The iPhone 18 Pro went on sale on September 18 at $1,199 — $100 more than last year's Pro — and for the first time Apple will also rent you one. Apple Upgrade, launched in July, leases the same phone for $34.99 a month with nothing to own at the end; Apple Card installments spread the full price over 24 months at 0%; the carriers promise "up to $1,200 off" against a trade-in in any condition; and the phone in your pocket, if it is a 16 Pro, lost $120 of trade-in value the week the new one was announced.
Four ways to have the same phone, with four very different bills. This guide prices each of them over two years, shows what a Pro is actually worth to Apple after one to six years, works out the per-day cost of a phone kept for two, three or four, and puts a number on the question that matters most: what does upgrading now cost compared with keeping the phone you have for one more year? Every price is Apple's own, read from its store and trade-in pages this week, and every calculation is in a short script linked at the end.
The prices$1,199, and four ways to pay it
Buy outright
- Monthly
- —
- Total over 24 months
- $1,199
- At the end
- You own it; sell or trade it in whenever
Apple Card Monthly Installments, 0% APR
- Monthly
- $49.95 × 24
- Total over 24 months
- $1,198.80
- At the end
- You own it — same as buying, spread out
Apple Upgrade lease, 24 months
- Monthly
- $34.99 × 24
- Total over 24 months
- $839.76
- At the end
- Return it, upgrade, or buy it for a one-time payment; insurance not included
Apple Upgrade lease, 12 months, twice
- Monthly
- $49.99 × 24
- Total over 24 months
- $1,199.76
- At the end
- A new Pro every year, own nothing
Carrier: 'up to $1,200 off' with trade-in
- Monthly
- $0 + plan
- Total over 24 months
- $0 in credits over 36 months
- At the end
- Credits stop if you leave; balance due
| Way to pay | Monthly | Total over 24 months | At the end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy outright | — | $1,199 | You own it; sell or trade it in whenever |
| Apple Card Monthly Installments, 0% APR | $49.95 × 24 | $1,198.80 | You own it — same as buying, spread out |
| Apple Upgrade lease, 24 months | $34.99 × 24 | $839.76 | Return it, upgrade, or buy it for a one-time payment; insurance not included |
| Apple Upgrade lease, 12 months, twice | $49.99 × 24 | $1,199.76 | A new Pro every year, own nothing |
| Carrier: 'up to $1,200 off' with trade-in | $0 + plan | $0 in credits over 36 months | Credits stop if you leave; balance due |
Source: CalculatorAI · calculatorai.app · apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-18-pro, read September 22, 2026
The lease looks like the cheapest row, and over two years it is the cheapest outlay — $840 against $1,199. It is not the cheapest way to have the phone, because the row it needs to be compared with is missing from every payment page: what the bought phone is worth when the two years are up.
What a Pro is worth laterApple's own trade-in table
Apple publishes what it will pay for each old iPhone, and it changed that table the day it announced the 18 Pro — downward, for every iPhone on it.
iPhone 17 Pro (1 yr)
- Trade-in now
- $785
- Share of launch price
- 71% of $1,099
- Week before → cut
- new listing
iPhone 16 Pro (2 yrs)
- Trade-in now
- $510
- Share of launch price
- 51% of $999
- Week before → cut
- $630 → −19%
iPhone 15 Pro (3 yrs)
- Trade-in now
- $370
- Share of launch price
- 37% of $999
- Week before → cut
- $420 → −12%
iPhone 14 Pro (4 yrs)
- Trade-in now
- $285
- Share of launch price
- 29% of $999
- Week before → cut
- $335 → −15%
iPhone 13 Pro (5 yrs)
- Trade-in now
- $255
- Share of launch price
- 26% of $999
- Week before → cut
- $285 → −11%
iPhone 12 Pro (6 yrs)
- Trade-in now
- $165
- Share of launch price
- 17% of $999
- Week before → cut
- $195 → −15%
| Model (age) | Trade-in now | Share of launch price | Week before → cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 17 Pro (1 yr) | $785 | 71% of $1,099 | new listing |
| iPhone 16 Pro (2 yrs) | $510 | 51% of $999 | $630 → −19% |
| iPhone 15 Pro (3 yrs) | $370 | 37% of $999 | $420 → −12% |
| iPhone 14 Pro (4 yrs) | $285 | 29% of $999 | $335 → −15% |
| iPhone 13 Pro (5 yrs) | $255 | 26% of $999 | $285 → −11% |
| iPhone 12 Pro (6 yrs) | $165 | 17% of $999 | $195 → −15% |
Source: CalculatorAI · calculatorai.app · Apple trade-in estimates as reported by MacRumors, September 15, 2026; launch prices from Apple's announcements
Two patterns. A Pro loses about 30% in its first year and about half by the end of its second, then the curve flattens: years three to six cost roughly $80 a year each in lost value. And Apple's table drops in September every year, so the moment to trade in is the week before the event, not the week after — a 16 Pro owner who waited to see the new phone paid $120 for the privilege. Apple's numbers are also its own, deliberately conservative offers; a private sale usually beats them, which makes every "cost of buying" figure below slightly pessimistic.
Two years, four waysThe lease costs $250 more than it looks
Buy outright, trade in
- Paid
- $1,199
- Back at 24 months
- ≈ $612
- Net cost
- ≈ $587
- Per month
- $24.45
Apple Card installments, trade in
- Paid
- $1,198.80
- Back at 24 months
- ≈ $612
- Net cost
- ≈ $587
- Per month
- $24.45
Apple Upgrade lease, 24 months
- Paid
- $839.76
- Back at 24 months
- $0
- Net cost
- $839.76
- Per month
- $34.99
Apple Upgrade, two 12-month leases
- Paid
- $1,199.76
- Back at 24 months
- $0
- Net cost
- $1,199.76
- Per month
- $49.99
| Route | Paid | Back at 24 months | Net cost | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy outright, trade in | $1,199 | ≈ $612 | ≈ $587 | $24.45 |
| Apple Card installments, trade in | $1,198.80 | ≈ $612 | ≈ $587 | $24.45 |
| Apple Upgrade lease, 24 months | $839.76 | $0 | $839.76 | $34.99 |
| Apple Upgrade, two 12-month leases | $1,199.76 | $0 | $1,199.76 | $49.99 |
Source: CalculatorAI · calculatorai.app · drafts/iphone-18-pro-numbers.mjs
The price of not owning it
Over two years the lease costs $840 and the bought phone, net of its trade-in, about $587. The $253 difference is what Apple charges for taking the resale risk, the credit check and the convenience of no lump sum — about $10.50 a month. Reasonable if you would never get round to selling the old phone; expensive if you would. And a lease still needs AppleCare or its own insurance, because a damage fee applies at return.
The 0% installment plan is the one row with no catch: it is buying, paid monthly, and it ends with a phone you can trade in. If the choice is between the lease and the installments, the installments win by the trade-in value every time; the lease only wins if you would otherwise leave a two-year-old Pro in a drawer.
Cost per dayThe cheapest phone is the one you keep longest
1 year
- Resale
- ≈ $856
- Net cost
- $343
- Per month
- $28.55
- Per day
- $0.94
2 years
- Resale
- ≈ $612
- Net cost
- $587
- Per month
- $24.45
- Per day
- $0.80
3 years
- Resale
- ≈ $444
- Net cost
- $755
- Per month
- $20.97
- Per day
- $0.69
4 years
- Resale
- ≈ $342
- Net cost
- $857
- Per month
- $17.85
- Per day
- $0.59
5 years
- Resale
- ≈ $306
- Net cost
- $893
- Per month
- $14.88
- Per day
- $0.49
| Kept for | Resale | Net cost | Per month | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | ≈ $856 | $343 | $28.55 | $0.94 |
| 2 years | ≈ $612 | $587 | $24.45 | $0.80 |
| 3 years | ≈ $444 | $755 | $20.97 | $0.69 |
| 4 years | ≈ $342 | $857 | $17.85 | $0.59 |
| 5 years | ≈ $306 | $893 | $14.88 | $0.49 |
Source: CalculatorAI · calculatorai.app · drafts/iphone-18-pro-numbers.mjs
A Pro kept four years costs about 60 cents a day; the same phone replaced every year costs 94 cents a day and, over four years, $1,370 instead of $857. The 12-month lease — the "new phone every year" product — is $1.64 a day. The Cost Per Use Calculator does this for anything with a price and a lifespan; a phone is simply the object where the answer moves most with the second number. This is also the honest version of the latte argument in our daily habits guide: the daily amounts that matter are not the coffee but the ones you never see as daily.
Keep or upgradeWhat one more year on a 16 Pro costs
About $140 for the year — $260 with a battery
Apple pays $510 for a 16 Pro today and $370 for a 15 Pro, so a 16 Pro will be worth roughly $370 in a year: the year costs $140 in lost value. If the battery is below 80%, Apple's out-of-warranty service adds about $120. Either way the phone still runs the current iOS and will for years.
About $343 in year one — $200 more than keeping
A new Pro loses about 29% in its first year, $343 on $1,199, and that is before the $120 launch-week trade-in cut on the phone you hand over. Upgrading now costs roughly $200 more than waiting a year, for a better camera and a faster chip you will have anyway next September at the same price.
That $200 is the actual price of the upgrade — not $1,199, not $34.99 a month, but the difference between the two futures. It is a fair price for someone whose camera is their job or whose phone is genuinely failing, and a poor one for someone whose 16 Pro is fine. The one input that swings it is the battery: a phone that needs $120 of service to last another year has closed most of the gap on its own.
The carrier "free" phoneCredits, not a discount
The $1,200 is paid back to you over 36 months
As bill credits of about $33 a month, not as $1,200 off the price. The phone is financed at its full price on the same bill; the credit offsets the installment.
Leave early and the remaining credits vanish
Switch carrier or pay the phone off at month 24 and the twelve credits you had not yet received — $400 — are gone, and the outstanding balance is due. The offer is a 36-month contract with the phone as the hostage.
It is tied to a plan tier
The best credits usually require the carrier's premium unlimited plan. If that plan costs $10–$20 a month more than the one you would otherwise choose, the 'free' phone is costing $360–$720 over the term.
'Any condition' is the real value
A cracked 14 Pro is worth little to Apple and the full credit to a carrier promotion — for someone with a damaged old phone and no intention of leaving the carrier for three years, the offer is genuinely good. For everyone else, price the plan difference first.
Save for it instead$35 a month, the other way round
The lease's real insight is the right one: $35 a month is a sum most people can carry — a line in the wants bucket of a 50/30/20 budget. Pointed forward instead of backward, it buys the phone outright.
Open a goal for the next phone
In the Savings Goals Tracker — target $1,200, or $600 if you will trade in, due the September after next. $35 a month reaches $840 in 24 months, which with a 51% trade-in on the current phone is more than the whole price.
Track the phone lines you already pay
AppleCare, the carrier installment, any lease — put them in the Subscription Tracker as monthly lines, so the phone's true monthly cost sits next to the streaming services rather than hiding inside the carrier bill — the subscription audit does the same for everything else on the statement.
Trade in the week before the September event
Apple's table drops on announcement day. Sell or trade the old phone in late August or the first days of September, use a cheap spare for a fortnight if you must, and keep the $100–$120 the launch week takes.
Decide the replacement interval once
Every three years, or every four, written down. Most of the cost difference on this page is the interval, not the payment method; a decided interval is what turns a September launch from a temptation into a date.
Where these numbers come from
Prices and payment terms are Apple's US figures read from apple.com on September 22, 2026: iPhone 18 Pro 256GB $1,199 (512GB $1,399, 1TB $1,799, 2TB $2,399; Pro Max from $1,299), Apple Card Monthly Installments at 0% APR, and the Apple Upgrade lease at a "typical" $34.99 a month for 24 months or $49.99 for 12 on the $1,199 model, with the end-of-lease, early-upgrade, month-to-month and damage-fee terms as Apple states them; the iPhone Duo's $1,999 price and October 16 / 23 dates are from Apple's announcement coverage. Trade-in values are Apple's "up to" US estimates as updated on September 9, 2026 and reported by MacRumors on September 15, with the previous values from the same report; launch prices are each model's original US starting price ($999 for the 12–16 Pro, $1,099 for the 17 Pro). All calculations are in drafts/iphone-18-pro-numbers.mjs. The resale assumptions apply today's age-by-age share of launch price to the 18 Pro's $1,199, which assumes future Pros depreciate like past ones and that Apple's offer is the floor — private sales usually pay more, which makes the buying routes cheaper than shown and the lease premium larger. The "keep one more year" figure uses the 15 Pro's value today as a proxy for a 16 Pro's value next year. The out-of-warranty battery figure is approximate; check Apple's current service price for your model. Carrier credits are described generically from Apple's "up to $1,200" listings and the standard 36-month bill-credit structure; the plan-cost difference is illustrative. Sales tax, AppleCare and carrier plan prices are excluded throughout.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to lease or buy the iPhone 18 Pro? Buy, if you will trade the phone in or sell it afterwards. Over two years the 24-month lease costs $840 with nothing to show; buying and trading in at Apple's current two-year value costs about $587. The 0% installment plan is buying spread over 24 months and ends with a phone you own.
How much does an iPhone 18 Pro cost per day? About 94 cents a day if replaced every year, 80 cents kept two years, 69 cents kept three and 59 cents kept four, net of Apple's trade-in value at each age. The annual lease works out at $1.64 a day.
Should I upgrade from an iPhone 16 Pro? Financially, keeping it costs about $140 in lost value over the coming year (about $260 if it needs a battery); a new 18 Pro loses about $343 in its first year. The upgrade's real cost is roughly $200 for the year, which is worth it if the camera or performance is genuinely limiting you and not otherwise.
When is the best time to trade in an old iPhone? The week before Apple's September event. Apple cut every iPhone's trade-in value on announcement day this year — the 16 Pro by 19%, from $630 to $510 — and the same pattern repeats annually.
Is the carrier's "free iPhone 18 Pro" really free? It is $1,200 of bill credits spread over 36 months, usually on a premium plan. Leave or pay off early and the unpaid credits are forfeited; a plan $15 a month dearer than the one you would otherwise choose costs $540 over the term. It is a good deal for a damaged old phone and a three-year commitment you were going to make anyway.
