Refurbished iPad: is it worth it, and where to buy one in the UK?

A refurbished iPad can save you hundreds of pounds, or almost nothing. It depends on the model, because a new iPad is already cheap and a new iPad Pro is not. We read every refurbished seller we compare, and Apple's own refurbished store, on 19/10/2026, for four iPads.

Is a refurbished iPad worth it?

For the iPad mini and the iPad Pro, yes: on 19/10/2026 refurbished saved about £200 and £430. For the basic iPad (A16), barely: the cheapest refurbished one was £50.97 under the cheapest new one, and the better grades cost about the same as new or more.

Wi-Fi models, smallest storage (128GB; 256GB for the iPad Pro, 64GB for the 10th generation), read on each seller's own pages on 19/10/2026. Refurbished is the cheapest grade at Back Market each time. New is the cheapest new price from a shop, Amazon itself for the iPad and the iPad mini; sealed ones from private eBay sellers cost less (the iPad (A16) at £363.70 plus £5.80 postage, the iPad mini at £475.90 plus £6.84) but took no returns. Apple no longer sells the iPad Pro (M4) or the 10th generation new, so their new prices are what replaced them: the iPad Pro (M5) at £1,199 and the iPad (A16).

The 10th generation's saving is against a newer iPad with twice the storage, so it is smaller than it looks. More on that below.

Which iPad should you buy refurbished?

• iPad mini (A17 Pro). The best refurbished buy on 19/10/2026. Back Market had it from £392 (Fair) and £410 (Good), eBay £440.99 (Excellent, from a business seller), Amazon Renewed £439, musicMagpie £469.99 (Very Good) and Apple £509. New, it was £594.66 at Amazon and £599 at Apple, Argos, Currys and John Lewis.
• iPad Pro 11-inch (M4). The biggest saving in pounds. Back Market had the 256GB from £770 (Good), eBay £774.99 (Very Good) and Apple £909, while the new iPad Pro (M5) cost £1,199. musicMagpie had none that day.
• iPad (A16). Buy it new unless the cheapest grade will do. Back Market started at £359 (Fair, in silver), but its Excellent grade was £397 and Premium £410, Amazon Renewed £390, eBay £439.95 and musicMagpie £444.99 (Pristine). New, Amazon sold it at £409.97, and Apple, Argos, Currys and John Lewis at £429. Apple's refurbished store had no iPad (A16) on 19/10/2026.
• iPad (10th generation). Only at the bottom grades. Back Market had the 64GB at £303 (Fair) and £342 (Good), eBay £319.99 (Good), musicMagpie £329.99 (Very Good). Amazon Resale sold a used one graded Like New at £270.63. Back Market's Excellent grade cost £464, more than a new iPad (A16) with twice the storage. Apple's refurbished store had none.

Where is a refurbished iPad cheapest?

Back Market had the cheapest refurbished price on all four iPads on 19/10/2026, though not by much on the iPad Pro (£770 against £774.99 on eBay), and Amazon Resale's used 10th generation was cheaper still. Here are our latest checks for the two iPads most people buy:

The boxes show our latest check of each seller, so they can differ from the table by a few pounds. On 19/10/2026 the Back Market iPad (A16) in blue was £369 on its page against £347 in the box; the £359 one was silver.

Apple's own refurbished store was never the cheapest, but it promises genuine Apple replacement parts where any are needed: its page, read on 19/10/2026, says each one is tested, cleaned and inspected, comes with all accessories and cables in a new white box, and carries Apple's one-year warranty. On the iPad mini its £509 was £117 more than Back Market's Fair one and £90 under its own new price.

What do the grades mean?

The grade describes the outside, not how the iPad works. Back Market grades Fair, Good, Excellent and Premium; musicMagpie Good, Very Good and Pristine; eBay sellers Good, Very Good and Excellent. Grade prices do not rise evenly: on 19/10/2026 Back Market's iPad mini cost £392 in Fair and £419.99 in Excellent, then £690 in Premium, more than a new one.

Here is what each grade means, on phones and tablets alike.

What should you check before buying?

1. The model, not the name. "iPad Pro 11-inch" covers six models since 2018, and "iPad" covers many more. Check the chip (A16, A17 Pro, M4) or the generation on the listing.
2. Wi-Fi or cellular. A cellular iPad costs more and takes a SIM. Back Market's iPad (A16) with 5G was £407 on 19/10/2026 against £369 for Wi-Fi in the same colour and grade. Buy Wi-Fi unless you need data away from Wi-Fi.
3. The battery. Back Market's iPad (A16) page promised a "battery for daily use"; ask the seller for the battery health if it is not on the listing.
4. The charger. Apple's refurbished iPads come with their cables; on a marketplace listing, check what is in the box.
5. The warranty and returns. Back Market gave a 12-month seller warranty and free 30-day returns on 19/10/2026, plus a Quality Assurance Fee at checkout from 49p. musicMagpie offered a free 12-month warranty and 14 days to change your mind. The eBay business sellers above took returns within 30 days. Sealed new iPads on eBay from private sellers, such as an iPad (A16) at £363.70 plus £5.80 postage, took no returns.

What to do

1. Check the new price first. Amazon sold the iPad (A16) at £409.97 and the iPad mini at £594.66 on 19/10/2026; our iPad prices guide has every model.
2. Buy the iPad mini or an iPad Pro refurbished: that is where the saving is.
3. For the basic iPad, take Back Market's Fair or Good grade or buy new. Above that, new costs about the same.
4. Compare Back Market, musicMagpie, eBay and Amazon on the same day, grade for grade, and buy from a business with 12 months of cover.

Here is the cheapest price we have seen each day for the iPad (A16), new and refurbished together:

Since we started tracking on 09/09/2026, the line has moved between £311.66 (03/10/2026) and £409 (09/09/2026 and 10/09/2026). When it is worth it in general is in new vs refurbished: when is the saving worth it?