Best phones under €300 in 2026

The Edge 60 Fusion has been on sale since spring 2025, and its price has drifted down to the point where it is one of the best-rounded phones you can buy for under €300. It feels more expensive than it is: the 6.67-inch pOLED screen curves into the frame, it weighs under 180 g, and the back has a soft vegan leather or textured finish depending on colour.

It is also very tough for the money. Motorola rates it IP68 and IP69 and it passes MIL-STD-810H drop and temperature tests, so a dunk in the sink or a wet building site will not kill it. The screen is sharp at 2712 x 1220 and refreshes at 120Hz.

The Dimensity 7300 chip with 8GB of RAM is smooth for everyday apps and casual games. The 5,200 mAh battery comes with 68W charging, which is far quicker than Samsung manages at this price. There is a microSD slot too.

The 50MP main camera has optical stabilisation; the 13MP ultrawide is better than the 8MP units on most rivals. Motorola promises three Android upgrades and six years of security patches, which is fine but shorter than Samsung or Honor.

The Galaxy A26 5G is the phone to buy if you want a familiar Samsung that will stay supported for a long time. Samsung promises six years of Android and security updates, which takes it to around 2031, longer than any other phone on this page.

The 6.7-inch Super AMOLED screen is big and smooth at 120Hz, and good for video and social apps indoors. Samsung does not publish a peak brightness figure for it, so check it in daylight if you use your phone mostly outdoors.

The Exynos 1380 chip is fine for messaging, browsing and streaming but slows down in demanding games. The 5,000 mAh battery charges at 25W, which is slow, and there is no charger in the box.

The glass back and IP67 rating make it feel sturdier than most budget phones, and there is a microSD slot for photos. The 50MP main camera has optical stabilisation; the 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro add little.

The Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G launched in January 2026 and is already regularly discounted below €300, which makes it one of the strongest camera phones at this price. Its 200MP main sensor has optical stabilisation and combines pixels into sharp 12MP-style shots, and the extra resolution allows usable 2x crops without a separate telephoto lens. The 8MP ultrawide is the weak point.

The 6.83-inch AMOLED screen is large and sharp at 2772 x 1280, refreshes at 120Hz and supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. Xiaomi quotes a 3,200-nit peak, which is high for the money.

Inside is MediaTek's Dimensity 7400 Ultra, a modest upgrade on last year's chip that is smooth for daily use. The 6,580 mAh battery is one of the biggest you can buy at this price; charging is 45W.

It is also unusually tough, with IP68 and IP69K ratings and Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The trade-offs are weight (210 g) and Xiaomi's HyperOS, which comes with extra apps you will want to remove. Xiaomi's update policy for this model is not stated on its spec page.

The Honor 600 Lite is for people who want a big battery without a brick in their pocket. At 7.3 mm thick and 180 g it is the slimmest and lightest phone on this page, yet it still fits a 6,520 mAh battery with 45W charging.

The 6.6-inch AMOLED screen is sharp, refreshes at 120Hz and has a very high quoted peak brightness of 6,500 nits for HDR highlights. Honor also uses high-frequency 3840Hz PWM dimming, which some people find easier on the eyes at low brightness.

The Dimensity 7100 Elite chip is fine for social media, video and browsing, but as a mid-range chip it is not aimed at demanding games. The 108MP main camera is the headline, but the 5MP ultrawide is basic.

It is rated IP66, so it handles rain and splashes but is not designed to be submerged like the IP68 phones here. Honor lists up to six Android upgrades, a long promise for a budget phone. It is sold SIM-free in the UK at Argos and Mobiles.co.uk, and Honor lists it on its Irish website.

The Poco M8 Pro is the battery champion of this list. Its 6,500 mAh cell is far bigger than most phones at any price, and 100W wired charging refills it quickly. For people who game, navigate or stream all day, that combination is hard to beat.

It is essentially a cut-price sibling of the Redmi Note 15 Pro+, with the same Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chip, 6.83-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen and Gorilla Glass Victus 2, but a simpler 50MP stabilised main camera instead of the Redmi's 200MP one.

The Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 is a capable upper mid-range chip, and Xiaomi quotes a 3,200-nit peak for the screen. Xiaomi lists IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K ratings, so it is built to survive a dunk.

The downsides are software and extras. HyperOS ships with extra apps you may want to uninstall, there is no microSD slot, and the 8MP ultrawide and 32MP selfie camera are basic. Xiaomi promises four Android upgrades. It weighs 206 g, so it is not a small phone.

The moto g86 5G is a good-value phone on this page: it is often discounted well below its launch price. That makes it excellent value, as long as you accept its short update promise.

For the money you get a sharp 6.67-inch pOLED screen at 2712 x 1220, 120Hz and a quoted 4,500-nit peak, the same Dimensity 7300 chip as the Edge 60 Fusion, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage with a microSD slot. Build quality is good, with IP68 and IP69 ratings, MIL-STD-810H testing and Gorilla Glass 7i.

The 50MP main camera has optical stabilisation; the 8MP ultrawide is basic. The 5,200 mAh battery is paired with 30W charging, which is slow next to the Edge 60 Fusion's 68W.

The big catch is software support: two Android upgrades and around four years of security patches, to about mid-2029. If you keep phones for three years or less, that is fine. If you want longer, the Galaxy A26 is the safer choice. The moto g86 Power, in our under-€400 guide, adds a much bigger battery.