Mint Mobile vs Tello for an iPhone 18 Pro
Both carriers, same phone, same 36 months — with the plan, the phone, the fees and the trade-in all counted.
Tello is $180 cheaper — $2,099 against $2,279 over 36 months, buying the phone outright and bringing it to each carrier's cheapest plan.
Cheapest route at each
| Mint Mobile | Plan | 36 months |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited · 12-monthBuy from Apple | $30/mo | $2,279 |
| Tello | Plan | 36 months |
|---|---|---|
| UnlimitedBuy from Apple | $25/mo | $2,099 |
If you are switching with a phone to trade
Every phone promotion at both carriers needs a port-in, a trade-in or both, so none of them apply to the figures above. Priced again as a switcher trading in an iPhone 16 Pro — which Apple values at $510 — Tello comes out exactly the same: $1,589 on Unlimited against $1,589 on Unlimited · 12-month.
Both of those winning routes still buy the phone from Apple. That is the usual result: once the phone you hand over is counted at what Apple would have paid for it, the bill credits rarely cover what the deal costs you.
How this is counted
Everything over 36 months: the plan, the phone after any bill credits, one-time fees, and — the step most comparisons skip — the phone you hand the carrier. A phone traded into a deal for bill credits is money out of your pocket at exactly what Apple would have paid you for it. Buying from Apple instead sells that phone to Apple, so its value comes off the price rather than being given away.
Taxes are excluded. T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon prices assume AutoPay; Xfinity's include the internet-customer discount. Anything a carrier does not publish is flagged rather than guessed.