When it comes to picking one of the best cheap phones, you should always look for the features which are most important to you. A cheaper device won't be able to provide all the bells and whistles offered by top flagship models, however, you will find that most affordable options will still deliver a fairly robust smartphone experience.
A good cheap handset will still provide all the essential functions we've come to expect from today's best phones, such as the ability to make calls, send text messages, browse the internet, take photos and even play games. That said, the price difference can usually be measured by how well it does those things.
While it's true that budget smartphones have come a long way in the last few years, some may prioritise certain features over others. That means you should expect some trade-offs — you won’t always find the most powerful processors, 120Hz displays or versatile zoom cameras.
That said, you'll likely be surprised by what today's more affordable phones are capable of. Below you'll find a list of the best cheap phones in Australia for 2025. Whether you're looking for an Android or iOS device, every smartphone on this list is priced under AU$750, which is less than half of what you'd pay for a current flagship phone in 2025. Read on to find out why we've chosen these particular models.
The Quick List
There's plenty to like about the Pixel 9a, offering a flagship-level chipset and robust AI features at an entry-level price point. Simply put, the Pixel 9a is a better proposition than the standard Pixel 9.
Also Consider
Samsung's best cheap phone of last year is still a great buy, the Galaxy A55 is a fantastic follow up to last year's Galaxy A54 — complete with outstanding cameras and battery life.
Best for most people
The Pixel 8a offers big improvement like a brighter screen, longer battery life, charming design, and AI features that no other cheap phone can match.
Still worthy
It may have been superseded by Samsung's Galaxy A54, but the A53 5G is still better than most phones in its price range — especially now that you can find it at a discount.
Best cheap iPhone
Don't let its small size and age fool you because the iPhone SE (2022) packs a punch for what it can do. It's responsive, has good camera, and is relatively cheap for an Apple device.
Best-looking cheap phone
Cheap phones don't normally look as good as the Nothing Phone 2a, which retains the distinctive design and Glyph interface of its more expensive siblings. Display and battery life are also strengths.
The best cheap phones you can buy today
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Best cheap phone overall
Google's done many things right with the Pixel 9a. Not only does it offer significant improvements over the Pixel 8a, Google's also kept the price the same. In an age where price hikes are increasingly common, it's refreshing to see a phone this feature-rich sell for under AU$850.
Google has equipped the Pixel 9a with nearly all the AI capabilities present in the broader Pixel 9 lineup, outside of a few features like Screenshots and Call Notes, but for the most part, all the really important stuff is here.
That means you can expect Gemini Live, Pixel Studio's image generation and Reimagine to name a few. Plus all the features we've seen on older models, like Magic Editor and Best Take — all thanks to the same Tensor G4 chipset that powers the rest of the Pixel 9 lineup.
While the design is simple, it's incredible to see that Google has reduced the camera bump to almost nothing. Additionally, its dual cameras are far more capable than their specs let on when combined with Google's cloud-based image processing.
Succinctly, we don't see any reason to buy the regular Pixel 9 over this cheaper alternative. Not only is it the best cheap phone, but it's also one of the best Android phones as well.
Read our full Google Pixel 9a review.
Runner Up
As Samsung's top A-Series handset of last year, the Galaxy A55 is still a contender in the best cheap phones space — aided by it gorgeous looking display. In addition to its adaptive 120Hz rate, it shines brightly under the toughest conditions. On top of its slick display and impressive build quality, it also boasts some AI photographic capabilities.
However, the more satisfying part about the A55 is how its cameras continually deliver sharp photos and videos. For those looking for that high quality Samsung experience at a more affordable price point, you need only look towards the Galaxy A55.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy A55 review.
Bigger Savings
Even though it's been superseded by the Pixel 9a, Google's Pixel 8a is still an excellent phone — especially now that it's cheaper than before. Most notably, it offers a slew of AI features — like Magic Editor and Best Take — which it inherits from the more expensive Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro models.
If that's not enough, it sets the benchmark for all other cheap phones with its unbelievable software support. Whereas other phones barely get three years worth of software updates, the Pixel 8a goes the distance with its 6 remaining years of major Android updates, including security updates.
Over on the hardware side, the Pixel 8a benefits from a much brighter, more vibrant display that offers a 120Hz refresh rate. It battery life is also extended thanks largely to its bigger battery and the power efficiency of its Tensor G3 chip. While its camera improvements over the Pixel 7a were minor, it's still one of the best in its class.
Read our full Google Pixel 8a review.
Still worthy
If the fact that there are newer models out there doesn't sway you, then you may want to give Samsung's Galaxy A53 a shot. This great mid-range handset had an RRP of AU$549 for the 128GB model at launch, and can often be found way cheaper than that these days. It also does just about everything well enough. It has a nice 6.5-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, supports 5G speeds and has a large 5,000mAh battery (our Pixel 6a vs. Galaxy A53 face-off goes into greater detail on the differences between these best cheap phone contenders for Android fans.)
Of course, the cameras could be better, especially in light of the Pixel 6a. However, they do just fine if you're okay with Samsung's characteristic oversaturated look. The performance won't wow you like the iPhone SE (2022), but it's good enough for most daily tasks.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy A53 5G review.
Best cheap iPhone
The iPhone SE (2022) takes cheap phones to the next level of performance by including Apple's powerful A15 Bionic chip. This is the same processor found in the iPhone 13, and it blows all Android phones away, whether you're playing games or editing video on the go.
This chip also gives the new iPhone SE (2022) a number of photography powers that the previous model lacked, including Smart HDR 4, Magic Fusion for better detail and Photographic Styles. In fact, in some scenarios the iPhone SE takes better pics than the Google Pixel 6a, as you can see in our Pixel 6a vs. iPhone SE (2022) face-off. Unfortunately, Apple didn't include Night mode for low-light situations.
The latest iPhone SE features the same design as before, so that means a small 4.7-inch display and big bezels, but some may prefer the old-school Touch ID button for quickly unlocking the device. Despite some trade-offs, the iPhone SE (2022) is one of the best cheap phones around for people who like small phones.
Read our full iPhone SE (2022) review.
Who says that you have to sacrifice looks for a cheaper price? The Nothing Phone 2a still delivers the stylish translucent look and helpful Glyph interface found on the Nothing Phone 2, but for hundreds of dollars less. We're also impressed by the big, bright 6.7-inch display, which offers an adaptive refresh rate, as well as how long this phone lasted on our battery test.
Since the Nothing brand's launch in Australia, the Nothing Phone 2a has been readily available at retailers such as Amazon and JB Hi-Fi, and seems to go on sale fairly often. Apart from being cheap and looking good, it delivers in some other key areas like battery life, fast charging and value. In fact, the Nothing Phone 2a's time of 15 hours on our battery benchmark test is pretty impressive.
Read our full Nothing Phone 2a review.
What to look for in the best cheap phones
After you've found a phone at the right price for your budget — that's why you're considering one of the best cheap phones in the first place, after all — consider what features one of these devices has to offer and which ones you're sacrificing for a lower price tag. Battery life, the number and types of cameras, display refresh rate and the type of chipset powering the phone are all ways that cheap phones can distinguish themselves.
In some cases, you'll be able to compare phones to more expensive options to help crystalize what compromises you're making for a lower-cost model.
Generally, one area in which phone makers cut back for budget models is materials. They'll use plastic for the phone's case instead of metal and glass. Cheaper phones may also turn to LCD panels instead of OLED screens, though that's becoming less frequent among some of the best cheap phones running Android.
One other area to consider is software updates and support. We've seen cheaper Android phones either ship with older versions of Android or promise very few upgrades to future versions. Samsung has one of the better upgrade policies with its Galaxy A lineup, and the iPhone remains a standout for usually supporting five years of iOS updates.
How we test the best cheap phones
We evaluate budget-priced phones the same way we do flagships. We perform real-world testing and synthetic benchmarks over several days to evaluate it's performance and value. This includes our own battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over cellular at 150 nits of screen brightness. The devices that make our best phone battery life list tend to last over 11 hours.
In terms of performance, we use Geekbench 5 to measure overall speed and compare versus phones in the same price range. And the same thing goes for GFXBench for graphics testing. We also perform our own video editing/transcoding testing using the Adobe Premiere Rush app to gauge real-world speed.
For evaluating cameras on cheap phones, we will take multiple photos in different conditions and will use other affordably priced phones in the same scenarios in order to make side-by-side comparisons.
For more information, check out our how we test page for Tom's Guide.
