Light Phone III vs Mudita Kompakt: Specs, Price, Carriers
As of October 24, 2026, the Mudita Kompakt costs less than half as much ($399 vs $899) and has an E Ink screen and a headphone jack; the Light Phone III has a matte AMOLED screen, a 50MP camera, and Light's stricter, no-app-store software, and new orders are pre-orders. Both list AT&T and T-Mobile; on Verizon, Mudita lists support while Light lists its Verizon certification as in progress.
From Elizabeth: I haven't used the Mudita Kompakt. I tried the Light Phone 2 and found it slow and glitchy.
The Light Phone II is an older, different phone from the Light Phone III, so that's not a verdict on the III. Everything below is from the makers' own pages, checked October 24, 2026. We haven't tested either phone ourselves.
You can also put them side by side in our compare table, with every field's source and date.
Price and availability
- Light Phone III: $899 unlocked, or from $59/month on a two-year Light Service contract. Light's page says the phone began shipping in March 2025 and that a new pre-order is expected to deliver in late December 2026.
- Mudita Kompakt: $399 for the US (North American) version, which Mudita selects automatically for US shipping. Mudita listed it as in stock.
Screen: matte AMOLED vs E Ink
The Light Phone III has a 3.92" matte AMOLED screen at 1080x1240, with Light's black-and-white LightOS interface. The Kompakt has a 4.3" E Ink touchscreen at 800x480. So the Kompakt's screen is larger but much lower resolution; the Light's is a sharper OLED panel with a matte finish.
Battery, weight, storage, camera
| Light Phone III | Mudita Kompakt | |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 1,800 mAh | 3,300 mAh |
| Weight | 124 g | 164 g |
| Storage | 128 GB | 32 GB |
| Camera | 50MP rear sensor (12MP default output), 8MP front | 8MP |
| Water/dust rating | IP54 | IP54 |
| Software | LightOS | MuditaOS K (de-Googled AOSP) |
Specs from each maker's pages, as of Oct 24, 2026.
The Kompakt's battery is nearly twice the capacity, and it weighs 40 g more. Neither maker's battery-life figure is in our data yet, so we compare capacity only.
Carriers, headphone jack, and what each leaves out
Carriers. Both list AT&T and T-Mobile. On Verizon, Light's compatibility checker (updated October 21, 2026) lists "Verizon (certification in progress)" for the Light Phone III; Light says an already-active Verizon SIM works, but you can't activate a new Verizon line on it yet. Mudita says its tests in Chicago, Detroit, and Orlando confirmed the Global Kompakt works on Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, that the North America version is FCC/PTCRB certified, and it lists Voice over LTE. Light doesn't state VoLTE for the Light Phone III. See Dumb phones that work on Verizon for the full Verizon picture.
Headphones. The Kompakt has a headphone jack. The Light Phone III doesn't, though Light says wired USB-C headphones work through its USB-C port.
Tools and apps. The Light Phone III has no browser, email, social media, or app store. It has optional LightOS tools, including a hotspot, a directions tool, and a simple music and podcast player, plus a developer program for community tools. It doesn't currently have Signal or WhatsApp. The Kompakt has offline maps and an Offline+ mode. We haven't verified its hotspot, app-installation, or messaging-app details yet, so we've left them out rather than guess.
Who each one isn't for
The Light Phone III isn't for you if you need to activate a new Verizon line on it now, need WhatsApp or Signal, want a 3.5 mm headphone jack, or want a new one before late December 2026.
The Mudita Kompakt isn't for you if you want a sharper, higher-resolution screen, more than 32 GB of storage, or a camera above 8MP.
If you're still deciding whether to buy anything, our quiz weighs your carrier, budget, and how locked-down you want to be, and shows the math behind every score.