After what feels like an entire year of leaks, teases, and rumors, the Samsung Galaxy S23 series is out and available for purchase. With its public release came a tidal wave of promotions, offers, bundled items, credits, and even gift cards. It can be hard to sift through them all and still have your sanity left, but that’s okay; we’re here to help you get the best deal on your stellar Android phone. From carriers to manufacturers to third-party retailers, we’re gathering up the deals as we find them for your purchasing pleasure.
What you need to know about carrier trade-ins on Samsung.com
You may think, “Oh, $1,000 off my Galaxy S23+ with an AT&T trade-in — that’s a free phone!” You’d be wrong. Technically, what the carriers do when you order a Galaxy S23, or any other phone through Samsung’s website, is pledge to pay you back the $800-$1,000 enhanced trade-in credit via bill credits over the next 36 months. But since your carrier entirely handles the trade-in and bill credits, you pay the initial $800-$1,200 to Samsung and then get a smaller wireless bill for three years.
“Hey, what gives? The phone was actually free last time!” If it was free last time, it was likely because the phone was purchased from your carrier, not directly from Samsung. In that instance, you sign up for a three-year monthly payment plan, and the trade-in credit cancels those monthly charges. Why the difference? For one, it means carriers have to pay less capital at launch for the device. After all, millions of people are buying these phones during their initial release.
Rather than you having to pay up the remaining balance if you swap carriers between now and 2026, you’ve already paid the money. So, if you switch carriers, you just miss out on the last months of bill credits. This allows you to walk away from the carrier anytime, just without the full amount from your rebate. It also means you own the phone and can do what you like with it. However, if you trade it in for another phone before the three years are up, you might miss out on the last of those bill credits, particularly if you’re starting another bill credit cycle with the new phone.
Yes, it’s convoluted and annoying, but that’s why you have us.
It’s also worth noting that while Samsung’s site says you can get up to $700 off a Galaxy S23, that isn’t a number you should rely on. To get that top estimate, you’d need to give them a Galaxy Z Fold 4, which is worth significantly more than $700. So in this roundup, we’ll be focussing on reasonable trade-in prices.
The best Galaxy S23 deals
Source: Samsung
Samsung Galaxy S23
The “baby” of the Galaxy S23 series may be smaller, but it has the same bright screen, powerful chipset, and smooth experience on One UI 5.1.1 as the S23+ and Ultra. And at $800, it’s the one you can get free at all three carriers so long as you have an eligible phone to trade in.
The $800 Galaxy S23 is what I’m also gingerly calling the free phone because you can get it for free at all carriers with a semi-recent device to trade in if you’re on an unlimited plan. Even if you go for the unlocked model at Samsung, this phone is well within most budgets so long as you have something recent to trade in. If you have nothing to trade in, this phone will be the kindest on your wallet and the easiest to fit in your pocket. Samsung offered free storage upgrades during preorders, but those have all expired.
Samsung
With the semi-annual Discover Samsung week, Samsung has buffed its trade-ins for the Galaxy S23 series, offering up to $700 trade-in towards the S23. This makes it the best chance to buy the S23 yet if you have an older Samsung device to trade in, but given that older trade-ins still don’t even get to $400, if you’re on an unlimited plan with a major carrier, trade it in there and get your S23 for free. (That’s what I did to buy mine.)
Amazon
Amazon ran a free gift card promotion when the S23 launched, but that’s gone. Amazon current has a $50 discount on the S23, but we’ve seen that go up to $100 before, so watch for Deals of the Day promotions as we get closer to summer and Amazon Prime Day.
Best Buy
Best Buy’s trade-in deals were slightly better than Samsung’s during preorders, but now they’re about on par for most phones you’d want to trade in when it comes to trading towards the baby S23. It’s also offering $50 off the S23. Expect to see more deals return as Memorial Day approaches.
AT&T
AT&T is offering up to $800 off the Galaxy S23, and unlike Samsung, you don’t need a recent smartphone to get it. Even a 16GB Galaxy S3 from 2012 will get you $800 off, making the 128GB S23 free. If you want the 256GB model, you’ll need to pay $1.67 a month for three years to cover the $60 difference between the two storage options.
Before the “free phone” siren blinds you, remember the above section regarding trading in your phone to a carrier via Samsung. If you want a free phone that you won’t have to put money down on, you’ll want to hit your local AT&T store. Whichever route you go, I highly recommend choosing the 256GB for faster internal storage and smoother overall performance.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile, like AT&T, is offering a free Galaxy S23 with an eligible Magenta Max trade-in if you purchase it at Samsung.com or your local store. However, you’ll get your money back faster at T-Mobile than the other carriers, as T-Mobile uses two-year monthly installments rather than three.
Verizon
Verizon actually has a trinity of deals going, so we’re going to break them down a little more:
- If you trade in your existing phone, you get $800 towards the Galaxy S23 (aka free phone) on Samsung.com or your local Verizon store.
- If you switch to Verizon, you get $800 towards a Galaxy S23 and a $200 Verizon eCard you can use towards future bills or other products on Verizon’s website.
- If you go to Verizon directly, alongside the free Galaxy S23, you can get a free Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Tab S7 FE. However, to get this deal, you must also have new or existing data lines for both devices.
The best Galaxy S23+ deals
Source: Samsung
Samsung Galaxy S23+
Don’t think for a second the Galaxy S23+ suffers from Middle Child Syndrome. Sporting the same UWB support as the Ultra, the same power, and a blessedly flat 6.6-inch screen, the S23+ is the most sensible phone of the bunch.
The Galaxy S23+ clocks in at $1,000, which has it split between “free on carrier” or “cheap on carrier” with trade-in. You get a larger screen and UWB support that the baby S23 misses out on, but you don’t get that ridiculously huge camera sensor — or lose space to its enormous file sizes. Trade-ins for the S23+ at Samsung aren’t quite as generous as previous years for the unlocked models, but if you’re on a major carrier, this phone is firmly within your budget.
Samsung
You can save up to $700 on the unlocked Galaxy S23+ with trade-in during Discover Samsung week. If you have a Galaxy S22 series phone, this upgrade may make sense, but older than the S21, stick to the carrier versions unless you’re simply in love with the Samsung.com-exclusive (unlocked-exclusive) colorways — a pretty boring Graphite and that ungodly ugly Lime green.
Amazon
Amazon is taking $100 off the Galaxy S23+ right now, but if that’s not enough incentive, remember this phone has only been available for a month and a half. However, expect to see more discounts as Memorial Day and Prime Day approaches, and in the meantime, you can still get the best Galaxy S23+ cases from Amazon.
Best Buy
Like Amazon, Best Buy is offering $100 of the Galaxy S23+. You can technically get an additional $600 off if you trade a phone in, but that value only applies to newer devices that are honstely worth more than $600, so I wouldn’t recommend trading in here.
AT&T
You can get $800 back in bill credits if you buy the Galaxy S23+ with an eligible AT&T trade-in, and up to $100 Samsung instant credit when you purchase and initiate your trade-in on Samsung.com.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile’s deal matches $800 back in bill credits over two years and up to $100 Samsung instant credit if you buy from Samsung and trade your phone to T-Mobile with a Magenta Max data plan.
Verizon
Let’s break down Verizon’s deals since they vary quite a bit, but the bottom line is if you’re willing to change carriers, Verizon will pay for most of your S23+:
- If you trade in your existing phone, you get $800 towards the Galaxy S23 — so it’s not quite free — with the Samsung.com instant credit should you purchase from there.
- If you switch to Verizon, you get $800 towards a Galaxy S23+ and a $200 Verizon eCard a few billing cycles later for future bills or other products on Verizon’s website.
- Get a free Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Tab S7 FE with your Galaxy S23+ when purchased directly from Verizon with your purchase of two data lines for the watch and tablet.
The best Galaxy S23 Ultra deals
Source: Samsung
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
The biggest and fanciest of the trio, the Galaxy S23 Ultra may not have as many year-over-year upgrades beyond a better chipset and a huge 200MP camera sensor, but it’s still going to be the best phone of 2023, S Pen and all. Just please, Samsung, can we call it a Note next year?
Starting at $1,200, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is also the most incentivized of the series. You can get up to $100 in Samsung Instant credit when you buy through the links above, and while the carriers won’t give it to you for free, walking away with this phone for $200-$400 feels like robbery. The storage upgrade promotion has ended, which is a shame as the storage upgrade on the S23 Ultra costs a whopping $180 to get to 512GB and $420 to get to 1TB. The price for data hoarding is high, my friends.
Samsung
Samsung offers up to $750 for a trade-in — up about $50 from the preorder window — though Samsung Instant credit offerings for accessories and cases come and go rather frequently. If I could stomach the sheer size of this phone, that Samsung.com-exclusive Sky Blue would’ve come home with me instead of the more pocketable Lavender S23.
Amazon
Amazon is currently taking $100 off the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but unless you need a phone today, I’d hold out for more significant discounts, as it’s still over $1,000. Memorial Day and Prime Day should bring deeper discounts back later this spring. You can still head over there after you buy your Ultra elsewhere and pick up one of the best Galaxy S23 Ultra cases, though.
Best Buy
Best Buy offers up to $600 off if you trade an old phone in, but it’s not worth it. As with Samsung, you’ll only get that $600 if you give them a newer phone worth more than that. They are taking $100 off list price, but you likely need a bigger discount than that before you pony up for this big boy of a phone.
AT&T
AT&T will give you $800 back in bill credits if you buy an AT&T model from Samsung and initiate the trade-in at that time. You’ll have to pay the full $1,200 price upfront to get the $120 Samsung instant credit. However, your monthly wireless bill will drop, so you’ll get most of the money back eventually — or you can go to the carrier store, pray a rep doesn’t upcharge your account, and get the phone after just paying tax and agreeing to the trade-in and monthly payment plan.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile is also doing an $800 trade-in towards the S23 Ultra for a final price of $400 after the bill credits are applied and settled if you’re on Magenta Max.
Verizon
Verizon has three deals available:
- If you trade in your existing phone, you get $800 towards the Galaxy S23 Ultra — so it’s not quite free — with the Samsung.com instant credit should you purchase from there.
- If you switch to Verizon, you get up to $1000 towards a Galaxy S23 Ultra and a $200 Verizon eCard a few billing cycles later you can use towards future bills or other products on Verizon’s website. If you have a phone recent enough to get the full $1,000, then that gift card will make the phone free. You need a recent model to get that $1,000, though, so you’re more likely to get $800 off, which is still pretty good.
- Get a free Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Tab S7 FE with your Galaxy S23+ when purchased directly from Verizon with your purchase of two data lines for the watch and tablet.
