Best unlocked phones in 2025

The best unlocked phones let you get whatever device you want while remaining free from carrier payment plans. Although you have to buy them upfront, you can then bring that unlocked handset to the best phone carrier for your needs.

Don’t worry if you want to switch carriers. It’s super easy to jump from one to another when you own an unlocked phone, especially if you're looking to shave your monthly cost with any of the best cheap phone plans out there. And the best part is, you don’t have to pay any early termination fees.

There have been a handful of new releases so far this year, including the Galaxy S25, OnePlus 13, and iPhone SE 16e. We're not yet halfway through the year yet, but we could see many more mid-range devices in the coming months that could shake things up.

While the best unlocked phones almost certainly support GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile, it’s best to look for devices that work with all the major U.S. providers, including Verizon. That way, you can freely choose to take your device to any carrier. Although, you can still technically unlock a carrier phone after it's been paid off, or after a period of time.

Also, it's worth knowing that many wireless carriers have policies about unlocking phones. Even though carrier phones are locked, you generally request them to be unlocked after a certain period of time. Other retailers, like Best Buy and Amazon, sell phones that are unlocked right out of the box.

Written by

Written by

John Velasco

I'm the senior editor for mobile at Tom's Guide, where I've been working since 2023. I've been covering mobile tech for 16 years in total, starting with old school feature phones and early smartphones powered by Palm OS and Windows Mobile. I'm a New Jersey native and keep up with the latest mobile tech.

The quick list

Here's a summary of the best unlocked phones you can buy right now based on our head-to-head testing of each phone. Although, the recent announcement of the iPhone 16 lineup will certainly change things. You can keep on scrolling to get more detail about their strengths and weaknesses, including snippets from our reviews.

The best unlocked phones you can buy today

Best unlocked phone overall

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The iPhone 16 is the latest entry in Apple’s staple smartphone lineup. This is one of those generational upgrades, especially in the camera and processor department because it some ways it's similar to the iPhone 16 Pro. That's because it shares the same new Camera Control button and Apple Intelligence features, but it also gains a refreshed ultrawide camera for proper macro photography and support for spatial photos and video.

You also get the A18 chip that's based on the new 3nm manufacturing process, which is a slightly less powerful than the A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro, but it still delivers outstanding gaming performance thanks to its support for ray-tracing. The iPhone 16 also makes a substantial improvement to its battery, easily beating out its predecessor by reaching over 13 hours on Tom's Guide's battery test. And for $799, the iPhone 16 is a great deal.

Read our full iPhone 16 review.

Best unlocked Android flagship

The OnePlus 13 continues to cement OnePlus' reputation as a worthy alternative to Samsung or Google if you're looking for an Android phone. The Snapdragon 8 Elite inside the phone delivers strong performance, while the 6.82-inch display is so bright that it's viewable in even the harshest conditions.

It's the cameras where OnePlus makes the biggest gains, with the OnePlus 13 leaning on new image processing algorithms and upgraded 50MP triple cameras to make it a best camera phone contender. The zooming performance is pretty outstanding, too, proving it's better than other telephoto cameras with longer optical zoom lenses.

Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 8 Elite proves it's one of the best around posting some of the best scores we've seen to date. There's also the power efficiency of this new chipset, which propels it to have the second longest run time in Tom's Guide's benchmark testing at 19 hours and 45 minutes. In contrast, the previous OnePlus 12 recorded a time of 17 hours and 41 minutes.

Read our full OnePlus 13 review.

Best cheap unlocked iPhone

The cheapest iPhone is now the iPhone 16e, which is often considered as the spiritual successor to the iPhone SE (2022). What's great about this new 'budget' iPhone is that it's a totally different breed because of the upgrades it's packing.

For a phone that costs $599, the iPhone 16e captures stunning photos with its single 48MP rear camera. Not only does it have a much improved night mode, but it leverage image processing techniques that give it an effective 2x zoom with optical-like quality.

The iPhone 16e also benefits from the same 6.1-inch OLED screen and Apple A18 chip found in the standard iPhone 16 — but it's the first iPhone to feature Apple's new C1 modem. Best of all, this cheaper iPhone has access to all the same Apple Intelligence features found with its pricier siblings.

Read our full Apple iPhone 16e review.

Best unlocked android value

All eyes are on the Google Pixel 8a, which sets the bar for all other mid-range phones. There were rumors that Google was going to increase its price, but it remained unchanged. That's fantastic news because it means even more value given what comes with the Pixel 8a's package.

Not only does it last longer on a single charge and has a much brighter Actua display, but the most compelling part about the Pixel 8a is that it adopts some of the AI features that were first introduced on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. They help save you time by streamlining tasks, all powered by its Tensor G3 chip. I can't tell you enough about how I use Magic Editor to edit my photos.

Furthermore, it offers the best software support in a mid-range phone because it's getting 7 years of major Android and security updates. And again, it's offering at the same price as last year's model.

Read our full Google Pixel 8a review.

Best unlocked Samsung flagship

At $799, the Galaxy S25 is the most affordable of Samsung's latest flagships. But even though you sacrifice some features for a lower price — the telephoto lens on the S25 isn't as powerful as the one on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, for example — AI features aren't one of them. The same new Galaxy AI features that work on Samsung's more expensive models are also available to the Galaxy S25, so you're not being short-changed on the marquee addition to this phone.

There are other improvements, courtesy of the Snapdragon 8 Elite powering the Galaxy S25. Performance tops some iPhone models, and battery life improves by 2 hours over what we measured with the Galaxy S24. The cameras on the Galaxy S25 continue to be top performers, and you'll enjoy its bright, colorful display.

One feature I happen to use religiously that I don't find in any other phone is the option for Samsung DeX, which gives me that desktop PC experience in my S25 when I connect it to a monitor.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 review.

Best unlocked Pixel phone

The Google Pixel 9 is one of the best Pixels Google has made thus far, offering a larger and brighter display complete with excellent camera quality and battery life that we didn't think was possible on a Pixel handset. In fact Google's added multiple hours onto the Pixel 9's battery life, which should easily be enough to get you through a typical day.

Google's also added an upgraded 48MP ultrawide angle camera lens, the AI-optimized Tensor G4 chipset, and an upgraded 12GB of RAM with dedicated memory just for on-device AI. It almost feels as though this is a secret Pro-tier Pixel, and the only thing it's missing is that optical zooming telephoto camera.

Read our full Google Pixel 9 review.

Longest unlocked battery life

The OnePlus 13R is proof that you don't need big bucks for a functional smartphone that goes above and beyond in several key areas. The best thing about this OnePlus mid-ranger is its multiday battery, as it lasted nearly 19 hours on our battery test. Plus, 80W wired charging means you can top off the battery quickly.

Cameras don't get as much of a compromise here due to how this mid-range phone goes beyond two cameras by opting for a triple camera setup complete with ultrawide and telephoto lenses. With its $599 starting price, it makes it very easy to grab the OnePlus 13R with just one upfront payment.

Read our full OnePlus 13R review.

Best unlocked phone under $200

The great thing about unlocked phones is that they cover all prices, including those on a budget. For under $200, the Moto G (2025) offers incredible value that lets you swap out your SIM very easily to use with other wireless carriers of your choice.

Most notable, it offers the longest battery life in a budget phone we've tested with a whopping time of 18 hours and 32 minutes on Tom's Guide's battery benchmark test. If that's not enough, this unlocked budget phone also has a charming design complete with vegan leather.

While the cameras prove decent, there are still compromises for choosing such a low cost unlocked phone — like its really dim display and less-than-ideal processing performance. If time isn't priority, it can still get the job done with its Dimensity 6300 chip.

Read our full Moto G (2025) review.

Best Unlocked foldable phone

Foldable phones still cost a premium, but the Motorola Razr 2024 is one of the few that most people could afford with its $699 cost — made more impressive for how it gets bigger upgrades over its predecessor.

There's an even larger, more usable outer display that can run full apps. Paired with its dual-camera setup, the Razr 2024 is the perfect vlogging camera because you can record video while seeing yourself through its outer screen. With its razor thin design, its 4,200 mAh battery delivers long lasting results that reach 14 hours and 37 minutes in our testing.

I love how you get all of that in a foldable phone that costs under $700.

Read our full Motorola Razr 2024 review.

How to choose the best unlocked phone for you

• Find a phone that works on your carrier: The vast majority of unlocked devices operate on GSM networks in the U.S. These include AT&T and T-Mobile, as well as discount carriers that run on those networks, such as Cricket Wireless, Metro by T-Mobile and Straight Talk. Some so-called multimode unlocked phones also work with CDMA carriers like Sprint and Verizon, such as all of Apple's iPhones, and the Google Pixel 4a.
• Make sure the coverage map fits your needs: In terms of coverage area, there's less discrepancy between networks than ever before, but there are still gaps, especially in less-populated areas. "Make sure [the phone you're buying] works on a carrier that offers good coverage in your area," advised Avi Greengart, research director for consumer platforms and devices at market research firm Current Analysis.
• Shop around, and don't be afraid to go used: Because some unlocked phone makers skip the carriers to sell their devices, they can often pass those savings onto you. However, don't be afraid to entertain buying one of the best used smartphones, as you can often find very tempting offers on previous-generation flagships from sites like Swappa, Decluttr and even Amazon for refurbished examples.

How we test unlocked phones

In order for a smartphone to make our best phone list, it needs to excel on several tests that we run on every handset. We perform some of these tests in our labs and some in the real world.

When it comes to performance, we rely on such synthetic benchmarks as Geekbench 5 and 3DMark to measure graphics performance. These tests allow us to compare performance across iPhones and Android devices. We also run a real-world video transcoding test on each phone using the Adobe Premiere Rush app and time the result. (We unfortunately have to skip this test on some phones due to app compatibility issues, but we attempt this benchmark with each device we get in to review.)

To measure the quality of a phone's display, we perform lab tests to determine the brightness of the panel (in nits), as well as how colorful each screen is (DCI-P3 color gamut). In these cases, higher numbers are better. We also measure color accuracy of each panel with a Delta-E rating, where lower numbers are better and score of 0 is perfect.

One of the most important tests we run is the Tom's Guide battery test. We run a web surfing test over 5G (or 4G if the phone doesn't have 5G support) at 150 nits of screen brightness until the battery gives out. In general, a phone that lasts 10 hours or more is good, and anything above 11 hours makes our list of the best phone battery life.

Last but not least, we take the best phones out in the field to take photos outdoors, indoors and at night in low light to see how they perform versus their closest competitors. We take shots of landscapes, food, portraits and more, and also allow you to be the judge with side-by-side comparisons in our reviews.