I did the math — the Galaxy S26 price increases are worse than you thought

The Samsung Galaxy S26 series is finally here — complete with refreshed designs, the S26 Ultra’s fancy Privacy Display, and (unfortunately) price increases.

There was a lot of discussion about price hikes leading up to the S26 announcement, and now that the phones have been unveiled, we can confirm that they are more expensive. Samsung’s onslaught of pre-order deals can make these higher prices less noticeable, but they’re still very real.

If you’re shopping for a Galaxy S26 model right now, here’s every price increase you should know about before spending your money.

256GB Galaxy S26 ($40 price increase)

The first price increase to mention is perhaps the most well-known. Where last year’s Galaxy S25 had a $800 starting price, the Galaxy S26 starts at $900. However, the big difference is that whereas the S25 had just 128GB of base storage, the S26 has 256GB.

While that is a welcome change, this still isn’t a consumer-friendly price. Not only is the starting price $100 higher than last year, but the Galaxy S26 is also more expensive than the 256GB model of the Galaxy S25. That configuration cost $860, so if we’re comparing the S26 to that, we’re looking at a $40 year-over-year increase. And it only gets worse from here.

256GB Galaxy S26 Plus ($100 price increase)

Without a doubt, the Galaxy S26 Plus was hit the hardest with price hikes. Like the S25 Plus, the S26 Plus has 256GB of base storage — no change there. However, there is a significant price increase.

The 256GB Galaxy S25 Plus sold for $1,000, but if you want a 256GB Galaxy S26 Plus, you’ll pay $1,100 — a hefty $100 increase. Ouch.

512GB Galaxy S26 Plus ($180 price increase)

What if you’re interested in the 512GB Galaxy S26 Plus? You might want to sit down for this one.

Last year, you could buy a 512GB Galaxy S25 Plus for $1,120. This year, for a 512GB Galaxy S26 Plus, you’re going to pay $1,300. That’s not a typo; Samsung is enforcing a $180 YoY price increase for this version of the Plus, and it’s absolutely bonkers.

512GB Galaxy S26 Ultra ($80 price increase)

Moving over to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, the good news is that the 256GB model is the same price as the 256GB Galaxy S25 Ultra ($1,300). Unfortunately, the other two configurations were not spared.

The 512GB Galaxy S26 Ultra will set you back $1,500 — a not-insignificant $80 increase over the $1,420 Samsung charged for the 512GB Galaxy S25 Ultra.

1TB Galaxy S26 Ultra ($140 price increase)

Last but not least, there’s the highest-end Galaxy S26 variant you can buy: the 1TB Galaxy S26 Ultra.

The 1TB Galaxy S25 Ultra was already a very expensive phone, priced at $1,660. But, naturally, it’s even worse this year. If you want to buy the 1TB Galaxy S26 Ultra, you’ll pay a whopping $1,800 — a $140 price hike.

Why is the Galaxy S26 series so much more expensive?

We know the Galaxy S26 series isn’t that different from the Galaxy S25 lineup, so what gives with these higher prices? Why is Samsung asking us to spend so much more?

Although Samsung hasn’t explicitly said why, this is almost certainly a result of the ongoing RAM and memory shortages. We expect smartphones from virtually every company to increase in price compared to last year’s models, and the S26 series is an unfortunate preview of more price hikes to come this year.

There’s not really a happy ending here — just a harsh reminder of what the smartphone market is going to look like throughout 2026 and beyond.