{2021} Top 5 Best Smartphones Under ₹40000 in India

Friends, do you know there’s an interesting thing happening in 2021, Indian consumers have started to buy expensive phones. If you look at last year’s average buying price & compare it with this year. Then it has increased a lot. 

If you were buying a Rs 15-20K phone, then now must’ve started to buy a phone worth Rs 25-30K. And not just that, even smartphone brands have started to launch more expensive phones. The midrange phones that were launched more Eg) Realme, Xiaomi, even they’ve started to launch multiple premium phones.


Because the demands have increased and that’s the point of this post. In this post, I’ll talk about the best smartphones under Rs 40K. These phones were worth Rs 40-43K. And all these phones’ prices have been reduced by Rs 4-5K, & now you get them for Rs 35-37K. And generally, I pick out 5 such phones but in this list, we’ve added 6 phones, because all 6 of them are really good & I’ve ranked them but you can customize the ranking according to you too. And do let us know about yours & our rankings in the COMMENTS below. 

I’m going to give my justifications for it too. Basic Minimum Criteria - Should have a minimum Qualcomm SD870 or an equivalent 5G SoC, Should have 8GB RAM+128GB storage, a minimum of 4000mAh battery with fast charging support. 

Should have a good camera setup - 48MP/64MP/108MP. And shouldn’t have 2MP camera sensors. Like you get a primary camera & then 2MP+2MP dual/triple camera sensors will not work in this list After all, we’re paying around Rs 40K! Like I said before, the rankings would start with No. 6 to NO. 1, but there’s very little difference between all phones, And that’s why we had to include 6 phones in all. 

And even if you buy the NO. 5 / NO. 6 phone, you won’t go wrong. 

NO. 6 - Mi 11X Pro 

It has a big 6.67” 120Hz AMOLED screen! And for minimum criteria, the display should be AMOLED with a fast refresh rate. An IPS LCD screen won’t work in this price range! So the Mi 11X Pro has a 6.67” 120Hz AMOLED screen, has an SD888 SoC, 8GB RAM+128GB storage, a 4520mAh battery with 33W charging, a 108MP primary camera & that’s a highlight but if you look at the other 8MP+5MP, so it’s 108MP+8MP+5MP camera setup which is ok & it’s on NO.6 because it has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor despite being AMOLED. 

Its price is Rs 36,999 & if you buy during the sale, then you can get it for under Rs 35K. Friends, if you want a clean UI, then you won’t go wrong with this phone! 

NO. 5 - Moto Edge 20 Pro

I really liked this phone, it has a 6.7” 144Hz AMOLED screen. So for display, it’s right up there! And for performance, it has a Qualcomm SD870 5G SoC, which is very good! See the SD888 is good, but it heats more as for thermals. So I’ll say SD870 is very good & SD888 is good too, but you’ll have to worry about the thermals on it.

It’s on NO. 5 as it has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor but all other things like it have 8GB RAM+128GB storage, a 4500mAh battery with 30W charging. It comes with Android 11 out-of-the-box & it’ll get upgraded to Android 12. 

This one has a 108MP triple camera as well! So it’s 108MP+16MP+8MP so the Mi 11X Pro had 108MP+8MP+5MP this has 108MP+16MP+8MP. On the front, you get a 32MP selfie sensor & its price is Rs 36,999. According to me, it’s definitely at NO. 5. And if you want a clean UI experience, then I’d say it’ll come in the top 2, the moto Edge 20 Pro. 

Friends, the NO 4 & NO 3 phones might get interchanged & they aren’t camera-focused ones. If a camera is important to you, then don’t look at these(NO 3 & NO 4).

NO. 4 - Realme GT

It comes on Qualcomm SD888 SoC, but the biggest highlight is that it’s compact! In this price range, the phones are generally bulky but this one has a 6.4” 120Hz AMOLED screen, the Realme GT. It has an SD888 SoC, 8GB RAM+128GB storage, a 4500mAh battery with 65W fast charging. 

The back camera setup is ok with 64MP+8MP+2MP, so the GT series by Realme are focused on performance rather than cameras. So if you’re performance-oriented, then you can definitely look at it & its price is Rs 37,999 so it’s at NO 4 on my list. 

NO. 3 - realme GT Neo 2 5G

It’s recently launched! This comes with SD870 SoC, while the Realme GT comes with SD888. And remember, all the top 4 phones have an in-display sensor & that’s why they’re higher! The NO 4 & NO 6 phones had side-mounted fingerprint sensors. 

Realme GT Neo 2’s highlight is that you get 12GB RAM+256GB storage for Rs 35,999, the highest. So if RAM+ROM is very important to you, then it’ll definitely come at #1 because in this price range(under Rs 40K), you generally get 8GB+128GB, while this has 12GB RAM+256GB storage. 

In terms of the camera, since it’s a GT series phone, the camera is not its big highlight. The top 2 phones(NO 1 & NO 2), are higher ranked according to me because they’re all-rounder phones. All features/specifications of budget flagship/flagship phones are included in them. 

NO. 2 - iQOO 7 Legend 5G

It has a 6.62” FHD+ AMOLED screen, a Qualcomm SD888 SoC, an in-display fingerprint sensor, it has a 4000mAh battery which is a little less & so it’s on #2 but still it has a 66W fast charger & on the back, there’s a very good functional camera. So there’s performance, camera & fast charging too.

It’s camera is 48MP+13MP+13MP! There’s no 8MP/5MP/2MP sensors. This is a functional camera setup. On the front, there’s a 16MP selfie sensor & its price is Rs 39,990 but during sales/offers, you can get it around Rs 36-37K. And for that price, the iQOO 7 Legend 5G is definitely at NO 2. 

Friends, if someone still asks me that my budget is Rs 35-40K & which phone should I buy? Then I’d definitely suggest the OnePlus 9R 5G.

NO. 1 - OnePlus 9R 5G

It’s good in all ways! The display is very good, it’s a 6.55” FHD+ Fluid AMOLED display. In all these phones, in terms of display, the OnePlus 9R has the best display! It comes on Qualcomm SD870 SoC, 8GB RAM+128GB storage, a 4500mAh battery with 65W fast charging, it comes with OxygenOS 11 which is really clean.

According to me, OxygenUI is good & you get a clean experience. And in terms of camera, it has a 48MP+16MP+5MP+2MP quad-camera setup, it has an in-display fingerprint sensor. You get an optical stabilization in the cameras as well, in fact, both iQOO Legend 7 & this have optical stabilization in the cameras. 

So that’s another big plus point. And it’s on NO 1 because if you compare the price with iQOO 7 Legend, then its price is Rs 36,999. So it’s an all-round package for around Rs 36-37K & with offers, it comes around Rs 35K, & for that price, you get a whole lot! And that’s why the OnePlus 9R 5G is at NO 1 in my book. 

What would be your rankings? Do let me know in the COMMENTS & even if you have any suggestions do let me know as well. If you don’t agree with something then let us know. That’s all for this post, until the next one, Keep Trakin & Stay Safe!