For those who are looking for smartphones under a budget of four hundred dollars will surely find several powerful phones in the market. There are several phones which come cheaper than that are packed with features. You need to decide on what kind of features you are looking for and what would suffice. There are many phones that offer certain advantages over others and you need to have a full review of all best smartphones under 400 dollars in order to make an informed choice.
Well here I have got just that for you. I have made a list of best phones under your budget of $400 which includes best Android, Windows and iOS running smartphones. You can buy any operating system phone because all of them offer great features. Generally buying phone of unfamiliar operating system takes little time to adopt but certainly it’s a great idea to switch operating system because you are already tired by using same UI on your older phone. Again, it’s your personal choice. According to me you should buy a phone which is able to do all your daily tasks easily and surely operating system is the key thing to check for that. Make sure you read review of each phone in list below that will help you to get more clear idea of each smartphone.
I would like to tell you that all phones listed below are factory unlocked (no-contract) and I have made sure that each phone is up to the mark with the price you will pay for it. You can buy any smartphone from below given list as all phones are packed with latest generation hardware and software and they are best all-around performers.
Without wasting much time, let’s start with list of phones now…
List of Best Phones under 400 Dollars
This list is arranged in descending order by considering overall performance, design, battery backup and other noteworthy features of each phones. The phone at 1st place is the best phone under $400 of current running month so don’t miss to check that phone.
8) Archos 50 Diamond –
This is a model that is great to opt for at a budget of 300 dollars! Yup that’s lesser than the budget we are talking right now but it comes with features which you’ll usually find in a phones under $400. It has several impressive features which make it a unique phone to consider. It comes with full HD display which is a digression from the usual screen dimensions of smartphones these days. The rear facing camera is 16 MP which is higher than many of the contemporary models that we find, even at the higher price bracket. The RAM is 2 GB which ensures smoother performance with Android Lollipop on this phone. The Diamond might not stand out in terms of looks but it is defintely feature rich smartphone. The phone is light and weighs about 146 grams. The Diamond is considered to be one of the premium models in the range of phones that come under 400 dollars. It is considered to be the flagship model for Archos company which is not much well-known in smartphone market but Diamond is surely a worth buying phone of Archos.
Specifications –
| OS | Android OS v4.4.4 Kitkat |
| RAM | 2 GB RAM |
| CPU | Snapdragon 615 quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 processor |
| GPU | Adreno 405 |
| DISPLAY | 5 inch IPS LCD touchscreen display with 440 ppi pixel density |
| CAMERA | Primary Camera – 16 MP with auto-focus and LED flashSecondary Camera – 8 MP |
| MEMORY | 16 GB, Expandable up to 128 GB via micro SD card |
| SIM | Dual SIM with dual standby (micro SIM) |
| BATTERY | Non removable Li-Po 2700 mAh battery |
| WEIGHT | 5.01 oz |
| OTHER | FM Radio, NFC, 4G LTE |
Price – $300.00
7) Xiaomi Mi Note –
This is a phone cum tablet or a Phablet that is priced around $370. This China based manufacturer has been releasing powerful models and this model is packed with several unique features. The Note comes with a 6.95 mm dimension frame. The Gorilla Glass curved display in HD as well as 13 MP rear camera makes it as good as any other high end phone. The Snapdragon processor will not leave you complaining in any way. This phone is comparable with Samsung and Apple phones for the features and performance it provides. There are other Xiaomi models that you can look at for smaller phone dimensions. The Note will give you a better display and large surface to play with which many people prefer. It will also act as a hybrid between a smartphone and a tablet. Overall performance and design of this phone is just outstanding but it is still hard to buy Xiaomi phones in United States and for that I have given it 7th place in this list. If you can manage to import this phone to United States from China or India then this phone will be surely bang for your bucks.
Specifications –
| OS | Android OS v4.4.4 Kitkat – MIUI 6.0 (Lollipop update available) |
| RAM | 3 GB RAM |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400 processor |
| GPU | Adreno 330 |
| DISPLAY | 5.7 Inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display with 386 ppi pixel density |
| CAMERA | Primary Camera – 13 MP autofocus with optical image stabilization & dual LED (dual tone) flashSecondary Camera – 4 MP with 1080p video recording |
| MEMORY | 16 GB / 64 GB, No card slot |
| SIM | Dual SIM (dual stand-by / micro SIM) |
| BATTERY | Non removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery |
| WEIGHT | 5.68 oz |
| OTHER | Quick charging, Gorilla Glass 3, 4G Enabled, Loud speaker |
Price – $370.00
6) Microsoft Lumia 830 –
This is a Windows phone that comes for a price of $350. This is a phone line that features some of the best works of Microsoft. However from the point of view of the phone price, it is definitely a reasonable bargain. The 830 model is made as of plastic and metal combination. The design and colors are bright and premium. The removable cover has a replaceable battery along with a micro SD slot. The phone is enabled for 4G and offers wireless charging. The rear camera is of 10 MP. The Pure View and Optical Image Stabilization technology make the pictures sharp and true to life even in low light conditions. The apps that Microsoft provide for the phone are a rival for the Android apps. You will also get free subscription for a premium account on Skype. If you are daily user of Microsoft services and apps like One drive, MS Office & One Note then you will surely love environment provided by this Windows phone.
Specifications –
| OS | Android OS v4.4.4 Kitkat |
| RAM | 2 GB RAM |
| CPU | Snapdragon 615 quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 processor |
| GPU | Adreno 405 |
| DISPLAY | 5 inch IPS LCD touchscreen display with 440 ppi pixel density |
| CAMERA | Primary Camera – 16 MP with auto-focus and LED flashSecondary Camera – 8 MP |
| MEMORY | 16 GB, Expandable up to 128 GB via micro SD card |
| SIM | Dual SIM with dual standby (micro SIM) |
| BATTERY | Non removable Li-Po 2700 mAh battery |
| WEIGHT | 5.01 oz |
| OTHER | FM Radio, NFC, 4G LTE |
Price – $349.98
5) Huawei Honor 6 Plus –
This is a model that is available for $399. A bit on the edge of your budget, you will find several features that make it worth the expense and one to consider among all best phones under 400 dollars. The company is known to offer different kinds of cheap models as well but quality ones. The Ascend P7 that it introduced had a front facing camera that is of 8 MP. This was a rarity at the time when it was introduced. It also had a metal body which was a rarity at the time it was launched in the market. The Honor 6 Plus continues with the same features and steps them up. There are three 8 MP cameras on this phone! 2 on the back and 1 in front (check specifications to know more about camera). The display is of 5.5 inches and comes with a 3 GB RAM. The battery is 3600 mAh and the phone is fitted with a high performance processor. Overall, it is a great purchase within your four hundred dollars budget and Huawei is undoubtedly a brand to rely upon.
Specifications –
| OS | Android OS v4.4.2 Kitkat (Planned upgrade to Marshmallow) |
| RAM | 3 GB RAM |
| CPU | 1.8 GHz Octa Core processor & HiSilicon Kirin 925 chipset |
| GPU | Mali-T628 MP4 |
| DISPLAY | 5.5 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display (401 ppi pixel density) |
| CAMERA | Primary Camera – Dual 8 MP with autofocus & dual LED flashSecondary Camera – 8 MP with 1080p video recording |
| MEMORY | 16 GB, Expandable up to 128 GB |
| SIM | Dual SIM (both micro SIM) with dual standby |
| BATTERY | Non removable Li-Po 3600 mAh battery |
| WEIGHT | 5.82 oz |
| OTHER | Infrared port, FM Radio, dual rear camera, NFC, 4G LTE |
Price – $345.00
4) Apple iPhone 5c (32 GB) –
Apple has stopped production of iPhone 5c but it is still a best iPhone to consider at this price range. It has full plastic body with lot of color options to choose. It runs iOS 8 straight out of the box and comes with promise to receive all next iOS updates so this phone will get better and better over time. It comes with standard retina display like we have seen in all other iPhones. On back it has eye catchy Apple logo and at top it has iSight 8 MP camera which is a great shooter even at moderate and low lighting conditions. If we talk about performance then iPhone 5c runs iOS 9 buttery smooth and multi-tasking is also breeze on this iPhone. With access to 1.6 million apps in App Store, you can get all your daily works done on this iPhone from anywhere. Even though it is older iPhone, it still outperforms many smartphones in same price range so if you want to buy iPhone within $400 then iPhone 5c is the one to go with.
Specifications –
| OS | iOS 7 (upgradable to iOS 9.1) |
| RAM | 1 GB RAM |
| CPU | 1.3 GHz dual core A6 chip |
| DISPLAY | 4.0 Inch Retina display with 326 ppi pixel density |
| CAMERA | Rear Camera – 8 MP iSight camera with LED flashFront Camera – 1.2 MP FaceTime HD |
| MEMORY | 32 GB – non-expandable |
| SIM | Single SIM, Micro SIM |
| BATTERY | Li-Po 1510 mAh battery non-removable battery |
| WEIGHT | 4.06 oz |
Price – $354.95
3) Asus Zenfone 2 –
Being super cheap at just $269, Asus Zenfone 2 still outperforms many of the smartphones under 400 dollars. It was launched in 2014 but it is still a good one to opt for in the starting of 2016. The phone has already sold about eight million in units worldwide. The Zenfone 2 continues on the path of success and you are sure to enjoy the spoils of it. It offers features like 4 GB of RAM which makes performance of this phone ridiculously fast. It is powered by quad core Intel processor which is battery efficient as well. It has bright full high definition display with gorilla glass protection. It has 13 megapixel primary camera which is reliable and best for capturing photos and videos in every light conditions. Secondary camera is of 5 mega pixel which is also great for selfies and video calling. It is 4G enabled smartphone from Asus. By looking at its performance, design and daily usability, this phone is just worth to put at 3rd place in this list. Well we can say it as a best phone under 400 dollars but I am fan of stock android and this phone runs Zen UI on the top of Android Lollipop. Well it does offer lot of useful settings and other features but still it some of them seems to be useless.
Specifications –
| OS | Android OS v5.0 Lollipop (planned updgrade to Marshmallow) |
| RAM | 4 GB RAM |
| CPU | Intel Atom Z3580 2.3 GHz quad core processor |
| GPU | PowerVR G6430 |
| DISPLAY | 5.5 Inch IPS capacitive touchscreen display with 401 ppi pixel density |
| CAMERA | Primary Camera – 13 MP with dual tone dual LED flash and autofocusSecondary Camera – 5 MP |
| MEMORY | 64 GB – can be expanded up to 64 GB more |
| SIM | Dual SIM (Micro-SIM, dual stand-by, dual call) |
| BATTERY | Non-removable 3000 mAh Li-Po battery |
| WEIGHT | 6 oz |
| OTHER | NFC, FM Radio, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
Price – $269.00
Asus Zenfone 2 is featured as best smartphone in sub 300 dollars category here at Tech Brij and recently Asus released special edition model of Zenfone 2 celebrating success of this phone. It comes with similar specs but slightly different Zen UI and premium build. You can go with it if you want more premium looking phone but I would rather consider buying a good case instead of paying extra money for good looks. Still its your choice (check price on Amazon).
2) Motorola Moto X Pure –
After manufacturing Nexus 6, Motorola’s phone line up has vastly improved. They are making smartphones which provides near to stock Android experience. Moto X pure is recently launched phone and it is improved version of Moto X 2nd gen which was launched in mid 2014. This phone comes with high end specifications and all features which you will expect from brand like Motorola. It has quad HD 5.7 inch display which is sharper and gets enough bright and dark for convenient usage of phone without harming eyes. It has powerful Snapdragon processor with 3 GB RAM and Adreno graphics. This phone runs Android Lollipop straight out of the box and it is soon getting Marshmallow update. It is really fast phone, whether you are gaming or multitasking this phone is capable of handling everything without any problems. This phone is rocking huge 21 MP camera sensor on the back which captures really sharp images and takes ample of light at darker places. In front it has 5 MP camera with flash, yes you read it right “front facing camera with flash”. This phone comes with all latest and extremely useful features like fast battery charging, smart gesture support and many more so Moto X Pure deserves 2nd position among all best smartphones under $400.
Specifications –
| OS | Android OS v5.1.1 Lollipop (Marshmallow update coming soon) |
| RAM | 3 GB RAM |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 Hexacore 1.8 GHz processor |
| GPU | Adreno 418 |
| DISPLAY | 5.7 Inch Quad HD display with 520 ppi pixel density |
| CAMERA | Primary Camera – 21 MP with dual tone dual LED flash and autofocusSecondary Camera – 5 MP with LED flash |
| MEMORY | 16 GB – can be expanded up to 128 GB via micro SD card |
| SIM | Single SIM (Nano-SIM) |
| BATTERY | Non-removable 3000 mAh battery |
| WEIGHT | 6.31 oz |
| OTHER | NFC, Water resistant, Turbo charging (10 hours of use in 15 minutes charging) |
Price – $399.99
1) LG Nexus 5X – Best Phone Under $400 of the month
Nexus 5X – Best Smartphone of the month
After huge success of Nexus 5, Google again signed LG to make their flagship device this year. And its result? Nexus 5X with uncompromising performance and best pure Android 6.0 Marshmallow experience. It runs latest Android version Marshmallow and as it is a Nexus device, it comes with promise of timely Android updates. It has beautiful 5.2 inches of display which looks amazing on this phone and on top of that it has 5 mega pixel camera which is ideal for selfies. On backside it has fingerprint scanner which is accurate and blazing fast. It has 12 mega pixel camera on back with laser focus. It is best camera I have ever seen on Nexus devices and it can capture video in 4K. Inside there is powerful Snapdragon processor and 2 GB RAM, yup that is lesser than many other phones here but Nexus 5X still outperforms them in benchmarks and overall performance. With battery that lasts whole day even after heavy usage, this phone stands best right now among other phones in 400 dollars price range. If you want faster performance, eye catchy design, long lasting battery and pure android experience with timely future Android updates at price lesser than 400 bucks then Nexus 5X will be best choice for you.
Specifications –
| OS | Android OS v6.0 Marshmallow |
| RAM | 2 GB RAM |
| CPU | 1.8 GHz Snapdragon 808 dual+quad core (hexacore) processor |
| GPU | Adreno 418 |
| DISPLAY | 5.2 Inch full HD display with 423 ppi pixel density |
| CAMERA | Primary Camera – 12.3 MP with laser autofocus, dual LED (dual tone) flash and 4K video recordingSecondary Camera – 5 MP |
| MEMORY | 32 GB – Non expandable |
| SIM | Single SIM (Nano-SIM) |
| BATTERY | Non-removable Li-Po 2700 mAh battery |
| WEIGHT | 4.80 oz |
| OTHER | Finger print scanner, NFC, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
Price – $379.00
That’s it folks. These were the top phones under 400 dollars to buy right now. You will surely love features offered by this phones. All of them offer reliable battery and processor performance. I have tried to find best deals on this phone and linked it below each smartphones. Still I would recommend you to check the prices offered and discounts or deals at any outlet nearby you. In order to pick best smartphone know what you are looking for. Are you checking out the camera features or the overall display? What would you use the smartphone for mostly? Accordingly make your choice, that will help you to buy best phone within your budget.
I hope this phones buying guide help you in buying best phone for yourself. Tell me in comments if you have any queries regarding any smartphones listed above, I will answer them all as soon as I can.
Brijesh Gohil is the founder of Tech Brij, A popular Tech Blog which is focused on Tech tips & Buying Guides. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Google + & LinkedIn.