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Best phones under $600 for students (2026)

US list prices up to about $600. Ranked for students. Editorial scores, MSRP bands, and links to full guides—no sponsored picks.

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Top picks

Top pick

Galaxy F56 5G

$359–$593

The Galaxy F56 5G (2025) — a Samsung phone in the budget tier with editorial scoring for camera, battery, performance, display, and value.

Catalog label: Upper middle

Galaxy F56 5G guideCompare Galaxy F56 5G vs Galaxy F56 5G (Unlocked)
Strong alternative

Galaxy F56 5G (Unlocked)

$359–$467

The Galaxy F56 5G (Unlocked) (2025) — a Samsung phone in the budget tier with editorial scoring for camera, battery, performance, display, and value.

Catalog label: Upper middle

Galaxy F56 5G (Unlocked) guideCompare Galaxy F56 5G (Unlocked) vs Galaxy F56 5G
Also consider

Galaxy M56 5G

$379–$699

The Galaxy M56 5G (2025) — a Samsung phone in the budget tier with editorial scoring for camera, battery, performance, display, and value.

Catalog label: Upper middle

Galaxy M56 5G guide

Side-by-side: Galaxy F56 5G vs Galaxy F56 5G (Unlocked) →

Why these phones?

We start from every device in our catalog with validated US MSRP bands, apply your filters, then rank using the same 1–10 category scores documented in our methodology. “Top pick” is the highest composite for this page’s intent—not a paid placement.

Full ranked list

S5

Galaxy F56 5G

Samsung · 2025

$359–$593
Upper middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy F56 5G (Unlocked)

Samsung · 2025

$359–$467
Upper middle
BatteryDisplay
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S5

Galaxy M56 5G

Samsung · 2025

$379–$699
Upper middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy M56 5G (Unlocked)

Samsung · 2025

$379–$474
Upper middle
BatteryDisplay
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M(

Moto G Power 5G (2025)

Motorola · 2025

$299–$344
Bottom quartile
BatteryDisplay
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O1

OnePlus 12R

OnePlus · 2024

$499–$883
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
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G9

Pixel 9a

Google · 2025

$499–$849
Top quartile
CameraBattery
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G(

Pixel 9a (Unlocked)

Google · 2025

$499–$649
Top quartile
CameraBattery
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XP

POCO F7 Pro

Xiaomi · 2025

$549–$911
Top quartile
PerformanceBattery
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X1

Xiaomi 14T

Xiaomi · 2024

$549–$911
Top quartile
CameraBattery
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G8

Pixel 8a

Google · 2024

$499–$883
Upper middle
CameraBattery
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G(

Pixel 8a (Unlocked)

Google · 2024

$499–$599
Upper middle
CameraBattery
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O5

OnePlus Nord 5

OnePlus · 2025

$449–$786
Upper middle
BatteryPerformance
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O1

OPPO Reno 13

OPPO · 2025

$499–$747
Upper middle
BatteryPerformance
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X(

POCO X 5 (2023)

Xiaomi · 2023

$299–$359
Upper middle
BatteryPerformance
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X(

POCO X 5 (2024)

Xiaomi · 2024

$349–$608
Upper middle
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X(

POCO X 5 (2025)

Xiaomi · 2025

$399–$724
Upper middle
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X(

POCO X 6 (2023)

Xiaomi · 2023

$299–$329
Upper middle
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X(

POCO X 6 (2024)

Xiaomi · 2024

$349–$608
Upper middle
BatteryPerformance
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X(

POCO X 6 (2025)

Xiaomi · 2025

$399–$724
Upper middle
BatteryPerformance
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X(

POCO X 7 (2023)

Xiaomi · 2023

$299–$359
Upper middle
BatteryPerformance
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X(

POCO X 7 (2024)

Xiaomi · 2024

$349–$635
Upper middle
BatteryPerformance
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X(

POCO X 7 (2025)

Xiaomi · 2025

$399–$666
Upper middle
BatteryPerformance
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XP

POCO X7 Pro

Xiaomi · 2025

$399–$695
Upper middle
BatteryPerformance
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RP

realme 14 Pro+

Realme · 2025

$449–$786
Upper middle
CameraBattery
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XP

Redmi Note 14 Pro+

Xiaomi · 2025

$499–$883
Upper middle
CameraBattery
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S(

Galaxy A 15 (2024)

Samsung · 2024

$379–$671
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 15 (2025)

Samsung · 2025

$429–$761
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 15 (2026)

Samsung · 2026

$479–$857
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 25 (2024)

Samsung · 2024

$379–$671
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 25 (2025)

Samsung · 2025

$429–$792
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 25 (2026)

Samsung · 2026

$479–$857
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 35 (2024)

Samsung · 2024

$379–$615
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 35 (2025)

Samsung · 2025

$429–$670
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 35 (2026)

Samsung · 2026

$479–$725
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 45 (2024)

Samsung · 2024

$379–$699
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 45 (2025)

Samsung · 2025

$429–$700
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 45 (2026)

Samsung · 2026

$479–$857
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 55 (2024)

Samsung · 2024

$379–$699
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 55 (2025)

Samsung · 2025

$429–$731
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 55 (2026)

Samsung · 2026

$479–$725
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 56 (2024)

Samsung · 2024

$379–$643
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 56 (2025)

Samsung · 2025

$429–$792
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A 56 (2026)

Samsung · 2026

$479–$725
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S5

Galaxy A34 5G

Samsung · 2023

$349–$661
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A34 5G (Unlocked)

Samsung · 2023

$349–$401
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S5

Galaxy A35 5G

Samsung · 2024

$399–$753
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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S(

Galaxy A35 5G (Unlocked)

Samsung · 2024

$399–$439
Lower middle
BatteryDisplay
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Showing top 48 of 144 matches—refine with links above or browse all phones.

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