The Best Budget Smartphones Under €300 in 2026, Compared

The best smartphones under €300 in 2026 are the Samsung Galaxy A37, the Honor Magic8 Lite, the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion, the CMF Phone 2 Pro, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 15, and the Xiaomi Poco X8 Pro. 

Each wins on a different point: the Galaxy A37 for all round reliability and long software support, the Magic8 Lite for battery life, the Edge 60 Fusion for camera quality and charging speed, the CMF Phone 2 Pro for value, the Redmi Note 15 for its display, and the Poco X8 Pro for raw performance and gaming. None of them include wireless charging, since that feature still has not reached this price bracket in any tested model. The comparison below breaks down what each phone actually does well, so you can match one to how you use a phone rather than picking on price alone.

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Compared at a glance

Prices shift by retailer and by region, so treat these as a starting point rather than a guarantee, and confirm the current price before buying.

Samsung Galaxy A37 5G: the safest all round pick

Choose the Galaxy A37 if you want a phone that will still feel current in three years. It pairs a 5,000 mAh battery with 45W charging, a 120Hz Super AMOLED screen, and six years of promised software updates, which is unusually long at this price. IP68 water and dust resistance is also rare below €300, and Samsung's camera processing stays consistent in daylight.

Honor Magic8 Lite: the longest battery life

Choose the Magic8 Lite if battery anxiety is your main frustration with your current phone. Its 7,500 mAh battery is roughly 50 percent larger than most rivals in this range, and 66W wired charging gets it back to full quickly despite the size. It also carries IP68 and IP69K ratings, so it tolerates drops, dust, and high pressure water better than most phones at any price.

Motorola Edge 60 Fusion: the best camera and charging

Choose the Edge 60 Fusion if photos and quick top ups matter most. Its 50 MP main camera includes optical image stabilization, which is not guaranteed at this price, and 68W wired charging is among the fastest available under €300. The curved display also gives it a more premium feel than most phones in this bracket.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: the best value

Choose the CMF Phone 2 Pro if you want the most phone for the least money. At around €250 it matches the camera resolution of phones costing considerably more, and its modular back design, with attachable accessories, is genuinely unusual at this price. It is a newer entrant from Nothing's budget line, so its software support history is shorter than Samsung's or Motorola's.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 15: the best display

Choose the Redmi Note 15 if screen quality matters most to you, for video or reading. Its 120Hz AMOLED panel and 5,520 mAh battery outperform most phones in this range on paper, though it sits right at the €300 ceiling, so check current pricing before deciding, since it occasionally crosses above it depending on the retailer.

Xiaomi Poco X8 Pro: the best for gaming and performance

Choose the Poco X8 Pro if smooth gaming and multitasking matter more to you than camera quality or design. Its MediaTek Dimensity 8500 Ultra chipset outperforms most chips used in this price range, and a 6,500 mAh battery paired with 100W wired charging means a demanding session does not leave the phone drained for long. The 6.59 inch AMOLED screen runs at 120Hz with peak brightness around 3,500 nits, which keeps fast moving games sharp and easy to read outdoors. It sits right at the €300 mark depending on configuration and region, so confirm the base storage price before buying.

Contract or full price: what each phone actually costs per month

Buying a phone outright and spreading that price over two years is not the same as what an operator plan charges for the same phone, since a plan usually adds interest or a service markup on top of the device cost. Independently reported comparisons between operator contracts and buying outright, tested on other phone models in mature markets, show that a 24 month plan tends to land somewhere between the same price as buying outright and about 25 percent more overall, with a smaller number of deals landing close to or even below the outright price. Applying that same range to the phones above gives a rough sense of what to expect before you check an actual offer.

Paying upfront is very rarely more expensive than a plan, so if you can afford the full price at once, that is usually the safer default, and any plan worth choosing should land close to the upfront figure rather than well above it.

A note on where these numbers come from: operators do not publish one public installment price for each of these exact models across every market, so the plan range above is not a live quote for any specific phone. It is calculated by taking each phone's approximate retail price and applying a markup pattern drawn from independently reported contract versus outright comparisons on other devices, roughly 0 to 25 percent over two years. Treat it as a rough planning figure, not a price, and check the current plan cost from your own operator or retailer before deciding.

Why none of them offer wireless charging yet

Wireless charging remains rare below €300, even though search interest in it is real and growing. Manufacturers still reserve the feature for phones a tier above this price, so if wireless charging is a requirement rather than a nice to have, expect to spend closer to €350 or more to get it reliably.

Pair your pick with data that does not tie you to a contract

Pair whichever phone you choose with a way to get online abroad that does not depend on your carrier. Firsty connects your phone automatically to local networks in most countries, using eSIM technology, so there is no physical SIM card to swap and no local provider to track down on arrival. Your number stays the same, a basic connection is free with no credit card required, and a faster connection is billed at local rates instead of the inflated prices most international bundles charge. No toggle to remember, no bundle to calculate in advance, and no surprise bill when you land.

FAQ

What is the best budget smartphone under €300 in 2026? The Samsung Galaxy A37 is the strongest all round choice, thanks to long software support and IP68 durability, while the Honor Magic8 Lite leads on battery life and the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion leads on camera quality. The right pick depends on which of those three matters most to you.

Which phone under €300 has the best battery life? The Honor Magic8 Lite, with a 7,500 mAh battery and 66W wired charging, lasts noticeably longer between charges than most phones in this price range, which typically carry batteries closer to 5,000 mAh.

Which phone under €300 has the best camera? The Motorola Edge 60 Fusion leads on camera, since its 50 MP main sensor includes optical image stabilization not usually found below €300. The CMF Phone 2 Pro offers a comparable 50 MP sensor at a lower price, though without the same stabilization.

Does any phone under €300 support wireless charging? Not reliably yet. None of the current top rated models under €300, including the Galaxy A37, Magic8 Lite, Edge 60 Fusion, Redmi Note 15, and Poco X8 Pro, include wireless charging, which is still reserved for phones a tier above this price.

Which phone under €300 is best for gaming? The Xiaomi Poco X8 Pro leads on performance, built around a MediaTek Dimensity 8500 Ultra chipset that outperforms most chips at this price. A 6,500 mAh battery and 100W charging keep it topped up during longer sessions, though it sits right at the €300 mark, so confirm the current price for the base configuration before buying.

Is a refurbished flagship a better choice than a new budget phone under €300? It can be, particularly for camera quality, since a refurbished flagship from one or two years earlier often outperforms a new budget phone at a similar price. A new phone still wins on warranty length and having zero prior wear, so the right choice depends on how much that matters to you.

How much mobile data do I need for maps and messaging while traveling? Very little. Standard navigation uses 3 to 5 MB per hour, WhatsApp messaging with text and occasional photos stays well under a few megabytes a day, showing a digital boarding pass uses only a few hundred KB, and a typical ride booked through a ride hailing app uses roughly 5 to 10 MB. A single gigabyte comfortably covers several days of normal travel use.

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