Best Android phones under $300 in 2022

You can get a lot of phones for a modest price these days, and to prove it, we’ve rounded up a list of the best Android phones under $300 for your consideration. The best phones overall mostly come down to network compatibility and confidence that your software won’t be out of date as soon as you activate it. The Samsung Galaxy A32 5G is the top smartphone you can get for $300, with 5G connectivity, a 90Hz screen and a gigantic battery. And it’s still got plenty of life in it, with updates promised until 2024.

What are the best Android phones under $300?

OnePlus Nord N20 5G

The Nord N20 5G has a reasonably sized 6.43-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution. Although it only sports a 60Hz refresh rate — not the smoothest display even in this category — it’s a good panel for the price. The lack of a 90Hz panel also allows the phone to save some juice, providing for easy all-day battery life from its 5,000mAh battery. In our testing, we managed a day and a half from a single charge. For quick refills, the bundled 33W SuperVOOC brick will get you past the 50% mark in just a few minutes.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 695 processor runs the show, backed up by 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, plus microSD expansion — a fairly balanced spec sheet for a sub-$300 handset. Meanwhile, on the camera side, the N20 features largely forgettable 2MP monochrome and macro lenses, but its 64MP main sensor punches well above its weight. In our review, we were impressed with its capabilities compared to similar handsets at this price. So there’s a lot to love here without putting too much of a dent in your wallet.

The Nord N20 5G is now available unlocked at Amazon and Best Buy, but its 5G capabilities don’t extend beyond T-Mobile’s network. If you’re an AT&T customer, this is still an amazing buy but you’ll only get 4G LTE speeds and coverage with it. Verizon customers need not apply, unfortunately.

Nokia G50

Nokia has established itself as one of the market leaders for affordable Android phones, and one of its most compelling handsets is the Nokia G50. The Nokia G50 stands out for a few different reasons, but its strongest aspect is its software.

The Nokia G50 ships with Android 11 right out of the box, and like all Nokia phones, it offers a clean and Pixel-esque user interface that’s fast and smooth thanks to its Android One implementation. Even better, the Nokia G50 is backed by two years of major OS updates and three years of monthly security patches, offering a level of software support that’s far too rare in this price range.

As for the hardware side of things, the Nokia G50 gives you a 6.39-inch HD+ display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 480 5G processor, a generous 5,000 mAh battery, 18W fast charging, and it even has NFC for Google Pay. Plus, it maintains the excellent cameras of the preceding Nokia 5.4, with a 48MP primary shooter, a 5MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP depth sensor.

Blackview BV4900

For the most part, modern smartphones are generic slabs of glass or plastic. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it means that buying a case is a must for incredibly clumsy people. But what if there was a phone that was designed to not need a case in the first place? Enter the Blackview BV4900.

The BV4900 comes with fairly modest specs with a Mediatek A22 Helio MT6761 CPU, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. This storage can be upgraded with a microSD card, however. A fairly large 5580mAh can keep you running all day or longer with ease. This phone is designed to be tough with IP68 water resistance and Gorilla Glass 3 on the 5.7-inch IPS display with 720×1440 resolution.

Connectivity is quite limited compared to many others on this list, with only LTE support on GSM carriers — that means no Verizon. It’s also worth noting that this phone doesn’t support all of either carrier’s bands either, so you may find yourself with lower or no signal than others on the same carrier. Still, it’s hard to find a rugged phone that competes with this one for under $300.

Moto G Stylus (2021)

The Galaxy Note series was, at one point, super popular for making the most of a stylus-touting phone before Samsung discontinued it. If you don’t have the cash for a flagship Samsung, the Moto G Stylus (2021) is worth a look. It has an included stylus that you can hide inside the phone when you aren’t using it. However, unlike Samsung’s high-end phones, the Moto G Stylus (2021) is very affordable.

With the Moto G Stylus (2021), you can draw, take notes, and navigate the UI — something that’s quite handy when trying to tap small buttons on the screen. You also get a 6.8-inch Full HD+ LCD, Android 10, and 128GB of storage that can be expanded by another 512GB. There’s also a 4,000 mAh battery, which should last you all day and then some on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 SOC.

There is also now a quadruple-camera system with a 48MP standard shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth/time of flight sensor. Unfortunately, you don’t get NFC or wireless charging on the downside, nor official IP water or dust resistance.

It’s worth noting that while the standard Moto G Stylus (2021) doesn’t have 5G capabilities, there is a 5G version available, though we did not include it on this list because it costs over $300. Similarly, the Moto G Stylus (2022)(opens in new tab) is priced at $500, making it ineligible for this list.