Whats more Cost Effective when purchasing iPhone 4S? Buying it out right or contract?

[TechStooge]

PLEASE READ

okay so heres my predicament.

my iphone 4 was stolen and well i need my iphone. end of story there

i have 2 options.

buying the phone out right.

32gb - 759
64gb - 849

with canadian taxes the 64 would be like 959 XD

my other option is apparently im eligable for an upgrade on my current contract to get a discounted price.

HOWEVER, i would need to add a data plan to my current plan.

my current plan is right now is 21.95 (inlcudes voice and text)
with taxt comes to around 25 dollars.

the CHEAPEST data plan is 10 dollars, so i would need to add that on top of th e 21.95 that would bring it up to 31 dollars, with tax would be a total of 36 dollars for 3 years since canadians have to have 3 year dumb contracts instead of 2..

ive used the iphone for the past 3 years without data, i jsut dont need it, and when i do, 98% of the time i have wifi avaibale, be it at home or the university campus.

MY QUESTION IS - whats more cost effective? (or better decision)

keeping a insanely low plan for 25 dollars a month but paying full price for the iphone (considering 64gb)

OR extending to a 3 year contract and paying 36 dollars BUT get the phone at a discounted price of 369 (for the 64gb model)

im not sure which to go for

thanks!

 

[wordoflife]

(36 months*36)+369 = $1665
(36 months*25)+959 = $1859

So it seems to be cheaper in the long run, and you get data.

You don't get the luxury of upgrading every year though.

 

[TechStooge]

(36 months*36)+369 = $1665
(36 months*25)+959 = $1859

So it seems to be cheaper in the long run, and you get data.

You don't get the luxury of upgrading every year though.

the 10 dollar data plan is only 100mb though so i assume thats not a whole lot and wouldnt use data to much to nto go over it

 

[takeshi74]

Whats more Cost Effective when purchasing iPhone 4S? Buying it out right or contract?

You don't need others to tell you. Do the math. Or look at post #2.

well im not just considering costs but overall is it worth it

Completely subjective as is the case with any question of worth, better, etc. Otherwise we'd all get it subsidized or we'd all buy it outright. You're the only one that can determine if it's worth it to you or not. Again, you need to do your own homework.

 

[GeniusJon]

Just plug all the information into an Excel spreadsheet and do the math.

I don't know what carrier you're on, but the big 3 (Rogers, Bell, Telus) all require $50 plans for a subsidized iPhone price (169, 269, 369).