Samsung Galaxy S21 deals: these five offers are the best pre-orders so far

Samsung Galaxy S21 deals
(Image credit: Future)

Well, Samsung has officially kicked off the year with the first phone launch, offering up three new handsets - the Samsung Galaxy S21, S21 Plus and Ultra marking the first of 2021's flagship phones.

As you would expect for the world's most popular phone manufacturer, all three handsets are another impressive option from Samsung, most obviously thanks to their decreased price tags.

Whichever one has caught your eye, we've been working hard since pre-orders went live to scour the internet for the best prices across all three handsets, compiling a top five list for you.

While we would imagine Samsung Galaxy S21 deals will be the standout thanks to their strong spec sheet at a low price, the S21 Plus and Ultra are both also excellent buys.

Whichever option you choose, any pre-order deal will come with a free pair of Samsung's Bud Pros and a Samsung Smart Tag - two new device's from the Korean tech giant.

1. The best overall Samsung Galaxy S21 deal:

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Samsung Galaxy S21: <a href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?awinmid=380&awinaffid=103504&clickref=hawk-custom-tracking&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mobiles.co.uk%2Fsamsung-galaxy-s21" data-link-merchant="mobiles.co.uk"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">at Mobiles.co.uk | Vodafone | 24 month contract | £99 upfront | 100GB data | Unlimited calls and texts | £39 per month
This offer from Mobiles.co.uk thrives for its combination of affordable monthly bills and it's massive 100GB of data plan. However to get those lower monthly bills, you do need to fork out £99 upfront. If you prefer keeping your monthly costs low, this is a great way to do so.

2. Super cheap bills with Sky mobile:

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Samsung Galaxy S21: <a href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?awinmid=11005&awinaffid=103504&clickref=hawk-custom-tracking&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sky.com%2Fshop%2Fmobile%2Fphones%2Fsamsung%2Fsamsung-galaxy-s21-5g%3Fcolour%3DGrey%26capacity%3D128GB" data-link-merchant="sky.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">at Sky Mobile | Swap 24 | FREE upfront | 2GB data | Unlimited calls and texts | £36 per month
The cheapest of the three contracts from Sky, you can get the Samsung Galaxy S21 for just £36 a month and there is nothing to pay upfront. While this deal only gets you 2GB of data, a few quid a month more will upgrade you to a better data cap.

3. The best EE Samsung S21 deal:

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Samsung Galaxy S21: <a href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?awinmid=6224&awinaffid=103504&clickref=hawk-custom-tracking&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fonehouse.co.uk%2Fmobile-phone-deals%2Fsamsung-galaxy-s21-5g" data-link-merchant="awin1.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">at Fonehouse | EE | FREE upfront | unlimited data, calls and texts | £56pm
EE is never cheap so if you're going to go for it, why not go all out? This contract from Fonehouse provides you with a completely unlimited data, calls and texts cap at a pretty affordable price. It comes in at £56 a month and absolutely nothing upfront - a strong offering on EE - the UK's fastest 4G network.

4. The best Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus deal:

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Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus: <a href="https://track.webgains.com/click.html?wgcampaignid=138485&wgprogramid=8497&clickref=hawk-custom-tracking&wgtarget=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mobilephonesdirect.co.uk%2Fhandset%2Fsamsung%2Fgalaxy-s21-plus-5g" data-link-merchant="track.webgains.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">at Mobile Phones Direct | Three | FREE upfront | 100GB data | unlimited minutes and texts | £53pm
This isn't far off competing with the cheapest S21 Plus deals around and yet, it manages to secure you a massive 100GB of data and unlimited calls and texts plan. For that, you're only having to pay £53 a month and absolutely nothing upfront. That's a pretty great price for the middle handset.

5. The best Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra deal:

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: at Carphone Warehouse | Vodafone | £99.99 upfront |100GB data | unlimited minutes and texts | £51pm

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: <a href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?awinmid=2264&awinaffid=103504&clickref=hawk-custom-tracking&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.carphonewarehouse.com%2Fmobiles%2Fpay-monthly-tariff.html#!/t_proptype/pm/tab/all/model/SAMS21ULTRA1285GBLA/t_gift/" data-link-merchant="awin1.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">at Carphone Warehouse | Vodafone | £99.99 upfront |100GB data | unlimited minutes and texts | £51pm
The S21 Ultra is a pricey handset and yet, this contract isn't as expensive as you would expect. For 100GB of data on the Vodafone network, you're only having to pay £99.99 upfront and £51 a month. This deal comes from Carphone Warehouse, a retailer which isn't always known for being cheap.

What are the Samsung Galaxy S21 devices like?

Samsung Galaxy S21:
The cheapest of the three handsets, the S21 is a 5G handset at a price that rivals the iPhone 12 and is much cheaper than the S20 was on launch.

Despite that lower price tag, you're getting Samsung's new Exynos 2100 processor. That's a super powerful chip powering Samsung's already impressive camera software and operating system.

The camera is an incremental upgrade on what the S20 provided, boosting the 8K video software, super steady video and an improved 60fps 'Director's View'. Thanks to the new processor, the cameras AI software is working better than ever.

However, Samsung hasn't managed to improve the battery capacity which could prove a problem with all of this new software.


Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus:
Sitting in the middle of these three handsets, the Samsung S21 Plus blends higher-end specs with a still affordable price tag. Most noticeably the difference between the regular S21 and Plus comes in the battery and screen size.

The battery capacity leaps up to 4800mAh and the screen up to 6.7-inches - a considerable improvement on the above. However, in most categories, these two handsets are very similar with almost identical cameras and screens.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra:
As the most expensive of the three handsets by quite a way, it is no surprise that the S21 Ultra provides a significant improvement in specs over its two smaller brothers above.

Like the two above, it features the new Exynos 2100 processor but unlike the two above, it jumps the screen size all the way up to a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display.

With this, users no longer have to choose between 120Hz refresh rate or Quad HD+ quality - an impressive feat to run both. The screen brightness is also 25% brighter than the two handsets above.

The battery kicks in at a mammoth 5000mAh and the rear quad camera set-up features a new 108MP pro sensor with 64x richer colour. You can also shoot in 4K at 60fps, a feature to compete with Apple's impressive camera tech.

Most interestingly, the Ultra is the first Samsung phone outside of the Note series to allow S pen stylus compatibility - although you'll have to fork out even more money to get it!

Alex Hughes

Alex is a journalist who has written extensively about all things broadband, SIMs and phone contracts, as well as scouring the internet to land you the best prices on the very latest in gadgets and tech. Whether that be with the latest iPhones and Android handsets, breaking down how broadband works or revealing the cheapest SIM plans, he's in the know, and will help you land a bargain.