Head to head
Google Pixel 9avsNothing Phone (3a)
The short answer
Choose the Nothing Phone (3a) for more base storage, battery lifespan and faster charging. Choose the Pixel 9a for typical brightness and battery life per charge. The Nothing Phone (3a) is £70 cheaper at UK RRP (£329 against £399). The Pixel 9a gets security updates for longer: until April 2032, against March 2031 for the Nothing Phone (3a).
- Released
- 2025-04-10endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £399Google Store UK, retrieved 2026-09-11
- Security updates until
- 2032-04-01endoflife.date — Pixel, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Released
- 2025-03-11GSMArena — Nothing Phone (3a) specifications, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £329Nothing UK store — Phone (3a), retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- 2031-03-11Nothing UK — Phone (3a), retrieved 2026-08-20
2 wins for Pixel 9a3 wins for Nothing Phone (3a)4 gaps borderline1 difference you won’t notice£70 apart at RRP
Verdict: Nothing Phone (3a) ahead on 3 rows, Pixel 9a on 2 rows
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the Pixel 9a wins on typical brightness (1,800 nits against 800 nits) and battery per charge (52.32 h against 43.93 h); the Phone (3a) wins on storage (base) (256 GB against 128 GB), battery lifespan (1,400 cycles against 1,000 cycles) and fast charging (50 W from the maker against 23 W from GSMArena). 4 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: weight (185.9 g against 208 g) for the Pixel 9a, display size (6.77 in against 6.3 in) for the Phone (3a), peak brightness (3,000 nits against 2,700 nits) for the Phone (3a) and RAM (12 GB against 8 GB) for the Phone (3a). The difference in battery capacity is below the threshold you would notice. Both state the same refresh rate. The other 35 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.
True to scale
Outlines from each maker’s published dimensions, drawn to scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. A row the site has no threshold for says whether the two differ, and that it is not ranking them. = marks the same figure on both, ≠ not ranked a difference with no ranking. Every figure carries its source.
Body
Nothing UK — Phone (3a) claims 208 g · GSMArena — Nothing Phone (3a) specifications reports 201 g
Marginal — most people won’t notice.
Display
Platform
Memory
Camera
Battery
Connectivity
Benchmarks
5 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for
OS versions supported · Google Mobile Services · Claimed video playback · AnTuTu benchmark · 3DMark Wild Life Extreme. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.
Questions
Is the Pixel 9a better than the Nothing Phone (3a)?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the Pixel 9a wins on typical brightness, 1,800 nits (Google) against 800 nits (Nothing UK) and battery per charge, 52.32 h against 43.93 h (both EU energy label); the Nothing Phone (3a) wins on storage (base), 256 GB (Nothing UK) against 128 GB (Google), battery lifespan, 1,400 cycles against 1,000 cycles (both EU energy label) and fast charging, 50 W (Nothing UK) against 23 W (GSMArena). Every other row is borderline, too close to notice, or not ranked.
Which has the better battery?
The Pixel 9a, by a gap you’d notice: battery per charge, 52.32 h against 43.93 h (both EU energy label). The Pixel 9a is ahead on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 5,100 mAh (Google) against 5,000 mAh (Nothing UK).
Which is lighter?
The Pixel 9a is lighter, narrowly: weight, 185.9 g (Google) against 208 g (Nothing UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice.
Which has the brighter screen?
The Nothing Phone (3a) is brighter, narrowly: peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Nothing UK) against 2,700 nits (Google), a borderline gap most people would not notice. The Pixel 9a, by a gap you’d notice: typical brightness, 1,800 nits (Google) against 800 nits (Nothing UK).
Which gets updates for longer?
The Pixel 9a gets security updates for longer: until April 2032, against March 2031 for the Nothing Phone (3a). Sources: dates from endoflife.date and Nothing UK.
Which is cheaper?
The Nothing Phone (3a) is £70 cheaper at UK RRP (£329 against £399). Prices from Pixel 9a: Google Store UK; Nothing Phone (3a): Nothing UK store.
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.