How to Tell If a Steam Sale Price Is Actually a Good Deal
By Jordan Hale
How we check whether a Steam sale price is actually a good deal
Most sale coverage is a wall of “TOP 50 DEALS” the minute the sale opens, with no way to tell a real bargain from a number with a red sticker on it. We do it differently, and the method is simple enough that you can run it yourself.
The check: current price vs all-time low
We use IsThereAnyDeal, which tracks the price history of PC games across the major stores. Search a game, open it, and look at two numbers: the current price and the historical low.
- If the current price matches the historical low, it’s a verified all-time low. Buy with confidence.
- If the current price is higher than the historical low, the discount is real but it’s been cheaper before. We’ll say so, and note when it tends to drop further.
That’s the whole workflow. No insider knowledge, no guessing, just the price history laid against today’s price. It takes about five minutes per game, and it’s why our verdicts are honest rather than just enthusiastic.
Two things worth knowing about Steam sales
Prices don’t change during the sale. Valve ended the old daily and flash deals back in 2015, so a game’s sale price is the same on day 1 as it is on day 14. There’s no strategic waiting within a sale. When we say “wait,” we mean wait for the next sale entirely, not for a better price next week.
The Summer Sale is the big one. Historically the Summer Sale tends to run slightly deeper on discounts than the Winter Sale on average, and for a game that’s a year or three old it’s usually the best buying window of the year. If something you want is at its all-time low here, that’s about as good as it gets.
What that means for our recommendations
Every “buy” in our sale guides has been checked against its own price history, and every “wait” is a genuine call that it’ll be cheaper down the line, not a hedge. We’d rather tell you to keep your money than pad a list. That’s the point of doing it this way.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if a Steam game is at its lowest price ever? Look it up on IsThereAnyDeal: search the game, open it, and compare the current price to the “historical low.” If they match, it’s at its all-time low. If the current price is higher, it’s been cheaper before, so it’s a real discount but not the best it gets.
Do Steam sale prices drop further later in the sale? No. Valve ended daily and flash deals in 2015, so a game’s price is the same on day one as on the final day. There’s no point waiting within a sale for a better price. If you wait, you’re waiting for the next sale entirely.
Is the Steam Summer Sale better than the Winter Sale? Historically, yes. The Summer Sale tends to average deeper discounts than the Winter Sale, which makes it the best annual buying window for games that are a year or more old. A game at its all-time low during the Summer Sale is about as good as the price gets.
Is IsThereAnyDeal accurate and free to use? Yes. It tracks price history across the major PC game stores and is free to search. You don’t need an account or an API key to check a game’s current price against its historical low, which is all this method requires.