Start with the phone you already own
Your existing phone camera is genuinely good enough to start; budget zero here and put that money toward lighting and audio instead, where the real quality gap actually shows up.
A sensible starting split
Roughly divide a starting budget across lighting, stability, and audio in that priority order — lighting first since it affects every single piece of content you make.
What to deliberately skip at first
A dedicated camera, multiple lighting angles, and professional editing software all matter eventually, but none of them fix content that\’s poorly lit or poorly framed — the basics come first.
When to reinvest
Once you\’re consistently posting and have a sense of your actual content style, that\’s the right time to expand the budget toward more specific gear rather than guessing upfront.