The next time you go buy a new cellphone, things are going to look a lot different. The subsidized two-year contract is all but dead, and the carriers have replaced it with a new heap of confusing options. Here’s what you need to know about buying a phone in 2016.




January 2016: This post has been updated with new information regarding AT&T’s plans. As of January 8th, AT&T will no longer have subsidized contracts, so plan accordingly. Or stop buying phones from carriers, because it really sucks.


You’d think buying a new phone would be easy. You can walk into a store and buy a laptop or tablet. Why not a phone? Part of it’s our fault. We want the hottest new phone without paying a bunch up front. Carriers have met that need with a mound of increasingly complicated plans. While each carrier’s plans have their own unique quirks, broadly, they have some common ground. No matter which carrier you use, here are the basic types of plans you may find:

Subsidies: Up until recently, this was how you probably got a new phone. When you sign up with a new carrier or are due for an upgrade, you qualify for a subsidized phone. These phones are either free upfront, or sold at a steep discount. In exchange, you agree to stay with the carrier for two years or pay a hefty fee to leave. When your contract is up, you own the phone.

Up until recently, this was how you probably got a new phone. When you sign up with a new carrier or are due for an upgrade, you qualify for a subsidized phone. These phones are either free upfront, or sold at a steep discount. In exchange, you agree to stay with the carrier for two years or pay a hefty fee to leave. When your contract is up, you own the phone. Financing: With this type of plan, you pay off the full retail price of a phone over time. Typically the cost of your phone is divided over 24 months. As long as you still owe money on your phone, you can’t leave your carrier. When you’ve paid the phone off, you own it. Unlike the subsidy model, this usually also means your monthly bill is cheaper once your phone is paid off.

With this type of plan, you pay off the full retail price of a phone over time. Typically the cost of your phone is divided over 24 months. As long as you still owe money on your phone, you can’t leave your carrier. When you’ve paid the phone off, you own it. Unlike the subsidy model, this usually also means your monthly bill is cheaper once your phone is paid off. Lease: A relatively new option, cell phone leasing plans add a monthly charge to borrow a phone from your carrier. Some carriers lease plans allow you to upgrade much more often than the usual two years. However, you won’t own any of the phones unless you pay a large fee to buy it out. If it breaks and you don’t have insurance, you’ll also be on the hook for the full price.

A relatively new option, cell phone leasing plans add a monthly charge to borrow a phone from your carrier. Some carriers lease plans allow you to upgrade much more often than the usual two years. However, you won’t own any of the phones unless you pay a large fee to buy it out. If it breaks and you don’t have insurance, you’ll also be on the hook for the full price. Early upgrade: Early upgrade plans tend to be the most convoluted options. These are kind of a halfway point between leasing and financing. They typically allow you to upgrade sooner than every two years. Unfortunately, the details of the contracts make them confusing. If a carrier is offering an early upgrade plan without calling it a lease, you need to take a hard look at the fine print.

Early upgrade plans tend to be the most convoluted options. These are kind of a halfway point between leasing and financing. They typically allow you to upgrade sooner than every two years. Unfortunately, the details of the contracts make them confusing. If a carrier is offering an early upgrade plan without calling it a lease, you need to take a hard look at the fine print. Buying outright: Nearly every carrier will let you pay upfront for a phone, and you can always buy from someone else. This is always going to be your most expensive option upfront, but it also means you own your device. Your monthly service plan will usually cost less as well, since you’re not paying for hardware.

Not every carrier will offer every one of these options. Some may offer all of them, while others only have one or two. There is no one perfect plan for everyone. Some prefer to own all their devices, while others only care about having the latest and greatest, regardless of whether they get to keep their phones.

Verizon


Of all the carriers, Verizon has some of the most simplified plans that are the most similar to the old model. Recently, Verizon decided to kill of all of its subsidized phone plans, as well as its complicated early upgrade plan, Verizon Edge. Now, you have two very simple options: either pay for your phone now and be free to leave Verizon any time, or pay for it over time and be locked to Verizon.

Option #1: Finance Your Phone With Monthly Payments

Verizon’s carrier financing is simply called “Device Payments.” It’s the only way to buy a phone short of paying full price up front. With Device Payments, you pay for your phone over the course of 24 months. This means that the monthly cost of a phone will always be its full retail price, divided by 24. For example, an individual line on Verizon with 3GB of data currently costs $65/month. If you wanted to add an iPhone 6, which costs $650, your monthly phone payment will be $27.08. Your total bill would be $92.08 until that phone is paid off, at which point your monthly bill for service will drop back down to $65 (until you get a new phone).


Verizon requires that you continue paying for service until your phone is paid off. That means if you want to leave at any point, you’ll have to pay off the rest of the phone. This is a bit more fair than the exorbitant ETF fees you’re probably used to, but the effect is still largely the same. If you want to leave early, it will cost you.

Unlike the other carriers below, you cannot pay extra towards the balance of your phone each month. You can choose to pay off your phone entirely at any time, but you can’t raise your monthly payments voluntarily to pay it off earlier.


Option #2: Buy Your Phone Outright

The only other option for getting a phone on Verizon is to buy it outright. While Verizon offers a selection of phones that are compatible with their network, you don’t have to buy directly from Verizon. However, if you decide to buy from a third-party, you’ll need to make sure your device is compatible with Verizon’s network first. Verizon is one of two US carriers that use CDMA networks, which means it may be slightly harder to find compatible phones. You can check out our guide to finding a compatible phone here.


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No matter which option you choose, you have to pay full price for a phone, and you own said phone. There are only two questions to ask. The first is, can you get a better deal on a phone elsewhere? You can often save money by purchasing a phone from a third party rather than Verizon itself. While there are exceptions (for example, Amazon’s iPhone 6 for Verizon is about $100 more expensive right now), third-party sellers typically have more motivation to give you a discount.


Secondly, will you be happy with Verizon’s service long term? Verizon’s financing doesn’t give you the option of making extra payments towards your device—for example, you can’t choose to pay $100 every month towards that iPhone 6 and be free to leave Verizon in 6 or 7 months—but it does make it easier to buy a new phone that might otherwise be prohibitively expensive. If you’re comfortable staying with Verizon long term, financing is a perfectly fine deal.

The bottom line: Verizon’s plans are easily the simplest of any carrier right now. T-Mobile and AT&T have relatively simple financing, but also cloud the process with early upgrade plans that may or may not be (but usually are not) good deals. Sprint still requires some complex math to figure out the best deal. If you want a solid major network without a silly upgrade rigamarole, Verizon’s a good choice.



AT&T has mercifully simplified its plans, beginning January 8th 2016. Now, it’s a lot easier to pick the best option for you. For the most part, AT&T offers you the chance to pay for your phone now, or over time. However, there are options if you want to upgrade early.

Option #1: Finance Your Phone With AT&T Next

AT&T’s financing plan is called AT&T Next. It also doubles as an early upgrade option, which we’ll come back to in a bit. Depending on your credit, you can pay off your phone slowly over a period of 20, 24, or 30 months.


Provided you don’t exercise the early upgrade option, financing a phone works like this: first, you (with a little help from your credit score) choose how long you want to spend paying off your phone. The cost of your phone is then divided over that time, and added to your monthly cost. Here are your three options:

AT&T Next 24: Pay off your phone over 30 months, or upgrade after 24.

Pay off your phone over 30 months, or upgrade after 24. AT&T Next 18: Pay off your phone over 24 months, or upgrade after 18.

Pay off your phone over 24 months, or upgrade after 18. AT&T Next 12: Pay off your phone over 20 months, or upgrade after 12.

So, for example, if you choose AT&T Next 18, the price of your phone will be divided by 24. Then, that monthly price will be added to your service bill. Say your phone normally costs $600. With Next 18, you’ll pay $25 per month for two years. Once you’ve made all your payments, the phone is yours and you can leave AT&T. If you want to leave early, you’ll need to pay whatever remains of your phone’s balance.


If you like the old subsidized model—where you get a phone up front and stick with the carrier for a couple years, slowly paying for both service and the phone itself—this will be just fine for you. The only difference is that now, your monthly bill will vary with the cost of your phone.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that AT&T doesn’t allow you to pay extra towards your phone each month. If you’d rather pay off your phone in six months, instead of twenty, you can’t pay $100 every month. You can choose to pay off your phone early in its entirety at any point, but the full balance will be due. If you want to engineer a shorter term length, your best bet is to pay the monthly amount due to AT&T, then stash a little extra aside each month in your own account. Once you’ve saved up enough, you can pay off the whole thing. You can also use AT&T Next with Down Payment to pay some money up front to lower your monthly cost.


Option #2: Use Your Early Upgrade Option With AT&T Next

As mentioned earlier, AT&T Next also includes an early upgrade option. We’ve discussed before how these options may result in a bad deal. Next still isn’t great, but if you don’t plan on selling your phone and don’t mind staying with AT&T long-term, you may still prefer the option.


The early upgrades work by allowing you to trade in your old phone after you’ve made a certain number of payments. You can then get a new phone and start your payment plan over again. The plan number indicates when you can upgrade. So, for example, with AT&T Next 12, you can upgrade to a new phone after 12 months.

In every case, however, you have to pay off more than half of your phone before you can trade it in and get a new one. You’re essentially paying to lease the phone for one to two years. Worse yet, the longer Next plans are worse for you than the shorter ones are.


For example, say you bought a $600 phone with Next 24. You’ll have paid $480 over two years before you can upgrade. Giving that phone right back to AT&T wouldn’t be a great idea if you can finish paying it off for $120 and sell it for $300-400. Even getting $200 for your old phone would still put you ahead at that point.

If you want to upgrade early, shorter contracts are better. In that same example, using a Next 12 plan, you’ll only pay $360 towards that $600 phone before you trade it in. You’ll pay more per month, but you’ll have spent less when you finally trade in your old phone, and you’ll only have to wait a year, instead of two years to upgrade.


No matter what you do, Next isn’t the most cost-effective way to upgrade, simply because you have to trade in your phone. You’re paying anywhere from $200 to 500, depending on the price of your phone, to borrow it for no less than a year. If you break it, you’re also on the hook, by the way. If you’re okay with this risk and don’t plan on selling your phones anyway, then Next is an okay way to upgrade on a yearly basis. Just stay away from the longer-term plans if you can.

Option #3: Buy Your Phone Outright

Buying outright is an attractive option for AT&T if for no other reason than it’s not complicated. Phones have price tags, you give the cashier money, and you’re done. You’re not paying for a phone every month, so your bill will be lower. You’ll also be free to switch carriers or upgrade whenever you have the money to do so.


Finding a phone that works with AT&T is also much easier than it is on Verizon or Sprint. AT&T uses a GSM network for everything, and GSM is overwhelmingly more popular worldwide than CDMA, so as long as the phone you buy supports the correct radio bands, you can choose nearly any store, manufacturer, or phone model and find a device that will work on your network. You can also use WillMyPhoneWork to find out if you’re not sure.


Recommendations

As long as you’re sticking to buying your phone outright, or financing over time, AT&T’s plans are finally uncomplicated. You can choose to pay for your entire phone now, or over the course of up to two and a half years. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether you choose to finance or pay upfront, as you pay the same amount either way.


The only complication is with AT&T Next’s early upgrade options. Having to trade-in your phone after paying for more than half of the sticker price is a bit of a waste. The only reason you might consider this is if you don’t plan on selling your old phones or repurposing it for something useful. However, we strongly recommend considering an alternative first. And if you do use AT&T Next, at least go for the shortest contract length you can, to save money in the long run.

The bottom line: Getting rid of subsidies made AT&T’s plans much easier to understand. Whether or not they’re cheaper is up for debate, but your best options now are to simply pay for your phone. Either immediately, or over time. Once you own your phone, sell or repurpose it to get the most value from the money you’ve sunk into it.



If you’re looking for who to blame (or thank) for the changes to carrier contracts, it’s T-Mobile. The carrier started the trend back in 2013 by ditching subsidies altogether. Now, the primary way of buying a phone through T-Mobile is financing, but they also have some options for upgrading early if you don’t want to wait.

Option #1: Finance Your Phone With Monthly Payments

Much like Verizon, when you want a new phone on T-Mobile, you’ll pay for the full price of the phone divided across 24 months. They refer to this as their Equipment Installment Plan (EIP). You may have to pay a down payment, depending on your credit and the cost of the handset. If you do, the down payment will go towards the full price of the phone, reducing your monthly payments.


Unlike Verizon, however, you can pay extra each month to pay it off sooner, if you so choose. You can also make a larger down payment up front, or you can make optional payments towards your EIP on top of your monthly bill. You can’t just overpay your regular bill, though. You’ll have to log in to your T-Mobile account, navigate to the EIP section and make a separate, specific payment to your device payment plan. This will lower your overall EIP balance and thus reduce your next overall monthly payments to T-Mobile. Once your device is paid off, the EIP charge goes away and you just continue paying for service.

You can also finance multiple devices on the same line of credit. When you’re first approved for an EIP, you’ll get a spending limit. You can add as many devices to this plan as you want, as long as you don’t go over that spending limit. So if you want to finance a phone, a tablet, and a watch all on the same line, or if you want to upgrade to a new phone after a year, you can do so within that limit. T-Mobile won’t make you pay the full price of any previous devices when adding a new one. However, if you want to sell your old devices, you will have to pay that particular device off in full before they can be transferred to another person’s account or a different carrier.


Option #2: Get An Early Upgrade (and Phone Insurance) With Jump!

T-Mobile’s first early upgrade plan is called Jump! It costs $10 a month to add this service to your account, which means it’s the only early upgrade plan among the major carriers with an admission fee. However, that also includes device insurance. Normally, T-Mobile’s insurance costs $8 per month, so if you were planning to insure your phone anyway, you’re only spending $24 extra each year. If you were not planning to get insurance, however, it’s an extra $120 per year.


Once you’re signed up for the plan, you’ll make monthly payments towards your device like normal. Much like with the financing option, you can pay extra towards your balance if you want to upgrade earlier. Once you’ve paid off more than half of the phone’s cost, you can trade in your old device for a new one.

Whether or not this plan is worth it depends largely on whether or not you want to keep your old phones or sell them. For example, let’s say you start with a $600 phone and pay off $300. For another $300, you could own the phone. If you then sold it for more than $300, you’d save money versus trading it in. Keeping in mind, of course, that you’ll also have paid an extra $10 a month for this privilege.


If you’re willing to put in the effort to sell your old phones, trading in phones via Jump! is probably not going to be the most frugal option. However, you’ll also always have the option of buying out your phone entirely, so you don’t have to trade it in. Given that Jump! also doubles as device insurance, you’ll only pay a small premium to give yourself the option of trading in your phone (again, assuming you would have paid for insurance anyway, which isn’t always necessary). This can be handy if you end up with a phone that doesn’t retain it’s value well over the long term.


Option #3: Lease Certain Newer Phones With Jump! On Demand

T-Mobile’s newest plan is technically a lease. Under this plan, you can upgrade much more frequently than any other plan from the other carriers: up to three times a year. You make your monthly payments on the phone as normal, but at absolutely any point, you can walk into a T-Mobile store, hand in your old phone and get a new one. Of course, since this is a lease, there are a few caveats.


First, you won’t actually own the device unless you buy it out. After 18 months of the normal payments (the cost of the device, divided by 24 months), you can either return your phone and walk away, or pay the remaining balance (6 months worth) to own it. If you decide to upgrade at any point during this 18 month period, the clock starts over.

Also, this only applies to certain phones. This includes flagships like the latest iPhone, Galaxy S 6 Edge, LG G4, and others. T-Mobile has added new handsets since the program’s inception, but it’s not a wide selection. It’s hard to know which phones will be available when you go to upgrade, and it may be harder still to find three phones per year you would even want to upgrade to. Particularly if you’re an iPhone user, since Apple only comes out with a new line of phones once per year.


The major downside is that you’re basically throwing away money on the phones you trade in. If you want to use a Note 4 for six months, it will cost roughly $30 per month, for a total of $180. When you trade that phone in, that money’s gone. You have nothing to sell and you’ll start your payments on a new phone all over again. If you’d otherwise resell or reuse your old phones, you’ll be wasting money every time you trade it in.

That said, there are still some advantages here. For starters, you can walk away from T-Mobile at absolutely any time. Unlike most carrier’s plans, you’re not required to pay off your phone or fork over a huge fee just to leave. You’ll have to turn in your old phone, but you’re not forced to come up with a huge amount of money on the spot just to switch carriers.


Additionally, some people simply may not want to sell their old phones. While buying outright and reselling your devices is a cost-efficient way to stay up to date, it’s also a huge hassle. Your old phones may not sell for much, you have to deal with online stores or selling to friends, and it’s probably best that you keep all the original packaging. If you know you’re not going to do all of that, then you’re not getting value out of your old phones anyway. This lease program can at least keep you up to date, while putting your old phones to better use.

Option #4: Buy Your Phone Outright

Yep, this is still an option. Like AT&T, T-Mobile has a GSM network which means it’s easier to find a compatible phone. Additionally, T-Mobile’s service plans are going to cost the same no matter how you buy your phone. Whether you drop $500 for a phone on Amazon, or pay $20.83 every month for two years to T-Mobile, your cell service has a simple monthly cost so you never get confused.


Recommendations

With rare exception, T-Mobile’s plans are simple. You just have to pay for your phone. Financing is a straightforward way to do that. Jump! is almost exactly the same as financing, except you pay a premium to give yourself the option of trading it in. Jump! is ideal for anyone who was going to buy phone insurance anyway, particularly if you’re going to buy a phone that might not retain its value long-term. If you decide it’s not worth it to upgrade early and trade in your old handset, you don’t have to. Just keep paying your monthly installments until your phone is paid off, then keep it. You’ll pay a little bit more than you would if you just bought device insurance, but it’s a small enough amount of money to be up to your discretion.


Jump! On Demand is geared towards rapid upgraders who also won’t sell or use their old phones. However, the limit on which handsets actually qualify for the plan makes it less attractive. In fairness, the program has only been around for a month, and T-Mobile has added one new phone to the list since then, but it’s not a wonderland of phone hopping forever. Unless you’re hopelessly devoted to Apple or high end Samsung phones, it’s probably best to wait on this plan right now.

The bottom line: Like AT&T, T-Mobile’s plans are a little confusing, but generally fair. In nearly every situation, you have the option to buy your phone outright if you decide you want to keep it, without paying extra fees. Or you can upgrade early, which isn’t very cost effective, but hey it’s your choice. Only Verizon’s plans are simpler, but that’s also because they don’t have any early upgrade options at all. Sprint’s plans are considerably more complicated and make it much harder to find a decent deal.


Sprint


Currently, Sprint offers a variety of options for getting a new phone. The carrier has announced that it plans to phase out most of its options in favor of leases by the end of 2015, but we’re several days into 2016 and this still hasn’t happened. We’ll cover all of the options that are available now, and update in the future when that plan finally finishes. For now, though, things are confusing as heck. Let’s begin at the beginning.

Option #1: Lease Your Phone Over Two Years

Sprint’s lease option is soon to be the default, so we’ll start there. You can lease a phone from Sprint by paying a certain amount per month for 24 months. It’s unclear exactly how Sprint determines the monthly lease price, but it’s less than the formula other carriers use (total device cost divided by 24). We’ll come back to that in a moment. At the end of your two year lease, you have three options:

Turn in your old phone and upgrade: As long as your old phone is in good, working condition, you can turn it in and start a brand new lease.

As long as your old phone is in good, working condition, you can turn it in and start a brand new lease. Pay off the phone and own it: You can exercise the Purchase Option to buy out the phone and keep it. This is typically between $150-200, though it’s unclear if this amount is directly tied to the price of the phone.

You can exercise the Purchase Option to buy out the phone and keep it. This is typically between $150-200, though it’s unclear if this amount is directly tied to the price of the phone. Continue paying a month-to-month lease: If you can’t decide on a phone to upgrade to, and you don’t want to buy it out, you can continue paying monthly lease payments. It’s unclear if these will count towards your Purchase Option payment if you decided to exercise that later.


With the exception of special promotions like the iPhone Forever plan, Sprint’s lease program doesn’t actually seem to be much better than existing (but terminal) two-year subsidized contracts. You’re still locked to the same phone on the same carrier for two years. However, at the end of the term, you have to spend more money to own your phone.

The one area you do save is upfront payments. Subsidized plans often require you to pay an amount upfront to qualify for the subsidy. Instead, you pay that cost (often up to $200) at the end of the program, if you want to keep your phone. It seems that Sprint has simply moved this down payment to the end of your contract, instead of the beginning. However, that seems like a silly move when you could simply have a slightly higher monthly payment and then own your phone at the end of the term.


Additionally, Sprint’s lease programs still aren’t available for all phones. As we said earlier, Sprint planned to switch entirely to leases by the end of 2015, but as 2016 begins, many cheaper phones don’t even qualify for leases at all. The only way to get them is either through financing or a two-year contract.

Option #2: Finance Your Phone With Monthly Payments

Sprint’s financing plan is called Easy Pay. Just like T-Mobile and Verizon, Sprint’s financing plan will charge you a set amount every month on top of your base service plan cost. In most cases, this is pretty straightforward. The monthly charge is equal to the total cost of the phone divided by 24 months, though there are exceptions. However, Sprint still has subsidies (for now), so how much you’ll pay for a phone can get complicated.


As an example, Sprint is currently selling the HTC One M9 for $27/month under Easy Pay. Over the course of two years, you’ll pay $648 for the phone (which you’ll then own). This is the same price you’ll pay if you buy the phone outright today. Whether you buy it outright or use Easy Pay, you’ll also pay $60 per month for phone service.

However, Sprint also offers this phone on a subsidy. Under the normal two-year contract plan, your total monthly price will be $85/month, no matter which phone you get. This is $25 more than the basic phone service you’d pay if you bought your phone or used Easy Pay. In effect, you’re paying $25 per month for the phone itself. That’s slightly cheaper than Easy Pay, right? However, the M9 also requires a $99 down payment. With this payment, plus the extra $25 per month over two years, you’ll end up paying $700 for the same phone over two years. It’s also unclear if your monthly payment would be reduced at the end of those two years under the regular subsidized plan. Presumably, you would be able to get the off-contract plan price if you ask, but it’s not clear if that price adjustment will happen automatically.


In some cases, the variance between an Easy Pay plan and the typical subsidized plan can be quite dramatic. The Galaxy S 5, for example, would cost only $15/month under Easy Pay, resulting in a total cost of $360 over two years. Meanwhile, the subsidized plan requires a $50 down payment and the standard $85 per month subsidized plan price, which means you’ll end up paying an insane $650 for the same phone over two years. Even buying the phone outright from Sprint only costs $552. Not all phones from Sprint have this wild discrepancy. Flagships in particular seemed to at least have agreement between the overall financing price and the full purchase price. However, it’s still something to watch out for during the few months that these options remain available.

Option #3: Get a Subsidized Phone (While You Still Can)

Sprint’s two-year contracts are still available for a while longer (though likely not too long). Functionally, they’re not much different from Sprint’s financing plans, though their price is standard. On an individual plan, service normally costs $60 per month. With a subsidized phone on a two-year contract, that monthly price is $85. No matter what phone you get on this contract, you’ll essentially be paying $25 per month extra for that phone.


As we discussed in the last section, choosing the “best” plan depends on which phone you get. Here’s a way to simplify the math:

Divide the subsidized plan’s upfront cost of the phone by 24. Add 25 to that number. If the total is higher than the Easy Pay monthly payment on the financing plan, choose Easy Pay. Otherwise, use the subsidy.


For some reason, only some of the phones listed on Sprint’s website have consistent pricing. As mentioned previously, the older Galaxy S 5 had wildly different prices just for financing vs. buying outright. So, be sure to check your math for every phone just to make sure.

Option #4: Buy Your Phone Outright

As long as Sprint’s financing plans still exist, buying outright can occasionally be a poor choice. As mentioned under Option #2, there are some cases on Sprint where financing a phone over 24 months will actually cost less than the full sticker price of the phone. In those semi-rare cases, it’s more financially prudent to go with financing.


Of course, you won’t be able to leave Sprint until your financing agreement is paid off. However, if you want to get the lower price while maintaining that freedom, you can cancel your financing contract early. Just like with the other carriers, when you cancel, you’re required to pay the remaining balance on your phone. If the total of your monthly payments is lower than the full retail price, this can be an even cheaper (if more convoluted) way to buy your phone outright. Just be sure to take any activation fees into account, as well.

Recommendations

Regardless of how you like to buy your phones, the sooner you’re able to get on a given plan with Sprint right now, the better. Financing and subsidized plans are going away, which means soon the only way to keep your phone at the end of your two years will be to pay $100-200 to buy it outright. Which, to be fair, isn’t much different from paying from $100-200 when you first sign up, but it’s also a lot harder to stomach shelling out so much cash for a two-year old phone.


Subsidized phone plans still aren’t ideal, and financing locks you in until you pay off your device. However, with the way Sprint has priced its devices, certain phones cost less depending on which option you choose. Check the math for each device and see if you can get a deal over the long term. If you’re not willing to stick with Sprint for at least two years, though, it’s probably best to avoid all three long-term options and just buy outright.

The bottom line: Sprint’s plans are the most confusing of all in terms of how they’re structured, and their inconsistent pricing means you still have to do quite a bit of math. Also, some of Sprint’s best options were supposed to disappear by the end of 2015, but they’re still around for some reason. If you really want a favorable deal with Sprint, upgrade as soon as you can.


What About Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program?

If you’re an iPhone user, you’ve probably heard about Apple’s new early upgrade program. It works much like the upgrade programs from the carriers: You go into an Apple store, choose an iPhone, and pay $32 a month (iPhone 6s) or $37 a month (iPhone 6s Plus). You get full AppleCare+ coverage, and you can upgrade to the newest iPhone every year.


It’s a decent offering, but like the carrier’s upgrade plans, you’ll probably save more money by buying the iPhone outright every year and selling the old one, even if you include the cost of AppleCare+.




Don’t Forget the Other Carriers, Either

This is a basic rundown for each of the four big US carriers, but they aren’t the only carriers. Remember: if you’re looking to save money, off-contract carriers often have much cheaper service prices, as long as you’re willing to make a tradeoff or two (like limited data plans or less roaming). You’ll have to buy your phone outright every time, and there are no early upgrade plans or leases, but you can often save money in the long run compared to the big four. When you do your math, be sure to research other carriers and run them through Prepaid Finder to see if they’re a better deal altogether.


Photos by Mike Mozart , Mike Mozart , Mike Mozart , and Mike Mozart .