If you’re on Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, or even T-Mobile, you’re overpaying for your cellphone service. You can get the same or better service at a fraction of a cost by following this guide. If you find this article useful, share this with your friends and family to save them money as well.
A Great Value Phone
Before jumping into the guide, it's worth noting that you can't simply pop a sim card into any phone and expect service. Some phones only work on AT&T's network, and some only work on Verizon's network. If you're searching for an inexpensive phone with solid specs, the Moto G5 Plus is the phone for you. It costs only $199, and it works on all the major US carriers. This means that you can test out Total Wireless, Straight Talk, or any other carrier.
To test whether your phone will work on a Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, or T-Mobile MVNO check out willmyphonework.net
What is an MVNO?
An MVNO is a mobile virtual network operator. MVNO's lease another telecom’s infrastructure and sell the service to its customers. When you purchase a plan with an MVNO, you receive the same service as a normal customer, but you pay a lower price.
How Much Will I Save?
An unlimited plan for each American carrier will cost $60-80 for a single plan, and an unlimited family plan will cost $160-$200 for four lines. AT&T and Verizon each at the higher end of those prices and T-Mobile and Sprint are towards the bottom. With an MVNO it's possible to cut those prices in half.
*I will note that Sprint is running a special promotion right now for $100 monthly for unlimited everything for four lines.
Here’s an MVNO for each of the four major carriers:
Verizon
For those of you who want the reliability of Verizon, Total Wireless is my favorite service. My family made the switch from T-Mobile and save over $720 annually. Plus, we’ve improved our coverage.
Here’s the plan pricing:
- $35 Plan with one line of unlimited talk and text and 5GB of data
- $60 plan with two lines of unlimited talk and text and 15GB of data shared* across devices
- $85 plan with three lines of unlimited talk and text and 20GB of data shared* across devices
- $100 plan with four lines of unlimited talk and text and 25GB of data shared* across devices.
Link to Total Wireless
Sprint
For Sprint users, Tello is a fantastic option. Unlike the other carriers here, Tello allows the buyer to adjust their plan to not only their data usage needs, but also to their voice (# of minutes) needs. All plans include unlimited text messaging, and data and voice are customizable. Here's the cost of a couple plans:
- $35 Plan with one line of 100 minutes of talk, unlimited, text, and 10GB of data
- $39 Plan with one line of unlimited talk and text and 10GB of data
Link to Tello
T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon
Straight Talk leases infrastructure from all four of the major networks. Here are some of their plans:
- $35 Plan with one line of unlimited talk and text and 2GB of data
- $45 Plan with one line of unlimited talk and text and 10GB of data
- $55 Plan with one line of unlimited talk and text and data
Link to Straight Talk
The last time I used Straight Talk's service was in 2012, and I was happy with it. However, recently I've heard reports that Straight Talk throttles its users' streaming services. Regardless, I think it's worth testing Straight Talk's services, due to their low prices. If the service quality is poor, you can always switch to a different prepaid carrier.
I know that most readers have the potential to save hundreds of dollars by switching carriers. Comment to let me know how much you will save. Also, what will you do with the extra money? Buy more crypto?