Rent vs Buy a Phone Farm: 10, 20, 50 Phones
Renting 10 phones starts at $630 a month; a 20-phone box is $1,880 plus freight and $99 a month. Where the costs cross, and when to rent or buy.
Buying a phone farm is cheaper than renting from the third month: a 20-phone Android box costs $1,880 plus $230 freight and $99 a month for software, while renting 20 Samsungs costs $1,000 a month. Rent to test, for short client projects or when you need phones this week; buy when the farm will run for a year or more. We sell both — farm boxes you own and hosted racks you rent by the month — so here are the numbers, using today's prices.
Enter your own fleet to see where the two lines cross:
Rent or buy? Your break-even month
- Buy: 1 × Android box + farm PC + freight
- $2,695
- Buy: software per month
- $99
- Rent: per phone and month
- $50
- Rent: per month
- $1,000
What do buying and renting cost?
Buying (one-off): Android box $1,880 plus a $585 farm PC, stackable iPhone rack $299 with 20 iPhone SE ($3,439 together) or 20 iPhone 12 ($4,459), empty Lightning box $690; freight $230, free above $5,000. Software $99 a month (Standard, up to 25 phones) or $249 (Full version, up to 100 phones), or yearly for the price of ten months. You bring your own SIMs or proxies.
Renting (per phone per month, software included): Samsung $63 at 10–19 phones and $50 at 20–49; iPhone $79 and $63. 50 and above is negotiated. Ten-phone minimum, monthly billing, no lock-in.
Connectivity on hosted racks: own proxy included, managed mobile proxy $95 a month + $95 once per 20 phones, carrier SIM $19 a month + $10 once per phone. Details in phone farm proxies and SIMs.
Software automations run on prepaid AI credit, charged by use.
Should I rent or buy 10 phones?
You cannot buy ten phones from us — boxes hold 20 — so ten is a rental question. Ten Samsungs cost $630 a month; ten iPhones $790. With the managed proxy, add $95 a month and $95 once.
Renting ten is the cheapest way to find out whether the workflow works for your team. Most clients start there and extend in blocks of ten.
Should I rent or buy 20 phones?
Rent: 20 Samsungs at $50 = $1,000 a month (20 iPhones: $1,260), software included.
Buy: Android box $1,880 + farm PC $585 + $230 freight = $2,695, then $99 a month for Standard software. (Rack with 20 iPhone SE: $3,439 + $230, plus your own Mac.)
Cumulative cost, without connectivity (own proxy on the rental, your own SIMs or proxies on the box):
| Month | Rent 20 Samsungs | Buy Android box + farm PC |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | $2,794 |
| 3 | $3,000 | $2,992 |
| 6 | $6,000 | $3,289 |
| 12 | $12,000 | $3,883 |
Buying the Android box is cheaper from the third month. Over a year it costs about a third of renting, before your own connectivity. For iPhones, a rack with 20 iPhone SE ($3,669 with freight, plus $99 a month for the software) against 20 rented iPhones ($1,260 a month) crosses over in the fourth month — still in the fourth if you have to buy a $599 Mac mini as well.
20 phones: cumulative cost, rent vs buy
| Rent 20 Samsungs ($50/phone) | Buy Android box + farm PC + $99/mo | |
|---|---|---|
| M1 | $1,000 | $2,794 |
| M2 | $2,000 | $2,893 |
| M3 | $3,000 | $2,992 |
| M4 | $4,000 | $3,091 |
| M5 | $5,000 | $3,190 |
| M6 | $6,000 | $3,289 |
| M7 | $7,000 | $3,388 |
| M8 | $8,000 | $3,487 |
| M9 | $9,000 | $3,586 |
| M10 | $10,000 | $3,685 |
| M11 | $11,000 | $3,784 |
| M12 | $12,000 | $3,883 |
Should I rent or buy 50 phones?
Above 49 phones the rental rate is negotiated, so ask the team for a quote. On the buying side you would buy three boxes (60 slots): three Android boxes are $5,640, and freight is free at that order size. One Full version licence at $249 a month covers all 60 phones.
At this scale the question is less about price and more about who runs the hardware. Renting means phone failures, cooling and swaps are our problem. Owning means you need space for three boxes and someone who notices when a slot goes offline.
When is renting the better choice?
- You are testing whether a phone farm fits the business.
- You need phones this week: hosted phones are online within one working day; a box ships in one to two weeks.
- You run client work that starts and stops — rent per project, release the rack when it ends.
- You do not want to host hardware: swaps are included.
When is buying the better choice?
- The farm will run for a year or more.
- You want full control over the devices and the network.
- You already own iPhones — the $690 empty box turns them into a rack.
- You want the lowest monthly cost once the hardware is paid for.
Every cost line, including freight, VAT and software plans, is in how much does a phone farm cost.
What is a common path?
Rent ten, prove the numbers, buy a box at 20, keep the rented rack for overflow or client projects. Nothing stops you from doing both.
A common path from test to owned rack
- Rent ten phonesThe cheapest way to test the workflow.
- Prove the numbersExtend in blocks of ten if it works.
- Buy a box at 20Cheaper than renting from the third month.
- Keep a rented rackFor overflow or client projects.
FAQ
Is the software included when I rent?
Yes. Hosted racks include the control software. When you buy a box you add the licence at $99 or $249 a month.
Can I cancel a rental?
Yes. Monthly billing, no minimum term. Stop before the next invoice and the rack is released.
Who replaces a broken phone?
On a rental, we do. A box you own carries 12 months on hardware — message the team on Telegram with the slot number.
Can I rent iPhones?
Yes. iPhones are $79 per phone per month at 10–19 phones and $63 at 20–49.
Ready to run real phones?
Buy a 20-phone farm box, rent a hosted rack, or run our control software on hardware you already own.
