When you hear the word “smartphones,” it’s natural to associate that term with the visual of hundreds of dollars being handed off to a cashier. But did you know there are great phones out there that don’t even reach the $100 mark?
If your budget is really tight, relax. Breathe. There are good phones for you out there, too, and we’re here to show them to you. Let’s take a look at the best Android smartphones you can get under $100.
ZTE ZMax Pro ($99)
The ZTE Z Max Pro is the quintessential budget phone. At $99, it brings an immense amount of value with features like a massive 6-inch Full HD display and even a fingerprint sensor.
For horsepower, the phone relies on an octa-core Snapdragon 617 chipset and 2GB of RAM, and a 13MP camera on the rear should do well enough for some casual memory capturing. Long story short, where you usually have to compromise quite a bit when your budget is this low, the ZTE ZMax Pro sounds like a deal too good to be true. The only downside we can see is the fact that you’ll need to commit to MetroPCS as your carrier if you want one.
ZTE ZMax Pro Specs
- Display: 6-inch 1080p display (367ppi)
- Chipset: 1.5GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617
- Memory: 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, microSD up to 128GB
- Camera: 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera
- Battery: 3,500 mAh
- Software: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
- Dimensions: 165.1 x 83.8 x 8.9mm, 175g
Blu R1 HD ($49)
At $50 in exchange for Amazon ads on your phone, the Blu R1 HD offers up a nice 5-inch HD curved display and quad-core processing power alongside 2GB of RAM. It’s also dual-SIM capable, and has 4G LTE radios for use on most GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile.
Combine all that with a strikingly sharp design and it’d be easy for anyone to mistake it for a phone you’d have to pay at least $200 for.
BLU R1 HD Specs
- Display: 5-inch 720p display (294ppi)
- Chipset: 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek 6735
- Memory: 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, microSD up to 64GB
- Camera: 8MP rear camera, 5MP front camera
- Battery: 2,500 mAh
- Software: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
- Dimensions: 143.5 x 72 x 8.7 mm, 142 g
Blu Advance 5.5 HD ($75)
If you want a nice big screen, BLU’s Advance 5.5 HD is what you’re after. That 5.5 in the name stands for its 5.5-inch 720p display. It won’t offer the sharpest visuals at that capacity, but the surface area should still please. Otherwise, it offers a similar user experience to the Blu R1 HD sans LTE, with a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek chipset, 8GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, and a 5MP camera.
BLU Advance 5.5 HD Specs
- Display: 5.5-inch 720p display (267ppi)
- Chipset: 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek 6735
- Memory: 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, microSD up to 64GB
- Camera: 5MP rear camera, 5MP front camera
- Battery: 2,500 mAh
- Software: Android 5.1 Lollipop
- Dimensions:153.8 x 77.4 x 9.1 mm, 183g
Moto E4 ($99)
The Moto E4 is another Prime-exclusive phone that can be yours for just $99. Here’s a 5-inch phone with a 720p display, Qualcomm’s Quad-Core Snapdragon 410 chipset, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP camera, LTE and more. Bonus for Verizon customers: it’s even cheaper at just $69 if you’re willing to stick with their prepaid service.
Moto E4 Specs
- Display: 5-inch 720p display (294ppi)
- Chipset: 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
- Memory: 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, microSD up to 128GB
- Camera: 8MP rear camera, 5MP front camera
- Battery: 2,800 mAh
- Software: Android 7.1 Nougat
- Dimensions: 144.4 x 72 x 9.9 mm, 137 g
