What price can I buy an unlocked iPhone as a one-off, without any recurring payments or carriers? That's the price that's relevant when comparing that phone's price to other phones.
I already answered that- your best deal to get an unlocked phone is to buy a locked one and pay out the 2 months service to unlock it. So add about $20-30 to the price, which still gets you a new iPhone free and clear for about $200.
The thing that makes getting an iPhone like this so much cheaper than even a base model 3rd world country targeted Android is the really long support life.
However, I can't imagine anyone actually doing that, because if you're budget conscious enough to be doing this, you'll already be using one of those low priced prepaid carriers, so the 2 month lock-in is not an extra expense.
Yes- right now on the Tracfone website I see an iPhone SE3 for $189, and single month prepaid rates of $15/mo so that would be $219 total. I'd imagine you have to really wait out the 2 months of service also before the unlock triggers. These are prepaid "burner plans," so there is no contract, you just buy months/minutes up front, and can buy the minutes as a gift card along with the phone.
However, in the past I never paid those full website rates because you can often get the pre-boxed store shelf versions of these phones new on eBay, or in person at stores for even cheaper... and the monthly service itself is also a lot less than $15/mo if you prepay for a longer period. In real life $100 total is possible for a brand new iPhone if done right, and is about what I paid for mine.
