Hey,

Have you ever wondered what the cheapest way to get a new iPhone every year is?

I have!

This year, I decided to crunch the numbers and find out.

When you go to upgrade your iPhone, you have four options:

1. Do a carrier trade-in deal

2. Do a carrier trade-in deal through Apple

3. Do the iPhone Upgrade Program

4. Sell your old iPhone and buy a new one unlocked at full price from Apple

Which option is best?

The results will shock you.

I crunched all the numbers on a massive Google Sheet, and here’s what I found:

TL;DR

Don’t want to watch the video?

Here is an overview of your three best options:

1. Cheapest Option: Sell Your Old iPhone, Buy Unlocked From Apple

It turns out selling your old iPhone yourself and buying the new iPhone unlocked from Apple at full price is your cheapest overall option.

What makes this option so affordable?

Two key reasons:

1. You get more money by selling your old iPhone yourself vs. trading it in to Apple. Selling an iPhone 15 Pro Max on a site such as Swappa would get you about $800. Apple? They’d only give you $650.

2. Buying an unlocked iPhone means you can use it on any cell phone plan from any carrier.

Honestly, being able to choose any cell phone plan to go with your iPhone is where the real savings are.

Instead of paying $80/month for Verizon Unlimited Plus, you could get US Mobile’s Unlimited Starter plan for just $25 per month.

Net cost of upgrading every year:

• iPhone 16 Pro Max: $1,199

• Sale of iPhone 15 Pro Max: -$800

• 1 Year of a $25 unlimited plan: $300

• Grand Total: $699 per year

Check out US Mobile’s $25 Unlimited Starter Plan

Bonus: See the best cell phone plans at every price point here

2. Best Balance of Price & Convenience: Boost Mobile

Boost Mobile is easily one of the most convenient options for getting a new iPhone every year.

Boost Mobile’s Infinite Access for iPhone plan includes a $1,000 off a new iPhone 16 series today, with no trade-in, and then up to $1,000 off a new iPhone every year after with a trade-in.

You basically have one monthly bill and just trade in your old iPhone for a new one every year.

The Infinite Access for iPhone plan is $65 per month, which is relatively affordable, too. Single-line plans from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon that are eligible for $1,000 off the iPhone 16 Pro Max from $80 to $100 per month, which is substantially more expensive.

Net cost of upgrading every year:

• iPhone 16 Pro Max net cost ($5.52/mo × 12): $66.33

• 1 year of Infinite Access for iPhone plan ($67.17 × 12): $806.04

• Grand Total: $872.37 per year

See at Boost Mobile

3. Best Option From A Big Carrier: AT&T NextUp Anytime

If you’re set on doing an iPhone deal through a big carrier, then AT&T’s NextUp Anytime offer is easily your best bet.

The way it works is you pay $10 extra per month to be part of AT&T’s NextUp Anytime program.

The NextUp Anytime program lets you upgrade your phone and take advantage of AT&T’s best trade-in deals after just 33% of your phone is paid off. So, instead of having to wait every 3 years to get the best deals, you can upgrade after 1 year.

And even though you pay $10/month extra, you end up saving money over a lot of the other options.

Net cost of upgrading every year:

• iPhone 16 Pro Max net cost ($5.55 × 12): $66.66

• 1 year of NextUp Anytime ($10 × 12): $120

• 1 year of AT&T Unlimited Starter SL ($70.96 × 12): $851.52

• Grand Total: $1,038.18 per year

See at AT&T

What About Family Plans?

If you have a family and you’re interested in upgrading to the latest iPhone every year, check out my free Google Sheet.

The Google Sheet contains the full pricing breakdown for 1 line, 2 lines, 3 lines, 4 lines, and 5 lines.

As you can imagine, the multi-line discounts from the big carriers make a big difference on the net total costs!

See the Google Sheet here

Don’t Miss These Deals

I hope you found this information helpful!

Happy Monday,

Stetson