Samsung Edge Plus and Note 5: Which Carrier is Best?

While many will be scrambling to pick up the new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus or Note 5, you may want to pause to see if your carrier has the best deal. Both new smartphones are available August 14 from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, so it pays to check out all your options before settling on a new handset and potentially a new carrier. Here are the deals wireless carriers are offering on Samsung's new smartphones:

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Carrier Plan
Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
Note 5
AT&T Next 18
$33.96 or $38.13 per payment
$30.84 or $35 per payment
AT&T Unlocked
$814 (32GB), $914 (64GB)
$739 (32GB), $839 (64GB)
Sprint Easy Pay
$33 or $37 per month
$30 or $34 per month
Sprint Unlocked
$792 (32GB), $888 (64GB)
$720 (32GB), $816 (64GB)
T-Mobile JUMP! On Demand
$28.50 per month$25 per month
T-Mobile Unlocked
$779
$699

AT&T

AT&T offers both the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and the Note 5 in the three tiers of its Next plans, which involve paying off the price of the smartphone over the course of 20, 24 and 30 payments. On Next 12 (20 payments), the Edge Plus will cost $27.17 per payment (32GB) or $45.75 (64GB) per payment. Next 18 (24 payments) will have the handset costing $33.96 or $38.13 per payment, respectively, and Next 24 (30 payments) will have the Edge Plus cost $27.17 or $30.50 per payment, also respectively.

MORE: No-Contract Phone FAQ

Under the same Next plans, the Note 5 costs slightly less than the Edge Plus. Next 12 will have you paying $37 (32GB) or $42 (64GB) per payment; Next 18 costs $30.84 or $35 per payment, respectively; and Next 24 has the Note 5 priced at $24.67 or $28 per payment, respectively.

Both smartphones are also available in AT&T two-year plans. Signing up for a new two-year plan will let you buy the Edge Plus for $299 (32GB) or $399 (64GB), and the Note 5 will be $249 (32GB) or $349 (64GB). Buying either handset unlocked from AT&T will cost much more, putting the Edge Plus at $814 (32GB) or $914 (64GB) and the Note 5 at $739 (32GB) or $839 (64GB).

AT&T has some credit incentives as well: the company will give you a minimum $200 credit for trading in an eligible smartphone when you buy either the Edge Plus or the Note 5. Also, if you are coming from a different wireless provider, AT&T will give you a $100 bill credit to pay off your old plan in addition to the trade-in $200 credit.

Sprint

Both the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and the Note 5 are available on Sprint Lease, Sprint Easy Pay and Sprint two-year contract plans. When you rent the smartphone from Sprint Lease, the Edge Plus will cost $30 or $35 per month for the 32GB and 64GB models, respectively, with no payment upfront. On Sprint Easy Pay, which has you pay off the cost of the smartphone over 24 months, those prices increase for each model to $33 and $37 per month, respectively. For those beginning a new two-year contract, the 32GB Edge Plus will cost $349 and the 64GB will set you back $449. You can also buy both models unlocked for $792 and $888, respectively.

The Galaxy Note 5 will cost $25 for the 32GB model and $30 per month for the 64GB model on Sprint Lease, with no money down. On Sprint Easy Pay, the handset models will be $30 or $34 per month, respectively. Two-year plan signers can buy the Note 5 for $249 (32GB) and $349 (64GB), or you can purchase the Note 5 unlocked for $720 (32GB) or $816 (64GB).

For customers who opt for Sprint Lease or Easy Pay, the provider is promising to credit a minimum of $200 when you trade in a working smartphone, and you'll be able to upgrade devices after 12 months. For those who prefer 2-year plans, Sprint will give you a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 when you sign a new plan and get one of the new handsets.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile is enticing you with entertainment. Through August 20, customers who sign up to pre-register and choose to receive updates about the two new Samsung phones, and then purchase one before September 30, will receive a free year of Netflix. This deal is not coincidental, considering Samsung is pushing both the S6 Edge Plus and the Note 5 as entertainment powerhouses.

The S6 Edge Plus and the Note 5 will be available in T-Mobile stores on August 21, but you can preorder it online before that date. Those who sign up for T-Mobile's JUMP! On Demand plan, which is similar to Sprint's Easy Pay plan, can buy the 32GB S6 Edge Plus for $28.50 per month and the 32GB Note 5 for $25 per month, with no money down on either.

If JUMP isn't for you, T-Mobile is also offering the smartphones on its installment plans, which have you paying off the full price of the phone over 24 months. The Edge Plus will cost $32.50 per month over 24 months and the Note 5 will cost $29.17 per month over the same time period. Both of those plans require no payment upfront. This makes the Edge Plus $779 unlocked from T-Mobile and the Note 5 $699.

We will continue to update this story as more carriers release their plans and prices.

Valentina Palladino

Valentina is Commerce Editor at Engadget and has covered consumer electronics for a number of publications including Tom's Guide, Wired, Laptop Mag and Ars Technica, with a particular focus on wearables, PCs and other mobile tech.