It’s coming up on the back-to-school season, and I know many students, and maybe even a few parents, are looking for the best deal on a new iPhone.
There’s no perfect deal out right now that I’d recommend to everyone, but across the iPhone 15, 14 and 13 series, there are some decent options to help people upgrade before September.
That said, maybe read this one with a notepad beside you because we’re about to start some serious number crunching. Also, keep in mind that the carriers change pricing and deals all the time, so for the most up-to-date coverage, make sure to check the MobileSyrup home page.
iPhone 15 (full price is $1,129)
The cheapest way to get an iPhone 15 from a carrier right now is to shop from Freedom Mobile. If you don’t mind being on a plan where you’ll have to return your phone in two years, you can get an iPhone 15 ($20 per month) and a 75GB data plan with Canada/U.S. data ($45 per month), for a total of $65 per month for at least 18 months. This is, of course, if you take advantage of all the digital autopay discounts that Freedom offers, including the $5/mo ‘Digital Discount’ for using autopay and a $5/mo credit for 18 months.
Buying the phone at the end of the Freedom plan costs $457, which, combined with the $20 per month you pay for the phone, and means you’ll have to pay out $937 over two years for the iPhone at Freedom. Ultimately, it’s only a discount of $192 on your iPhone.
Alternatively, you can go with Freedom’s cheaper $35/50GB plan (after the two $5/mo discounts), but the monthly cost of the iPhone goes up to $28. It works out to a slightly cheaper $63/mo total, but technically, you end up paying more for the phone that way.
Rogers has a very similar deal. If you agree to its ‘Save and Return’ program, you can give the phone back or buy it out at the end of two years. With this deal, the iPhone will be $17.50 per month, which, combined with the carrier’s $60 Infinite 100GB plan, comes out to $77 per month before taxes.
It will cost roughly $381 to buy out the phone at the end of your contract, making the total cost of the phone $801. Before taxes, this means you’re paying out $1,848 for your phone and your plan over the next two years. Altogether, at Freedom, they’ll milk an extra $60 from you once your 18-month promotion ends, bringing the grand total to $1,620, again before taxes.
Bell and Telus have similar discounts on the iPhone 15, but their plans are more expensive, reducing the deal’s impact on your wallet. Bell and Rogers also offer pretty sweet trade-in deals for the iPhone 15. They’re in-store only, but if you find yourself with an older iPhone 13 that still works, you can get a pretty decent discount on the 15.
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