Dollar for dollar, the cheap Android segment is probably the most exciting in tech right now. We’ve reached a point where it’s hard to make a bad flagship, and even mid-range picks are hitting a pretty reliable stride. When you try to go cheap, though, you have to start finding a careful balance between price and performance, and nobody seems to be better at it than Samsung.
Whether the rock-bottom Galaxy A16 5G or the nearly flagship-level Galaxy S24 FE, it has strengths at both ends of the spectrum. I would know — I’ve had my hands on probably half a dozen cheap Samsung phones per year since I started reviewing in 2021. With that many reviews under my belt, I think I can say that these are the cheap Samsung phones you should buy.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: The best cheap Samsung flagship
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
Flexible cameras for the price • Class-leading update commitment • Great value
MSRP: $649.99
A phone that fans and Galaxy newcomers will love.
The Galaxy S24 FE is a Samsung flagship in all but name. It delivers the right mix of performance, Galaxy AI smarts, camera flexibility, and overall durability while keeping the cost pegged right at $650, and with an update promise that matches the Android elite.
Positives
- Excellent display
- Flexible cameras for the price
- Class-leading update commitment
- Durable build
- Solid performance
- Great value
Cons
- Sharp aluminum frame
- Cameras can struggle with motion
- Fairly mundane design
With a list this specific, it can be tough to pick one cheap Samsung phone to call the best. After all, the Galaxy S24 FE barely competes in the same segment as one of our later picks, the Galaxy A16 5G. So, instead of ranking our choices that way, we’ll go by price. And, if you can just about stretch your dollar to the flagship realm, the Galaxy S24 FE is easily the phone for you.
While reviewing this mid-ranger, I concluded that it’s good enough to both draw buyers away from Samsung’s cheaper options and draw from the crowd who would buy the Galaxy S25. After all, Samsung’s flagship updates underwhelmed us just a bit this year, so getting similar materials, three flexible cameras (no dedicated macro sensor here), and seven years of Android updates without that top-end price makes this Fan Edition that much more enticing.
I think the Galaxy S24 FE’s 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED panel is a big piece of what drew me to the phone during my review. It’s nearly as good as the one on Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Plus, and the increased size over the base Galaxy S25 means that the mid-ranger can pack a much bigger battery than its cousins. Yes, you’ll have to settle for the same 25W wired charging you get from Samsung’s smallest flagships, but I managed to go long enough between charges (about two days) that it’s not a big deal.
Samsung’s latest Fan Edition phone is good enough to pull me away from the flagship Galaxy S24 itself.
Also, given the Galaxy S24 FE’s sub-flagship billing, it’s worth mentioning that this phone gets just enough of a taste of Galaxy AI for me to like it. Yes, it has the go-to features like Circle to Search and Sketch to Image, but I much preferred the cross-platform conveniences like Samsung’s Energy Score during my review. That clever wrinkle works a lot like Garmin’s Body Battery, and came in handy while also reviewing the Galaxy Watch 7 and training for a marathon.
As we move to the next few phones, you’ll notice that Samsung’s camera hardware takes a little shift, but some of those changes make the Galaxy S24 FE experience that much sweeter. I’m so glad Samsung tapped a telephoto sensor — albeit an 8MP option — to round out its trio this time, as it gives the phone much more flexibility to zoom in up to 30x. It might not reach the same quality as the larger flagship sensors, but I was pleased with the results in my limited time spent at max zoom.
Samsung Galaxy A56 5G: Best Samsung phone under $500
Samsung Galaxy A56 5G
MSRP: $499.99
Positives
- Durable Gorilla Glass Victus Plus
- Snappy 45W wired charging
- Excellent update commitment
Cons
- Dedicated macro camera
- No wireless charging
- Missing some AI features
If the near-flagship Galaxy S24 FE is out of reach, Samsung’s Galaxy A56 5G is ready to slot in at the sub-$500 price point. Although not available in the US just yet, Samsung has assured us it’s coming, and based on some hands-on time among the team, we feel comfortable including it on this list for once it becomes available. After all, it falls just a step or two behind the Galaxy S24 FE with Gorilla Glass Victus Plus on the front and back, an aluminum frame, and IP68 durability against water and dust… while being $150 cheaper.
And, if a bargain is what you’re after, the Galaxy A56 5G compares favorably to the flagship Galaxy S25 in quite a few ways. It packs the same 50MP primary sensor and a very similar 12MP ultrawide backup, which should cover you nicely in almost any situation, thanks to image processing from the in-house Exynos 1580. No, the mid-range chipset won’t keep up with the flagship-grade Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy on paper, but it adds access to the basics of Galaxy AI, which is all you need at the $500 price point.
Perhaps the most significant advantage this budget option has over its flagship (and sub-flagship) cousins is its battery and charging setup. The Galaxy A56 5G has space for a full 5,000mAh battery — 1,000mAh larger than the Galaxy S25 — and supports 45W wired charging with a USB PD PPS charger, which was previously reserved for the likes of the Galaxy S25 Plus and Ultra, both of which cost more than twice as much. Mix in a slightly more conservative chipset, and this cheap Samsung phone should run for days between charges.
When it comes to the US, the Galaxy A56 5G just might make the Pixel 9a sweat a bit.
Granted, some of Samsung’s slightly more expensive phones will get better software support than the Galaxy A56 5G, but that’s where we get to debate value. This phone will pick up six years of updates for a shade under $500, while the Galaxy S24 FE and Galaxy S25 will get a seventh year for $649 and $799, respectively. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think one more Android update is worth $150 — let alone $300 — when Samsung phones could look and feel completely different by the end of the decade.
Samsung Galaxy A26 5G: Best Samsung phone under $300
Samsung Galaxy A26 5G
Big AMOLED display • IP67 rating • Six years of updates
MSRP: $299.99
Samsung’s most value-for-money A series phone in 2025
With upgraded Gorilla Glass Victus Plus protection, a large AMOLED display, and six years of updates, the Galaxy A26 5G is everything you’d want from a budget Samsung phone.
Positives
- Gorilla Glass Victus Plus protection front and back
- Big, vivid AMOLED display
- Solid performance
- Rich, up-to-date One UI
- Six years of updates
Cons
- Mono speaker
- Average cameras
- Mushy haptics
Stepping down another level, you might expect us to recommend the Galaxy A36 5G for a slightly tighter budget. After all, it’s a little more expensive and has a little more power inside its glass and plastic frame, so it should be the better phone. However, we’ve spent enough time with that phone and this one, the Galaxy A26 5G, to know that sometimes it’s better to go further below your price tag to find a better value.
When you have to compare two very cheap phones, it usually becomes more about what one is missing. And, in that sense, the Galaxy A26 5G isn’t missing much. The Galaxy A26 and A36 pack IP67 ratings against water and dust, 6.7-inch Super AMOLED panels with 120Hz refresh rates, and Gorilla Glass Victus Plus on the front and back. The panel on the more premium phone is just a little brighter to flesh out its increased price.
The Galaxy A26 5G offers better bang for your buck than the more expensive Galaxy A36 5G — go figure.
Perhaps the most surprising place where the Galaxy A26 5G comes out ahead of its Galaxy A36 sibling is in performance. For my money, I would have always expected a 4nm Snapdragon processor to top a 5nm Exynos chipset, but the opposite is true this time. We found that the Exynos 1380 put up nearly identical benchmarking numbers to the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 across our comprehensive CPU tests, meaning that it should bounce between social media, internet browsing, and light workloads without a second thought. The Galaxy A36’s GPU is a bit more capable, suggesting it would be the better gaming option, but AAA titles would always be a tricky ask at under $300.
And then, there’s battery life. We were impressed with how far the Galaxy A26 could stretch its 5,000mAh cell, the same capacity you get from most cheap Samsung phones. We pushed it for about two days between charges before turning to its 25W wired speeds, which match what you get from Samsung phones that cost two or three times more. I’d also say the Galaxy A26 5G compares favorably to Motorola’s Moto G Power (2025), its closest cheap Android rival, in terms of both camera flexibility and software support.
Rushil Agrawal / Android Authority
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G: Best Samsung phone under $200
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
MSRP: $199.99
Budget phone, flagship support.
The Galaxy A16 5G continues Samsung’s trend of reliable budget phones, only this time it’s equipped with flagship-grade software support that will see it enjoy up to six years of updates.
Positives
- Stellar software update promise
- Solid primary camera
- Decent battery life
- Great price
- Good charging
Cons
- Just-okay build quality
- Aging performance
- Weak peripheral cameras
- Bland design
The last entry on our list of the best cheap Samsung phones also has one of the toughest price points. Simply put, making a great phone for less than $200 is hard. Eventually, you have to start removing things from the spec sheet to keep the price in check, and there’s usually not much to remove in the first place. Yet, I still think that Samsung has pulled together something pretty impressive with the Galaxy A16 5G.
The secret to Samsung’s ultra-cheap success is its commitment to software updates. Like the rest of the Galaxy A series, the Galaxy A16 is set up for a full six years of support, carrying it right into the start of the 2030s. That works out to a per-update cost of around $30, better than the Galaxy A26’s per-update cost of $50 or the Galaxy S24 FE’s price of around $90 for each major patch. Granted, you’re paying for much more than just software support, but it’s a good place to start if you want a cheap phone for your kids or an older loved one.
Unsurprisingly, the camera hardware on the Galaxy A16 has to take a bit of a step back to thrive within its limited price, but I still came away impressed with the primary sensor. It’s the same 50MP, 1/2.76-inch sensor that the Galaxy A26 uses and is pretty similar to the one Samsung has used on its last few Galaxy A1X launches, so it’s had plenty of time to fine-tune the image processing. The 5MP ultrawide and 2MP dedicated macro sensors that round out the trio aren’t the most flexible, but we can chalk that up to the very tight budget.
An excellent update commitment is enough to have the Galaxy A16 5G punching above its price tag.
Perhaps the perfect positioning for the Galaxy A16 5G is what I described above: It’s a great phone for kids and the not-so-tech-savvy people in your life. Its combination of lower-grade Gorilla Glass and plastic means you don’t have to worry too much about damaging it, and even if you do, the repair bill won’t be very steep. Its IP54 rating against water and dust falls slightly behind the other options on this list, but it should still be good enough for rainy days and the occasional beach trip as long as you treat it with just enough care.
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
What to look for in a good cheap Samsung phone
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
For most people, picking a cheap Samsung phone should be simple. It’s easy enough to settle on your price point, then figure out which Galaxy A (or Galaxy FE) device matches your limit. That said, you might actually get more out of your next Galaxy purchase by thinking about a few more specific features, too. Here’s what else I look at before I recommend which phone to buy:
- Check that chipset: We’ve historically had a love-hate relationship with Samsung’s in-house chipsets, though admittedly usually at the flagship price point. It’s just a little disappointing to see Samsung choose a less impressive chipset for the international version of a device. However, at the budget price point, it’s a pretty safe bet that you’ll get Exynos under the hood, so look closely to make sure it’s a recent chip, and you should be just fine.
- Budget-minded materials: Samsung knows how to build a cheap phone, and it knows how to do it well. I’d make sure you check the quality of Gorilla Glass used for both the display and the back panel, and don’t worry too much about the plastic frame — it should take a tumble or two without much trouble.
- Third camera’s the charm: No matter which Samsung device you buy, you can guarantee a trio of rear cameras — they’re pretty much standard-issue at this point. That said, not all third cameras are created equal. Sometimes, Samsung stacks its cheap options with dedicated macro sensors, while some slightly more premium models get telephoto hardware. If you want to use your phone camera to its fullest extent, I would look for the latter, as macro photography can often be handled by an ultrawide camera.
- Hang onto the headphone jack: These days, it can be tough to find certain camera features that you might have grown up with, like replaceable batteries or the headphone jack. While I don’t think the former is on its way back any time soon, there are still a few cheap Samsung phones with headphone jacks. You might have to look for a slightly older model to guarantee support, but it’s an easy way to keep your favorite wired headphones alive.
- Galaxy AI for everyone: Looking for brand-new AI-powered features on your next smartphone is another one of the most popular ways to make a pick. Usually, I’d say it’s a pretty reasonable thing to consider, but when you’re looking for cheap Samsung phones, your options are limited. You’ll find helpful tricks like Circle to Search and Object Eraser on a few Galaxy A devices, but the most affordable options like the Galaxy A16 miss out.
- Value vs price: It might sound backward, but sometimes the best way to save money isn’t with the cheapest phone. Instead, you might want to think about how many updates a phone will get and compare it to how much that phone costs. Even if you wind up paying a little bit more out of pocket, you’ll probably have that phone for longer and be able to stretch out its value over more years.
- Is unlocked an option: Samsung sometimes puts its cheapest phone in a tricky position by locking them to a carrier. If that’s the case, you may have to consider the costs of moving your number and upgrading your phone. The good news, however, is that Samsung also offers plenty of unlocked models, which would allow you to bring them to any carrier, keeping your phone number right where it is. That said, carriers are usually better able to offer hardware discounts along with your monthly service, which could be a quick way to save money.
- No doubts about durability: It hasn’t always been a guarantee among cheap Android phones, but every phone in Samsung’s Galaxy A lineup comes with some form of IP rating against water and dust. If you stick with more affordable options like the Galaxy A16 5G, you’ll get slightly lower IP54 protection, while some premium picks like the Galaxy A56 pick up IP67 certification.
Why you should trust me
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
We all have to start somewhere, and when I was given the opportunity to begin reviewing Android phones here at Android Authority, Samsung’s budget range was my playground. Before I even learned how to take proper review photos, my first review was of the Galaxy A11, and I haven’t looked back. Sure, I’ve since learned how to take photos and make even the cheapest Android phones look half-decent, but I haven’t forgotten my roots.
These days, my review responsibilities are a bit wider — I cover everything from the cheap Samsung phones I started with to the most expensive Android tablets and flagships on the market. With my increased scope, I’ve learned what it takes to make a great premium device and how to make a stellar budget option stand out from the crowd, and I know where most cheap phones tend to go wrong.
Since I’ve been here, I’ve reviewed (or at least spent extended time with) every generation of the Galaxy A1X lineup, from the A11 I started with to the Galaxy A16 5G launched at the start of 2025. The two phones are just about as different as can be, yet carry a lot of Samsung through-lines and show a ton of progress over the years, especially regarding build quality and software updates.
What do you look for most in a cheap Samsung phone?
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Also, while I’ve had my hands on a ton of Android phones over the years, my opinions aren’t based solely on subjective data. I’ve also worked closely with my colleague and our in-house testing wizard, Robert Triggs, to figure out a standardized set of benchmarks that puts everything from the Exynos 1580 to the Snapdragon 8 Elite on a somewhat level playing field. It’s allowed us to create a more definitive ranking of what puts one phone ahead of another, and adds a bit of science to an otherwise highly personal field.
