The best phones under $500 really don’t sacrifice much in comparison to devices with much higher prices. Even better, there’s a lot of competition in this midrange space, making phones in this price range the first you should consider if you’re ready to upgrade or looking for a holiday gift. These phones typically cost between $400 and $500 while offering features like high refresh rate screens, 5G and photography processing software. But prepare for some tradeoffs, such as lower-quality cameras or an older processor.
Even at their lower prices, the best phones under $500 may hit most of the features on your checklist. Looking for a big 6.5-inch screen? Many of these phones have that, or there are also smaller displays if that’s your preference. Need a great camera? You’ll find that in most of these picks. Most of these phones don’t skimp on software updates either, with their makers promising at minimum three years of security updates.
There are some compromises made to keep costs low, and each company takes a different approach to make these cuts less noticeable. Apple’s iPhone SE and Google’s Pixel 6A, for instance, have a smaller screen and older camera setup, yet include new processors and software from these companies. Samsung’s Galaxy A53 has a spacious screen and impressive battery life, although it runs on a less powerful processor than the Galaxy S22. And the Moto G Stylus 5G takes nice photos, provides a roomy 256GB of space and throws in a stylus, but Motorola doesn’t provide software support for as long as its competitors.
Photography and video in particular are areas where these phones priced under $500 take a noticeable hit in comparison to their more expensive counterparts, but photo-processing software should help pick up some of the slack. For instance, while the iPhone SE has a single 12-megapixel camera that does not support night photography, its A15 Bionic chip does allow for Apple’s Deep Fusion processing. It’s a similar situation for the Pixel 6A, which uses a 12-megapixel main camera and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, yet can enhance those photos with processing powered by the phone’s Tensor chip.
You can see the pros and cons of each of these phones below, with more details available in our full reviews.
Best phones under $500
How we test phones
CNET tests phones by using them daily and comparing them with competing phones to assess their value. We consider a variety of factors, such as the phone’s screen, cameras, battery life, software, performance, features and ease of use.
For low-priced phones, we make sure these devices consistently work well when used in a number of situations. This includes many day-to-day activities like reading the news, listening to music, watching videos, texting, playing games and multitasking.
We test phone cameras in a range of environments, taking test photos outdoors in the daytime and nighttime, and indoors in darker settings. We use cameras in active environments, like a concert or a sports game, and with a variety of subjects including people, objects and pets. We also test available camera settings, especially those that are rarer in these price ranges such as Night mode and Portrait mode.
These anecdotal phone experiences are also combined with benchmark tests such as Geekbench performance testing and battery testing. We monitor battery life in two ways: By seeing how much power is typically left after a day of normal usage and by seeing how much battery is depleted during a more intensive hour with the phone. For the latter test, we’ll check how the phone’s battery holds up to a series of video calls, gaming, video streaming and web browsing.
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