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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 26 March 2026
With the new iPhone 14 series due to be launched in less than a month, 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 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 7 in exchange for credit and gift cards that users can spend at Apple Store. Unfortunately, Apple does not yet have the iPhone 13 series or the iPhone SE (2022) 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 | Current Compare and RecycleTrade-in Value | How Much MoreYou Could Getat Compare and Recycle (£) | |---------|------------|-------------------|--------| | iPhone SE (2022) | N/A | up to £231 | N/A | | iPhone 13 Mini | N/A | up to £423 | N/A | | iPhone 13 Pro Max | N/A | up to £812 | N/A | | iPhone 13 Pro | N/A | up to £799 | N/A | | iPhone 13 | N/A | up to £603 | N/A | | iPhone 12 Pro Max | up to £470 | up to £622 | £152 (32%) | | iPhone 12 Pro | up to £440 | up to £570 | £130 (30%) | | iPhone 12 | up to £325 | up to £441 | £116 (36%) | | iPhone 12 mini | up to £275 | up to £368 | £93 (34%) | | iPhone SE (2020) | up to £135 | up to £183| £48 (36%) | | iPhone 11 Pro Max | up to £310 | up to £441 | £131 (42%) |
| iPhone 11 Pro | up to £285 | up to £412 | £127 (45%) | | iPhone 11 | up to £215 | up to £316 | £101 (47%) | | iPhone XS Max | up to £200 | up to £252 | £52 (26%) | | iPhone XS | up to £160 | up to £213 | £53 (33%) | | iPhone XR | up to £160 | up to £211 | £51 (32%) | | iPhone X | up to £135 | up to £193 | £58 (43%) | | iPhone 8 Plus | up to £125 | up to £155 | £30 (24%) | | iPhone 8 | up to £95 | up to £127 | £32 (34%) | | iPhone 7 Plus | up to £60 | up to £100 | £40 (67%) | | iPhone 7 | up to £45 | up to £79 | £34 (76%) | | iPhone 6s Plus | N/A | up to £61 | N/A | | iPhone 6s | N/A | up to £43 | N/A | | iPhone 6 Plus | N/A | up to £26 | N/A | | iPhone 6 | N/A | up to £17 | N/A | | iPhone SE (2016) | N/A | up to £40 | N/A |
Prices correct on 30/08/2022. At the time of writing Apple did not list trade-in prices for several iPhone models.
The new iPhone SE 2022 was launched on March 2022 and it had a much lower price than Apple's other models. For users that are interested in trading in an iPhone SE 2022 to possibly get the new iPhone 14, they will be able to get a deal of up to £231 (depending on their iPhone's storage capacity) at Compare and Recycle website. Unfortunately, this model isn't elegible for trading through Apple program.
The iPhone 13 lineup, launched in 2021, isn't available for trade-in through Apple website. However, recyclers at Compare and Recycle offer up to £812 for an iPhone 13 Pro Max and up to £799 for an iPhone 13 Pro. In regards to iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini, users can cash up to £603 and £423 respectively through Compare and Recycle.
Comparing deals to sell iPhone 12 models, customers can get on average 33% more when trading in through Compare and Recycle. Apple Trade In offers £152 less for an iPhone 12 Pro Max and £130 less for an iPhone 12 Pro than recyclers listed on Compare and Recycle. Besides, choosing our comparison website, users can secure up £116 more for an iPhone 12 and up to £93 more for an iPhone 12 Mini.
The iPhone 11 models are among the most popular trade-ins at the moment on our comparison, with customers securing on average nearly £120 more than by using Apple’s website. At Compare and Recycle you can sell an iPhone 11 Pro Max for up to £441 and an iPhone 11 Pro for up to £412, depending on storage capacity. Trading these in directly with Apple would mean you'd be at least £127 out of pocket. Users can earn just over £100 more for an iPhone 11 and just over £50 more for an iPhone SE 2020 through our comparison site compared to Apple Trade-In.
Apple is currently offering on average £54 less for 2018 iPhone models. Comparing deals for an iPhone XS Max at Compare and Recycle can secure you up to £252, while an iPhone XS can earn you up to 33% (£53) more than on Apple’s website, and the iPhone XR is valued by £51 more by recyclers at Compare and Recycle.
According to Apple, the ‘up to’ trade-in price for a five year old iPhone X is £135, which is £58 less than the top deal on our comparison. Since 2020, Apple has further dropped prices for the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8 models, now offering up to £125 and £95 respectively. Selling one of your 2017 iPhone models to one of the recyclers at Compare and Recycle can earn you on average up to £40 more.
Customers can lose up to 67% (£40) when selling their iPhone 7 Plus to Apple. Similarly, you will be able to secure up to 76% (£34) more with Compare and Recycle than by using Apple’s website.
Unfortunately, Apple is no longer offering any value for older iPhone models, including the models prior to iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. However, owners of these iPhone models are in luck as you can still cash in an iPhone 6s Plus for up to £61, or an iPhone 6s for up to £42 through Compare and Recycle.
For an iPhone 6 Plus, recycling companies at Compare and Recycle are happy to pay up to £26. At the moment there are offers of up to £16 for an iPhone 6 if you choose to trade-in through Compare and Recycle. And for an iPhone SE (2016) you can get up to £41.
The UK’s major networks offer trade-in services for existing and new customers, including O2, EE, Three and Vodafone. Compared to Apple, network providers have the latest iPhone 13 series and the new iPhone SE 2022 as eligible devices for a trade-in. However, according to our research, customers will lose out if they opt to use their network provider’s trade-in offer to sell their iPhone.
| iPhone Model | O2 RecycleTrade-In Value | EE Trade-In Value | ThreeTrade-In Value | Vodafone Trade-in Value | Current Compare and RecycleTrade-In Value | Average Trade-in ValueOffered by Networks | How Much MoreYou Could Getat Compare and Recycle (£) | | ------ | ------| -------- | ----- | --------- | -------- | ------- | ----- | | iPhone SE (2022) | up to £130 | up to £110 | up to £130 | up to £130 | up to £231 | up to £125 | £106 (85%) | | iPhone 13 Mini | up to £342 | up to £295 | up to £342 | up to £345 | up to £423 | up to £331 | £92 (28%) | | iPhone 13 Pro Max | up to £697 | up to £585 | up to £697 | up to £700 | up to £812 | up to £670 | £142 (21%)| | iPhone 13 Pro | up to £627 | up to £530 | up to £627 | up to £630 | up to £799 | up to £604 | £196 (32%) | | iPhone 13 | up to £440 | up to £380 | up to £420 | up to £450 | up to £603 | up to £423 | £181 (43%) | | iPhone 12 Pro Max | up to £456 | up to £427 | up to £454 | up to £458 | up to £622 | up to £449 | £173 (39%) | | iPhone 12 Pro | up to £398 | up to £362 | up to £399 | up to £401 | up to £570 | up to £390 | £180 (46%) | | iPhone 12 | up to £355 | up to £260 | up to £290 | up to £296 | up to £441 | up to £300 | £141 (47%) |
| iPhone 12 mini | up to £231 | up to £200 | up to £227 | up to £233 | up to £368 | up to £223 | £145 (65%) |
| iPhone SE (2020) | up to £111 | up to £88 | up to £112 | up to £111 | up to £183 | up to £106 | £78 (73%) |
| iPhone 11 Pro Max | up to £300 | up to £267 | up to £293 | up to £298 | up to £440 | up to £290 | £151 (52%) | | iPhone 11 Pro | up to £280 | up to £200 | up to £252 | up to £275 | up to £412 | up to £252 | £160 (64%) | | iPhone 11| up to £235 | up to £162 | up to £201 | up to £203 | up to £316 | up to £200 | £116 (58%) | | iPhone XS Max | up to £160 | up to £140 | up to £160 | up to £161 | up to £252 | up to £155 | £97 (62%) | | iPhone XS | up to £165 | up to £110 | up to £146 | up to £143 | up to £213 | up to £141 | £72 (51%) | | iPhone XR | up to £145 | up to £105 | up to £128 | up to £125 | up to £211 | up to £126 | £85 (68%) | | iPhone X | up to £130 | up to £100 | up to £117 | up to £112 | up to £193 | up to £115 | £78 (68%) | | iPhone 8 Plus | up to £108 | up to £88 | up to £107 | up to £105 | up to £155 | up to £102 | £53 (52%) |
| iPhone 8 | up to £95 | up to £63 | up to £79 | up to £78 | up to £127 | up to £79 | £48 (61%) |
| iPhone 7 Plus | up to £64 | up to £47 | up to £64 | up to £63 | up to £100 | up to £60 | £41 (68%) | | iPhone 7 | up to £41 | up to £28 | up to £41 | up to £40 | up to £79 | up to £38 | £42 (111%) | | iPhone 6s Plus | up to £29 | up to £15 | up to £29 | up to £29 | up to £61 | up to £26 | £36 (139%) |
| iPhone 6s | up to £18 | N/A | up to £15 | up to £15 | up to £43 | up to £12 | £31 (258%) | | iPhone 6 Plus | up to £30 | N/A | up to £30| up to £30 | up to £26 | up to £22.5 | £3.5 (16%) | | iPhone 6 | up to £8 | N/A | up to £6 | up to £8 | up to £17 | up to £6 | £12 (209%) | | iPhone SE (2016) | up to £15 | N/A | up to £15 | up to £14 | up to £40 | up to £11 | £29 (264%) | Prices correct on 30/08/2022
On average, prices to sell an iPhone on Compare and Recycle are 80% higher than what UK network providers offer across the board.
O2 Recycle offer the highest prices for iPhones among the UK’s biggest network providers. However, recyclers at Compare and Recycle are outpricing O2 offers by 38% on average.
Among the networks, EE offer the least attractive trade-in prices on the market, so if you were thinking of upgrading with EE, make sure that you look around for a better trade-in price for your old iPhone.
Customers who are considering upgrading their current iPhone SE 2022 to the newest, most up-to-date model will be able to trade in for up to £125 on average from different networks. However, placing your trade-in order at Compare and Recycle will earn you an additional £102 (82%).
The network that has the highest price for the iPhone 13 series is Vodafone with an iPhone 13 Pro Max valued at £700, while the lowest price is offered by EE for an iPhone 13 Mini at £200.
Trading in your iPhone 12 through Compare and Recycle will earn you up to £442, just slighty under £90 more than O2's offer of £335.
The biggest trade-in value difference is for the iPhone 11 and iPhone 13 Pro, where you can get respectively up to £116 and £196 more through Compare and Recycle than the networks.
The most astonishing trade-in price difference between Compare and Recycle and UK biggest networks is for an iPhone 11, where networks offer on average up to £200. However, the best offer at Compare and Recycle is at the moment £316, which will get customers an extra £116 (58%).
Customers looking to move on from their iPhone X will not be as fortunate when trading in with one of the network providers, as offer prices are between £130 and £100 for an iPhone that once had a retail price of £1000. Interestingly, with Compare and Recycle, you can earn up to £78 (68%) more for your 5 year old iPhone X in good condition.
Trade-in prices for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus cap at £108 among the networks, whereas placing your trade-in order at Compare and Recycle will earn you additional £53 for your iPhone 8 Plus, and a bonus £48 for an iPhone 8.
Similarly, the owners of an iPhone XR can expect to cash their phone for up to £211 which is a £85 (68%) higher payout when trading-in through Compare and Recycle, compared to the best offer of £145 from O2 among the networks.
Among network providers, the best offer of £165 for an iPhone XS comes from O2, with EE offering as low as £110. An iPhone XS in good condition sold through Compare and Recycle on the other hand can get you an additional £72.
Looking at the iPhone XS Max trade-in prices from networks, the lowest offer is from EE at £140. If you plan to upgrade early this year, you can earn up to £252 at Compare and Recycle for an iPhone XS Max, which is up to 63% more than with UK networks.
Our research unveiled considerable differences in offer values for older 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 60% more. Who could say no to that?
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