Compare the best budget smartphones

The Motorola Moto G54 has a pretty compact 6.55-inch Full HD screen. The screen also supports HDR, so colors look vibrant. Because the screen refreshes 120 times per second, scrolling and animations look smooth. The Moto G54 has the smallest screen of these 3 smartphones. This allows you to easily control this Motorola smartphone with 1 hand.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 has the best screen of these 3 smartphones. This is mostly because the screen uses AMOLED technology, which ensures that colors look more lifelike. In addition, the screen refreshes 120 times per second. So images also look smooth on this device. The 6.67-inch screen is the largest of these 3 smartphones. That's why you can easily watch your favorite movies and series on the Redmi Note 12.

The Samsung A14 has a medium-sized 6.6-inch Full HD screen compared to the Moto G54 and Redmi Note 12. The screen of the Samsung A14 only refreshes 90 times per second. As a result, moving images look less smooth on this device. The screen of the A14 also doesn't have HDR support. This means that colors look don't look as good as on the other 2 smartphones.

This Motorola smartphone has 8GB of RAM and a powerful Mediatek Dimensity 7020 processor. This makes the Moto G54 suitable for demanding tasks, such as 3D games. Thanks to the high RAM, your apps open quickly and you can even use multiple apps at the same time.

This Xiaomi device also has 4GB RAM and a Snapdragon 685 processor. So this device is suitable for light tasks as well. You can scroll through your Instagram timeline or play Candy Crush on the Redmi Note 12, for example. This smartphone is less suitable for quickly switching between demanding apps.

The Galaxy A14 has a MediaTek Helio G70 processor and 4GB RAM. This makes the device suitable for basic use, so you can mainly use this device to make calls and send messages. The Samsung A14 isn't suitable for quickly switching between demanding apps.

The Motorola Moto G54 has the best cameras of these 3 budget smartphones. The 50-megapixel main camera has optical image stabilization. As a result, photos and videos look less blurry. In addition, it has the largest image sensor of these 3 smartphones. This means that the photos you take with the Moto G54 in the dark are also sharp and of high quality. You can record videos in Full HD resolution with the Moto G54.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 has a 50-megapixel main camera. The camera doesn't have image stabilization and the image sensor is smaller than that of the Moto G54. That's why you can record less sharp photos with the Redmi Note 12. On the back of this device, you'll find a wide-angle lens and macro lens. You can use these lenses to capture large building or photograph small objects from up close. With this Xiaomi budget smartphone, you can record videos in 4K resolution.

The camera quality of the A14 is lower than that of the Redmi Note 12. Other than that, the main cameras of these devices are identical. That means that you can take equally sharp photos with the Galaxy A14 and with the Xiaomi smartphone. With the Samsung A14, you can also record videos in Full HD resolution This affordable Samsung model has a wide-angle lens and a macro lens. The wide-angle lens of the A14 takes slightly less sharp photos than that of the Xiaomi device.

The Motorola Moto G60s has a large 5000mAh battery. On average, this smartphone lasts a whole day. The G54 supports a 15W charging power, which is fairly low. You can charge the battery of the G54 between 21 and 30% within 30 minutes. Motorola includes the 15W charger with the device.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 has a large 5000mAh battery. With normal use, you can use this device for an entire day. The Note 12 supports fast charging with a 33W power. Within 30 minutes, you can charge this device between 51 to 60%. The included 30W fast charger fully charges this device in about 1.5 hours.

Just like the other 2 budget smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy A14 has a large 5000mAh battery. That means that this device should also last a whole day. The Galaxy A14 supports fast charging with a 15W power. So you can charge this device as fast as Moto G54, but not as fast as the Redmi Note 12. Samsung also doesn't include a charger with the Galaxy A14, so you have to buy 1 separately.

The Motorola Moto G54 has Android 13 by default. It's expected to receive updates up to and including Android 14 in 2024. We don't expect the G54 to get any more updates after that, so Android 15 won't be available on this budget smartphone in the future. You can still use the device then, but you'll no longer have access to the latest functions. The G54 gets a security update every 3 months. We expect the last security update in September 2026.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 has Android 13. The update to Android 14 is expected somewhere in 2024. We expect the Redmi Note 12 to receive Android updates until 2026. The Redmi Note 11 gets a security update every 3 months. The last security update for this budget device is expected in April 2026.

The Samsung Galaxy A14 has Android 13, which is the latest version of this operating system when the A14 was released. We expect this device to receive 4 updates, so the A14 will also get Android 14, 15, and 16. In addition, the A14 gets security updates more often than the Motorola and Xiaomi budget smartphones. It gets security updates every month. The latest security update for this device is expected in March 2026.