Considering a prepaid cell phone plan? You have plenty of providers to choose from. There are nearly a dozen major carriers, not to mention regional prepaid options and newer providers, such as Ting and Republic Wireless.
All those options can leave your head spinning. So we gathered data on the price points and features offered by some of the leading prepaid providers to help you compare prepaid plans.
Compare prepaid plans by price
All the plans listed below are monthly plans and include unlimited minutes and text messages, unless otherwise noted. If data is included with the package, the amount is listed in parentheses.
Some plans are available only on basic phones or so-called feature phones. Unlike smartphones, which give users access to thousands of apps, feature phones typically have limited or no access to third-party apps. Feature phones do have access to Internet and email, however, and some basic features, such as picture-taking and music-listening capabilities.
This table compares monthly plans only; it does not include pay-as-you-go plans, such as Tracfone airtime cards, which let you add more minutes or data as you need them.
| 1GB or less | 2-4GB | 5-6GB | 10GB | Unlimited | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight Talk Wireless | $30 (1,500 minutes, unlimited texts and 100MB data) | $45 (5GB) | $55 (10GB) | ||
| Cricket Wireless |
$40 (2.5GB) | $50 (5GB) | $60 (10GB) | ||
| Boost Mobile |
$35 (2GB*) | $45 (5GB*) | $60 | ||
| Virgin Mobile |
$20 (400 minutes, 15 cents per text; no data) $30 (500MB) |
$40 (4GB) | $50 (6GB) | ||
| MetroPCS |
$25 (talk and text only) $30 (1GB) |
$40 (3GB) | $50 (5GB) | $60 | |
| T-Mobile prepaid** |
$25 (talk and text only) $30 (100 minutes, unlimited text; 5GB data at up to 4G speeds, drops to 2G speeds after) |
$40 (3GB - Simply Prepaid) $50 (2GB - Simple Choice prepaid) |
$50 (5GB - Simply prepaid) $65 (6GB - Simple Choice prepaid) |
$60 (10GB - Simply Prepaid) $65 (6GB - Simple Choice prepaid) |
$95 |
| AT&T GoPhone |
$30 (talk and text only) | $45 (2GB) | $60 (5GB) | ||
| Verizon prepaid |
$30 (basic and feature phones only; unlimited data) $30 (smartphones; no data included) |
$45 (2GB) | $60 (5GB) | ||
| Sprint prepaid | $35 (1GB) | $45 (3GB) | $55 (6GB) |
*Boost Mobile prepaid customers get an extra 500MB of high-speed data after every three on-time payments, and can grow their data package by up to 3GB after 18 on-time payments.
**T-Mobile offers three types of monthly prepaid plans: Simply Prepaid, Simple Choice prepaid and Basic Monthly. Simple Choice prepaid plans include additional features, such as unlimited music streaming, unlimited international texting while in the U.S., and rollover data and unlimited video streaming on plans with 6GB or more.
Compare prepaid plans by features
Prepaid carriers now use features and discounts to entice customers. Those range from monthly discounts for automatic payments to international calls and texts at no additional charge or the ability to use your smartphone as a mobile hot spot.
The table below shows which features are offered by which carriers. Those with an asterisk are add-on services, for an additional charge. Prepaid carriers may restrict features to select plans.
| Autopay discount | Bonus data | Family plans | Unlimited music streaming | Mobile hot spot | International calls/texts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight Talk Wireless | X | X | X* | |||
| Cricket Wireless | X | X | X* | X | ||
| Boost Mobile | X | X | X | X | X | X* |
| Virgin Mobile | X | X | X | X* | ||
| MetroPCS | X | X | X | X* | ||
| T-Mobile prepaid | X | X | ||||
| AT&T GoPhone | X | X | ||||
| Verizon prepaid | X | X | X | |||
| Sprint prepaid | X |
Kelsey Sheehy is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: ksheehy@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @KelseyLSheehy.
Image via iStock.
No comments:
Post a Comment