Verizon Upgrade Fee Last To The Party

Those of you having a difficult reconciling the new $30 fee you'll be paying every two years when you upgrade to a new device from an old one should know this: Verizon was the last major carrier to implement this fee. Each of the other four carriers have similar fees in place, with Verizon's being the middle-ground of three prices you'll otherwise be paying for the same situation. And here's another reminder: this fee only comes in play when you upgrade from a Verizon phone to another Verizon phone in a 2 year contract – that's $30 per two years.

T-Mobile and AT&T up until very recently charged $18 for this same movement of devices every two years. AT&T recently doubled this fee to $36, this equaling the competition for the highest amount you'll pay for such a service. T-Mobile is now the cheapest, Verizon's $30 is the second cheapest, and the other two major carriers charge $36. That said, there's also another fee being changed as well: Verizon's Early Upgrade fee has been changed from $20 to $30. There's some other good news in this bit if you're not a fan of caring about the competition too – business and prepay customers do not have the fee at all on Verizon.

In fact, if you're a business or prepay customer or if you're getting a new device without resigning or extending your contract, you don't have a fee at all. The catch on that last item is that you'll be paying full price for your phone though – so perhaps the $30 fee isn't the worst thing in the world. Have a peek below at the Verizon phones on the market right now that we've reviewed to get a better idea of where you'll be going soon!