The best phones under £200 in the UK

While expensive flagship smartphones grab all the headlines, there’s a booming market for budget phones in the UK, which is excellent if you want to save some cash. While you won’t receive all the latest bells and whistles, cheap phones can still offer competitive performance, camera quality, and extra features. All without breaking the bank. Here are some of the best phones under £200 you can buy in the UK.

The best phones under £200:

Editor’s note: We will update this list of the best phones under £200 as new ones launch.

Samsung Galaxy A14

The first and only Samsung phone on this list is the Galaxy A14, which won’t blow your socks off in terms of performance but can still handle day-to-day tasks just fine. It also has a great design and comes in at just £179 MSRP.

The large 6.6-inch display offers Full HD+ resolution, while the camera setup features three lenses, including an ultrawide camera that’s way more useful than the budget macro shooters you usually get on phones under £200.

There’s a MediaTek Helio G80 chipset under the hood that’s paired with 4-6GB of RAM. You also get a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, a large 5,000mAh battery with 15W charging, and support for expandable storage. The Galaxy A14 is also expected to get a whopping four years of security support, which is fantastic for this price.

If you want a version with faster cellular data speeds, there’s also the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G, which costs £219.

Samsung Galaxy A14 specs:

Redmi Note 12

It’s easy to get lost in the ever-confusing sea of entry-level smartphones from Redmi. However, this one stands out thanks to its excellent on-paper value for money.

The Redmi Note 12 ‘s MSRP is slightly higher than our £200 goal, at £219. But we’ve seen it offered for less than £200 when on discount, and this happens pretty often.

It comes with a total of three cameras, a 6.67-inch Full HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a massive 5,000mAh battery, and Android 12 straight out of the box.

You get dual-SIM support. It also has microSD expansion and a 3.5mm headphone jack, both of which are pretty rare these days. Also offered are 33W fast charging and an IP53 rating to keep you safe from dust and water.

Redmi Note 12 specs:

Motorola Moto G54 5G

Motorola’s G-series phones have been a mainstay of the UK’s mid-range for years now, and the Moto G54 5G is another winner for the venerable budget family. It launched in mid-2023 and comes with very nice specs for the £179.99 price.

Packed inside, you’ll find the MediaTek Dimensity 7020 processor chipset and at least 8GB of RAM. The display is of a decent size at 6.5 inches. It also has a 1,080p resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is rare in this price range.

The phone also sports two rear cameras, a 6,000mAh battery, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. This is a great bundle in the world of phones under £200.

Moto G54 5G specs:

Nokia G42

The Nokia G42 is definitely one of the best phones under £200 in the UK. Despite its low price, it has some good specs and neat capabilities.

The Snapdragon 480 Plus and up to 6GB of RAM will keep most casual users happy. The display also features a 90Hz refresh rate. Not to mention, battery life should be amazing, considering the power-saving components and the large 5,000mAh battery size.

Like the most important advantage of the Nokia G42 is its is repairability, which Nokia has focused on since the release of the Nokia G22. We tested the process at MWC 2023, so check out our experience to learn more about this.

Nokia G42 specs:

realme 10

realme remains one of the fastest-growing brands in the smartphone space, focusing mainly on the budget segment. The realme 10 is a take on a sub-£200 smartphone and packs a fair few features for the price.

It’s powered by a MediaTek Helio G99 processor, which means you’ll miss out on top-end speeds, but it’s a relatively capable chip for casual users. On the bright side, you can choose from 4GB, 6GB, or 8GB of RAM with up to 256GB of storage onboard. realme’s 6.4-inch display offers a 90Hz refresh rate and a Full HD Plus resolution, so it should work well to catch up on your favorite shows.

realme also includes 33W charging. Add in a 50MP primary camera and 16MP selfie camera, and there’s not much to complain about. Overall, the realme 10 is a solid option for those in the market for a sub-£200 with excellent battery life and dependable performance.

realme 10 specs:

Motorola Moto G23

You no longer have to resort to the Moto E series to get ultra-cheap smartphones. The Moto G series has some, and our favorite one right now is the Motorola Moto G23. It’s still a pretty good budget device, even if it’s right under £200.

For starters, the 6.5-inch display offers a 90Hz refresh rate with Motorola’s standard HD Plus resolution. You get a MediaTek Helio G85 processor to keep things moving, and it comes with 4-8GB of RAM, along with 64GB or 128GB of storage. The Moto G23’s 50MP primary camera isn’t excellent, but it’s great for the money you’re cashing out, and you get two other sensors for shooting flexibility.

Finally, Motorola packed a sizeable 5,000mAh battery under the hood. And it charges pretty quickly, thanks to 30W wired charging. And the lack of 5G means it’ll be tough to drain, too. It also comes with no wireless charging, but that is pretty standard when you’re paying so little for a phone.

Motorola Moto G23 specs:

POCO M5s

POCO is known for affordable handsets, and the M5s is definitely one of the best phones under £200 in the UK. The base version costs only £189.

Its specs are a little less exciting, but it’s still an excellent phone for the price. You get a MediaTek Helio G95, and the base version starts at 4GB of RAM.

The 6.43-inch screen has an AMOLED panel, ensuring great color reproduction and deep blacks. And if you care for battery life, this thing holds a substantial 5,000mAh battery.

POCO M5s specs:

HONOR 90 Lite

The HONOR 90 Lite has a £249.99 MSRP, but you can usually find it on discount right under £200. If you can be patient and wait, you will be rewarded with a very nice phone. For starters, it has a very unique and nice design.

Internals are pretty nice for the price, too. It comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 6020 chipset, 8GB of RAM, a 100MP primary camera, and a nice 6.7-inch screen with a 1080p resolution and 90Hz refresh rate.

The battery is a bit smaller than expected, at 4,500mAh, but you get the added benefit of 35W fast charging.

HONOR 90 Lite specs:

There you have it, our picks for the best phones under £200. If you want to spend a bit more, check our guide to the best phones under £300 and the best phones under £500. We’ll add more great budget phones to this list as more hit the market.