This is the best Samsung phone under $200 in 2026

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Suppose your Samsung phone is broken and you are broke. If Samsung is the phone brand you want to stick with and you only have $200, you don’t have many options. But if you buy unlocked, Samsung’s 2025 Galaxy A16 5G will be the newest and best phone you can get. The A16 is marketed as a mid-range phone, offering a 6.7-inch 1080p AMOLED display, 5,000 mAh battery, 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage and a 50 MP main camera. Samsung has also promised Android and security updates for the device through October 2030. Any remaining inventory quickly sells out, but Best Buy has Latin American units available for $170. The biggest tradeoff is that you’ll lose much of the support for the 4G and 5G bands compared to an A16 designed for North America, but you’ll still be able to use it with carriers compatible with the AT&T and T-Mobile networks.

It’s worth noting a sad irony in that the Galaxy A17 5G cost just $200 when it launched in January 2026, but then increased by $50, likely thanks in part to the ongoing crisis in the supply of memory and other technology components. If you’re considering an A17 anyway, the generational increase doesn’t offer much outside of an extra year of updates. That said, Amazon is selling used A17 phones for under $200 when they’re on sale.

If Samsung’s Galaxy A series isn’t for you, you can check out even older flagship stock. Used and refurbished Galaxy S22 and S22+ devices released in 2022 are available for less than $200 on Amazon, eBay and Swappa. You’ll definitely feel the difference made by the doubled base RAM and more powerful processor, even if you only handle daily multitasking. The series, however, has already received its last scheduled major operating system update – sorry, no One UI 9.0 for you – and it is expected to receive its final security patch this coming winter.

Those who are budget-conscious and able to switch carriers might consider Metro by T-Mobile’s deal on a Galaxy A37. This phone has similar specifications to the Galaxy A16 or A17, but with slight improvements in performance, camera and display. By purchasing online and providing your number, you can get the phone for free with a $40 monthly unlimited plan, but it’s worth noting that your data speeds will be slightly slower on average than other plans. Still, this deal is one of the few that isn’t tied to a service plan costing $50 or more per month. If that’s not enough for you, it might be worth considering phones from other companies in the sub-$200 price range.