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Everyone knows that Apple products tend to cost a pretty penny, and MacBooks and iMacs are no exception.
If you'd rather avoid spending $1,100 on entry-level specs, we have great news: you can save hundreds on an Apple laptop or computer multiple times a year. That means if your laptop is on its last leg, you don't have to hold out until next November to make an upgrade that won't hurt your bank account. (And tbh, Apple's annual gift card incentive around Black Friday isn't anything to write home about anyway).
We've been tracking Apple deals weekly for over two years, so we know what tends to go on sale and when. Plus, we know what MacBook deals are actually worth jumping on, and which "markdowns" are basically the regular price. Check out this list of the top three times of year to find the best prices on a MacBook or iMac, based on our historical deals knowledge:
Time #1 to get a deal on a Mac: Black Friday and Prime Day seasons
Months: Early to mid-July, October through November
We know, shopping holidays are a great time to save money, groundbreaking. However, we're not talking about Apple's annual Black Friday deal, which is the same every year: Buy a laptop or iMac, get a free gift card to use on a future purchase. It's a little lackluster, and not all that great for saving money upfront.
If you want real savings during shopping holidays, you'll want to look to retailers like Amazon and Best Buy during Black Friday and Prime Day seasons. At first glance, that may seem like you have to keep your eye on the calendar for a few select days throughout the year, but these retailers have decided that time is meaningless when it comes to sales. That means you'll start to see Black Friday savings as early as October, and Prime Day savings for a week or so around July. (Prime Day has spanned two days the past few years, but usually brings the deals heat in the weeks leading up to the official sale).
During these sales, it's not uncommon to see MacBooks from the cheapest Airs to the most souped-up Pros on sale for $150 off or more. They're great deals, but they can also be harder to score because the general public know these are the times to shop for a Mac. If you see a good deal, don't hesitate too much. Our advice? Know what models you're interested in before these sale events kick off, and keep your eye on them.
As a final note, Black Friday season is a reliable time to catch the initial sales on any fall Mac releases. Last fall, M3 and M3 Pro MacBook Pros dropped in October, and by November, were already on sale for $150 off. These likely won't be the steepest deals you'll see in the year or so lifespan before a newer chipset and Mac come out, but they can be impressive considering how recent the releases are.
Time #2 to get a deal on a Mac: Back-to-school season
Months: June through early October
Apple offers educational pricing year-round for current or newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff, and homeschool teachers of all grade levels. These prices knock $100 off the price of their laptops and computers. It's not a massive markdown, but it beats full price.
However, if you fall into one of the above demographics, that's not your only chance to save directly through Apple. They also run a special back-to-school sale from the summer to the early fall. In 2023, it ran from June 5 to Oct. 2, so you'll have plenty of time to decide what model Mac to pick up. The major downside is that similar to the Black Friday sale, Apple's BTS offer isn't an off-the-face price cut — you'll receive an Apple gift card proportional to the value of the product you're buying for use on future purchases. In 2023, this is how the pricing broke down:
24-inch iMac: receive a $150 Apple gift card
MacBook Air: receive a $150 Apple gift card
MacBook Pro: receive a $150 Apple gift card
Mac mini: receive a $100 Apple gift card
Also like Black Friday, Apple doesn't tend to adjust gift card values drastically, if at all, from year to year, so we expect to see essentially the same offer this year. Considering MacBooks are some of our favorite laptops for students, we see this as a deal worth a second look, but with stipulations.
If you're not planning on making another Apple purchase (gift cards can be used on App Store purchases, in-app purchases, more Apple tech, and subscriptions like iCloud+ or Apple TV+), you might want to wait for a sale at another retailer. Chances are, places like Amazon and Best Buy will also want to draw in the back-to-school crowd, so there might be greater markdowns there — but you likely won't a ton of flexibility on specs. A MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD, for instance, might be $150 off, but a model with 16GB of RAM might not be on sale at all.
The gift card incentive is also good for anyone who has a pair of AirPods or a paid note-taking app on their back-to-school list, too.
Time #3 to get a deal on a Mac: After new releases are announced
Months: Can vary
This tip isn't unique to Apple products, but it doesn't make it any less useful for grabbing a Mac for a little less cash. Typically, after Apple announces the latest models, they drop the prices on older generations.
Technically, this isn't a deal in the strictest sense of the word, but it'll still save you money. Take for instance the recent announcement of the 13-inch and 15-inch M3 MacBook Air. On March 4, Apple put it up for pre-order on their online store, and right alongside the new laptop was a $100 price drop on the 13-inch M2 Air.
The price only fell from $1,099 to $999, so it's not a drastic difference, but if you were already planning on grabbing the M2 Air, waiting for this newer gen saved you at least $100. Plus, a new list price means future sales will net you even more bang for your buck.
You don't necessarily need to wait for the exact same model to get a newer counterpart to see a price drop. Allow us to explain, again with the M2 MacBook Air. Last June, Apple announced the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air at a starting price of $1,299. At the time, the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air had been out for just under a year, and cost $1,199. The larger model brought a price cut to the smaller and slightly older model.
Price cuts aren't always determined by Apple itself. A new Mac usually means the discontinuation of an older one. In the case of the M3 Air release, Apple discontinued the 15-inch M2 Air and M1 Air from 2020. Though you can no longer buy either at the Apple Store, at the time of writing they're both still available at Amazon and Best Buy for sale prices that beat their average markdowns.
And if you're sensing a theme here, yes, it's better more often than not to skip the Apple Store in favor of other retailers if you're looking to save some serious dough.
Final tips for saving money on a Mac
1. Keep an eye out for random sales
While the whole point of this guide is that there are ideal times to grab a Mac on sale, we're going to be honest: sometimes there are very random, very good sales on Macs for seemingly no reason.
Obviously, this is a bit trickier to plan for, but rest assured, if there is a Mac sale worth knowing about, we're writing about it, so we recommend following our deals coverage.
2. Some Macs go on sale more frequently than others
This tip likely goes without saying, but some models rarely go on sale. General trends we've seen are that iMacs tend not to go on sale as frequently as MacBooks, and anything above the starting specs on a MacBook, especially if you're looking for upgraded memory, are much trickier to find on sale regularly.
We say this just to encourage a little healthy expectation setting as you embark on your search for a discounted Mac.
Topics Apple Black Friday MacBook Prime Day
