Best Value for Money Smartphones to Buy in 2026 (Even If They’re Not the Latest)

I really don’t know if you know, but 2026 is the end of value for money phones. Yes, that’s the ugly truth. But wait a second, who said that you only have to buy the latest phone? What is wrong with last year’s phones? It’s not like they’re outdated or something. They are still as good as new ones and they’re now selling at a much lower price. So, in this blog, I have handpicked 10 phones that are absolutely worth buying in 2026. So, if you’re looking to buy a phone, watch this video till the end because it can save you a lot of money. Let’s get started.

First of all, Samsung is one brand that hasn’t upgraded their flagships a lot. I mean, cameras are the same, the battery is the same, and the design is also pretty much the same. So, instead of going for the latest launch, you can choose to go with last year or even last to last year model, and you’ll still not miss much.

For example, the S24 Ultra that launched for 1 lakh 30,000 goes down to 74 9 in almost all the deals and around 80K in the offline market. And at that price, it offers tremendous value for money. You get everything flagship here. beat the titanium design, anti-glare 2K screen, powerful 8 series processor, and the Bluetooth SPEN, the camera setup is quite versatile, and the battery and charging is exactly the same as you get on the S25 Ultra. So, nothing to lose here as well. And the best part is that there are still five more years of OS update spending.

But there’s still a catch. See, now that S26 Ultra is about to launch in less than a week, chances are that S24 Ultra might go completely out of stock. So, if you really want it, you should hurry up. And in case you don’t get it, don’t worry because the price of S25 Ultra will also get reduced the moment S26 Ultra hit the shelves. So keep an eye on that too.

Next up, let’s talk about Galaxy S24 Snapdragon Edition. Samsung launched this phone specifically for the big billion days at a crazy aggressive price of 39 and it’s still selling at pretty much the same price. This is a pretty good compact phone in terms of build quality, in terms of processor, camera setup, and software experience. But the thing is the storage in the base variant is just 128GB only and the battery life is also pretty average. You can consider this phone only if you have very light smartphone usage.

Now if your budget is strictly under 20K, I’d suggest you check out the M56 because its price has come down a lot since the launch and it’s also quite premium. For starters, there’s no teardrop notch unlike other budget Samsung phones. So it looks super good. Plus the display is also protected well with Gorillas. The performance is not the best, but it can handle day-to-day tasks easily. And there are still five more OS updates spending for 20K. This is a no-brainer Samsung phone.

Now, the last Samsung phone in the list is Samsung Galaxy S24 FE. This phone launched at a very high price of 60K, but during sales, it has been selling for as low as 30K, and at that price, this is easily a solid Samsung phone. The specs are not out of the world, but considering it’s Samsung, it’s not bad.

Recent OnePlus phones have been quite expensive and same could be the case with their future phones too, but their older phones have gotten some really good discounts and two of those phones are here.

First up, OnePlus 13R was already better than 15R in a lot of aspects. But the reduced price of 37 9 made it even better. The phone gets top-of-the-line specs, so performance is never going to be a problem. But unlike 15R, the display is better, the camera setup is also better, and there are three more OS update spending. So instead of buying the latest one, you can easily get the 13R and you’ll not miss a thing.

And just like the R series, the flagship OnePlus 13 also makes a lot of sense at 60,000. The cameras are better than 15 with Hasselblad branding. The design definitely feels more premium. The display is also better and of course you get the OG alert slider too. The battery and charging is not as good as 15, but honestly, you won’t even notice much of a difference.

If you’re looking for a compact OnePlus phone, then I must tell you that OnePlus 13S has also gotten a bit cheaper at 479. Actually, when it launched, it was quite special. But now that there are so many options, you can easily find something better than this. It’s good only if you want nothing but OnePlus. I mean, nothing but OnePlus.

Pixel phones are known to go on sale a year later because that’s when the prices of Pixel normalize for India. So, if you’re looking to buy the Pixel 10, check with us again during the big billion days because that’s when the deals will come. But for now, there’s one Pixel phone that you can definitely buy. And I’m talking about the Pixel 9. It’s currently going for 39. And at that price, you get a minimal design with almost flat pack. The OG Android experience with some Pixel exclusive features and a decent battery life. The performance is never the selling point of Pixel. So, don’t even think about gaming on this. But the camera experience is not at all bad.

The year 2025 had not been quite like 2024 for Poco. I mean, they did launch some phones, but none of them stood out like before. But now that the prices of two of their phones have reduced a lot, they might appeal to a lot of users. First is the Poco X7, which is now selling at just 70le 9. For the price, you get good performance, good display, and good battery life. The software is obviously proed. There’s only one OS update pending, and the camera is also not the best, but this is easily a solid option under 20K.

The Poco X7 Pro is also selling under 25K and this is also a very good option if you prioritize performance over everything else.

Last year’s nothing portfolio was all over the place, but CMF Phone 2 Pro did very well for the company and even now at 17 9 it’s an easy recommendation. The performance is good, the camera setup feels complete, software doesn’t bother you a lot, and the charger is also included in the box. It’s 2026, guys. What more do you expect? This is a good phone.

This was a good phone. Recently, we saw a massive price jump in some of the Realme phones, but thankfully there are still some phones that got the price cut.

For example, the Realme GT7 Pro under 50K is a spec beast with everything top of the line. The camera setup is not the best and neither is the software policy, but even then, it’s the cheapest Snapdragon 8 Elite phone out there.

The Realme P3 Ultra is also a very good option around 23,000. For starters, it looks quite premium in this nice glow-in-the-dark design. The performance is solid, and the display is bright, sharp, and it’s even quadcurved. The camera setup and battery is also good. But the only thing it misses is HDR in Netflix.

And finally, the Realme GT70 also got a massive discount. It’s now selling for just 27,500 rupees. And at that price, it does bring some really good specs. Solid performance, good display, great battery life, and 4 years of OS updates.