If sticking to a budget is important, there are many useful ones phones under $300. And these phones will likely get a new spotlight as holiday deals heavily discount them, but there’s a big tradeoff with phones in this price range. A phone with modern specs like an eye-catching design, improved multitasking and wireless charging can still only receive one major software update and three annual security patches. Some sub-$300 phones have a longer timeline of four years for software updates and five years for security updates. But those devices skimp on some features, which may leave you wanting to upgrade right away.

This is the problem I weighed after testing a variety of phones costing less than $300 through 2024. We take software and security timelines seriously in our reviews because these updates may dictate whether the devices get new software features and critical repairs. Now that premium phones like Samsung Galaxy S24 and the Pixel 8 promised seven years of software and security updates, we’d like to see cheaper phones go up for at least four to five years.

But we are not there yet. Most phones costing $300 or less are shipped with the promise of one additional software update and three years of security updates. While Samsung is taking the opposite approach with it $200 Galaxy A15 5G and $300 Galaxy A25 5G.

That means shoppers will have to wrestle with the same decision I’ve been pondering for the past few months: Do you go with a more feature-packed phone, like $300 OnePlus Nord N30 5Gwith super fast wired charging and a 108-megapixel main camera? Or is it better to choose a more bare-bones phone like the Samsung Galaxy A series, which will get significant software updates in the coming years. And to make things even more confusing, what about an old device that is now available at a discount, such as Google Pixel 6A?

More features, but shorter updates

Motorola and OnePlus both offer $300 phones worth your time and attention.

This year Moto G Power 5G a looker, starting with his Pale Lilac vegan skin design. The whole Moto G line now uses this material, which results in an easier grip if you choose not to use the phone with a case. Motorola has also thrown 15-watt wireless charging into the mix, making it one of the cheapest phones to include this option. You’ll get a faster 30W speed if you plug the phone in and charge it the old-fashioned way, but the flexibility of charging it without a cable is really helpful — and rare at this price.

Last year’s OnePlus Nord N30 5G had an attractive reflective design, which highlighted its 108-megapixel main camera. It took decent photos when I reviewed it last year, but the real value part is its 50-watt SuperVooc charger. Although it is proprietary (meaning that only the included charger achieves these speeds), it fills the battery up to 75% in 30 minutes – a speed that most other phones cannot achieve.

Both of these phones include a super smooth 120Hz refresh rate, NFC for contactless payments and processors fast enough for multitasking with playing games. But unfortunately, both of these phones also have shorter update schedules, with the OnePlus phone already a year into its update timeline to receive Android 14. While the N30 is still on sale, it gets it’s just two more years of security updates. Meanwhile Motorola’s new Moto G Power 5G will get Android 15 in the future and security updates until 2027.

Long life, but a phone that isn’t much fun

Samsung deserves credit for extending the life of its cheaper Galaxy A series phones. It’s remarkable that the $200 Galaxy A15 and the $300 Galaxy A25 will receive four years of software updates and five years of security updates. No competitor even comes close to that promise.

But I wish both phones were more fun. Samsung has nailed the basics for both of these phones, with high-refresh displays, NFC contactless payments and powerful processors.

But compared to other similarly priced phones, Samsung’s Galaxy A devices feel dull. Both are made of plastic and have a blocky notch instead of the sleeker cutout for the selfie camera found on most other competing phones. While Samsung’s cheaper phones can handle those needs without issue, they struggle with simple multitasking. The A15 in particular loads is always slow. While the A25 is better at most tasks, it sometimes stutters when loading games or playing music while simultaneously using a web browser and password manager.

This makes the Galaxy A15 and Galaxy A25 perfectly adequate if what you want is a phone for communication that doesn’t need to be replaced anytime soon. But I’m worried you’ll run into dead ends as apps and services develop in the coming years, especially if these phones get overwhelmed easily.

Could Google’s Pixel 6A be the low-budget champion?

You may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned the cameras on any of the previously mentioned phones. That’s because while they all have at least 50-megapixel primary cameras, none of them take particularly impressive photos. However Google’s Pixel 6A remains available for sale and usually priced under $300.

Thank you for a new extension provided on Pixel 6 and laterthe Pixel 6A will now get software updates until July 2027 along with security updates at the same time. This is a huge improvement on this cheaper phone to use, especially considering that Google originally planned to sink software updates to the Pixel 6A in 2025.

The Pixel 6A’s 12.2-megapixel main camera is still impressive for the price. It runs on Google’s first-generation Tensor processor and includes many key Pixel features like Magic Eraser for editing photos, Live Translate and other longtime Pixel exclusives like Call Screening and Hold for Me. The Pixel 6A also includes AI-powered Circle to Search. Although the Pixel 6A will lose the new and more advanced Google Features of Gemini AIit is still a good choice even two years after its release.

However, you won’t get wireless charging or a headphone jack on the Pixel 6A, and its screen is smaller and dimmer than the other phones discussed in this story.

How to decide the best option?

Your priorities are the most important when choosing a budget phone. If you want the most features for an affordable price wrapped in an attractive design, consider phones from Motorola, Google and OnePlus.

However, if the most important reason for buying a cheaper phone is to avoid upgrading as much as possible, you should consider Samsung Galaxy A phones.

The irony is that you can’t do both. A phone that has been updated for four years may not necessarily be the one you want to hang onto for four years.