Comparing Cell Phone Plans
From LoveToKnow Cellphones
It's tough to choose a wireless provider you'll be happy with, especially when it involves signing a two year service agreement. Smart shopping is your best weapon for picking the best cell phone plan, so do your research thoroughly before signing on the dotted line.
Our guide below outlines some of the top cell phone plans from national providers in the United States. Both individual and family cell plans are compared, giving you a top pick for best value and lowest overall cost. The prices and service availability depends on your location, so always check the company's official website to ensure correct pricing and reliable service.
Considerations
Before you start browsing plans, you need to know a few things about your own calling habits.
- Will you use your cell phone a lot or just occasionally?
- Do you need extras, such as music playback, a camera, text messaging or more?
- Will you be receiving more calls than you place?
Once you have a general idea, plan a budget. How much can you afford to pay each month? Even the least expensive cell phone calling plans are around $30 (not including purchasing the phone and other setup fees), so if you can't go that high you should consider a pay as you go plan.
The following information is based on numbers alone, not factoring additional features or hidden fees into account, as this varies from area to area and customer to customer. Before you sign the contract, speak with an agent and squeeze as much information out of them as you can. Scroll to the bottom of your potential provider's website and look for the small print. Avoiding extraneous fees is the real deal-breaker, but the below advice offers you a sound starting point for your cell phone career.
Individual Calling Plans
The Cheapest Cellular Plan
To get the most minutes for the lowest price possible, your best bet for an individual plan would be T-Mobile. Their Basic Plus plan comes with 300 anytime minutes and unlimited night and weekend minutes for just $29.99 a month. Take a step up to their Get More plan and you'll get twice the minutes for $39.99 and nab a free phone as well. This is compared to Sprint-Nextel's lowest plan which is $29.99 for just 200 minutes. The other providers don't dip as low as $30, so if you want to get in the game for as low as possible, T-Mobile is your game.
Winner: T-Mobile's Basic Plus cell plan - $29.99/month for 300 anytime minutes
Best Value Cell Plan
Verizon Wireless and Cingular each offer a plan that gives you 6000 minutes of calling time for just under $200. That's a fair deal, but T-Mobile wins again with Get More Supra delivering 5000 anytime minutes for just $129.99. Their coverage area is spotty in comparison to the competitors, but if you have service at your home and won't be traveling frequently, this one's an easy choice.
Winner: T-Mobile's Get More Supra cell plan - $129.99/month for 5000 anytime minutes
Family Cell Plans
The Cheapest Plan
Things get a little more complex when you enter the realm of family cell plans. Companies offer a large variety of deals to entice entire families to sign up with their service. As a result, you'll have a lot of options to choose from. In the end, one provider clearly offers more minutes for your money: T-Mobile. Their FamilyTime Basic plan starts at $59.99 and offers 700 minutes of call time for two lines. You can add additional lines for $9.99 a month (the industry standard). If you jump up to their next tier you get 1000 minutes for $69.99 and can buy phones at a discounted $19.99 each. For more minutes and less cost, T-Mobile pulls through once again.
Winner: T-Mobile's FamilyTime Basic cell plan - $59.99/month for 700 anytime minutes
Best Value Family Cell Plan
There is no clear-cut winner for the high-end stakes of the family plans. T-Mobile, the previous plan champion, cuts their service off at a maximum of 3000 minutes while the competitors extend to 6000 calling minutes. The prices are identical across the board for the mega-minute plans. Choosing the best value family cell plan should be based on your personal needs and a company's service areas.
No clear leader
For more info on family plans, see our article Family Cell Phone Plans.
Conclusion
It seems that T-Mobile is out to offer more calling time for less than the competitors. Don't let the numbers fool you, however. As you can see from our coverage map comparison, T-Mobile has the smallest service area of the major companies. If you live in one of the shady zones or will do a lot of traveling, T-Mobile may not be the way to go. For starters, picking a simple mobile plan with no extras, T-Mobile is a fair choice for many customers.
Comments
Krista: An unlocked phone basically means that it can be used with any international cell phone service provider who uses the same technology and bands (GSM). If you want to use an existing phone as a new prepaid phone, simply go to your local kiosk (GSM providers only) and ask for a prepaid phone kit. They should have kits that do not include a new handset and instead only come with a new SIM card. This SIM card provides your existing phone with a new identity, so to speak, along with a new number. I hope this helps.
-- Contributed by: MichaelKwanWhat can you do once your phone is "unlocked". I have over 5 different cell phones and do NOT want another one, but want prepaid minutes for my kids. It seems like I would pay $20 to get it unlocked, but then would still have to buy another phone to get the "service". Even for prepaid services. I can't seem to find ANY information on the most cost effective plan where you can use a phone you already have. If I turned the phones into a women's shelter then how do they then get the darn thing to work? It is such a waste. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
-- Contributed by: KristaThis page has been accessed 2,492 times. This page was last modified 22:48, 14 February 2008.
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