Ranking: Best smartphones for under 200 dollars/euros

Bright 120-Hz AMOLED display, long updates (till 2032), very long battery life and 45-W charging, all this is about the Xiaomi Poco M8. It also has a robust casing and stereo speakers.

However, there is no eSIM, no ultra-wide-angle camera; only just Wi-Fi 5 is onboard, and the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is not the smartest kid in the neighborhood.

Xiaomi's Poco M8 has some advantages, and many compromises.

The Poco M8 is currently available for 195 euros on ebay.de or a little more than that on Amazon.de.

The M7 Pro strikes us as the budget display king with its 120-Hz AMOLED panel that gets as bright as 1,200-cd/m² (almost). It also has a very solid plastic casing that is protected against water splashes. The mid-range SoC used here, MediaTek's Dimensity 7025, is an upgrade over the Helio G99 of the previous-gen model. Long battery life of 17.5 hours when surfing sites via Wi-Fi is also commendable, as are its good stereo speakers.

The lack of eSIM, Android 14 out of the box (not 15) and Wi-Fi 5 rather than Wi-Fi 6. Apart from these, there is hardly anything to complain about with the Poco M7 Pro.

The M7 Pro is available in the base configuration with 8-GB RAM and 256-GB ROM (expandable with a micro-SD card) for 190 euros on Amazon.de.

The Phone 1, a smartphone made by a subsidiary of Nothing, stands out with its modular design and solid hardware. It features a 90-Hz OLED display with nearly 1,200 nits of brightness, and a fast MediaTek Dimensity 7300.

Its modular back panel allows for easy customization with different colors and accessories like a fold-out stand or carrying strap. However, despite this design, the battery remains inaccessible.

The Phone 1 offers good cameras and an 18.5-hour battery life (Wi-Fi Web browsing), but lacks NFC and only supports Wi-Fi 5. 5G, dual SIM, and a micro-SD slot are all onboard. It costs 239 euros, versus a recent price of 198 euros.

Tecno's Slim 5G is characterized by its impressive slimness and low weight of just 158 g. Its 144-Hz AMOLED display is extremely bright for the price at 1,600 nits, while the Mediatek Dimensity 6400 is average at best, performance-wise. There is no eSIM or wireless charging support, and build quality is not exactly flawless.

The smartphone's primary camera produces decent photos in daylight. Real-world battery life of over 16.5 hours is very good. Software support likely won't be very long or comprehensive.

The Slim 5G is an exciting affordable smartphone that primarily stands out with its slim, lightweight design and brilliant display.

The Tecno smartphone is currently not available to buy in Europe, meaning one has to purchased it through eBay or other international e-tailers. Its launch price was right around 200 euros.

Putting just under 200 g on the scales, Samsung's Galaxy A26 does a lot of things right, starting with its bright 6.7-inch 120-Hz AMOLED display with a brightness of over 920 cd/m². The promise of long software updates including 5 years of security patches is also pleasing. The Exynos 1380 SoC offers solid mid-range performance, especially for around 200 euros - but some small stutters have to be accepted.

Closing the list of key specifications are 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, which can be expanded via a micro-SD card. Depending on the use case, you can expect a real-world battery life of around 13 to 16 hours. The 50-MP main camera comes with OIS and offers very good low-light performance. The back made of Gorilla Glass Victus Plus, IP67 certification, and AI features also count as improvements over the previous-gen model, with the mono speaker and missing headphone jack as notable downsides.

For around 200 euros, the Galaxy A26 really offers a lot, but it charges slowly and lacks Wi-Fi 6, not to mention wireless charging.

The Galaxy A26 can be yours for ~208 euros.

The latest instalment of the Redmi Note series comes with a 120-Hz AMOLED display with a brightness of almost 1,150 cd/m², which is 200 cd/m² brighter than the previous model. The Dimensity 7025 MediaTek SoC is around 20 percent faster than the chip in the Note 13 5G. The base model's 128-GB internal storage can be expanded with a micro-SD card.

Its fairly light and sturdy plastic casing has IP64 certification and houses a 3.5-mm audio port. NFC, an IR blaster and two nano-SIM slots are present as well, one of latter optionally accepting a micro-SD card. eSIMs are not supported. The selfie camera has been improved and there is now a macro camera with a resolution of 2 MP.

Xiaomi's Redmi Note 14 5G come with zero throttling and offers security updates until 2029, but the ads are annoying and battery life, mediocre.

In Germany, the Redmi Note 14 5G is available with 8 GB of RAM and 128 of GB storage for ~198 euros.

The G56 is a mid-range smartphone with an IPS display as bright as 800 cd/m² that refreshes 120 times a second and is PWM-free. The phone's Dimensity 7060 SoC is fast, and real-life runtimes of 18.5 hours that we witnessed are longer than average. Then, there is the attractive faux leather back cover. The G56 is waterproof, supports e-SIMs and offers 4 years of updates (only 2 years of major OS version updates). Its cameras are good, but GPS is inaccurate and only just Wi-Fi 5 is onboard. The thick display edges are not very appealing, either.

With the Moto G56 from Motorola, you get a solid overall phone with a good camera, bright display, good mid-range SoC, long battery life and much more, but the thick display bezels are annoying.

Last time we checked, the G56 was available for 209 euros on amazon.de.

With the Moto G67, the buyer gets very long real-world battery life of almost 21 hours, a 3.5-mm jack and a very reliable fingerprint sensor, along with fast storage, a bright 120-Hz display and robust casing. However, as the G67 is not available in the EU market as of this writing, some potentially important wireless bands and eSIM are missing.

The Moto comes with 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of ROM and a solid mid-range Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC. However, storage is not expandable here and the update promise does not impress.

Motorola's Moto G67 is an interesting budget option if you can do without certain wireless bands.

For around 190 euros, you can buy the Motorola G67 on eBay.de, or for over 200 euros on Amazon.de among other options.

The Moto G85 features a nearly borderless 6.67-inch 120-Hz P-OLED display with a brightness of almost 1,200 cd/m². Weighing just 171 grams, it runs pure Android, similar to the G84. While it lacks water and dust protection, it supports NFC, nano-SIM, and dual SIM via eSIM. The Snapdragon 6s Gen 3 SoC provides solid mid-range performance.

The Moto G85 offers a stylish and sturdy design, long battery life of 15 to 18 hours, a high-quality display, and sufficient performance.

Drawbacks include noticeable temperature increases under longer loads and cameras that lack detail and sharpness. Still, the G85 remains an excellent choice for under 200 euros.

The V40 SE 5G features eSIM support, a bright 1,200 cd/m² 120-Hz OLED display, 8 GB of RAM, and fast 44-W charging. It delivers over 17 hours of Wi-Fi Web browsing on a single charge.

However, it only supports Wi-Fi 5, has mediocre speakers, and will receive just two major updates - up to Android 16.

The V40 SE 5G offers a good main camera and a fairly fast mid-range SoC, but falls short on some other fronts.

It is available for 157 euros with 128 of GB storage at Alza.de; the 5G version has exceeded the 200 euro mark as of this writing.