These phones give you the most battery life per dollar

Phones have improved in pretty much every way over the past 20 years. Well, apart from in one area: battery life.

Yep, the days when you could expect your phone to last you a week without a full charge are long gone. Now, you’re lucky if you get a full 24 hours out of one.

There are phones (like this Energizer unit) that have huge batteries, but these normally come at a high price. Here at TNW, we’re not about that.

So, to help you out, we’ve done some detective work and found the phones that’ll give you the most battery life for the least amount of money. In other words, we’ve ranked the phones that’ll give you the most minutes of use per dollar you spent on them. Before we reveal the winners though…

…we have to tell you about the methodology

Webinar: Unicorn DNA: The Blueprint for Scaling Success

What does it take to build a unicorn? On November 19, 3pm CET, top executives of unicorn companies will reveal the mindset, strategies, and innovative thinking that propelled their companies to the top.

Our first step was finding phones with huge batteries. Some of this information we got from GSMArena, while other bits we pulled manually from across the internet.

Then – in order to give you a dollars per minute of battery stat – we needed to find out how long the phones’ batteries would last. We settled on web browsing time as the base metric, as that cropped up most regularly. We pulled these figures from the aforementioned GSMArena, as well as Kimovil. And to find the price? We used Amazon.

A little disclaimer before we begin: this data is pulled from different locations, so it’s not a rigorously tested, comprehensive list. But it is fun, so what can you do?

Let’s get into it!

#5: Ulefone Power 3s

Web browsing time: 1620 minutes

Price: $223

Minutes of battery per dollar: 7.3

Have I ever used an Ulefone device? Nope. Had I even heard of the company? Barely. But am I impressed with 7.3 minutes of use for every dollar I spend on the device? You betcha, pal!

Find out more

#4: Vernee Thor Plus

Web browsing time: 1440 minutes

Price: $195

Minutes of battery per dollar: 7.4

Ohhh, this was a close one. The Vernee Thor Plus edges out the Ulefone by 0.1 of a minute. Truly, a photo finish.

The only other thing I have to say about this phone is I like the name; the Thor Plus evokes the exact feelings I want from a mobile – Nordic gods, maths, and toxic masculinity. Mmm.

Find out more

#3: Nokia 2

Web browsing time: 866 minutes

Price: $97

Minutes of battery per dollar: 8.9

Goddamn, I’m so happy Nokia made it onto this list. Some of my earliest (phone-related) memories involve indestructible Nokia hardware that would only need charging with the rise of the blood moon.

While a paltry 866 minutes of battery life isn’t as impressive as some of the previous phones, the Nokia 2 makes it up with a very reasonable price. For that, we salute you.

Find out more here

#2: DOOGEE BL7000

Web browsing time: 1620 minutes

Price: $132

Minutes of battery per dollar: 12.3

It doesn’t surprise me one bit that DOOGEE has a phone in this race. The company is renowned for wacky devices and while the BL7000 isn’t as wild as its modular phone, it sure does have a lot of battery.

What’s interesting is there’s a massive jump between third and second place when it comes to minutes of battery per dollar, with the DOOGEE scoring a full 3.4 more than the Nokia 2.

We are blessed, people, blessed.

Honorable mentions

What, did you think we were going to just show you the number one device straight after two? What do you take us for? A bunch of amateurs? Get outta here!

For ease, we’re going to abbreviate “minutes of battery per dollar” to MoBpD in this list. Mainly because it looks cool.

#10: Nokia 5 with a MoBpD of 5.3
#9: Samsung Galaxy S6 Active, also with a MoBpD of 5.3
#8: CUBOT King Kong 3 with a MoBpD of 6.5
#7: Blackview BV9500 with a MoBpD of 6.6
#6: Motorola Moto E5 Plus, also with a MoBpD of 6.6

But, the winner, the big dog, the phone with the greatest MoBpD we could find is…

#1: Innos D6000

Web browsing time: 1440 minutes

Price: $110

Minutes of battery per dollar: 13.1

Take a bow! Take a goddamn bow, Innos! Woo! What an accolade, now, come on, wipe the confetti off you, that’s right. Do you have any words to say? No? Well, we’ll say it for you: the Innos D6000 delivers the most minutes of battery life per money spent on the phone. Aren’t you happy you know it?

Find out more

There we have it, the greatest guide comparing phone cost to battery life that’s ever existed. Ugh, we’re good.

This post includes affiliate links to products that you can buy online. If you purchase them through our links, we get a small cut of the revenue.

TNW Conference 2019 is coming! Check out our glorious new location, inspiring lineup of speakers and activities, and how to be a part of this annual tech bonanza by clicking here.

Story by Callum Booth

Callum Booth is a freelance journalist with over a decade of experience. Previously, he was the Managing Editor of TNW, where his reporting (show all) Callum Booth is a freelance journalist with over a decade of experience. Previously, he was the Managing Editor of TNW, where his reporting was cited widely, including in VICE, the FT, and the BBC. Callum’s writing has appeared in The Verge, The Daily Telegraph, Time Out, and many more. He covers the full spectrum of technology, with a particular focus on how it shapes our daily lives. And a lot of regulation stuff too. Outside of work, Callum’s an avid bookworm, a Fisherman’s Friends addict, and resolutely unshaven. Follow him on Twitter @CallumBooth or visit www.callumbooth.net.