Times have changed, and getting one of the best Android phones under $400 is now easier than ever for shoppers. If that’s the budget you’re working with, you’re in luck: we’ve gathered all of the best options in that price range below.
You’d be surprised at some of the specs you can get in these phones. Vibrant 120Hz display? Check. Large 5,000mAh battery? You bet. Many of these devices even come with a 3.5mm audio port, which is a rarity in phones these days.
No matter what features you prioritize, there are a ton of options for tech lovers of all budgets. Looking for something event cheaper? We also have guides to the best phones under $300 and the best phones under $200.
Patrick Farmer
Patrick is a no-nonsense deal hunter with over 10 years of experience in the eCommerce space. Whether you’re interested in a new wireless carrier, smart home device, or Android phone, Patrick combines hands-on research with practical shopping advice to get you the answers you need.
At a glance
Best overall
With the Galaxy A25 5G, you get a vibrant 120Hz display (which is a rarity for this price point), plus a big 5,000mAh battery along with four years of OS updates and five years of security updates.
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Premium pick
While it’s not as premium as some flagships, the Exynos 1380-powered Galaxy A35 has a large AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, an IP67 rating, and a lot of other goodies.
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Best value
The OnePlus Nord N30 5G features a big display, loud stereo speakers, and can charge much faster than most flagships. It even comes with a 3.5mm audio port and NFC. The triple-lens rear camera setup is quite good too.
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4. Moto G Stylus 5G (2024)
Best with a stylus
The Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) comes with a vegan leather back panel that makes it look far more expensive than it actually is. You also get a built-in stylus, wireless charging, and much more.
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Best battery life
If you’re looking for battery endurance, the Moto G Power 5G 2024 is a solid budget buy with a 5,000mAh battery, a power-sipping MediaTek Dimensity 7020 SoC, and 30W charging.
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Best international phone
The Nothing Phone (2a) is a truly unique and attractive device for budget shoppers. Its MediaTek chipset is powerful enough to breeze through most apps on Android.
Read more below.
Best overall
Samsung’s Galaxy S series always gets the most attention, but it’s far from the only lineup of smartphones that the company makes. If you’re eager to get your hands on a robust device that won’t break the bank, we suggest taking a look at the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G instead.
Typically selling for around $300, the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G boasts a plethora of specs that won’t seem out of place on a modern flagship. We’re talking about a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a smooth-as-butter 120Hz refresh rate, plus the still very decent octa-core chipset and a large 5,000mAh battery with 25W fast charging that should last well over a day on a full charge. The triple-camera array on the back of the phone is impressive for the price, taking some surprisingly decent photos for a sub-$300 smartphone, while the microSD support can boost the 128GB of storage all the way up to 1TB.
You may want some better cameras overall, but for the price, this smartphone is an excellent choice and does everything you need a budget device to do.
Premium pick
If you’re looking for a smartphone with a little more power, the Samsung Galaxy A35 could be the right pick with the solid Exynos 1380 SoC and 6GB of RAM. It has a 6.6-inch AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1000 nits of peak brightness. The front glass is Gorilla Glass Victus+, and the smartphone even comes backed by an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, so you don’t need to worry if it gets wet.
The camera setup isn’t nothing too special with a slightly larger main sensor than the Galaxy A25 but with decent lighting, you can get some good-looking photos. Luckily, the battery is large at 5,000mAh with 25W charging support, so you can take plenty of pictures before the smartphone needs to be charged.
The Samsung Galaxy A35 runs Android 14 (with One UI 6) out of the box and is set to receive four OS updates and five years of security updates, so you can confidently use it for years to come. Moreover, with strong low-band and mid-band 5G support, you’d be able to use it on most carriers so if you find a better deal for your wireless service, you can switch carriers without needing to buy a new device.
Best value
Following the success of the N20, OnePlus had some seriously big shoes to fill with the Nord N30 5G. Lucky for us, they’ve delivered another great smartphone with a wee $299 price tag. The OnePlus Nord N30 5G picks up right where its predecessor left off, delivering excellent performance, upgraded camera tech, and an impressive 6.72-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
Under the hood, you get the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695, a chip that’s proven to be a reliable performer in other cheap Android phones. You also get a big 5,000mAh battery with 50W SUPERVOOC fast-charging support. There’s also 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage, and even an expansion slot that can take up microSD cards of up to 1TB.
Of course, there are some shortcomings as well. The OnePlus Nord N30 5G won’t get any more OS updates after Android 14, and even though it has a triple-lens camera system at the back, only one of those lenses is actually useful. However, considering that this is a well-priced smartphone that offers nifty features like a 3.5mm audio port and stereo speakers, these limitations don’t really matter.
Best with a stylus
Motorola’s smartphones have always been known for offering solid value for money, but with the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024), the brand has really hit it out of the park. Even though it usually costs just a penny shy of $400, you can get the smartphone for a lot less during sales and festive-season promotions.
So, what exactly is it that makes the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) an amazing package? Well, for starters, it comes with a stunning vegan leather back panel that makes for a smooth and premium in-hand feel. Up front, you have a 6.7-inch pOLED screen with a resolution of 1080×2400 pixels and a 120Hz refresh rate. But the real highlight of the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) is the integrated stylus (hence the name!) that lets you doodle, jot down notes, and do a lot more with ease. In terms of hardware, you get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage, and there’s even a microSD expansion slot.
The smartphone packs a dual-lens rear camera setup that supports everything from advanced shooting modes to 4K video recording. The Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) offers all the essential connectivity and I/O options like dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, and NFC. You also get stereo speakers, a 3.5mm audio port, and a big 5,000mAh battery with wireless charging support.
Best battery life
Motorola has kept its eye on the ball with the Moto G Power 5G with a large battery, solid specs, and 5G support. The 2024 model gets upgraded to 8GB of RAM, which helps the phone keep up with basic usage while running Android 14. It’s powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7020 SoC, which won’t win any awards for performance, but is a good fit for endurance thanks to its low power usage.
Speaking of power, the Moto G Power 5G 2024 comes with a 5,000mAh battery like the previous generation. Unlike the previous generation, this phone comes with fast 30W charging, though you’ll need to supply your own fast USB-C charger. It also supports fast 15W wireless charging, which is rare at this price. It uses basically the same main 50MP camera sensor, with an upgraded 8MP ultrawide camera. Even if we weren’t exactly blown away by the results in our Moto G Power 2024 review.
This phone supports 5G on the major U.S. carriers, so you should get strong network speeds in most areas. The phone ships with Android 14, which is nice, but Motorola isn’t known for providing many updates for its cheaper phones.
Best international phone
Samsung, Apple, Motorola, and OnePlus have done a solid job covering most price points with safe solid options, but if you’re looking for something unique with the right price, the Nothing Phone (2a) could be a great choice. This phone comes in at $350 retail and is available in the U.S. as well, provided you’re willing to join the US Developer Program (Don’t worry, there’s no coding required!). It’s worth noting that the phone lacks some common 5G bands used in the U.S., like T-Mobile’s band n71 and n25, and Verizon’s n2, so you’ll likely see more LTE than a true U.S. phone would.
The Nothing Phone (2a) is powered by a quick MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro SoC, which we found to be 20% faster than a Snapdragon 778G+. Paired with 8GB of RAM in the 128GB version or up to 12GB in the 256GB version, this thing has plenty of power for Android 14, and even some light gaming. Speaking of power, there’s a large 5,000mAh battery with support for 45W wired charging.
The back still has some LED lighting, though it’s not as feature packed as the Nothing Phone (2)’s full-blown glyph lighting. You’ll also find a dual-lens rear camera system with a 50MP primary sensor and a 50MP ultrawide lens, and the setup can help you get some really good pictures.
How to choose
What are the best Android phones under $400?
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The sub-$400 market is both extremely competitive and a little confusing, but there have never been more options in this price point among the best Android phones readily available. Need something even cheaper? We’ve got you covered there, too, with our best Android phones under $300 buying guide.
The Galaxy A25 5G from Samsung is an excellent choice overall with solid camera performance for the price, wide carrier compatibility, and a large 5000mAh battery. This phone released with Android 14 and Samsung has promised four major OS updates, so you’ll be up to date for years as well.
If you’re looking for something with a little more power, the Galaxy A35 5G has a quicker Exynos 1380 SoC inside as well as a slightly improved camera. Samsung is also giving this phone four OS updates and since it launched on Android 14, it should stay up-to-date for a few years.
Get enough power for all your requirements
Most people don’t need the power of a flagship phone, but that doesn’t mean they want to cope with lag and freezing. You’ll find a wider range of SoCs at this price with options from MediaTek, Samsung, and Qualcomm. Samsung’s phones tend to stick with its own Exynos chips for the most part with the Exynos 1280 in the A25 and the Exynos 1380 in the A35 performing well enough for everyday apps, including some gaming, but may chug a bit switching between apps since neither have much RAM.
RAM is short term storage used by apps that you have open. While it can overflow into your storage a bit, that can lead to slowdown that’s irritating to those that multitask frequently. If you switch between apps a lot, you should consider a phone with 8GB of RAM as a minimum as you’ll likely experience some slowdown with less.
As for your battery, many of these phones come with a fairly standard 5,000mAh battery, which is a good fit for the lower-power SoCs used in budget phones. The charging speed can vary a lot, however, with OnePlus standing above the rest with 50W charging on the Nord N30 5G. Nothing comes in at second with 45W charging, but its Phone (2a) is a bit tricky to get in the United States. With Samsung, you’ll be mostly getting 25W wired charging as standard.
Finally, 5G support is a good idea for a new phone so it can get access to a network’s best speeds. Low-band and mid-band 5G support is adequate for most people and luckily, most budget phones are 5G (or at least have a 5G variant available). Similarly, it’s a good idea to get your phone unlocked if you can afford it, so that you can bring it with you to another carrier if you find a better deal.
