesn't have to look cheap. The TCL 10L features a design that brings down its bargain price and also features one of the best displays you'll find on any phone. The 6.53-inch TCL 10L LCD panel shows a wide range of colors, and TCL Nxtvision technology provides useful features such as dynamic adjustment of color temperature and screen brightness.

Other parts of the TCL 10L do not match the stellar example set by its display. Performance is about what you'd expect from a phone powered by the Snapdragon 665 chipset, and battery life is average. That would be nice, but the similarly priced Moto G Power lasted over 6 hours longer in our test. The TCL 10L's four rear cameras also struggle with color.

Still, it's a very good-looking phone, especially if you can get the TCL 10L in Mariana Blue. And at $249, you don't have to pay big bucks to add some style to your smartphone.

The Samsung Galaxy A20 is only $250 and gives you some pretty good features for the money. It includes a 4,000mAh battery that lasted an impressive 13 hours and 46 minutes in our battery test, a roomy 6.4-inch AMOLED display, and reliable dual rear cameras with Live Focus mode. Another plus is 15W fast charging; Galaxy A20 accelerated to 30% in just 30 minutes.

The Samsung Galaxy A20 is available from multiple carriers including Verizon, Boost and Republic Wireless. However, there are some downsides to this price, including a design that scratches easily and the somewhat slow performance of the Samsung Exynos 7904 processor.

It won't release until this summer, but keep an eye out for the Galaxy A21, which will have a 6.5-inch screen and a quad-lens system.

How to choose the best cheap phone for you

Picking the best cheap phone can be tricky because it really comes down to figuring out what trade-offs you're willing to put up with. But it's important to start with the basics. Do you prefer a bigger screen? Choose a cheap phone with a display over 5.5 inches. Those who want to comfortably use the phone with one hand will most likely prefer a phone smaller than 5 inches.

Next comes the camera. Budget phones usually have one or two lenses, but this is starting to change. The number of megapixels doesn't really matter; pay more attention to the capabilities of the camera. See if the phone can take ultra-wide shots, which is becoming more common on cheap phones. But don't expect optical zoom; digital zoom is the norm up to $400.

In terms of storage, 32GB is fine, but for budget phones, 64GB is preferable. And, if possible, see if this phone has a microSD card slot for expansion. Battery life is very important no matter the price, so check the battery capacity on your phone. In general, anything over 4500 mAh is preferred.

While the TCL 10 5G UW means 5G compatibility is coming to sub-$400 phones, don't expect 5G speed as a general rule. This is likely to change next year when 5G modems are included in chipsets designed for cheaper phones. Finally, check which carriers your phone supports. Ideally, the phone should work on both GSM and CDMA networks from all four major US providers.

How we test cheap phones

We rate budget phones the same way we rate flagships. We've been running live testing and synthetic tests over the course of several days to evaluate its performance and value. This includes our own battery test, which includes continuous web surfing over cellular with a screen brightness of 150 nits. The devices on our list of the best phones for battery life typically last more than 11 hours.

In terms of performance, we use Geekbench 5 to measure overall speed and compare with phones in the same price range. The same goes for GFXBench for graphics testing. We also do our own video editing/transcoding testing with Adobe Premiere Rush to measure the actual speed.

To evaluate the cameras on cheap phones, we will take several shots in different conditions and use other affordable phones in the same scenarios to make side-by-side comparisons.