Edited By Piyush Kasyap, Reviewed By Gulshan
Utility is the most important aspect that guides our decision to buy anything or undergo something.
We first measure anything, irrespective of its field to which it belongs in our priority scale based on the utility it provides when one requires that particular product/service.
Especially, when we are given an option to choose between similar categories of products or services, we select that option, which would give us the maximum utility or benefit compared to the rest of the options.
Similarly, when buying any electronic item, we not only look for gadgets that fit in our budget but also check which model or brand offers maximum features and longevity in our given budget.
This checklist is nothing, but our utilities, based on which we make our final choices. The brand that ticks the maximum number of checkpoints of our features list at a competitive price gets our buying preference.
So, here in this article, we would be talking about budget smartphones in India and how you must form a checklist of smartphone features, which would help you buy the best of the smartphones without exceeding your budget.
When we say budget smartphones in India, our mind instantly starts thinking of several brands and multiple models as India houses a vast range of budget smartphones to choose from.
The popularity of budget smartphones is gaining more and more market share as people are getting almost all the features of premium category smartphones at an unbelievable yet competitive price.
This has, on a large scale, affected the sales of class defining smartphones as a new premium category of smartphones has attracted customers’ eyes that fall under-budgeted price segment.
Offering high-resolution multiple camera options with vivid filters, higher versions of the processor, higher RAM with much higher expandable storage, great sound system, slim in size and light in weight, refresh rate displays, and many other exceptional features, these budget smartphones are now the choice of all the people across all generations.
Apart from Xiaomi and Realme, now even the costly smartphone companies, like Samsung, Motorola, Sony, Poco, etc., have entered the budget smartphones section in India, only to raise the competition bar.
Ranging between 10, 000 to 30, 0000, the current production line of budget smartphones in India is packed with fantastic user experience, great specs, incredible features, and high-quality body build.
While buying these budget smartphones, you must primarily concentrate on the features that the phones in your budget offer, like megapixels each camera offers, the performance of each camera using different shooting modes and bigger sensors, the software on which the phone runs, the processor, the memory space it offers plus expandability, the sound quality, the type of protection it has on its body, how much protective the phone is against dust and water, and a few more minor details.
All these features should be there in your checklist of a budget smartphone if you want to get more at a competitive price.
Therefore, to ease out your quest for the best smartphones, we have curated a list of top budget smartphones across various brands that are currently ruling the Indian phone market.
Our list of top budget smartphones consists of 10 such smartphones that are a direct threat to the popularity of expensive and premium category smartphones. Our list of smartphones at low prices is completely based on the top features that we have discussed above, which are sure to excite you and make you buy a new one.
Other Related Articles: Top 10 Best Phone under 11000 in India, Top 10 Best 4G Mobile Under 10000 in India
Let's explore the list and have a look at the features along with the pros and cons of the Top 10 Best Budget Smartphones in India.
Top 10 Best Budget Smartphones in India
Although my favorite among all is Poco X2 but you must check all of them to make your buying decision.
1. Poco X2
Specifications
Xiaomi’s Poco X2 smartphone is the one that will set you to play the games, capture the best shot, and let you watch your favorite shows and movies with enthralling experience.
The phone features a 64- quad rear camera array that clicks stunning photos, irrespective of the place and light; reality flow (120 Hz) display with more frames to make viewing experience smoother.
Its extreme refresh rate and Full HD+ display along with tall body design will not allow you to remove your eyes from the visuals on-screen.
To turn all your casual, everyday clicks into extraordinary photos, the Poco X2 has a Sony IMX686 sensor that gives the right amount of detailing to the photos.
To make you look effortlessly gorgeous in all your selfies, the smartphone has dual in-screen cameras. Features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor with 6 and 8 GB of RAM variants, the POCO X2 is every gamers’ dream phone.
And, to let you store all your important files with zero hassle, the Poco X2 comes with 8GB RAM and 256 GB ROM with expandable memory up to 512 GB.
To help its users play uninterruptedly, this smartphone through its liquid cooling system stops anything from coming in your way. All thanks to Poco X2’s 4500 mAh battery that lets you work and play for long hours at a stretch. The phone also supports 27 W fast-charging.
Using the phone’s power button, which also features a fingerprint sensor, you can easily unlock the phone. The Poco X2 has a hi-res screen that makes it worthy to watch anything on this smartphone.
Pros
Cons
Related Articles: Top 10 Best Phone under 11000 in India
2. Redmi Note 9 Pro Max
Specifications
Launched as a part of the Redmi Note 9 series and as an advanced version of Redmi Note 9 Pro, the brand-new Redmi Note 9 Pro Max is similar to the Redmi Note 9 Pro with major similarities in the core hardware features.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro Max has got a larger 64MP camera sensor at its back along with a larger 32MP selfie camera.
To give a 100 percent charge, in an hour at the max, the new Note 9 Pro Max has 33W charging.
Sporting a 6.67-inch full FHD+ LCD screen display, this phone comes with a punch-hole camera, placed right in the front, top-center portion.
This phone has a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G octa core processor, which is very much capable of handling all the daily tasks efficiently.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro Max is available in variants of three, which are 6GB RAM with 64GB storage, 6GB RAM with 128GB storage, and 8GB RAM with 128DB storage.
The most attractive feature of this budget smartphone is its 5020mAh battery, which provides a high battery life of at least a day and a half in a single charge.
The MI Note 9 Pro Max runs on Redmi’s proprietary MIUI 11 that is based on Google’s Android 10 OS. The phone’s processor is also paired with Adreno 618 GPU and the sensors added to it are an accelerometer, a compass/magnetometer, an ambient light sensor, a proximity sensor, and a gyroscope.
The Note 9 Pro Max has a quad-camera set-up, including an 8MP ultra-wide lens camera, a 5MP macro lens camera, and a 2MP depth sensor camera. The phone is protected by tough Gorilla Glass 5 covering, both at the front and backside, inclusive of the camera glass.
Pros
Cons
3. Realme 6 Pro
Specifications
The Realme 6 Pro is a well-rounded budget smartphone for Indian buyers as it has all the hardware features that meet the latest market trends.
Outstanding features, like a high refresh rate display, multi-camera set-ups, a gaming-oriented processor, and more make this phone a must buy at the jaw-dropping price.
This mid-range flagship smartphone by Realme has a 6.6-inches 90Hz ultra-smooth screen display that produces vibrant colors and brightness and a dual hole-punch cutout as front camera, which renders a modern look to the phone.
With Gorilla Glass 5 protection covering the Realme 6 Pro phone, both at the front and the back and on all sides, the company sells this phone with a pre-applied screen guard.
Rather than an in-display fingerprint sensor, Realme has incorporated the capacitive fingerprint sensor in the power button.
Accompanying the fingerprint sensor is equally a good face unlock option.
The Realme 6 Pro 4300mAh battery keeps the phone working for a day and a half and the 30W fast charging charges the phone at a lightning-fast speed.
The phone’s 64MP quad rear camera can capture high-quality images, both in daylight and at night. The Realme 6 Pro has a wide-angle camera, which is of immense use and a macro camera to click ultra-close-ups shots. It also supports HDR and Panorama shots.
The phone is also capable of shooting videos of up-to 4k resolution effectively. The Realme 6 Pro’s Snapdragon 720G chipset processor makes apps and gaming performance smooth and unhindered.
The Realme 6 Pro smartphone is available with 6GB and 8GB RAM that has an internal storage of 64GB and 128GB.
Pros
Cons
4. Samsung Galaxy M31
Specifications
Called as the successor of the Samsung Galaxy M30 smartphone, the all-new Samsung Galaxy M31 has a 6.4-inch Full FHD+.
To beat its rival smartphones, Samsung has introduced thin bezels around the Galaxy M31 bright and compact Super Amoled - Infinity U Cut Display.
This phone is equipped with an efficient Samsung’s own Exynos 9611 SoC processor.
With a strong 6000mAh battery, users can get a two-day long battery in a single charge in the Samsung Galaxy M31 smartphone.
Because of such a long battery life, the Samsung Galaxy M31 is the only one in this segment that is capable of lasting for so long.
This smartphone is the first in the whole M-series of Samsung smartphones that has a 64MP rear camera setup together with an 8MP ultra-wide sensor, a 5MP macro sensor, and a 5MP depth sensor.
It also has a 32MP front camera to capture beautiful selfies. The phone has a 6GB/8GB RAM with two internal storage variants to choose from, i.e. 64GB and 128GB.
The Galaxy M31 smartphone comes with a dual Nano-SIM option with both the SIM slots supporting 4G as well as VoLTE connections. The Samsung Galaxy M31 runs on Samsung OneUI 2.0 with Google’s Android 10 OS as its base.
You will find popular apps, like Candy Crush Saga, Facebook, Netflix, Samsung My Galaxy, Samsung Shop, and Google Apps pre-installed on Galaxy M31. The phone also supports 15W fast charging.
Pros
Cons
5. Realme Narzo 10
Specifications
The Realme Narzo 10 promises to deliver an enthralling experience to its young gaming customers with its octa-core MediaTek Helio G80 processor.
Particularly, Realme has emphasized more on the Narzo 10 design, which has been done uniquely with subtle stripes at the back-side that seems to shift when a user turns it under a light.
The Narzo 10 sports a 5000mAh battery that gives more than a day’s battery life every time you charge it.
The phone also has an 18W Quick charge feature. Its 6.5-inch display is quite fascinating with HD resolution and comes in only one variant of 4GB RAM space that has an internal storage capacity of 128GB.
Coming to Realme Narzo 10’s camera set-up, it offers a quad rear camera with a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP secondary sensor with an ultra-wide angle, a 2MP monochrome portrait sensor, and a 2MP macro shooter.
The primary camera clicks marvelous quality photos in daytime. It also has a 16MP front camera to let its users click beautiful selfies.
The outside body of this phone is protected with a solid covering of 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Realme has used its proprietary Realme UI OS on top of Android 10 to run the Narzo 10 smartphone smoothly.
And, to expand the internal storage up to 256GB, you need to use a microSD card. The Realme Narzo 10 smartphone has a dual SIM option with dual standby feature and 4G support on both the SIMs.
Pros
Cons
6. Samsung Galaxy A10
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy A10 is the cheapest handset in the budget smartphone segment introduced by Samsung, which is packed with a whole lot of advanced features and specs.
The Galaxy A10 runs perfectly on the Samsung One UI OS with Android 9.0 i.e. Pie serving as its base.
Flaunting its big 6.2-inch HD+ Infinity-V display that brings colorful pictures to life, the Samsung Galaxy A10 is powered by a 1.6GHz, 1.35GHz octa-core Samsung Exynos 7884 processor that makes the phone work swiftly at all-times.
The phone has a single 2GB RAM variant with 32GB inter storing memory that can easily be expanded up to 512GB via a dedicated microSD card slot. Such a huge memory space will be of great help for the memory-intensive applications to run without any lag, enabling you to run multiple apps without any stutter.
The Samsung Galaxy A10 smartphone has a 3400mAh battery that makes it juiced up for day’s tasks in a single charge.
Coming to its camera set-up, the Galaxy A10 has one 13MP rear camera with an f/1.9 aperture and a 5MP front camera with an f/2.2 aperture to help the users click awesome selfies. The phone also has a HD+ imaging feature. The Samsung Galaxy A10 has all-important connectivity options, like Bluetooth, WI-FI, USB, 3G, & 4G, etc.
It also offers a fingerprint scanner at such a low price. To give an excellent and clear sound quality, Galaxy A10 has a loudspeaker installed inside it, containing a cancellation feature with a dedicated mic.
Pros
Cons
7. Samsung Galaxy M30s
Specifications
The Samsung Galaxy M30s is an updated version of the earlier released Samsung Galaxy M30 smartphone.
With Galaxy M30s, Samsung for the very first time has introduced a 6000mAh battery smartphone in this price range that will keep the battery running for approximately 2 days at a one-time charge.
Equipped with all-round features, Galaxy M30s sports an impressive Full FHD+ sAMOLED 6.4-inch display screen, including dewdrop notch at the top, which has been termed as the “Infinity-U Display” by Samsung itself.
The sAMOLED display gives the phone crisp and good viewing angles.
To make the Galaxy M30s equally powerful to the battery, Samsung has powered this phone with Exynos 9611 octa core processor, which works at par excellence in terms of power-packed performance.
Samsung has introduced Galaxy M30s in two variants with respect to storage, a 4GB RAM with 64GB of internal storage, and a 6GB RAM with 64 GB and 128GB of internal storage.
Samsung’s update to Galaxy M30s consists of triple cameras, put in a rectangular camera module with a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 5MP depth sensor, the performance of which are exceptionally well. Even the video recording quality is good at 4K resolution and with greater stabilization when shot at 1080 pixels.
Besides the camera module, there is a rear fingerprint scanner to unlock the phone. The front camera of Galaxy M30s is loaded with 16MP to let you click amazing selfies all times. Samsung has also incorporated LED Flash, Panorama, and in its Galaxy M30s smartphone.
Pros
Cons
8. Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro
Specifications
Featuring 6.53-inch Dot Notch Full HDR display, Redmi Note 8 Pro by Xiaomi is referred to as the “King on Budget Smartphones”.
It comes with power-packed features at an affordable price.
Seen as an upgraded version of Redmi Note 7, Xiaomi has infused excellent features in the Redmi Note 8 Pro 64MP Artificial Intelligence quad rear camera, such as the portrait mode, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, 2MP macro lens, LED flash, and a beautify support to enhance your beauty in the photos clicked.
Its 20MP front camera is equally good with features, like beautify, portrait, palm gestures, and more.
Xiaomi has used the powerful 2.05GHz MediaTek Helio G90T octa core processor along with Liquid Cooling technology, and Game Turbo to make your gaming experience smoother while remaining cool even if used for continuous long hours.
What makes the phone worthy of buying is its in-built Amazon Alexa technology, which lets you listen to music, news, weather forecasting, and control all your smart devices.
All you need to do is simply ask Alexa what you wish to hear or do and she will right away fulfill your wishes. Xiaomi has made available two variants of RAM for the Redmi Note 8 Pro, which are 6GB and 8GB that has internal memory storage of 64GB and 128GB.
Redmi Note 8 Pro runs on a 4500mAh battery that has 18W fast charging capacity to give a battery life of a day and a half even in case of excessive usage. To give all-round protection to its new Redmi Note 8 Pro smartphone, Xiaomi has applied 4-sided 3D curved back with Gorilla Glass 5 covering as well on the front and backside of the phone.
Pros
Cons
9. Motorola One Fusion+
Specifications
Motorola’s One Fusion+ smartphone is among the few handsets in the budget smartphone segment that comes with a pop-up selfie camera.
This makes One Fusion+ an all-screen front smartphone with no notch or hole-punch on the head of the screen.
Its 6.5-inch Full HD+ display brings colors to life, enhanced brightness, and also improved contrast. It is also HDR10 certified.
The Motorola One Fusion+ is best suitable for viewing any movie or web-series as it comes with an added loud bottom-firing Hi-Fi speaker packed with bass.
Motorola has equipped One Fusion+ with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor, which enables you to play games, watch online content, and play between several apps without any lag.
Motorola One Fusion+ offers a 64MP quad-camera set-up with Quad Pixel technology that gives stunning clarity and color accuracy to all the pictures.
And, to let you click bright and beautiful photos in darkness, Motorola has added a Night Vision mode to deliver high-quality photos.
And, thanks to One Fusion+ Turbo Power charging that charges the phone in some minutes. Motorola One Fusion+ is available in 6GB RAM with 128GB of internal memory. The phone proudly boasts of convenient gestures, such as a simple twist and turn to launch the camera, chopping down the phone twice to turn on the flashlight, and more.
This and other several features can be explored using Moto Gametime, Google Assistant, and Moto Display that are pre-installed in Motorola One Fusion+ smartphone.
Pros
Cons
10. Vivo U20
Specifications
Vivo U20 is said to be the most affordable budget smartphone that is powered by a Snapdragon 675 processor.
The Vivo U20 smartphone is a part of the online exclusive U series by Vivo, which has a 6.53-inch IPS LCD display screen accompanied by a dewdrop notch at the top.
With a Full FHD+ resolution and 5000mAh battery, Vivo U20 is available in variants of 4GB, and 6GB,RAM with an internal memory of 64GB for the first two variants and 128GB for the third variant.
It also has an expandable internal storage capacity of up to 256GB via microSD card.
The 18W Dual-Engine fast charger can charge the phone up to 100 percent in a matter of a few minutes.
Vivo has given a triple rear camera set-up to its U20 smartphone, which consists of a 16MP primary camera, an 8MP super-wide-angle camera, and a 2MP macro camera.
The triple camera system helps in clicking good photos in the daylight. Its 16MP front camera is also a decent one. The phone runs smoothly on Vivo’s proprietary Funtouch OS that has Android 9.0 as its base.
Vivo has also offered great connectivity options, which are dual-band Wi-Fi, FM Radio, Bluetooth 5.0, and four satellite navigation systems.
Pros
Cons
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Which is the best and cheapest smartphone in India?
It is very difficult to select any one best and cheapest smartphone in India as the list is quite long and much diversified. All the phones that come under this category have few such features that outshine their competing brands and are sold at an unbelievable price. The list includes some real value for money smartphones, like Samsung Galaxy A10, Vivo U20, Realme Narzo 10, Redmi 9 Prime, Xiaomi Redmi 8, Realme Narzo 10A, Vivo U10, Motorola G8 Power Lite, Nokia 4.2, Samsung Galaxy M01, Samsung Galaxy M30s, Motorola One Fusion+, and few more. If one is available at the best price, the other one has the best features. So, it just depends on your choice, budget and utility.
2. What is the Best Budget Smartphone 2020?
Picking-up one particular smartphone from the lot and labeling it as the “Best Budget Smartphone in 2020” is not at all a justifiable idea. This is because each smartphone that has been categorized under the “Best Budget Smartphone” category has some distinguished and impeccable features. Some offer strong battery life, powerful processor, large internal storage, etc. While others may offer too much at just too little price. So, to help you choose the best budget smartphone in 2020, we have curated a list of budget smartphones that fits best in this category and offers true value for every part money you spend. Some of the best budget smartphones 2020 are Poco X2, Realme 6 Pro, Samsung Galaxy M31, Realme Narzo10, Redmi Note 9 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy M30s, Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro, and a few more.
3. Are cheap smartphones any good?
Yes, cheap smartphones are actually good, both in terms of features and user experience. Those days are long gone when cheap smartphones denoted limited features or sub-standard quality. Today and the future is the age of technology, and every smartphone manufacturing company is thriving to get all the users well-equipped with the latest technology and OS. Even the companies are quoting their smartphones with top features, viz. long battery life, latest OS, strong processor, large megapixels multiple cameras that come with innumerable filters, and so on, at a competitive or one can say at a much cheaper price to attract more buyers. And, how good a cheap smartphone will work also depends upon how well it is used by the user. If a user constantly do something on the phone, which is prohibited as per the manual, say suppose gaming for long hours, then it is quite obvious that the performance of the smartphone will get hampered.
4. What is the best inexpensive smartphone?
Today, any smartphone that is available under 25, 000 is inexpensive as well as worth buying because you will get almost all the latest features and technology, except a few uncommon ones, which are there in all the expensive smartphones. Such inexpensive smartphones are designed to meet all your requirements and have a classy and attractive look. It is like getting a box full of surprises at a minimal cost. Again, telling you just one best inexpensive smartphone will be like doing injustice to you as there is not just one best inexpensive smartphone. The numbers are more than and what we can do best for you is to guide to the range of best inexpensive smartphones, which are Motorola One Fusion+, Poco X2, Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro, Samsung Galaxy A10, Realme Narzo 10, Samsung Galaxy M31, Realme 6 Pro, Redmi Note 9 Pro Max, Realme X2, Nokia 8.1, Redmi K20, and a few more.
5. Why do phones only last 2 years?
Yes, phones do have an estimated life span, but it is not at all established that it will suddenly stop working once its estimated time span has been reached. Some phones have an estimated life of 2 years, while some have three years, still they can work normally and in good condition if they have been used and treated properly in the past years. The life-span of a phone depends on the way we use it. It can so happen that the phone has stopped working before its estimated life-span, which is obviously the result of our carelessness and casual approach towards it. If you use your phone for continuous long hours even if it says not to do so, or you use your phone while charging or with oily hands, or you have dropped it several times on a hard surface and also on in the water, the phone will not last for long. In fact, a phone that has once been repaired as for continuous repairs, its actual life and quality diminishes. Therefore, if you take good care of your phone as you do for yourself, your phone will have an extended life-span.
Here is the List of Top 10 Best Budget Smartphones in India
