The 7 best cheap smartphones of 2015: These are the best budget phones you can buy

In the space of little more than a decade, smartphones have evolved from awkward devices reserved for wealthy people to sleek life companions owned by almost everyone. These days, we’re never far from our devices, but we can’t all afford to shell out for one of the best smartphones of 2015.

Shopping for a new handset that doesn’t cost the earth can be tough. There’s a huge selection of handsets to choose from, and the budget smartphone landscape is a minefield, littered with slow, poorly made devices that are hardly worth the plastic, glass and silicon they’re made from.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though: there are plenty of affordable smartphones around that pack in an impressive range of features. We’ve collated this list of the best budget devices to help you pick the right affordable smartphone for you.

All prices are SIM-free.

The best cheap smartphones of 2015

1. Motorola Moto G 3 (2015)

Price when reviewed: £159 inc VAT

Motorola claims top spot in the race for best budget smarphone for the third year in a row with the third generation Moto G. It sports a new look, Moto Maker customisation and faster internals, alongside beefed up waterproofing and an excellent 13-megapixel rear camera. All-in-all, the Moto G 3 is the best budget smartphone money can buy. If you can’t stretch your budget to a flagship phone, this is the next best thing.

Read the full Motorola Moto G 3 (2015) review here 

2. Motorola Moto E

Price when reviewed: £109 inc VAT

Motorola has a knack for creating impressive budget phones, and the second-generation Motorola Moto E is no different. With a faster processor and the welcome arrival of 4G support, Motorola is onto another budget winner in 2015.

Read the full Motorola Moto E review here

3. Huawei Honor Holly

Price when reviewed: £90 inc VAT

While the Holly falls short in terms of performance and its Android 4.4 reskin, Emotion UI, is rather uninspiring, its incredibly low price point redeems it. It also has the largest storage of all our budget phones, with 16GB coming as standard. If price is really an issue, the Holly is the sub-£100 handset we’d recommend.

4. Sony Xperia M4 Aqua

Price when reviewed: £225 inc VAT

Sony’s mid-range smartphone may be at the higher end of the budget price range, but its slim, stylish, metal-and-glass design makes it look a lot more attractive than most of its slightly cheaper rivals. Combine this with the same level of water resistance as the Xperia Z3+, an HD display, a 13-megapixel camera and an octa-core processor and you have a powerful handset at a reasonable price.

Read the full Sony M4 Aqua review over at our sister site, Expert Reviews

5. Wileyfox Swift

Price when reviewed: £129 inc VAT

British smartphone manufacturer Wileyfox has ambitions similar to those of the hugely successful Chinese startup OnePlus. Its debut handset squeezes style out of a rather simplistic design and crams a load of features into a phone that costs very little. The biggest plus, however, is that it comes loaded with the flexible and frequently updated Cyanogen OS Android-based  OS.

Read the full Wileyfox Swift review here

6. Microsoft Lumia 640 XL

Price when reviewed: £184 inc VAT

If you’re in the market for a budget phablet, you won’t go too far wrong with the Lumia 640 XL and its 5.7in display. It’s a Windows phone, which means you don’t get access to the same choice of apps as you would with an Android handset, but as a starter smartphone it’s a good choice. As an extra tempter, it comes with a year’s free subscription to Office 365.

Read the full Nokia 640XL review here

7. Microsoft Lumia 640

Price when reviewed: £120 inc VAT

The Lumia 640 is a huge step up from its predecessor, the Lumia 630, and a great small-screened alternative to the larger Lumia 640 XL. It has a great-looking screen, snappy performance and 4G. For those who enjoy having Windows 8.1 on their phone, you’d struggle to find better at this super-low price.

Read the full Nokia Lumia 640 review here

7. Honor 4X

Price when reviewed: £145 inc VAT

The 4X has good battery life, a decent camera and reasonable performance. Add a large, bright 5.5in display and a price lower than £150 and you have a winning recipe. 

Some might not get on with the Huawei Emotion UI Android overlay, or the lack of Android Lollipop, but if that doesn’t bother you, the 4x offers a lot for very little cash.

Read the full Honor 4x review here

Best budget smartphones 2015: OS

When you’re looking to buy a smartphone, tablet or computer, one of the first things to consider is the operating system you prefer to use. When it comes to the budget smartphone market, it’s no different.

It used to be the case that budget phone shoppers were almost exclusively tied to Android if they wanted an affordable phone. This was due, in part, to the prohibitively expensive nature of Apple’s devices.

A few years on, a sub-£200 iPhone is still an impossibility unless it’s a pre-owned and aged device, but the market has changed. Microsoft is trying to fill the gap with a raft of reasonably priced Windows handsets.

Microsoft’s mobile OS is still lacking when it comes to the choice and variety of third-party apps available in its store, but it has most essentials covered. What’s more, Windows 10 promises to improve the situation drastically.

Android, however, is still the daddy when it comes to handsets in the more affordable price bracket. The sheer variety of Android smartphones means there’s a device to suit everybody.

Best budget smartphones 2015: size

As with any smartphone, size is a key issue when picking an affordable handset.

Smartphones have become progressively larger in recent years, with most flagship devices boasting screens around the 5in mark. This trend is beginning to be reflected in the budget smartphone sector. A couple of years ago, cheaper smartphones tended also to have smaller displays, but today you’re as likely as not to see a 5in handset below £200.

Biggest isn’t always best, however. In truth, it’s mainly a matter of taste. A larger phone may not sit as comfortably in your hand as something with a smaller screen, but those who love to watch movies or play games will definitely prefer a big screen. On the other hand, a larger screen with a lower resolution – as is often found on larger budget models – means a drop in sharpness.

Best budget smartphones 2015: 4G

Budget phones with 4G capabilities used to be like gold dust. Now, however, more and more devices are including the high-speed data connection as standard. Larger networks such as Vodafone and EE even offer their own affordable, 4G-compatible devices. If superfast internet is a must-have, you don’t necessarily have to break the bank.

If you go for 4G, however, be warned. Limited data allowances and expensive 4G contracts might mean you spend as much on your phone bill as you save by purchasing a cheaper device. So, think carefully about whether you need 4G at all. Unless you spend large chunks of your day commuting, the chances are you’ll spend most of your time using Wi-Fi connections at home or at work.

Best budget smartphones 2015: camera

Between Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram, snapping a quick selfie has become an integral part of the way we communicate. If you want to capture your precious moments in pictorial form, you’re going to want a good camera on your phone.

This is often the area where budget phones are weakest. There are handsets out there with cameras capable of decent output, but there’s far more variability than there is at the more expensive end of the smartphone spectrum.

The key is to make sure you read reviews before you buy. Also, do a Flickr or Google image search for the model you’re interested in to find images snapped with its camera.