Best cheap 5G phones list:
- Samsung Galaxy A32 5G – the phone that makes 5G phone pricing arguments moot.
- Samsung Galaxy A71 5G – awesome screen, awesome camera, long-lasting battery life, you know the song.
- Samsung Galaxy A52 5G – Samsung’s 5G warrior in the value midrange.
- Google Pixel 4a 5G – you’d be amazed how great of a camera this munchkin has.
- OnePlus 8 5G – high refresh display, beautiful design, excellent battery life.
- OnePlus Nord N10 5G – one of the most affordable brand name 5G phones out there.
- Motorola One 5G Ace – our review found amazing battery life and decent camera performance.
- LG Velvet – beautiful design, fast chipset, excellent display.
- Orbic Myra 5G UW – Verizon’s own 5G midranger.
- TCL 10 5G UW/T-Mobile REVVL 5G – one of the few budget offings on Verizon or T-Mobile’s 5G networks.
- OnePlus Nord N200 5G – 90Hz 1080p display, 5000mAh battery, 5G connectivity for $240, bazinga!
- T-Mobile REVVL V+ 5G – rock bottom $199.99 price and 5G, need we say more?
- AT&T Fusion 5G – the most affordable 5G phone on AT&T.
Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
This would very well be the 5G technology’s weapon of mass proliferation, as it launched at just $282 over at Samsung, the cheapest 5G phone from the most recognizable Android phone brand. While not as well-appointed as the A52 5G midranger, our A32 review found it to sport amazing battery life with surprisingly decent camera performance, making it a steal for the price.
OnePlus Nord N200 5G
T-Mobile is home to another rock bottom cheap 5G phone, the OnePlus Nord N200 5G. It comes with a 6.49″ FHD+ display with 90Hz refresh rate and under the hood there is Qualcomm Snapdragon 480G processor powering the device. Specifications also include big 5000mAh battery with 18W charging speed and triple camera setup on the back with 13MP main shooter, all for just $239.99, or a bit more than the REVVL V+. Can’t go wrong with that one.
Until an A72 5G lands on US shores, the Galaxy A71 5G is the best of the budget Samsung 5G phones, and it even has a Verizon UW version. Nominally $600, but found at way less, it’s still $400 below the official retail price of the Galaxy S21+. The difference becomes even larger if you are able to get in on a promo, for a phone with Snapdragon 765G chip, great battery life, and a quad-camera array.
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
This year, the Galaxy A52 5G will get knocked down from its perch as the entry level Samsung phone in the US that comes with 5G capabilities by the A32 5G, but even then the A52 is a pretty good deal at around $400. For one, the phone doesn’t look cheap at all. In fact, this year Samsung made its A-series phones even more similar to its flagships with added cameras and high refresh rate displays.
OnePlus 8 5G
What’s an $800 phone doing here, you ask? Well, after the 9-series landed, OnePlus slashed the 8 to $500. Great display with high refresh, excellent battery life. and decent camera round up this great 5G offing. If you want a version that will work on Verizon, you’d have to shell out a bit more for the exclusive mmWave model, though.
Google Pixel 4a 5G
Google entered the budget 5G phone scene not long ago, and the cheaper Pixel 4a 5G is an awesome value proposition. It comes with the Snapdragon 765G SoC paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. But you’re not buying a Pixel phone for the specs sheet. You’re getting it for the software features and the camera. While the camera hardware might be inferior to that of the Galaxy A71, for instance, it more makes up with the software and is one the best camera phones on this list.
Motorola also has a $399 entry in the budget 5G segment. Not that surprising, considering Motorola has been making some of the best budget phones for the last few years, and our review of the Motorola One Ace 5G found out it’s no exception.
LG Velvet 5G
LG also has a contender in the budget 5G phones fight with, surprise, the LG Velvet. Great design and very good camera meet 5G connectivity courtesy of the frugal Snapdragon 765G that is easy on the battery. It can now be found for $300-$400 in its non-Verizon version, and checks all marks for an affordable daily 5G driver.
Orbic Myra 5G UW
The
Orbic Myra 5G UW is available for purchase at Verizon for just $350 without discounts. Apart from the fact that it comes with 5G support, we also know Orbic’s phone is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor, 6GB RAM, and 64GB expandable storage (up to 1TB).
Also, Orbic Myra 5G UW sports a large 6.78-inch FHD display, a triple-rear camera (48MP+8MP+2MP), a 16-megapixel selfie snapper, and a massive 5,000 mAh battery with Qualcomm Charge 3.0 fast charging technology. Since this is probably the first Orbic phone to be sold by Verizon, it makes sense to also be the first to feature the carrier’s “Adaptive Sound” mobile audio solution, and, above all, it supports Verizon’s ultrafast mmWave 5G network.
TCL 10 5G UW/T-Mobile REVVL 5G
The TCL 10 is another sub-$400 5G phone, this time to fulfil the affordable 5G needs of Verizon or T-Mobile’s customers, and is packing pretty decent specs for the price. The Snapdragon 765G is back, paired with 6/128 RAM/Storage combo and 4,500mAh battery. The display is a 6.5-inch IPS LCD with a hole-punch for the selfie camera. A feature that not many budget phones have but this one does is face unlock. Of course, there’s also a fingerprint reader if you want that extra security.
T-Mobile REVVL V+ 5G
Put simply, this is “America’s most affordable 5G smartphone ever”, and with a good reason, as, believe it or not, even at the rock bottom $199.99 price, the T-Mobile REVVL V+ 5G spec sheet is pretty solid.
Compared to the (non-5G) $192 REVVL 4 Plus, for instance, the REVVL V+ 5G comes with a considerably larger 6.82-inch screen in tow, as well as an appropriately larger 5,000mAh battery supporting faster 18W charging technology and an additional rear-facing shooter.
OnePlus Nord N10 5G
OnePlus has been expanding its presence in the States and one of its latest additions is the budget Nord N10. The N10 sells for just $299 in the US and comes with features that are usually reserved for much more expensive phones. We’re talking about the 90Hz refresh rate of the display and the 30W Warp Charging. The 6/128GB RAM/Storage combo is also pretty good at that price point and the battery life of the phone is amazing, as we found out during our OnePlus Nord N10 review.
AT&T Fusion 5G
AT&T started 2022 with a bang with its cheapest 5G-enabled smartphone to date, the
Fusion 5G, and if you can’t afford (or simply don’t want) to spend 220 bucks outright, a straightforward device payment plan will split that into 36 monthly fees of $6.12. That makes this 6.82-inch giant slightly more affordable than AT&T’s 6.5-inch Samsung Galaxy A13 5G. The Fusion 5G comes with no less than four rear-facing cameras in tow, including an impressive-sounding 48MP primary shooter, a big 4,750mAh battery, 64GB of built-in storage and Sub-6GHz 5G support. Moreover, the AT&T Fusion 5G supports wireless charging, which is a real added value at its $220 price point.
