With the Google Pixel 9a having launched a few months ago and the Google Pixel 9 hitting shelves nearly a year back, a common dilemma arises—should you opt for the newer mid-range model or stick with last year’s flagship? It’s a valid question, especially given their similar pricing and shared DNA.
In Europe, the Pixel 9 costs about €100 more than the 9a, while in the US, the gap widens to $150. On paper, the two phones have a lot in common—identical displays, matching chipsets, and comparable camera setups. But look a little closer, and a few key differences emerge. For some, they may not be dealbreakers. For others, however, the added features of the Pixel 9 could justify the extra cost. So let’s take a closer look.
Table of Contents:
For starters, you can compare the complete spec sheets or directly continue with our editor’s assessment in the following text.
Size comparison
Despite the two Pixels sharing the same screen diagonal, the 9a has noticeably bigger dimensions, but lower weight. There are several reasons for that.
Firstly, the Pixel 9 is more compact as it has thinner bezels around the screen. The 9a has absurdly thick bezels, even for a budget phone in 2025. That makes the 9a taller and wider. It’s also slightly thicker, which might be due to the larger battery.
As for the weight difference, we attribute that to the choice of materials. The Pixel 9 features Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back held by an aluminum frame, while the 9a’s build features an unnamed Gorilla Glass sheet on the front and a plastic back, which is lighter.
All in all, the Pixel 9 is the better choice given the slimmer bezels, the nicer build materials and the more compact dimensions.
Display comparison
On paper, the two devices should have the exact same displays with the same performance. Both are 6.3-inch OLEDs with the same advertised maximum brightness. However, according to our tests, the Pixel 9a has slightly lower maximum brightness (around 1,900 nits) than the Pixel 9 (a little over 2,200 nits).
Both phones reach levels of max brightness rarely seen in the industry, but the difference between the two could be seen as a hint that the phones use different panels.
Other than that, there’s no feature disparity between the two – both phones support the same basic HDR10+ video standard and up to 120Hz refresh rate.
Battery life
The two handsets share the same chipset and the same display, but the Pixel 9a has the advantage of a larger 5,100 mAh battery, as opposed to the 4,700 mAh-powered vanilla Pixel 9. However, it looks like the larger battery does not translate into real battery life benefits.
The Pixel 9 scores marginally better on almost all tests, pushing the Active Use Score slightly higher than the 9a’s.
We can only guess what the reason might be and as we note in our Pixel 9a review, it may very well be a more power hungry display panel.
Charging speed
In theory, the Pixel 9 should only be slightly faster to charge than the Pixel 9a, given the small difference in the charging rate – 23W vs. 27W in favor of the regular 9. However, that did not turn out entirely true in our real-life testing.
The Pixel 9 indeed charged just slightly faster in the first 15 to 30 minutes of the charging cycle, but it completed a full charge in 85 minutes, while the Pixel 9a took 101 minutes.
Notably, the Pixel 9 features faster wireless charging too – 15W (with Pixel stand, otherwise 12W) instead of the 9a’s 7.5W charging power.
Speaker test
Regarding speakers, we can easily say that the Pixel 9a is the clear winner here. Sure, the Pixel 9 speakers are louder, but the 9a’s tuning is much nicer. The bass is more prominent, the tracks don’t sound tinny like the Pixel 9, and the overall sound is much warmer and fuller.
Performance
Both handsets rely on the same in-house Google Tensor G4 SoC that debuted with the Pixel 9 series last year. Even though the 9a is more affordable, it still rocks the same “flagship” chipset.
Memory configurations are similar, but not identical. Both handsets offer only 128GB or 256GB storage, but the vanilla Pixel 9 gives you 12GB RAM, while the 9a settles for 8GB.
Benchmark performance
As expected, there’s no difference in performance. The small differences you see in the benchmark results are well within the statistical error.
Camera comparison
The camera hardware is perhaps the main difference between the two handsets. The more affordable Pixel 9a settles for a smaller 48MP main sensor and a 13MP ultrawide camera, while the standard Pixel 9 boasts a physically much larger 50MP main sensor and a larger 48MP ultrawide unit too.
The selfie hardware is also different. The 9a gets a 13MP shooter, while the Pixel 9 offers a 10.5MP camera, which has the same sensor size as the 13MP selfie on the 9a.
Image quality
At first glance, the two ultrawide cameras capture near-identical photos, but if you look closely enough, you will notice that the 48MP ultrawide unit on the Pixel 9 renders close objects much sharper. That’s due to the autofocus capability. Objects in the distance are rendered similarly, though.
Pixel 9a: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 0.6x • 1x • 2x
Pixel 9: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 0.6x • 1x • 2x
Once again, the Pixel 9’s main camera offers more pleasant rendering with slightly punchier colors and a tad sharper objects. You can spot a bigger difference in the 2x zoom mode, where the bigger sensor shows a clear advantage.
The gap widens as the light drops. The Pixel 9’s ultrawide and main cameras produce cleaner and sharper images with wider dynamic range. The differences for most will likely be negligible, but it’s worth noting.
Pixel 9a: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 0.6x • 1x • 2x
Pixel 9: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 0.6x • 1x • 2x
We found no meaningful difference between the selfie cameras. Both are excellent.
Selfies: Pixel 9a • Pixel 9
Video quality
Below we have a few frame grabs from the videos taken by the two phones at each focal length, so it’s easier to compare to one another.
The daylight videos from the two Pixels seem almost identical. The Pixel 9’s main camera video is just ever so slightly sharper and more detailed. The difference is negligible, though.
Pixel 9a 4K screengrabs: 0.6x • 1x • 0.6x • 1x
Pixel 9 4K screengrabs: 0.6x • 1x • 0.6x • 1x
The nighttime videos from the Pixel 9 are sharper, somewhat cleaner and considerably brighter.
Verdict
Naturally, the Pixel 9 is on top in most aspects. It offers a nicer camera experience, a brighter display, a more premium design, and marginally better battery life and charging. Perhaps the price difference will make sense for most people, especially customers in Europe, where the gap is only €100.
Conversely, if you don’t mind the thick bezels, the Pixel 9a delivers mostly the same user experience. The display is still one of the brightest in town, performance is on par, and the camera hardware isn’t that far behind. The stereo speakers are even better on the 9a. So, if you consider yourself a casual everyday user, then save a few bucks and go for the Pixel 9a.
- The lower price.
- The better speakers.
- The identical user experience.
Get the Google Pixel 9a for:
- The faster charging speed and better battery life.
- The slightly brighter display.
- The better camera performance at night and the added versatility of AF on the ultrawide.
Get the Google Pixel 9 for:
