When buying a new phone, opting for a plan with an operator is often the simplest and most straightforward solution. That being said, buying your phone directly from a vendor, like Apple, can be a huge cost-saving measure. If you’re looking for the cheapest way to buy a brand new phone, this may take a little more work, but is more affordable in the long run.
Let’s use Apple’s iPhone 17 as an example to determine the price of things. Buying directly through Apple, the base model of the iPhone 17, with the A19 chip and 256GB of storage, costs $799, but if you want to keep your options open down the line and not choose a carrier in advance, it will cost an additional $30, increasing the price to $829. Now, if we use Verizon and follow one of its plans for an iPhone 17, the cheapest 36-month plan will cost you $78.05 per month (not including promotions, activation, and other one-time fees), which ends up totaling $2,809.80 over the life of the contract. Unlike buying the phone from Apple, this Verizon plan includes service, so let’s dig deeper to see if it’s cheaper to sign up for a plan or pay upfront when buying a new smartphone.
Finance a phone and sign up for an operator plan
Carriers often offer the best deals when you finance a new phone and activate the service, making this type of offer more attractive to upfront customers. There are financing options as low as 0% interest for qualified buyers, but financing your device locks you into a carrier. Verizon isn’t your only option for a cell phone carrier, and T-Mobile, for example, charges $84.59 per month for an iPhone 17 – including $50 per month for the line – over 24 months, for a total of $2,030.16. AT&T will cost in a similar range as other devices with a 36-month contract at $2,773.80. As you can see, you may pay more upfront to buy a phone, but you’ll pay a lot more in the end when financing with a service plan you’re committed to.
Being locked into a carrier also affects how you can use your service. All three major providers offer unlimited data on their cheapest plans, but they offer it differently. AT&T provides 5GB of “high-speed data,” while T-Mobile offers 50GB. Verizon doesn’t list any caps, but it will slow speeds when network traffic is busy. All of this can be circumvented by purchasing a phone, but it potentially becomes harder to recommend in the current climate.
Buy a phone in advance from a provider
Of course, when you buy the phone you still need to activate the service, but the good news is that there are plenty of carriers offering affordable unlimited plans for less than $50 per month. Most carriers offer great discounts for users transferring their devices, like Verizon’s “Simple Plan” for $30 per month. Using that price and the above example of a 36-month plan from Verizon, you’ll only pay $1,909 to buy and use the iPhone 17, which is $900 less than financing and subscribing to a plan. The real benefit of buying a phone is that you then have a fully unlocked device. There’s no dictation about where or who you go with, allowing you to choose the best deal for you, rather than what a carrier can find online.
As the industry continues to be impacted by rising prices, it is recommended that if you are considering purchasing technology (phones, laptops, etc.) in the near future, you consider purchasing sooner rather than waiting for a deal later. Samsung has already raised prices on its phones and tablets, and while the iPhone hasn’t seen drastic increases for consumers, Apple has raised prices on various devices. The next iPhone refresh is expected to see a price increase over the current generation.
