The popularity and availability of 5G continues to grow, and with it comes a wider breadth of smartphones supporting this latest connectivity standard, including many at increasingly competitive prices.
5G support was once a flagship-exclusive feature, tied to specialised (and more expensive) variants of phones, in the form of devices like the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, and Oppo Reno 5G.
The higher pricing came from the added costs in research and development needed to facilitate early 5G modems, not to mention it was partially a price premium marketers could simply slap on a phone just by its nature of being among the first to offer support for the new standard.
Luckily, adding 5G to a phone has become increasingly cost-effective, meaning the technology has also been able to trickle down to affordable handsets that don’t command a flagship price for what could still be considered a flagship feature. As such, we’re rounding up 5G phones costing roughly £600/US$700 or less.
If nothing here grabs your fancy and you decide 5G isn’t an essential feature right now then it’s also worth checking out our best mid-range phone and best budget phone rundowns. They’re filled with offerings that are still considerably cheaper than the flagships that currently make headlines, offering both 4G and 5G connectivity.
If you want to know about the benefits of 5G support in a phone and what you need to make sure you get the most out of a 5G phone, check out our what is 5G? guide and our best 5G phone roundup for more details.
Best cheap 5G phones 2022
OnePlus Nord 2 – Best overall
- Pros: Excellent software | Great design | Strong all-rounder
- Cons: Only 90Hz display | Slightly thick | No wireless charging
- Best Prices Today:
An outstanding follow-up to 2020’s best mid-range phone, with great performance, 5G, OnePlus’ signature Oxygen OS user experience, and a near-flagship main camera. What’s not to love?
What the OnePlus Nord 2 really demonstrates is the company’s ability to prioritise the features that users are looking for right now and wrapping them up in an attractive package with a compelling price point.
The Nord 2 misses out on flagship niceties like wireless charging and waterproofing, but those are really the only compromises made here, and it’s still our favourite mid-range phone of 2021.
There’s also the OnePlus Nord CE 5G available, which delivers a stripped-back version of the original Nord for a slightly lower price.
Read our full OnePlus Nord 2 review
Xiaomi 11T – Best value flagship
- Pros: Fast performance | Great main camera | Nice display
- Cons: MIUI still iffy | Middling telephoto & ultrawide cameras | No IP rating
- Best Prices Today:
A mid-range reworking of Xiaomi‘s Mi 11 flagship from the start of 2021, the 11T sports a similar top-tier Snapdragon 888 chipset and other highlights, like a strong lead 108Mp camera (the main thing that sets it apart from the Realme GT), but all at a considerably lower price.
It lacks the astounding 120W super-fast charging of its ‘Pro’-branded sibling but still supports rapid 67W speeds that aren’t to be sniffed at.
The 6.67in 120Hz Full HD+ AMOLED display comes protected by Gorilla Glass Victus, while a 480Hz touch response rate and stereo speakers mean the 11T is also great for gaming.
Read our full Xiaomi 11T review
Realme GT – Best design
- Pros: Flagship specs | 120Hz AMOLED display | Slick yellow finish
- Cons: No wireless charging | No IP rating | Basic cameras
- Best Prices Today:
The Realme GT essentially offers 2021 flagship specs – a Snapdragon 888, 65W charging and a 120Hz AMOLED display – at a price that undercuts even the OnePlus 9.
The value proposition is almost impossible to beat here, helped by a striking leather finish on the yellow model that guarantees the phone feels even more premium.
There are limitations – a fairly average camera setup and the omission of either wireless charging or water resistance, hold the GT back somewhat.
Read our full Realme GT 5G review
Honor 50 – Great all rounder
- Pros: Slim and light | Beautiful display | Regains full Google support
- Cons: No waterproofing | Mixed camera performance
- Best Prices Today:
Honor has weathered the storm and come out the other side, releasing the first of its devices to feature Google Play Services (and thus support for Google apps and the Play Store) once again.
The company’s first phone to get a global release since going independent, it’s really the only Honor phone we’ve tested that we’d recommend most people consider.
The design and display are the biggest selling points here – the Honor 50 looks and feels great, and it’s both slim (7.8mm) and light (175g). The curved 120Hz OLED display is also one of the best you’ll find in any phone at this price.
The 108Mp rear camera is pretty strong, though the other rear lenses disappoint. The selfie camera is still good though, and at 32Mp it’s one of the higher-resolution front-facing cameras around.
If 5G isn’t a concern for you, the Honor 50 Lite is another solid affordable phone, built in a similar fashion to the standard Honor 50.
Read our full Honor 50 review
Nubia Red Magic 6S Pro – Best for gaming
- Pros: Outstanding performance |165Hz refresh rate display | Great battery life
- Cons: Clunky user experience | Bulky design | Underwhelming cameras
- Best Prices Today:
While only a minor update to the Red Magic 6 from earlier in 2021, the 6S Pro pushes the envelope by being one of the first phones to showcase Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888+ chipset.
The stunning 165Hz display endures, while also continuing to outpace mainstream rivals – making it ideal for gaming – and battery life is excellent too, with 66W fast charging (or 120W if you pick up the Chinese model).
Nubia’s Android launcher won’t be to everyone’s tastes, the cameras are only a mild improvement on the 6’s and this is still a big bulky phone, but the price/performance balance it strikes and the gaming prowess it facilitates are unrivalled.
Read our full Nubia Red Magic 6S Pro review
Xiaomi Poco F3 – Best value mid-range
- Pros: Great price/performance balance | Nice OLED display | Solid cameras
- Cons: Weak battery longevity | MIUI not for everyone
- Best Prices Today:
Xiaomi sub-brand Poco played hardball in 2021, delivering some of the best value-for-money on the smartphone scene by quite some margin.
The Poco F3’s main point of appeal has to be its flagship-class Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset, paired with an astoundingly low asking price, considering the level of performance on offer.
The F3 also offers up speedy 33W fast charging and a large super-smooth 120Hz AMOLED Full HD+ display, meaning it’s also great for media and gaming.
Read our full Xiaomi Poco F3 review
Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G – The world’s thinnest 5G phone
- Pros: World’s thinnest 5G phone | Feature-packed | Nice display
- Cons: MIUI not for everyone | No IP certification
- Best Prices Today:
Not only does the Mi 11 Lite 5G retain the same impressive proportions as its 4G counterpart, it also delivers better specs with greater performance to boot.
Boasting the title of “the world’s thinnest 5G phone” at the time of review, the Lite 5G is an attractive piece of kit; fronted by a Gorilla Glass 6-covered HDR10+ 90Hz OLED display and running on Qualcomm’s competent Snapdragon 780G.
That svelte waistline does mean you lose out on features like OIS (optical image stabilisation) and wireless charging, however.
Read our full Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G review
Realme GT Neo 2 – Great display
- Pros: Excellent display quality | Great performance | Big battery
- Cons: No wireless charging | No IP rating | Basic cameras
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The Realme GT Neo 2 is a tweaked take on the GT that comes in at about the same price while remixing a few specs.
The chipset drops to the (still excellent and still 5G) Snapdragon 870, but an improved display panel, bigger battery and tweaked design should mean this still has plenty of appeal.
The 65W wired charging is just as nippy as ever, but sadly the fairly basic camera setup is also unchanged. Expect a solid main camera, but don’t get your hopes up about the ultrawide and macro alongside it.
Read our full Realme GT Neo 2 review
ZTE Axon 30 5G – Great under display camera
- Pros: Great performance | Beautiful display | Impressive innovation
- Cons: Middling battery life | Plastic build | Average cameras
- Best Prices Today:
If you hate when notches or hole-punch front-facing cameras intrude on your phone’s display, the ZTE Axon 30 5G may be the perfect remedy.
Its 6.92in 120Hz Full HD+ screen is both physically huge and a huge selling point, doling out smooth, responsive interaction that’s great for gaming but also houses the company’s greatly-improved second-generation under-display camera (UDC) too.
ZTE’s implementation is even more advanced than what you’ll find on ultra-premium devices, like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, even if quality against standard front-facing cameras still doesn’t compare.
The rear-facing setup – while lacking a telephoto lens – offers otherwise decent performance, plus the phone possesses 65W fast charging, a decent software experience and, despite the innovation on show, a price tag that won’t cripple your bank balance.
Read our full ZTE Axon 30 5G review
Nokia 8.3 5G – Great for ease of use
- Pros: Long battery life | Pleasing display | Pro video recording features
- Cons: Plastic design elements | Poor palm rejection tech
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Despite a delayed release, the Nokia 8.3 5G proves to have been worth the wait, with superior 5G band support than any other phone (at launch), along with a flair for videography; all at a competitive price.
Although rivals from the likes of Xiaomi allow your money to go further, especially in terms of hardware, HMD Global’s clean take on Android, along with multiple years of software and security updates make the Nokia 8.3 a great mid-range 5G proposition in the long-term.
Read our full Nokia 8.3 5G review