The lure of a brand new discounted cell phone with a 2-year contact can be tempting, but is it worth it?
We wanted to do the math and report the details back to you!
We decided to look at buying your own iPhone 5S VS getting your iPhone subsidized by Bell in a 2 year contact.
Situation 1: Purchasing a iPhone 5S on a 2 year contact with Bell.
iPhone 5S 16GB = $300
2GB Data Plan $85 per month X 24 Months = $2040
Activation Fee $15
Unlocking Fee $50
Total Cost Plus Tax = $2334
Situation 2: Purchasing an unlocked iPhone 5S from Apple and going on a month-to-month contact.
- Cost of iPhone 5S 16GB from Apple = $719
Plan 1 $59 Fido Plan with 2GB data x 24 months $53 per month after 10% BYOD discount: $1274
Plan 2 $49 Fido Plan with 1GB data x 24 months $44 per month after 10% BYOD discount: $1058
Plan 3 $39 Fido Smart Plan with 400MB data x 24 months $35 Per month after 10% BYOD discount: $842
Plan 1 total cost: $1993
Potential savings vs 2 year contract = $341
Plan 2 total cost: $1774
Potential savings vs 2 year contract = $560
Plan 3 total cost: $1561
Potential savings vs 2 year contract = $773
As you can see in any situation, it is almost always more cost effective to purchase your own device and not get it subsidized through a provider such as Rogers or Bell.
Always make sure to run the math before getting tempted into that 2-year contact. Not only will you be loosing money in the long run, you may potentially be tied into something for 2 years that you no longer want to be apart of.