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

By Victor Hristov

Updated: Oct 13, 2025, 7:14 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 S25 FE – A flagship Android experience at a mid-range price.

Under $500:

Google Pixel 9a – PhoneArena's Top Choice. Strikes best balance of features for the price and has amazing camera.
OnePlus 13R – Great phone if you value performance and fast charging, but camera is one step below Pixel.

Under $400:

Samsung Galaxy A36 5G – Samsung's best budget phone.

Under $300:

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

Other buying guides:

Under $600:

iPhone 16e

At $600, the iPhone 16e is not exactly cheap, but it is the most affordable iPhone, $200 cheaper than the iPhone 17 model.

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. Its screen is also quite dim and not very easy to see on a sunny day outdoors.

Read more in our iPhone 16e review

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE

The Galaxy S25 FE offers incredible value for the money.

With a large screen, big battery and a flagship grade chipset, it delivers most of the Galaxy S25 Plus flagship experience at a much lower price.

The S25 FE retails for $650, but you can often find it discounted to as low as $500, and at that price, it is very tempting.

Some compromises have been made, as you'd expect. First, the phone comes with 8 GB of RAM (less than the 12 GB on premium models) and the base version only has 128 GB of storage.

Read more in our Galaxy S25 FE review

Under $500:

Google Pixel 9a

The Pixel 9a 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 G4 chip inside, with an outstanding camera. But best of all, the battery life is upgraded big time.

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 6.3-inch size.

Read more in our Pixel 9a 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 A36 5G

Samsung's $400 Galaxy A36 5G is a great phone for the money.

It doesn't quite have the fast performance of the Pixel 9a or OnePlus 13R, 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.

Read more in our Galaxy A36 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:

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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.

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