Home
News
You are here

The best budget 5G phones in 2025 [Buyer's guide]

By Victor Hristov

Updated: Feb 20, 2025, 4:47 AM

The best budget 5G phones in 2025 [Buyer's guide]

The fast 5G connectivity - once reserved only for flagship handsets - slowly made its way through midrangers to budget phones now, as almost all handsets now have 5G support for T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T's networks, even in the prepaid category.

Which are the best budget 5G phones, though?

Best cheap 5G phones list:

Under $600:

iPhone 16e – The entry-level iPhone is finally good.
Galaxy S24 FE – A flagship Android experience at a mid-range price.

Under $500:

Google Pixel 8a – PhoneArena's Top Choice. Strikes best balance of features for the price and has amazing camera, but comes in only one, smallish size.
OnePlus 13R – Great phone if you value performance and fast charging, but camera is one step below Pixel.

Under $400:

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G – Samsung's best budget phone.

Under $300:

Samsung Galaxy A16 5G – Best option for this dirt cheap price.

Avoid:

iPhone SE 2022 – This phone is more than two years old and has an outdated design. While it's the cheapest iPhone available, there are just too many compromises. A new iPhone SE is expected to arrive in March/April 2025, and it would be a massive upgrade.

Other buying guides:

Under $600:

iPhone 16e

At $600, the iPhone 16e is not exactly cheap, but it is a much better deal than the outgoing iPhone 14 model at that same price.

With the iPhone 16e you get an iPhone 14-like design, but a much faster A18 chip inside with 8 GB of RAM and support for Apple Intelligence (which is missing on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models).

It also has one surprising advantage: the best battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone.

So are there any downsides? There are a few: the 16e only has one camera, so there is no ultra-wide snapper, and probably more important — it lacks MagSafe, which is just strange considering the feature has been on iPhone ever since the iPhone 12.

Read more in our iPhone 16e review

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE

The Galaxy S24 FE was the surprise of the year when it launched.

With a large screen, big battery and a flagship grade chipset, it delivered most of the Galaxy S24 Plus flagship experience at a much lower price.

The S24 FE retails for $650, but you can often find it discounted to as low as $500, and at that price, it is very tempting.

Read more in our Galaxy S24 FE review

Under $500:

Google Pixel 8a

Update: The Pixel 9a is right around the corner. We recommend you wait for the newer model rather than buying the Pixel 8a.

The Pixel 8a is our current Editor's Choice for best budget 5G phone.

It packs a ton of value at a price of $500. It combines excellent performance, thanks to the Tensor G3 chip inside, with an outstanding camera.

The only downside? Well, it has a huge bezel which makes it look a bit ugly, but more importantly, it only comes in one, smallish 6.1-inch size.

Read more in our Pixel 8a review

OnePlus 13R

The OnePlus 13R is a bigger phone than the Pixel, so it has a bigger screen, bigger battery and stronger performance. And it charges super fast too!

If you don't obsess over the absolute best camera, it's an easy recommendation, but those who value the camera experience should probably go for the Pixel instead.

Read more in our OnePlus 13R review

Under $400:

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G

UPDATE: The Galaxy A36 is right around the corner. We recommend waiting for this newer release rather than buying the older phone.

Samsung's $400 Galaxy A35 5G is a great phone for the money.

It doesn't quite have the fast performance of the Pixel 8a or OnePlus 12R, but it is more than adequate and it has a very decent camera. The screen quality, as always with Samsung, is great. You get a beautiful Super AMOLED screen on board.

Be advised that new Galaxy A series models are typically coming to the US around March or April, so if you want the latest, you might want to wait it out.

Read more in our Galaxy A35 5G review

Under $300:

Samsung Galaxy A16 5G

The Galaxy A16 5G is a $200 phone, so you cannot expect perfection, but if you want something super cheap, it's a good option.

It arrives with an Exynos 1330 chipset, but only has 4GB of RAM, so you can expect a bit of stutter here and there.

The battery life, however, is solid, and the camera performance is surprisingly good for such a cheap phone, thanks to a 50MP main camera sensor. Video quality is limited to 1080p resolution, but at least video stabilization is nice.

Read more in our Samsung Galaxy A16 5G review

Other buying guides:

View Full Bio

Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.