Key takeaways
- Verizon will charge $10 a month for iPhone Handoff, which lets two iPhones share one phone number, but says support is only coming soon, with no date.
- T-Mobile already offers the feature for $5 a month, half of Verizon's price.
- Deutsche Telekom waives the fee on its top MagentaMobil tiers, L and XL, and EE, per MacRumors, makes it free on Full Works Plus and £5 a month for everyone else.
- AT&T has suggested it has no imminent plans to support the feature, so its customers have no option for now.
Verizon will charge $10 a month for iPhone Handoff, the iOS 27 feature that lets two iPhones share a single phone number. The company confirmed the price on October 16, 2026, alongside its iPhone Duo announcement, and says support is coming soon. T-Mobile already sells the same feature for half as much.
What does Verizon charge for iPhone Handoff?
Verizon charges $10 per month, according to reports from MacRumors, 9to5Mac and Engadget. The service isn’t live yet, so for now the fee is attached to something nobody can use.
Verizon lists the iPhone 18 Pro and the new iPhone Duo by name, plus other compatible models running iOS 27. It hasn’t published the full list of eligible models.
The idea is simple. One number, two iPhones, one active at a time. You can switch the active phone whenever you like. Verizon’s pitch pairs the pocketable iPhone Duo for time on the move with an iPhone 18 Pro for work, both on its 5G network.
Engadget, the only outlet to cover the mechanics, says both phones need iOS 27 and the same Apple ID, and that the number is an eSIM number. Calls, messages and Find My follow whichever phone you’re using, and iCloud backups sync across both. Apple advises passcodes on both phones so you control which one holds the number.
How the carriers compare, side by side
Prices run from free to $10 a month depending on carrier and plan. Verizon is the most expensive of the carriers named so far, and AT&T offers nothing yet.
- Verizon (US): $10 a month, coming soon.
- T-Mobile (US): $5 a month, already supported.
- Deutsche Telekom (Germany): €6.95 a month through its existing MultiSIM service, with no charge on the MagentaMobil L and XL tiers.
- EE (UK): £5 a month, free on the Full Works Plus plan, according to MacRumors. EE said this week it will soon support the feature.
- AT&T (US): no announced support.
I haven’t converted the euro and pound prices, because exchange rates and taxes would muddy the comparison. The pattern is clear without them: nobody else charges more than Verizon.
Which plans include it free?
Two European plans do, as far as reported. Deutsche Telekom includes the feature in its MagentaMobil L and XL plans, and EE makes it free on Full Works Plus. Nothing reported so far shows a free tier at Verizon or T-Mobile.
That’s the contrast worth noting. EE and Deutsche Telekom treat the feature as a perk of the expensive plan. Verizon, going by the reporting, treats it as a flat add-on. Whether Verizon will waive the fee on any premium plan hasn’t been addressed.
The rollout order was set last month. At Apple’s Surprise and Shine event, Apple said T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom would go first, with Verizon and EE following before the end of the year, as relayed by MacRumors and 9to5Mac rather than an Apple release. Verizon and EE are both arriving on that schedule.
What is the fee actually paying for?
Verizon hasn’t said. Neither has any other carrier in the coverage so far. The pricing details that exist describe what customers pay, not what the money covers.
The spread is odd, though. T-Mobile asks $5. EE asks £5. Deutsche Telekom asks €6.95 for a service it already sold as MultiSIM. Verizon asks $10. Two carriers also give the feature away on their top plans. If a cost were driving the fee, I’d expect it to look more alike from carrier to carrier. To me it looks more like a pricing decision than a fixed expense, and Verizon’s doubling of T-Mobile’s rate is a choice it hasn’t explained.
What this means if you’re picking a carrier
If you plan to run two iPhones on one number, the fee matters. Every month, Verizon’s $10 is double the $5 T-Mobile asks, and the gap grows with each bill. If you only ever carry one phone, you can ignore all of this.
Anyone eyeing an iPhone Duo next to an iPhone 18 Pro on Verizon should ask the company, before buying, how the fee shows up on the bill. Verizon’s materials don’t say whether it comes on top of the cost of the second device or line. It’s the same lesson as in our look at what Apple HomeView really costs beyond the sticker price: the sticker price is rarely the whole bill.
AT&T customers have a harder choice. When CNET asked last month, AT&T pointed to its current eSIM activation and transfer tools, which suggests it has no imminent plans. That’s a statement to a reporter, not a formal refusal, and it could change.
If free is your goal and you live in the right place, Deutsche Telekom’s top plans and EE’s Full Works Plus are the only routes reported. Those won’t help most US readers, but they show the fee isn’t universal.
What we still don’t know
The biggest gap is timing. Verizon says coming soon and gave no launch date, so you could be paying for nothing until an unannounced day. Apple’s own year-end target for Verizon is the only outer limit on record.
Several billing questions are open too. Does the $10 apply per line? Does it stack on a second line or device plan? Are there taxes, promotions or plan-based exceptions? None of that has been reported. Verizon also hasn’t said which iPhones beyond the Duo and 18 Pro will be supported.
One more thing to watch: whether Verizon matches EE and Deutsche Telekom by waiving the fee on premium plans, and whether AT&T changes course. Neither has signaled it.
Tools & products mentioned
- iPhone Duo on Amazon — Check current price
- iPhone 18 Pro on Amazon — Check current price
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Frequently asked questions
How much does Verizon charge for iPhone Handoff?
Verizon will charge $10 per month. It says support is coming soon but hasn't given a launch date, and it hasn't said whether the fee is per line or on top of a second device plan.
What is iPhone Handoff in iOS 27?
It lets one phone number be shared across two iPhones. Only one phone has the number active at a time, and you can switch whenever you want. According to Engadget, both phones need iOS 27 and the same Apple ID.
Which carriers support iPhone Handoff?
T-Mobile supports it now at $5 a month. Verizon and EE have said they're coming, and Deutsche Telekom offers it in Germany through MultiSIM. AT&T has suggested it has no imminent plans.
Is iPhone Handoff ever free?
Yes, in Europe. Deutsche Telekom includes it in MagentaMobil L and XL plans, and EE offers it free on Full Works Plus, according to MacRumors. No free US plan has been reported.
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Sources
This article was compiled from reporting by the following outlets. Links go to the original reports.
