When it comes to buying a new mobile phone, it can be difficult to know whether to go for a pay as you go mobile phone contract or to select from a range of contract phones. There are, of course, both pros and cons to each option meaning you have to do your research, but ultimately the best option for you very much depends upon how much you will use your mobile phone, how many minutes, texts and data amounts you will use a month, as well as how often you will want to update your handset. If the answer to these is a lot you will want to look at contract phones rather than pay as you go phones.

With contract phones such as those available from Dialaphone, you pay a fixed minimum monthly fee by direct debit to the mobile phone company and in return you receive either a free or heavily subsidised contract phone with a fixed number of minutes, texts and data allowance included in your plan. For this you will often have to sign up to a contract which is either twelve, eighteen or twenty four months long.

There are a number of advantages to choosing contract phones; not only do you get a wide choice of free or heavily subsidised handsets, these can also include the latest handsets to be released. Also if you stay within your given allowances, you know exactly how much your monthly bill will be. Most importantly of all – you will always be able to contact someone as there is no credit to run out, as tends to be the case with pay as you go mobile phones.

However there are disadvantages to choosing contract phones: if you wish to leave your contract early there are often heavy penalties and contracts can be up to twenty four months. You will pay a minimum amount each month whether you use your allowances or not, and if you exceed your allowance it can be expensive.