The Samsung Galaxy S9's price has been the talk of the town even before the device itself came out. Now that it's official, you can now figure out how much you really need to fork over for it, as opposed to going by just leaks and rumors.
Right off the bat, the Galaxy S9 will cost anywhere from $720 to $800 and the Galaxy S9 Plus from $840 to $930 in the United States, but the exact price depends on the carrier or retailer.
To get the best deal for them, one way to go at it is to find out what promotions your carrier is offering such as trade-in options, or you can just grab an unlocked model and go from there.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile is selling the Galaxy S9 for $30 a month for 24 months or $720 when you want to make a one-time payment. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S9 Plus is also available for the same price at $30 a month for 24 months, but you have to make a $120 down payment, or you can just hand over $840 and pay it in full.
Now the Uncarrier has a trade-in program that lets you shave 50 percent off the Galaxy S9 or up to $360 off the Galaxy S9 Plus. As is the case with offers like this, you're going to need to turn in an eligible device.
AT&T
AT&T is putting the Galaxy S9 up for sale at $26.34 a month for 30 months and the Galaxy S9 Plus at $30.50 over the same period. That boils down to $790 and $915, respectively.
Sprint
On the Sprint Flex plan, Sprint subscribers will pay $33 a month or $792 for the Galaxy S9 and $38 a month or $912 for the Galaxy S9 Plus without a down payment. The advantage here is you have the option to upgrade after making 12 payments.
Verizon
The priciest Samsung phones are over at Verizon's. The carrier is charging customers $33.33 a month for 24 months or $800 for the Galaxy S9 and $38.74 a month over the same number of months or $930.
As a saving grace of sorts, it has a trade-in option where you can save up to $350, not to mention you can get $150 in the form of a MasterCard prepaid card when you port in a number from another carrier.
Samsung
Samsung is selling an unlocked Galaxy S9 for $720 or $30 a month for 24 months and an unlocked Galaxy S9 Plus for $840 or $35 a month for the same amount of time.
Through the smartphone maker itself, you can save up to $350 thanks to its trade-in program. That depends on what device you're turning in, though. For instance, a Galaxy S8, iPhone X, or iPhone 8 will shave off $350; a Galaxy S7, iPhone 7, Pixel 2, or LG V30 will take $300 off; and so on.
The Bottom Line
It should be cleared up that trade-in promos aren't the best way to save on new smartphones. It's usually better to just sell your old phone on your own and use the cash toward a new one, which is the Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9 Plus in this context.
Putting money aside, one more thing to consider is that AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon typically send OS updates faster than Samsung. In other words, you might get a better smartphone experience when you go with one of the Big Four.
Last but not least, the phone will be up for preorder on March 2 and available for purchase on March 16, which is when the preorders will start to ship out too.
