Repair or replace calculator
Answer five questions about your phone or laptop and get a straight verdict — weighed against the refurbished price, what your broken device is still worth, and how long it keeps getting security updates.
Apart from that, the device is…
What this calculator weighs
Most repair-cost tools stop at the first number. A repair is only worth it relative to the alternative, so all four of these go into every verdict:
1
What the repair actually costs
Three prices, not one: an independent shop, the manufacturer's official out-of-warranty fee, and DIY parts where the repair is realistically DIY-able.
2
What the same device costs refurbished
The repair is only worth it relative to the alternative. We price a like-for-like refurbished unit of the same model, not a new flagship.
3
What your broken device is still worth
Buyback services pay real money for damaged devices, and the amount depends on what broke. That offer comes off the cost of replacing, which is the comparison most calculators miss.
4
How long it still gets security updates
A cheap repair on a device that loses updates next year is a bad repair. Every device here carries an estimated support end-date, and it can overturn the verdict on its own.
Worked examples
Three real results from the data behind this calculator, assuming a device in good condition and a shop repair rather than DIY.
Google Pixel 8 — battery (drains fast / won't hold charge)
Repair your Google Pixel 8- Shop repair
- $45–$70
- Refurbished
- $360
- Trade-in broken
- $150
- Updates until
- ~2030
For a Google Pixel 8 in good condition, repairing usually wins — The fix costs about 16% of what the device is worth, and it still gets updates until ~2030.
A cheap fix on a device with years of support left — the clearest repair case there is.
See the full Google Pixel 8 battery (drains fast / won't hold charge) breakdown →iPhone 13 — cracked or broken screen
It's a close call for your iPhone 13- Shop repair
- $100–$170
- Refurbished
- $310
- Trade-in broken
- $90
- Updates until
- ~2028
For an iPhone 13 in good condition, it's genuinely a close call — Repairing (~$135) works out cheaper than replacing (~$220 net), so repair has a slight edge — but both are reasonable.
The genuinely close call: the repair and the net cost of replacing land near each other.
See the full iPhone 13 cracked or broken screen breakdown →Samsung Galaxy S21 — cracked or broken screen
Replace your Samsung Galaxy S21- Shop repair
- $95–$140
- Refurbished
- $230
- Trade-in broken
- $60
- Updates until
- ~2025
For a Samsung Galaxy S21 in good condition, replacing usually makes more sense — It stopped getting security updates in 2025, so a repair buys you a device that's already end-of-life.
Repairing (~$118) is cheaper than replacing net of trade-in (~$170) — but security updates ended, which settles it regardless of price.
See the full Samsung Galaxy S21 cracked or broken screen breakdown →Device coverage
32 devices — 21 phones and 11 laptops from Apple, Samsung, Google, OnePlus, Nothing, Dell, Lenovo, HP and Framework — across 11 common faults, with hand-maintained US pricing. Not listed? The calculator still works: it falls back to a category model based on your device's launch price and age, and labels the result as a rough estimate.
Browse every device we cover →
Prices are US dollars, from US shops and manufacturer pages. Every figure carries a confidence level — see where the numbers come from.