But this comparison tool requires careful reading: Like Google searches, it shows sponsored results before organic ones. It also includes far more services than we cover here and shows not just plans with the required amount of data, minutes, and texts but also those that exceed your needs, producing a cluttered presentation overall.
If you want unlimited calls and texts, more attentive customer service, and phone financing through your carrier, you should stick with a traditional postpaid plan, where you get a bill for service after you use it. Many prepaid services are provided by smaller companies that simply resell service from one of the big carriers, so they offer coverage similar to that of the major carriers at a lower price. Others prioritize their own customers over third-party prepaid traffic, as happens with the Metro by T-Mobile subsidiary.
One T-Mobile and Verizon reseller told us that these policies had yet to yield any effects. The wireless services some cable operators offer, based on resold network capacity from one of the big three carriers, represent their own special case. Phone manufacturers have lagged in shipping phones that support all of those different flavors.
The first crop of 5G phones have also been much larger and more expensive than their 4G counterparts and have often suffered from reduced battery life. Back in the land of more common 4G data speeds, services keep trying to make themselves harder to leave in various ways beyond installment-payment and early-upgrade deals on phones.
For example, free-with-your-plan media bonuses like HBO Max subscriptions can save you money on services you were going to pay for anyway but also make it harder for you to leave the service. As long as they do just that, you can expect to see more deals along those lines. The biggest unknown in the industry is what effect going from four big carriers to three will have on competition.
All three higher-end plans include 5G broadband, although your odds of enjoying those faster speeds remain very low. Note that outside of Canada and Mexico , these prepaid plans offer no international roaming-data options.
Fi now offers limited support for some Samsung and OnePlus models and even some iPhones. If your passport has dozens of stamps and your current or desired phone is on its list, though, Google Fi is worth a look.
But we want to see how this service fares under its new management. Assuming you make fewer calls than average, Ting offers flexible billing and a choice of T-Mobile and Verizon coverage. The biggest prepaid brand in America and the corporate parent of Straight Talk—and, if things go as Verizon hopes, a soon-to-be Verizon property—has historically required smartphone customers to patch together a service bundle by buying separate buckets of data, voice, and text. Now it offers a few standard day plans.
Updates for iPhones are available for all supported phones at the same time, regardless of the network you use or where you bought them. Power Finds , J. Power, February 6, Our pick. Buying Options Buy from Verizon. Also great. T-Mobile Magenta More data for streaming and downloading If more data is more important to you than more coverage, the Magenta plan offers a great price for unlimited data on a strong network.
Buying Options Buy from T-Mobile. Buying Options Buy from Consumer Cellular. Budget pick. Buy from Mint Mobile. Everything we recommend. Why you should trust us How we picked The best coverage and a great price: Verizon Wireless Flaws but not dealbreakers The best for most data: T-Mobile Magenta Multiple-line plans: Consumer Cellular The cheapest plan: Mint Mobile How to determine which network has the best coverage for you How much data do you need?
Should you buy postpaid, prepaid, or resold service? What to look forward to The competition Footnotes Sources. Why you should trust us.
How we picked. That left us with the following services to assess:. We also crunched these same numbers for shared-use plans for two and four lines. On the surface, this sounds like the cheapest phone plan. All of the major carriers have followed suit, offering similar leasing plans. In the chart below, I examined the true cost of purchasing versus leasing an iPhone.
In order to estimate these costs, I had to make several assumptions. Secondly I am assuming that you are reselling your year-old iPhone on eBay.
If you decide to upgrade your iPhone every two years, the savings are even more significant. But even with the new pricing, is it worth it to upgrade each year? The chart below analyzes the difference between buying an iPhone every year versus buying one every two years.
In the projections below, I am assuming that you are buying a new 64 GB iPhone each time and that you are reselling your old iPhone on eBay. That being said, you are of course buying twice the number of iPhones. With all of the carriers changing their pricing models, keeping track of the latest offerings can be pretty confusing. The first chart assumes that you are on an individual plan, are purchasing a 64 GB iPhone 6s, and that you require at least 2 GB of data. Rates below exclude the cost of a new iPhone but include monthly access charges.
Family plans are significantly cheaper than individual plans. Sprint and T-Mobile offer the cheapest phone plans for both individuals and families. I recommend purchasing a 64 GB iPhone each year with a plan that includes at least 2 GB of cellular data.
If you want your kids to spend more time looking at their textbooks and less time looking at the phone, there are lower-data options too. Sluggish data speeds can interrupt your Facetime call, crash your Instagram binge, and spell doom for your Fortnite Battle Royal winning streak.
Here's how the results looked for data speeds amongst the big three wireless carriers. Verizon averages But again, data speeds are always influenced by your location, so its possible you have a different experience.
But there are some differences between the two brands, too. If you want the very best coverage in the nation, Verizon is the company for you. The company has plenty of new devices to buy and it runs great deals , too. It has dominated in recent speed tests, making it the best provider for gamers, streamers, and influencers of all kinds.
Binge your heart out, America. Both companies also offer military discounts, and we've detailed the eligibility requirements here. I have a phone on verizon and one on att, both the same make and model. Despite having fewer cells, ATT engineering seems much better. Very rare to drop a voice call. They have not destroyed their 3g spread spectrum network like VZ has up here.
VZ in some towns has been putting in microcells mounted on poles. Quite often they will be located near a school or business to provide very good in-building coverage to that building. These usually operate on mHz. ATT has used a few of them but I have only found 2 or 3 where Verizon has quite a few.
Depends on the town. Some towns have none, some have a lot. If I had to choose one of the two it would be ATT because ever since the days of them being SouthWestern Bell Mobile systems their engineering has been top notch. Their AMPS implementation was very good. Their TDMA implementation was good, their GSM implementatin was quite good and when they went 3g we had both voice and data at the same time unlike Verizon.
You make some great points. I have seen this numerous times using both carriers. Verizon seems very consistent yet probably during a busy day with many people in one area you can feel the congestion of their network on your phone. I am actually loyal to both carriers to where I would not be without either of them. If you have a band 14 phone then your network experience is that much better. Vivint Smart Home Security Review. By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Disclaimer : The information featured in this article is based on our best estimates of pricing, package details, contract stipulations, and service available at the time of writing. This is not a guarantee. All information is subject to change. For the most accurate information, please ask your customer service representative. Clarify all fees and contract details before signing a contract or finalizing your purchase. Each individual's unique needs should be considered when deciding on chosen products.
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