Is it cheaper to get a new iPhone on a plan or buy it unlocked and add a cheap plan?

I can either buy the phone for $250 and pay a monthly $80 plan with data for 2 years or purchase the unlocked phone $800 and pay $30 - $50 a month - I might not get data but it wouldn't be a big deal to me, I'm just trying to find a deal thats not ridiculously expensive cause I can't really afford too too much right now. Which would be better?

Cheaper to buy and have your own plan as the phone will hold more value being unlocked

Cost it out over the 24 months. Simple math really.

If you want more memory it will cost you more in the long run paying for the phone in month installments with a higher cost phone plan. With a carrier plan, you will be getting data even if you decide you don't want to use it, but those times that you do use it and go over, you'll be paying for it on most carriers, depending on the plan.

I'm all in favor of buying the phone full price up front, this gives you the best option as far as where you use the phone, and you get a better deal on a plan if you really don't use much data outside of Wi-Fi.

I'll tell you what you should do. Buy the iPhone from outside any carrier, it will be way cheaper. Now get a prepaid plan from StraightTalk which is unlimited everything with 5GB 4G LTE data (2G after that) for $45/month. They're the best prepaid carrier nationwide, I can assure you that. Or if you need unlimited 4G LTE data, metroPCS provides for $60/month and they run on T-Mobile spectrum. It's always a better idea to go prepaid and with StraightTalk, you can't go wrong. 5GB is a lot I think and you can always use Wi-Fi when it's available. If you need more info on plans and unlocked iPhone at reasonable price, please mail me.

Buy an unlocked device and add a cheap plan and also it is used for hiding images and videos and also you could use it to lock your favorite apps.