Best Refurbished iPhone for Under £300 (2026)

If you want a proper iPhone without paying flagship money, £300 is a good place to shop. It’s enough to get you a modern handset with Face ID, a great camera, an OLED screen and years of iOS updates still to come, all for a fraction of what the same phone cost at launch. What matters is knowing which models give you the most for your money, and buying from somewhere that stands behind what it sells.

Below are the best refurbished iPhones you can buy for under £300 right now. Every one goes through the same 70+ point check and grading process, comes unlocked and SIM-free, and is backed by a 12-month warranty and free UK delivery.

The best refurbished iPhones under £300 at a glance

The prices below are the lowest in-stock starting prices at the time of writing. Stock and pricing move quickly, so tap through to each model page for today’s exact figure.

iPhone 11, the best all-rounder under £300

If you asked us to recommend one phone from this list, it would be the refurbished iPhone 11. Starting from around £120, it is cheap enough to feel like a bargain and modern enough that you won’t feel short-changed.

You get the same A13 Bionic chip found in the more expensive 11 Pro, a dual-camera system with an excellent ultra-wide lens, Face ID, and the kind of all-day battery life the iPhone 11 became known for. It launched with iOS 13 and is still supported by Apple today, so there is plenty of life left in it. For most people upgrading from an older handset, this is the one to buy.

iPhone 12 and 12 Mini, a step up to OLED and 5G

Spend a little more and the refurbished iPhone 12 from around £140 adds a sharper OLED Super Retina display, 5G, MagSafe charging and the tougher Ceramic Shield front. It is a clear jump in screen quality over the iPhone 11, and for many buyers it is the point where a refurbished phone stops feeling like a budget option at all.

If you prefer something more pocketable, the iPhone 12 Mini squeezes almost exactly the same hardware into a smaller, lighter body from around £120. It is one of the last genuinely compact iPhones Apple made, so if you have been holding out for a small phone, this is the one to grab.

iPhone 13 and 13 Pro, the most phone for £300

If your budget stretches to the top of the £300 bracket, the refurbished iPhone 13 is the strongest pick on this list. From around £220 you get the A15 Bionic chip, a bigger battery than the 12, and a camera system that still holds its own against phones costing three times as much. It will comfortably see you through the next few years.

What surprises most people is that a refurbished iPhone 13 Pro now starts from around £270, under our £300 ceiling. That brings in the 120Hz ProMotion display, the triple-lens Pro camera with telephoto zoom, and the stainless-steel build. For the closest thing to a flagship experience without going over £300, this is it.

Stretching the budget the other way, iPhones under £150

Not everyone needs the newest thing, and some of the best value on the whole site sits at the cheaper end. The iPhone XR from around £90 still delivers a big Liquid Retina display and famously good battery life. The iPhone X from around £110 gets you OLED and Face ID for the least money possible, and the iPhone SE (2020) is the cheapest route into a modern, updatable iPhone from around £70.

If you want to see just how low prices go, browse everything in our refurbished iPhones under £100 collection.

What to check before you buy a refurbished iPhone

The word refurbished is not regulated, so it is worth knowing what you are actually paying for. Four things matter most.

Cosmetic grade. Grade affects price, not function. A Grade B phone works exactly like a Grade A one, it just has a few more signs of previous use. If you use a case, a lower grade is an easy way to save. Our guide to refurbished grades explains the differences in full.

Battery health. A good refurbisher tests and, where needed, replaces the battery. It is worth knowing how to check your iPhone’s battery health once it arrives so you know exactly what you have.

iOS support. An older model is only a bargain if it still gets updates. Before you buy, it is worth checking how long each iPhone keeps getting iOS updates. Every model on this list is still supported.

Warranty and returns. A cheap phone from a marketplace seller with no warranty is a gamble. A refurbished phone with a 12-month warranty and a proper returns policy is not. Every iPhone we sell is covered, and you can read the details on our returns information page.

For more on how we test and grade every device before it is listed, take a look at why buyers choose The iOutlet. We are one of the few refurbishers officially recommended by Which?

Got an old phone to trade in?

One of the easiest ways to bring a refurbished iPhone under £300, or well under, is to trade in the phone you are replacing. We will give you a fair price for your old handset and put it straight towards your new one. Get an instant quote on our sell my iPhone page, or trade in any old gadget gathering dust in a drawer.

Which one should you buy?

£300 buys a lot in the refurbished market. At the top of the budget, a refurbished iPhone 13 or even a 13 Pro gives you a near-flagship phone for a fraction of the new price. In the middle, the iPhone 11 remains the smart choice for most people. At the bottom, phones like the XR and SE show you do not need to spend three figures to get a dependable iPhone.

Browse all of our refurbished iPhones and filter by budget, or head straight to the current iPhone hot deals to see what is discounted right now.