Xiaomi vs Realme | Which Brand is Better for You?

After about 2 days of research, I bought a Xiaomi Redmi 9C over the Realme alternatives, and I thought to myself, “Why don’t I make a new article about these two brands?”

You can also read here another comparison that I did on Huawei vs Oppo. This wasn’t as close as this one is.

To find out which one is the best, I will compare them based on their pricing, battery life, service, design, and software/hardware. Both options have pros and cons, which is what I am going to analyze in this post.

Key Takeaways

While Realme phones have better cameras(with the exception of the latest ones where Xiaomi uses the Leica lenses), Xiaomi is still the best pick overall because of slightly stronger specifications and battery life.
Because of its large market share, Xiaomi can sell superior phones for less money.
Xiaomi’s flagship devices cost an average of roughly $700 vs $500 for Realme’s high-end devices.
Compared to Realme phones, Xiaomi’s batteries often have a greater mAh capacity. That’s not true for every device though.

Table of Contents

Which brand is better overall, Xiaomi or Realme?

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Most Realme phones offer higher camera quality and better customer service but Xiaomi is the better option overall by having slightly superior specs and battery.

SIDENOTE: The recent Xiaomi phones with Leica lenses will outperform the Realme ones so keep that in mind if you want to purchase a flagship device.

Their high market share allows them to give better products at a lower price which makes them a very attractive choice for customers on a budget.

As a result, I opted to go for Xiaomi and so far the results I am getting are great. I am not using it to do any heavy lifting since I don’t spend much time on my phone and even if I did, I wouldn’t expect it to perform very well since it is just an entry-level phone.

Of course, this is just my opinion based on what I could find on the web and I think you should buy your phone based on your needs, budget and the design you prefer.

Pricing

Both brands have similar pricing when it comes to low-budget and mid-range smartphones but Xiaomi’s flagship phones are way more expensive with an average price of around $700 than the Realme ones which will cost you about $500.

Overall, the winner in pricing is Realme as the extra features that you might get from the high-end phones of Xiaomi do not really justify the higher price.

Battery

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As for their batteries, both companies make large-capacity batteries in comparison to their competitors such as Samsung or Apple.

However, Xiaomi tends to produce batteries of higher mAh so they will last a few hours longer than Realme phones. As a result, Xiaomi is our winner when we compare their battery lives.

Services

Here both of them tie in as they offer Top-Quality customer service and support which is to be expected for sure considering the size of the companies.

Although, the Realme warranty does not cover accidental damage which is a pretty good feature that Xiaomi offers; it seems that they get overall higher ratings from their customers so I suppose they have better and more friendly staff in their Customer Centre.

Design

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Now, this is purely subjective but I think that compared to Realme, Xiaomi phones look more attractive.

Both brands have similar styles and a glossy feel when touching the phone. Both brands make phones that are about the same large size so don’t expect to find a very compact phone here.

Even though, there are some Realme smartphones that have amazing designs. I think it depends on the version that you buy as the flagships of both brands look equally insane.

Software | Hardware

As I mentioned above, Xiaomi has slightly better specs than Realme if you compare their phones in the same price range.

Both can support Google services and are provided the same processors (Snapdragon, MediaTek, etc…) and chipsets to implement in their production.

Furthermore, Realme User Interface is not as optimized as MIUI currently is which can cause problems for users who might push their phones a bit more than the average ones.

Most Realme phones are equipped with better Cameras though so if you are solely interested in taking pictures with your phone do not invest in Xiaomi unless it’s one of their latest models(Leica all the way). Overall, Xiaomi is the way to go for performance and software.

In addition, the Leica lenses allow Xiaomi to completely crush the competition in low-light photography.

Advantages and Drawbacks

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Like any other brand, both Xiaomi and Realme have pros and cons. Nevertheless, I think that their benefits just outweigh their drawbacks so both brands can be a great fit for you.

Below you can take a look at the details:

Xiaomi Pros – Cons

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Pros

Xiaomi has one of the best custom ROMs and tweaking-friendly devices.
They have a wide community known as the Mi community and also the Mi forum which you can freely join and ask your queries.
Xiaomi has multiple product lines varying from water purifiers to table lamps and vacuums.
They have their own app store which is pre-installed on every device.
They have launched some pretty successful products in the past like the Mi Band series which is a very popular VFM fitness tracker and also a budget 4K Smart TV.
MIUI is a best-in-class UI design that has even won awards.
Regular updates support even older devices.
Xiaomi has a better ecosystem than Realme.
Reliable performance for at least 3 years.
Great Customer Service.
Monthly security patch for 2 years.
You get Mi coins for all the purchases that you make from their website: mi.com.
They provide Mi Protect which is insurance in case any damage occurs to your phone.
They have their own Xiaomi app called Mi Home.

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Cons

Many customers have complained about the return and replacement policies of Mi.com
Mi Protect insurance can take around 1-2 months to get your phone repaired and you have to pay 5-10% of the repair cost.
Stock is not big enough during Flash Sales and often retailers run out of stock within the first days.
Devices come with a lot of pre-installed bloatware and some not-as-useful Google apps (which you can uninstall at your will).
They run a lot of Ads similar to other companies that use android.

Realme Pros – Cons

Pros

Realme offers very affordable prices without dropping much of their quality.
Good software upgrades.
RealmeUI offers specific features like Dual Audio mode, etc.
The display quality of Realme devices is better than Xiaomi. (Not true for all devices though)
Realme devices come with high-quality cameras.
Similar to Xiaomi they have a Realme community and forums.
They also have a realme.com website with similar services to Xiaomi.
Unlike Xiaomi, they have a larger stock during Flash Sales periods so they can avoid running out of stock in the middle of the sale.
They also have their Realme app called Realme Store which allows you to purchase products.
Excellent Customer Support & Service.
Less pre-installed bloatware than Xiaomi Devices.

Cons

Users have complained that phones start getting ignored after they get 1 year old.
They have been very controversial over the years because they were critical of Xiaomi placing Ads on MIUI while they eventually did the same years later and called them “Recommendations”.
Unlike Xiaomi, they have little to no custom ROM options, tweaks, and mods support.
Many of their devices ship with MediaTek processors which are weaker than the Snapdragon ones.
RealmeUI is not as optimized as MIUI.
They don’t have any other Product Lines.
Releases a lot of devices with minor differences.
Fingerprint sensor or OS upgrades reception can occasionally face issues when their bootloader is unlocked.

Final Thoughts

To summarize, Xiaomi and Realme are both exceptional companies and I am pretty confident you will be left satisfied by either of them. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that Realme is a bad brand, I just personally prefer Xiaomi over them.

At the end of the day, both companies offer high-quality phones in every price range so it will come down to personal preference. Let me know in the comments down below which one of these 2 you like the most. Until next time, stay safe everyone!