Best cheap Samsung phone in 2024

While Samsung’s high-end phones get most of the press, its more affordable models sport a nearly identical OneUI Android implementation and, in most cases, reasonably competent hardware. They can’t touch the flagships’ performance, but at hundreds of dollars less, many users find them considerably more attractive.

Even though they’re not as powerful and don’t use the most advanced camera hardware, they’re effective devices capable of completing everyday tasks with little to no hassle. There aren’t many, and Samsung doesn’t add to the range often. That said, it has now launched the Galaxy A15 and Galaxy A25 in the US – we’re hard at work getting our hands on them so that we can test them out and find out if they’re worth your hard-earned money or not.

The top budget Samsung phones

One, or even two long looks at the Galaxy A54, and you might well think it’s a member of the S23 family. Sized almost exactly the same as the best offering, the Galaxy S23+, it’s the right form factor for most people and looks and feels like a premium device.

But the A54 offers more than just looks. Front and rear Gorilla Glass 5, an IP67 durability rating, and Samsung’s well-respected One UI Android skin make it a promising contender at any cost. But wait, there’s more; Samsung slapped a seriously impressive display on this bad boy, setting it apart from most competitors in its price range. Its OLED panel boasts a 1,000-nit peak brightness, HDR10+ support, a 120Hz refresh rate, and, interestingly, an even higher pixel density than the S23+. Guess what else? In another win over the S Series, it even has the mythical microSD card slot.

That’s not to say it’s perfectly on par with its twice-as-costly relative. Indeed, there’s one big knock: the A54’s Exynos 1380 SoC. If we’re being honest, the top-shelf Snapdragons that make it into $1,000 phones are overkill for many users, who won’t notice a performance difference from one generation of flagship chipset to the next. But the Exynos lineup (and in particular, the 1380) does represent a full step down from the Snapdragons that tech devices rely on.

That’s not to say the performance is terrible or even lackluster. In truth, it’s great for day-to-day use, with smooth animations, snappy app loading, and generally great experience. Other than our premium pick (which does use a Snapdragon SoC, at least in the US), it’s the best-performing Samsung phone outside the S Series family. It should, realistically, do a good job handling everything you need it for up until and beyond its final full OS update to Android 17.

Sure, the best cheap Samsung phones are rounded up here, and $600 doesn’t qualify for most people. But, considering its remarkably close comparison, the S23+, costs about $1,000, it’s a worthwhile choice if you demand the best but still want to save a few bucks.

Its OLED display is only a hair behind the S23+, sporting a largely unnoticeable 300 fewer nits of peak brightness and similarly excellent variable refresh rate support and color reproduction. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset driving it may not be the fastest, but still isn’t a slouch, and will perform admirably throughout its entire Android update lifespan. Even the cameras are great and offer Samsung’s impressively colorful (if not perfectly realistic) image processing.

Again, the S23 FE is not a perfect device; it will thermally throttle from time to time, and battery life isn’t the greatest. Its cameras also aren’t quite up to snuff compared to the non-FE S Series models, but they are the closest you’ll get within the Galaxy family. But if you’re OK with using its wireless charging support to top it off during heavy-use days, it’s as close as you can get to a flagship without spending an arm and a leg.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S23 FE review.

The Galaxy A14 as an entry-level device is a real head-turner, partly because of its stellar 5G performance, which few competitors can replicate. And even though its hardware is a very significant step down from most of Samsung’s stable, it works just fine if you’re not picky and don’t use your phone all day.

It includes similar hallmarks to other low-cost phones, like microSD storage expansion and a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. But it’s those “despite the price” inclusions, such as the 5G connectivity, that make it worth considering. Its 90Hz display essentially helped usher high-refresh-rate displays into mainstream, affordable handsets, and the camera performance is better than something this price has any right to be.

Will you confuse it for a costly S-Series Galaxy? Definitely not. Does it deliver a characteristically great Samsung mobile experience, including four years of full Android updates? Absolutely. So, if you can find the A14 at a price close to MSRP (which, sadly, is hard to do right now), it’s one of the best entry-level phones on the market.

If you can’t find the Galaxy A14 available for purchase, or it won’t quite suit your needs, the A23 might be the minor step up you need. Its Snapdragon 695 runs faster, cooler, and more efficiently than its relatives’ Exynos SoCs, and the 120Hz display is a unicorn among $300 phones. Even the main camera left us with few complaints.

As you might expect, though, not everything’s rosy in the A23 world. Other than the main lens, camera performance doesn’t exactly inspire, with the ultra-wide, macro, and depth lenses contributing essentially nothing to the picture-taking experience. Not unlike the A14, we’re also disappointed with how difficult it is to find this model in new condition, but it’s possible if you’re vigilant. It’s one of the top low-priced models with 5G support and will give users a good example of why Samsung’s Android implementation is so widely appreciated.

Make no mistake, the Galaxy A03s is not a high-performing device, nor was it ever meant to be. It exists solely to shoehorn the Samsung experience into a bare-bones piece of hardware, and at that, it does a good job. It does not deliver the same slick interface, camera, or general processing performance as any of its relatives. It’s also cheaper than nearly every other phone we review, especially if you can find it on sale.

Compared to mid-range and high-end phones, it lacks most redeeming qualities. It did recently receive an Android 13 update in most markets, and while that’s its last full iteration, it’ll get security patches for another two years or so. It runs most Android apps reasonably well (although internal storage is severely limited) and takes pictures. Not exactly good pictures, but usually pictures that allow you to still identify the subject. But where it really shines is the price. If you can find it on sale or tied to a carrier at around $100, it makes a competent backup phone and does an OK job of imitating other, more powerful Galaxy smartphones.

Picking the right low-cost Galaxy smartphone

Despite vanishingly few to choose from, we’re actually pretty pleased with the completeness of the Galaxy lineup’s entry-level and mid-range selection. The A54 clearly wins out here, as it’s a near-perfect blend of excellent software, good-to-great hardware, and appearance and build quality close to those of the S Series. Granted, the S23 FE leans heavily into that flagship DNA, but its $600 MSRP isn’t what most consumers would call cheap.

Things get a little dicey below that, though, with availability posing the biggest hurdle to choosing anything cheaper. We love the Galaxy A14 for what it is, and the A23 is even more impressive. But you’ll need to keep an eye out to track them down in new condition from a reputable retailer, especially if you want to avoid an international model (something you should absolutely avoid).

The lowest one in the range, the A03s, doesn’t offer encouraging specs or reviews, but it is a phone, and it does work. If you know that Samsung’s smartphones work for you, and you don’t want to risk getting something you hate from another brand, it’s worth considering if you can get it for around $100.

Where are all the other cheap Samsung phones?

Due to demand, market segmentation, and the hassle of retooling and releasing models specifically for the US market, many of Samsung’s best cheap phones are only found outside the USA. Phones like the Galaxy A73 and A42 only see the light of day in faraway markets like India, the Middle East, and on occasion, Europe.

Can I import a foreign-market Samsung smartphone?

In theory, it is possible to import a Galaxy A73, A42, or A34 from one of its official release markets. However, you definitely shouldn’t if you plan to use the phone in North America. Despite some retailers’ claims, most foreign-market Samsung phones don’t support the necessary cellular bands to run on US networks. And even if one should happen to support enough 4G bands to work OK, it’s extremely unlikely you’ll find a carrier that approves it for use on its US network.