5 Cheaper Alternatives To The Google Pixel 10

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Shopping for a new smartphone can honestly be a bit of a headache with all the new devices coming out all the time. For a lot of people, the Google Pixel 10 is a top choice, and it’s easy to see why. It’s got a ton of great features and Google’s special software that makes everything feel seamless. However, it comes with a hefty $799 price tag.

The smartphone market is huge, and there are a lot of other options that might be a better fit for what you need. While the Pixel 10 is impressive, there are cheaper options that might suit your personal style or budget. Maybe you’d prefer a different operating system, a longer-lasting battery, a unique camera feature, or just something that doesn’t cost as much but still performs well.

There are some really solid smartphones that have their own unique perks and are great alternatives to the Google Pixel 10. Each of these phones has important features that make them stand out, highlighting how they compare to Google’s flagship. Whether you’re a tech nerd looking for a specific hardware advantage or someone who just wants the best deal without losing too many features, these phones are great alternatives to Google’s Pixel 10.

If you’re looking for a new phone that won’t break the bank, the Motorola Razr 2025 is a great, and at $599, it’s a more affordable choice compared to the Google Pixel 10. The Razr 2025 is very compact when closed, but it opens up to a large 6.9-inch AMOLED inner display with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. It also has a handy 3.6-inch pOLED outer screen that lets you use apps, so you can still run the essential apps every Android owner should always have installed.

Battery life on the Razr 2025 is pretty impressive. Its 4,500 mAh battery can last up to 24 hours. It also has decent charging speeds with 30W wired and 15W wireless charging. To be fair, the Pixel 10 does offer seven years of software updates, but the Razr 2025’s three years of support is still respectable.

While the Google Pixel 10 has the latest Tensor G5 chip and a triple-camera setup with 5x optical zoom, the Razr 2025 uses a MediaTek Dimensity 7400X chipset. This chip is capable of handling all your daily tasks and casual gaming. Its camera system, with a 50MP main lens and a 13MP ultrawide, works well in good lighting.

The Google Pixel 9a is a serious contender if you’re looking for a great phone without the high price tag of the Google Pixel 10. While it may be from the previous generation, it holds up today thanks to its price. The Pixel 9a launched at just $499, which is $300 cheaper than the Google Pixel 10’s starting price of $799.

Even with its lower price, the Pixel 9a still has an amazing display. In our review, we pointed out that the Pixel 9a has a 6.3-inch Actua pOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, which makes everything feel smooth and look vibrant. With a peak brightness of up to 2,700 nits, you won’t have any trouble seeing the screen even in direct sunlight.

When it comes to battery life, the Pixel 9a actually often beats its more expensive sibling. It has the largest battery of any Pixel so far at 5,100 mAh. The camera on the Pixel 9a is a major selling point and is widely praised for how good it is for a mid-range phone. It has a 48MP main sensor and a 13MP ultrawide camera, and it uses Google’s software to take sharp, balanced photos with excellent color and dynamic range. It also comes with many of Google’s advanced AI photo-editing tools like Magic Editor, Auto Frame, and Best Take.

The biggest win for the OnePlus 13R is its price. At just $599, it’s $200 cheaper than the Pixel 10. You might think you’re sacrificing a lot for that kind of savings, but you’re not. When it comes to performance, the OnePlus 13R is a beast for its price point. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which was a top-tier processor last year.

While the Pixel 10 uses Google’s Tensor G5 chip, Snapdragon chips, even from an older generation, often beat it in raw power, especially for gaming. In our review, we pointed out that the 13R has strong battery life and fast charging. It’s got a massive 6,000 mAh battery that can easily last two full days of moderate use. The OnePlus 13R supports 80W SuperVOOC wired charging, so you can get a 60% charge in half an hour. That’s way faster than the Pixel 10’s 30W wired charging.

The Pixel 10 has a triple-camera system with 5x optical zoom, but the OnePlus 13R’s 50MP main camera still takes colorful and detailed photos. It also has a vibrant 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

The Apple iPhone 16e starts at just $599, which is $200 cheaper than the Google Pixel 10’s price tag. To be fair, even with that lower price, you’re still getting Apple’s latest A18 chip, the same one in the regular iPhone 16. It does have one fewer GPU core, but it still delivers excellent performance for everything from daily tasks to heavy-duty games and all those new Apple Intelligence features without any lag.

Battery life is another huge plus for the iPhone 16e and one we mentioned in our review. Its battery can last even longer than the regular iPhone 16 and many other mid-range Android phones. Apple says it can do up to 26 hours of video playback. A lot of this improved battery life comes from Apple’s new, more power-efficient C1 modem.

As for the camera, it’s got a capable 48MP main camera with optical image stabilization. It takes great everyday photos and 4K video. While it doesn’t have the dedicated telephoto or ultrawide lenses that the Pixel 10 has, you can still get a 2x zoom by cropping the main sensor. The phone runs on the clean iOS 18 software, and you can expect long-term software updates for four to seven years, which is awesome for longevity.

If you’re on the hunt for a new phone, the Samsung Galaxy S25 is the best option here, especially compared to the Google Pixel 10. While the Pixel 10 is priced at $799, you can snag the Galaxy S25 for less, typically going for around $720. 

When it comes to performance, the S25 is an absolute beast, as we detailed in our review. It runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor, which delivers excellent performance. This means the S25 is great for demanding Android apps that you’d avoid on a budget phone. Samsung also improved the cooling with a larger vapor chamber.

The S25 comes with a 4,000 mAh battery and a vibrant 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a smooth 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,600 nits — great for using it outside in direct sunlight. The camera system is impressive, too, with a 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, and a 10MP 3x telephoto lens. The ProVisual Engine and new color science work together to give you more realistic tones and greater detail in your photos and selfies. On top of all that, Samsung now offers seven years of OS and security updates, which matches Google’s commitment to updates on the Pixel 10.

This list ranks phones based on their overall value. That comes from a combination of performance, camera quality, battery life, and unique features, all for their asking price. With the new Google Pixel 10 coming in at $799, every phone needed to be cheaper than that. The Google Pixel 10 is brand new, so there are a few older phones that are just as good or even better for a much lower price.

It was important that we knew enough about these phones to recommend them. Ultimately, all the phones on this list are solid choices because they hit that sweet spot of features that most people want. Even the phones that aren’t as strong, like the Motorola Razr 2025, are still great alternatives to the Google Pixel 10. Some phones listed just make a few bigger trade-offs in areas like camera performance, charging speed, or overall hardware to keep the price down.