I almost bought this Pixel 10 deal that shaves 58% off its cost — but this Prime Day deal is even better

One of my favorite phones of late is the Pixel 10. I just put it through a 7-round face-off against the iPhone 17, and the Pixel 10 came out on top in a number of categories. So, when I came across this early Prime Day deal that shaves 58% off of its price, I thought it was an incredible deal I shouldn’t pass up on.

Rather than impulsively act, I scrutinized the deal a bit more — and ended up realizing it’s not as good of a deal as you’d think. While Boost Mobile drops $500 off the Pixel 10’s cost, bringing it to $299, you’ll end up overpaying in the long run because of the $60/month unlimited plan that’s required with this deal.

Nowadays, I always remind people to factor in the cost of the service. If you do end up keeping the phone with service for a year, that comes out to $720 for the service by itself. Factor in the cost of buying the hardware, you’re essentially paying $1,019 for the phone. I will say that’s still not too shabby given the $799 cost of just the phone normally, but there’s a better Pixel 10 deal.

Not only does Mint Mobile have one of the best cheap cell phone plans around, but for a limited time it has my favorite Pixel 10 deal. In addition to discounting the phone to $549, you’ll also be able to scoop up its unlimited data plan with a big discount. Usually you’d pay $360 for an entire year’s worth of unlimited data service, but this early Prime Day deal cuts it in half to $180.

This makes the total cost of the phone and service to come out to $729, which is way cheaper than the $1,019 that Boost Mobile is asking for. On top of all this, I also want to point out that Boost Mobile will unlock a prepaid device such as this after one year — whereas Mint Mobile does it after 60 days. These are just the many reasons why I think Mint Mobile’s Pixel 10 offer is way better.

Aside from the savings, the Pixel 10 is a best phone contender because of how it sets the benchmark for all base flagship models. For example, its triple camera system complete with a dedicated 10.8MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom is unmatched. In fact, the similarly priced Galaxy S25 has a 3x optical zoom camera — while the iPhone 17 doesn’t have one at all.

There’s also all the new Google AI features that add even more value to the phone. One of the best examples of this is the new Ask Photos feature, which lets me edit photos by simply describing the edits I want. There’s also the new Auto Best Take feature that uses generative AI to create smiling faces with everyone in a group shot. Over on the productivity side, you’ll be surprised by the hidden desktop mode that lets me connect the Pixel 10 to a monitor to get that PC-like experience.

So, the next time you think you found a deal on a phone, make sure to really look at the fine print because you need to remember about the long term costs. And be sure to check out our Prime Day deals live blog for all the biggest discounts.