Where’s the Cheapest iPhone 5? T-Mobile vs. Walmart, AT&T
T-Mobile is the talk of the town this week, thanks to its freshly unveiled UnCarrier plan and the fact that it’s finally getting the iPhone 5 and other older iPhones. People are claiming that T-Mobile offers the cheapest deal one can ever find for an iPhone 5, but is it really the cheapest? Let’s find out if the claims are true.
iPhone 5 16GB : Compared
.
T-Mobile
.
Price without a contract: $580
Price with a two-year contract: No contract but an installment plan that would cost $99 for the first payment, then $20 per month for two years.
Early termination fee: No termination fee because there is no contract to terminate
Mobile hotspot: 500MB included, additional hotspot data available at an additional charge.
Data: Unlimited but may be slowed down after consuming 5GB
Text: Unlimited
Voice: Unlimited
Monthly bill: $70
Total cost: $2259
.
Walmart-Straight Talk
.
Price without a contract: $649
Price with a two-year contract: No carrier contract, pre-paid plan
Early termination fee: No termination fee
Unlimited voice, text and data: $45 a month with a 2GB data cap and Auto-refill option for continued use
Total cost: $1729
.
C-Spire
.
Price without a contract: $669.99
Price with a two-year contract: $149.99
Early termination fee: n/a
Mobile hotspot: $20 for 1GB
Infinite video streaming, data and messaging: $100
Monthly bill: $120
No activation fee
Total cost: $3029.99
.
Sprint
.
Price without a contract: $649.99
Price with a two-year contract: $199
Early termination fee: Up to $350
Mobile hotspot: $19.99 a month for 2GB
Unlimited data, talk and text: 109.99
Monthly bill: $129.98
Activation fee: Waived
Total cost: $3319.51
.
Verizon
.
Price without a contract: $649.99
Price with a two-year contract: $199.99
Early termination fee: Up to $350
Mobile hotspot: Included
Data: Share Everything Plan 2 GB – connect up to 10 devices
Text: Unlimited
Voice: Unlimited
Monthly bill: $100
Activation fee: $35
Total cost: $2634.99 – before tax & shipping
.
AT&T
.
Price without a contract: $649.99
Price with a two-year contract: $199.99
Early termination fee: Up to $325
Mobile hotspot: Included
Data: DataPro 3GB ($30)
Nation plan for unlimited talk and text: $69.99
Monthly bill: $99.99
One-time activation fee: $36
Total cost: 2635.75
.
Summary
.
T-Mobile: $2259
Walmart-Straight Talk: $1729
C-Spire: $3029.99
Sprint: $3319.51
Verizon: $2634.99
AT&T: 2635.75
Based on the numbers, Walmart and Straight Talk offer the lowest price for the iPhone 5 at $1729 spending cost for two years,but you have to take into consideration that you pay for the device at full price since Straight Talk is a prepaid service. The $649 price tag isn’t as easy to bear.
So removing Walmart and Straight Talk from the equation, T-Mobile does offer the lowest price for the iPhone 5. In two years, if you choose to purchase an iPhone 5 on T-Mobile, you’d just be spending $2259, way cheaper than what AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and C-Spire offer. Plus if you want to pay for the iPhone 5 in full, you’d just be paying $580, still far cheaper than the alternatives.
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