Motorola has announced several smartphones this year, including a new Moto Z range, a refreshed Moto G range comprising three devices alone and an updated Moto E.

The Moto G range and Moto E both sit within the budget end of the market, but with four phones to choose from between £100 and £325, which one is the right one for you?

We have put the Moto E3 against the Moto G4 Play, Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus to see what the differences and similarities are.

Motorola Moto E3 vs Moto G4 vs G4 Plus vs G4 Play: Design

The Motorola Moto E3 measures 143.8 x 71.6 x 8.6mm, which makes it the smallest and slimmest of the devices being compared here. The Moto G4 Play follows closely behind at 144.4 x 72mm, with its thickest point at 9.9mm.

Both the G4 and the G4 Plus measure 153 x 76.6mm, with their thickest points 9.8mm. They are the heaviest at 155g, while the G4 Play is the lightest at 137g.

All four devices feature a similar design, at least from the rear. They all have the signature indented "M" with a raised camera lens and flash above. The E3 has a bottom front facing speaker on the front, while the G4 and G4 Play only have top speakers and the G4 Plus has a fingerprint sensor.

Motorola Moto E3 vs Moto G4 vs G4 Plus vs G4 Play: Display

The Motorola Moto E3 and Moto G4 Play both have a 5-inch display with a 1280 x 720 resolution, resulting in pixel densities of 294ppi.

The Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus both have slightly larger displays at 5.5-inches and they also both up their resolutions to Full HD, meaning pixel densities of 401ppi. This suggests the G4 and G4 Plus will offer slightly sharper, crisper images in comparison to the other two devices.

All four devices have IPS LCD displays and they are all protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

Motorola Moto E3 vs Moto G4 vs G4 Plus vs G4 Play: Cameras

The Motorola Moto E3 and the Moto G4 Play both come with an 8-megapixel rear camera and a single LED flash. The E3 is capable of 720p video recording, while the G4 Play can record in Full HD.

The Moto G4 has a 13-megapixel rear camera with a dual-LED flash, while the G4 Plus has a 16-megapixel rear snapper and features both laser autofocus and PDAF. Both the G4 and G4 Plus are capable of 1080p video recording.

There is a 5-megapixel camera on all four devices being compared here. The G4 and G4 Plus both have a flash on the front as well as the back though.

Motorola Moto E3 vs Moto G4 vs G4 Plus vs G4 Play: Hardware

The Motorola Moto E3 features a quad-core MediaTek processor, supported by 1GB of RAM, while the Moto G4 Play opts for the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 420 chip, also supported by 1GB of RAM.

The Moto G4 and G4 Plus both have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor on board and at least 2GB of RAM. The G4 Plus is also available in a 4GB RAM option.

In terms of storage, the E3 only comes in an 8GB option, while the G4 Play is available in 8GB and 16GB models. The G4 comes in 16GB and 32GB models, while the G4 Plus comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB options. All four devices offer microSD support for storage expansion.

Battery capacity is pretty much on par across the four devices too. The Moto E3 and G4 Play have 2800mAh capacities, while the G4 and G4 Plus have 3000mAh batteries.

Motorola Moto E3 vs Moto G4 vs G4 Plus vs G4 Play: Software

All four devices being compared here run on Android Marshmallow with a couple of extra Motorola-specific apps so the experience should be almost identical.

It's pretty much vanilla Android on Motorola smartphones so you don't get the same level of bloatware as you do with some other devices. This tends to mean quicker updates to the latest Android software and it also allows for a cleaner experience.

Motorola Moto E3 vs Moto G4 vs G4 Plus vs G4 Play: Price

The Motorola Moto E3 is the cheapest of these four devices at £99.95, followed by the Moto G4 Play at £129.

The Motorola Moto G4 starts at £169, while the Moto G4 Plus is the most expensive starting at £229.

Motorola Moto E3 vs Moto G4 vs G4 Plus vs G4 Play: Conclusion

The Motorola Moto E3 and the Moto G4 Play are pretty similar in terms of specs and price. For the extra £30 for the G4 Play, you get a lighter device and higher resolution video recording compared to the E3.

Pay another £40 on top of the G4 Play price, or £70 on top of the E3 and you get a higher resolution display and rear camera, a faster processor, double the RAM and a larger battery capacity.

Another £50 on top of the G4 price for the G4 Plus will get you a higher rear camera resolution again, better focusing and a fingerprint sensor.

The Moto E3 and G4 Play both offer plenty for their price. For those that have a little extra cash to splash, the G4 is a good middling device, while the G4 Plus is for those that don't mind going over the £200 mark and just have to have a fingerprint sensor.