Dumb phones and low-tech phones
A dumb phone calls, texts and not much else. That's the point. Every phone below is sold in the US, and once you pick your network we only show the ones we've confirmed can make calls on it.
14 of 14 phones
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TCL Flip 3
A cheap flip phone sold by Verizon's prepaid brands, with Google Maps, a hotspot, email, an SOS button and a headphone jack. WhatsApp is no longer available on KaiOS.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Maps
- Battery: up to 17 days on standby
from $29.99
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Cricket Debut Flex
Cricket's cheap flip phone, with Google Maps, a hotspot, FM radio, a music player and a headphone jack. WhatsApp is no longer available on KaiOS.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Maps
from $59.99
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Lively Jitterbug Flip3
Lively's flip phone for older users, with an urgent-response button and a headphone jack. It's for calls and texts: no apps, browser, hotspot or maps.
- Flip
- No app store
- Battery: up to 12 hours of talk
from $59.99
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TCL Classic
AT&T's own cheap flip phone, with a hotspot, email, a browser, a music player and a headphone jack. No app store or maps.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Battery: up to 15 days on standby
from $74.99
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IRIS Easy Flip 2
Consumer Cellular's easy flip phone for calls and texts, with FM radio and a headphone jack. No apps, browser, hotspot or maps.
- Flip
- No app store
- Battery: up to 12 days on standby
from $89.99
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TCL Flip 4 5G
A 5G flip phone sold by T-Mobile and Metro, with Google Maps, a hotspot, email, FM radio and a headphone jack. WhatsApp is no longer available on KaiOS.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Maps
- Battery: up to 15 days on standby
from $119.99
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Kyocera DuraXA Equip
A rugged flip phone with an emergency key, a hotspot, email, FM radio and a music player. No app store.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Battery: up to 16 days on standby
from $215.99
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Kyocera DuraXV Extreme+
A rugged flip phone sold by Verizon for work, with a hotspot, email, FM radio, a music player and programmable emergency and push-to-talk keys. No app store or maps.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Battery: about 2 days of use
from $250
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Sonim XP3plus 5G
A tough, waterproof-style flip phone with an emergency key, a hotspot and a headphone jack.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Battery: up to 11 days on standby
from $259.99
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Sunbeam F1 Pro Aspen
A rugged flip phone with no browser or app store, but with Waze navigation, a hotspot, a music player and a headphone jack.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Maps
- Battery: 1–2 days of use
from $359
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Sonim XP5plus 5G
A tough 5G keypad phone with an emergency key, push-to-talk, a hotspot, email and a music player. No app store.
- Bar
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Battery: up to 22 days on standby
from $374.99
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Sunbeam F1 Pro Juniper
Sunbeam's rugged flip phone with email added: no browser or app store, but with Waze navigation, a hotspot and a music player.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Maps
- Battery: 1–2 days of use
from $389
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Mudita Kompakt
An E Ink minimalist phone with offline maps, a music player, hotspot and a headphone jack. No browser or app store, though Android apps can be sideloaded.
- Touch
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Maps
- Battery: up to 6 days on standby
from $399
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Punkt MP02
Punkt's buttons-only phone for calls and texts, which can also share its internet as a hotspot. It can't install apps.
- Bar
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Battery: up to 7 days on standby
Out of stock. Get notified by Punkt. (punkt.ch)
from $299
What is a dumb phone?
A dumb phone, also called a basic phone, feature phone or low-tech phone, is a mobile phone without the app store, feeds and endless notifications of a smartphone. Most have physical buttons and a small screen, and many have a battery that lasts for days rather than hours.
People buy them to cut down on screen time, as a cheap backup phone, for children and older relatives, or for places where a smartphone would get broken or lost.
What to check before you buy
Whether it can make calls on your network. Mobile networks are switching off their older 3G and 2G services, and many simple phones can only make calls over 4G on networks that have approved them. We check this for you: pick your network above.
Whether it has the few extras you can't do without. Some dumb phones have WhatsApp, maps or a Wi-Fi hotspot so a laptop or tablet can share their internet; most don't. Use the "Must have" boxes to narrow the list.
More guides
How we check · Which phones make calls on which network · Networks in the US