Best budget smartphone 2023: The best cheap phones you can buy in the UK
Looking to save money on your next smartphone? We reveal the best budget handsets you can buy in the UK
Aren’t modern smartphones excellent? It’s like having a mini-supercomputer in your pocket compared to the bulky handsets of old. Technology, on the whole, has been getting better every year and – crucially – much cheaper, too. You no longer need to hand over wallet-wilting sums of cash for your annual upgrade. Move your gaze away from those usual smartphone flagship big-hitters and you will find yourself a fantastic bargain, as there are some cracking budget smartphones to be found.
Yes, headline-grabbing flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the iPhone 14 Pro are wonderful, but you no longer have to spend top dollar for a superb smartphone experience. Want to know more? Well, that’s where we come in. These are the very best budget smartphones you can buy.
Every year, Expert Reviews puts hundreds of smartphones to the test so you don’t have to, with the best coverage in the UK. That means we can definitively tell you which budget smartphone is perfect for you. Take a look below and you will spot our regularly curated list of the best budget smartphones you can buy, as well as a helpful budget smartphone buying guide.
READ NEXT: Best mid-range smartphones
Best budget smartphone: At a glance | ||
|---|---|---|
| Best budget phone | Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 (~£168) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best for around £100 | Nokia C21 Plus (~£99) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best 5G budget phone | Moto G62 (~£200) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best for battery life | Honor Magic 5 Lite (~£250) | Check price at Argos |
| Best budget iPhone | iPhone 11 (~£250) | Check price at Backmarket |
How to choose the best budget smartphone for you
Picking the perfect budget phone isn’t easy, and there are all sorts of factors to consider when making your purchase. Before you head to the checkout, you will want to make sure you have all the bases covered. To make your decision a bit easier, we’ve highlighted the main criteria you need to look out for.
Should I buy a phone on contract or SIM-free?
Budget smartphones are, as you would expect, cheaper to buy outright than other handsets, with prices starting as low as £100 or so. As a result, if you have the cash, we recommend you buy one SIM-free. You can then find the right SIM-only deal from any network and sell your phone when you want to upgrade. If you don’t have the cash, you will need to go for a contract deal, but these don’t tend to be great value for budget phones as you end up spending much more by the time your contract ends.
Which smartphone operating system do I need?
With budget phones, there isn’t much choice when it comes to mobile operating systems. Bar one exception, every budget smartphone runs Google’s OS, Android. Rest assured, though: Android is easy to use, whether you’re a first-time user or mobile veteran. Just check which Android version the phone is running as older versions may no longer be supported with regular security updates and lack essential features.
If iOS is more your thing, you only have one choice. Apple’s iPhone 11 might begin to be showing its age, but it’s still on sale and remains an excellent budget Apple device.
What should I look for in a smartphone display?
While flagship phones are fitted with the best, biggest and highest-resolution screens, you can still find budget smartphones with high-quality displays. Cheap handsets usually have a minimum screen resolution of 720p, but some slightly more expensive alternatives offer Full HD (1,080p) resolution displays for sharper viewing.
The majority of budget smartphones we recommend use LCD panel technology, which is more than good enough for the price you're paying. However, we’re starting to see AMOLED displays crop up at the lower end of the scale as well, which produce even better colours and a deeper black level. Read our full reviews if you want to know how good a phone’s screen is.
Battery life and performance
Budget phones aren’t equipped with top-end internals. But that’s not to say their performance is bad – far from it, with reasonably speedy chips often making an appearance in affordable handsets. To get an idea of what to expect from a phone’s performance, look at the clock speed of the chip (measured in GHz) and how much RAM is inside (anything more than 4GB will do the job nicely).
Battery life is crucial, and each phone’s stamina is different. When considering your next budget phone, keep an eye out for the phone’s battery capacity (listed in mAh) – the higher the number, the longer you can expect the battery to last on a single charge. If you’re stuck, we’ve rounded up the longest-lasting phones in one place.
How much storage do I need?
It’s amazing how much storage you can eat through on a phone with apps, games and images. You will want at least 32GB of onboard storage and look out for phones with a microSD card slot, as you can cheaply add more space when your internal storage eventually fills up.
READ NEXT: Best Android smartphone
Best budget smartphones to buy in 2023
1. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: The best budget phone overall
Price when reviewed: £168 | Check price at Amazon
Xiaomi hit a rich vein of form with the first few of its budget handsets to launch in the UK, and its newest smartphone is no different. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 is far, far better than it has any right to be for a phone that costs this little and with upgrades across the board, it's an even more tantalising option than ever before.
Yes, the phone we would recommend above all other wallet-friendly options on the market is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11. This budget handset is powered by a surprisingly speedy Snapdragon 680 processor, which in our tests produced speeds that easily matched handsets costing twice the price. Its triple camera array, which includes a massive 50MP sensor, is also remarkable for the price and the large 6.43in FHD+ AMOLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate is a delight, too.
You might expect to see these sorts of high-level specs in a flagship phone, so it’s a proper treat to see these features in a handset that costs a fraction of the price. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 is the very definition of a budget smartphone, setting the benchmark for affordable handsets to come. At this price, you can’t do much better.
Read our full Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core 2.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 680; Display: 6.43in 2,400 x 1,080; Storage: 128GB or 256GB; Camera: 50MP, 8MP (wide), 2MP (macro), 2MP (depth); Operating system: Android 11; Weight: 179g
2. Nokia C21 Plus: The most affordable budget smartphone
Price when reviewed: £99 l Check price at Amazon
A £100 smartphone used to bring about negative connotations, but the Nokia C21 Plus is far better than its bargain price suggests. Running a specially tweaked version of Android that caters to low-powered devices, the Nokia C21 Plus exceeds all expectations for a phone so cheap. Despite the comparatively weak hardware (it only has 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage), it runs surprisingly well and has a bright IPS display with a camera that isn’t half bad for the price.
Its sturdy build materials and compact design should help it last the test of time and the battery life lasted long enough in our tests as well. It may be lacking when it comes to raw processing speeds, and there are far better alternatives if your buying budget can stretch beyond £100, but when it comes down to sheer affordability, the Nokia C21 Plus is the undisputed champion.
Read our full Nokia C21 Plus review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Quad-core 1.6GHz Unisoc SC9863A; Display: 6.52in 1,600 x 720; Storage: 32GB; Camera: 13MP, 2MP (depth); Operating system: Android 11 Go; Weight: 178g
3. Apple iPhone 11 (renewed): The cheapest iPhone
Price when reviewed: From £230 | Check price at Backmarket
It isn't Apple’s most up-to-date iPhone, but the iPhone 11 is still a reliable purchase. If your budget can’t quite stretch to a brand-new Apple smartphone, then the iPhone 11, despite launching in 2019, will still serve you well so long as you don’t mind buying a renewed model.
The iPhone 11's build quality still holds up, as does its lovely-looking 6.1in Retina display. Likewise, the A13 Bionic processor, while not quite a match for the latest Apple chipsets, is still more than capable against a variety of intensive tasks. The iPhone 11 also supports the newest version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 16, if you were worried that you might be outdated on the software side of things.
If you want an Apple phone on a budget and aren’t fussed about it being slightly outdated, then the iPhone 11 is your best bet.
Read our full iPhone 11 review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Hexa-core 2.65GHz Apple A13 Bionic; Display: 6.1in 1,792 x 828; Storage: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB; Camera: 12MP, 12MP (wide); Operating system: iOS 16; Weight: 194g
4. Nokia G22: The best budget phone for repairability
Price when reviewed: £150 | Check price at Amazon
At first glance, the Nokia G22 is a fairly standard budget smartphone, with the kind of specifications you’d expect for this price. The 6.52in display uses an IPS panel with a 1,200 x 720 resolution and 90Hz refresh rate, and while it’s not the brightest or crispest screen out there, it’s perfectly usable. Equally, the processor and cameras are far from perfect, but are competent enough to get by.
What sets the G22 apart from the sea of similarly specced smartphones is that it has been designed to allow users to quickly and easily replace various parts – including batteries, screens and charging ports – without having to go to a repair shop. The iFixit website has affordable replacement parts and tools for sale, as well as free step-by-step guides that can lead even first-time repairers through the process.
Repair times vary – a battery replacement can be done in around five minutes, with more complex procedures taking a little longer – but all are made easier by the accessible design of the Nokia G22. Best of all, performing the repairs yourself won’t void the phone’s warranty, and nor will it compromise the IP52 dust and splash resistance rating.
Read our full Nokia G22 review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core 1.6GHz Unisoc T606; Display: 6.52in 1,200 x 720; Storage: 64GB, 128GB; Camera: 50MP, 2MP (macro), 2MP (depth); Operating system: Android 12; Weight: 196g
5. Apple iPhone SE 3 (2022): The best-value (new) iPhone
Price when reviewed: £449 l Check price at Amazon
The iPhone SE 3 (2022) might be stretching the definition of a budget smartphone, but Apple’s idea of what constitutes cheap isn’t exactly the same as everyone else’s. If you want a newer iPhone – the renewed iPhone 8 above is a few years old – then your best-value option is the iPhone SE.
Despite having the look and feel of a phone from days gone by, the iPhone SE 3 is a formidable small-sized handset that benefits from Apple’s fastest-ever mobile chipset, the A15 Bionic. That’s the same processor found inside the iPhone 13, which costs more than twice as much. The cheapest iPhone by quite a distance, the iPhone SE’s 12MP camera is also absolutely exceptional. The only fly in the ointment is the short battery life, but if you’re able to spend twice as much compared to other phones on this list, then the iPhone SE 3 (2022) is well worth considering.
Read our full iPhone SE 3 (2022) review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Hexa-core 3.23GHz Apple A15 Bionic; Display: 4.7in 1,334 x 750; Storage: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB; Camera: 12MP; Operating system: iOS 15; Weight: 144g
6. Honor Magic 5 Lite: The best budget phone for battery life
Price when reviewed: £250 | Check price at Argos
The Honor Magic 5 Lite isn’t just the best budget phone for battery life, it has enough stamina to outlast phones that cost two, three, even four times as much. In our standardised test, the 5 Lite lasted for an outstanding 28 hours and 45 minutes, rocketing up to very near the top of our best phone battery life list.
The Honor Magic 5 Lite isn’t just a one-trick pony, either. Alongside that incredible stamina, the phone has a large and vibrant 6.67in OLED display that curves elegantly off to the sides, with a crisp 2,400 x 1,080 resolution and smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Contrast levels are essentially perfect, as is the case with OLED, and the peak brightness of 518cd/m2 is impressive for this price as well.
There are a couple areas of compromise – performance, while decent, isn’t class-leading by any stretch, and low-light photography is fairly mediocre – but if you want the best battery life you can get for less than £300, no phone can beat the Honor Magic 5 Lite.
Read our full Honor Magic 5 Lite review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G; Display: 6.67in 2,400 x 1,080; Storage: 128GB; Camera: 64MP, 5MP (wide), 2MP (macro); Operating system: Android 12; Weight: 175g
7. Motorola Moto G62 5G: The best budget 5G phone
Price when reviewed: £200 | Check price at Amazon
Motorola keeps upping its game with budget handsets. Taking everything that made the previous Moto G50 such a bargain and building even further upon the formula, the Motorola Moto G62 is the brand’s best-value smartphone to date.
Two of our biggest concerns with the Moto G50 were that the display was lacking and the fingerprint sensor was in an awkward position, both of which are rectified here. The screen still uses an IPS panel, but the resolution has been upped to a more acceptable 2,400 x 1,080 and is paired with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The fingerprint sensor has moved to beneath the display, making it much more accessible, and the triple camera array on the rear has seen some minor but appreciated improvements.
The battery life has dipped slightly, but a score of over 21 hours is still nothing to sniff at, and should easily see you into a second day of use. Add to this the best performance you can get from a £200 smartphone, and the Moto G62 emerges as an astounding budget choice.
Read our full Motorola Moto G62 5G review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 Plus; Display: 6.5in 2,400 x 1,080; Storage: 64GB; Camera: 50MP, 8MP (ultrawide), 2MP (macro); Operating system: Android 12; Weight: 184g
8. Nokia G50: A solid 5G phone for less
Price when reviewed: £183 l Check price at Amazon
The Nokia G50 is one of the cheapest 5G handsets we've reviewed, so if you live in a 5G-covered area and you're hoping to make the most out of the brand-new mobile network without spending much money, then this is a great choice.
It helps that the Nokia G50 is a phone with plenty of positives. With a stunning design for the price and a generously large screen, the Nokia G50 is a bit of a beauty. The only reason it isn't much higher on this list is that performance isn't much better than its rivals and the cameras are rather uninspired. Still, if you can look past these relatively minor faults, you can do much better for your money when it comes to 5G connectivity at the budget end.
Read our full Nokia G50 review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 480; Display: 6.82in 1,560 x 720; Storage: 64GB; Camera: 48MP, 5MP (wide), 2MP (depth); Operating system: Android 11; Weight: 220g
