Best iPhone Under £400 in 2026: The Models Actually Worth Buying
Under £400 doesn't buy a budget iPhone anymore. It buys a flagship — with an 18-month warranty and free next-day delivery.
Your phone's just died. Or the screen's gone. Or the contract's up and the upgrade quote made you laugh out loud. Whatever brought you here, you've got a number in your head — £400 — and you want an iPhone that doesn't feel like a compromise.
Here's the good news, and it's genuinely better than most people expect: £400 doesn't buy you a budget iPhone in 2026. Buy refurbished, and it buys you a flagship iPhone — a Pro model, even. The exact same phone that cost someone £999 a couple of years ago, tested, restored, and sold for a fraction of the price.
Let's cut to it.
The short answer
| You want… | Get this | From (Zextons) |
|---|---|---|
| The best all-rounder | iPhone 14 | £269.99 |
| The best camera | iPhone 13 Pro | £309.99 |
| A big screen | iPhone 14 Plus | £349.99 |
| Pro features, less money | iPhone 12 Pro Max | £319.99 |
| The smartest value pick | iPhone 13 | £229.99 |
| The cheapest iPhone that's still good | iPhone 12 | £159.99 |
Prices are "from" prices and depend on storage and cosmetic grade. Check the live product page for today's price.
Now here's why each one earns its place.
1. iPhone 14 — the best iPhone under £400 for most people
£849 new From £269.99
If you want one recommendation and nothing else, it's this one.
The iPhone 14 gives you a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display, a genuinely excellent dual camera, all-day battery, and — the underrated bit — Crash Detection and Emergency SOS via satellite. It's a modern iPhone in every way that matters day to day. It runs current iOS, it'll keep getting updates for years, and it doesn't feel like an old phone in your hand.
New, it launched at £849. Refurbished at Zextons, it starts at £269.99. That's not a small saving — that's a different category of purchase.
Buy it if: you want a current-feeling iPhone and you'd rather bank the leftover £130 than spend it.
Shop the iPhone 14 →
2. iPhone 13 Pro — the best camera under £400
£949 new From £309.99
This is the one for people who actually care about photos.
The 13 Pro brings the full Pro camera system: telephoto lens, ultra-wide, ProRAW, Night mode on every lens, and macro. It also has the 120Hz ProMotion display, which is the single biggest "this feels expensive" upgrade you can get — once you've scrolled on a 120Hz screen, going back is genuinely painful.
At £309.99, you're getting a phone that cost £949 new. Stainless steel frame, Pro cameras, ProMotion, all comfortably inside budget.
Buy it if: you take a lot of photos, or you just want your phone to feel premium.
Shop the iPhone 13 Pro →
3. iPhone 14 Plus — the best big screen under £400
From £349.99
Big screen, enormous battery. That's the pitch, and it's a good one.
The 14 Plus takes everything from the iPhone 14 and stretches it to 6.7 inches, with the kind of battery life that gets you through a long day without thinking about it. If you watch a lot on your phone, or you just want the text bigger, this is the pick. From £349.99.
Buy it if: you'd have bought a Max model if it weren't for the price.
Shop the iPhone 14 Plus →
4. iPhone 12 Pro Max — the most phone for the money
£1,099 new From £319.99
Want the biggest, most premium hardware your £400 can stretch to? The 12 Pro Max is a 6.7-inch flagship with a triple camera system, LiDAR, and a build that still feels top-tier. It launched at £1,099. It's now £319.99.
It's an older chip than the 14, so think of this as the "maximum specs" pick rather than the "most future-proof" one.
Buy it if: you want big-phone flagship hardware and you're not chasing the newest chip.
Shop the iPhone 12 Pro Max →
5. iPhone 13 — the value sweet spot
From £229.99
Here's the one we quietly recommend to friends.
The iPhone 13 has the A15 Bionic chip — the same generation as the 13 Pro — plus a great main camera, excellent battery life, and full support for current iOS features. It costs £229.99. That leaves you well over £150 of your budget unspent, and you'd struggle to feel the difference day to day.
Buy it if: you're the sort of person who hates overpaying on principle. (We approve.)
Shop the iPhone 13 →
6. iPhone 12 — the cheapest iPhone we'd genuinely recommend
From £159.99
At £159.99, the iPhone 12 is the floor of "still a proper modern iPhone." 5G, OLED display, solid dual camera, still receiving iOS updates. If your budget is really the ceiling and not the target, start here.
(Tighter still? The iPhone SE 2022 starts at £109.99 and the iPhone XR at £119.99 — but you're trading away screen quality and 5G to get there.)
Shop the iPhone 12 →"But is refurbished actually safe?"
Fair question. It's the one that stops most people, and it deserves a straight answer.
A refurbished phone isn't a second-hand phone. Second-hand means someone sold you their old phone as-is, untested, no warranty, fingers crossed. Refurbished means it's been through a lab.
At Zextons, every iPhone goes through a 70+ point diagnostic check before it's listed. Battery, screen, cameras, speakers, buttons, ports, sensors, network unlock — all of it tested, all of it fixed or replaced if it fails.
Specifically, here's what you're protected by:
18-month warranty
Six months longer than the warranty you'd get on a brand-new phone.
Minimum 85% battery health
Guaranteed. If it doesn't pass, we replace the battery.
30-day free returns
Don't love it? Send it back, get your money back.
Unlocked and SIM-free
Works on EE, O2, Vodafone, Three, giffgaff, VOXI, whoever you like.
Honest grading
Pristine, Very Good, or Good. We tell you exactly what the phone looks like before you buy. (Pro tip: if you use a case anyway, "Good" is where the real savings hide.)
The bit nobody mentions: you're also doing the planet a favour
Every refurbished phone bought instead of a new one keeps a working device out of landfill and avoids the raw material extraction and emissions of building a new one. The UK throws away over a million tonnes of e-waste a year. Buying refurbished is one of the genuinely easy ways to not contribute to that — and we plant a tree with every order, too.
You save money. Less stuff gets dug out of the ground. Nobody loses.
Need it now? Here's how fast this goes.
If you're reading this because your phone died this morning, this is the part that matters:
- Free next-day UK delivery — order today, it's with you tomorrow.
- Klarna and Clearpay — spread the cost if £270 in one go isn't happening this week.
- Free protection bundle on eligible phones — case and screen protector included, so you're not immediately spending another £30.
- Charging cable, SIM tool and SIM card in the box.
No contract. No credit check drama. No two-week wait.
So — which one?
If you want us to just decide for you: buy the iPhone 14 at £269.99. It's the best balance of price, performance, camera and longevity under £400, and the leftover budget covers a case, a screen protector and a decent power bank with change to spare.
If photos matter more than anything, spend the extra £40 on the iPhone 13 Pro.
Either way, you're getting a flagship iPhone, an 18-month warranty, and it lands on your doormat tomorrow.
Shop refurbished iPhones under £400 →FAQs
What's the best iPhone under £400 in the UK?
The refurbished iPhone 14 (from £269.99) is the best overall pick for most buyers. For camera quality, the iPhone 13 Pro (from £309.99) is the better choice.
Is it worth buying a refurbished iPhone?
Yes — provided you buy from a retailer that tests and warranties the device. Zextons refurbished iPhones come with an 18-month warranty, 85%+ battery health and 30-day returns, which is more cover than a brand-new phone gets.
Will a refurbished iPhone work with my network?
Yes. Our refurbished iPhones are unlocked and SIM-free, so they work with any UK network.
Can I pay in instalments?
Yes — Klarna and Clearpay are both available at checkout.
How fast is delivery?
Free next-day delivery across the UK.