The 7 best smartphones under 100 euros

Apple, Samsung and Co. show it every year with their flagships – you can spend a lot of money on a top smartphone. 1000 euros and more are not uncommon. A cell phone doesn’t have to be expensive. Even in the very affordable classes there are devices that are worth buying. TECHNOLOGYBUTTON has taken a closer look at the category of smartphones under 100 euros and lists the best models.

Whether as a smartphone for the children, as a second device or simply out of conviction – when buying a new cell phone, customers do not have to spend huge sums to get a usable device. Meanwhile, the smartphones for less than 100 euros not only offer solid performance, they also convince with a modern look with full-view display, attractive multiple camera design and – on request – bright colors.

Contents

What you should consider when buying a smartphone for less than 100 euros
- Android Go - that's behind it
The best smartphones under 100 euros

What you should consider when buying a smartphone for less than 100 euros

In the case of smartphones under 100 euros, it is clear that the manufacturers have put the red pencil somewhere. The housing of these cheap cell phones is often made of plastic; buyers will look in vain for high-quality metal or glass. At the same time, however, plastic is more flexible and absorbs small falls better. In this category, buyers cannot count on expensive OLED displays, loads of RAM, top processors and the latest camera developments. Instead, manufacturers often concentrate on the essential features of a smartphone: telephony and surfing the web, the occasional Android game and the streaming of short videos, for example via YouTube.

The models listed in our overview of the best smartphones for less than 100 euros have sufficient performance for these tasks. All of them have a modern design, have at least 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB, in most cases even 32 GB, of internal storage. NFC is rarely found on smartphones under 100 euros. All devices listed here are Android phones. When making the selection, we made sure that at least Android 9 Pie, if not Android 10, is installed. Since the manufacturers usually update the inexpensive segment less often, you should definitely not use a device with an older operating system version when buying.

Android Go – that’s behind it

In some cases, the so-called Android Go is also used. This is a slimmed-down version of Google’s firmware that the company developed especially for cheap and therefore often poorly equipped smartphones. Android Go guarantees stable performance even with weak hardware and ensures that the system runs smoothly. Even 512 MB RAM is sufficient for the firmware. At the same time, Android Go takes up significantly less memory on the smartphone, as it only requires about half as much capacity as the normal Android. To achieve this, Google has adapted its services and moved many functions to the cloud. Despite these adjustments, the user experience of the apps is hardly any different from that of conventional applications.

The best smartphones under 100 euros

Xiaomi Redmi 9C

The Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi has now gained a foothold in Germany and offers smartphones with a good price-performance ratio in this country. For comparatively little money, buyers get a lot of equipment. Smartphones for less than 100 euros also benefit from this. One of them is the Xiaomi Redmi 9C, which the manufacturer presented in September 2020. The device is available in two versions: with 2 GB RAM and 32 GB memory and 3 GB RAM and 64 GB memory. The latter is more expensive than 100 euros.

With a display diagonal of 6.53 inches, the Redmi 9C is a fairly large smartphone, but thanks to its narrow display bezels it is comparatively compact. The screen has a typical HD resolution for this price range – 1600 x 729 pixels, to be precise. Three things make the Xiaomi Redmi 9C special: the large 5000 mAh battery, Android 10 and the triple camera. This is not a given in this price range and consists of a 13-megapixel wide angle, a 2-megapixel macro lens and a depth sensor with 2 megapixels. The smartphone is powered by a Mediatek Helio G35, an eight-core chip with up to 2.3 GHz. The high clock frequency sounds like a lot of performance at first, but since Mediatek only uses energy-saving, but low-performance Cortex-A53 cores, the processor performance is also minimized.

Features of the Xiaomi Redmi 9C at a glance:

Display: 6.53 inch full view with notch, IPS, 1600 x 720 pixels
Processor: Mediatek Helio G35, Octa-Core with 2.3 GHz
Memory: 32 GB expandable, 2 GB RAM
Front camera: 5 MP
Main camera: Triple camera 13 MP wide angle + 2 MP macro + 2 MP depth sensor
Connections: Bluetooth 5.0, WLAN b / g / n, LTE, USB C
Battery: 5000 mAh
System: Android 10
Other: Dual SIM (hybrid), jack socket, fingerprint sensor
Price: from 92.99 euros

Samsung Galaxy A01

Samsung also offers smartphones for less than 100 euros. One of these affordable models is the Galaxy A01. With its 5.7 inch full view display and dimensions of 146.3 x 70.9 x 8.3 millimeters, it can almost be described as compact. It has a dual camera of 13 and 2 megapixels on the back and a 5 megapixel front camera in the front notch. The equipment is typical for a cheap smartphone in this price range and even Android 10 is installed. An octa-core processor with up to 1.95 GHz and 2 GB of RAM provide the drive. The internet memory has a capacity of 16 GB and is expandable, the battery has a capacity of 3000 mAh. However, users have to do without NFC, WLAN in the 5 GHz band and a fingerprint sensor with the Samsung Galaxy A01.

Features of the Samsung Galaxy A01 at a glance:

Display: 5.7 inch full view with notch, IPS, 1560 x 720 pixels
Processor: Snapdragon 439, Octa-Core with 1.95 GHz
Memory: 16 GB expandable, 2 GB RAM
Front camera: 5 MP
Main camera: Dual camera 13 MP wide angle + 2 MP depth sensor
Connections: Bluetooth 4.2, WLAN b / g / n, LTE, USB C
Battery: 3000 mAh
System: Android 10
Other: Dual SIM (hybrid), jack socket
Price: from 99.99 euros

Motorola Moto E6s

The Moto E6s is one of the cheapest smartphones Motorola has to offer. Equipped with the Mediatek Helio P22, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, it offers reasonable performance for a smartphone under 100 euros. Alternatively, the Android phone is also available with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, but the price is naturally higher here. Worth mentioning on the Moto E6s are the fingerprint sensor attached to the back and the water-repellent housing. The smartphone also has a dual camera. The 6.1 inch IPS display has a resolution of 1560 x 720 pixels and extends over the entire front. A 5-megapixel front camera can be found in the teardrop-shaped notch. It’s a shame that the Moto E6s still comes with Android 9 Pie. An update to Android 10 has been announced.

Features of the Motorola Moto E6s at a glance:

Display: 6.1 inch full view with notch, IPS, 1560 x 720 pixels
Processor: Mediatek Helio P22, Octa-Core with 2 GHz
Memory: 32 GB expandable, 2 GB RAM
Front camera: 5 MP
Main camera: Dual camera 13 MP wide angle + 2 MP depth sensor
Connections: Bluetooth 4.2, WLAN b / g / n, LTE, USB C
Battery: 3000 mAh
System: Android 9 Pie
Other: Dual SIM (hybrid), jack socket, fingerprint sensor, water-repellent
Price: from 93.90 euros

Alcatel 1S

With the Alcatel 1S, several special features catch the eye at first glance. On the one hand, the smartphone runs with Android 10 and thus a current Google system. On the other hand, with 3 GB it has a little more RAM than the large one on this list. A triple camera with 13, 5 and 2 megapixels is also included, as is a well-proportioned 4000 mAh battery.

As with the Motorola Moto E6s, the Alcatel 1S works with the Helio P22 as the processor. Thanks to the larger working memory, the Alcatel mobile phone has slightly more reserves than many other models in this price range, and one of them offers a slightly faster performance. A 32 GB memory is available for your own data. With a display diagonal of 6.22 inches, the Alcatel 1S is one of the larger smartphones under 100 euros. It shows up in full view format with notch. A fingerprint sensor is also integrated on the back to secure the system.

Features of the Alcatel 1S at a glance:

Display: 6.22 inch full view with notch, IPS, 1520 x 720 pixels
Processor: Mediatek Helio P22, Octa-Core with 2 GHz
Memory: 32 GB expandable, 3 GB RAM
Front camera: 5 MP
Main camera: Triple camera 13 MP wide angle + 5 MP + 2 MP depth sensor
Connections: Bluetooth 4.2, WLAN b / g / n, LTE, USB C
Battery: 4000 mAh
System: Android 10
Other: Dual SIM (hybrid), jack socket, fingerprint sensor
Price: from 98.32 euros

Wiko Y81

The French manufacturer Wiko is known for its smartphones in the middle and lower price segment. The latter includes the 6.2-inch Wiko Y81, which – unlike most of the models on this list – runs on Android Go. In this case, the system is based on Android 10 and is therefore still very current. As with so many smartphones under 100 euros, the processor of the Wiko Y81 comes from Mediatek. To be more precise, the Helio A20 is used here, which only offers four Cortex-A53 cores. As a result, the performance is below that of the SoCs (System on Chip) Helio P22 and G35, which are used in some of the other models in this selection. That is one reason why the manufacturer chose Android Go as the system.

With 32 GB of storage and 2 GB of RAM, the Wiko Y81 is at least well equipped in the storage segment. The battery also has a good capacity of 4000 mAh. For this, users have to do without a dual camera, a fingerprint sensor and NFC. The price is all the lower at just over 80 euros.

Features of the Wiko Y81 at a glance:

Display: 6.2 inch fullview with notch, IPS, 1520 x 720 pixels
Processor: Mediatek Helio A20, quad-core with 1.8 GHz
Memory: 32 GB expandable, 2 GB RAM
Front camera: 5 MP
Main camera : camera with 13 MP wide angle
Connections: Bluetooth 4.2, WLAN b / g / n, LTE, USB C
Battery: 4000 mAh
System: Android Go based on Android 10
Other: Dual SIM (hybrid), jack socket
Price: from 83 euros

Nokia 2.3

The Nokia brand, now under the umbrella of HMD Global, is and will remain a classic in the mobile phone and smartphone sector. The devices mostly impress with a balanced hardware-software system and reliable updates. The Nokia 2.3 received the update to Android 10 in April 2020. The user interface works completely without any adjustments on the part of Nokia – Android in its purest form.

On the data sheet of the Nokia 2.3 there are many points known from smartphones under 100 euros. The Nokia mobile phone, for example, has 32 GB of memory and 2 GB of RAM, has a 6.2-inch HD display, has a dual camera with 13 and 2 megapixels and is powered by a 4000 mAh battery provided. The processor is the Helio A22, which like the A20 also only has four cores, but which are clocked a little higher. Nokia has dispensed with a fingerprint sensor.

Features of the Wiko Y81 at a glance:

Display: 6.2 inch fullview with notch, IPS, 1520 x 720 pixels
Processor: Mediatek Helio A22, quad-core with 2 GHz
Memory: 32 GB expandable, 2 GB RAM
Front camera: 5 MP
Main camera: Dual camera with 13 MP wide angle + 2 MP
Connections: Bluetooth 5.0, WLAN b / g / n, LTE, USB C
Battery: 4000 mAh
System: Android 9 Pie ex works, update to Android 10 available
Other: Dual SIM (hybrid), jack socket
Price: from 99.90 euros

Huawei Y6 (2019)

Current Huawei smartphones have to do without Google apps. But that is not the case with the Huawei Y6 (2019). The smartphone runs with Android 9 Pie, there is no information about an upcoming update to Android 10 yet. The cameras in Huawei smartphones are mostly good, and this also applies to the 13-megapixel camera in the Y6 (2019). Although it only has one sensor, it benefits from Huawei’s AI technology, which automatically detects objects in front of the lens and adjusts settings accordingly when recording. With 8 megapixels, the front camera is also quite high-resolution for a smartphone under 100 euros.

The display of the Huawei Y6 (2019) has a diagonal of 6.09 inches and has a resolution of HD. There is 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. Like the Nokia 2.3, a Helio A22 with four cores also works in the Huawei smartphone. The battery capacity is less than 3020 mAh.

Features of the Huawei Y6 (2019) at a glance:

Display: 6.09 inch full view with notch, IPS, 1560 x 720 pixels
Processor: Mediatek Helio A22, quad-core with 2 GHz
Memory: 32 GB expandable, 2 GB RAM
Front camera: 8 MP
Main camera : camera with 13 MP wide angle
Connections: Bluetooth 4.2, WLAN b / g / n, LTE, USB C
Battery: 4000 mAh
System: Android 9 Pie
Other: Dual SIM (hybrid), jack socket
Price: from 99.84 euros

The 7 best smartphones under 100 euros