Cell Phone Calculator

Should you get the newest cell phone or keep your older model? How do installment plans and contracts measure up? This calculator will help you compare the total cost of plans with different price structures over the next two years. Total costs are based on the accounting principal of Net Present Value.

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Option 2

Upfront Cost

Monthly Cost

2 Year Total Cost (NPV)

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Upfront Cost

Monthly Cost

2 Year Total Cost (NPV)

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iPhone Savings Report

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Infographic Assumptions

Costs quoted in the above infographic reflect the Net Present Value (NPV) of a 64 GB iPhone 12 under the following types of plans:

Individual Plans

	NO CONTRACT (BUY PHONE UP-FRONT)	INSTALLMENT PLAN (CARRIER)	INSTALLMENT PLAN (APPLE)
AT&T	AT&T Unlimited Extra^SM	AT&T Unlimited Extra^SM	AT&T Unlimited Extra^SM
T-Mobile/Sprint	T-Mobile Essentials	T-Mobile Essentials	T-Mobile Essentials
Verizon	Play More Unlimited	Play More Unlimited	Play More Unlimited
Visible	Visible Plan	N/A	N/A
Walmart Family Mobile	Family Mobile Plan – Truly Unlimited	N/A	N/A
Boost Mobile	Boost Mobile Unlimited	N/A	N/A
Metro by T-Mobile	Unlimited High-Speed	N/A	N/A
Cricket Wireless	Unlimited Cricket	N/A	N/A
Straight Talk	Ultimate Unlimited	N/A	N/A
Page Plus	The $55	N/A	N/A
UScellular	Unlimited Data - Even Better	N/A	N/A
Consumer Cellular	Unlimited Data	N/A	N/A

Family Plans (4 lines)

	NO CONTRACT (BUY PHONE UP-FRONT)	INSTALLMENT PLAN (CARRIER)	INSTALLMENT PLAN (APPLE)
AT&T	AT&T Unlimited Extra^SM	AT&T Unlimited Extra^SM	AT&T Unlimited Extra^SM
T-Mobile/Sprint	T-Mobile Essentials	T-Mobile Essentials	T-Mobile Essentials
Verizon	Play More Unlimited	Play More Unlimited	Play More Unlimited
Cricket Wireless	Unlimited Cricket	N/A	N/A
Walmart Family Mobile	Family Mobile Plan – Truly Unlimited	N/A	N/A
Boost Mobile	Boost Mobile Unlimited	N/A	N/A
Metro by T-Mobile	Unlimited High-Speed	N/A	N/A
UScellular	Unlimited Data - Even Better	N/A	N/A
Visible	Visible Plan	N/A	N/A

Data is accurate as of 10/20/2020.

Notes:

Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program – the Apple Installment Plan – allows users to pay for their phone in monthly installments made directly to Apple and exchange their devices for the latest model every 12 months (6 months with advance payment). Since this program is not affiliated with any particular carrier, users can avoid signing up for multiyear service contracts and select the carrier or plan they find most advantageous at any given time.

With that in mind, we combined the cost of Apple's monthly installment plan with that of the most advantageous data plans available from individual carriers to provide a more-detailed comparison. One thing to note is that AppleCare is mandatory with the Apple Installment Plan, while carriers offer it as an extra option when consumers purchase phones through them.
For family plans, we assumed one device would be purchased and three existing devices could be included in the data plan with no compatibility issues. These lines are new connections with the carrier; thus, they pay activation fees.
All plan data was collected for online pre-orders. Installment-plan costs assume excellent credit.
We considered single unlimited plans that might reduce the data speed only if the network was crowded or after at least 35GB of traffic.
AT&T currently offers only 30-month installment plans, for comparison purposes, the pricing has been adjusted to reflect a 2-year agreement.
For AT&T, the price for the AT&T Unlimited Extra^SM plan assumes the activation of the Autopay & Paperless billing process and takes into account the $10 related monthly discount.
For T-Mobile, the price for the Essentials plan assumes the activation of the AutoPay billing process and takes into account the $5 related monthly discount. The final installment payment will be rounded so that the final total price of the item will be $799.99. The upfront cost assumes a $20 assistance charge will be applied. Owners of a valid T-Mobile SIM card will have the $10 SIM card charge waived.
For Verizon, the one-time activation fee of $20 assumes the purchase was done through VZW.com or the My Verizon App. The price for Play More Unlimited plan assumes the activation of paper-free billing and Auto Pay billing process and takes into account the $10 related monthly discount.
For Cricket Wireless, the price for the Unlimited Cricket plan assumes the activation of the AutoPay billing process and takes into account the $5 related monthly discount.
For Page Plus, the price for the $55 plan assumes the activation of the Auto Refill billing process and takes into account the $5 related monthly discount.
For Straight Talk, the price for the Ultimate Unlimited plan assumes the activation of the 3-month Auto Refill billing process and takes into account the $5 related monthly discount.
For UScellular, the price for the Unlimited Data - Even Better plan assumes the activation of the Autopay & Paperless billing process and takes into account the $5 related monthly discount.
For Metro by T-Mobile, the price for the Unlimited High-Speed plan assumes a $20 per line activation fee.
In order to identify the best plans for low-cost carriers, WalletHub analyzed the existing offers of the following carriers: Walmart Family Mobile, Page Plus, Boost Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, UScellular, Cricket Wireless, Visible, Consumer Cellular and Straight Talk.

2020 iPhone Survey

The release of each new iPhone model is a big-money occasion for Apple, but this year many people may not have as much money to spend due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate is 8.4% and total credit card debt stands at nearly $1 trillion, which means that buying a new iPhone is an even bigger decision for consumers than usual. Depending on what features people want, they may have to shell out over $1,000 for a new device. For some people, that's too much. In fact, 36 percent of Americans plan to reduce the cost of their cell phone as a result of the pandemic, according to a nationally representative survey conducted by WalletHub. However, despite the overall financial outlook, one in three Americans still plan on getting the new iPhone this year.

WalletHub examined not only how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Americans' cell phone purchase plans, but also why people buy new phones, how essential phones are and more. Below, you can find additional highlights from WalletHub's 2020 iPhone Survey, along with further insight from a panel of experts and a full description of our methodology. Consumers looking to save money on a new cell phone purchase can also check out WalletHub's Cell Phone Savings Calculator to crunch the numbers.

Key Stats

iPhone demand is still high: Despite high unemployment, 1 in 3 people plan on getting the new iPhone this year.
MVP – most valuable possession: Almost half of Americans say that their phone is their most important belonging during the pandemic.
Americans want price reductions: Almost 75 percent of people think that Apple should charge less for the iPhone due to COVID-19.
iPhones worth borrowing for: About 73 percent more people think that the new iPhone is worth going into debt for compared to last year.

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Ask the Experts

To help people learn more about Cell Phone Savings Calculator, WalletHub's editors posed the following questions to a panel of experts. You can meet our panelists and read their responses below.

How much cheaper must a 2-year agreement be for a cell phone user to sacrifice the flexibility of not having a contract?
To what extent does the secondary market for cell phones (e.g. eBay) alter the price comparison for no-contract plans?
To what extent do major carriers differ in terms of the breadth and strength of their wireless networks? Are there any differences in terms of security?
What does the FCC’s bill-shock agreement mean for consumers?
How popular do you think Apple's "new iPhone every year" plan will be among consumers? To what extent will it impact the installment plans offered by carriers themselves?
How has the pandemic impacted the smartphone market? What will be the long-term aftermath and what are some ways to sustain growth in this industry?

< >

Janelle Applequist Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications, University of South Florida
Qihong Liu Ph.D. – Professor of Economics, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Economics, University of Oklahoma
Hemant Bhargava Ph.D. – Professor, Jerome and Elsie Suran Chair in Technology Management, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Jeffrey D. Shulman Ph.D. – Professor of Marketing, Marion B. Ingersoll Professor, Foster School of Business, University of Washington
Beth Egan MBA – Associate Professor, Advertising, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University
Molly Hein Assistant Professor of Business, University of Dubuque

More Experts

While WalletHub’s Cell Phone Savings Calculator can be eye-opening, it’s also helpful to leverage the WalletHub community. Our members have a wealth of knowledge to share...show moreshow less

Darrin Vavricka @darrinvavricka

February 20, 2020

My experience with "Walmart Family Mobile" I needed an unlimited monthly plan with data speeds at SD quality consistently which is what this plan is marketed. Unfortunately the fine print states that your speed may be slowed because the server "Tmobile" will put their customers ahead of you when congested resulting in slower bandwidth speeds. The truth is it's ALWAYS CONGESTED and at times you cant get on line at all. Forget this plan it's customer service is horrendous and so frustrating. You get tossed around like a toy even though they use polite language and that's IF you finally manage to get someone live from India. Simply Horrible plan regardless of price. If all you need is a phone to make domestic calls then fine but for those of us that need to get things done on our phones you might as well mail a letter with post office because it'll get there quicker than using their nonexistent data!

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Kristi Fisher @chynadollkf

May 10, 2017

How can I dispute my bad credit? I was a victim of identity theft.

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Danielle Greene @danielleg_805

April 4, 2019

Have you visited the Federal Trade Commission's website?? They have information on identity theft.

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Phoebe Chongchua @_hoebe

September 25, 2016

Do the other non-Apple plans calculate insurance in the overall price of the phone or would the insurance fee be an additional monthly fee added on top of these prices? The Apple installment plan, of course adds it in.

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Danielle Greene @danielleg_805

April 4, 2019

I'm pretty certain that Verizon, for example, charges an additional monthly fee for insurance. It's about $13.00 per device/per month. For higher end devices. Such as the Galaxy S10 or S10 plus.

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Cell Phone Savings Calculator

Option 1

Option 2

iPhone Savings Report

Infographic Assumptions

Individual Plans

Family Plans (4 lines)

Notes:

2020 iPhone Survey

Key Stats

Ask the Experts

Community Discussion

Darrin Vavricka @darrinvavricka

Kristi Fisher @chynadollkf

Danielle Greene @danielleg_805

Phoebe Chongchua @_hoebe

Danielle Greene @danielleg_805

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