Apple iPhone 17e Plans: Compare Prices and Deals

T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T are all expected to offer the iPhone 17e on a plan. At the time of writing, all three major carriers are taking pre-orders.

No matter which telco you go with, you can pick from a 24-month plan or a 36-month plan. A 36-month plan will always be cheaper, but it means you're paying your phone off over a longer period of time. A 24-month plan is more expensive, but you'll own your iPhone 17e quicker. 

Here's a look at plans for the 256GB iPhone 17e:

Here are plans for the 5126GB iPhone 17e: 

The iPhone 17e has the same starting price as the iPhone 16e: $599. Despite this, it has twice as much storage as the base configuration. Here is full iPhone 17e pricing:

The iPhone 17e is Apple's latest affordable iPhone, acting as an entry-point into the iPhone 17 family. 

The biggest selling point for the iPhone 17e is that it's a cheaper iPhone. While much consumer tech has been getting more expensive lately, Apple has held firm with the iPhone 17e's price. It also doubled the storage to 256GB, making it better value than last year's model. 

• A19 chipset: The iPhone 17e is powered by a variant of the A19 chipset used in the rest of the iPhone 17 family. It has one less graphic core, however, which may give it a little less processing power for super demanding games.
• Twice the starting storage: The iPhone 17e has 256GB in its base configuration, up from 128GB in the iPhone 16e.
• Better durability: The iPhone 17e uses Ceramic Shield 2 protection for the display, which Apple says is three times as scratch-resistant. 
• MagSafe: The iPhone 17e works with Apple's MagSafe accessories.
• Soft Pink: While last year's iPhone 16e only came in black and white, the iPhone 17e also comes in pink this time around.

When buying a new phone, the two most common options are:

1. Buy it outright
2. Get in on a phone repayment plan from a mobile carrier

The most important thing to remember when comparing these options is this: No matter if you buy the phone outright or on a payment plan, in many cases you pay the same amount for the phone itself, barring special discounts (i.e., if it's a 0% interest plan).

The real difference in cost is how much you pay for your mobile plan – i.e., your SIM's data inclusions and extra perks. There's also an upfront cost to consider – can you afford a big, one-off purchase, or do you need to spread it out?

Let's take a closer look at what each option brings to the table.

Buying your iPhone 17e outright means you can sign up to a SIM-only plan from any provider, rather than being stuck with one of the Big Three. This gives you a lot more options to choose from, including plans that are significantly cheaper.

The cheapest mobile plans are sold by Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), which are providers that buy access on one of the big three networks then resell it on the cheap. They can do this because they're smaller operations that have fewer overheads such as retail stores, and large staff counts. They also don't offer many additional perks such as streaming service discounts or special rewards points, which can be good because you only end up paying for what you need.

Over the same time you'd spend on a phone repayment plan with one of the major telcos, you can save hundreds of dollars by grabbing a SIM-only plan from an MVNO. 

The appeal of grabbing a new device like the iPhone 17e on a mobile plan is obvious: It's a lot of money to pay upfront. But ultimately, you pay the same retail price for the phone itself – you just spread the payments out over 24 or 36 months.

Don't think of these repayment terms in the same way you might a "contract" old. There are no break fees for leaving early – you pay out what remains on your device, plus potentially forfeit any discounts that were available when you signed up.

The price difference doesn't come from the phone itself – it's that T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T have more expensive mobile plans than you can get from smaller providers. 

Plans from the Big Three do come with some perks, but it's up to you whether these perks are worth the extra plan fees you'll pay in the long term.