Does an unlocked iphone cost as much as an iphone with no contract from AT&T?

I'm asking because i'm looking forward to buying an iphone and spending the least amount of money. I'm in Tmobile so if I buy an unlocked iphone I could transfer my sim card but if I buy one from at&t with no contract I could unlock it myself.

Unlocked iPHone will probably cost more money. You can buy an out of contract iPhone and get it factory unlocked cheap at places like iPhoneUnlockedCheap.com This type of unlock is permanent. If you do it yourself it will only be a jailbreak unlock. You will not be able to normally update your iPhone with iOS updates if you do the jailbreak method.

You can use 4easysoft iPhone manager which aims to transfer files bewteen iPhone version devices and pc, iTunes or other Apple devices.