Apple upgrade vs. Verizon Deals: What Saves You the Most Money on an iPhone?

As iPhone prices continue to rise, many people are looking for alternatives to the high upfront prices. The recently launched Apple Upgrade program, which allows you to rent Apple products for set periods of time, is designed to reduce the impact on your wallet while eliminating the FOMO surrounding the latest models. But is this really the best deal available?

On the surface, carriers like Verizon seem to offer better deals to lower the price of your next iPhone; there’s even an entire section of Verizon’s site proclaimed “free phones.” However, the savings are not as obvious as they might seem at first glance. For the purposes of this discussion, we’re assuming you’re considering ownership of your phone. Otherwise, it’s an apples and oranges comparison since Verizon doesn’t offer phone rentals similar to Apple Upgrade.

Apple Upgrade is a revamped version of Apple’s previous iPhone Upgrade program, with a few changes. Made through a partnership with Klarna, it allows customers to rent Apple products (including Macs, iPads and Apple Watches) for rental terms between 12 and 36 months. For iPhones specifically, lead times vary between 12 and 24 months. Pricing depends on the iPhone model you select, with costs starting at $18/month for the iPhone 17e.

Unlike the previous iPhone Upgrade program, Apple Upgrade works as a lease and not a payment-for-purchase plan, although you can still purchase the leased device when the contract expires. At the end of your rental period, you will have three options: return your current device and upgrade to a new one, exit the program and return your device, or purchase the device with a one-time payment for any outstanding balance. Apple Upgrade doesn’t come with AppleCare protection like its predecessor; you will need to add it separately if you want.

The fine print of the Verizon deals shows that they all have specific three-year plan requirements. For phones that Verizon bills as “free,” which includes the iPhone 17 and 17e but no Pro models, customers must have an unlimited plan depending on the model. Air, for example, is only “free” with Unlimited Ultimate; the 17th requires Ultimate or Plus, while the 17th can use any unlimited plan. For a single line, prices for the three unlimited tiers range from $65 to $95 per month, assuming you have paperless billing and automatic payment discounts set up. This means that over 36 months you will spend between $2,340 and $3,420.

For phones not grouped in the “free” category, you’ll pay a small amount for the device each month depending on storage ($13.88/month for a 1TB iPhone 17 Pro, for example). Many of the more expensive models require an Unlimited Ultimate plan if you’re not trading in a device, with trade-ins offering better discounts.

For free and discounted phones, these deals also require you to start a new phone line. You can pay the total for a line by canceling the previous one, but this means getting a new phone number. Verizon credits are tied to each line number, so you lose them if you cancel or transfer.

Let’s take a 256 GB iPhone 17 Pro without exchange as an example. A 24-month Apple Upgrade lease for the device costs $32 per month, for a total of $768. To keep it after that, you’ll need to pay the difference of $331 to reach the total initial cost of $1,099.

With Verizon, you’d pay $2.77 per month for 36 months, or a total of just under $100 for the phone itself. That’s in addition to $3,420 for the Unlimited Ultimate package, for a grand total of $3,520. If you’re already planning to stay with Verizon for the long term, being locked into a contract is something you’d probably do anyway. However, you may have to pay for a larger plan than you actually need to make the “discount” possible, and Verizon’s contracts last three years compared to Apple Upgrade’s two.

However, with Apple Upgrade, you’ll still have to pay a phone plan on top of the monthly iPhone rental fee. Importantly, you can’t use a bargain plan from an MVNO like Visible: Apple Upgrade phones must be activated through AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon. There are other options you can use with Apple’s plan, like Verizon Simplicity, which only costs $30/month for new customers instead of $65 for unlimited home. If we use the two-year cost of this phone plan on the same Apple Upgrade 17 Pro lease, the grand total spent is $1,819 to own the phone. Verizon offers another option called Flex Upgrade that lets you upgrade your phone after paying a certain amount, but using it means you lose the monthly promotional credits.

Each of these options has its own set of variables that could result in a slightly lower monthly payment. Your payments can potentially be reduced by trading in your old phone before committing to a plan, with the exact amount depending on your current device and its condition. However, even accounting for these fluctuations, Verizon’s plans will still cost you over $1,000 more than Apple’s due to the long term. The only “advantage” is that Verizon spreads the cost over a longer period of time, compared to the eventual lump sum payment you’ll owe as part of the Apple upgrade.