Relentless price wars between manufacturers have made it possible to get a great smartphone these days for prices that used to belong in the realm of decent pocket calculators. The flood of dirt-cheap Android phones is great for consumers who want access to cutting-edge technology and don't care about prestige or manufacturer brands.
There are plenty of devices available in the under-$200 range, but selecting just five from among them is a challenge at best. Since your choices may include phones of different sizes and features, we're limiting our selection to smartphones with displays larger than 5 inches and running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or higher on their quad-core processors, which aren't exactly bleeding-edge these days but are still fast enough for most users.
After the break, you'll find five great Android phones priced under $200, with a detailed analysis of their pros and cons in performance and hardware. Since budget smartphones usually have few unique selling points, we've prioritized general usability over bleeding-edge features. To make it into this list, a smartphone had to meet the following criteria:
Price under $200.00 unlocked and at least available for pre-order, if not yet released. The display size of 5 inches or larger. Android 8.0 Marshmallow or later on a quad-core processor (preferably newer). Not all phones we found met this requirement, so the list below is not exhaustive – we decided to highlight around 5 devices instead of 10. If you know other great budget smartphones, feel free to mention them in the comments section at the bottom of this page.
Without further ado, here are five solid smartphones that won't break the bank:
Nokia 5.3
The Nokia 5.3 is a low-cost Android phone that offers premium design and great performance: it's made of 6000 series aluminum, so the back is scratch-resistant and feels very solid in your hand. Plus, it has Corning Gorilla Glass protection for added durability. The front side is also protected by Gorilla Glass, but Nokia went with a slightly more pleasant matte finish, which helps reduce glare and fingerprints.
The Nokia 5.3 is available for $168 on Amazon and can be ordered unlocked through the many different sellers.
ASUS ZenFone Max M1
The ASUS ZenFone Max M1 has one of the best phones under 200 I've seen, especially at the price point ($99.99). It's a design that pays homage to the old ZenFone 2 with a 5.5-inch HD display, capacitive buttons at the bottom, and a non-removable battery. The phone is made out of plastic but has a sturdiness about it; despite being one of the cheapest phones you can find in this list it feels very well built.
The ZenFone Max M1 has a 5.5-inch 720p display, a Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage; there's also a microSD card slot in case you need more space, and the phone will support up to 128GB extra storage. The cameras are a bit underpowered and not the best you'll find on a budget phone: there's a 13MP f/2.2 rear camera with phase-detection autofocus and an 8MP wide-angle selfie camera on the front.
Realme 8
Realme's first phone was a well-received device that was packed in top-tier hardware for its price, and the company is ready to up its game with the new Realme 8. The design language of this 6.3-inch phone is similar to most other phones launched by Chinese OEMs lately — 20:9 display ratio, notched screen, slimmed bezels, curved edges — but there's one thing that makes the Realme 8 stand out: its display.
The Realme 8 has a 1080p+ LCD panel with an aspect ratio of 20:9 and a 90Hz refresh rate, which is unprecedented for this price range. I've been using this phone as my daily driver for the last month, here's how it performed. The Realme 8 is available on Amazon
Realme 8 Pros; 90Hz Super Amoled LCD display is a treat to use
Realme 8 Cons; Battery life could be better, No waterproof
OnePlus Nord N100
OnePlus is always a tough pick when it comes to recommending their devices because they are probably one of the best Chinese brands you should consider if you want a budget phone that's almost as good as flagships from Samsung, LG, and others: three generations of OnePlus phones have been among the best I've tested in recent memory.
The OnePlus Nord N100 is a follow up to the incredibly well-received OnePlus Nord N10 and sees some key changes over its predecessor.
The OnePlus Nord N100 is packed with: the Snapdragon 460 chipset, up to 4GB of RAM, up to 64GB of storage, a large 5000mAh battery, and dual sim card slots. The display is completely bezel-less, and the phone has a triple camera notch. The display is bright, colorful, sharp thanks to its 1080p+ resolution, and there's a special Nightscape mode that takes multiple shots in order to brighten up your night photos.
Oppo A9
Oppo is another Chinese brand that's known for making great value-for-money devices, and the Oppo A9 is no exception: it comes with a large 6.5-inch display but keeps bezels small thanks to a 20:9 aspect ratio. It has a ceramic back which offers a better grip on this large phone and feels pretty nice in your hand. The design language of the Oppo A9 isn't anything unique, but unlike other similar phones this one doesn't look boring at all — I think its Space Purple color option looks stunning, and I've been using the Vanilla Mint model for the last few weeks and I like it too.
As far as specs are concerned, there's nothing to complain here: the Oppo A9 is powered by the Snapdragon 665 chipset paired with 4GB/6GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB/256GB of storage. It has a Quad-camera system on its back, which in my opinion is one of the most underrated cameras around — images from this 48MP+16MP combo have tons of detail, great colors, and all settings I've tested so far were spot on.
If you don't see your favorite product listed above, feel free to leave us a comment below — we'll make sure to add it to this list!