The best budget Android phones in 2024

The Pixel 7a's $499 starting price is certainly on the high side when talking about budget Android phones, but if you're looking for a near-premium experience without going overboard on cost, the Pixel 7a is your best overall option, as it's among the best Android phones on the market regardless of price. 

While the Pixel 7a runs on the newer Google Tensor G2 processor, it doesn't offer a notable performance boost over the original Tensor in the Pixel 6a. Additionally, while the Pixel 7a has updated cameras with more megapixels, you'd be hard-pressed to notice much of a difference.

However, to justify the $499 price tag over the Pixel 6a's $349, Google gave the Pixel 7a two meaningful premium features, a smooth 90Hz display and wireless charging, on top of an additional 10 months of security update support. Google will keep upgrading the Pixel 7a with security updates until May 2028, while the Pixel 6a's security update support ends in July 2027.

Wireless charging is a "nice-to-have" feature for those who actively want it, but a smooth 90Hz display and a longer lifespan are what mark the 7a as a superior option. The 90Hz display, specifically, makes the Pixel 7a feel more like a premium device than a true "budget" phone.

Read our full Google Pixel 7a review.

No phone can match the Pixel 6a's balanced blend of performance, features, design, and camera quality for its $349 price. To top it off, the Pixel 6a can often be found in the $300 range, which makes it an even better deal. 

However, the Pixel 6a couldn't snatch the top spot in our recommendations due to its shorter lifespan — it'll stop receiving security updates a full 10 months (basically a year) before the Pixel 7a.  

Still, the Pixel 6a's performance breezes through the Android operating system and apps like a higher-end phone, albeit with a standard 60Hz display that isn't as smooth as the high refresh-rate displays on other phones on this list. Points lost from a 60Hz display are quickly gained by the high quality of its dual-lens camera, which includes 12-megapixel main and ultrawide lenses that easily compete with phones that cost three times as much. 

Android users who prefer large displays may find the Pixel 6a's 6.1-inch display too small. For those seeking a larger display and better battery life, Samsung's Galaxy A54 or OnePlus' Nord N30 are the next best options.

Read our full Google Pixel 6a review.

The Galaxy A54's $450 starting price is on the high side for a budget phone, but it obtained the best result out of all the phones in this list, with 65% remaining after our battery test, which involves two hours of video streaming, one hour of music streaming while connected to Bluetooth headphones, two runs of the intensive 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test, and five runs of the Geekbench 6 benchmarking app. 

That's an excellent result for a phone with a premium-quality, 6.4-inch OLED display with 1080p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. It even nearly matches and beats some flagship phones with similar and larger displays, like the Google Pixel 8 (6.2 inches, 61%), the Galaxy S24 Plus (6.7 inches, 60%), and the Galaxy S24 Ultra (6.8 inches, 66%). 

The Galaxy A54 also supports up to 25W charging speeds. Though Samsung doesn't include a charger with the Galaxy A54, any charger that supports at least 25W can charge the phone at full speed. 

The Galaxy A54 runs apps smoothly and quickly, but it lacks the confidence shown by Google's Pixel A-series and OnePlus' Nord N30 5G — occasional stutters mar the experience, and we would have expected smoother overall performance for the price. 

You'll find three usable cameras on the rear of the Galaxy A54, including a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide, and a 5MP macro camera. The main and ultrawide cameras can deliver excellent photos with balanced colors and lighting as often as they can shoot rather mediocre ones, where colors are oversaturated, and bright areas are overexposed. The 5MP macro camera takes better photos than the 2MP macro cameras on other budget phones, but it's still a niche option that isn't especially impressive. 

Samsung has one of the best support windows for Android phones, with four years of Android version upgrades and five years of security updates, giving the Galaxy A54 the potential for a long life.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy A54 review. 

The cameras on Google's Pixel 7a simply cannot be beaten for the price, and they are a major reason to buy this phone. In fact, the Pixel 7a's cameras compete with those on phones that cost twice, and even three times as much. 

Photos taken by the Pixel 7a have a rich, natural color tone without being oversaturated. Brightness and contrast are beautifully balanced to deliver gorgeous depth and dynamic range, which is something even some premium phones struggle with.

With a 64MP main camera, the Pixel 7a captures photos that are rich in detail, and it also performs remarkably well in low-light conditions.

We only know of one inexpensive phone that comes close to the Pixel 7a's camera quality: the Pixel 6a. If the Pixel 7a's premium features and price tag are out of your budget, you can't go wrong with its A-series predecessor. 

Read our full Google Pixel 7a review.

The OnePlus Nord N30 5G, with its solid everyday performance, large 6.7-inch display running at a smooth 120Hz, surprisingly premium-looking design, and tempting $300 starting price tag, was seriously considered for the top spot on this list. At the end of the day, it couldn't beat the Google Pixel 6a and its superior cameras and overall value, but the N30 is easily the best budget Android phone with a big screen.

The N30 runs through the Android operating system, as well as basic apps and tasks, with confidence, speed, and stutter-free smoothness. It was surprising to experience such performance considering it's running on a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor that was announced in 2021. 

Its solid performance pairs beautifully with the N30's large 6.7-inch 120Hz display, which animates everything with fluid smoothness, as a premium phone does. Its sharp 1080p resolution is the same as phones that cost three times as much, and the N30's display also gets bright enough to comfortably use in bright sunlight, and content is still easily viewable.

While the N30 doesn't use a premium OLED panel, its LCD panel still delivers vibrant colors and excellent contrast.

OnePlus includes a super fast 50W charger with the N30, a rare inclusion nowadays. Just note that the N30 charges at a much slower 18W when using any other third-party charger, even those that support 100W charging speeds. 

The N30 has a decent main camera with a whopping 108 megapixels. It also has a 2MP macro camera, a largely niche option that isn't very good. It technically has a third lens, but it's a depth sensor that's purely dedicated to helping with portrait mode photos for the main camera. 

Our biggest complaint is that OnePlus will only support the N30 for one Android version upgrade and three years of security updates, which realistically gives the N30 a comparatively short three-year lifespan.

What is the best cheap Android phone?

The best Android phone we can reasonably describe as "cheap" is Google's Pixel 6a, our best overall alternative option. There are less expensive Android phones out there, but none come close to the Pixel 6a and its stunning balance of performance, camera quality, screen quality, and value. 

If $349 is more than you plan on spending, you should know the Pixel 6a is often discounted to around $300.

If $300 is still more than you're willing to spend, Samsung's Galaxy A15 5G is your best bet at $200. We haven't tested the Galaxy A15 5G yet, but based on our experience with the Galaxy A14 5G, it should have serviceable performance and camera quality while offering a large, smooth 90Hz display.

Are Android phones cheaper than iPhones?

The short answer is yes; many Android phones are less expensive than even the cheapest iPhone, Apple's third-generation iPhone SE at $430, released in 2022. 

Additionally, many Android phones in the iPhone SE's price range offer significantly better value in terms of camera quality and screen size, like the $349 Google Pixel 6a. 

Some premium Android phones, like Samsung's $1,300 Galaxy S24 Ultra, can be more expensive than even Apple's most expensive iPhone, like the $1,200 iPhone 15 Pro Max.