Best Back to School Phone Deals

Back-to-school season is a great time to invest in a new phone, whether it’s your first, the first you’re giving to your kid, or if you just decided it was time for an upgrade.

And these days, back to school phone deals starting popping up mid-summer. Don't wait too much beyond Juiy 4 to start looking or you may miss the best offers.

To help you shop, we've gathered great back-to-school phone deals, including an unlocked choice you can pair with any plan, such as your choice of phone plan for kids or teens.  

Summary: Best Back-to-School Phone Deals

Best Back-to-School Phone Deal Overall

Best Back-to-School Free Phone Deal

Best Back-to-School Unlocked Phone Deal

Best Back-to-School iPhone Deal

Best Phone Deal Under $100

Methodology: How we select the best back-to-school phone deals 

Back-to-school is a great time to score a new phone at a reasonable price. Considering it is most likely a phone for them (your kid or teen), we mainly account for: camera quality, storage, and price. While the camera quality needs will vary person to person, it's important to meet a certain minimum standard. We know how important those photos are! 

Storage is equally as important, because low storage can affect phone performance overall (slower performance and errors on certain apps), so we look for phones with at least 128GB storage or that support expendable storage. 

And lastly, the price: Nothing that looks like a month's rent is considered, because you have a whole other back-to-school list to take care of — and a budget to consider.

Guide to finding the best back-to-school phone deals

When looking for a phone deal, whether you're ready for an upgrade, looking to get your kid their first phone, or just looking for a sale, there are different considerations to make. Here is a rundown of everything you need to know.

Difference between locked and unlocked phones

We use "unlocked" and "locked to" a lot, so here is a a simple explanation of what those mean!

An unlocked phone should actually be expanded to say carrier-unlocked. Because that's what it means – a phone that isn't locked to any one carrier. Usually bought from a retailer (not a carrier) like BestBuy, Amazon, or even directly from the manufacturer, like Apple or Samsung.

A locked phone, on the other hand, is locked to a specific carrier. So, say you buy a Verizon-locked phone, that phone has software on it (from Verizon) that prevents it from being activated on or connecting to any other network. So you won't be able to easily take it to another carrier if you decide to switch plans.

Don't forget! Locked phones can be unlocked, but that process differs across carriers. You can check out TextNow's guide on how to unlock your phone from your carrier for more information.

Types of phone deals

You're going to find very different phone deals, and it's important to know which one works for you.

Carrier discounts and promotions

Carriers like to bring in new customers with phone sales and promotions. Those can include a "new customer" sales price when you sign up for a (usually premium) monthly plan, a contract-based discount where you can get a phone discounted when signing up for a 24- or even 36-month contract, or just a plain switch promotion — switch from your old carrier and get a free (or discounted) phone.
>> Our take: Be sure that you're willing to commit to a certain monthly plan before going through with one of these deals.

Trade-in offers

This kind of deal can be found through carriers or through manufacturers and other retailers directly. It involves trading in an old phone to get a discount on a new one. (If you want to trade in a phone, you'll need to know your phone model and other details to discover trade-in value.)

>> Our take: These are great if you already have a phone and are looking for an upgrade, as they give you a lot more options, and won't lock you in to any commitment.

Installment plans

You will find a lot of online websites promoting a low weekly or monthly price tag next to a phone, as part of their financing option. The phone is then usually advertised with the more appealing monthly price (say, $30/month) to seem like a good deal.

>> Our take: A true deal will be when you can find a finance plan that has 0% APR (interest). That way, you're only ever paying for the actual price tag of the phone, and not a penny more. You can also build credit with your phone purchase if it's through a retailer or manufacturer that reports finance plan payments to the credit bureaus.

Seasonal sales

Lastly, the most common one is the tried and true seasonal sale, which is most common for phones around Black Friday, Cyber Monday, the holidays, and back to school time.

>> Our take: It's definitely worthwhile to wait until one to find a deal, as that is when you'll find the most options with the deepest discounts!

Pros & cons of getting a phone deal

How to select the best phone deal

What's better, buying a phone online or in-store?

That will all purely depend on what's important to you. The prices won't vary between online or store for the most price, but other factors you'd need to consider would be:

1. Shipping time: If you're purchasing a phone online, you'd have to account for shipping times (usually within 1-3 business days, but delays are always possible). On top of that, you may also need to account for availability to receive the package to ensure it's not stolen.
2. Hands-on experience: If you're buying a new phone that you've never used before, you may want to test it out in your hand first to determine if it's a phone you actually like. You can feel out the size, the screen, the controls, even the camera in-store to make sure it's a 100% loved purchase.
3. Customer service: While you can certainly find a chatbot or an FAQ page to answer any questions you have about the phone to help you with phone activation, that kind of help is more easily found in-store.
4. Phone selection and price comparisons: It's decidedly much easier to find a wide range of phones and compare their prices online than it is in-store. Online shopping is generally recommended for finding the best deal.

Tips for getting a good phone deal

1. Verify it's a sale:
   Before falling in love with a deal, make sure the price you're seeing online is actually a sale. You'd be surprised by how many retailers (ahem, Amazon) actually hike up prices a few weeks leading up to a sale, only to drop them down to a normal price and call it a sale. Websites like CamelCamelCamel (specifically for Amazon), or PriceSpider (for most other online retailers) will look up the price history of an item so you can make an informed buying decision.
2. Look for coupons: Even if you do find a verified sale, there's no harm in looking around for even deeper discounts. There are plenty of online coupon websites like RetailMeNot or SlickDeals to find decent promo codes.
3. Compare several retailers: If you're after a specific phone, and find a deal, make sure you look up that phone model on Google, click on the "Shopping" tab and compare prices across retailers to find the best one. Never assume the first price you see is the best one!

FAQs about back to school phone deals