Social media trends Viral content 2025 Trending hashtags Social media updates Trending memes and videos
Why You Can Trust CNET
Our expert deal-hunting staff showcases the best price drops and discounts from reputable sellers daily. If you make a purchase using our links, CNET may earn a commission.
If you don’t want to spend a lot on a new iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro case, these cases from Caseology and ESR are among the best budget cases I’ve tested.
David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET’s Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He’s also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Kobo e-books and audiobooks.
Expertise Headphones, Bluetooth speakers, mobile accessories, Apple, Sony, Bose, e-readers, Amazon, glasses, ski gear, iPhone cases, gaming accessories, sports tech, portable audio, interviews, audiophile gear, PC speakers Credentials
- Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
Thanks to the fluid situation with tariffs and the uncertainty about future iPhone pricing, a lot of folks have been rushing out to buy new iPhone 16 models lately, including my father, who picked up an iPhone 16 Pro Max this past weekend. With that in mind, I recently updated our list of best iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro cases and saw that one of my favorite budget iPhone 16 cases, the Caseology Capella Mag Kickstand, was on sale for $10 or 33% off its list price of $15.
Read more: Best iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro cases of 2025
Caseology makes a few decent budget cases that cost $10, including the Athlex Mag
, Nano Pop Mag, Nano Pop Kickstand and Capella Mag. Its Capella Mag Kickstand is one of the cheaper transparent MagSafe cases I’ve seen, with a built-in kickstand that retracts into the case when not in use so you can attach MagSafe accessories. The case is available for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max but isn’t available for the standard iPhone 16. However, the Capella Mag (without an integrated kickstand) is available for the iPhone 16 for $10.
Another good budget option, the ESR Classic Hybrid case is available for all the iPhone 16 models.
Screenshot by David Carnoy/CNETAnother good budget iPhone 16 case option is ESR’s transparent Classic Hybrid case, which is also on sale for less than $10. I like ESR’s Stash Stand case ($21), which features a built-in retractable camera protection ring that turns into a kickstand. But the more basic Classic Hybrid costs less than half the price. I should note the case has an integrated touch-sensitive cover for the iPhone 16’s camera control button. The Caselogy Capella Mag Kickstand has a cutout in the case that exposes the button. I tend to prefer the touch-sensitive cover.
There’s nothing fancy or terribly unique about these sub-$10 cases, but they’re slim and offer decent protection. True, more premium brands like Otterbox and Speck may hold up better over time (these budget transparent cases now have anti-yellowing UV protection, though I find it isn’t always effective). That said, some people have a hard time spending $40 to $50 on a case — and I don’t blame them.
