Which telco plan is worth it in Singapore, SIM-only or contract with a phone?

Switched to SIM-only three years ago and never going back. The maths is simple, a contract bundles the phone cost into inflated monthly fees over two years, and when you total it up you usually pay more than buying the phone outright plus a cheap SIM-only plan. The MVNO and SIM-only plans here give generous data for a fraction of the traditional postpaid price, and no lock-in, so you can switch anytime a better deal appears. I buy my phone outright, keep it three to four years, and ride cheap SIM-only plans. The contract only makes sense if you must have the latest flagship, can't pay upfront, and value the convenience of bundling. For most people who keep phones a few years, SIM-only wins clearly on cost and flexibility.

Been on both, here's my practical verdict. Contract with phone made sense for me exactly once, when a launch promo made the effective phone price with trade-in genuinely lower than buying outright, and I wanted that flagship anyway. Otherwise, SIM-only wins on flexibility and usually on total cost. The key is to actually do the two-year total-cost comparison, contract monthly times 24 plus any upfront, versus phone price plus SIM-only monthly times 24. Do that maths and the answer for your situation becomes obvious. For most normal users who don't chase the newest phone, SIM-only frees you from lock-in and saves real money over time. If you're a die-hard early adopter with promo access, a contract can occasionally beat it. Don't assume, calculate.

SIM-only, no contest for value, but let me add nuance. The pure MVNO and SIM-only plans are dirt cheap for data now, and the network is often the same underlying infrastructure as the big telcos, so coverage is fine for most people. The catch, some barebones plans skimp on things like roaming, priority network access, or customer service, so if you travel a lot or need hand-holding, the premium plans have their place. I pair a cheap SIM-only for daily use and just buy roaming or a travel eSIM when I fly. Total cost is a fraction of a bundled contract. Buy your phone outright during a sale, keep it a few years, ride SIM-only. The bundled phone contract is mostly a financing scheme with a markup dressed up as convenience.