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We did the hard work for you and compared the iPhone prices from Apple, networks and recyclers at Compare and Recycle to find out who pays more.
Written by Antonia, Head of Marketing | Consumer Electronics and Money-Saving
Last updated on 24 June 2026
With the new iPhone 18 series due to be launched later this year, iPhone users who are planning to pick one of the upcoming iPhones are already placing trade-in orders to sell iPhone.
While Compare and Recycle is the best place to sell your old iPhone, trade-in services are offered by Apple and UK network providers as well. The amount you can get for your iPhone partly depends on which trade-in service you decide to use and it is noteworthy to mention that prices differ from place to place.
With this in mind, we decided to do the hard work for you and compare the iPhone prices offered by Apple, network providers and recyclers at Compare and Recycle to find out where you can secure the biggest payout for your iPhone.
Please note that all prices mentioned in this article are Up To prices for a working iPhone, meaning this is the maximum trade-in value for an iPhone model with the highest storage capacity and in good condition.
The Apple Trade-in Programme accepts most of the iPhone models, with the oldest one being the original iPhone X in exchange for credit and gift cards that users can spend at an Apple Store or online. Unfortunately, Apple does not yet have the iPhone 17 series or the iPhone Air listed under their trade-in programme, which is certainly going to leave the owners of these iPhone models looking for trade-in services elsewhere.
We have compared the differences between the Apple Trade-in Programme’s values and the best deal found on Compare and Recycle for an unlocked iPhone that has been well taken care of, and here are our findings:
| iPhone Model | Apple Trade-in Value (Up to) | Compare and Recycle Trade-in Value (Up to) | With Compare and Recycle You'd Gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 13 | £180.00 | £188 | + £8 (4.26%) |
| iPhone 13 Mini | £135.00 | £186 | + £51 (27.42%) |
| iPhone 13 Pro | £235.00 | £273 | + £38 (13.92%) |
| iPhone 13 Pro Max | £295.00 | £342 | + £47 (13.74%) |
| iPhone 14 | £235.00 | £237 | + £2 (0.84%) |
| iPhone 14 Plus | £235.00 | £270 | + £35 (12.96%) |
| iPhone 14 Pro | £335.00 | £336 | + £1 (0.30%) |
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | £340.00 | £401 | + £61 (15.21%) |
| iPhone 15 | £360.00 | £355 | -£5 (-1.41%) |
| iPhone 15 Plus | £345.00 | £405 | + £60 (14.81%) |
| iPhone 15 Pro | £405.00 | £493 | + £88 (17.85%) |
| iPhone 15 Pro Max | £450.00 | £532 | + £82 (15.41%) |
| iPhone 16 | £445.00 | £476 | + £31 (6.51%) |
| iPhone 16 plus | £455.00 | £523 | + £68 (13%) |
| iPhone 16 Pro | £605.00 | £684 | + £79 (11.55%) |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max | £640.00 | £689 | + £49.00 (7.11%) |
| iPhone 16e | £325.00 | £360 | + £35.00 (9.72%) |
| iPhone 17 | n/a | £573 | + £573 (100%) |
| iPhone 17 Pro | n/a | £893 | + £893 (100%) |
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | n/a | £1,000 | + £1,000 (100%) |
| iPhone 17e | n/a | £415 | + £415 (100%) |
| iPhone Air | n/a | £595 | + £595 (100%) |
| Average | £354 | £465 | £191 (31.06%) |
Prices correct on 18/06/2026. At the time of writing Apple did not list trade-in prices for iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air models.
Sadly, iPhones released in 2025 are not currently accepted for trade-in through Apple. However, recyclers at Compare and Recycle offer up to £1000 for an iPhone 17 Pro Max and up to £893 for an iPhone 17 Pro. This is a significant practical point for anyone upgrading to an iPhone 18 — if you're coming from a 17-series device, Compare and Recycle may be your only real option for a meaningful trade-in, while Apple hasn't caught up yet.
Every single iPhone 16 model trade-in would return more through Compare and Recycle. The gains range from £31 on the base model to £79 on the 16 Pro. Even the more budget-friendly 16e earns you £35 more — not bad for a few clicks. For iPhone 16 owners eyeing an upgrade to the 18, these figures make a compelling case for doing your homework first.
The standard iPhone 15 is the one exception — Apple edges ahead by just £5, so you'd be better off using Apple's trade-in if that's the model you want to sell. However, for every other model in this series, Compare and Recycle is considerably better. The iPhone 15 Pro delivers the single highest cash difference in the whole table at +£88, and the Pro Max isn't far behind at +£82. If you're upgrading from a 15 Pro or Pro Max, taking a couple of minutes to place your trade-in with Compare and Recycle could pay for a month worth of phone contract.
The iPhone 14 series shows a wider spread of results — from barely worth bothering to a very meaningful difference. The standard iPhone 14 and 14 Pro are cases where the difference is negligible — £2 and £1 respectively — so convenience might win out there. But if you own an iPhone 14 Plus or 14 Pro Max, you're leaving real money on the table by going straight to Apple. The Pro Max could fetch £61 more through Compare and Recycle.
According to Apple, the ‘up to’ trade-in price for a nearly five year old iPhone 13 is £180, which isn't far off what you could get on Compare and Recycle, but if you're still rocking any of iPhone 13 models, shopping around pays off significantly. The iPhone 13 Mini is the single biggest percentage win in the entire dataset. Apple offers just £135, but through Compare and Recycle you're looking at £186 — that's over a quarter more money for the exact same phone. If you have a Mini tucked in a drawer, don't trade it in at Apple.
If you assumed your mobile network would give you a fair deal on your old iPhone, our data might surprise you. Across every single model in the table — without a single exception — Compare and Recycle pays significantly more than any of the UK's network providers. On average, you'd walk away with £156 more (nearly 33% extra) by choosing a recycler over your network. Here's how that breaks down generation by generation.
| iPhone Model | Compare and Recycle Trade-In Value (Up to ) | With Compare and Recycle You'd Gain | O2 Recycle Trade-In Value (Up to) | EE Trade-In Value (Up to) | Three Trade-In Value (UP to) | Vodafone Trade-in Value (Up to) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 13 | £188 | + £50 (26.33%) | £130 | £128 | £147 | £149 |
| iPhone 13 Mini | £186 | + £58 (31.05%) | £118 | £125 | £133 | £137 |
| iPhone 13 Pro | £273 | + £94 (34.25%) | £179 | £175 | £179 | £185 |
| iPhone 13 Pro Max | £342 | + £134 (39.11%) | £206 | £200 | £219.00 | £208 |
| iPhone 14 | £237 | + £65 (27.32%) | £171 | £170 | £177.00 | £171 |
| iPhone 14 Plus | £270 | + £91 (33.70%) | £179 | £173 | £185 | £179 |
| iPhone 14 Pro | £336 | + £122 (36.24%) | £229 | £215 | £185 | £228 |
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | £401 | + £131 (32.67%) | £268 | £262 | £279 | £271 |
| iPhone 15 | £355 | + £109 (30.56%) | £252 | £238 | £252 | £244 |
| iPhone 15 Plus | £405 | + £158 (38.93%) | £242 | £242 | n/a | £258 |
| iPhone 15 Pro | £493 | + £192 (39.%) | £299 | £300 | £306 | £298 |
| iPhone 15 Pro Max | £532 | + £190 (35.67%) | £342 | £335 | £350 | £342 |
| iPhone 16 | £476 | + £150 (31.51%) | £323 | £310 | £323 | £348 |
| iPhone 16 plus | £523 | + £178 (34.08%) | £349 | 328 | £349 | £353 |
| iPhone 16 Pro | £684 | + £262 (38.27%) | £422 | £413 | £432 | £422 |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max | £689 | + £234 (33.89%) | £469 | £445 | £469 | £439 |
| iPhone 16e | £360 | + £134 (37.22%) | £225 | n/a | £228 | £225 |
| iPhone 17 | £573 | + £177 (30.93%) | £396 | £390 | £401 | £396 |
| iPhone 17 Pro | £893 | + £324 (36.28%) | £571 | £560 | £576 | £569 |
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | £1,000 | + £363 (36.28%) | £634 | £620 | £661 | £634 |
| iPhone 17e | £415 | + £43 (10.36%) | n/a | n/a | n/a | £372 |
| iPhone Air | £595 | + £184 (30.97%) | £411 | £410 | £411 | £411 |
| Average | £465 | + £156 (32.94%) | £305 | £302 | £313 | £311 |
Prices correct on 18/06/2026. At the time of writing EE, O2 and Three did not list trade-in prices for iPhone 17e.
The networks never win. Unlike the Apple comparison where the iPhone 15 standard model was a single exception, compared to network trade-in deals Compare and Recycle beats both O2 and EE on every single model.
The gap grows with the iPhone's value meaning the more premium your iPhone is, the more you stand to lose by trading through a network. Pro Max owners are looking at differences of £130 to £380 depending on their iPhone generation.
EE's and O2's trade-in deals are quite similar — there's rarely more than £20–30 between them, so switching networks to chase a better trade-in deal won't move the needle.
You might expect networks to be more competitive on more recent models, however our data shows the opposite. The iPhone 16 Pro gap of £262 is the largest in this comparison study.
Some models simply aren't accepted by the networks, for example the iPhone 16e with EE and the iPhone 17e on both O2 and EE leaving those owners with Compare and Recycle as their only serious option to get a good trade-in deal.
The iPhone 13 series illustrates just how wide the gap can get on older devices. The 13 Pro Max is the most striking — O2 is currecntly offering up to £206, but at Compare and Recycle you're looking at up to £342, a difference of £136. That's a significant chunk of cash. Even the entry-level iPhone 13 earns you around £58–60 more through a recycler on Compare and Recycle. If your network is your default port of call for trade-ins, you could be leaving well over a hundred pounds behind on Pro Max models alone.
The payout gap grows as you move up the range with iPhone 14 series. The base iPhone 14 already sees a £66–67 shortfall from the networks, but by the time you reach the 14 Pro Max, you're looking at over £130 more through Compare and Recycle. EE in particular lags behind, with the 14 Pro paying £121 less than you'd get from any other network. There's no model in this series where either network comes close to trade-in values on Compare and Recycle.
If you're an iPhone 15 series owner planning to upgrade, using your network's trade-in scheme could cost you the equivalent of several months' worth of phone bills. We're observing some of the largest cash gaps with iPhone 15 series where Compare and Recycle returns are up to £493 against O2's £299 and EE's £300. That's a difference of nearly £194, which is almost what the networks are offering for an iPhone 15 standard model.
Network trade-in deals for iPhone 16 Pro Max are shockingly low - Compare and Recycle could secure you a payout of up to £684 versus O2's £422 and EE's £413. That's £262 more than O2 and £271 more than EE for the exact same iPhone. The 16 Pro Max isn't far behind at £220–244 more. Even the entry-level iPhone 16 earns you £153–166 more through a recycler — a figure that would have felt enormous a few generations ago.
The iPhone 17 series trade-ins are similarly dramatic. Compare and Recycle offers a full £1,000, while O2 tops out at £634 and EE at £620. That's up to £380 more for the same phone.
Our research unveiled considerable differences in offer values for iPhones between networks, the official Apple website and third-party buyback providers. It is clear that Compare and Recycle is the place to find the best deals around where you certainly will get more than what Apple or your network provider would offer for your iPhone. It is always beneficial to do your research and shop around for the best price to sell your iPhone, and not make any impulse decisions. This is why comparing prices to sell your old iPhone can earn you 32% more. Who could say no to that?
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