iPhone 12 Month Contracts

When comparing 12 month contracts on iPhones the cheapest will be on the iPhone 3GS as it's the oldest model, however we'll list them starting with the iPhone 4S which is the latest model in the range. The comparison is based on the total you pay over the 12 months plus the upfront cost of the phone - currently all of the best iPhone 12 month contracts are on Vodafone. The 12 month contract is very popular for many phones now as it doesn't involve a lengthy tie-in, leaving you free to change plans after about 11 months. However there is a price to pay for the privilige if you want a 12 month contract on a high-end handset like the iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4 both in the initial cost of the phone and the monthly tariff you get.

iPhone 4S

The best 12 month iPhone 4S deal is on Vodafone from Mobiles.co.uk - the 16GB model costs £139 upfront with a monthly fee of £51, total £751. This gives you 1200 minutes, unlimited texts and 750Mb of data. You can get the same model with the same total cost from Dial-a-Phone for £319 and £36 a month but you only get 300 mins and 500GB of data so the Mobiles deal wins.

The best 12 month deal on the iPhone 4S 32GB model is also at Mobiles.co.uk - £219 upfront then £46 a month, total £831 for 1200 mins and 750GB data.

iPhone 4

The best 12 month iPhone 4 deal is on Vodafone from Dial-a-Phone - the 16GB model costs £99 upfront with a monthly fee of £51, total £711. This gives you 1200 minutes, unlimited texts and 750Mb of data.

The best 12 month deal on the iPhone 4 32GB model is here at Mobiles.co.uk - £199 upfront then £51 a month, total £811 for 1200 mins and 750GB data. The 12 month deals on the 8GB model at both Mobiles and Dial-a-Phone come in at the same total cost as the 16GB offer above so are not worth getting.

iPhone 3GS

The best 12 month iPhone 3GS deal is direct from Vodafone - the 8GB model is free with a monthly fee of £51, total £612. This gives you 1200 minutes, unlimited texts and 750Mb of data.

There is another deal with a monthly fee of £41 and an upfront cost of £109 but the total cost is only £11 different at £601 and you get less for it - 600 mins and 500GB - so it's not worth it.

Tesco were the first retailer to offer the iPhone on a 12 month contract, from December 2009, but they came with a hefty price tag upfront. They ranged from the 16GB iPhone 4 which, on a £35 a month contract giving 750 mins and unlimited texts, costing £229, down to the iPhone 3G 8GB which cost £100 on the same 12 month tariff.