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Finder's team of experts has tested and reviewed every phone on this list. For each phone, we consider the design, cameras, performance, battery life and overall value for money.
Our editorial team selected the phones on this list based on their overall quality and value compared to other phones on the market. All phones featured on this list have a launch RRP of under $400.
Picking any budget phone is a question of compromises, because at some point manufacturers do start cutting away features to meet a specific price point. Budget phone maker realme makes most of the right choices with the realme C3. It's a low-cost handset that manages a stylish design in either a red or blue finish with a large display and multi-camera array out the back. The headline feature for a phone at this price point is the inclusion of a 5,000mAh battery, which means that the realme C3 can easily last through even a heavy day's usage, and if you're moderate in your usage, quite a bit more than that.
Read our full review of the realme C3.
It sits at the top of where we'd be comfortable to call the budget range right now, but if you can stretch to it, you get a lot from the Oppo A52, from its hefty 5,000mAh battery to the inclusion of a quad camera array, which at one point would have been unthinkable in the budget space. There are some compromises in play, however. You get a good choice of lenses to shoot from, but they're not fast, and despite the presence of a macro sensor, there's no dedicated macro shooting mode in Oppo's supplied camera app. As with all Oppo phones, you've also got to work with its ColorOS launcher, which often asks for intrusive permissions for seemingly simple apps.
Read our full Oppo A52 review here.
In the budget space you can also opt for a feature phone, and our easy pick for the best of the bunch is HMD Global's Nokia 800 Tough. As the name suggests, this is a seriously rugged phone – we really did punish this poor thing in our tests and it just kept on working like some kind of feature phone Terminator. It's fine for basic calls and texting duties, and can even handle simple Google apps, although the use of that small screen and very small keys can be a bit challenging for any longer text input.
Read our full Nokia 800 Tough review.
Alcatel has long form in super-affordable phones, but most of them have tended towards the mediocre. The Alcatel 3L 2020 isn't a fast phone to speak of, but for its sub-$200 price point you get quite a lot in terms of its feature set, from superb battery life to a triple lens camera that's quite fun to use and nicely ahead of most of its competitors in this price range.
Read our full Alcatel 3L 2020 review here.
Nokia's cheapest smartphone sells because it's cheap, and while that does mean that you get some compromises in terms of battery life and overall performance, the inclusion of Android Go means that its ordinary processor runs far better than it has any right to. Add to that a removable battery and you've got quite a compelling small device at an equally small price point.
Read our full Nokia 1.3 review here
Nokia's Android phones stand out for their clean Android interfaces and the fact that they're part of the Android One program, meaning you're guaranteed full Android updates for a couple of years from purchase, greatly enhancing their value proposition.
The affordable Nokia 2.3 packs in a decent sized 4,000mAh battery, dual lens with portrait effects and a range of colour choices to give it some appeal. Like many budget phones, you're still stuck with microUSB for charging, and its Helio A22 processor isn't particularly quick.
Read our full review of the Nokia 2.3.
Motorola's "Power" suffixed phones have all tended to have large batteries, and the Motorola Moto G8 Power Lite is no exception, with a 5,000mAh internal battery giving it its best single feature. It's otherwise a very ordinary Android phone for its price bracket, especially as it's still only running on Android 9, but if you like Motorola phones generally and want a phone with pretty easy multi-day performance it's fairly priced for what you get.
Read our full Motorola Moto G8 Power Lite review.
The Nokia 4.2 combines some interesting design choices, including a genuinely eye-catching "pink sand" finish and a dedicated Google Assistant button, into its budget offering. Like other Nokia phones, it's an Android One device, guaranteed for updates for a few years which gives it good long-term longevity. The onboard camera is fine for a budget model, but the inclusion of only a 3,000mAh battery is a bit of a down point.
Read our full review of the Nokia 4.2 here.
Nokia's deliberate throwback phones are simple and fun – and that's pretty much the point. Our favourite to date is the so-called "Matrix Phone", the Nokia 8110 4G, although if you don't want to get your virtual Keanu on, you can also opt for the yellow model and pretend you're speaking into a banana instead. It's essentially just a basic feature phone with a few Google goodies on the side, but if you're after a phone that won't pester you with notifications, it's a very nice choice. Just be warned that the camera may as well be an etch-a-sketch, but again that's pretty accurate to the throwback times the Nokia 8110 4G evokes.
Read the full Nokia 8110 4G review.
Because it's astonishingly cheap, that's why. The Telstra branded, ZTE-built Essential Smart 2 typically costs $69, but we've seen it on sale for less. It's not fast, the battery life is only ordinary and the camera feels astonishingly dated for a 2020 handset. However, it does qualify for Telstra's Blue Tick if you're a bush phone user, and it is very, very cheap, so if you wanted just a simple phone and you really didn't care much about heavy app use, it could just tide you over.
Read our full Telstra Essential Smart 2 review here
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