Buying a phone outright or financing it for 2 years?

I currently own an iPhone 13 and I'm on my dad's Virgin Mobile plan. I want to get my own plan and possibly upgrade my iPhone 13 128GB to an iPhone 16 Pro 256GB.

I don't know which carrier I want to go with. I did check with Bell yesterday and if I were to switch from my dad's Virgin Mobile plan to my own Bell plan, it would be $55/month (without a new phone). If I were to get the new Bell plan and an iPhone 16 Pro, it would be an additional $47.12/month for 24 months.

For those who have got a new plan along with a new phone, what did you find to be the best plan in terms of cost? Getting a new plan with a new carrier and financing the new phone for 24 months or just buy the new phone outright from Best Buy or Apple and then getting a new plan that doesn't lock you into a 2 year contract?