Looking for the best cheap phone to buy this Christmas? Whether it's a budget Android smartphone or an iPhone 6-looking handset you are after, we've picked the best phones under £200.
So your wallet can’t stretch to one of the best smartphones like the iPhone 6 or an Android smartphone great like the HTC One M8 or the Samsung Galaxy S5. All is not lost. You can still get a decent smartphone experience at a fraction of the price.
Click the links below to find your perfect cheap phone or read on for more information on what to look out for.
Best Cheap Phone under £100 | Motorola Moto E
Best Cheap 5-inch phone | Motorola Moto G (2014)
Best Looking Cheap Phone | Sony Xperia M2
Best Cheap Windows Phone 8 | Nokia Lumia 620
Best Cheap Phone under £50 | ZTE Blade Q Mini
Best Cheap 4G Phone | EE Kestrel
Best Cheap Smartphone Overall | Motorola Moto G
You will have to be prepared to make some compromises but if you're savvy you should be able to find the right fine to fit your needs.
The likes of Alcatel, HTC, Huawei, Motorola, Nokia, Sony and ZTE are amongst the phone manufacturers trying to make cheap Windows Phone 8 and Android smartphones a more attractive alternative, with the Xperia M2 and the HTC Desire 610 among the better candidates out there.
There are some specs that you will have to do without, like a Full HD 1080p screen for instance. Instead 720p or 480p screens are the order of the day. Yes, they're not as sharp but for basic smartphone duties they're more than adequate - just don't expect to be wanting to watch whole HD movies on these handsets.
Processing power is another department that usually takes a hit. Quad-core chips are largely out the window and instead it’s all about single or dual-core CPUs. This will make the phones a little slower than flagship models but with a modicum of patience they're well up to the job.
In the snapping department you shouldn't expect iPhone 6 -like quality. For under £200, you can still get a decent main and front-facing camera, while dropping below £100 will start to see front-facing cameras and other extras like a flash fall by the wayside.
Perhaps most crucially, you can still get access to Google Play and the Windows Phone stores to download apps and games. What's more, in our pick of the best handsets, all of those features are packaged in a body that doesn’t look like it’s been hit with an ugly stick.
If money is tight and you are looking for a smartphone minus the expensive contract, we’ve rifled through our latest mobile phone reviews to give you the best cheap smartphones to buy right now
