When deciding on a new smartphone, how much you’re willing to pay will be one of your first decisions.
For some people, nothing less than the absolute best phones will do, and they’re willing to pay for it. At the other end of the scale, some people will be able to get everything theyneed from a budget phone.
But what if you’re looking for something in between? Mid-range phones, defined here as costing between £250/$250 and £700/$700 outright, will be the sweet spot between price and performance for many. Of course, the situation is a bit different if you’re buying a phone on contract.
The only iPhone that Apple sells in that range is the 2022 iPhone SE, but that’s not good enough for inclusion here. It means the list below is exclusively Android phones, though there’s still plenty of choice. Below, you’ll find devices from Google, Samsung, OnePlus, Nothing, Motorola, Oppo, Realme and Fairphone.
All 10 phones are available in the UK, but not every one is sold in the US – we’ll indicate where that’s the case. And at the bottom of the page, you’ll find detailed buying advice for mid-range phones.
Best mid-range phone 2024
1. Google Pixel 7a – Best overall
Pros
- Phenomenal camera for the price
- Excellent Google software
- Wireless charging
- Water-resistant
Cons
- Slow charging
- Average battery life
- Only 90Hz display
The Pixel 7a is a superb mid-range phone that often feels like a flagship.
An outstanding main camera combines with water-proofing, wireless charging, excellent Google software, and powerful performance to outclass almost every other mid-ranger around.
There are compromises. The wired charging is sluggish, and Google doesn’t include a charger in the box. Battery life isn’t bad, but it isn’t great either. Check out our round-up of the best phone chargers.
You’ll also have to put up with a 90Hz refresh rate display, lagging behind the smoother 120Hz panels found elsewhere.
Those are small negatives in an otherwise excellent phone though, and overall the Pixel 7a offers the best bang for your buck out there right now.
2. OnePlus Nord 3 – The close second
Pros
- Excellent performance
- Strong main camera
- Great build quality
- Super-fast charging
Cons
- No zoom camera
- No water resistance
- Weak macro camera
An outstanding follow-up to 2022’s OnePlus Nord 2T, with the same 80W fast charging, 5G, OnePlus’s signature Oxygen OS interface, and a near-flagship main camera.
OnePlus Nord 3 again demonstrates that the company is brilliant at taking exactly what’s needed in a phone, packaging it into a nice, well-built exterior, and topping it with a competent Android skin. What’s not to love?
The Nord 3 misses out on flagship niceties like wireless charging and waterproofing, and its additional cameras are nothing to write home about. But these are really the only compromises you have to make.
There’s also the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite, which delivers a stripped-back version for a slightly lower price.
3. Nothing Phone (2) – Best design
Pros
- Unique, eye-catching design
- Great Android skin
- Premium performance
- Battery life is solid
Cons
- Cameras are average at best
- Screen is a bit dim
- Only IP54
In 2022, the Nothing Phone (1) made quite a splash when it finally launched. It promised to shake up the phone market, and in some ways – especially design-wise – it really did.
Its successor continues the project with much better performance, even more lights, and an even better (and less buggy) Android software experience.
Unfortunately, it also sticks with last year’s cameras, which weren’t the best of the bunch back then.
Set aside the lights, and the Nothing Phone (2) is really just a regular mid-range device, albeit one of the better ones around. Battery life is stellar, but the trade-off is you get a display that is a bit dim. You can make a light show on the back if you really want to, though.
4. Google Pixel 8 – Best camera
Pros
- Outstanding main camera
- Impressive performance
- Excellent Android 14 software
- Seven years of updates
Cons
- Underwhelming battery life
- Slow charging
- No telephoto camera
At £699/$699, the Pixel 8 is only just cheap enough to be considered a mid-range phone. It certainly feels like a flagship, and one of the best compact phones you can buy at any budget.
The main camera lens remains the highlight, delivering stunning stills in a variety of environments – including at night. The ultrawide and selfie lenses aren’t bad either, though you miss out on the telephoto from the Pixel 8 Pro.
Performance from Google’s Tensor G3 chip is only slightly inferior to Qualcomm’s latest and greatest, and it enables a range of clever software features – including Best Take. The rest of the Android 14 software isn’t bad either, especially with Google promising seven years of updates.
Battery life is the main weakness, and becomes even more frustrating when combined with slow 27W charging and no charger in the box.
But the combination of premium design and 6.2-inch, 120Hz OLED display mean the Pixel 8 is definitely worth considering. Don’t rule out the older Pixel 7 though, which is much more affordable.
5. Motorola Edge 40 Neo – Best budget option
Pros
- Premium yet lightweight design
- Great performance
- 144Hz OLED display
- Solid cameras
Cons
- Buggy curved screen
- Only three years of updates
- Not available in the US
Put simply, the Edge 40 Neo is the best phone you can buy for under £300. It’s such a shame it isn’t sold in the US, though it may be possible to import one.
That’s not something worth considering for most handsets, but the Edge 40 Neo isn’t like most phones at this price.
A stunning 6.55in, 144Hz OLED display is the best example of this, delivering a excellent viewing experience. If only it wasn’t curved, which does more harm than good. MediaTek’s Dimensity 7030 chipset might not sound like anything special, but it ensures consistently excellent performance.
The cameras are good, provided you use the 50Mp main rear sensor for most of your photos. The 13Mp ultrawide is useful in some situations, but not nearly as high quality. Battery life is average, but it’s nice to get fast 68W charging using the included power brick.
However, while Motorola’s take on Android is impressive, the company only commits to two years of OS updates and three years of security updates. It means nothing beyond Android 15 and 2026, but the Edge 40 Neo is still easy to recommend.
If you’re looking for something more premium, though, consider the regular Motorola Edge 40.
6. Samsung Galaxy A54 – The dependable choice
Pros
- IP67 rating
- Excellent screen
- Solid battery life
- Long software support
Cons
- Slow charging
- Charger sold separately
- Rivals are cheaper
Samsung is back on track with the Galaxy A54 5G after a miscue with 2022’s A53.
The A54 delivers top-notch styling, IP67 protection, one of the best screens on a mid-range phone, and a dependable set of cameras. Furthermore, battery life is solid and Samsung continues to impress with its software upgrade guarantee.
The key this year is that all of that is backed up by stable, solid performance from the powerful Exynos 1380 processor. This isn’t the most powerful mid-range phone around, but it’s good enough – and excels almost everywhere else.
7. Oppo Reno 10 5G – Excellent cameras
Pros
- Impressive cameras
- Solid battery life
- Great 120Hz screen
- Good value for money
Cons
- No IP rating
- Extra pre-installed apps
- Only two years of OS updates
- Not available in the US
Compared to flagship phones, cameras are often compromised on mid-range handsets. But the Oppo Reno 10 5G proves that doesn’t have to be the case.
An excellent 64Mp main sensor delivers excellent shots in a variety of different environments, and it’s specifically designed for great portrait-style photos. The telephoto and selfie lenses (both 32Mp) are also impressive, though it’s probably worth avoiding the 8Mp ultrawide.
But with decent MediaTek Dimensity 7050 performance, all-day battery life an impressive 6.7in OLED 120Hz display, the Reno 10 5G has a lot going for it. You’ll have to put up with a lack of IP rating and extra apps you don’t need, though.
Whether you buy this phone might come down to your opinions on ColorOS 13, Oppo’s skin over Android 13. It makes relatively subtle changes to the experience on Pixel phones, but there are lots of annoying pre-installed apps. And Android 15 will be the last major version it gets, despite four years of security updates.
8. Realme 11 Pro+ – All the resolution
Pros
- 100W fast charging
- Outstanding battery life
- Beautiful 120Hz AMOLED screen with curved edges
- Solid main camera
Cons
- No IP rating
- No wireless charging
- Only 2 years of OS updates
- Not available in the US
Realme really hits the mark with its 11 Pro+ model. The company is known for making phones with a specific purpose in mind, and this time the goal was to master photography.
That’s why Realme uses a 200-megapixel sensor with quite a few software tricks to end up with impressive performance – especially for this price. The rest of the package is equally impressive: the AMOLED screen is beautiful and rich in colour, and the battery life is long.
Unfortunately, there had to be a trade-off, and it’s the CPU. It’s not bad, but it means the 11 Pro+ might feel slower than you’d like in a couple of years’ time when software is more demanding. You also get only two years of OS updates, so say goodbye to a long-lasting relationship.
Aside from that, Realme 11 Pro+ is undoubtedly one of the more interesting propositions in the mid-range right now.
9. Fairphone 5 – Best for sustainability
Pros
- As repairable as it gets
- Fun, transparent back
- Five-year warranty
- Eight years of software support
- Desktop mode
Cons
- It's big, thick, and heavy
- Underpowered SoC
- The display is only 90 Hz
- Not available in the US
There are two ways of looking at Fairphone 5. If you look at its specs alone, it really is nothing special. Its processor is quite slow (more so than the Realme 11 Pro+), the screen is not the best, and the whole package is chunky and not as sleek as the competition.
On the other hand, you can look at it as a cause. It’s so repairable that you can take it apart with only a screwdriver and replace every part just as easily, with replacements available straight from Fairphone. It’s a statement against all the other brands that make your phone impossible – or uneconomical – to repair.
What’s more, it has other things going for it. The five-year warranty and eight-year software support are in a class of their own. It also has some nice tricks up its sleeve such as a desktop mode if you want your phone to be your only electronic device, plus a nice, retro-looking back panel.
So, don’t buy Fairphone 5 if you want all the performance and specs you can get for your money. Buy it if you support what it stands for.
10. Poco X5 Pro 5G – Good budget option
Pros
- 120Hz AMOLED display
- 108-megapixel main camera
- Great value
- Thin and light
Cons
- Plastic rear cover
- Sub-par software
- No OS upgrade commitment
- Not available in the US
The Poco X5 Pro 5G is at the cheaper end of what we consider a mid-ranger, but that doesn’t stop it offering exceptional value.
The 6.67in, 120Hz AMOLED display is essentially flagship-level and it’s matched by a slick, elegant design elsewhere. Even the camera impresses, with a surprisingly solid 108-megapixel sensor for the main shooter – though the accompanying ultrawide and macro cameras aren’t as impressive.
It’s all made of plastic, so doesn’t feel too premium, and we don’t love the MIUI software running on here (shared by all Xiaomi, Poco, and Redmi phones). But overall this is an excellent package for the price.
Buying advice for mid-range phones
What is a mid-range phone?
There’s no technical definition, but as mentioned above, we define mid-range phones based on price: anything that costs more than £250/$250 but less than £700/$700 if you buy it SIM-free. Anything cheaper than that is really a budget phone, and anything more expensive is a flagship.
Some mid-range phones will take the all-round good-value approach, with capable specs in each area; others will focus on a key trait, such as the camera or display, and promise flagship-rivalling capabilities in that one aspect; others still used to be those flagships, so will offer fantastic specs at a brilliant price, but may be running on slightly older hardware.
What specs do I need?
Every mid-range phone offers a compromise, trying to deliver the best of a flagship without costing quite so much. Still, there are some specs you don’t want to skimp on. Look for at least 6GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 7 or 8 chipset for smooth performance (or another brand equivalent), along with at least 128GB storage.
After that, it’s about deciding on your priorities. Are you looking for long battery life, fast charging, an OLED display, or a powerful camera? Few mid-range phones offer all of them, so pick which matters most to you.
One common element is that you’ll likely have to give up on nice-to-haves like wireless charging or a waterproof rating – these still tend to be reserved for the most expensive phones on the market, though a few mid-range devices do offer one or the other.
Try to remember that it’s not always about specs either. We’ve hit something of a ceiling when it comes to smartphone tech anyway, so although these phones may not be as fast as your average flagship, they are almost certainly fast enough for most users. Go for a phone that balances value, performance, features and design in a way that appeals to you and your needs.
Is there a mid-range iPhone?
There is one mid-range iPhone on the market – the 2022 iPhone SE – but we don’t think it offers great value compared to Android rivals. Consider it if you know you need an iPhone, but otherwise steer clear.
Instead, you’re probably better off looking at an older flagship iPhone, especially with discounts common at third-party retailers. Since Apple’s software support runs for so long, even an old iPhone should still run well for a few years, but bear in mind that you’ll likely miss out on some of the more modern features found in modern Android mid-rangers.
Why isn’t every mid-range phone on sale in the US?
If you’re in the US or Canada, you may find that not every phone in our round-up is available for you to buy. Unfortunately that’s because many of the biggest Chinese phone manufacturers simply don’t sell their products in the US.
Chinese phones are a great choice in the mid-range market because they often balance very good specifications with a lower price than you’d expect. The likes of Xiaomi, Realme, and Poco often offer staggering value, but for anyone in the US they’ll be import-only.