Samsung Galaxy S10 on sale today – how to find the cheapest deals
Samsung's new Galaxy S10, S10 Plus and S10e officially launch today. Buying a Samsung is never MoneySaving – but if you're determined to get one, buying the right way could save you £100s/year.
The Galaxy S10 Plus – the premium model of the S10 range – features the largest screen of the trio, which is reflected by a £899 starting price, which rises to £1,399 for the 1TB storage version.
The S10e is the relative 'budget' version, with a starting price of £669. It features many of the same specifications as the two more expensive S10 models, with some drawbacks, such as a smaller screen size and a dual rear camera, whereas the S10 and S10 Plus both come with a triple lens rear camera.
Early adopters don't always get the best deals, so to find the very cheapest it might be best to wait. However, here are the best prices we spotted on Friday 8 March. Bear in mind that prices can fluctuate hourly, so if you're going to buy, make sure you do your own price comparison first.
Normally, with swanky new smartphones the cheapest way is to buy the handset upfront, then pair it with a cheap Sim only contract. Though in this case, we've found a special deal from a mobile reseller which beats that. See below for a round-up of the different ways to buy a Samsung Galaxy S10.
For full help on cutting the cost of a Samsung, and deals on the S10, S10+, S10e, S9 and S8, see our guide to get the best Samsung Galaxy deals.
Right now, a traditional contract can work out the cheapest way to get it – but don't go direct
Buying a new handset on a traditional mobile contract from the major mobile networks can be £100s more expensive than buying the handset outright and pairing with a cheap Sim.
Yet reseller sites such as Mobiles.co.uk* (owned by Carphone Warehouse), Affordable Mobiles or MobilePhonesDirect are almost always cheaper than going direct to the network. Here are some of the best deals we've spotted for the 128GB Galaxy S10:
Unlimited mins/texts with 4GB for £439 upfront then £22/mth, £967 in total. Right now the cheapest way to get the S10 with this allowance is via a traditional 24-month contract with EE via Affordable Mobiles*. Yet never go direct to the network to get it – for example, getting the SAME deal direct from EE is over £400 more expensive over the two years, so £1,372 in total.
Unlimited mins/texts with 15GB for £175 upfront then £34/mth, £991 in total. A contract is also the best option if you're after more data. Via Mobiles.co.uk*, O2 newbies can get this offer. It's about £90 cheaper over the two years than the cheapest alternative we found buying the phone upfront and pairing with an equivalent Sim.
Want to buy it outright? It's cheaper than a contract bought direct, but can be beaten by resellers
Usually when a new handset is launched we say the cheapest way is to buy it upfront – if you can stomach the substantial price tag – and then find a separate cheap Sim to use it with. Yet this launch, we've found that contract deals from resellers can marginally beat this – and require a lower upfront fee.
But if you'd prefer to own it outright, here are the standard prices when bought direct from Samsung:
Galaxy S10e – £669 with 128GB storage.
Galaxy S10 – from £799 for the 128GB model, to £999 for the 512GB model.
Galaxy S10 Plus – from £899 for the 128GB model, to £1,399 for the 1TB model.
If these prices are too steep and you're happy with an older model, we've seen Samsung's prices for its older models fall, with the Galaxy S9 starting at £549 and a Galaxy S8 now from £449. See our Cheap Samsung deals guide for the best deals.
How different ways of buying the Galaxy S10 compare
To show the savings you can make buying in the right way, we've compared the prices for a 128GB Galaxy S10 by taking it out on a traditional contract, buying from a mobile reseller or buying outright and pairing with a cheap Sim.
To compare the cost of handset plus allowance, we've used iD Mobile's £8/mth Sim with 500 minutes, unlimited texts and 4.5GB of data as a benchmark, and used networks' closest deals where there's no direct equivalent.
Bear in mind that prices can often fluctuate, so if you're going to buy, make sure you do your own price comparison first.
Deal | Upfront cost | Monthly cost (ii) | Data allowance | Total over 24mths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
24MTH CONTRACT VIA RESELLER (iii) | ||||
£439 | £22 | 4GB | £967 | |
O2 (via Mobiles.co.uk*) | £175 | £34 | 15GB (iv) | £991 |
Vodafone (via Mobiles.co.uk*) | £390 | £26 | 5GB | £1,014 |
BUY OUTRIGHT + iD MOBILE SIM (v) | ||||
Samsung (outright) | £799 | £8 | 4.5GB | £991 |
24MTH STANDARD CONTRACT | ||||
Three (direct) | £79 | £43 | 4GB | £1,111 |
Vodafone (direct) | £239 | £42 | 5GB | £1,247 |
EE (direct) | £100 | £53 | 4GB | £1,372 |
O2 (direct) | £30 (vi) | £57.30 (vii) | 8GB (vii) | £1,405 |
Prices correct as of 12pm on 8 March 2019, rounded to the nearest £1. We haven't linked to standard network contracts as these are more expensive. (i) All with unlimited minutes & texts unless stated. (ii) Monthly costs are over 24mths. Monthly contract prices may increase in line with inflation each year. (iii) Cheapest deals we found from resellers – no cheaper Three deal available. (iv) 15GB is cheaper than a 4GB contract deal. (v) 500 mins. (vi) O2 allows you to configure the upfront & monthly cost, ie, you can set how much you pay upfront, which changes the monthly cost, though the overall total doesn't change. (vii) The lowest data allowance O2 offers with this model is 8GB.
As always, it's worth checking if cashback is available on these types of deals. See our Top Cashback Sites guide for more information. Remember you can also trade in your old handset for cash – check our Sell Old Mobiles guide for tips.
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