An older Galaxy can still fetch hundreds of dollars, though with a surprisingly wide gap between a cash offer and private sale.
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Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra cost $1,199.99 upon its release in February 2023. A like-new 256GB model drew a top cash buyback offer of $291, and the average completed sale price on Swappa was $404 by October 23, 2026. If you're prepared to take care of the sale yourself, that's a $113 gap before fees. Convenience does have its cost, it seems.
You have three main options to get cash from your old phone: selling to a buyback site, directly selling to another consumer or trading in with Samsung. Buyback sites and trading in are convenient, offering online quotes and prepaid shipping labels, but you get less money since the buyer has to earn a profit too. Selling directly to others results in the most cash, but you have to deal with logistics like taking photos and shipping.
New Galaxy phones aren't getting cheaper, either. Samsung raised the Galaxy S26 Ultra's US starting price from $1,299.99 to $1,399.99 on October 1 amid rising memory costs, although it hasn't confirmed the reason. But since some older flagships still have several years of software updates left, buying used may be a more attractive option. So what do these phones actually fetch, and where can you sell your phone for the most cash?
How much can you get for an older Samsung Galaxy?
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On October 23, SellCell's US price comparison listed the top "Like New" cash offers for the Galaxy S24 Ultra (256GB) at $449, the S23 Ultra (256GB) at $291 and the S22 Ultra (256GB) at $196. The S21 Ultra (256GB) drew a top offer of $136, but these are best-case quotes, not guaranteed payouts.
Interestingly, the older Galaxy S20 Ultra (128GB) still received a $136 offer, even though it has half the storage of newer models. But that doesn't make it a collector's item, particularly as BankMyCell showed just one offer among the 17 stores it compares.
Foldables have not been able to maintain their launch prices, either. The Galaxy Z Fold6 (256GB), which started at $1,900 in 2024, attracted a top cash offer of $512. Meanwhile, the Z Fold5 (256GB) was quoted at $327. The Z Flip6 (256GB) managed $278.
Selling directly to a person instead of a company can bring in more money. According to Swappa's October pricing data, the S24 Ultra went for an average of $600, the S23 Ultra for $481 and the S22 Ultra for $383. The Z Fold6 averaged $657, but Swappa doesn't say what timeframe those averages are for.
If you're looking for an older Galaxy, it's wise to take software support into account. Starting with the S24 series, Samsung promised seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates, meaning support should run into early 2031. The S23 series is expected to get security patches until early 2028, and the S22 series is expected to receive quarterly security patches until early 2027, even though it's already been updated to its last major Android version.
Where should you sell your old Samsung phone?
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SellCell lets you compare cash offers, while Back Market's buyback program gets you quotes from refurbishers and pays into your bank account after inspection. Back Market also offers refurbished Galaxy phones, but those prices are quite different from what the sellers get.
If you don't mind dealing directly with the final buyer, Swappa might be able to get you more money for used tech. You'll need to create the listing and handle shipping, while its three percent seller fee plus payment processing fees will cut into your payout. Swappa also requires a fully paid-off phone with a clean IMEI, no activation lock and no cracked glass or water damage.
Samsung's own trade-in program provides credit toward a new device instead of cash. The amount depends on what you're buying and the promotion available at checkout. There's also a separate trade-in option via Likewize that doesn't require a new purchase, but pays through a prepaid digital gift card rather than a bank transfer.
Those promotional credits can be quite generous, but timing is important. Samsung was offering $500 for a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra during the Galaxy S26 Ultra preorders in February 2026. That credit was reduced to $130 by the time the S26 Ultra was available on March 11.