Is SIM Free + SIM Only Cheaper Than Contract Phone Deals?
Is a Contract Phone or SIM Free + SIM Only Cheaper?
Is it cheaper to buy a phone contract than to buy a SIM Free handset plus a separate SIM Only deal?
As contract prices continue to offer more data for your monthly plan cost, which method of ownership works out the cheapest?
It’s a conundrum we intend to answer with examples below.
Things we’ve considered
Firstly, we need to state that the amount of monthly data you need is going to play a big part in making your decision.
Lower monthly data allocations means cheaper SIM Only prices so we’ll be looking at examples of customers needing just 10GB for lower users versus 100GB+ for heavier.
We also need to state that we are only comparing overall prices for brand new phones, obviously refurbished handsets will work out cheaper in both form of ownership.
We’ll be calculating the overall price of owning your new phone over the standard 24 months of a contract deal.
First off, we’re going to compare contract versus SIM Free + SIM Only deals for the Samsung S22, by far the most popular phone on our website.
Samsung Galaxy S22 128GB
Samsung S22 SIM Free + SIM Only
Samsung’s current SIM Free price for their S22 model is £769.
Then we need to add a SIM Only deal for low and higher users:
The best value SIM Only deal for 10GB of monthly data is currently £7 a month on iD Mobile, Virgin and Smarty.
This means that total cost of ownership over 24 month equates to:
£769 + £7 x 24 months = £937
For higher users, the cheapest SIM Only deal offering 100GB of monthly data is currently £12 a month on Three.
£769 + £12 x 24 months = £1057
Samsung S22 Contract Deals
Now to compare contract prices for low and high users:
We’re using the cheapest overall 24 month contract as an example where you’ll usually find the upfront cost is higher.
The closest and cheapest plan that offers 10GB+ data is currently at £23 a month for 20GB data on O2 with an upfront cost of £99.
Cost of ownership with this contract deal over 24 months equates to:
£23 x 24 months + £99 upfront = £651
For higher users looking for 100GB+ data each month, the lowest cost plan is at £15 a month for 100GB data with £349 upfront.
£15 x 24 months + £349 upfront = £709
Conclusion
In the case of the Samsung S22, both higher and lower users will save money by choosing contract deals over buying a SIM Free handset and ordering a separate SIM Only deal.
However, the latter option does offer some benefits including the freedom to change networks or your SIM plan after 12 months.
Whether that’s worth the extra £300+ is for you to decide.
So we’ve looked at the most popular Android phone so it’s only fair to compare it with the most popular iPhone on the market.
This is currently the iPhone 13 so here are the results:
iPhone 13 128GB
iPhone 13 SIM Free + SIM Only
Apple currently retail their iPhone 13 at £749, we’ll then add the previous example of the best value 10GB+ and 100GB+ SIM Only price plans:
£749 + £7 x 24 months = £917
£749 + £12 x 24 months = £1037
iPhone 13 Contract Deals
The current cheapest deal offering 10GB+ of monthly data is at £21 a month for 20GB data on O2 with £338.99 upfront.
£21 x 24 months + £338.99 = £842.99
For higher users, the current lowest plan price for 100GB+ data is at £18 a month on Three with £415 upfront.
£18 x 24 months + £415 = £847
Conclusion
Again it seems buying your iPhone 13 with a contract works out cheaper than splitting the handset and SIM card payments.
So that’s the comparison for higher end smartphones that demand a higher price tag, but what about mid range handsets that don’t cost as much?
The most popular Android and iPhone mid range phones are currently the Samsung A53 5G and the iPhone 11, so let’s compare their prices!
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G 128GB
SIM Free = £399
10GB+ SIM Only Deal = £7 a month:
£7 x 24 months + £399 = £567
100GB+ SIM Only Deal = £12 a month:
£12 x 24 months + £399 = £687
Samsung A53 5G Contract Deals
Closest Matching Low User Contract = £14 a month for 30GB data on Talk Mobile + £149 upfront.
£14 x 24 months + £149 = £485
Closest Matching High User Contract = £30 a month for 250GB data on Vodafone + £0 upfront with £216 cashback by redemption.
£30 x 24 months + £0 – £216 = £504
iPhone 11 64GB
SIM Free = £439
10GB+ SIM Only Deal = £7 a month:
£7 x 24 months + £439 = £607
100GB+ SIM Only Deal = £12 a month:
£12 x 24 months + £439 = £727
iPhone 11 Contract Deals
Closest Matching Low User Contract = £22 a month for 10GB data on O2 + £0 upfront.
£22 x 24 months + £0 = £528
Closest Matching High User Contract = £30 a month for 250GB data on Vodafone + £0 upfront with £168 cashback by redemption.
£30 x 24 months + £0 – £168 = £552
Conclusion
It appears that again, buying your mid range phone with a contract works out cheaper over the 24 month period.
Based on these findings, when is the SIM Free + SIM Only option a wise choice?
Well, as previously mentioned, if you need the flexibility of changing networks or price plans then unlike contract deals you are free to do this.
Also, if you are looking at refurbished phones, they are usually only around £50 – £100 cheaper than brand new with contract deals, however the price difference when buying SIM Free is usually much greater.
So for now, buying your new phone with a contract is the best way to save.
