Which mobile phone brands do customers rate best value for money?

We've asked more than 11,000 Which? members and members of the public to tell us whether they're happy with their smartphone*, and the results are full of surprises.

Customers told us about the phones they have owned in the past six years, including how many faults they encountered, how easy it was to get a repair, and how much they rated their phone for value for money. 

When it comes to value for money, the market leaders Samsung and Apple fell short of the best, with four other manufacturers seen as better value overall. At the other end of the scale, a handful of brands only achieved a two-star rating in our analysis. Read on to find out the results below.

See our expert pick of the best mobile phones at a variety of prices.

Phone brands rated five stars for value

Coming out on top, four brands were seen as the best value for money by customers: Google, OnePlus, Realme and Xiaomi.

Google ticks the boxes

Google's flagship phones have some impressive features, but they generally launch for a couple of hundred of pounds less than the flagships from Samsung and Apple. The cheaper prices haven't gone unnoticed by customers in our survey with many explaining that the thing they liked most about their Google phone was the 'fabulous spec for the price'.

Another perk of Google smartphones noticed by customers is the 'excellent support'. As Google owns Android, Google phones usually get software updates before any other brand and Google now supports all new phones for at least five years, with the latest Pixel 8 series getting seven years. The Google ecosystem was praised for working seamlessly too, with a survey respondent stating: 'it works really intuitively and syncs with my Gmail and Chrome on my other devices without trying to add another proprietary app (like Samsung or Apple, for example)'.

Check our reviews of Google phones to see what's on offer. 

OnePlus proves a hit

OnePlus phones might not be the first phone brand you think of, but it was another celebrated in our survey for balancing its 'high specs and its reasonable price'. Customers liked the cameras on offer, the generous amounts of storage, and the fast-charging capabilities. One person directly compared their OnePlus smartphone to both Apple and Samsung, explaining it had 'all the quality of an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy, but at a better price.' 

Our OnePlus smartphone reviews reveal the handsets that are worth your time.

Realme and Xiaomi surprise

Realme is a small smartphone brand that mostly sells devices at the cheaper end of the market. These were seen as value for money in our survey with one owner explaining: 'it provided most of what I wanted very cheaply'. A lightweight smartphone user especially liked what their Realme phone had to offer for the price.

Xiaomi sells phones at all sorts of prices with some launching for over £1000, but they produce plenty for a lot less. When we asked Xiaomi phone owners why they chose a Xiaomi phone over other brands, a huge 78% said it was because of their cost.

One customer explained that their Xiaomi phone was 'much cheaper than Apple and Samsung', but still had 'a large screen, took good photos and had a battery life superior to all other brands'. Customers were satisfied with the balance of performance and price, with a customer explaining: 'it does what I want at a good price'.

We don't currently have reviews for Realme phones, but our Xiaomi smartphone reviews reveal that not all handsets impress.

Phone brands rated four stars for value

The runners up in our survey scoring four stars for value for money were Honor, Motorola and Samsung.

Honor phones aren't hugely popular but customers in our survey were satisfied with the value their phones offered. One user summed up their experience as: 'reliable, cheap and decent quality for my needs'.

Motorola sells a few high-end devices, but most of its phones are at the cheaper to mid-range of the market. Its customers saw its phones as 'simple with no frills,' but still 'robust, reliable and having a good battery life'. One customer applauded its 'excellent bang for your buck!'.

Samsung arguably has the biggest variety of smartphones on sale and we've tested its phones costing just £100 to over £1,700. Our survey suggested that Samsung phone owners were very happy with the value their chosen Samsung phone gave them. Its phones were seen as reliable and 'performing as expected', with one customer mentioning that 'the price was excellent compared with rival phones offering similar features and I have always found it easy to use, supported by regular updates automatically provided'.

Check our reviews of Honor, Motorola and Samsung phones.

Phone brands with three or less stars for value

It might be the biggest smartphone brand in the world, but Apple's iPhones were only seen as average value for money in our survey. This year, the most expensive iPhone 15 Pro Max started at £1,199, and Apple's 'cheap' offering will still set you back over £400 - the iPhone SE 2022. Unlike a lot of Android phones, it's rare to see iPhones on sale and you usually have to buy an old model to get a discount. The price didn't go unnoticed in our survey with some customers explaining that this was the main thing they disliked about their iPhone. A few customers also claimed that their iPhone battery depreciated over time. Apple has improved the battery life in its most recent releases, but some Android phones are lasting a lot longer. One customer in our survey criticised how using an iPhone keeps you 'tied to Apple' and its other products.

But Apple iPhones are still incredibly popular, praised for their reliability in our survey and for being seamlessly compatible with other Apple devices.

Some of the other manufacturers seen as offering average value for money were the smaller phone brands Oppo and Sony.

The brands that came up short only scoring two stars in being perceived value for money were Alcatel, Doro, HTC, Huawei, LG and Nokia. Huawei's software was criticised with one customer explaining they 'couldn't have many apps on it', and one told us that 'failure to upgrade firmware and software constantly caused issues and crashes'. For Nokia, some customers in our survey cited their disappointment with inadequate cameras.

Find out all the results from the Which? customer survey and which phone brands we recommend.

How much do you need to spend for a good smartphone?

If you like to shop savvy for a mobile phone, you might be tempted by some of the cheapest smartphones that start around £99. However, we often find the cheap end of the market to have too many downsides – including sluggish performance, long charge times and jittery displays. For many, phone cameras have replaced digital cameras, but these cheap phones are unlikely to give you more than elementary shots that struggle when zooming in or focus in dark lighting.

But not all are Don't Buys and could be worth a punt if you're only planning to do simple tasks. They're generally easy to use, robust, and have longer battery lives too. beyond these basic features, you'll need to spend at least £180 to get a better all-round smartphone.

Our Great Value badge can help take the hassle out of a phone purchase by recommending models that may not be top performers, but represent excellent bang for your buck. Which? members can view some of our newest Great Value phones below. 

If you're looking to save even more money on your next phone, consider a second-hand or refurbished mobile phone.

Great Value smartphones to consider

We test mobile phones at every price point and its cheaper phones that are among our most popular reviews. To be a coveted Which? Great Value phone, its launch price must be at least 20% cheaper than the average price of the smartphones in our reviews. However, it still needs to be a quality item, so we make sure it scores at least 60%. Great Value phones might not have the very best cameras or screens, but they're solid, long-lasting performers and often excel in having long battery lives.

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*Results based on a survey of 15,614 people who own smart products, conducted in March 2023. Products were purchased between 2013 and 2017. Results only reported on where base sizes are bigger than 30 respondents.