Smartphones under Rs. 10,000.

In the market for a new phone? There are a lot of great options these days that won't break the bank, as phones under Rs. 20,000 can genuinely be called flagship killers. But aside from that, there are also a great number of smartphones available at a reasonable budget that can still deliver good performance. Recently, we shared our list of the best phones priced under Rs. 15,000 and there are some great options there. But what if you're on a tighter budget? Here are our favourite phones that will cost you less than Rs. 10,000.

As always, there are a few caveats that must be made clear. For one thing, although there are some really good phones at this budget, you have to be open to some degree of compromise. It's very unlikely that you're going to get a phone that is excellent at everything, but we've picked only the phones that got a 7 on 10 or higher in our rankings. There are still quite a few phones, but we've been quite strict with price as well, so even a little north of Rs. 10,000 means that you don't make the list - though we do mention a few such phones at the bottom of the list. The same is true for the date cutoff - if a phone is more than six months old, it's not going to show up here.

In addition to that, we've restricted our recommendations to only phones that we have reviewed and put through all our standard tests. There are a few phones in this budget that haven't been reviewed yet for a number of possible reasons, and we've mentioned a couple of these below as well, if we've heard generally heard good things about the phone. With all of this in mind, take a look at our top picks for phones under Rs. 10,000.

1. Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
Another November launch, the Redmi Note 3 has a full-HD display, and is powered by 1.4GHz hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor and it comes with 2GB of RAM. It's one of the top rated phones at this price, with a particularly impressive display and battery life, but the camera could've been better.

2. Meizu M2
The Meizu M2 looks good and offers great value for money but the software can be a little complicated, and camera performance should have been better. On other fronts though, it performs well, helping it make the cut.

3. Coolpad Note 3 Lite
Launched in January, this 5-inch phone is powered by 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735 processor and it comes with 3GB of RAM. The phone packs 16GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB via a microSD card. It is one of the cheaper phones on the market to include a fingerprint sensor, and it also has good battery life. Charging takes a relatively long time though, so make sure you juice up the phone before leaving home.

4. Intex Cloud Flash
Launched in November, the Intex Cloud Flash is a dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that accepts two Micro-SIM. The Intex Cloud Flash runs Android 5.1 and is powered by a 2300mAh non removable battery. It measures 145.00 x 71.50 x 6.50 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 123.50 grams. Its high points are its performance and display, but the battery life is a little disappointing.

5. Yu Yunique
Packing a 720x1280 pixel display in a 4.7-inch screen, the Yu Yunique is a good looking phone with a great display and the best part for many will be the fact that it gives you a near stock-Android experience. The camera is a bit of a letdown though.

These are our top picks for phones under Rs. 10,000, but as we mentioned, we've limited the list to phones we've actually had a chance to spend some time with and review in depth. And if you don't mind picking up a slightly older device, the Yu Yureka Plus (Review) and Lenovo K3 Note (Review) are pretty solid options as well.

Aside from the phones we have reviewed, there are a few other options that are also worth checking out. One is the Meizu M2 Note; it's the bigger brother of the Meizu M2 which is on this list, and we've received positive feedback on the phone. The Motorola Moto G (Gen 3) is another popular pick that's just above the cutoff budget, though it made our list of the best phones under Rs. 15,000.

In case you didn't see something you liked, do check out our list of best phones under Rs. 15,000 as well, because there are some great phones there priced at really close to Rs. 10,000. And if you think we've missed a great phone under Rs. 10,000