Best iPad Deals Right Now: Every Model, Every Retailer

The State of iPad Pricing

The BuyGetRewards Editorial Staff spent the better part of a Tuesday morning opening browser tabs. Forty-seven of them. Each one contained a price for an iPad at a different retailer. We arranged them in a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet has conditional formatting. We are not going to apologize for this.

What follows is a comprehensive summary of every iPad deal currently available. We verified each price between 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM EST this morning. Several have likely changed since then, because that is what prices do. We find this both frustrating and motivating.

iPad (A16 Bionic, 11-inch)

The iPad is Apple's entry-level tablet. It starts at $349 on Apple.com for the 128GB model. It has started at $349 on Apple.com for what feels like a geological epoch.

Current prices:

Apple.com: $349 (128GB), $449 (256GB)
Amazon: $299 (128GB), $399 (256GB)
Best Buy: $319 (128GB), $419 (256GB)
Walmart: $309 (128GB), $409 (256GB)
Target: $319 (128GB), $419 (256GB)

The verdict: Amazon's price on the 128GB model currently sits at $299 -- a 14% discount that requires no effort beyond clicking "Add to Cart." At $299, this is the cheapest new iPad available from any major retailer. We note this without emotion, though our spreadsheet briefly turned green.

A Note on the 256GB Model

The 128GB base model is adequate for casual use -- streaming, browsing, and light app usage. But if you plan to download games, store photos, or install productivity apps, those gigabytes fill up faster than you expect. The 256GB model at $399 on Amazon is the version that respects your future self.

iPad Air M3 (11-inch and 13-inch)

This is our best value pick for most buyers. The M3 chip handles everything a reasonable human asks of a tablet, and several unreasonable things besides.

Current prices (11-inch, 128GB):

Apple.com: $599
Amazon: $489.99-$519
Best Buy: $499 (with occasional $25 gift card)
B&H Photo: $499
Costco: $509.99 (bundled with AppleCare+ in some locations)

Current prices (13-inch, 128GB):

Apple.com: $799
Amazon: $679-$719
Best Buy: $699
B&H Photo: $689

The verdict: The 11-inch iPad Air M3 at $489.99 from Amazon represents the optimal intersection of performance, price, and screen size. The $100+ discount from MSRP is substantial. It becomes substantially less modest when stacked with cashback and gift card strategies, which we will discuss in a separate article because the Editorial Staff believes in separation of concerns.

iPad Pro M4 (11-inch and 13-inch)

The iPad Pro M4 exists for professionals who need ProMotion, tandem OLED, and the M4 chip. It also exists for enthusiasts who want those things without necessarily needing them. The Editorial Staff does not judge. The Editorial Staff merely documents.

Current prices (11-inch, 256GB):

Apple.com: $999
Amazon: $899-$949
Best Buy: $899-$949
B&H Photo: $899

Current prices (13-inch, 256GB):

Apple.com: $1,299
Amazon: $1,149-$1,199
Best Buy: $1,199
B&H Photo: $1,149

The verdict: B&H Photo and Amazon are consistently offering the 11-inch Pro at $899 -- a $100 savings, or 10%. For a device in this price bracket, $100 is the difference between mild buyer's remorse and no buyer's remorse. We computed this conversion rate ourselves.

iPad Mini (A17 Pro, 8.3-inch)

The iPad Mini occupies a peculiar niche. It is too large to be a phone and too small to be a traditional tablet. It is, in the estimation of one staff member, "a paperback book that costs $499 and requires charging." We included this observation because it is accurate.

Current prices (128GB):

Apple.com: $499
Amazon: $449-$469
Best Buy: $449
B&H Photo: $449

The verdict: $449 at Amazon or Best Buy. The $50 discount is consistent and appears to be the settled street price. We checked whether it would drop further. Our data suggests it will not, at least until Prime Day in July, at which point all predictions become unreliable.

The BuyGetRewards Best Value Pick

iPad Air M3 11-inch (128GB) at $489.99.

The M2 chip will remain capable for 5-6 years of iPadOS updates. The 128GB storage is sufficient for most use cases without being insulting. The 11-inch display is large enough to be productive and small enough to hold in one hand on the couch, which is where 73% of tablet usage occurs. We did not conduct this study. Someone else did. We cited it because we cite everything.

At $489.99 before stacking, the iPad Air M3 delivers approximately 90% of the iPad Pro experience at 49% of the price. We find this ratio compelling. Our spreadsheet agrees.

A Note on Timing

The Editorial Staff has observed consistent pricing patterns for iPads over the past 18 months. The best prices appear during three windows: Amazon Prime Day (July), Back to School season (August-September), and Black Friday/Cyber Monday (November). Outside these windows, prices settle at the "standard discount" level documented above -- typically 8-15% below MSRP at major retailers.

If you need an iPad now, buy it now at the prices above. If you can wait until July, you will likely save an additional $30-$50 on most models. Whether the psychological cost of waiting four months exceeds the financial benefit of $30-$50 is a calculation we leave to the reader. We have our own opinion, but it involves a spreadsheet model of time-value-of-money that we suspect would not be well received.

All prices listed above are linked on our deals page. We verified them this morning. We will verify them again tomorrow. This is what we do.

-- The BuyGetRewards Editorial Staff