The Mac Mini, along with its more mobile Mac cousins the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, was the first Apple computer to ditch Intel silicon in favor of Apple’s new M1 processor. (Now, you can also get an M1-powered iPad Pro.) Our early tests of the M1 machines show a substantial performance boost over their predecessors, and now we’re seeing discounts sprout up for the new models.
You can find discounts on the M1 MacBooks, but the Mac Mini remains the least-expensive MacOS computer. The baseline model of the M1 Mac Mini costs $699 and features 8 gigabytes of RAM and a 256GB solid-state drive. The step-up model costs $899 and doubles the storage capacity to 512GB. Amazon is currently offering a $30 discount on both the baseline and step-up models of the M1 Mac Mini.
One benefit of paying full price and buying from Apple, however, is you can customize the machine and add more RAM or a higher-capacity SSD, whereas the models sold on Amazon and other retailers are fixed configurations. And unlike in most other desktops, the Mac Mini’s RAM is not user-upgradable. Apple’s M1 system-on-a-chip integrates the CPU, GPU, RAM and other components for greater power and efficiency, but the downside of this integration is the lack of DIMM slots that would allow you to add additional RAM after purchase.
It’s worth noting that the Apple Store offers students an educational discount, but you’ll save only $20 on the price of a new Mac Mini, though some upgrades are discounted, too. For example, doubling the RAM to 16GB costs $180 with the education discount instead of the usual charge of $200.
Also at Apple, you might find a refurbished M1 Mac Mini. Apple has started selling refurbs of the M1 Mac Mini at its Certified Refurbished Mac page. Currently, you can get a refurbished M1 Mac Mini with 512GB SSD for $759 — that’s $140 in savings. Refurb inventory changes rapidly so you may not always find an M1 Mac Mini listed. It’s worth keeping an eye out, however, because you can lock in substantial savings. CNET’s resident Cheapskate Rick Broida is a big fan of refurbs, particularly Apple’s, which are often as good as new.
Keep reading to see the best prices currently available for Apple’s Mac Mini. We update this page regularly and give prices that are accurate at time of publication, but note that they do fluctuate.
Mac Mini discounts, compared
| Model w/ CPU and storage capacity | List price | Best price (current) | Best price (all-time) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac Mini w/ M1 chip, 256GB SSD | $699 | $669 | $600 |
| Mac Mini w/ M1 chip, 512GB SSD | $899 | $869 | $800 |
Note that “all-time” means the best price that we’ve seen at an Apple-authorized retailer in the product’s lifetime.
Amazon’s $99 discount from a few weeks ago for the baseline M1 Mac Mini is gone, but the retailer still has the lowest price for this model at its current $30 discount. The baseline Mac Mini features Apple’s new M1 chip, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.
Dan Ackerman/CNET
The step-up Mac Mini with a 512GB SSD is also $30 off at Amazon. Just last week, however, this model was at its lowest price ever of $800. Will we see that $99 discount again soon? It might be worth waiting a week or two to find out.
Watch this:
Hands-on with the entire new Apple Mac M1 lineup
9:02
First published last year. Updated with the latest deals.