The best phones under £500 in the UK

There are a lot of great phones on UK store shelves today, but many either cost £800 or more to buy outright or are tied to expensive two-year contracts. That might be a way to get hold of the latest and greatest, but it’s certainly not for everyone. These days, you don’t have to spend a fortune to pick up a great handset. Here are the best phones under £500 in the UK!

The best phones under £500:

Editor’s note: We’ll be updating this list of the best phones under £500 regularly as new mid-range devices launch.

Google Pixel 7a

Google’s Pixel A series has long been among the best affordable phones, and it’s getting a solid boost this time around. The Pixel 7a inches closer to true flagship power, and it’s easily one of the best phones under £500 in the UK. Fewer corners are cut this time around, which is why the price went up. While the Pixel 6a used to cost £399, the Pixel 7a is £449.

This is because the Pixel 7a is much closer to high-end smartphone territory this time around. For starters, it gets wireless charging, which Pixel A series fans have been asking for. It also comes with a much improved 64MP primary camera. Google also upgraded the screen with a 90Hz refresh rate. And everything else about the phone is pretty impressive for the money you are paying.

The Pixel 7a sports a 6.1-inch Full HD+ display that’s vibrant as ever. Under the hood, you’ll find 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and Google’s own Tensor G2 chip. We’ve found that the Tensor G2 can get a bit too hot for comfort with heavier loads, but it performs beautifully.

The 4,385mAh isn’t huge, but it is good enough, thanks to Google’s software and Tensor optimizations. We easily made it last a whole day with casual use, with 20% left to go when it was time to sleep. Not exactly one of the best phones with the best battery life, but plenty good for most users.

Pixel 7a specs:

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

Samsung is really working on making its mid-range devices as close to premium as possible, and the Samsung Galaxy A54 is proof of this. If you didn’t know better, you would think this device is much more expensive than the £449 MSRP. It’s among the best phones under £500 in the UK.

For starters, the design looks very similar to the Galaxy S23 series, which is definitely a good thing. It’s sleek, still featuring a Gorilla Glass 5 back and front, with a plastic frame instead of a metal one. This keeps costs lower for Samsung, but the phone still looks and feels amazing.

We were also surprised by the 120Hz 6.4-inch display. Such high refresh rates are rare at this price point. Performance is pretty solid, too, And the 5,000mAh battery made it possible for the phone to finish a full day on a single charge, with 35% left before going to bed.

We wish it had wireless charging, and the frame was made of metal, but Samsung has to save money somewhere to bring this phone at its price.

Galaxy A54 5G specs:

Apple iPhone SE (2022)

This is an Android-focused website, but save your pitchforks for a bit and open your mind. If you’re looking for a mid-tier smartphone at a reasonable price under £500 in the UK, the 2022 version of the iPhone SE should definitely be on your list of options.

The design may be a bit outdated, following the iPhone 8 look, but this is still a great phone for most casual users, especially those who happen to like iPhones. And despite being the cheapest modern iOS handset, it has a surprising amount of power.

For starters, it comes with an Apple A15 Bionic, which is the same chip you’ll find in the iPhone 13 series and the non-Pro versions of the iPhone 14. Other specs include 4GB of RAM, at least 128GB of storage, and a smaller 4.7-inch Retina display. It only has a single camera, but it’s a pretty good one. Overall, it’s the best iPhone you can get at a lower price.

iPhone SE (2022) specs:

POCO F5

POCO has a reputation for offering plenty of bang for your buck, so we’re not surprised to see it make the list of best phones under £500. More specifically, we’re adding the £449 POCO F5 to the list.

Some of the complaints in our POCO F5 Pro review apply to the standard model, such as ho-hum secondary cameras, loads of bloatware, and the lack of an update pledge. We still found plenty to like about the device though, such as the powerful Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 chip, a pleasant and relatively light design, and a slick 120Hz OLED screen.

We also thought the POCO F5 delivered a capable main camera, good endurance thanks to that 5,000mAh battery, and pleasantly fast 67W wired charging. All in all, this isn’t a bad deal if you value performance in your smartphone.

POCO F5 specs:

Realme GT3

Realme’s latest launch, the GT3 is still hot off the presses. So hot that you can’t get it in all markets yet. However, we’re expecting the device, which costs around $650, to come in at just under £500 in the UK.

It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset and offers several configurations that reach as high as 16GB of RAM — though you won’t get that type of memory for under £500. You’ll also get a solid 4,600mAh battery with blistering 240W wired charging and updated Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity standards.

There’s always a chance that the Realme GT3 will arrive and bust our budget, in which case we’ll swap it out and hope for a price drop in the future.

Realme GT3 specs:

OnePlus Nord 3

OnePlus fans on a budget will love this one. It’s not just one of the best phones under £500 in the UK; it’s probably the best value that OnePlus has fit into its Nord series and comes in just under the limit at £499.

The OnePlus Nord 3 comes with premium features like a 120Hz 6.74-inch screen with a sharp 1,240 x 2,772 resolution. You’ll also get a large 5,000mAh battery that can charge at 80W, and the primary camera is respectable at 50MP. It comes with a Dimensity 9000 and up to 16GB of RAM, so performance is pretty good for a phone at this price.

All things considered, you’re getting a lot more than what you paid for with the OnePlus Nord 3.

OnePlus Nord 3 specs:

Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus

Redmi makes our list with its Note 12 Pro Plus. There’s a lot to like about the phone. It kicks off with a massive 200MP camera sensor, a 6.67-inch AMOLED display, and a sizable 5,000mAh battery. Mix in 5G connectivity from the MediaTek Dimensity 1080, 120W fast charging, and 256GB of onboard storage and you have a value that’s tough to top. Redmi’s MIUI 14 makes an appearance, running on top of Android 13.

The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus might not put aesthetics at the top of the list, but the all-white design feels good in the hand. It might pick up it’s share of fingerprints, but you get a clear case in the box in case you want to keep things a little cleaner. Oh, and it still has a headphone jack.

The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus is a solid option if you want a super-sized, 5G-capable smartphone for under £500 in the UK.

Note 12 Pro Plus specs:

Nothing Phone (1)

You’ve probably heard more than a little bit about Nothing by now. The company, started by former OnePlus mastermind Carl Pei, has branched out from its first set of wireless headphones and now offers a well-priced mid-range smartphone, the Phone (1). Nothing’s design is somewhat reminiscent of the iPhone 13 or 14, with flat sides and two corner-mounted cameras, but the light-up back panel sets it apart. This is called the Glyph, and it can push different patterns and shapes for different notifications like calls and texts.

Under the hood, you’ll find a decent set of components to back up the sharp 6.55-inch display. It’s a Full HD+ OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, so it should leave little to be desired for the price. The Phone (1) runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G+ chipset with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage to back it up.

We mentioned there are only two rear cameras, but they offer 50MP apiece. The wide and ultrawide lenses are built on the idea that it’s better to have two good lenses than four mediocre ones, and it’s tough to argue. All told, this is one of the best value phones to buy, coming in at well under £500 in the UK.

Nothing Phone (1) specs:

HONOR 90

Bringing up the rear on our list, we have the HONOR 90. However, we might have saved the best for last. HONOR’s updated mid-ranger is a solid improvement over the previous HONOR 70, packing a brilliant display and a solid primary camera while remaining comfortably under the £500 mark in the UK.

The HONOR 90’s 200MP primary camera punches above its weight class, especially when shooting outdoors. We also came away impressed with the phone’s video stabilization during our time with it. Of course, HONOR had to cut a few other corners to keep the cost down, meaning that the phone comes with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor under the hood and uses plastic on the back rather than a tougher material like Gorilla Glass.

All told, your main deciding factor might come down to the software of your £500 device. HONOR’s latest platform is built on Android 13, and yes, it comes with Google Play services installed.

HONOR 90 specs:

Are you trying to find more options? We also have a list of the best overall phones, as well as the best budget phones. Check out those lists for more alternatives.