Best Chinese Phones Under $500 and Where They Are Sold

If you are in the US, the short list is three phones from two companies: the Moto G Power 2026 at about $400, the Moto G Stylus 2026 at about $500 and the TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro at about $300. Motorola belongs to Lenovo and TCL began in Huizhou, and both run their own US stores.

The names most people mean by “Chinese phones”, Xiaomi, POCO, Honor and realme, do sell good phones under $500. They sell them in markets such as the UK and India. None of them sells phones through a US store of its own, and none says its phones work on US networks.

The 2021 version of this page listed the OPPO Reno 5 5G, the Xiaomi Mi 10T and three others. Those phones are five years old, so the list below is new. We have not handled any of these phones. The details are what each maker publishes.

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Chinese phones under $500, by maker’s price

Each price is from the maker’s own store in the country named. Pounds and rupees are converted at the European Central Bank’s reference rates, about $1.32 to the pound and ₹96 to the dollar. UK prices include VAT and US prices leave out sales tax, so the gap is smaller than it looks.

Chinese phones that work in the US

Moto G Power 2026, about $400

Lenovo bought Motorola in 2014 and said it would run it as a subsidiary with its headquarters in Chicago. That makes this the easiest Chinese-owned phone to buy in the US, and Motorola’s spec sheet names the carriers in full. AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and most of their cut-price offshoots are marked compatible.

Motorola lists a 6.8-inch Full HD+ LCD at 120Hz, a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chip, 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage with a microSD slot. The main camera is 50MP with optical stabilisation, beside an 8MP ultra-wide. The battery is 5,200mAh with 30W charging. It ships with Android 16, and the product page gives no number of future upgrades.

It is also tougher than its price suggests. Motorola rates it IP68 and IP69 and says it was tested against MIL-STD-810H, which puts it in our guide to rugged phones as the mainstream option. Moto G Power 2026 on Amazon

Moto G Stylus 2026, about $500

At $499.99 it is under the line by a cent. The extra $100 buys a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen in place of the LCD, a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip, 68W wired charging, 15W wireless charging and the stylus. The main camera is a 50MP Sony sensor with a 13MP ultra-wide. Battery, memory, storage, card slot and water rating match the G Power. Moto G Stylus 2026 on Amazon

TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro, about $300

TCL’s own history page says the company began in 1981 as TTK Home Appliances in Huizhou. Its US store sells this phone from about $300 with 128GB, about $330 with 256GB and about $360 with 512GB.

The point of it is the screen: a 6.9-inch Full HD+ LCD at 120Hz with TCL’s matte NXTPAPER finish. TCL lists a Dimensity 7300 chip, 8GB of memory, a 50MP stabilised main camera with an 8MP ultra-wide, a 5,200mAh battery, an IP68 rating and a microSD slot that takes up to 2TB. If the card slot matters to you, we keep a list of phones with expandable memory.

One caution. TCL’s page says Android 16, upgradable to Android 17, which is one upgrade. Its compatibility chart ticks AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon and crosses out Visible, Red Pocket and several regional carriers, so read the chart if yours is a smaller one. TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro on Amazon

OnePlus: leaving

OnePlus used to be the obvious answer here. In a notice on its US community site, the company says it has decided to end new product launches in North America, and a matching notice covers Europe. It says phones already sold keep getting the updates and security patches they were promised and that warranties stand.

Its US store now lists two phones, the OnePlus 15 at about $1,000 and the OnePlus 15R at about $700, and both are marked out of stock. There is nothing from OnePlus under $500 to buy there. If you find an older one at a retailer, weigh the price against a brand that has said it is not coming back.

Sold in the UK and India

POCO X8 Pro, £319

POCO phones are sold on Xiaomi’s own UK store. The spec sheet for this one lists a 6.59-inch AMOLED at 120Hz, a Dimensity 8500-Ultra chip that Xiaomi bills as flagship-class, a 50MP stabilised Sony main camera with an 8MP ultra-wide, a 6,500mAh battery, 100W charging and an IP68 rating. Xiaomi notes that no charger is in the box.

Redmi Note 17 Pro 5G, £359 or ₹36,999

The same name covers two different phones. Xiaomi’s UK version has an 8,340mAh battery and an IP66 and IP68 rating. The Indian version has a 9,000mAh battery, adds IP69 and IP69K, and comes with a 67W charger.

Both have a 6.83-inch AMOLED at 120Hz, a Snapdragon 6s Gen 4 chip and a 50MP stabilised main camera with an 8MP ultra-wide. Xiaomi promises six years of security updates, and its Indian page adds four years of Android upgrades.

HONOR 600 Lite, about £300

Honor’s UK store lists a 6.6-inch AMOLED at 120Hz, a 108MP main camera, a 6,520mAh battery and an IP66 rating. The full HONOR 600 above it is £499.99, about $660, which takes it out of this list.

In India: OnePlus and realme

The OnePlus notices cover North America and Europe. Its Indian site still carries the Nord 6, with a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip, a 9,000mAh battery and six years of security updates. OnePlus’s Indian store sells it at ₹46,999, about $490.

On realme’s Indian store the realme 16 Pro+ 5G is ₹53,999, about $560, so it misses.

Do Chinese phones work in the USA

The ones sold in the US do. For the rest, the makers make no promise, and their own pages show why you should be careful.

• There is no US shop. Xiaomi’s United States site lists wearables, smart home and lifestyle products and no phones. Honor’s US address forwards to its global site, and there is no US page on realme’s site.
• Versions differ by country. The Indian Redmi Note 17 Pro 5G lists seven 4G bands. Motorola’s US Moto G Power lists 25, including bands 2, 4, 12, 13, 66 and 71, none of which the Indian Redmi has.
• A band list is not a promise. The UK POCO X8 Pro does list bands 2, 4, 66 and 71. Xiaomi’s note under that list says 5G connectivity may vary with the region and with local operator support.

If one of these phones is offered to US buyers on a marketplace, the price is the seller’s, not the maker’s, and we have left such prices out. If you import one, match the band list of that exact model against your carrier’s before paying.

Which to pick

• In the US, one safe choice: the Moto G Power 2026. Named carriers, a card slot, a water and drop rating and a $400 price.
• In the US, spending the full $500: the Moto G Stylus 2026, for the AMOLED screen and faster charging.
• In the US, spending the least: the TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro, if one Android upgrade is enough.
• In the UK: the POCO X8 Pro for the chip Xiaomi calls flagship-class and 100W charging, or the Redmi Note 17 Pro 5G for the bigger battery and six years of security updates.
• In India: the Redmi Note 17 Pro 5G at ₹36,999, for the 9,000mAh battery, four Android upgrades and six years of security patches.

Quick answers

Which Chinese phone brands are sold in the USA?

Motorola, which Lenovo owns, and TCL both run US stores. OnePlus has said it will launch no more products in North America. Xiaomi, POCO, Honor and realme have no US phone store.

What is the best Chinese phone under $500 in the US?

The Moto G Power 2026 at about $400 for most people, because Motorola names the US carriers it works with. The Moto G Stylus 2026 at about $500 has the better screen.

What is the best Chinese phone under $300?

On US stores, the TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro at about $300. In the UK, Xiaomi’s store has the Redmi Note 17 5G at £249.

Do Xiaomi phones work in the US?

Xiaomi does not say so. It sells no phones on its US site, and its spec sheets warn that network support varies by region.

Prices and exchange rates move, so confirm on the maker’s store before you pay.