The best phones under $500 in Australia (updated daily)
The phones worth buying for under $500, with today's cheapest price at every major Australian store.
You don't need to spend $1,500 to get a good phone. Under $500 you get big screens, all-day batteries and 5G — what you give up is mostly camera quality in low light and years of software updates. Here's what we'd buy, and what it costs today.
Every price on this page is the cheapest in-stock price we found this morning. They change daily, so the order can too.
Our picks
The safe choice. Samsung's mid-range A-series gets long software support, a 6.7" screen and is stocked by all four stores we check, so it's easy to find on sale.
The battery monster. An 8,300mAh battery and a 108MP main camera for $497 — the best spec sheet for the money we track.
The cheapest Samsung worth having. Same 6.7" size as the A27 with a slower chip, for about $255.92.
A paper-like matte screen that's easier on the eyes, with 512GB of storage — far more than anything else at $247.
Clean Android with almost no bloatware and 256GB of storage.
Store by store
Prices for the same phone can differ by $50–$200 between stores on the same day. Here's today's spread for our top three:
| Store | Samsung Galaxy A27 | HONOR X9d | Samsung Galaxy A17 |
|---|---|---|---|
| JB Hi-Fi | $499 128GB | $499 256GB | $299 128GB |
| Harvey Norman | $499 128GB | $497 256GB | $299 128GB |
| The Good Guys | $499 128GB | $499 256GB | $299 128GB |
| Mobileciti | $497 128GB | $497 256GB | $297 128GB |
| Samsung Store | $549 128GB | — | $399 128GB |
| amaysim | — | — | $349 128GB |
| TeleChoice | — | — | $349 128GB |
| Umart | — | — | $319 128GB |
| MSY | — | — | $319 128GB |
| digiDirect | — | — | $255.92 128GB |
| Betta | — | — | $349 128GB |
| Mwave | — | — | $299 128GB |
What to look for under $500
- 5G is now standard. Only buy a 4G phone if it's under $200 and for a kid or as a backup.
- 128GB minimum. 64GB fills up with apps and photos within a year.
- Software updates matter more than specs. Samsung and Google promise the longest support at this price; that's the difference between a phone that lasts two years and one that lasts five.
- Check the storage before the price. Stores often advertise the smallest storage size. We split every phone by storage so you compare like with like.
Every phone under $500, sold by 2+ stores
Galaxy A17
Galaxy A36
A6x
moto g56
Galaxy A26
Reno15 F
A6
A5
50 Pro NXTPAPER
Galaxy A27
60 SE NXTPAPER
moto g57
Want a little more camera? The Google Pixel 9a is $597 today — see all phones under $700.