Is Cyber Monday Better Than Black Friday for iPad Deals?

Three days sit between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and that gap is where a lot of iPad shoppers get stuck. The catch is that the iPad you picked on Friday may not be there at that price on Monday. Last year's sales show which day actually paid off, and they make the decision a lot simpler.

Is Cyber Monday better than Black Friday for iPad deals? Usually not. In 2025, the lowest iPad prices showed up on or before Black Friday, and Cyber Monday mostly repeated them, with a few late drops and some deals that sold out first. Apple's own offer was a gift card that stayed the same across both days. If the iPad you want hits a price you're happy with on Black Friday, buy it then.

This year the calendar puts Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov 26, which makes Friday, Nov 27 Black Friday and Monday, Nov 30 Cyber Monday.

Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday: Why Black Friday Usually Wins for iPads

Going by tech reviews and deal coverage, the lowest iPad prices of 2025 arrived during the Black Friday sales, and many of them carried over to Cyber Monday rather than dropping further. "Better" here means three things: the lowest price, the widest pick of models and storage sizes, and stock that's still there when you check out.

Here is how last year's sale lined up:

• The best iPad prices came early: Macworld found that every current iPad reached its lowest-ever price during the 2025 Black Friday sales, with savings of up to $150.
• Cyber Monday carried them forward: The Independent's 2025 coverage said Black Friday deals "generally carried over" into Cyber Monday, and that Cyber Monday did "not always" bring bigger savings. Tom's Guide saw the same thing in 2024, when many Black Friday iPad prices were still live on Cyber Monday.
• Black Friday keeps gaining ground: Adobe's 2025 holiday data showed Black Friday online spending growing faster than Cyber Monday's for the second year running.

One caveat. No source publishes a day-by-day price record for every iPad model, so this verdict rests on what tech reviewers saw during both sales, not on a full price history. It does point the same way two years in a row.

	Black Friday	Cyber Monday
2026 date	Friday, Nov 27	Monday, Nov 30
Apple's 2025 offer	Gift card with qualifying iPads	The same gift card, same event
Retailer iPad prices, 2025	Lowest-ever prices on current models	Mostly the same prices, a few late drops
U.S. online spend, 2025, per Adobe	$11.8 billion, up 9.1%	$14.25 billion, up 7.1%

What Apple Offers on Each Day: A Gift Card, Not a Price Cut

Apple doesn't lower its iPad prices on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. It runs one shopping event across both days and adds an Apple Gift Card to qualifying purchases.

In 2025, as MacRumors reported, Apple's event ran from Nov 28 to Dec 1. That stretched from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, with the same terms on every day:

• iPad (A16) and iPad mini: a $50 Apple Gift Card.
• iPad Air (11-inch and 13-inch): a $100 Apple Gift Card.
• M5 iPad Pro: not included.

This means there's no Cyber Monday advantage at Apple itself. An Apple iPad bought from Apple costs the same on Monday as on Friday: you pay the regular price on either day and get credit to spend later. If you want a lower number at checkout, the retailers are where the cuts happen.

What Retailers Did: About 10% to 25% Off in 2025

Retailers took about 10% to 25% off current iPads in 2025, going by that year's deal coverage. The newest model got the smallest cut.

Here are the 2025 examples tech reviewers reported, with the percent off worked out from the regular price:

iPad (2025 sale)	Regular price	Sale price	You saved	When reported
iPad (A16, 128GB) at Best Buy	$349	$274	$75, about 21%	Nov 29 to Dec 1, per ZDNet and Wired
11-inch iPad Air (M3)	$599	about $449	about $150, about 25%	Nov 30 to Dec 1, per Forbes and Macworld
11-inch M5 iPad Pro (256GB)	Not listed	About $100 off	About 10%	Dec 1, per Forbes
M4 iPad Pro	Not listed	$200 off	Not listed	Nov 30, per Mashable

The $274 base iPad shows how much the two days overlap. It was reported at that price on Saturday, Nov 29, and it was still $274 on Cyber Monday, Dec 1. Buy it Saturday or wait until Monday, you'd save the same $75.

Look at the iPad Pro row, too. The newest Pro got about 10% off, while the iPad Air got about 25% off. That gap is normal: the newer the model, the smaller the cut, whichever day you shop.

Why "Cyber Monday Is for Tech" Doesn't Mean iPads

The idea that Cyber Monday is the day for tech comes from electronics-wide numbers, and those numbers say nothing specific about tablets.

Adobe's Dec 2, 2025 report put Cyber Monday online spending at a record $14.25 billion, up 7.1% from the year before. Black Friday came in at $11.8 billion, up 9.1%. Adobe also found electronics discounts peaked at 31% off list price on Cyber Monday.

Those figures cover all electronics in one bucket. They don't break out iPads or tablets, and they don't say which day had the deepest iPad discounts. A 31% peak somewhere in electronics isn't 31% off an iPad Air.

The same Adobe report said Black Friday "now challenges the dominance of Cyber Monday." For an iPad shopper, the model-by-model prices above tell you more than the spending totals do. Phone shoppers ask the same thing, and there's a separate look at whether iPhones get cheaper on Cyber Monday.

When Waiting for Cyber Monday Costs You

Waiting for Cyber Monday costs you when the deal you wanted sells out first, and in 2025 some iPad deals did.

TechRadar reported on Dec 2, 2025 that "some offers have sold out," with Amazon out of its base iPad deal. Good Housekeeping's Dec 1 headline said the same: "Deals on iPads and Watches Are Going Fast."

It's a lot like holding out for cheaper concert tickets. The price might dip closer to the show, but the seats you wanted are often gone by then.

Here's the math on an iPad. Say you see the 11-inch iPad Air at about $449, down from $599, on Black Friday. If you wait and that deal sells out, you're back at $599. That's a $150 saving traded for the chance of a lower price that may never come.

So is anything on Monday worth that risk?

When Cyber Monday Is Worth the Wait

The Cyber Monday deals are worth a look when you're flexible or when you missed your Black Friday deal. It's rarely worth waiting for on purpose.

Here is when it makes sense:

• You're flexible on model and storage: If an iPad Air or an Apple iPad mini would both work for you, Monday gives you another pass at whatever is still in stock.
• A retailer adds a late drop: Cyber Monday can bring a late price cut on a single item, so it's worth one more look.
• Your Black Friday pick sold out at one store: Some 2025 deals stayed live through the weekend. TechRadar had the iPad Air at $449.99 and the iPad Pro at $899 still live on Nov 30.
• You're checking one exact item: Look up the model, storage and color you already chose, rather than scanning the whole sale hoping Monday is better.

A Simple Rule for Deciding

Buy on Black Friday if the price is one you'd be happy with, and treat Cyber Monday as a second look at the same item. Here is how to put that into practice, starting with a look at the Apple iPad Black Friday deals on Plug:

• Know what you want first: Pick the model, the storage size and whether you need an Apple Pencil before the sales start.
• Write down the best price you've seen: Then you'll recognize a real deal when it shows up.
• If Black Friday hits that price, buy: Don't trade a sure saving for a maybe.
• Check once more on Cyber Monday: Only for that exact item, and only if you didn't buy.
• Know what a good cut looks like: In 2025, 20% to 25% off a current iPad was a strong deal. About 10% off the newest iPad Pro was normal.

If the Sale Price Still Isn't Low Enough: A Plug Certified iPad

A Plug Certified iPad is the other way to get a good iPad for less, and you don't have to catch one weekend's retailer deal to get it. Prices on Plug change often with the market, and you'll find today's numbers on the live iPad collection.

Every Plug Certified iPad comes with the same checks and promises:

• 90+ Point Inspection: Each iPad is tested before it ships.
• A year of cover: The 12-Month Plug Warranty takes care of hardware and software faults under normal use.
• 30-day returns: Included with every iPad Plug sells.
• Free shipping: On US orders.
• A grade is about looks: Good, Great or Excellent tells you how the iPad looks, not how it works. Each one is fully tested and backed by the same warranty.

Plug's savings run up to 70% off retail. Whether a Plug Certified iPad costs less than a new one on sale depends on the model and storage, so put the same iPad side by side on the day you shop and compare the two prices. If you're weighing the risks, this guide to whether refurbished Black Friday deals are worth it lists what to check.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are iPads reduced on Black Friday?

Yes, at retailers, though not at Apple. Apple's 2025 gift card offer left out its own refurbished products and couldn't be combined with education pricing. If you're a student, the best iPad Black Friday deal for students depends on age, and you should compare Apple's education price against a retailer's Black Friday price, since Apple won't give you both.

Is it worth waiting until Cyber Monday to buy an iPad?

Not usually. The exception is when your pick sells out before you check out. Then Cyber Monday and the days after are worth watching: Tom's Guide still listed $100-off iPad Air and iPad Pro deals on Dec 4, 2025, three days after Cyber Monday ended.

What time of the year is the cheapest to buy an iPad?

Black Friday week, going by 2025. Outside the holidays, Macworld points to Amazon's Prime Day events in summer and October, plus Apple's back-to-school offer, as the next-best windows. If you miss the November sales, those are the times to watch before paying full price for a new iPad.