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Best phones under $1000 for gaming (2026)

US list prices up to about $1000. Ranked for gaming. Editorial scores, MSRP bands, and links to full guides—no sponsored picks.

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Other guides

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Top picks

Top pick

Galaxy S25 Plus

$999–$1,494

The Galaxy S25 Plus (2025) — a Samsung phone in the flagship tier with editorial scoring for camera, battery, performance, display, and value.

Catalog label: Top quartile

Galaxy S25 Plus guideCompare Galaxy S25 Plus vs Galaxy S25 Plus (Unlocked)
Strong alternative

Galaxy S25 Plus (Unlocked)

$999–$1,249

The Galaxy S25 Plus (Unlocked) (2025) — a Samsung phone in the flagship tier with editorial scoring for camera, battery, performance, display, and value.

Catalog label: Top quartile

Galaxy S25 Plus (Unlocked) guideCompare Galaxy S25 Plus (Unlocked) vs Galaxy S25 Plus
Also consider

iPhone 15 Pro

$999–$1,559

The iPhone 15 Pro (2023) — a Apple phone in the flagship tier with editorial scoring for camera, battery, performance, display, and value.

Catalog label: Top quartile

iPhone 15 Pro guide

Side-by-side: Galaxy S25 Plus vs Galaxy S25 Plus (Unlocked) →

Why these phones?

We start from every device in our catalog with validated US MSRP bands, apply your filters, then rank using the same 1–10 category scores documented in our methodology. “Top pick” is the highest composite for this page’s intent—not a paid placement.

Full ranked list

SP

Galaxy S25 Plus

Samsung · 2025

$999–$1,494
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →
S(

Galaxy S25 Plus (Unlocked)

Samsung · 2025

$999–$1,249
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →
AP

iPhone 15 Pro

Apple · 2023

$999–$1,559
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
A(

iPhone 15 Pro (Unlocked)

Apple · 2023

$999–$1,149
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
AP

iPhone 16 Pro

Apple · 2024

$999–$1,559
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
A(

iPhone 16 Pro (Unlocked)

Apple · 2024

$999–$1,099
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
AP

iPhone 17 Pro

Apple · 2025

$999–$1,689
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
A(

iPhone 17 Pro (Unlocked)

Apple · 2025

$999–$1,299
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
O1

OnePlus 12

OnePlus · 2024

$799–$1,429
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →
X1

Xiaomi 15

Xiaomi · 2025

$799–$1,374
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →
X(

Xiaomi 15 (Unlocked)

Xiaomi · 2025

$799–$959
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →
SS

Galaxy S25

Samsung · 2025

$799–$1,319
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →
S(

Galaxy S25 (Unlocked)

Samsung · 2025

$799–$999
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →
O1

OnePlus 13

OnePlus · 2025

$829–$1,468
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →
XP

Xiaomi 15 Pro

Xiaomi · 2025

$999–$1,624
Top quartile
CameraPerformance
Scan this phone →
SP

Galaxy S24 Plus

Samsung · 2024

$999–$1,429
Top quartile
CameraBattery
Scan this phone →
S(

Galaxy S24 Plus (Unlocked)

Samsung · 2024

$999–$1,099
Top quartile
CameraBattery
Scan this phone →
AP

iPhone 15 Plus

Apple · 2023

$899–$1,559
Top quartile
BatteryPerformance
Scan this phone →
A(

iPhone 15 Plus (Unlocked)

Apple · 2023

$899–$989
Top quartile
BatteryPerformance
Scan this phone →
AP

iPhone 14 Pro

Apple · 2022

$999–$1,494
Top quartile
DisplayCamera
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RP

realme GT 7 Pro

Realme · 2025

$799–$1,429
Top quartile
BatteryPerformance
Scan this phone →
OP

OPPO Find X8 Pro

OPPO · 2024

$999–$1,559
Top quartile
CameraPerformance
Scan this phone →
SP

Galaxy S23 Plus

Samsung · 2023

$999–$1,689
Top quartile
CameraPerformance
Scan this phone →
S(

Galaxy S23 Plus (Unlocked)

Samsung · 2023

$999–$1,099
Top quartile
CameraPerformance
Scan this phone →
SS

Galaxy S24

Samsung · 2024

$799–$1,209
Top quartile
CameraPerformance
Scan this phone →
S(

Galaxy S24 (Unlocked)

Samsung · 2024

$799–$879
Top quartile
CameraPerformance
Scan this phone →
OX

OPPO Find X8

OPPO · 2024

$749–$1,259
Top quartile
CameraPerformance
Scan this phone →
vX

vivo X200

vivo · 2024

$829–$1,242
Top quartile
CameraPerformance
Scan this phone →
GP

Pixel 9 Pro

Google · 2024

$999–$1,624
Top quartile
CameraPerformance
Scan this phone →
G(

Pixel 9 Pro (Unlocked)

Google · 2024

$999–$1,199
Top quartile
CameraPerformance
Scan this phone →
A1

iPhone 15

Apple · 2023

$799–$1,319
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
A(

iPhone 15 (Unlocked)

Apple · 2023

$799–$879
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
A1

iPhone 16

Apple · 2024

$799–$1,429
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
AP

iPhone 16 Plus

Apple · 2024

$899–$1,499
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
A(

iPhone 16 Plus (Unlocked)

Apple · 2024

$899–$1,034
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
A(

iPhone 16 (Unlocked)

Apple · 2024

$799–$959
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
A1

iPhone 17

Apple · 2025

$799–$1,429
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
A(

iPhone 17 (Unlocked)

Apple · 2025

$799–$919
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
AA

iPhone Air

Apple · 2025

$899–$1,499
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
A(

iPhone Air (Unlocked)

Apple · 2025

$899–$1,079
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
AU

Zenfone 11 Ultra

ASUS · 2024

$899–$1,499
Top quartile
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
SV

Sony Xperia 5 VI

Sony · 2025

$999–$1,559
Upper middle
PerformanceDisplay
Scan this phone →
O1

OnePlus 12R

OnePlus · 2024

$499–$883
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →
XP

POCO F7 Pro

Xiaomi · 2025

$549–$911
Top quartile
PerformanceBattery
Scan this phone →
R6

realme GT 6

Realme · 2024

$599–$989
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →
X1

Xiaomi 14

Xiaomi · 2024

$699–$1,149
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →
X(

Xiaomi 14 (Unlocked)

Xiaomi · 2024

$699–$769
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →
XP

Xiaomi 14T Pro

Xiaomi · 2024

$699–$1,099
Top quartile
PerformanceCamera
Scan this phone →

Showing top 48 of 97 matches—refine with links above or browse all phones.

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