Should you repair your phone or replace it? We did the math

Sometimes, spending hundreds on repairs is the smarter financial decision. Should you repair your phone or replace it? We did the math. It has also stirred up the conversation around repair costs — with its display replacement costing as much as a new iPhone 18 Pro — and how far we can reasonably take them, with ever-increasing smartphone prices.

There is a threshold up until which repairing your phone makes sense, but beyond a point, it’s wiser to just put your money down on a new handset. And we will discover exactly where that limit falls by comparing repair costs with and without insurance, giving you a realistic expectation of how much it would cost to own your handset in the long run with mounting spare part prices. 44 votes Yes, and it’s been worth it 9 % Yes, but I’ve never needed it 2 % No, repair bills are a risk I’ll take 43 % No, I’d rather put that money toward a new phone 45 % Smartphones plateauing was a blessing Paul Jones / We have all noticed that smartphone innovation has sort of plateaued in the last few years.

While it may seem like a terrible thing for the market, it’s actually a blessing in disguise for consumers. With smartphones getting incremental upgrades year on year, older flagships don’t feel outdated anymore.