Mobile Data Plans Vary Widely in Price & Usage Limits
With the smartphone emergence and the decline in cellular usage for actually calling people, the new challenge from a financial standpoint is to figure out how you can get the cheapest mobile data plan. Otherwise, the lifetime cost of a smartphone can really kill your savings.
I’m going to highlight the cheapest mobile data plans out there, but you may also want to check out this list of prepaid MVNO’s and cheapest mobile hotspots to find the plan that is right for your use.
Unlimited Mobile Data Plans Usually Come with a Catch
There are very few truly “unlimited” mobile data plans these days. Just about every carrier throttles your data once you hit a certain threshold, or limits video streaming or other services. Always read the fine print when buying a mobile plan. And aim for prepaid plans, as they are typically cheaper and you’re not locked in to a contract.
Your best bet is to try to limit your mobile data use (use wifi when you can). Pro tip: since many of these plans come with free text messaging and calling, but pricey data, so you may want to learn how to send text messages to email, so you don’t have to constantly pay data fees when accessing your email account on a web browser.
Here’s a run-down of all of the major national mobile phone providers who offer data plans.
Republic Wireless:
One of the leaders in the cheap smart phone data plan space now, Republic Wireless plans start at $15 per month for unlimited talk, text, and wifi data, with data plans ($5/GB) available for reasonable prices.
If no wifi is available, Republic kicks you over to Sprint or T-Mobile’s network.
If you want a data plan that is affordable, yet customizable to fit your data usage, this is a solid pick.
Update: you can now bring your own phone to Republic Wireless, which is a huge positive development.
- $15+/month: unlimited talk, text, and wifi data + $5/per mobile GB data.
Xfinity Mobile
Xfinity Mobile is the new MVNO from Comcast Xfinity that runs on Verizon’s network. It is only available to Xfinity Internet customers within Xfinity’s service map. Check out my full Xfinity Mobile review for more information.
- $0/month. Everyone gets unlimited text, text, and 100MB data per month.
- Choice of 2 data plans: $12/GB or unlimited for $45/mo. (4G LTE speeds up to 20 GB before reduced speeds)
Mint Mobile
Mint Mobile is a relatively new MVNO that uses T-Mobile’s network.
They offer a nice choice of affordable data plans, including:
- $25/month: unlimited talk, text, +3GB 4G LTE data
- $35/month: unlimited talk, text, +8GB 4G LTE data
- $45/month: unlimited talk, text, +12GB 4G LTE data
FreedomPop
FreedomPop is a national Sprint MVNO that operates in a similar way to Republic Wireless with wifi calling in addition to basic talk, text, and data. Details include:
- $0/month: unlimited talk, text, and 500MB data – more data costs extra.
- Earn free 4G LTE data every month by adding friends
- Earn unlimited free data by completing partner offers
- You can bring your own phone.
Total Wireless
Total Wireless is a Tracfone brand that is sold online and at WalMart.
- $35/month: unlimited talk, text, and 5 GB data. Additional data can be purchased for more.
Verizon Data Plans:
Verizon prepaid data plans include:
- $35/month: unlimited talk, text, and 3 GB data
- $45/month: unlimited talk, text, and 8 GB data
- $65/month: unlimited talk, text, and data
Sprint Data Plans
If you’re looking for straight up cheap mobile data plan only, Sprint has a few options.
With Sprint’s “Unlimited Kickstart plan”, you can get unlimited talk, text, and data for $25/month. Note that video and gaming resolution is capped.
AT&T Data Plans:
AT&T data plans start at $50/month for 3 GB of data and unlimited talk and text.
- $50/month: unlimited talk, text, and 3 GB data
- $70/month: unlimited talk, text, and data
T-Mobile Data Plans:
T-Mobile recently started offering a cheap unlimited data plan that is prepaid. For $50 a month, you get unlimited data, talk, and text. That is an outstanding value.
T-Mobile also has “Simply Prepaid” (no contract) plans:
- $40/month: unlimited talk, text, and 10GB of 4G LTE
Straight Talk:
Straight Talk is a Tracfone subsidiary. I just discovered Straight Talk recently, and they also offer an unlimited mobile plan. It looks like a great option for high data users.
- $45/month: unlimited talk, text, and 25 GB data
- $55/month: unlimited talk, text, and 60 GB data
Metro PCS:
Metro PCS is now nationwide in coverage and no longer has US roaming charges – as it is part of T-Mobile and runs on their network.
- $40/month: unlimited talk, text, and 10 GB data
- $50/month: unlimited talk, text, and data
Boost Mobile:
Boost mobile data plans include unlimited talk and text, starting at $50/month if you auto re-boost. You can’t get just a data plan with Boost.
- $35/month: unlimited talk, text and 3 GB data
- $50/month: unlimited talk, text, and data
Virgin Mobile Unlimited:
Virgin Mobile runs off Sprint’s network and offers the following plans:
- $35/month: unlimited talk, text, and 5 GB data
- $45/month: unlimited talk, text, and 10 GB data
- $60/month: unlimited talk, text, and data
Mobile Data Plan Discussion:
- Are you using your phone for data only? Which plan do you use?
- How much data are you using each month?
Related Posts:
Thanks for this. I’m looking to ditch my phone plan once my contract expires in June and I’m looking for affordable data-only as a replacement, since I’ve found several apps that can use a combination of VoIP and text by linking it to a pre-existing number. Unfortunately it’s near-impossible to find a plan that’s unlimited data-only, or even affordable data-only.
exactly what i was thinking… that is probably the reason theyre keeping data prices up, so people dont switch over from the more expensive tlak text plans :)
in usa the best data or data talk ect… is thru WALLMART. TMOBILE =30$ – 5GB + ULMD.TXT. UNLMD. SMS. & ONLY!!:( 100MIN TALJ(SO VOIP W/GOIGLE VOICE HANGOUT DIALET W YOUR PREEXISTING ###) <<BEST…
OR WALLMART MOBILE IS COMPETITIVE… 25$—50… OR STRAIGHT TALK…60$ FOR TRUE 4G UMLMD.. ONLY GSM REAL UNLMD. NO THROTTLE..
INHO 2 30$ TMOBILE/WALLMART 5GB PLANS AT 60$ =2PHONE DEVICE AT10GB SPLIT ON 2ACCOUNTS…BEST
Hey Mike, did you get your PHD in Post Hole Digging ? There is only one L in WalMart. Damn, you dumb.
“damn, you dumb.”
*you’re
And you ugly as hell. So what’s your point?
Who cares,, Robert?? I am an English teacher and know first-hand that there are plenty of very smart people are not good spellers — and I was a (winning) spelling competition coach with a university interscholastic league. Save your cheap shots for your own reflection, sir. I can also tell you first-hand that there are plenty of Ph.D holders who are dead-ember dumbasses in matters that really count in this world. Take a long look in the mirror, buddy.
Mike, this LOOKS like a great collection of information! But I cannot decipher much of it, I’m afraid.
Please do re-submit your entry, but also PLEASE do have someone proof-read your comments. We’d all like to understand what you are trying to tell us! (REALLY!!)
Thank you; Mike
Mike, the Walmart plans (?) seem to be quite attractive! (Thanks!)
Thank you; Mike
When you can, will you take a look at Credo Mobile? thanks!
Liberals only please
the best thing going right now is the framily plan with sprint – after the 7th person signs the rate is $25/mo unlimited talk & text with 1 gb of data… can buy more monthly data at $10 increments
You can go on Craigslist and find people looking for others to sign on their plans all you need is their id number and you will be on their plan – so you dont have to run out and find 9 more people yourself
I used to work for $print. I would not use their services if they were free. They have the worst customer service, screw up your billing repeatedly, and will do anything they can to shuffle you off the phone when you call in for support, as their helpdesk people are graded on how many calls they take per day. It’s a sweatshop. They have been in trouble for illegal labor practices more than once.
Run AWAY!
**Agreed**Sprint is a NIGHTMARE!!! I’ve wasted what’s amounted to days, running around in circles with their incompetent, untrained employees and senseless policies. I could elaborate, but I can’t waste anymore of my life on Sprint, so I’ll just say… Run away….fast!!!!!
How can one measure DATA usage in actual time units?
You are all wrong, the best deal you can get is LYCAMOBILE, I discoveredLyca last time I was in England, you buy a SIM card for less than $2 And all calls cost about 7 cents a minute. ATT wanted about $1.20 a minute to use mu US phone.
About 18 months ago I found out that Lyca was offering plans in the US, I and my wife are retired and we use our cell phones to contact each other when we travel and we use internet access sparingly. When we had an ATT plan with 700 minutes per month we only used 250 and the rest were wasted.. Cost was about $70 per month.
With Lyca pre paid each call costs 2 cents per minute PERIOD. put $10 in your Lyca account and you get 500 minutes, and in addition the money in your account does NOT EXPIRE AFTER 30 or 60 DAYS. No it DOES NOT EXPIRE.
you can use data fora very cheap price as well, you can setup your account so that it refills with say $10 when your balance reaches $5, automatically.
Now Lyca does not serves all areas of the US, I live in TN and they say they do not provide service here. That really means that they do not have TN area codes such as 615 , so I ordered a SIM card ( $7 delivered) and activated the SIM with a Chicago area code 630. Lyca runs on the T-Mobile network and it works perfectly, you must have an unlocked GSM phone.
Go to their web site and check it out, this may not be for everyone but for those who use their cell phones just for convenience it is by far the cheapest.
You can get a regular plan, my son has a data and voice plan unlimited for $25 per month although I now understand it has gone up to $30.
Follow up to my post on Lyca mobile.
As of June 2014 the 2 cent per minute charge has increased to 5 cents per minute. It is still however a good deal to many low volume usage subscribers.
I went to their website. Their cheapest pay as you go plan is $23 a month. Compared to T-Mobile’s pay as you go which is $8.33 a month ($100 for the year). Also minutes never expire, as long as you top off with at least $10 once a year. 10 cents a minute, but for low usage users it is by far the cheapest.
I think I found what he’s talking about. I navigated through Lycamobile’s website to Lycatalk’s website here
http://www.lycatalk.us/en/cheap-calls-to/usa
and it does say 2¢/min, but it looks like you need to have service from another carrier. It seems Lycatalk is only for international calls so you don’t get higher international charges from your current provider. So it seems to use your current providers minutes and the 2¢/min is an additional charge. Your current provider will just treat it as a local call rather than an international call.
Also, Airvoice is by far the cheapest option for low usage users. It can be as low as $3.33 a month if you almost never use your phone. It’s 10¢/min and text sent/received, 6.6¢ per MB of data, and funds expire in 90 days or more. The data being 6.6¢ per MB might make it cheaper to use Google Voice or another free VoIP per minute than making a straight call.
https://www.airvoicewireless.com/PlansB.aspx
You can order a Lycamobile sim card from Amazon for $0.01 delivered, then you go to the website and activate the sim. Put $10 there and you can start making calls for cheap.
You only need to make a call or text once every 90 days to keep the service active. My father in law’s last top-up was 8 months ago and he just put $10 more a few days ago.
They don’t have this information clearly displayed on their U.S. website but this is still working. A friend did this a few weeks ago and it is working great.
HI KEITH,
SORRY, FOR THE CAPS BUT I HAVE VISION PROBLEMS. I DO APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION ABOUT LYCA CELL, I CURRENTLY HAVE REPUBLIC WIRELESS BUT THEY DON’T HAVE MUCH OF AN OPT FOR CELL PHONES. AND EVERYTHING IS DONE ONLINE.
I’M ABOUT TO BUY A GSM PHONE TO GET THE SIM ALONG WITH THE SERVICE, I HOPE THEY SELL THE SIM CARD ONLINE.
GOD BLESS AND THANKS FOR SHARING, IT’S THE 1ST TIME I HEAR OF THIS COMPANY.
This article is about data not minutes, thats a huge difference, and unlimited data is throttled at to a kbps. Before you try to add nonrelevent information to a great article. Understand the differences.. Its probably because your old and out of the loop
She may be old and out of the loop but at least she is not a young know-it-all. Remember, you will be old one day,too, if you are lucky.
Before you go adding your non relevent smart mouth to an article understand the difference…. We would much rather have someone add their non relevent info to this article than listen to your non relevent smart mouth!!
Your first sentence is a good point, but in the rest of your post you’re just being an a$$ about it. Show people a little respect and you’ll find that you get it in return.
Dude there is no call for being so rude. The problem with this world is you young smart asses that think you know everything. Sheay be older but she is trying and instead of being an asshat you could of explained it nicely. Respect your elders. How would you feel if that was your mom or grandmother. Think beforw you speak. Help other dont pit them down.
Only issue is , how do you find the best plan for CANADA
Is t-mobile’s $30/mo per line or can you use it with two phone lines and pay the same price? Sorry, I’m new to the whole smartphone stuff.
Family mobile is what I have now. With tax it is about $46.38 or so a month, and has unlimited talk, text and data. It has more coverage than the regular T-moble network. I am a little torn, when I go on vacation, it does not always get service. However, I don’t know if I can really get a better deal. Tried Straight Talk, do not do this. My story would take a while to tell, but I will tell you that you better read the rules before you buy, or you may have to upgrade your phone and plan in order to get any data use that is any good. Sprint framily sounded good, but the more I read, I don’t know if it is worth the hassle and hidden things. I think maybe I will just stick with what I have.
Family mobil are use t mobil service and it is ok , streattalk is very bad
Hey check out http://www.harbormobile.com they are a reseller of tmo business plans but anyone can get & they get all the perks of service thru tmo such as music freedom, data stash & etc.
Straight talk is the best outa all prepaid, had it now for 2 years got sme issues but also ill keep it to myself. BOTTEM LINE (BEST PREPAID)
No after 5 g it go slowly
You can get 400MB and 80 minutes voice for $15 (including tax) per month at puretalkusa. For low usage this is a good deal. They use AT&T towers.
Here’s a good deal. Take a look at Selectel Wireless. They have an annual plan for $75. It includes 2000 minutes and 2000 texts. You can add 200 mb data for $10, and the data rolls over. They use Verizon towers and you can bring your own Verizon phone.
Good review and comments.
I’ve been with at least 7 different cellular providers since 1999.
IF I could just talk a 100 or less minutes per month I’d get Freedompop with FREE (that’s F-R-E-E) 200 minutes per month 200 Texts and 500MB data. They use Sprint towers and phones and are CDMA only. There are super priced phone on ebay, ie S2, S3 ect…. about $80 and below. And if you divide 12 months into say.. $100 for a phone you get around $8.33 per month which is paying for the phone only.
But I have to talk a whole lot more the 1000 minutes per month and need at least 1GB of Data, so I have the next best choice which is UltraMobile (T-Mobile towers and Unlocked GSM phones.) which
I buy plans $29 month off of ebay sellers for between $10 to $16 first month and $29 the second month.
Which comes close to an average of $25 per month.
After the 2 month requirement, I go back and buy another plan for $10-$16 first month and $29 dollars for second month.
Since I don’t need the same number as most of you do, since I do the calling, I can just call those who I want to talk to and let them know my new cell number for the 2 month span.
The one I most use is Ezkonnect and they do all the activation of their sims.
They have Unlimited Talk, Unlimited Texts, and 1GB data for the about $25.
Happy shopping for better deal!
Can you use something like google-voice to have the same inbound number? I’ve swapped VoIP and cell phone numbers about 20 times in the last 15 years, but have been using the same GrandCentral (now Google Voice) inbound number all that time. Nobody needs to know my real phone numbers – I don’t know them either. Never use them.
Looking for a data-only plan. Already have a $3/month t-mobile PAG setup that only needs $10/yr added. It was much nicer before t-mobile started the $3/month part (zero data) – used to be pure PAG and I was spending about $10/yr total for over a decade. Only trick was to put $100 in PAG money on the first year to get _gold_ level which makes all future minutes to last for 365 days. None of that 90 expiration crap. Can’t believe people put up with that.
When I travel, I’ll add data for $10/week. Don’t have any use for it when in my home town. It isn’t like GPS or directions are needed there with all the off-line apps. Have wifi at the office and home and don’t need/want data while driving. That reminds me, it has been almost a year since I added $35 to my PAG account. Think I’m good until June, but need to check.
Yep – that’s $35/yr – total – for voice and as-needed-data. Probably bit into the $100 initial funds (added in 2006) a little too. The way I see it, even if I put $10/month into data, I’ve come out so far ahead of the monthly plans it would be stupid to use one of those.
I don’t want to be stupid.
That is bullwhackey. T-Mobile does not allow the use of data with its grandfathered Legacy plans like you have. There is no option to buy them like there is with the current $3.00 per month plan that came into effect in August, 2014. Your plan predates August, 2014.
Either your are incompetent and have never used data with your plan, or else you are a liar. I have these grandfathered plans and sell them on eBay.
UPDATE for prices I received in my email today.
Here is something to brag about in the way of DEALS….. (I’m not an affiliate. or work for the following.)
https://www.ezkonnect.com/ultra-mobile-prepaid-monthly-calling-plans.html
Quoting….$29 Plan
* Unlimited International Talk & Text Unlimited International
* Calling To the USA and Over 60 Countries
* 1,000 Free Minutes to Over 15 More Destinations
* $2.50 Call Anywhere Credit
* Unlimited Global SMS
* 4G LTE Data 1GB of 4G LTE Data
* Nationwide Coverage UltraUp More 4G LTE Data
But if you pay 3 months at a time the Price drops to $26.10 per month on Tmobile GSM towers.
And the SIM Card is Quoting . . .
* ULTRA MOBILE TRIPLE PUNCH REGULAR, MICRO AND NANO ALL IN ONE SIM CARD + 1 MONTH $29 PLAN SERVICE INCLUDED for $26.10.. (New Activation only.)
Cool huh?
Since I live in a brick home… I don’t get real great service but do get 3 bars inside near my sliding glass doors.
It’s just TMobile. . . so I don’t expect CDMA coverage, but I’m not paying 3+ the times the cost.
I get the same amount of bars on my GS3 with Cricket / At&t.
Now here is the KICKER plan….
If you pay 6 months at $129.00 you will be paying $21 per month for all of the *above.
So when I go on the road I’ll get the $44 per month plan which includes all of the above in the $29 plan with a extra 3 GBs of Data at 4G or a total of 4GB of 4G data. WOW. Rater do that than pay for “stuff” in wifi cafes etc.
Again thanks very much for the this TOPIC.
Mint Mobile blows this plan away. I get unlimited talk/txt/data with 10GB’s of LTE a month, for $25/month also running on the T-Mobile network. That’s prepaying for a year. Even if you prepay 3 months or 6 months, those plans are still cheaper.
Your information is incorrect regarding Verizon. 2gb plus one free gb and $5 credit with Autopay making the final cost per month $40.
Therefore this is more accurate:
Verizon Data Plans:
Prepaid plans cost $45/month for 3 GB of data, with unlimited talk and text. Contractual plans start at $50/month
I clicked on “notify me of follow up comments” once and no longer am interested. However there is no way to remove myself, and there is no way to communicate with the web site owner. Any idea how to remove myself?
Ha! That’s hilarious. Only a fool would click to get spam!
Have you guys checked out 4GAS … their prices are awesome and on the T-Mobile network.
4gantennashop.com
I just changed to 4GAS and I have a great $28 plan with 2GB of data and other great plan features such as mobile without borders and music freedom; which is unlimited music streaming and it does not affect the 2GB of data you have!
I have a free government plan (unlimited talk & text, 500mb data) running on my unlocked Blu Studio One Plus gsm on At&t network and I’m a very happy camper:):):):)
My prior service was MetroPcs at $30 a month for the same plan as the free one except for 1gb of data.
Which government provided carrier do you have? My dad has one and it doesnt include any data :(
I live in California and most here include data, Safelink Wireless was the carrier but they cancelled my service without warning after 3 months and when I talked to 6 different customer service reps to get a reason why most didn’t know or made up shit just to get me off the phone, I called the government lifeline folks and they finally told me the only reason the service was cancelled is because Safelink never sent them the paperwork. At this point I was very upset so decided not to deal with them anymore and just go back to MetroPCS but eventually signed up for Google Fi for $30 a month (same plan as MetroPCS but way more bells and whistles). I’m not going to deal any free cell providers because they are not worth the hassle if you run into a problem.
I couldn’t find my carrier on the list and I only pay $15/month for talk, text and data. I’m using US Mobile (www.usmobile.com) and for months when I’m travelling and I know I’m going to need a lot of data, I just upgrade for that month (6GB for $35). Super practical!
You are confusing “wifi” with data over celullar network.
Are you kidding? No listing for Cricket wireless? It’s a better deal than any of those listed in this article.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned ting.com. They have some really good options.
Straight talk has a 10gb for $55. Unlimited talk and text
Here in India free 1Giga bytes data per day in Relience Jio 4G LTE and You can download 30Giga bytes around 2pm to 5pm at night 😂😂 and offer is till 31 march. and 54 million people are connected still no lack in speed. i download around 10 giga bytes a day 🤔🤔. and after 31 march here will be $15 – $20 for 100 to 500 giga bytes with free calls and 100 text a day 😂😂…..
For month-to-month PREPAID Cricket (owned by AT&T) still has better coverage for most in the continental U.S. vs. T-Mobile or Sprint.
$35/month (with $5 autopay discount) for unlimited talk/text, and now 5GB of high-speed data (per line, not shared)
But multi-line plans are where it really shines.
First line $40, second line $30, third line $20, fourth line $10, fifth line $0.
So FIVE lines for $100/month (sorry, no autopay discount on multiple lines)
I also do not work for AT&T or any reseller/MVNO.
But I have used both TMO & Sprint, and have always found their high-speed data coverage less extensive than for AT&T.
Bill,
Cricket is a great service, but the $40 plan only gives you 3GB of data. It use to be 2.5gb but they just upgraded the plan a month ago. For $50/month you can get 8GB now. All same discounts apply. $10 off 2nd phone, $20 off 3rd, $30 off 4th…. $40 of 5th.
And I thought Germany was expensive.
The “big” providers here are around 30-40€ for 3GB LTE and unlimited talk/ text, BUT there are smaller companys that offer super cheap stuff, like 3GB @ 50Mbit LTE and unlimited talk/text for 12€ a month. And they say they want to become even cheaper!
Cricket offers an international plan which allows unlimited talk to landline phones, unlimited text, and one thousand minutes per month to mobile phones for fifteen dollars per month. Does any GSM carrier offer a cheaper plan?
The VERY BEST PLAN AVAILABLE is to ditch your fooking cell phone. Same money and gain peace of mind. Escape to freedom from your Lord and Master, the cell phone.
For some of us, the carrier is the key feature since some carriers don’t have good coverage in our area ( looking at you ATT).
Total Wireless uses the Verizon network. It offers a better deal than Verizon’s pre-paid plan.
The Verizon guy tried to tell me that Total Wireless doesn’t have all the connectivity of Verizon.
Think I will try my unlocked phone with Total Wireless first. I can always switch to Verizon later.
outrageous rates:
I’m in France right now and I’ve got 15GB/month with roaming in Europe/ North America with unlimited voice for 15€/month (about $25/month) … I’m hesitating to move to the 100G/month without data roaming for 20€/month (about $31/month)
4gb
I’ll reiterate what some others have said.
I can not believe Cricket did not make this list.
It is by far the best deal there is in the cell phone realm if you live a normal life and don’t want to watch your data usage like a hawk. Yeah, I’m sure for a single guy something like freedompop is great at $0 when you are always connected to WiFi. However, when you have a busy life, work, a wife, and 2 kids, the last thing you want to do is come home and check everyone’s minutes and data usage.
I pay $100/month for 4 phones with UNLIMITED data on Crickets family plan. That’s $25/month/phone for UNLIMITED DATA. These plans don’t even touch that with 10-foot beam. $15-30/month + they wanna charge your for for additional data as you use it? LOL Gimme a break.
And to top it all off you don’t have to nickel-and-dime your own time watching your data bar. We can download whatever we want whenever we want and never worry about overages.
FreedomPop actually charges you $20 for their “$0/month” free plan. They claim its to protect themselves from someone abusing the free data 200M cap. They also reserve the right to charge you an additional $15 or $20 if you get somewhat close to the 200M cap. How close this triggers, they don’t say.
Also, during activation you need to install their own Dialer App, and agree to ads. I assume these ads is what actually pays for your free plan.
Data Pass
getdatapass.com
$39/month
Unlimited talk and text
Unlimited 4G LTE data
Hello,
Thank you for the information. So far, Lycamobile seems still the best option for me.
Need a dater for SafeLink phone call and text
My $.02 for FreedomPop Value
The have a $150 / year plan (have to pay for whole year) that gives 5GB data-only per month, on the AT&T network.
TLDR – 5GB / month for $12.50 monthly (annual prepay).
Hotspot not allowed.
Caveats for Freedompop – when you first sign up there are additional “services” and “plans” that you have to unsubscribe manually for – and then check the settings again when you’re done because the “unsubscribe” doesn’t always save the first time.
High $$ charge for data overage about the 5GB so watch your usage !
For me it was worth the hassles, but Freedompop has a learning curve.
Freedompop offers both Sprint Plans, and AT&T plans.
I agree with “Walt’s” comment, that the “free” plan is no longer worth it.
you get 200MB free on the GSM sim (AT&T) or 500MB on Sprint.
HOWEVER – if you have auto-top up on, and you get NEAR your limit you are charged a data recharge fee. To disable auto-top up you must subscribe to a “safety plan” which last is $7/month.
You can then unsubscribe to the “safety plan” and “auto top-up” will remain disabled – but if you forget to remove the “safety plan” your 200MB data is now costing you $7 / month.
Also an annoyance with their web site – you can very easily (and almost accidentally) subscribe to additional services that instantly charge a fee with a single click – but to unsubscribe to any service you have to manually enter your password every time.
This is why i went with the annual plan – i subscribed to the “safety mode” on the annual plan both because it let me disable the dangerous “auto top-up” and the ANNUAL fee for this service is only $10, which also includes a 10% data bonus.
So for a $160 up-front charge i get 5.5 GB monthly, and the LTE data has been fast enough for me to use VoIP apps (mostly Hangouts Dialler). So far I’ve used 8 months of my plan, with very few hiccups beyond the very annoying initial setup process.
I didn’t bother installing any FPop apps, and installing the apps isn’t required for service.
Can you take a look at Tello please? Apparently they have OK customer service reviews, they allow IPhone or Android, and it’s $14 a month for unlimited mins, text, and 2 GB. You can also customize your plan completely.
Tracfone….From HSN….$59.00 LG Rebel or $79.00 Samsung J3 Orbit.
Both Phones come with:
One Year Service
1500 Minutes
1500 Text
1.5GB Data
You can add minutes or texts or data as well as extend your service date with refill cards you can get at Safeway or other grocery kiosks in your area.
Did you see the price? 59.00 or 79.00 ONE TIME FEE. Shipping was free at the time of this writing.
It has worked well for me, your mileage. may vary
Comment after 4 months with Tello:
I decided to only use pay as you go with my phone, and put my wife on the 100 min talk, 100 min text, and 2 GB a month for $11.
My average phone bill is around $12 for both of us, especially since we have the Comcast hotspots at many of the places we go. I would put Tello in as probably one of the lowest plans, especially pay as you go.
Only major downside is it uses the Sprint network and has no roaming.
I call using Google Voice and only give out my Google Voice number, so I get almost no calls on my phone itself.