Best way to compare cell phone plans between Providers? (1 Viewer)

[TonyD]

My iPhone XS is acting up and my wife and I are caught up on our contracts.
I’m just about to start the find a new cell phone and plan journey.

Is there a good web site or an easy to understand way to find all the options for buying a new phone and seeing th plans offered besides going into these phone stores?

Looks like Verizon is offering $800+ for a new plan including a trade in.

att has some somewent confusing offers.

Apple has options to buy the phones and plans there.

Anyone here have expert advise on buying new opines and providers?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

No advice on comparison sites, but make sure to check out plans for older customers. Some of the carriers have cheaper plans for people 55 and older. We moved to such a plan with Sprint (now TMobile), which saved us money and got us unlimited data, text and voice - - plus free international calling when we are traveling out of the country.

 

[Clinton McClure]

We had AT&T for years and after they shut off the cell tower close to where we live, leaving us with no signal, we switched to Verizon and have been happy with our service.

 

[DaveF]

The last time I seriously comparison shopped wireless plans, I came away with an "abandon all hope ye who enter..." nihilim on it.

The Wirecutter has an article on best wireless plans from Fall 2020. But given promos change every few months, it can't give insight in the particulars of current new-customer incentives.

The Best Cell Phone Plans

Picking a cell plan can be confusing, but after months of research, we’ve found the best plans for data, coverage, and price.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Jason Goodmanson]

If you can afford to pay outright for your phones, or have ones that are unlocked, your best deals are to look at anyone other than Sprint/ATT/Verizon/T-Mobile.

I switched to Xfinity about two years ago - I pay $30 a month for two phones - we share 3gb of data which isn't much but we are on wi-fi almost 90% of the time and have only gone over twice in almost two years. Also, when we switched to Xfinity, we got two brand new iPhones for $250 off (paid via monthly credits.) Even with phone payments, I was saving about 40% compared to AT&T with no payments.

However, I want to switch my ISP so I'll lose having Xfinity mobile, so in October when my phones are paid off, I'll be switching to Mint Wireless. $30 a month for two phones, 4gb data, no overages, unlimited text/calling (remember when you used to pay per minute/text??) It's the same price as Xfinity, but I won't get charged for overages AND I will also be saving about $25 a month on internet that is MUCH better (1gb up/down, versus 800down/18up - and no limits because eff off Xfinity!)

 

[Rodney]

My wife and I have been on ATT wireless for a long time, I think when the iPhone was first announced, but I have been looking for the least expensive wireless plan so I just switched from ATT and are trying out two different carriers: I moved my iPhone to Mint Mobile which uses T-Mobile coverage and I moved hers over to PureTalk, which uses ATT so she shouldn't notice any difference. We don't use a lot of data on wireless, as I have fiber in the house, so I'm not concerned about limited data plans.

The two are roughly the same price, $20/month each and it was relatively easy to move our unlocked phones over to the new accounts, though Mint was a bit easier with their app, which PureTalk doesn't have.

So far they are working well. I have a trip later in the week so I will really be able to give it a workout and see if I lose anything changing carriers.

Anyone here have experience with either of these carriers you would like to share?

 

[Todd Erwin]

My wife and I have been on ATT wireless for a long time, I think when the iPhone was first announced, but I have been looking for the least expensive wireless plan so I just switched from ATT and are trying out two different carriers: I moved my iPhone to Mint Mobile which uses T-Mobile coverage and I moved hers over to PureTalk, which uses ATT so she shouldn't notice any difference. We don't use a lot of data on wireless, as I have fiber in the house, so I'm not concerned about limited data plans.

The two are roughly the same price, $20/month each and it was relatively easy to move our unlocked phones over to the new accounts, though Mint was a bit easier with their app, which PureTalk doesn't have.

So far they are working well. I have a trip later in the week so I will really be able to give it a workout and see if I lose anything changing carriers.

Anyone here have experience with either of these carriers you would like to share?

Keep in mind that with Mint, that monthly price will jump up to $35/month after 3 months unless you prepay for the full year, and who knows what will happen with their pricing if T-Mobile's acquisition of Mint gets approved.

We switched from Verizon to T-Mobile last year and are on their legacy Magenta 55 Max plan which is $45/line per month (the newer plan is $50 that really only provides more 5G hotspot data). That may be more than what you are willing to spend based on the plans you are currently checking out, but we do get free Apple TV+ and discounted Netflix Premium (T-Mobile gives you a choice of either free Netflix Standard or Netflix Premium for $7/month), so that saves us $25/month on our streaming services. Fairly happy with them so far. Coverage is slightly better than what Verizon offers in my immediate area (six years ago, Verizon was the only provider in town), and since my wife needed a new phone, T-Mo had a killer deal on pre-orders for the Samsung S23 Ultra where it was $17/month for 24 months plus a $200 per line rebate for switching from another provider (which essentially covered that monthly installment payment). She had held on to her Samsung Note 8 until her employer forced her to get a phone that ran on a more current version of Android for security purposes. We live in a rural area, so we don't really get to use their T-Mobile Tuesdays free offers much. and when we were on Verizon, we had a legacy 2Gb data plan, and with all of my wife's medical issues last year, we were really chewing through data, and it would have cost more than what we are currently paying to upgrade to one of their newer unlimited plans.