The Best Smartphones for Less Than 500 Euros
Upper-class smartphones are located in the price range of between mainstream and high-end models and are targeted towards users who are not willing to pay more than 700 Euros (~$870) for an expensive high-end phone, but still want good performance, good cameras, and nice build quality.
The price range of up to 500 Euros (~$620) includes both powerful upper-class models as well as old high-end smartphones. The latter are an interesting alternative, because the specifications are usually still very good and often receive at least one major update. The following rankings might be interesting for you as well:
The Best High-End Smartphones
Pos. | Datum | Bew. | Bild | Modell | Dicke | Gewicht | SBR | Größe | Bildwiederholrate | Auflösung | OS | Preis ab |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 04/2020 | 87 % | ![]() | Huawei P40 HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G ARM Mali-G76 MP16 8 GB Memory, 128 GB | 8.5 mm | 175 g | 87 % | 6.10" | 60 Hz | 2340x1080 | Android 10 | |
2 | 03/2019 | 87 % | ![]() | Samsung Galaxy S10 Samsung Exynos 9820 ARM Mali-G76 MP12 8 GB Memory, 128 GB UFS 2.1 | 7.8 mm | 157 g | 88 % | 6.10" | 60 Hz | 3040x1440 | Android 9.0 Pie | |
3 | 07/2020 | 86 % | ![]() | Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Qualcomm Adreno 650 6 GB Memory, 128 GB | 8.9 mm | 219 g | 87.2 % | 6.67" | 60 Hz | 2400x1080 | Android 10 | |
4 | 12/2020 Neu | 86 % | ![]() | Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Qualcomm Adreno 650 6 GB Memory, 128 GB | 9.3 mm | 216 g | 85 % | 6.67" | 144 Hz | 2400x1080 | Android 10 | |
5 | 11/2019 | 86 % | ![]() | Google Pixel 4 Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Qualcomm Adreno 640 6 GB Memory, 64 GB UFS 2.1 | 8.2 mm | 162 g | 78 % | 5.70" | 90 Hz | 2280x1080 | Android 10 | |
6 | 07/2019 | 85 % | ![]() | LG G8s ThinQ Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Qualcomm Adreno 640 6 GB Memory, 128 GB UFS 2.1 | 7.99 mm | 181 g | 82 % | 6.20" | 60 Hz | 2248x1080 | Android 9.0 Pie | |
7 | 05/2020 | 85 % | ![]() | Apple iPhone SE 2020 Apple A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic GPU 3 GB Memory, 128 GB NVMe | 7.3 mm | 148 g | 65 % | 4.70" | 60 Hz | 1334x750 | Apple iOS 13 | |
8 | 07/2019 | 85 % | ![]() | ZTE Axon 10 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Qualcomm Adreno 640 6 GB Memory, 128 GB UFS 2.1 | 7.9 mm | 178 g | 88 % | 6.47" | 60 Hz | 2340x1080 | Android 9.0 Pie | |
9 | 04/2018 | 85 % | ![]() | Samsung Galaxy S9 Samsung Exynos 9810 ARM Mali-G72 MP18 4 GB Memory, 64 GB UFS 2.1 | 8.5 mm | 163 g | 84 % | 5.80" | 60 Hz | 2960x1440 | Android 8.0 Oreo | |
10 | 07/2020 | 85 % | ![]() | LG Velvet Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G Qualcomm Adreno 620 6 GB Memory, 128 GB UFS 2.1 | 7.85 mm | 180 g | 88 % | 6.80" | 60 Hz | 2460x1080 | Android 10 |
The table above contains an overview over the best smartphones for less than 500 Euros reviewed by Notebookcheck over the course of the past 12 months as well as still relevant and available older products. In cases of identical score the more recent device is listed first. All prices in above table and price comparisons are updated daily and can thus differ.
Editors' Comments
The Mi9 had to be removed from this list due to its age and was succeeded by the Mi 10T 5G.
1st – Huawei P40
With its 6.1-inch large OLED display Huawei's P40 is a comparatively compact smartphone with powerful components. It is powered by a Kirin 990 5G with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, the latter of which can be expanded via nano memory card. In addition to Wi-Fi 6 and 5G the P40 also supports a wide variety of LTE bands, and should thus be able to connect to networks world-wide.
The camera is not as sophisticated as it is on the Pro model with the same moniker. However, its main sensor remained identical, albeit it lacks the former’s OIS. The zoom lens (3x optical, 5x hybrid, 30x digital) continues to feature optical image stabilization. The third lens on this triple-camera array is an ultra-wide angle lens.
In our test, the P40 performed fairly well and did not exhibit any major flaws. The smartphone is only protected against splash water, and it lacks support for wireless charging. Like all recent Huawei smartphones it also lacks Google’s services.
Pricecompare
Top 10 Laptops
Multimedia, Budget Multimedia, Gaming, Budget Gaming, Lightweight Gaming, Business, Budget Office, Workstation, Subnotebooks, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks
under 300 USD/Euros, under 500 USD/Euros, 1.000 USD/Euros
Best Displays, for University Students
Top 10 Smartphones
Smartphones, Phablets, ≤5-inch, Camera SmartphonesThe Best Smartphones for Less Than 160 Euros
2nd - Samsung Galaxy S10
The Samsung Galaxy S10 features a 6.1-inch Curved Dynamic AMOLED display, where the front glass is only interrupted by a gap for the two front cameras. Depending on the model, you either get a ceramic or glass rear cover (Gorilla Glass 5). The frame is always made of stainless steel and results in a very sophisticated impression.
The Galaxy smartphone is powered by a fast Exynos 9820 SoC in combination with 8 GB RAM and up to 512 GB internal storage, which is expandable via microSD card. You will usually get the 128 GB SKU for less than 500 Euros. Fast LTE and Wi-Fi 6 are also included, while other connectivity includes Bluetooth 5.0 with dual-audio, MST, Ant+, and NFC. The list of features is pretty complete and it also supports wireless charging in both directions, so you can also charge other devices with your smartphone via induction. We also like the versatile cameras, even though the results are not perfect.
There are not many drawbacks. The battery runtimes during the review were not great and is is not very enduring in everyday situations, either. The facial recognition is certainly not as secure as a high quality 3D recognition, and the Korean manufacturer still does not include aptX HD for its high-end smartphone.
Pricecompare
3rd – Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
The Poco F2 Pro is Xiaomi’s attempt to continue the first Pocophone’s legacy, which offered flagship quality components at mid-range prices. It comes with an extremely bright super AMOLED display with decent color accuracy and support for HDR content running at 60 Hz. The smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 865 with either 6 or 8 GB of RAM and either 128 or 256 GB of non-expandable storage. It continues to feature an IR blaster as well as a 3.5-inch headphone jack.
The smartphone’s quad-camera array performed fairly well in our test. Unfortunately, it lacks optical zoom capabilities, and the ultra-wide angle lens was not the greatest either. In return, premium features such as IP certification and wireless charging, are supported.
Pricecompare
4th – Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G
The Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G comes with a 6.67-inch large display running in FHD+ resolution at a refresh rate of 144 Hz. It is powered by a Snapdragon 865 supported by 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. Its triple-camera took decent photos as long as the main lens was used. Neither the ultra-wide nor the macro lens proved to be particularly good.
Its 5,000 mAh battery allows for very long battery life, and the Xiaomi smartphone offers a decent overall connectivity including IR blaster. It lacks a headphone jack as well as a microSD card slot. Another downside is the fact that it uses PWM to regulate display brightness.
Pricecompare
5th – Google Pixel 4
The Google Pixel 4 has dropped in price significantly over the past few months, and it has quite a lot to offer: 5.7-inch 90 Hz OLED display, fast SoC, IP68 certification, wireless charging, 3D face detection, and last but not last the guarantee that it will receive updates for a very long time.
Its dual-lens camera performed very well in our test, particularly its main camera with the additional 2x optical zoom. The speakers were also one of its highlights.
The biggest downside is without a doubt the fact that storage is not expandable, which is particularly troublesome for the 64 GB SKU.
Pricecompare
6th - LG G8s ThinQ
The LG G8s ThinQ offers everything you expect from a modern smartphone. The 6.2-inch P-OLED screen has a resolution of 2248 x 1080 pixels and comes with a comparatively wide notch, which looks similar to the iPhone. However, this notch contains the real highlight of the smartphone – a ToF sensor from Infineon. It does not only enable better portraits and perhaps the fastest 3D facial recognition right now, but also wireless gesture controls. The latter is a good idea from LG, but the handling takes time getting used to and the functionality is still limited.
At the back you get a triple-camera with an additional ultra wide-angle as well as a telephoto. The battery capacity is comparatively small with 3550 mAh, but LG still manages to squeeze good runtimes out of it. The smartphone is also protected against dust and water according to IP68, has passed 14 tests according to the military standard MIL-STD 810G and supports wireless charging. A pretty complete package for less than 500 Euros.
Pricecompare
7th – Apple iPhone SE (2020)
Apple’s Apple iPhone SE (2020) is based on the iPhone 8 and features the exact same case with identical footprint and somewhat antiquated display to body ratio. In return, its internal hardware is up to date as it features Apple’s fastest currently available SoC as well as numerous other noteworthy features, such as Wi-Fi 6, wireless charging, or an IP67 certification.
All in all Apple did a great job with the SE2, but it is not free of disappointments, namely the included power supply, the fairly limited single-lens camera, and its below average call quality.
Pricecompare
8th - ZTE Axon 10 Pro
The ZTE Axon 10 Pro features good specs with its 6.47-inch AMOLED screen (FHD+), a fast Snapdragon 855 with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage, which can be expanded. The 48 MP main camera is supported by an ultra wide-angle as well as a telephoto to ensure good picture quality.
The 4000 mAh battery ensures long battery runtimes and can be quickly charged via cable, but wireless charging is also supported. Only the panel brightness could have been higher.
Pricecompare
9th - Samsung Galaxy S9
Samsung's Galaxy S9 is once again a powerful smartphone, but there are only small changes compared to the previous model. The hardware specs are very good with a new and powerful Exynos SoC, 4 GB RAM and 64/256 GB of UFS 2.1 storage. The display was slightly tuned as well and the bezels, which were slim to begin with, are even smaller than before. Otherwise, the S9-series offers great features as well: LTE Cat. 18, Bluetooth 5.0, storage expansion via microSD, IP67 certification, wireless charging, USB 3.1 with DisplayPort support, a fingerprint as well as Iris scanner and more. This also includes a new dual-camera, which can automatically switch between an f/1.5 and f/2.4 aperture depending on the lighting conditions and takes great pictures.
Thanks to the update to Android 9.0 Pie and the One UI, Bixby now finally supports German. The Samsung smartphone also gets a bit bigger and heavier. The battery is identical to the previous model, but the battery runtime is still not very convincing and worse than its predecessor. It is also unfortunate that the Korean company only equips the Galaxy S9 with a single-camera solution. One fact that is only rarely talked about: The Galaxy S9 is much better protected against drops than before.
Pricecompare
10th – LG Velvet
The LG Velvet features a 6.8-inch POLED display and can be expanded with an equally large dual screen. Its mid-range SoC performed adequately, and where available the LG Velvet will also connect to 5G networks. Gaming required some compromises but in return it features a decent triple-camera array, USB 3.2, wireless charging, and last but not least an IP68 and MIL-STD certification.
Unfortunately, its wide-angle camera did not perform as well as expected, and LTE band support is fairly limited. Battery life on the other hand was decent.
Pricecompare
Best Smartphones for Less Than 500 Euros in Comparison
Test Results
Huawei P40 Mali-G76 MP16, Kirin 990 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash | Samsung Galaxy S10 Mali-G76 MP12, Exynos 9820, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro Adreno 650, SD 865, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G Adreno 650, SD 865, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | Google Pixel 4 Adreno 640, SD 855, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | LG G8s ThinQ Adreno 640, SD 855, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | Apple iPhone SE 2020 A13 Bionic GPU, A13 Bionic, 128 GB NVMe | ZTE Axon 10 Pro Adreno 640, SD 855, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | Samsung Galaxy S9 Mali-G72 MP18, Exynos 9810, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | LG Velvet Adreno 620, SD 765G, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Response Times | ||||||||||
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 8 (3, 5) | 5.6 (2.8, 2.8) | 10 (5, 5) | 52.8 (25.2, 27.6) | 2.4 (1.2, 1.2) | 8 (3, 5) | 36.8 (9.2, 27.6) | 3.6 (2, 1.6) | 8 (3, 5) | 9.2 (4.8, 4.4) |
Response Time Black / White * | 6 (3, 3) | 4 (2, 2) | 8 (5, 3) | 26.8 (9.2, 17.6) | 2.4 (1.2, 1.2) | 6 (3, 3) | 21.2 (6, 15.2) | 2.8 (1.2, 1.6) | 6 (3, 3) | 3.2 (2, 1.2) |
PWM Frequency | 245 | 240.4 (99) | 177.3 | 2381 (60) | 367.6 | 235 | 277.8 (99) | 240.4 | 245.1 (99) | |
Screen | ||||||||||
Brightness middle | 583 | 701 | 799 | 614 | 554 | 539 | 688 | 402 | 529 | 586 |
Brightness | 593 | 705 | 801 | 593 | 550 | 556 | 659 | 399 | 527 | 587 |
Brightness Distribution | 94 | 98 | 97 | 92 | 94 | 88 | 92 | 92 | 96 | 97 |
Black Level * | 0.48 | 0.28 | ||||||||
Colorchecker DeltaE2000 * | 3.03 | 3.7 | 1.46 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 3.78 | 1 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 2.8 |
Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. * | 5.33 | 10.3 | 2.92 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 6.95 | 2.2 | 6.5 | 4 | 6.3 |
Greyscale DeltaE2000 * | 2 | 1.4 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 2.3 |
Gamma | 2.301 96% | 2.1 105% | 2.237 98% | 2.2 100% | 2.22 99% | 2.274 97% | 2.25 98% | 2.23 99% | 2.16 102% | 2.01 109% |
CCT | 6621 98% | 6553 99% | 6003 108% | 6744 96% | 6213 105% | 6013 108% | 6790 96% | 7841 83% | 6358 102% | 6827 95% |
Contrast | 1279 | 2457 | ||||||||
Heat | ||||||||||
Maximum Upper Side * | 39.9 | 37.4 | 42.3 | 37.6 | 35.5 | 38 | 40.5 | 41.4 | 35.4 | 34.5 |
Maximum Bottom * | 41.3 | 37.3 | 40.1 | 35.4 | 34.5 | 38.4 | 41.4 | 40.9 | 36.2 | 32.2 |
Idle Upper Side * | 31.5 | 28.8 | 34.5 | 31.7 | 27.2 | 33.7 | 36 | 28.8 | 23.2 | 29 |
Idle Bottom * | 30.8 | 27.8 | 32.3 | 27.2 | 26.9 | 32.4 | 31.4 | 27.5 | 22.7 | 27.5 |
Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
Reader / Idle | 2063 | 1259 | 1954 | 3109 | 1007 | 1689 | 1938 | 1927 | 1182 | |
WiFi v1.3 | 806 | 427 | 923 | 1166 | 460 | 693 | 694 | 680 | 474 | 741 |
Load | 236 | 170 | 286 | 292 | 185 | 203 | 143 | 217 | 164 | |
Power Consumption | ||||||||||
Idle Minimum * | 1 | 0.61 | 2 | 0.52 | 1.01 | 1.2 | 0.44 | 0.76 | 0.65 | 0.66 |
Idle Average * | 1.9 | 1.27 | 3.1 | 2.11 | 1.63 | 1.6 | 1.56 | 1.15 | 0.81 | 1.58 |
Idle Maximum * | 2.4 | 1.3 | 4 | 2.24 | 1.69 | 2 | 1.63 | 1.18 | 0.92 | 1.6 |
Load Average * | 3.5 | 6.17 | 6.4 | 5.5 | 4.67 | 5 | 2.32 | 3.95 | 4.76 | 3.3 |
Load Maximum * | 6.9 | 8.55 | 11.6 | 9 | 8.78 | 10 | 4.12 | 7.49 | 5.16 | 5.46 |
* ... smaller is better
Benchmarks
GFXBench | |
Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen (sort by value) | |
Huawei P40 | |
Samsung Galaxy S10 | |
Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | |
Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G | |
Google Pixel 4 | |
LG G8s ThinQ | |
Apple iPhone SE 2020 | |
ZTE Axon 10 Pro | |
LG Velvet | |
2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen (sort by value) | |
Huawei P40 | |
Samsung Galaxy S10 | |
Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | |
Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G | |
Google Pixel 4 | |
LG G8s ThinQ | |
Apple iPhone SE 2020 | |
ZTE Axon 10 Pro | |
LG Velvet | |
Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen (sort by value) | |
Huawei P40 | |
Samsung Galaxy S10 | |
Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | |
Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G | |
Google Pixel 4 | |
LG G8s ThinQ | |
Apple iPhone SE 2020 | |
ZTE Axon 10 Pro | |
LG Velvet | |
1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen (sort by value) | |
Huawei P40 | |
Samsung Galaxy S10 | |
Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | |
Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G | |
Google Pixel 4 | |
LG G8s ThinQ | |
Apple iPhone SE 2020 | |
ZTE Axon 10 Pro | |
LG Velvet |
PCMark for Android - Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value) | |
Huawei P40 | |
Samsung Galaxy S10 | |
Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | |
Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G | |
Google Pixel 4 | |
LG G8s ThinQ | |
ZTE Axon 10 Pro | |
Samsung Galaxy S9 | |
LG Velvet |
AnTuTu v8 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
Huawei P40 | |
Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | |
Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G | |
Google Pixel 4 | |
LG G8s ThinQ | |
Apple iPhone SE 2020 | |
ZTE Axon 10 Pro | |
LG Velvet |
WebXPRT 3 - --- (sort by value) | |
Huawei P40 | |
Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | |
Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G | |
Google Pixel 4 | |
LG G8s ThinQ | |
Apple iPhone SE 2020 | |
ZTE Axon 10 Pro | |
Samsung Galaxy S9 | |
LG Velvet |
Networking | |
iperf3 Client (receive) TCP 1 m 4M x10 (sort by value) | |
Huawei P40 | |
Samsung Galaxy S10 | |
Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | |
Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G | |
Google Pixel 4 | |
LG G8s ThinQ | |
Apple iPhone SE 2020 | |
ZTE Axon 10 Pro | |
Samsung Galaxy S9 | |
LG Velvet | |
iperf3 Client (transmit) TCP 1 m 4M x10 (sort by value) | |
Huawei P40 | |
Samsung Galaxy S10 | |
Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | |
Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G | |
Google Pixel 4 | |
LG G8s ThinQ | |
Apple iPhone SE 2020 | |
ZTE Axon 10 Pro | |
Samsung Galaxy S9 | |
LG Velvet |
PUBG Mobile - HD (sort by value) | |
Huawei P40 | |
Samsung Galaxy S10 | |
Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro | |
Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G | |
Google Pixel 4 | |
Apple iPhone SE 2020 |