GuidesUpdated By Federico Ragusa
Best refurbished iPhone: which used iPhone to buy, ranked
For most people the best refurbished iPhone to buy today is the iPhone 13: its battery lasts clearly longer than the 12's, it starts at 128 GB, and it is likely to keep getting new versions of iOS for a while yet.
Our ranking puts the six iPhones from the 11 to the 16 in order of value for money, weighing the years of updates each is likely to have left and its battery life. Next to each one is the typical price of its most common version, read today from offers with postage to the UK.
How this ranking works
The order is our judgement of value for money: which iPhone gives you the most for what it costs today. The years of iOS updates a phone is likely to have left count most, because a phone Apple stops updating gradually loses apps and security fixes. Battery life comes next, model against model, then what each model adds over the one before, which is sometimes a lot and sometimes just a new number on the box.
Apple never announces when it will stop updating a model. So far iPhones have received new versions of iOS for about six years, and iOS 26, released in 2025, runs on the iPhone 11 and everything since. A newer iPhone is likely to be supported for longer, which counts in its favour; a higher price counts against it.
You are free to disagree with the order, which stays as written until we revise the guide. The prices come from the market: next to each iPhone is the typical price of its most common version, read today from used and refurbished offers on several marketplaces and shops, postage to the UK included. Typical means the middle of comparable offers. Other versions of the same iPhone can cost more or less, and prices can move from one day to the next.
iPhone 13
Released in 202117 versions · 2786 offers
128GB: typical price £230
The A15 chip, a battery that clearly outlasts the 12's, and 128 GB from the base model up. The 13 Pro adds a 120 Hz screen, if you can find one at a fair price.
Lowest today£124.52
See all 2786 offers
iPhone 14
Released in 202214 versions · 2158 offers
128GB: typical price £275
The base 14 is a 13 with Crash Detection and, probably, one more year of iOS. Worth it when it costs little more than the 13; the 14 Plus is the one for a big screen.
Lowest today£168.22
See all 2158 offersiPhone 15
Released in 202313 versions · 1563 offers
128GB: typical price £360
USB-C, the Dynamic Island and a 48 MP main camera on every model. Only the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max run Apple Intelligence, so if you want it, the base 15 will not do.
Lowest today£223.02
See all 1563 offersiPhone 12
Released in 202013 versions · 1502 offers
128GB: typical price £193
5G, an OLED screen and MagSafe on every model, in the flat-edged design. Base storage is 64 GB and the battery is the weak point, especially on the 12 mini.
Lowest today£97.08
See all 1502 offersiPhone 16
Released in 202415 versions · 946 offers
128GB: typical price £510
Apple Intelligence on every model, the A18, the Camera Control and Action buttons, and the longest support likely in this ranking. You pay for those years up front, which is why it comes fifth.
Lowest today£329.75
See all 946 offersiPhone 11
Released in 20199 versions · 1285 offers
64GB: typical price £130
It runs iOS 26, but it is the oldest iPhone that does and probably the first of these to be dropped. The base 11 has an LCD screen and no 5G, so buy it only if the price reflects that.
Lowest today£78.52
See all 1285 offers
Choosing by budget, size, battery and storage
Start with what you want to spend, postage included, and look at the iPhones in the ranking that fit. When two are close in price, the newer one is usually worth the difference for the extra year of updates it is likely to get. When they are far apart, read the line under each and ask whether you would use what the newer one adds.
Then size. The 12 mini and 13 mini are the small ones, and the 12 mini in particular has a small battery that struggles through a long day. The Plus and Pro Max models are the big ones, and a bigger body holds a bigger battery.
The battery is the part that wears. Apple calls a battery worn once it drops below 80 per cent of its original capacity, so a three-year-old iPhone at 88 per cent can be a better buy than a newer one at 79, which needs a replacement you will pay for. Storage is the other common regret: the iPhone 12 starts at 64 GB, which photos fill quickly, while from the 13 onwards the base model has 128 GB.
What to check before you pay
These take a few minutes, whether you buy from a person or a shop. If you cannot see the phone, ask for screenshots of the settings.
- Find My and Activation Lock: the phone must be signed out of the seller's Apple Account and reset. If it asks for someone else's password after the reset, it is locked to them and no use to you.
- Battery health: Settings > Battery > Battery Health. Below 80 per cent, add the cost of a new battery to the price.
- Face ID: set it up with your own face. If it does not work, a repair has gone wrong somewhere, and that is not a cheap fix.
- Replaced parts: on recent iPhones, Settings > General > About lists parts that have been changed and shows a message when a screen, battery or camera is not a genuine Apple part. A non-original part should be mentioned in the listing and reflected in the price.
- The IMEI: ask for it and check the phone is not reported lost or stolen, or locked to a network you are not on.
Used or refurbished, and your rights in the UK
A refurbished iPhone comes from a business that has tested and wiped it, usually with a warranty of its own. A used one comes from whoever owned it, as it is. Buy from a trader (a refurbisher, a second-hand shop, a business selling on eBay) and the Consumer Rights Act applies: the phone must be as described and of satisfactory quality, you have 30 days to reject it if it is faulty, and 14 days to cancel an online purchase for any reason. A private seller only has to describe the phone truthfully, so the checks above are your warranty.
Where people in the UK buy a used iPhone
Private sellers list on eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Vinted, where prices are usually lowest and every check is yours. CeX and musicMagpie sell graded second-hand iPhones, and Back Market lists refurbishers of every size, each grading on its own scale.
We compare offers for the same model from several of these marketplaces and shops, with postage to the UK included, so you can see how a listing compares with the rest before you pay. Each iPhone in the ranking links to its own page, with its versions and today's offers.
Which iPhone should I buy used?
The iPhone 13, for most people: a battery that lasts clearly longer than the 12's, 128 GB as standard, and likely a few more years of iOS updates. If a 14 costs only a little more, take it for the extra year of support it is likely to get. On a tight budget the 12 still does the job, as long as you check its battery health first.
Is the iPhone 13 still worth buying?
Yes, if its battery is healthy and its price is in line with other offers for the same storage and condition. It runs iOS 26, has 5G, starts at 128 GB, and the iPhone 14 that followed kept the same chip.
iPhone 13 or iPhone 14: which is better value?
The base 14 has the same A15 chip and design as the 13, and adds Crash Detection. Its real advantage is a likely extra year of iOS updates. If the price gap is small, take the 14; if it is wide, the 13 gives you nearly everything for less. The 14 Pro is a different phone, with the Dynamic Island and the A16.
How long will an iPhone get iOS updates?
Apple does not say in advance. So far iPhones have received new versions of iOS for about six years, and iOS 26, released in 2025, runs on the iPhone 11 and every model since. Apple has sometimes kept sending security fixes to a model for a while after its last new version, but nobody can promise how long.
Is it worth buying an iPhone 11 now?
Only if it is cheap. It is the oldest iPhone that runs iOS 26, so it is likely to be the first of these to stop getting new versions, and the base 11 has an LCD screen and no 5G. At the right price it makes a fine spare phone, or a first phone for a child.