Gone are the days when you had to shell out over Rs. 30,000 to get a good smartphone. Now, you can even get a decent phone under Rs. 15,000 and if you are willing to spend slightly more, then the sub-Rs. 20,000 price bracket has some really impressive devices that can hold their own against much pricier phones. The likes of Motorola, Oppo, Realme, Samsung, Vivo, and Xiaomi have released some good phones over the last one year that have made their way to our top picks for best phones under Rs. 20,000.
As always, every phone that we are recommending below has gone through our rigorous testing process. To keep things simple, all phones that we are suggesting are priced between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 20,000. If your budget falls below Rs. 15,000, check out our updated guide on best phones under Rs. 15,000, or you can spend more than Rs. 20,000, keep an eye out for our upcoming updated guide on best phones under Rs. 25,000.
Best phones under 20,000
| Phones under Rs. 20,000 | Gadgets 360 rating (out of 10) | Price in India (as recommended) |
|---|---|---|
| Redmi Note 8 Pro | 8 | Rs. 17,999 |
| Poco F1 | 8 | Rs. 18,999 |
| Realme XT | 8 | Rs. 18,999 |
| Samsung Galaxy A50 | 8 | Rs. 18,490 |
| Nokia 7.2 | 8 | Rs. 19,599 |
| Realme X | 9 | Rs. 19,999 |
| Oppo K3 | 9 | Rs. 19,990 |
| Motorola One Vision | 8 | Rs. 19,999 |
| Xiaomi Mi A3 | 8 | Rs. 15,999 |
| Vivo Z1 Pro | 8 | Rs. 17,990 |
Redmi Note 8 Pro
One of the latest additions to this list of best phones under Rs. 20,000, the Redmi Note 8 Pro is Xiaomi’s new king of the popular Note-series. Even though Xiaomi has opted for MediaTek’s largely untested Helio G90T processor over a Snapdragon SoC, we found the phone to be a capable performer and it didn’t show any signs of lag or shutter, even with heavy load. The phone’s 4,500mAh battery also offers decent backup and Redmi Note 8 Pro lasted 14 hours in HD video loop test.
The quad rear camera setup on the phone captures sharp photos with good detail in daylight. Even in low-light situations, the Redmi Note 8 Pro manages to capture decent amount of detail but we did notice fine grain on zooming in. The wide-angle shots, however, lack the detail offered by the primary shooter. The macro camera doesn’t disappoint and the front camera performance is also decent and it manages to take sharp selfies in good light conditions.
Xiaomi sells three storage variants of the Redmi Note 8 Pro in the country – 6GB + 64GB, 6GB + 128GB, and 8GB + 128GB. We suggest going for the top-end variant to get the best performance.
Poco F1
Even though Poco F1 (Review) is over a year old, it continues to be a great value-for-money smartphone, thanks to the multiple price cuts it has received over the last few months, and it now finds itself in this list of best mobiles under Rs. 20,000. The presence of Qualcomm’s 2018-flagship SoC – Snapdragon 845 – guarantees lag-free experience, no matter what you throw at it. The software tweaks made by Poco team in MIUI for the Poco F1 also help with the performance.
The Poco F1 display offers vivid colours and has good viewing angles. Battery life is another department where the Poco F1 excels and the phone managed to last 17 hours and 5 minutes in our HD video loop test. On the imaging front, Poco F1 takes photos with good detail in daylight and even the macro shots were sharp. The low-light photos turn out average and even the phone’s night mode is not much help.
There are three regular variants of the Poco F1 on sale in the country – 6GB + 64GB, 6GB + 128GB, and 8GB + 256GB. You can go for either of 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB variants.
Realme XT
Realme has been aggressively expanding its smartphone portfolio in India, but that hasn’t impacted the quality of its smartphones. Realme XT (Review) with its much touted 64-megapixel quad-camera setup is an example of that. The phone features a bright display that offers punchy colours and good sunlight legibility. It also offers good day-to-day experience with speedy multitasking.
The 64-megapixel camera captures detailed pixel binned shots as well as full 64-megapixel resolution images. The wide-angle camera and macro cameras also take good photos and are useful in specific situations. Additionally, the onboard selfie camera does a decent job. Like most Realme phones, the Realme XT also performs exceptionally on the battery front and the phone went on for 20 hours and 36 minutes.
Realme offers three storage variants – 4GB + 64GB, 6GB + 64GB, 8GB + 128GB. We recommend going for the 8GB + 128GB model if your budget permits.
Samsung Galaxy A50
Samsung’s updated Galaxy A-series is getting a lot of praise and rightfully so. The revamped Galaxy A lineup has some impressive phones and Galaxy A50 is one such device, and it’s this phone that finds a spot in this list of best mobile phones under Rs. 20,000. In our review of the phone, we found the Galaxy A50 to be a decent performer with lag-less day-to-day usage, however the spammy notifications are a bit of an issue.
The Super AMOLED panel on the Galaxy A50 shines and it is really crisp and vibrant. The colours pop without being oversaturated. On the imaging front, the triple rear camera setup of the phone takes good looking photos, however, the wide-angle photos suffer from major distortion. The low-light imaging performance of the phone is also decent. The Samsung smartphone ran for 14 hours and 59 minutes in our HD video loop test.
Samsung sells two variants of the Galaxy A50 in the country – 4GB + 64GB and 6GB + 64GB – however only the 4GB RAM variant is available in this price segment.
Nokia 7.2
Nokia 7.2 (Review) is another recent entrant in this list and one that you can consider for your next smartphone purchase if you have a budget of less than Rs. 20,000. The phone sports a premium design and has no issues handling day-to-day tasks. The battery performance of the phone is also decent and it managed to last 10 hours and 6 minutes in our HD video loop test. The real life performance of the battery is much better than what it achieved in our test.
Nokia 7.2’s main camera takes sharp photos with good amount of detail and dynamic range. The images did turn out to be oversaturated. The low-light images taken from the smartphone are underwhelming. As for selfies, the 20-megapixel snapper takes sharp photos under natural light and does a good job at preserving skin complexions and textures.
HMD Global is selling two storage variants in the country – 4GB + 64GB and 6GB + 64GB – and we recommend going for the 6GB RAM variant.
Realme X
Realme X is another Realme smartphone that you can consider in this price bracket. It is the company’s flagship smartphone until Realme debuts the X2 Pro. In our review, we found the smartphone to sport a premium-looking design. It also packs a screen that offers vivid and punchy colours. Additionally, Realme X is a capable performer and can easily perform the CPU-intensive tasks.
In terms of the cameras, Realme X can take good landscape shots under good lighting conditions with nice colours and decent amount of detail. The Realme X also does a good job with HDR, and dynamic range is good. Close-up as well as the low-light imaging performance of the smartphone are also decent.
In typical Realme fashion, Realme X is up to the task on the battery front and can easily delivery day-long backup. It ran for 14 hours and 28 minutes in our HD video loop test. All this makes the phone one of our picks in this list of best mobile phones under Rs. 20,000.
Realme sells two storage variant of the Realme X in the country – 4GB + 128GB and 8GB + 128GB – and we recommend going for the 8GB RAM variant for great performance.
Oppo K3
Oppo K3 shares a lot of things with Realme X, including the design and specifications. There are some differences but nothing major, hence both phones performed pretty much the same in our review. Because of its design similarities with Realme X, the Oppo K3 looks premium and comes with a screen that offers punchy colours and good brightness.
It is a good overall performer, and doesn’t disappoint on the battery front either. Oppo K3 lasted 14 hours and 46 minutes in our HD video loop test. There are some differences between the Realme X and Oppo K3 on the imaging front, and the latter can captures good landscape shots in daylight. The photos taken under artificial lighting also turn out good, however in low-lighting situations, Oppo K3 struggles with the details.
Oppo K3 can be purchased in 6GB + 64GB and 8GB + 128GB variant but we recommend going for the 8GB RAM variant.
Motorola One Vision
Motorola One Vision (Review) is one smartphone that you can consider if you prefer stock Android interface. Like most other Motorola One series phones, Motorola One Vision is also based on Google’s Android One platform. The smartphone sports an eye-catching design and if you don’t like gradient finishes, you will appreciate One Vision colour options. The presence of 21:9 aspect ratio screen is another highlight of the phone.
Motorola One Vision is a capable performer and the company’s choice to go for Exynos 9609 SoC has paid off. We did not come across any lag or stutters in our daily usage that involved heavy multitasking, playing games, and Web browsing. Motorola One Vision’s main camera takes some really beautiful photos with a tonne of detail and depth, however, the photos taken in daylight tend to be oversaturated. The phone also takes impressive macro shots as well as low-light photos.
The phone’s battery performance is decent and it will last the entire day for you on not-so-heavy usage. Motorola One Vision lasted 11 hours and 45 minutes in our HD video loop test.
Motorola sells just one variant of the One Vision with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage, and it’s one of our picks among the best mobile phones under Rs. 20,000.
Xiaomi Mi A3
Xiaomi’s Mi A3 (Review) is another phone that you can consider if you want a stock Android smartphone. The phone offers good performance without any lag or shuttering, however the comparably lower-resolution display won’t be up to everyone liking. You can see the pixilation while reading text on the phone’s AMOLED screen as the pixel density is less than 300ppi. The phone shines on the battery front though and it ran for 16 hours and 21 minutes in our HD video loop test.
On the camera front, the Mi A3 takes good daylight photos with ample amount of detail. The HDR functionality is a bit of a let-down as it tends to lift blacks a bit too aggressively. Taking macro shots is a task on Mi A3 as the phone takes a long time to focus. The phone is able to capture good shots in low-lighting situations as long as you are patient.
Xiaomi offers two storage variants of the Mi A3 – 4GB + 64GB and 6GB + 128GB – and we will recommend going for the 6GB RAM variant.
Vivo Z1 Pro
Vivo Z1 Pro (Review) was the Chinese smartphone maker’s first online-only smartphone and thanks to its overall performance, it is already a part of our best phones under Rs. 15,000 list, however if you have a higher budget than Rs. 15,000, you can go for the phone’s high-end variant that will enhance the performance of the phone, which is already quite good.
Battery life is one area where Vivo Z1 Pro really shines and the phone can easily last over a day and a half, even with extensive 4G usage, streaming some video, playing games, and take a number of photos. It lasted an impressive 18 hours and 32 minutes in our HD video loop test.
Vivo Z1 Pro also takes good photos with nice colours and a lot of detail. The images taken in low-light situations also turned out good with limited noise and decent colours.
Vivo offers three storage variants of the Z1 Pro – 4GB + 64GB, 6GB + 64GB, and 6GB + 128GB – and we will recommend going for the 128GB onboard storage variant.