Best MacBook Pro deals: top offers January 2021

If you are looking to buy a new MacBook Pro you don’t have to pay full price. Our team of Apple experts have been scouring the web for the top deals, offers and discounts for the MacBook Pro – picking out the best money-off offers to save you time. There are lots of money off deals below, but first we will run through some tips and explain Apple’s pricing structure, so that you can be sure you are getting the best discount available.

The very first thing you need to be aware of is that Apple has updated the 13in MacBook Pro twice in 2020. There are four 13in MacBook Pro models: two were updated in May 2020, and the other two in November 2020.

The other thing you need to know is that the MacBook Pro models that were updated in November now feature Apple’s very own Silicon processors, known as the M1 chips. Read about Apple’s M1 MacBook Pro.

When they arrived earlier in 2020 the 2.0GHz 13in MacBook Pro models looked like a good buy – but following the arrival of the M1 models they have lost some of their shine. The new entry-level MacBook Pro are now more powerful and more Pro than ever, but the Intel models do offer more RAM and some other benefits. Read our comparison of the 13in MacBook Pro M1 vs Intel to find out which model would be best for you.

You may not be keen on jumping to M1 straight away. If you are wondering whether to buy one of the new Macs these articles might help: Should I buy an Intel Mac? and Should I buy an M1 Mac?

This article focuses on the MacBook Pro, but you will find deals for the MacBook Air too. The MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro have a lot in common, so you might also be interested in reading our MacBook Air deals article as well. If you’d like some help to choose the best Apple laptop for you read our buying guide where we cover all the models. We also have a Mac buying guide that covers the whole range. We also explain the differences between the MacBook Air and Pro.

Best MacBook Pro deals right now

We will explain how you can spot a good deal below, but if you can’t wait here are some of the best deals right now.

They may only just have launched, but we have already see deals on the new M1 MacBook Pro models from KRCS:

• Amazon has money off the 256GB M1 MacBook Pro, normally £1,299! It costs £1,192.24 Get the deal here. AO.com and John Lewis have the same discount.
• AO.com  also has discounted the new 512GB M1 MacBook Pro, normally £1,499, now £1,370 Get the deal here.

The 2.0GHz 13in MacBook Pro were launched in May 2020. Here are some of the best deals on that model (which is still on sale at Apple for £1,799):

The 16in MacBook Pro (which launched in November 2019) also has some decent discounts:

• Various resellers have the entry-level 16in MacBook Pro on offer for £2,148 (it’s normally £2,399 from Apple!) get the deal from: Currys/PCWorld | Amazon | John Lewis.

The arrival of the new MacBook Pro models also means we are seeing some great discounts on the older 13in MacBook Pro:

• The 1.4GHz MacBook Pro, which was £1,299 is now £1,139 at John Lewis.
• You can get the 2019 2.4GHz 13in MacBook Pro, with 256GB SSD, for £1,199.97 at Currys/PC World – that would previously have retailed for £1,799.
• There’s also a 13in 1.4GHz MacBook Pro with 512GB SSD from 2020 for £1,349 at Currys/PC World. That model used to be £1,499.

Here’s an overview of some of the best deals right now – we have even more deals and more advice that will help you judge whether a deal is good or not below:

How to find a good MacBook Pro deal

Our first warning is to be aware that some retailers have been known to be misleading about RRP to make a deal look better than it is. Always compare to the current price on the Apple Store or, if it’s an older model take a look at the Apple refurbished store (where Apple sells reconditioned, discontinued stock with a full year’s warranty) to make sure you’re getting good value.

Speaking of which, you also want to be careful of the age of any given MacBook as models from different years might have similar looking specs on paper. For example, the processor speed can be misleading if you aren’t sure what generation of processor is being used – so take care to double-check processor speeds and generation, and even model numbers to make sure you’re not paying over the odds for a laptop from a few years ago.

Luckily we’ve checked out the deals here, and we’ll tell you exactly what’s on offer – so if it’s an older model we’ll tell you.

Make sure you check out our round up of the best Apple deals.

How much does the MacBook Pro cost?

There are two sizes of MacBook Pro: 13in and 16in. Before the end of 2019 there was a 15in MacBook Pro, but Apple has discontinued that. However you are likely to still find the 15in model available and there are some good bargains to be had given that the spec isn’t significantly different.

13in MacBook Pro

Apple M1 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 8‑Core GPU 256GB Storage, 8GB RAM	£1,299/$1,299
Apple M1 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 8‑Core GPU 512GB Storage, 8GB RAM	£1,499/$1,499
2.0GHz Quad-Core i5,  10th-gen, Turbo Boost 3.8GHz, 512GB, 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, Intel Iris Plus Graphics, (was 2.4GHz Quad-Core, Turbo Boost 4.1GHz, 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3, 256GB)	£1,799/$1,799
2.0GHz Quad-Core i5, 10th-gen, Turbo Boost 3.8GHz, 1TB, 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, Intel Iris Plus Graphics, (was 2.4GHz Quad-Core, Turbo Boost 4.1GHz, 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 RAM, 512GB)	£1,999/$1,999

16in MacBook Pro

2.6GHz 6-core i7, 9th-gen, Turbo Boost 4.5GHz, AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory, 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD	£2,399/$2,399
2.3GHz 8-core i9, 9th-gen, Turbo Boost 4.8GHz, AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory, 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD.	£2,799/$2,799

You’ll find more information about the price and specs for each model below. You can order 13in and 16in MacBook Pros directly from Apple.

Best MacBook Pro deals

Below we’ll round up some of the best deals on the current crop of MacBook Pro models, but we will also list deals on some of the older models since in our experience these are often the best MacBook Pro discounts.

If it’s a MacBook Air you are after, check our round up of the best MacBook Air deals out. You can also look below for more MacBook deals.

We’ll start off with the 13in MacBook Pro models, but you can skip to the 16in MacBook Pro section, or check out the older 15in and 13in MacBook Pro models here if that’s what you are after. We’ll explain what the price is for the current configurations, as well as share prices for older models.

13in MacBook Pro deals

So, now you know the specs and the price if you buy from Apple how much can you save if you buy from elsewhere?

The new Apple M1 MacBook Pro has only just gone on sale. However, some resellers are still selling the older model.

Here are the latest 2020 M1 MacBook Pro Deals (RRP: £1,299)

Here are the deals for 2020 M1 MacBook Pro (RRP: £1,499/$1,499)

And here are the latest 2020 13in 2.0GHz MacBook Pro Deals (RRP: £1,799)

16in MacBook Pro deals

If you want that gorgeous 16in display, this is where to find the best deals (RRP: £2,399). Read our 16in MacBook Pro review.

Discontinued MacBook Pro models

Some of the best deals to be had are on the now discontinued models, so we’ll include these below:

Old 13in MacBook Pro deals

Apple has only just removed the 13in 1.4GHz MacBook Pro from sale.

Here are the latest deals on the 2020 1.4GHz MacBook Pro (was £1,299):

When Apple updated the entry-level 13in MacBook Pro in early 2020 it changed the keyboard and increased the storage, but nothing else changed. You might therefore be able to find a decent deal on the old 2019 model – but note that it will have half the storage and that the keyboard may become problematic. Read about the keyboard issues here.

If there are any you will see the latest 2019 13in 1.4GHz MacBook Pro Deals (was £1,299) below:

And if there are any you will see the latest 2019 13in 2.4GHz MacBook Pro Deals (was £1,799) here:

Old 15in MacBook Pro deals

When Apple discontinued the 15in MacBook Pro models in 2019 the 16in models that replaced them actually shared the same generation processors with the 8-core option at the top-of-the-range. While there were some tweeks internally that should mean performance from the 16in models is better, if you aren’t too bothered about the bigger screen a deal on the older 15in model might interest you. You should note that Apple has increased the storage available inside the 16in models as of May 2020 though.

Another thing to note is that the price of these models went up by £50-£100 in 2019, which might mean that the discount doesn’t look as good as it might otherwise do.

• 2.6GHz 6-core, 256GB: (WAS £2,349/$2,399) NOW £2,399/$2,399
• 2.3GHz 8-core, 512GB: (WAS £2,699/$2,799) NOW £2,799/$2,799

Here are the latest 15in MacBook Pro Deals:

Best MacBook Deals UK

If you aren’t sure which kind of Apple laptop you want to buy check these great MacBook deals available across the web. Here are the best we’ve found. If you’re looking for a desktop Mac, see our iMac and Mac mini deals roundup.

Where to get MacBook deals, UK & US

Although from time to tim Apple drops the price of its MacBooks this is quite a rare occurrence: Apple never really offers discounts on its Mac laptops – other than through its official refurbished store.

Speaking of which, you should pay a visit to the Apple Refurbished Store where you can find cut-price MacBook Pro models. These refurbished models are MacBook Pro laptops that were returned to Apple, perhaps due to a fault, but they are fully reconditioned now and come with a year’s warranty.

For example, in October 2019 we found a refurbished 2017 13in MacBook Pro, which would have cost £1,799 new, for £1,529, a saving of £270. Find the latest refurbished deals here. We also have this advice about buying a refurbished Mac.

Other resellers are offering discounts on the different MacBook models that are being sold brand new. You may find deals on the following sites:

UK

US

Sometimes Amazon offers Lightning deals on laptops. If you’ve found that you’re missing out on Amazon’s Lightning deals, which run for just a few hours and offer limited stock, we’d recommend signing up for Amazon’s 30 day free trial of Prime, which will get you access to deals 30 minutes before everyone else. Plus, you’ll get free next-day delivery with the Prime trial, as well as access to Prime Instant Video and more. Sign up for Prime now to take advantage.

Best MacBook student deals

Another great resource to help you save is the Macworld UK’s Student Deals page, particularly the Tech & Mobile section. Right now, Apple is offering up to 10% off Macs as well as a pair of Beats headphones and 20% off Apple Care. Simply create an account, log in, and verify your student status, and the discount is yours. Here’s How to use the Apple Education Store.

You can also save 8% on accessories and 5% on iPads (more iPad deals). See all Macworld UK student tech deals here.