Looking for the best budget camera phones? The good news is that you no longer have to spend an absolute fortune to take a decent picture. In recent years, both hardware and image processing software have improved so much that even cheap smartphones now deliver the kind of image quality once reserved for flagship models.
Don't get us wrong: if you want the latest, premium specs, you'll need to spend more (a lot more) on the best camera phones. At the opposite extreme, if you're not bothered about photography at all, and just want to make calls, you can save even more cash with our guide to the best burner phones.
Otherwise, read on as we reveal the best budget camera phones available today, at a variety of price brackets.
The Quick List
If you can cope with Samsung’s saturated, high-impact look, this phone offers great value. Image are clear and sharp, and both shots and videos even look good at night.
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The Pixel 9a is a fun little device packed with helpful features. It offers excellent value for money, with outstanding camera software, heaps of processing power, and a competitive price.
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The Galaxy A35 5G's strengths include a vibrant 6.6-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED display, strong camera performance, reliable battery life and high build quality.
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A 50MP camera phone for just $150? Yes, that's right! The Moto G Play (2024) is an affordable Android smartphone will some appealing features including a stylish design with decent durability (IP52 rating) and expandable storage via microSD.
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If you want a cheap (relatively speaking) iPhone and don't mind a small (4.7 inch) screen, this last-gen iPhone SE offers many of the same advanced capabilities and performance you'll find in much more expensive models.
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If you really want one of the very latest iPhones, but want to minimise your spend, this 2025 successor to the iPhone SE offers a lot of the features and capabilities at a more affordable price. It's still pretty expensive, but it's very definitely the cheapest in the iPhone 16 series. Read more below
Best budget camera phones
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Best camera phone under $500
If you've got just under $500 to spend and you can appreciate Samsung's very saturated, high-impact look, the Galaxy A55 5G stands out with its premium design and impressive camera capabilities. Photos are clear and sharp, and the fact it combines optical image stabilization with a large primary sensor means shots and videos look well held together, even at night.
Not everything's perfect, of course. The A55 lacks a dedicated telephoto lens, and its 2x digital zoom often results in noisy and fuzzy images. The 5MP macro camera is also unimpressive, often struggling to capture fine details.
On the whole, though, anyone who is embedded in the Samsung ecosystem, and wants a new device for much less cash than the Galaxy S24 range demands, will find this to be great value as a camera phone.
Best budget camera phone under $400
Launched in June 2025, the Google Pixel 9a is a fun little device packed with helpful features that offers superb value for money. While the raw camera specs don't look that great, the sophisticated image processing software does a lot to make up for that.
Our reviewer found it excelled in bright conditions, leveraging the software to produce excellent photos with balanced exposure, vibrant colors, and strong shadow detail. The in-sensor zoom is effective up to 2–3x, and the ultrawide camera maintains a high level of quality. The phone is also particularly strong for close-up photography, with a macro lens that creates pleasing, naturally blurred backgrounds. For still photos in low light, Google's Night Sight feature performs well, capturing clear images of stationary subjects.
On the downside, the camera struggles with capturing fast-moving subjects in low light and has longer processing times, particularly for the ultrawide camera. Another weakness is video recording, which looks good in bright scenes but is poor in low light, producing noisy and unclear footage that even Google's software can't fix.
Despite these drawbacks, features like a strong portrait mode and accurate skin tones help the Pixel 9a remain a competitive option. At 6.3 inches, it's compact and manageable for one-handed use, and delivers the clean Android experience Google is known for. For more details, read our Google Pixel 9a review.
Best budget camera phone under $200
The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G stands out in the sub-$200 category with its impressive camera system and premium display technology. The 50MP main camera delivers sharp, detailed photos with good color reproduction, while the 8MP ultrawide lens adds versatility for landscape and group shots.
The 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate provides smooth scrolling and vibrant colors that make watching videos a pleasure. Samsung's reliable build quality and water resistance give you confidence in daily use, while the expandable storage means you won't run out of space for photos and apps.
With Samsung's established ecosystem integration and wide availability, it all adds up an excellent choice for budget-conscious buyers who don't want to compromise too much on core features.
Best budget camera phone under $150
A 50MP camera phone for just $150? Yes, that's right! Currently available in the US only, the Moto G Play (2024) is an affordable Android smartphone will some appealing features including a stylish design with decent durability (IP52 rating), expandable storage via microSD, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
That said, it has several shortcomings as well, most notably the lack of 5G connectivity. The cameras are underwhelming, struggling in low light and with tasks like portrait mode.
With a Snapdragon 680 4G chipset, 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, performance is sufficient for basic tasks but not ideal for demanding games. The 6.5-inch 720p LCD display gets bright enough but lacks vibrancy compared to OLED panels. Still, it's very affordable, battery life is good and there's 15W wired charging support too.
Best budget iPhone
If you want a cheap (relatively speaking) iPhone and don't mind a small 4.7-inch screen, the 2022 version of the iPhone SE is our top recommendation. At a quite affordable price (under $450 on Amazon at time of writing), you'll get many of the same advanced capabilities and performance you'll find in much more expensive iPhones.
This latest iteration of the iPhone SE features 5G, longer battery life, and improved durability. It also features an all-new camera system powered by A15 Bionic, with a 12MP f/1.8 aperture wide camera on the rear that offers great tools like Portrait mode and the same Smart HDR 4 tech as the iPhone 13. The rear camera (7 MP, f/2.2) isn't half bad, either.
The iPhone SE (2022) is rated IP67 for water and dust resistance features the familiar Home button, and supports Touch ID – an easy, private, and secure alternative for logging in to apps, authorizing purchases, and making Apple Pay transactions.
The cheapest iPhone 16
If you want to buy into the latest iPhone 16 series then the 16e, released in 2025, is the cheapest in the range. It's technically a successor to the budget iPhone SE (2022), number 5 on our list, although at $599 for the base 128GB model, it's much more expensive.
On the plus side, 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, replacing the previous 4.7-inch screen. You also get Face ID, USB-C connectivity, the Action button and supports Apple Intelligence. There's only one camera on the back, but it's a decent 48MP Fusion sensor with advanced features including optical image stabilization and various photography modes.
To learn more, read our articles iPhone 16e – six things photographers need to know and iPhone 16E is too expensive UNLESS you do this.
FAQs
Is it wrong to buy a budget camera phone?
Not at all. While flagship phones from brands like Samsung, Google, and Apple offer the best camera performance, mid-range and budget phones can still take very good photos that are sufficient for most users' needs.
Yes, flagships have larger sensors, more megapixels, and better zoom capabilities. But budget phones can still produce nicely exposed photos with good dynamic range, accurate autofocus, and punchy colors in most situations.
Also, mid-range phones are increasingly getting features like optical image stabilization that used to be reserved for flagships, helping improve image quality. And outside of photography, mid-range phones provide a smooth general user experience for most tasks while costing much less than flagships.
For more on this, read Ben Andrews' article I won't spend more than $300/£240 on a camera phone, and you shouldn't either.
What are the main downsides of budget camera phones?
There are a number of common downsides of budget camera phones compared to their higher-end counterparts. Firstly, you'll get lower image quality. Budget phones have smaller sensors that capture less light, resulting in noisy/grainy low-light photos and less detail overall. They also typically lack optical zoom capabilities.
You'll also get slower performance. With less powerful processors, budget phones can have slower autofocus, shutter speeds, and overall camera app responsiveness. There may also be delays between capturing shots.
Finally, budget phones may get software updates and security patches slower than flagships and have lower resale value due to faster camera tech advances.
Can I improve the camera quality with software?
Yes, there are a number of third-party camera apps that offer more features and controls than the camera app on your phone. These apps can sometimes improve image quality by allowing you to adjust settings like white balance, exposure, and focus more precisely. Features such as RAW capture and HDR+ processing can help you capture more detail in your images. For more, see our guide to the best camera apps.
How to choose the best budget camera phone
With so many budget camera phones, how do you pick the best one for you? The important thing is not to get too distracted by megapixels (MP). While a higher MP count can mean sharper images, it's not the whole story.
Another factors to consider is sensor size. Bigger sensors capture more light, leading to better low-light photos. Also a wider aperture (written as f/1.8 or lower) lets in more light, blurring backgrounds and excelling in low-light. Then there's image stabilization, which reduces blur caused by shaky hands, especially crucial for low-light and zooming. Look for Optical IS (OIS) for the best results.
Aside from megapixels, check the camera app's functionalities. Does it offer features you desire, like portrait mode, night mode, or pro mode for manual controls?
How we test camera phones
As a photography website, we pay special attention to the photo and video quality of camera phones. We rate resolution, noise and color rendition in the context of what rival cameras can do, and if there are any special features, such as ‘night modes’ or ‘portrait modes’, we check that these perform as described. Camera phones are all-round digital assistants too, of course, so we also check general handling, usability, and practicality – such as battery life.
