Reply With Quote15 mins in Excel will give you the answer for that.Originally Posted by Rocket Man
Looking to buy a new iPhone and wondering whether I'd be better off with a monthly contract or SIM only deal?
What should I be considering to help me decide?
Would I be better off buying the phone upfront and getting a SIM only contract?
Last edited by Rocket Man; 5th October 2021 at 21:06.
15 mins in Excel will give you the answer for that.
Or a good old fashioned calculator in about 5.
If you can afford the initial outlay the only way to buy phones is upfront.
If I keep one for about 2 years it costs roughly £20 p/m for the phone and £10 a month sim only. £30 a month isn’t bad at all.
I always have 4 options for SIM only and another 4 with the handset included.
Five mins typing, five squinting and deciding between the main two and then the last five dithering and making sure there isn't one final option I haven't considered.
What would I need to enter into the spreadsheet?
Sorry but I'm not very techy and only buy a new phone when my old one eventually dies!
Just work out the price of the new phone you want to buy and add £240 for a £10 a month sim over 2 years.
Now go find the same phone on comparison sites and work out upfront cost + 24 x whatever the monthly bill is for the same sim.
Which one is cheaper?
Plus, with pay monthly sim you change whenever you like to whoever you like.
Usually if you can afford upfront cost, buying the phone will be cheaper. Or buy a refurb/used phone from SC? Cheaper again.
Sloppy version here made just now
There will be better ways to do this but my mind is fried tonight and I couldn't find the last one I did.
For the last 10 yrs or so I’ve always had a SIM only contract and then bought the next to most recent iPhone, generally unwanted upgrade phone or replacement phone for around £300. I pay about £18 for my sim contract which comes with unlimited everything.
I couldn’t bring myself to pay some of the monthly costs for a new iPhone contract or £1k for a new phone
Also worth factoring in any free stuff the phone carrier throws at you (eg free Netflix). If it’s something you pay for already you can claim that as a saving.
Having done the sums each time I upgrade I’ve bought the phone up front and gone SIM only for the last 6 or 7 years. Where the difference is marginal it would always be my preference as it doesn’t tie you down
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Buying the phone outright means it won’t be locked to a network
This allows you freedom of course
Deals on sims are awesome
I tend to be two phones behind the hype and the costs aren’t so eye watering for the handset that way
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If you purchase directly from the manufacturer they will often list a trade in price against your old phone. I've knocked a couple of hundred off doing this in the past. This also gives you sim free allowing you to find the best sim only deal.
I've purchased refurbished phones in the past and had no issue.
I should say I rarely buy the latest phone and certainly don't go anywhere close to paying a grand for one. I've also never managed to make monthly contract deals work for me vs sim only deal costs.
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Last edited by subseastu; 6th October 2021 at 08:47.
Generally buying the phone outright and choosing SIM only will be the cheaper way to go in the long term as you can get really cheap SIM deals. I pay £8 pm for my SIM. However that’s provided you can afford to splash out and buy the phone outright. You can consider getting the iPhone on 2 year interest free credit with Apple to spread the cost.
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I think the biggest factor here is how much data do you want and does it need to be 5G because that seems to be where the contract deals have the edge on large or unlimited allowances that work out slightly cheaper than the equivalent 5G SIM-only packages.
Having done the maths a few times over the years (on latest model iPhones and generally high usage contracts), I've never found the phone+contract to be cheaper than buying the phone upfront and signing to a SIM-only deal. Stands to reason as you are effectively getting the iPhone on credit. I appreciate it might be different for other models and/or more limiting plans.
If you can be accurate as to how much data you'll need and not get suckered in to unlimited data deals if you don't need it, there are some great deals on SIM-only contracts that include 5G...some of the companies like IDMobile that piggy back on networks seem to be very cheap (just research which network they piggy back to ensure it works for you).
Mobile phone service can be very individual though...for example, read some of the reviews on Three and you could be left thinking the network is dreadful, but in reality if you are in the small group of people that spends most of their time in areas that it covers, the data speeds can be excellent.
https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/compare/sim_only_deals/
Last edited by Christian; 6th October 2021 at 11:01.
It's worth checking if the areas you frequent have decent 5G coverage. Where I am in London, outside is reported as OK, but limited to no coverage inside buildings. I'm therefore ignoring 5G until things improve.
I always go 'Sim only' now and buy the phones outright, but 'used' - i.e. not the latest models.
I'm in SE (greater) London which has 5G but I find it as slow as 4G around here. For some reason, when you click on a web page there is a significant pause before loading instantly. That pause offsets the slower loading time of 4G in my experience. Not sure what technically is going on though.
This for me of course it all depends on your usage i run a 6s the missus a 8 plus both on a £6.00 pm deal with plusnet with unlimited calls/ texts and 5 gb download.
I FEEL LIKE I'M DIAGONALLY PARKED IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE
Always found it easier to go SIM only and buy a phone outright from elsewhere. It almost always works out cheaper in the long run.
I plan to upgrade from my iPhone 7 soon, and from my own research I agree with others that buying the handset outright and a separate monthly sim deal seems to be the most cost-effective option.
Whilst expensive, I think I’m going for the 13 Pro, based largely upon the camera improvements.
Apart from the perks (Disney+, Apple Music etc.) already mentioned as a factor to consider, one other aspect is the handset warranty - with o2, for example, it’s for the length of the contract (likely three years), whereas buying the handset from Apple, it’s one year only (unless Apple care is purchased). I’ve only ever had one iPhone give up the ghost - and Apple did replace just out of warranty - but it’s something to consider given how expensive the latest handsets are. I’ve concluded I’ll take the risk and if it goes catastrophically on the fritz outside of warranty, I’ll use the savings from not going down the monthly contract route to buy an older model in replacement.
Nobody seems to have mentioned that Apple now give you the option to purchase outright over 24 months 0% interest. IMHO it's a no-brainer.
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