Moving an iPhone 18 Pro from 256GB to 512GB costs $200 in the US, 1TB costs $600 more than the base model and 2TB costs $1,200 more, which means the top tier is almost exactly double the price of the entry model. Every one of the ten markets on Apple’s Store pages uses the same ladder in its own currency, and the increments are always one, two and three times a single step.
That makes the step-up cost, rather than the list price, the useful number when you are choosing a configuration. Our iPhone 18 Pro price explainer covers the $100 generational increase; the figures below are what each extra tier adds on top of the 256GB price in each country, calculated from Apple’s Store page for that country.
Key facts
| Fact | Figure |
|---|---|
| US step from 256GB to 512GB | $200 |
| US step from 512GB to 1TB | $400 |
| US step from 1TB to 2TB | $600 |
| 256GB to 2TB, US total | $1,200, so 2TB costs $2,399 |
| Markets with published tier prices | Ten, on Apple’s Store pages |
| Markets that break the one, two, three pattern | None |
| Cheapest step per 256GB block | The 1TB to 2TB jump |
What each tier adds, country by country
Each column is the extra cost over the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro in that market, using the prices on Apple’s Store page for each country.
Don’t miss the best of The Mac Observer
Set us as a preferred source and our Apple reporting ranks higher in your Google Search results and Discover feed — one tap, no account changes.
| Market | 256GB price | 512GB adds | 1TB adds | 2TB adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | $1,199 | $200 | $600 | $1,200 |
| UK | £1,199 | £200 | £600 | £1,200 |
| Canada | C$1,749 | C$300 | C$900 | C$1,800 |
| Australia | A$2,099 | A$400 | A$1,200 | A$2,400 |
| Germany | €1,449 | €250 | €750 | €1,500 |
| France | €1,479 | €250 | €750 | €1,500 |
| Japan | ¥219,800 | ¥35,000 | ¥105,000 | ¥210,000 |
| Singapore | S$1,899 | S$300 | S$900 | S$1,800 |
| UAE | AED 5,099 | AED 850 | AED 2,550 | AED 5,100 |
| India | ₹1,64,900 | ₹25,000 | ₹75,000 | ₹1,50,000 |
Every market repeats the same one, two, three pattern
Read the table as steps between neighbouring tiers rather than as totals and a single unit appears in each currency: $200 in the US, £200 in the UK, C$300 in Canada, A$400 in Australia, €250 in Germany and France, ¥35,000 in Japan, S$300 in Singapore, AED 850 in the UAE and ₹25,000 in India.
The 512GB model costs one unit more than the 256GB model, 1TB costs two units more than 512GB, and 2TB costs three units more than 1TB. That holds in all ten markets on both the 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch models, without a single exception, so once you know the first step in your currency you can work out the rest.
Where the markets differ is how large that unit is next to the phone. In Australia the first step is 19.1 percent of the 256GB price, the steepest of the ten; in India it is 15.2 percent, the gentlest. The US, UK and UAE all land on 16.7 percent, by our arithmetic on Apple’s figures.
The 2TB step is the cheapest storage Apple sells
Counting in 256GB blocks makes the pricing structure clear. Going from 256GB to 512GB buys one block for $200. Going from 512GB to 1TB buys two blocks for $400, again $200 each. Going from 1TB to 2TB buys four blocks for $600, which works out at $150 a block.
So the most expensive single upgrade is also the best value per gigabyte, which is unusual for Apple storage. That does not make 2TB sensible for most people, because the top tier still costs $1,200 more than the base model our iPhone 18 Pro launch coverage priced at $1,199. It does mean that if you are already considering 1TB, the extra terabyte is priced more softly than the steps below it.
The Pro Max charges exactly the same step-ups
The iPhone 18 Pro Max starts $100 higher in the US, at $1,299, and its tiers are $1,499, $1,899 and $2,499. Subtract the base and the additions are $200, $600 and $1,200, identical to the smaller phone. The same holds in every other market: the Pro Max additions in Japan are ¥35,000, ¥105,000 and ¥210,000, and in India ₹25,000, ₹75,000 and ₹1,50,000.
In other words the size premium is fixed at the base tier and storage is priced the same on both models, which simplifies the decision. Our iPhone 18 Pro against iPhone 18 Pro Max guide covers the rest of that choice, and the Australian price breakdown lists every tier in Australian dollars.
What Apple has not said
- Apple does not publish step-up costs; every figure above is our subtraction on Apple’s list prices.
- Apple has not explained why the top step is cheaper per 256GB block than the steps below it.
- Apple has not published tier prices for any market outside these ten, including the 20 countries in the September 25 second wave.
- Apple does not state how much usable storage each tier has once iOS 27 is installed.
- Apple has not published trade-in values per storage tier, only a $175 to $885 range for an iPhone 13 or later.
Pre-orders open on Saturday, September 12 at 5 a.m. PT, 1 p.m. BST, 5:30 p.m. IST and 9 p.m. JST, with availability on Friday, September 18 in more than 65 countries, and the configuration is fixed at checkout. If you are weighing tiers rather than countries, our iPhone 18 Pro against iPhone 17 Pro comparison covers what else changed this year.