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The ReviewGist pick for the best cellphone under $300 is the Motorola Moto X Play. Even though the Moto X Play is listed at a slightly higher $350 at the time of this writing, we believe that you should be able to get a good deal on it at Amazon to price it just below $300.

The sub-$300 price point is fit only for the mid-range of the best smartphones in the market and the Moto X Play fits the all rounder mid-range phone tag to the tee. That being said, the Moto X does not stand out w.r.t. anything else apart from the the big battery:

  • 'A solid mid-range handset that has nothing to shout about, but equally has no complaints.' - ITPro
  • 'The Moto X Play is an excellent mid-range smartphone with a camera and battery life that can compete alongside this year's flagships' - ExpertReviews
  • 'With best-in-show battery life around and solid features, the X Play is the workhorse phone you will want.' - DigitalTrends
If you are looking for an everyday phone and don't want to spend too much, and because of the class leading battery life and a great camera pixel count, we recommend the Moto X Play as the best buy below $300 for early 2017.


Browse All Top Cell Phones Under $300 - 2017 »

Motorola Moto X Play

Motorola Moto X Play


Comparison of the Top 5 Cell Phones Under $300 - 2017

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Motorola Moto X Play
OnePlus X
Samsung Galaxy J5
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
Oppo F1
Motorola Moto X Play
OnePlus X
Samsung Galaxy J5
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
Oppo F1
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Release Date
Sep 2015
Oct 2015
Sep 2015
Dec 2015
Feb 2016
Digital Camera Resolution
21.0 MP
13.0 MP
13.0 MP
16.0 MP
13.0 MP
Installed RAM (GB)
2.0 GB
3.0 GB
1.5 GB
2.0 GB
3.0 GB
Screen Size(Diagonal)
5.5 inch
5.0 inch
5.0 inch
5.5 inch
5.0 inch
Front Webcam Resolution
5.0 MP
8.0 MP
5.0 MP
5.0 MP
8.0 MP
Processor Type
Quad-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53
Quad-core 2.3 GHz, Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400
Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53
Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 & Dual-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A72
Quad-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53
Battery Capacity
3630.0 mAh
2525.0 mAh
2600.0 mAh
4000.0 mAh
2500.0 mAh
Operating System
Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop), planned upgrade to v6.0 (Marshmallow)
Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop)
Android OS, v5.1 (Lollipop)
Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop)
Android OS, v5.1 (Lollipop)

The Moto X Play is the balancing act between the Moto G and Moto X Style with a tendency to aim high instead of settle for less.

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It is hard to believe that a $250 phone can look so good.

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The Samsung Galaxy J5 is a fine budget smartphone.

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The Redmi Note 3 is a thoughtfully targeted device with a premium metal build, flagship-grade specs, and an iconic MIUI launcher.

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The Oppo F1 is a neat phone, particularly if you're after something that'll keep you away from pricey contracts.

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Buying Tips for picking Smartphones under $300

The best cellphones under $300 are some of the best smartphones in the market. Specifically looks for larger and crisper displays, great processing power and good camera support.

Your best at a sub-$300 price point are some of the latest Android phones. With the latest releases of the Android operation system, Google has optimized their software to run on phones with lower processing power also. Combined with the fact that phone hardware is becoming cheaper by the day, 2016 is probably the time when the sub-$300 smartphone has come of age and can probably offer you some of the most capable smartphones out there.

Mobiles under $300 offer some of the great features found in the best cellphones in the market today. These include larger and crisper displays (AMOLED etc) with super 5 inch screens and great resolutions in excess of 250 PPI. Also on the offer will be higher processing power with multiple cores. Expect the best smartphones under $300 for 2017 to routinely hit the quad core mark. Under 300 dollars is also a great price point to look for camera phones having single or dual LED flash for good quality photos.