how do I transfer contacts from HTC to iphone

If you want to use Move to iOS to transfer data from Htc to iPhone, you should make sure that your iPhone is running iOS 10. And it is used when your iPhone is getting reset or when you changing a new phone.

When you say you never "used" iCloud, do you mean you never backed up to it?

Kazzeake may be on the right track, but you say you do NOT have your old iPhone (even if it powered up, it may still be a difficult)

Here's what to try:

Login to iCloud

Look at your Contacts there

If these are right ones (or even a partial list), you can do it either way from this [OFFICIAL] page
http://www.wondershare.com/mobile-phone/icloud-contacts-to-android.html
- Method 1 is using MobileTrans for Mac (Kazzeake's *indirect* link)
- Method 2 is the manual iCloud 'Export Vcard' method

Could you explain what you mean by "difficulties"? By what method are you attempting to transfer the contacts? What error messages are you getting? What troubleshooting steps have you already taken?

1. Tap Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account > Other > Add CardDav Account.
2. Enter the following information in the fields:
   • Server: google.com
   • User Name: Enter your full Google email address
   • Password: Your Google account password
3. Select Next at the top of the screen to complete the setup.

After you have completed the setup, open the Contacts app on your device. Syncing should begin automatically.

We don't yet know if the OP is trying to transfer Gmail contacts. Even on Android phones, it's possible to store contacts locally on the phone and not in Gmail.

Export contacts from HTC to vCard and then import the file to Gmail. And then launch iTunes and connect iPhone to Sync contacts.