Vodafone and Telecom iPhone 5 plans - best value

When it comes to iPhone plans, it can be tricky to work out which offers the best value - or what constitutes value, for that matter. We've taken into account not just the up-front cost of the phone, but also the overall cost for the length of the contract, the costs for going over your limits, and the value of what's included in your plan, to figure out the sweet spots.

Vodafone or Telecom?
The difference between the two carriers, when it comes to iPhone plans, are severalfold. Our conclusion, however, is that if you're a heavy texter, you should go Vodafone, but if not, it pays to check out our detailed breakdown below.

Texting
Vodafone offers more texts regardless of plan, giving you 2500 texts vs Telecom's 600 texts. In both cases the carriers offer the same amount of texts on every iPhone plan. If you do a lot of texting, then Vodafone is a no-brainer here, especially since the excess cost for texts on both networks is 20c. It's the kind of thing for which you'd rather overestimate your use.

Calling
If you go over your allocated minutes, then things can get pricey. We've got a special section below for those who have a habit of going over budget for whatever reason, but it's worth noting that Vodafone has a flat cost of 49c per minute for calls over and above the allocation, whereas Telecom charges you much more if you're on a cheaper plan. If your plan is over $80 per month, the two carriers are essentially equivalent.

Data
No matter which carrier you use, excess data costs 20c per megabyte. That's not cheap, but most people don't use more than 500MB a month if they are only checking facebook and reading email. If you're the sort who plays online games, watches online video or listens to streaming music over 3G, make sure you pick a plan with at least 1GB. For Vodafone, that's all plans, for Telecom, only the $39 plan has under 1GB data.

Cheapest over 24 months
If you just want to know what works out the cheapest over 24 months, regardless of the up-front costs, the answer is a 16GB iPhone on a $39 per month, 24 month plan from Telecom. Its minimum cost over 24 months is $1865.

However, we think it's relatively easy to go over the 150minute limit of calls on this plan. Over a 24 month period, you'd only have to go 420 minutes over your plan in total (average 35 minutes per month) before the next plan up would prove better value.

Value is a tricky thing to judge, so we've done a few comparisons to figure things out.

Best value Vodafone plan

When you factor in the price of the phone, the $100 plan is the sweet spot for Vodafone. It offers a large amount of data (2GB), a decent amount of minutes for calling (300min) and of course, Vodafone's generous allocation of texts. not only that, but they represent great value compared to the next phone down - you pay just $30 more,over the entire 24 months, for the same phone on the $100 plan compared to the $80 plan, whether you're after a 16GB, 32GB or 64GB iPhone model. Given that you pay $450 less up front, and get so much more data and extra minutes, it's a no brainer.

We performed an exhaustive calculation of the value of the included data, minutes, and texts for each plan, and then factored in the cost of the phone across the life of the plan, and what the penalties for going over your allocated limits were, and the $100 plan came out on top in that calculation too. As long as its 300 minutes meets your calling needs, it's the one we'd recommend.

The $120 plan offers the least value for money, by our calculations.

Vodafone plans:

iPhone capacity	Plan cost, per month	Up-front phone cost	Minimum cost over 24 months	Included data	Included minutes	Included texts
16GB	$80	$649	$2569	1GB	200	2500
16GB	$100	$199	$2599	2GB	300	2500
16GB	$120	$0	$2880	2GB	400	2500
16GB	$140	$0	$3360	3GB	500	2500
16GB	$170	$0	$4080	3GB	1000	2500
32GB	$80	$799	$2719	1GB	200	2500
32GB	$100	$349	$2749	2GB	300	2500
32GB	$120	$149	$3029	2GB	400	2500
32GB	$140	$149	$3509	3GB	500	2500
32GB	$170	$149	$4229	3GB	1000	2500
64GB	$80	$949	$2869	1GB	200	2500
64GB	$100	$499	$2899	2GB	300	2500
64GB	$120	$299	$3179	2GB	400	2500
64GB	$140	$299	$3659	3GB	500	2500
64GB	$170	$299	$4379	3GB	1000	2500

Best value Telecom plan

Working out Telecom's best value plan is a little trickier than for Vodafone, because the costs of going over your limit affect you disproportionately if you're on a lower limit to start with with one of the lower-priced plans..

If you never go over your limit, and your needs are modest, then the $39 per month plan represents good value. However, we think it's relatively easy to go over the limits, at which point you'll be paying 79c per minute for calls, which is a slug most of us would rather do without. the $59 plan, similarly is reasonable value for those who can keep calling within the 200 allocated minutes but again, 69c per minute for any time over that is pricey. International calls, too, work out more expensive on these plans.

If you're pretty sure you'll use more than 200 minutes of calling, the best value plans are the highest priced plans. It may be overkill for many, but the $159 plan offers good value for money in terms of how much data and how many minutes you get for your dollars spent.

For Telecom, the smaller capacity iPhones have very slightly better value for each plan than the higher capacity ones, so if you opt for a Telecom model, don't get extra capacity 'just in case'.

In each iPhone capacity, then in our opinion the poorest value is with the $89 Telecom plan. Our data suggests you're better off with the $109 plan at all iPhone capacities in terms of the data, call minutes and texts you get for your money each month.

Telecom plans:

iPhone capacity	Plan cost, per month	Up-front phone cost	Minimum cost over 24 months	Included data	Included minutes	Included texts	Excess NZ calls per minute
16GB	$39	$929	$1865	500MB	150	600	79c
16GB	$59	$779	$2195	1GB	200	600	69c
16GB	$89	$399	$2535	1GB	400	600	49c
16GB	$109	$199	$2815	1.5GB	500	600	49c
16GB	$139	$0	$3336	2GB	700	600	49c
16GB	$159	$0	$3816	3GB	1000	600	43c
32GB	$39	$1099	$2035	500MB	150	600	79c
32GB	$59	$949	$2365	1GB	200	600	69c
32GB	$89	$499	$2635	1GB	400	600	49c
32GB	$109	$299	$2915	1.5GB	500	600	49c
32GB	$139	$199	$3535	2GB	700	600	49c
32GB	$159	$0	$3816	3GB	1000	600	43c
64GB	$39	$1249	$2185	500MB	150	600	79c
64GB	$59	$1099	$2515	1GB	200	600	69c
64GB	$89	$599	$2735	1GB	400	600	49c
64GB	$109	$399	$3015	1.5GB	500	600	49c
64GB	$139	$299	$3635	2GB	700	600	49c
64GB	$159	$99	$3915	3GB	1000	600	43c

Conclusion
If you know that you can keep within your limits, and your needs are modest, then the $39 and $59 plans from Telecom represent good value, though the up-front cost may inhibit you.

If you're more of a power user or you text a lot, then the $100 plan from Vodafone or the $159 plan from Telecom are the way to go. These two also offer low up-front cost.