Best budget phone deals in July 2022
Gone are the days when “budget phone” meant “bad phone”. Now you can get really powerful hardware for a fraction of the price of a flagship.
We have compiled a list of some of the best deals we can find on cheap phones right now. Using the £250/$300 price cap, below you’ll find plenty of devices that outperform their weight in terms of features, performance and design considering their price.
Many of the offers on this list are Prime Day deals. On Amazon, this means you need to be a Prime member. It costs £7.99 / $14.99 per month, but there’s a 30-day free trial if you haven’t subscribed before.
If you’ve got a little more, be sure to check out our separate guides to the best mid-range phone deals and the best flagship phone deals.
What are the best budget phones?
These are our five favorite budget phones right now. As you can see, Xiaomi is pretty hard to beat at the moment:
- Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
- Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro
- Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
For a more detailed ranking, check out our full guide to the best budget phones.
Where to find the best deals on cheap phones?
The simple answer is that the best places to buy phones tend to be the same places where you buy most of your tech: electronics stores and department stores. You can also check with carriers and networks, not to mention go directly to manufacturers’ websites. Here are some ideas to get you started:
UK stores
US stores
Best Budget Phone Deals
Top 10 Budget Phone Deals
Samsung Galaxy A22 5G+ Nintendo OLED Switch
one
From: Virgin Media
Currently:
From £25 per month
If you’re looking to get a shiny new Nintendo Switch OLED – a refreshed model – with a new phone, then this is the perfect deal from Virgin Media. Get the Galaxy A22 with 200GB of data for £30 a month and take your Switch with you while you’re in it. There are also cheaper options.
Xiaomi 11T 5G (8GB/256GB)
2
From: Amazon UK
Was: £549
Currently:
£385
(£164 discount for Prime members)
Xiaomi 11T is an attractive option in the mid-range market with a 120Hz display, 108MP camera and long battery life. Read our Xiaomi 11T 5G review for more information.
On the official Mi Store, the same phone costs £409, but it also includes a free £59 pair of Redmi Buds 3 Pro headphones.
Redmi Note 10 Pro (6GB/128GB)
3
From: Amazon UK
Was: £269
Currently:
£129
(£140 discount for Prime members)
An incredible spec phone that includes a 120Hz AMOLED screen and a 108MP camera, but lacks 5G. Read our Redmi Note 10 Pro review for more information.
Redmi Note 11 (4GB/128GB)
four
From: Amazon UK
Was: £199.99
Currently:
£109
(£90.99 discount for Prime members)
An attractive budget phone with a 90Hz AMOLED display and exemplary battery life in a well thought out design. If you don’t need 5G or a particularly good camera, this is a great choice. Read our Redmi Note 11 review for more information.
Poco X4 Pro 5G (8GB/256GB)
5
From: Amazon UK
Was: £299
Currently:
£209
(£90 discount for Prime members)
The Poco X4 Pro is a comfortable mid-range smartphone with a premium design and high-end features, including a 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED display and 67W fast charging. Read our Poco X4 Pro 5G review for more information.
On the official Mi Store, you can buy the same phone for a slightly higher price of £249 but with a free smartwatch worth £49.99.
Redmi Note 11 Pro (6GB/128GB)
6
From: Amazon UK
Was: £299
Currently:
£209
(£90 discount for Prime members)
The beautiful aesthetic makes the Note 11 Pro a great start, and the performance and features keep the theme going. This is a solid mid-range device, but 5G is lacking here. Read our Redmi Note 11 Pro review for more information.
The official Mi Store saves less, with the 6GB/128GB model on offer for £259, but you also get some free Redmi Buds 3 Pro headphones (worth £59.99) and some free basic in-ear headphones worth £6.99 pounds.
Poco M4 Pro (8GB/256GB)
7
From: Amazon UK
Was: £249
Currently:
£169
(£80 discount for Prime members)
The Poco M4 Pro offers another winning combination of decent specs at a budget price. If you don’t need 5G, you get a superior AMOLED display, a sharper 64MP main camera, and more storage as standard. Read our Poco M4 Pro review for more information.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G (4GB/128GB)
eight
From: Amazon
Was: £209
Currently:
£169
(£40 off)
Excellent deal on the phone, which we gave a 4-star review. For an insanely low price, you get a 90Hz display, a headphone jack, dual 5G SIM slots, and a stylish design.
Moto G60s
9
From: Amazon
Was: £219.99
Currently:
£179.99
(£50 off)
The Moto G60s has an incredibly fast 50W built-in charger so you can top up your account in minutes. Throw in great battery life after shutdown and an impressively smooth 120Hz display, and you’ve got a great phone for the price, and now even less. However, keep in mind that delivery will take 1-2 months.
How to choose a budget phone
There are many smartphones available, and while choosing the lowest price can be tempting, it doesn’t make sense to skimp on a product that you’ll probably use almost every day for years.
Try and buy from a well-known brand that you know and trust, not only because the products of big companies usually meet higher quality standards, but if something goes wrong with your purchase, more established players also usually offer more reliable customer support.
With that in mind, the biggest players in the budget space right now are Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme, Motorola, and Nokia, although Samsung also offers a few cheap phones.
Don’t expect inexpensive phones like these to look like miniature flagships; such phones obviously sacrifice hardware and/or camera performance to cut costs, while others opt for lower quality workmanship or lower quality materials such as polycarbonate over glass or metal.
The display and camera used to be the two most obvious indicators that you’re on a budget phone, but even these basic phone hardware have improved a lot in recent years. Entries such as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro highlight this shift perfectly.
There are also devices like the Moto G9 Power that focus on improvement in one particular area (in the case of this phone, battery longevity), but in other respects still feel like a more traditional affordable phone.
Another benefit of buying a more affordable smartphone is that if you contract, such devices are more likely to have zero upfront cost, a lower monthly price, and possibly shorter-term plans. As such, they are also a great option for those who are new to smartphones, those who are accident prone, and children.
Where to find offers
If you want to buy a phone directly and not by contract,
Amazon has some of the biggest deals, but be sure to check the specs carefully – third-party sellers sometimes use Amazon to move international inventory, which may be slightly different than what you’ll find in local stores.
If you find yourself missing out on Amazon Lightning offers, which are only a few hours long and offer a limited range, we recommend signing up for a 30-day Amazon Prime free trial, which will give you access to offers 30 minutes before anyone else. Plus, you’ll get free next day delivery with a Prime trial, as well as access to Prime Instant Video and more.
Sign up for Prime now.
Again, if you want to know more about the current market for affordable phones, check out our roundup of our best budget phones or check out our top tech deals right now. for discounts on other consumer technologies.
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