That is so far from truth, it's stupid!
Whether I buy phone for $800 or $200 on contract my unlimited everything on Verizon is still $10 a month. So on contract I save $600 right away.
Settle down there internet tough guy. It's not stupid at all. Just because you are on some kind of strange $10/month plan that 99% of people can't have, doesn't mean the facts are stupid. This article is referring to Sprint so let me lay it out for you, based on their webpage. Also I'm not even referring to what you pay for your data plan. I'm strictly talking about the cost of the phone + monthy line access charges. That's the only way to see which way is truly cheaper to get the phone because they are independent of your data plan.
Let's use the Galaxy S7 for example. If you buy the phone outright or on installment plan it is $650. You then pay $20/month line access. Over two years $20/month = $480. Add that to the $650 and you get your cost over two years for the phone + access. It is $1130.
Now if you get the phone on contract according to Sprints website it is $200 for the phone and then you must pay a higher monthly access fee of $45/month. Over two years $45/month = $1080. Add that to the $200 you paid for the phone and you get $1280 over the course of two years. So the subsidized phone actually costs you $150 more over two years, which is exactly what I stated in my other post.
That is all I was saying, just because the phone is cheaper up front doesn't Sprint isn't going to recover the cost of the phone in some way. They just make you pay for it by charging you a higher access fee. Verizon does the same thing. If you bring your own phone to Verizon or buy on installments from them they now charge $20/line/month. If you buy on contract you pay $40/line/month.
I wasn't trying to be rude to the original poster as you were to me, I was just trying to inform him that it may not be cheaper, that is all.