Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S25 Plus vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: All the big differences

Samsung's new Galaxy S25 lineup arrives in stores February 7, giving you the chance to get your hands on one of the new models (assuming you didn't already preorder your Galaxy S25, that is.) And with Samsung's latest flagships officially on sale, would-be shoppers have an important question to answer: which of the three Galaxy S25 models are you going to buy?

For some people, that's a question they've already answered, whether their choice of Galaxy S25 models boils to down to price, screen size or some other features. Still, others might be weighing the relative merits of the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra, trying to figure which one best fits their needs. And it's those folks that I'm here to help.

At Tom's Guide, we've already had a chance to post our Galaxy S25 review as well as our Galaxy S25 Ultra review. We're finishing up testing on the Galaxy S25 Plus, and that review will be arriving shortly. Suffice it to say, though, we've spent some time with all three models and can provide all the details about how each one differs from the others.

Here's a breakdown of Samsung's Galaxy S25 lineup, looking at what the standard S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra have in common as well as what distinguishes each different model. Armed with our Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S25 Plus vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra comparison, you'll be better equipped to decide on which version of Samsung's flagship you should grab.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S25 Plus vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S25 Plus vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Price

If you remember the starting prices for last year's Galaxy S24 lineup, you already know what the S25 models will cost. Samsung is keeping the prices the same this time around.

The Galaxy S25 starts at $799 for the 128GB version of the entry level phone. You can upgrade to the 256GB model for an additional $60.

The Galaxy S25 Plus already starts at 256GB, with that base model costing $999. Doubling the storage to 512GB brings your price to $1,199.

At $1,299 for its 256GB version, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the most expensive of Samsung's new phones. An extra $120 increases the storage to 512GB, while the 1TB version of the phone sells for $1,659

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S25 Plus vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Design

Samsung gives its Galaxy S lineup a common look, with flat sides and a row of camera lenses descending vertically down the back of the phone. In the case of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, its two rows of lenses to account for that phone's extra cameras. As before, the models come in different sizes to accommodate their different-sized screens, though if you compare these latest phones to their Galaxy S24 counterparts, they're thinner and lighter.

If you drill down to the details, the Galaxy S25 Ultra uses the fanciest materials of the new models, featuring a titanium frame and Corning Gorilla Armor 2, which is supposed to be more durable than the glass on last year's Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus are no slouches when it comes to materials, using Armor Aluminum 2 and Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra remains the only model to come with an S Pen, though there's a change with this year's version. To make the phone lighter, Samsung removed the Bluetooth radio from the stylus, so the S Pen can no longer double as a remote control or support Air Gestures.

Color options are a little more varied for the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus, as you can pick from Navy, Mint, Icyblue and Silver Shadow. Order your phone from Samsung, and you get three more color choices exclusive to the phone maker — Blueblack, Coralred and Pinkgold.

With a titanium sheen on each color option, the Galaxy S25 Ultra tries to take on a more sober air, with black, gray, whitesilver and silverblue options. Samsung exclusive colors add Jadegreen, Jetblack and Pinkgold to the mix, but with the same Titanium sheen.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S25 Plus vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Display

We mentioned the different sizes of the Galaxy S25 phones reflecting the three display size options. The Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus will look very familiar, with both phones sporting the same 6.2- and 6.7-inch panels of their respective predecessors.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra, in contrast, offers a larger display than before, as the phone now sports a 6.9-inch screen. Samsung managed to increase the screen size by shrinking down the bezels and not really adding on to the size of the new Ultra model. The S25 Ultra is only fractionally taller but not as wide as the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Regardless of whether you prefer the compact form of the Galaxy S25 or the expansive screen space of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, you can expect a bright panel on your new phone. We measured the Galaxy S25 at 1,789 nites and the Galaxy S25 Ultra at 1,860 nits. Both of those light meter readers were higher than what we recorded testing last year's phones.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S25 Plus vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Cameras

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is the model to get if you want the best camera phone Samsung has to offer. As before, it has the most lenses of any of the Galaxy S models and uses a 200MP main camera along with a pair of telephoto lenses that offer 5x and 3x zooms, respectively.

The ultrawide camera on the Galaxy S25 Ultra has gotten an upgrade to a 50MP sensor, up from 12MP on the S24 Ultra. That helps the new phone take much sharper, more detailed macro photos.

The Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus share the same camera setup — 50MP main shooter joined by 12MP ultrawide and 10MP telephoto lenses. If that sounds familiar, it's because the cameras have gone unchanged since the Galaxy S23 series.

But that's not to say that you won't see improved images from either the Galaxy S25 or the Galaxy S25 Plus. All three new models benefit from improvements to the ProVisual Engine that handles photo-processing. The biggest impact from this change that we've noticed in our testing involves color reproduction. Past Samsung camera phones tended to oversaturate some colors, but images look a lot more realistic when shot by Samsung's new phones. We also think low-light photography has improved with Samsung's software tweaks, too.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S25 Plus vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Performance

Samsung made a big change from recent Galaxy S releases when it came to the silicon that powers its new models — it's no longer using different chipsets on phones released in different parts of the world. Rather than splitting the difference between Snapdragon and Exynos silicon depending on the model, every Galaxy S25 phone features a Snapdragon 8 Elite system-on-chip.

That's turned out to be a winning move for Samsung, as the Snapdragon 8 Elite provides a noticeable performance boost over last year's models. (And, as we'll discover in just a bit, it's better at delivering that power while consuming less battery.) Even better, Samsung is going with an optimized version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite that's fine-tuned for performance. As a result, Samsung's phones outperform the OnePlus 13 on some benchmarks, even though that Android phone is using the same chipset.

All three Galaxy S25 models come with 12GB of RAM in their base configurations. The memory is on hand to help the new phones run more AI-powered features on the device itself.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S25 Plus vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Battery life and charging

Apart from the screen size and Ultra camera setup, here's where you'll find the biggest disparity between the different Galaxy S models. Again, it's a function of size — the larger models have more space to fit in big batteries and, as a consequence, tend to last longer on a charge.

Indeed, history repeats itself with the Galaxy S25 lineup — quite literally, too, as the new phones have the same battery sizes as their S24 counterparts. That means a 4,000 mAh power pack inside the Galaxy S25, while the S25 Plus and S25 Ultra use 4,900 mAh and 5,000 mAh cells, respectively.

It will not surprise you to know that the Galaxy S25 Ultra with its giant battery posted the best time of any Samsung phone ever, pending the result of Galaxy S25 Plus testing results. Samsung's premium phone lasted 17 hours and 14 minutes on our test, holding out for 7-plus hours longer than the average smartphone.

But don't discount the Galaxy S25 either, which also cracked into the best phone battery life list despite its compact size. This phone posted an an average time just shy of 15.5 hours, besting the Galaxy S24 result by more than 2 hours.

Nothing's changed with charging speeds, with the S25 Plus and S25 Ultra continuing to support 45W wired charging while the Galaxy S25 gets by with 25W speeds. The new phones support Qi2 wireless charging, but without the magnets embedded in the back of the phones to secure a correct fit with MagSafe charging pads. You'll need to buy a separate case that supports Qi2 if you want to take advantage of that capability.

• Best Samsung Galaxy S25 cases
• Best Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus cases
• Best Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra cases

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S25 Plus vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Software and Galaxy AI

My favorite thing about the Galaxy S25 series is that same Galaxy AI features that work on one device work on all of them. So if you wanted to take advantage of cross app actions or the new Now Brief feature or upgraded capabilities like Circle to Search, they'll work just as well on the $799 Galaxy S25 as they do on the $1,299 Galaxy S25 Ultra. That brings tremendous value to Samsung's less expensive models, while also eliminating your feelings of FOMO if you don't want to pay up for the S25 Ultra.

The Galaxy S25 models also receive the same level of support from Samsung. Running Android 15 via the One UI 7 interface, these new phones can expect 7 more years of software and security updates.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S25 Plus vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Outlook

Deciding among the three Galaxy S25 models essentially comes down to screen size, battery life and price, though you could also argue that the Galaxy S25 Ultra offers the most premium photo experience with its more powerful zoom lens and upgraded ultrawide camera sensor. Otherwise, you can expect similar levels of performance from any Galaxy S25 phone right down to the Galaxy AI features that are the focus of the release.

So if you want a big screen phone with multiday battery life, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the obvious choice, with the Galaxy S25 Plus offering a fine big-screen alternative if you can't or won't pay $1,2999 for a phone. (Not that a $999 purchase is easy to swing, but it is $300 cheaper than the Ultra.) Fans of compact phones should turn to the Galaxy S25, confident that this phone lasts a pretty long time on a charge, too. And even if your budget only allows for an S25 purchase rather than one of the big-screen models, you can take comfort in the fact that AI features are exactly the same.

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