Are you looking for a good but inexpensive smartphone for yourself? Or, maybe you want to buy it for your children? Or, your parents who care less about specifications but want an attractive appearance? But, if you are confused with so many options in the market, we have a list that could help you find the most suitable smartphones according to your budget.
There are many top brands, such as Samsung, Nokia, Xiaomi (Redmi), Oppo, and their subsidiary companies Realme, Vivo, and other companies, competing to deliver the best products at a very decent price. Here, we have compiled the best phones available in the market in different price segments.
Best phones under Rs 15,000
3. Nokia 2.3
Nokia 2.3 is a decent entry-level value-for-money phone with good enough specs and great pricing. Released in Nepal in December 2019, the phone is powered by Helio A22 12nm Quadcore processor from Mediatek, coupled by 650MHz PowerVR GE8320 GPU. It sports 6.2 inches HD+ IPS LCD display and runs on Android 9 with 2 years of guaranteed updates. On the camera section, it has a dual-camera with 13MP primary shooter and 2MP depth shooter while the front camera it sports a 5 MP camera. With 2GB RAM and 32GB memory, this phone is alright to use basic activities such as surfing the internet and YouTubing, and a 4000mAh AI-assisted battery, it should last for a day on regular use.
Specifications
| Body | 6.20 x 2.97 x 0.34 inches; plastic body; 183 grams |
| Display | 6.2-inch IPS LCD panel |
| Resolution | HD+ (1520 x 720 pixels); 19:9 aspect ratio |
| Chipset | MediaTek Helio A22 12nm Mobile Platform |
| Central Processing Unit (CPU) | Quad-core (2.0 GHz Cortex-A53) |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) | PowerVR GE8320 (650 MHz) |
| RAM and Storage | 2 GB/ 32GB (expandable up to 512GB) |
| Software and User Interface (UI) | Android 9 (Pie) |
| Rear Camera | Dual-camera: 13 MP, f/2.2 primary shooter 2MP depth sensor |
| Front Camera | 5MP, f/2.4 aperture |
| Security | Face-unlock |
| Audio | 3.5mm headphone jack, FM Radio |
| Sim Card | Dual Nano Sim |
| Connectivity | MicroSD card, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/AGPS/GLONASS/Beidou, MicroUSB 2.0 |
| Battery | 4000 mAh AI-assisted Adaptive battery |
| Colours | Cyan Green, and Charcoal |
| Price | 11,999(2/32GB) |
2. Redmi 9A
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The second on our entry-level category is Redmi 9A, which sports Helio G25 12nm octa-core processor powered by PowerVR GE8320. With 2 GB RAM and 32GB memory, the phone runs on Android 10 with Xiaomi’s MIUI on top. It has a 13MP single camera on the rear and 5MP camera on the front. It has a massive 5000 mAh battery which could be charged quickly by a 10W charger.
Specifications
| Body | 6.49 x 3.03 x 0.35 inches; plastic body; 194 grams |
| Display | 6.53 inches IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels, 20:9 ratio |
| Chipset | MediaTek Helio G25 (12 nm) |
| Central Processing Unit (CPU) | Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) | PowerVR GE8320 |
| RAM and Storage | 2 GB/ 32GB (expandable up to 512GB) |
| Software and User Interface (UI) | Android 10, MIUI 12 |
| Rear Camera | Single-camera: 13 MP, PDAF
Video: 1080p@30/60fps |
| Front Camera | 5 MP, f/2.2, 1.12µm |
| Security | Fingerprint (rear-mounted); AI Face Unlock |
| Audio | 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/ Glonass/Beidou, MicroUSB On The Go, dedicated microSD card slot |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 5000 mAh battery, 10W charging |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Vibration motor, Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity sensor |
| Colours | Blue, Black, and green |
| Price | 11,499(2/32GB) |
1. Samsung A01
We believe the best phone at the entry-level price segment is Samsung A01, and it is because of the Snapdragon 439 processor powered by Adreno 505 GPU. Running on Android 10 with One UI on top, the phone has a 3000 mAh battery and supports faster 10-watt charging. It has 2GB of RAM and 16Gb of storage which is a bit disappointing but the storage can be expanded up to 512 GB with a dedicated memory card slot.
Specifications
| Body | 5.76 x 2.79 x 0.33 inches plastic body |
| Display | 5.7-inch HD+ PLS TFT display |
| Resolution | 720x1520p, 19:9 ratio |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 (12 nm) |
| Central Processing Unit (CPU) | Octa-core (4×1.95 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4×1.45 GHz Cortex A53) |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) | Adreno 505 |
| RAM and Storage | 2 GB/ 16 GB (expandable through a dedicated slot) |
| Software and User Interface (UI) | Android 10, One UI 2.0 |
| Rear Camera | Dual Setup: 13MP, f/2.2 main sensor + 2MP depth sensor |
| Front Camera | 5 MP, f/2.2 |
| Audio | 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/ Glonass/Galileo/BDS, MicroUSB 2, dedicated microSD card slot |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 3000 mAh battery, 10W charging |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Proximity sensor |
| Colours | Black, Blue, Red |
| Price | 13,499(2/16 GB) |
Best phones under Rs 20,000
3. Realme C3
Realme, a subsidiary company of Oppo, targets to challenge the existing smartphone market and brings very good phones at a decent price. One of such phones is Realme C3 which has a Mediatek Helio G70 12nm processor powered by Mali-G52 2EEMC2 GPU. With an HD+ display on a 6.5-inch screen, the phone runs on Android 10 with Realme UI on top. Although the phone has two options in 3GB RAM/32GB storage and 4GB RAM/64GB storage, only the 3GB/32GB model is available in Nepal. And the massive battery of 5000 mAh battery that also supports 10-watt charging, you can expect the phone to last for a good amount of time. On the camera section, the model has dual-camera of 12MP+2MP in the rear and 5MP front camera in the waterdrop notch.
Specifications
| Body | 6.47 x 2.95 x 0.35 inches, plastic body, 195 grams |
| Display | 6.5 inch HD+ display, 84.1% screen-to-body ratio |
| Resolution | 720x1520p, 720 x 1560 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio |
| Chipset | Mediatek Helio G70 (12 nm) |
| Central Processing Unit (CPU) | Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.7 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) | Mali-G52 2EEMC2 |
| RAM and Storage | 3GB and 4GB/32GB with 3GB RAM and 64 GB with 4GB RAM |
| Software and User Interface (UI) | Android 10, Realme UI 1.0 |
| Rear Camera | Dual camera: 12 MP(f/1.8) primary sensor and 2MP(f/2.4) depth sensor |
| Front Camera | 5MP (f/2.4) lens |
| Security | Fingerprint (Rear Mount), Face Unlock |
| Audio | 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/ Glonass/Galileo/BDS, MicroUSB 2, dedicated microSD card slot |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 5000 mAh battery, 10W charging |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Compass |
| Colours | Frozen Blue, Blazing Red, Volcano Grey shade |
| Price | 16,990(3/32 GB) |
2. Oppo A12
Oppo A12 is a decent phone powered by Mediatek’s Helio P35 12nm processor with PowerVR GE8320 GPU. Available in 2 variants of 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB, the phone runs on Android 9 with ColorOS 6.1 on top. It has a 13MP+2Mp dual camera on rear setup and a 5MP single selfie camera. It has 4230 mAh battery and the phone supports 10-watt charging.
Specifications
| Body | 6.14 x 2.97 x 0.33 inches, plastic body, 165 grams |
| Display | 6.22 inch HD+ display, 82% screen-to-body ratio |
| Resolution | 720x1520p, 19:9 ratio |
| Chipset | Mediatek MT6765 Helio P35 (12nm) |
| Central Processing Unit (CPU) | Octa-core (4×2.35 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53) |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) | PowerVR GE8320 |
| RAM and Storage | 32GB 3GB RAM, 64GB 4GB RAM |
| Software and User Interface (UI) | Android 9.0 (Pie), ColorOS 6.1 |
| Rear Camera | Dual camera: 13 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 1/3.1″, 1.12µm, PDAF and 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth) |
| Front Camera | 5 MP, f/2.0, 1/5″, 1.12µm |
| Security | Fingerprint (Rear Mount), Face Unlock |
| Audio | 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Connectivity | dual SIM support, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, MicroUSB, USB OTG |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 4230 mAh battery, 10W charging |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Colours | Blue and Black |
| Price | Rs. 18,590 (3GB 32GB), Rs. 20,790 (4GB+64GB) |
1. Redmi 9
The first phone in our list to feature a 1080p FHD+ display, Redmi 9 is the latest rendition of Redmi series and it is a great phone in a very good price. With the gaming-focused Mediatek Helio G80 12nm processor powered by Mali G52 MC2 GPU, you can expect good performance than its counterparts. It has a quad-camera setup in the back with 13 MP main sensor, 8MP ultrawide, 5MP Macro sensor and 2MP depth sensor. On the front, the phone sports a single 8MP camera. The phone is available in 2 variants in terms of RAM and storage: 3GB/32GB is available in Nepal at Rs 16,999 and 4GB/64GB model is available at Rs 17,999. It runs on Android 10 with MIUI 11 on top and a huge 5020 mAh battery with 18W fast charging support. If you are on a low budget, we recommend you this phone.
Specifications
| Body | 6.43 x 3.03 x 0.36 inches, plastic body, |
| Display | 6.53 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 83.2% screen-to-body ratio |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Chipset | Mediatek Helio G80 (12 nm) |
| Central Processing Unit (CPU) | Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.8 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) | Mali-G52 MC2 |
| RAM and Storage | 32GB 3GB RAM, 64GB 4GB RAM |
| Software and User Interface (UI) | Android 10, MIUI 11 |
| Rear camera | Quad camera: 13MP (f/2.2) main sensor8MP (f/2.2), FOV 118 ° Ultra-Wide sensor5MP (f/2.4), FF (4cm) Macro sensor2MP depth sensor
Video: 1080p@30fps |
| Front Camera | 8 MP, f/2.0, 27mm (wide) |
| Security | Fingerprint (Rear mount), Face Unlock |
| Audio | 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Connectivity | Dual SIM, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, USB Type-C, microSD card slot, IR blaster, NFC |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 5020 mAh battery, 18W charging |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Colours | Carbon Gray, and Ocean Green. |
| Price | Rs. 16,999 (3GB/32GB) | Rs. 17,999 (4GB/64GB) |
Best phones under Rs 25,000
3. Realme 5i
Realme 5i is a good phone but it disappoints us too. It has a good SoC in Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 11nm processor powered by Adreno 610 GPU. It has a quad-camera setup with 12MP main sensor, 8MP ultrawide sensor, 2MP Macro sensor and 2MP depth sensor. On the front, it has an 8MP camera. In Nepal, you can only find one variant of the phone with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage available in the market. The only downside of the phone is its 720p HD+ display, which could have been better. The phone runs on Android 9 but upgradable to Android 10 with RealmeUI on top. On the battery section, it has a huge 5000 mAh battery but it only supports 10W charging.
Specifications
| Body | 6.47 x 2.95 x 0.37 inches Glass front (Gorilla Glass), plastic back, plastic frame |
| Display | 6.52 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 83.2% screen-to-body ratio |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels, 20:9 ratio Corning Gorilla Glass |
| Chipset | Qualcomm SDM665 Snapdragon 665 (11 nm) |
| Central Processing Unit (CPU) | Octa-core (4×2.0 GHz Kryo 260 Gold & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Silver) |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) | Adreno 610 |
| RAM and Storage | 32GB 3GB RAM, 64GB 4GB RAM |
| Software and User Interface (UI) | Android 9.0 (Pie), upgradable to Android 10, Realme UI |
| Rear Camera | Quad camera: 12 MP, f/1.8, (wide), 1/2.9″, 1.25µm, PDAF8 MP, f/2.3, 13mm (ultrawide)2 MP, f/2.4, (macro)2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)Video: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS |
| Front Camera | 8 MP, f/2.0 |
| Security | Fingerprint (Rear mount), Face Unlock |
| Audio | 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Connectivity | Dual SIM, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, , USB Type-C, microSD card slot |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 5000 mAh battery, 10W charging |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Colours | Blue, Green |
| Price | Rs. 21,790 (4GB/64GB) |
2. Redmi Note 8
Although Redmi Note 9 is available in the market as the newest edition of the Redmi Note series, many of the critics are disappointed with the model as there is not much upgrade to Redmi Note 8, which was loved by critics and buyers. Redmi Note 8 has a glass body on a plastic frame and thus it looks classy. With, Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 11nm processor and Adreno 610 GPU, the phone runs on Android 9 with MIUI 11 on the top.
It has a quad-camera setup with 48MP main sensor, 8MP ultrawide camera, 2MP Macro camera and 2MP depth sensor, while on the front it sports a 13MP camera. The battery is of 4000 mAh capacity with 18W fast charging support. There are two variants available in Nepal: 4GB/64GB at Rs 20,999 and 6GB/128GB at Rs 23,999.
Specifications
| Body | 6.23 x 2.96 x 0.33 in, glass front and glass back (Corning Gorilla Glass) plastic frame |
| Display | 6.3 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 81.72% screen-to-body ratio |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 (11 nm) |
| Central Processing Unit (CPU) | Octa-core (4×2.0 GHz Kryo 260 Gold & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Silver) |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) | Adreno 610 |
| RAM and Storage | 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM |
| Software and User Interface (UI) | Android 9, MIUI 11 |
| Rear Camera | Quad camera: 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF8 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm2 MP, f/2.4, (macro)2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)Video: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps; gyro-EIS |
| Front Camera | 13 MP, f/2.0, (wide), 1/3.1″, 1.12µm |
| Security | Fingerprint (Rear mount), Face Unlock |
| Audio | 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Connectivity | Dual SIM, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, USB Type-C, microSD card slot, IR blaster |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery, 18W charging |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Colours | Neptune Blue, Moonlight White, Space Black, Nebula Purple, Cosmic Purple |
| Price | Rs. 20,999 (4GB/64GB) | Rs. 23,999 (6GB/128GB) |
1. Samsung M21
Our number one pick is Samsung M21, a new edition in the budget-focused market and although Redmi Note 8 has upper hand on the specs, Samsung M21’s 6.4 inches Super AMOLED display makes the phone more likeable. It as Samsung’s own Exynos 9611 10nm processor powered by Mali-G72 GPU. The phone runs on Android 10 with One UI 2 on top. The phone is available in two variants: 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB. It sports a triple-camera setup with 48MP main camera, 8MP ultrawide and 5MP depth sensor on the back and 20MP front camera. It has a massive battery in 6000 mAh battery and it supports 15W fast charging.
Specifications
| Body | 6.26 x 2.96 x 0.35 inches, Glass front (Gorilla Glass 3), plastic back, plastic frame |
| Display | 6.4 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 84.2% screen-to-body ratio |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Chipset | Exynos 9611 (10nm) |
| Central Processing Unit (CPU) | Octa-core (4×2.3 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.7 GHz Cortex-A53) |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) | Mali-G72 MP3 |
| RAM and Storage | 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM |
| Software and User Interface (UI) | Android 10, One UI 2 |
| Rear Camera | Triple camera: 48 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF8 MP, f/2.2, 12mm (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm5 MP, f/2.2, (depth)Video: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS |
| Front Camera | 20 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide) |
| Security | Fingerprint (Rear mount), Face Unlock |
| Audio | 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Connectivity | Dual SIM, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, , USB Type-C, expandable memory |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 6000 mAh battery, 15W charging |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Colours | Midnight Blue, Raven Black |
| Price | Rs. 22,999 (4GB/64GB) | Rs. 27,499 (6GB/128GB) |
