There’s never been a better time to buy a low-cost smartphone. With flagship phone sales levelling out, manufacturers have put more effort than ever into making truly competitive low-cost phones that pull in premium features without the high price tag.
As such, we’ve collated a list of some of the best phones money can buy right now, assuming you’re on a tight budget. Using the same £250 price limit as our Best Budget Phones roundup, below you’ll find a host of devices that punch above their weight in terms of features, performance and design, considering their price.
Best Budget Phone Deals
1. Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro (6GB RAM, 128GB)
Now: £189 (£40 off)
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Our favourite budget phone of the moment, Xiaomi’s Poco X3 Pro already represents phenomenal value and enjoys an extra discount here.
2. Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC (6GB RAM, 128GB)
Now: £179 (£70 off)
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Our Best Budget Phone of 2020, the Poco X3 NFC may have since been superseded by the X3 Pro, but it’s still an impressive value for money offer, only made better by this official Xiaomi discount.
3. Oppo Find X2 Lite (8GB RAM, 128GB)
Now: £199.99 (£199.01 off)
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The baby of Oppo’s 2020 Find X2 line, the Find X2 Lite delivers mid-range performance and design out the gate but now that its successor – the Find X3 Lite – is here, it’s enjoying reductions – like this one on Amazon – that bring it down to the within the same price range as more modest hardware.
Note: Discount varies by colour, double-check before purchase.
4. Realme 7 5G (6GB RAM, 128GB)
Now: £162.99 (£116.01 off)
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The Realme 7 5G is already a solid, affordable 5G-capable mid-ranger but that hasn’t stopped Realme from blessing it with a further discount, making for even better value.
5. Realme 7 (8GB RAM, 128GB)
Now: £199 (£40 off)
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Our recommendation for the Realme 7 comes with the caveat of avoiding the base 4GB of RAM model. Luckily, this top-spec 8GB RAM SKU is the perfect antidote and now benefits from a discount on Amazon too.
6. Realme 6 (8GB RAM, 128GB)
Now: £199.99 (£49.01 off)
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Despite the fast-paced iteration between the generations of Realme’s ‘number series’ and the Realme 8 now being on sale, 2020’s Realme 6 is only a year old and still a great deal. This 8GB RAM model comes with plenty of power and serves as one of the most affordable ways to enjoy a smooth 90Hz high refresh rate display.
7. Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T (4GB RAM, 128GB)
Now: £159 (£90 off)
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If you’re lusting after the latest and greatest super-fast 5G connectivity but don’t have the funds to splash out on a next-gen flagship, as well as a 5G-capable contract, Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 9T may be one of the most worthwhile options – in terms of affordable 5G.
8. Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 (4GB RAM, 128GB) + Mi Casual Daypack
Now: £119 (£80 off)
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Opt for the higher RAM/storage configuration of Xiaomi’s humble but feature-packed Redmi Note 9 and you can enjoy, not only a sizeable discount but one of the company’s Mi Casual Daypacks thrown in, as well.
9. OnePlus Nord N100 (4GB RAM, 64GB)
From: John Lewis
Was: £179
Now: £99 (£80 off)
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The baby of the current OnePlus bunch, the Nord N100 is the most affordable way to enjoy the company’s superb Oxygen OS user experience and now it’s up for grabs with an £80 discount at John Lewis.
10. Samsung Galaxy A21s (3GB RAM, 32GB)
Now: £156 (£23 off)
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One of the notable 2020 entry-level Galaxy devices comes in the form of the A21s; with a fast-charging 5000mAh battery and a 48Mp camera leading the spec sheet. Now with an Amazon discount.
11. Nokia 7.2 (4GB RAM, 64GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £249.99
Now: £189.99 (£60 off)
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HMD Global’s promise of three years of software updates isn’t lacking here and neither is the clean Android One user experience offered by the Nokia 7.2. You’ll also find a pleasing HDR display and a £60 discount with this Amazon deal.
Budget phone buying advice
There are a lot of affordable smartphones out there and although swinging for the lowest price tag can be tempting, it doesn’t make sense to skimp on a product you’ll likely end up using almost every day for months or years at a time.
Try and buy from an established brand that you know and trust, not only as bigger companies’ products are usually held to higher quality standards, but should anything go wrong with your purchase, more established players also typically offer more robust customer support systems.
Don’t expect affordable phones such as these to feel like miniature flagships; such phones most obviously sacrifice hardware and/or camera performance to cut costs, while others opt for lesser build quality or less-premium materials – such as polycarbonate instead of glass or metal.
The display and camera used to be two of the most obvious indicators that you were using a budget handset but even these fundamental pieces of phone hardware have improved massively in recent years. Entries like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 highlight this shift perfectly.
There are also devices like the Moto G9 Power, which place a focus on excelling in one specific area (in this phone’s case, battery longevity) whilst still feeling like a more conventional affordable phone in other respects.
One other advantage of buying a more affordable smartphone is that, if you’re after a contract, such devices are more likely to come with zero upfront cost, lower monthly pricing and, potentially, shorter-term plans. As such, they also make great first-time options for those new to smartphones, those who are accident-prone and kids.
More deals
If you’re looking to buy a phone outright, rather than on-contract, Amazon has some of the biggest bargains, but make sure you check the specs carefully – third-party sellers sometimes use Amazon to shift international stock, which may vary slightly from what you find in UK stores.
If you find that you’re missing out on Amazon’s Lightning deals, which run for just a few hours and offer limited stock, we’d recommend signing up for Amazon’s 30-day free trial of Prime, which will get you access to deals 30 minutes before everyone else. Plus, you’ll get free next-day delivery with the Prime trial, as well as access to Prime Instant Video and more. Sign up for Prime now.
Again, if you’d like to know more about the current affordable phone landscape, give our Best Budget Phones roundup a read or head to our best UK tech deals right now feature, for reductions on other consumer tech.
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