Buying guide: Best phone deals of the week

Best phone deals of the week

There's never been a better time to be on the hunt for a new phone. There are loads of amazing handsets out there, filled to the brim with the latest tech. Even better, there's plenty of fantastic deals that ensure you don't have to break the bank to get a fantastic phone.

All these handsets and deals does mean that it can be a bit of a chore searching shops in the hunt for the best offers. The good news is that we've teamed up with Uswitch to bring you the best prices for top of the range smartphones like the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, Sony Xperia Z3 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

We don't just have deals for the latest and greatest handsets, with slightly older devices like the HTC One M8, LG G3, Samsung Galaxy Alpha and the iPhone 5S.

Our deals have two elements for each phone we're featuring: the first is one of the most popular of the week, with the most interest from consumers all over the UK.

The second is the lowest total cost of ownership, where we work out how much the combined total of handset plus monthly cost will hit the wallet over the duration of the deal.

Apple iPhone 6

The Apple iPhone 6 has been out for a while now but it continues to be one of the most sought after phones on the market.

The most popular iPhone 6 deal gets you a refurbished 16GB version in gold with O2. You'll get a 5GB 4G data allowance as well as unlimited minutes and unlimited texts per month.

This deal is with Mobiles.co.uk and costs £38 a month for two years. This deal will cost you £912 over the course of the two year contract, which might seem steep, but it's one of the best prices you can get an iPhone 6 for considering the generous data and calls allowance.

Cheapest Apple iPhone 6 deal

The iPhone 6 is still relatively new, so we're not expecting any impressively cheap deals just yet but that doesn't mean there aren't savings to be had.

You can get a 16GB gold iPhone 6 with EE. The contract comes with 500MB 4G data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts for just £14.99 per month. You will need to spend £419.99 upfront, however.

The deal is through mobilephonesdirect and although you'll need to pay a lot up front, over two years the deal comes to just £779.75 which isn't bad.

• Read all about it in our Apple iPhone 6 review

Apple iPhone 6 Plus

Apple's first 'phablet' is big, bold and really rather good. It's also got quite a high price tag to boot. The most popular deals right now is for the 16GB version of the handset in grey, courtesy of mobilephonesdirect.

It will cost you £38.99 a month on Vodafone which gets you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of 4G data every month. You'll need to pay an upfront cost of £57.99, making the overall cost of this deal is £993.75.

Cheapest Apple iPhone 6 Plus deal

The cheapest iPhone 6 Plus deal is still pricy, but considering what you get for your money is still pretty good value. At the moment the best deal you can get for the iPhone 6 Plus is for a silver 16GB handset on EE through mobilephonesdirect.

This deal comes with 500MB of 4G data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts each month. It'll cost £14.99 a month for two years and comes with an upfront cost of £499.99. Over the course of the contract this deal will cost you £859.75.

• See what we made of Apple's first phablet in our Apple iPhone 6 Plus review

Samsung Galaxy S5

The most popular deal this week for the excellent Samsung Galaxy S5 is also the cheapest. It's on the Vodafone network and comes courtesy of Mobiles.co.uk. This nets you a refurbished blue version of the handset with 500MB of data, 600 minutes and unlimited texts.

The deal costs £22.50 per month for two years and will cost you £540 which isn't bad at all.

• Read our in-depth Samsung Galaxy S5 review

Samsung Galaxy Alpha

While the Galaxy S5 is still Samsung's main flagship the company has now released a metal-clad marvel that seems aimed at the iPhone crowd. This week's most popular deals coming out at just £28 per month with no upfront charge.

That's for the Galaxy Alpha in black on O2 through Mobiles.co.uk and it comes with 500 minutes, 500MB of data and unlimited texts. You also get £144 cashback, which makes the deal just £528. That's a great deal, in fact it's so good that it's both the cheapest and one of the most popular.

• See how it stacks up in our Samsung Galaxy Alpha review

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Samsung's latest is a phone of monstrous proportions and the price tag is pretty hefty too, but it's probably worth the money as our glowing review attests and if you shop around it needn't be extortionate.

One of the more popular ways to get it right now is in black, from Mobiles.co.uk on an EE contract with 1,000 minutes, unlimited texts and 12GB of data. That will set you back £33.99 per month with no upfront cost for a total of £815.76 over 24 months.

Cheapest Samsung Galaxy Note 4 deal

If the above deal isn't enough of a steal for you, you can get the Note 4 for even cheaper. Right now the cheapest deal gets you a white Galaxy Note 4 for just £26.50 per month plus £73.99 upfront on a Vodafone contract. In all that will cost you just £709.99.

That's through mobilephonesdirect and the allowances are a little lacking, as it comes with just 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 100MB of data (following three months of unlimited data), but considering the Note 4 has a SIM free RRP of £629 that's still pretty good.

• See how it sizes up in our Samsung Galaxy Note 4 review

HTC One M8

The most popular HTC One M8 deal of the week is for the grey version of the handset. The deal works out at £31 per month for 600 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB data.

The deal is available through buymobiles.net and it's for a 24 month contract with the Three network. The overall cost of the deal comes in at £744.

Cheapest HTC One M8 deal

The above deal is already great value, but right now you can get the HTC One M8 cheaper.

The cheapest overall deal this week is just £18.50 per month with an upfront charge of £155.99.

For that you'll get 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 100MB of data, though for the first three months it gives you unlimited data.

It's with a 24 month Vodafone contract and is available through mobilephonesdirect. In total it will cost you £599.99 for the phone in grey. The allowances aren't the best but it's still great value if you can afford to pay a large chunk upfront.

• The one for you? Find out in our HTC One M8 review

Xperia Z3, LG G3, Lumia 930 and more

Sony Xperia Z3

Sony has just replaced its less-than-a-year-old Xperia Z2 with the Xperia Z3, but despite the rapid release it's a worthy upgrade.

The most popular deal this week gets you the black version of the handset on T-Mobile from the Tesco Phone Shop. You get 500 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data for £29.99 per month.

There's no upfront cost here so the deal comes in at an overall cost of £719.76 over 24 months.

Cheapest Sony Xperia Z3 deal

This week if you want the cheapest deal for the Xperia Z3 then you'll need to be prepared to spend a lot of money upfront, £264.99 to be precise. That may seem steep, but then you'll only need to pay £14.50 each month, with a total cost overall of just £612.99, which isn't bad for one of the most powerful flagship phones on the market today.

This deal gets you the Xperia Z3 in white with Vodafone through Mobiles.co.uk with 100MB of data, 100 minutes and unlimited texts.

So while it's certainly cheap it comes with very little data, so consider how much data you're going to need before opting for it - you'll probably need to top that up unless you live in perma-Wi-Fi.

• Find out how it performs in our Sony Xperia Z3 review

LG G3

The LG G3 is still one of the newer flagship smartphones on the block, and as such you'd expect it to be quite expensive, but you can still get a lot for your money, as this week's most popular deal proves.

If you go through Mobiles.co.uk you'll get a gold LG G3 for free, along with 500MB of data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts on the O2 network, all for £18 a month. This means the deal costs £432 over 24 months. This price is such a steal that it is also the cheapest LG G3 offer this week.

• See how it stacks up in our LG G3 review

Nokia Lumia 930

If you fancy a new Windows Phone handset then the Nokia Lumia 930 could be the phone for you.

The latest Lumia flagship is a top tier device and we've dug up some top tier deals for it. The most popular deal currently is for the phone in black on EE through Carphone Warehouse.

This deal costs £24.99 a month with an upfront cost of £29.99, so in total you'll pay £629.75 over 24 months. For that you get 500MB of data, unlimited texts, and 500 minutes.

Cheapest Nokia Lumia 930 deal

Want to go cheaper? No problem! This week's lowest price deal will net you a green Nokia Lumia 930 from Carphone Warehouse for £14.99 per month plus £149.99 upfront, adding up to £509.75 over the 24 months of the contract.

That gets you 500 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of 4G data on an EE contract, so as you'd expect for that price the allowances aren't amazing, but it sure is cheap.

• See what we thought of it in our Nokia Lumia 930 review

Apple iPhone 5S

Apple's 2013 flagship might be getting on a bit, in fact it's been replaced by the iPhone 6, but it's still good enough to go toe-to-toe with some Android phones.

Like most of Apple's products the iPhone 5S hasn't gone down in price much, even if it is a year old. The most popular deal this week comes from Buymobiles.net. It offers a 16GB handset in gold for free with 1GB of data, 1,000 minutes and unlimited texts, all for £30.99 a month on EE.

This works out at £743.76 over the course of 24 months.

Cheapest iPhone 5S deal

You can get the Apple iPhone 5S a little cheaper over the course of the contract, but only if you're prepared to pay a lot upfront.

Carphone Warehouse is offering a 16GB version in grey on a 24 month EE contract with 500MB of 4G data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts for £14.99 per month with £239.99 upfront. That comes out at £599.75 over 24 months, which isn't too shabby at all by iPhone standards.

• Find out more in our iPhone 5S review

Apple iPhone 5C 8GB

We've got some tasty deals for the 8GB version of Apple's colourful handset. Mobilephonesdirect.co.uk is offering a pink iPhone 5C 8GB with 1GB of data, unlimited minutes and unlimited texts.

It's £26.50 a month with Vodafone. This brings the total overall cost over two years to £636, which isn't too bad at all for an Apple handset.

Cheapest iPhone 5C 8GB deal

One of the cheapest iPhone 5C 8GB deals this week is for the phone in pink on Vodafone through Mobilephonesdirect.co.uk.

That's just £14.50 per month plus £117.99 upfront, adding up to £465.99 overall and it comes with 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 100MB of data (following three months of unlimited data). So it's cheap but you risk running out of data and minutes in, well, a matter of minutes.

• Check it out in our iPhone 5C review

SIM only

If you want to keep your old phone, or just buy a new one outright, then you then you'll want to check out this great SIM-only deal from EE.

You get 2GB data, unlimited texts and unlimited minutes for just £12.99 a month on a 12 month contract. This will end up costing you £155.88 over the year, though don't forget you'll still need to source a phone to use it.

• In the market for a cheap tablet too? Check out our list of the best budget options.

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