Is the iphone 5c with a 2 year contract really free in Verizon?

I came across this thing that said "free phones" trying to see Verizon's plans and i saw the iphone 5c for free with a 2 year contract. Is it really free, or is there a catch? Also what's a 2 year contract?

By free they mean "no upfront payment" for the phone. It's not free really, you pay for the phone during the course of the contract. So if you look at the price of the same contract but with no phone provided you'll find that it's significantly cheaper. What you really ought to do is compare how much extra you are going to pay for the 24months they are going to hold you to the contract for with the price of buying a handset out right and getting the cheaper contract!

*You WILL have to pay for your phone every month for the next 2 years if you are on contract, no cancelling it half way through, coz the bills will still come in!

No, it's not really free.

What "free" means in this case is no upfront costs to get the iPhone 5c. You'll most likely just pay the taxes for it.

For you to get the phone for "free", you'll have to sign a 2-year contract - which means you'll be legally obligated to pay for cell phone service for the next 2 years. If you choose to cancel your services, they'll charge you a fine of hundreds of dollars.

It's the same thing as me saying "I'll give you my car for free. All you have to do in return is buy a water bottle from me once a month for $300 for the next 6 years." Obviously a water bottle doesn't cost me $300, all I'm doing is over-charging you for water so that I can make up for the cost of the car I gave you. Their cellphone service costs them pennies, but they charge you $60-$100/month. They are making up for the cost of the phone by overcharging you.

The phone itself, yes. The plans attached & the 2 years worth of plans, no.

The 2 year contract states you would pay the fees associated with the phone for the 2 years.

When it says 'free' it usually means that there's no upfront cost, but you pay for the phone in monthly instalments along with your texts, minutes, etc. They say the phone is 'free' but they cover the costs with the high prices they charge per month for your text, minutes and data usage.