Budget smartphones are enough for most people, and I’m not talking about the 2000’s phones with limited features.

Today’s affordable devices pack impressive specs: capable cameras, fast processors, and premium-enough build quality that are very much capable of rivaling flagship models.

Of course, there are massive trade-offs when looking at the sub-$100 phones – so we won’t consider those.

Instead, this is about the best possible options in a $100 to $300 range.

Smart buyers choose budget alternatives that deliver 80% of the performance at 30% of the cost, then upgrade when they actually need to – not when the advertisers tell them to.

So why pay premium prices for brand names inflated by massive marketing budgets?

A few reasons why you might be more inclined to go with a $1000 flagship model instead of a budget one:

1. Better hardware. Things like a slightly better signal for WiFi (~20% better in most cases), better battery life (“smarter” phones understand how to use it better), and slightly sharper videos and photos (flagships come with lasers that help the lens focus on an object, which makes it easier for the camera to identify).
2. More software updates. More expensive phones tend to get them faster, because companies want to prioritize higher-paying customers.
3. More “premium” materials. Like stronger glass (which will break anyway if you drop it hard enough) and a thicker/stronger shell.
4. Faster storage and faster processor (noticeable when you run high-demanding tasks like zooming in on super high-res images or editing videos). But faster doesn’t mean that the budget ones are outright bad, it just means that they are ~25% slower.

If none of these sound like a good enough reason to pay $750 more, here are the best options.