Postpaid vs Prepaid cellular plans

[pcslookout]

Is coverage really different ? Like for example with AT&T or Verizon.

Thinking of switching to prepaid but not sure yet. Right now have postpaid.

 

[highland145]

Aren't they all pre paid? Verizon isn't giving me anything up front if I miss my payment.

FWIW, I have a straight talk phone, too. Uses Verizon networks. No issues but I hear customer service sucks balls.

 

[Jimzz]

Same towers so no difference I have seen. I am using Red Pocket with a ATT sim. Good bang for the buck. Esp with their eBay yearly plans.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Aren't they all pre paid? Verizon isn't giving me anything up front if I miss my payment.

FWIW, I have a straight talk phone, too. Uses Verizon networks. No issues but I hear customer service sucks balls.

Ya know, I've heard about pre-paid plans supposedly being cheaper - but the more I look at them the more I'm just like... Nah, no they aren't.

Like just now I took a look at Straight talk - because I didn't know they were Verizon compatible. Here are their plans: https://www.straighttalk.com/wps/portal/home/shop/serviceplans


Currently I pay a few cents under $120/month for 3 lines with all taxes. Unlimited Talk/Text + 6GB of data shared between all 3 lines. Which I prefer a data that is pooled instead of individual. It's very easy to run over on one line, but harder to go over if you're pooling.

The closest Straight Talk I can see is their 3GB plan at $35 per line (equals $105 - but not sure if that includes tax)... So I could MAYBE save $15 month - and only if taxes are included in that. At the same time I give up having any decent customer service if needed - and I hope it has the same equivalent coverage.

 

[highland145]

Ya know, I've heard about pre-paid plans supposedly being cheaper - but the more I look at them the more I'm just like... Nah, no they aren't.

Like just now I took a look at Straight talk - because I didn't know they were Verizon compatible. Here are their plans: https://www.straighttalk.com/wps/portal/home/shop/serviceplans


Currently I pay a few cents under $120/month for 3 lines with all taxes. Unlimited Talk/Text + 6GB of data shared between all 3 lines. Which I prefer a data that is pooled instead of individual. It's very easy to run over on one line, but harder to go over if you're pooling.

The closest Straight Talk I can see is their 3GB plan at $35 per line (equals $105 - but not sure if that includes tax)... So I could MAYBE save $15 month - and only if taxes are included in that. At the same time I give up having any decent customer service if needed - and I hope it has the same equivalent coverage.

I have that ST plan, $38.30/mo, all in. $130ish for the LG stylo3. Paying about the same for our Verizon plan, too. I needed a separate phone without wanting to deal with V and them possibly wanting to lock me into another contract because I had no idea how long I would need it. Or V raping me on the cost of the phone. 1.5 years later....tomato, tomato.

 

[IronWing]

Pre-paid isn’t necessarily cheaper, it’s that you can walk away anytime without penalty.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Pre-paid isn’t necessarily cheaper, it’s that you can walk away anytime without penalty.

Er, not sure where you're getting that you can't cancel your postpaid plan just as easily? Now, 5+ years ago where you were stuck on contract (or paying out the ass)? Sure. And if you sign up for one of the deals for phone payments, but unless you got one where you were getting the phone for much cheaper, you generally only have to pay off the remainder (and can keep the phone). Hell, these days, you don't even need to do as much hassle of doing the "sign up for ____ and they pay off your old phone by signing you up to a new lease to own" deal as many of the phones now support different networks.

 

[lxskllr]

I have both Sprint and Boost, and the service is identical.

 

[spacejamz]

Same towers so no difference I have seen. I am using Red Pocket with a ATT sim. Good bang for the buck. Esp with their eBay yearly plans.

Same here...I have been very happy with my service with them......Paid $195 I think for my annual plan that has 5GB of LTE data/month...that comes out to around $16/month...

 

[Svnla]

Same coverage, same towers as the big post paid companies. As a matter of fact, many prepaid companies are owned by well known post paid companies. ATT - Cricket, Sprint - Boost, Tmobil - MetroPCS, Verizon - Visible.

Prepaid = clients are more likely not great in credit scores and money management, therefore, are required to pay upfront.

 

[spacejamz]

Same coverage, same towers as the big post paid companies. As a matter of fact, many prepaid companies are owned by post paid companies. ATT - Cricket, Sprint - Boost, Tmobil - PCS, Verizon - Visible.

Prepaid = clients are more likely not great in credit scores and money management, therefore, are required to pay upfront.

But MVNO users may not get same priority on the towers as ATT/Verizon/Sprint/TMO users but definitely YMMV...

As stated earlier, I am happy with my Red Pocket service and can't really tell the difference then when I had an actual ATT sim...but I pay almost $65 less a month

 

[ponyo]

5 lines, $100 total including all taxes and fee. Cricket family plan. So $20 per line. I'm on AT&T tower but I can definitely tell I don't get the same priority service as regular AT&T customers during peak hour. But I like the price and the freedom of not having a contract.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Can't see why it would affect coverage unless you're also switching providers but if you're with the same provider I imagine it will be all the same towers and same antennas. Even if you do switch providers often they share towers and sometimes even antennas. (Ex: they just buy some bandwidth from the owner).

 

[snoopy7548]

I have Tracfone (uses Verizon's network) with a Google Pixel 3a. I only need to renew once a year, where they give you 1500 minutes, 1500 texts, and 1.5GB of data (unlimited rollover), and it's usually on sale for ~$100 (that's $8.33/month).

As someone who doesn't use data unless I need to check something and I'm out (and there isn't free Wi-Fi available), it's perfect for me.

They have some unlimited plans starting at $20/month w/ 1GB of data (though it is still unlimited rollover), up to $30/month with 3GB of data. An extra 1GB of data is $10 - similar to Project Fi which I considered but decided against.

 

[spacejamz]

Can't see why it would affect coverage unless you're also switching providers but if you're with the same provider I imagine it will be all the same towers and same antennas. Even if you do switch providers often they share towers and sometimes even antennas. (Ex: they just buy some bandwidth from the owner).

it can affect coverage because the MVNO users (the companies who buy bandwidth from ATT/Verizon/Sprint/TMO) can get less priority, especially if there is alot of network traffic....

What good is a strong signal if you are being throttled?

 

[Iron Woode]

I went from prepaid to postpaid in January. My provider offered me a decent upgrade for the same price I was paying. I went from unlimited Province wide calling to unlimited Canada wide calling and they gave me 1GB of data per month all for the same $35 per month. Since I use very little data that 1GB is fine for me.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I have Tracfone (uses Verizon's network) with a Google Pixel 3a. I only need to renew once a year, where they give you 1500 minutes, 1500 texts, and 1.5GB of data (unlimited rollover), and it's usually on sale for ~$100 (that's $8.33/month).

As someone who doesn't use data unless I need to check something and I'm out (and there isn't free Wi-Fi available), it's perfect for me.

They have some unlimited plans starting at $20/month w/ 1GB of data (though it is still unlimited rollover), up to $30/month with 3GB of data. An extra 1GB of data is $10 - similar to Project Fi which I considered but decided against.

Damn that isn't half bad.

I'm usually really good about low everything (minutes, text, data) - the issue is when I'm traveling and have to constantly use my phone for things like GPS, internet on the go (without lots of hotspots that I know), and occasional YouTube/Streaming for things like flights or waiting at an Airport.

So If I can save up from month to month and then use it down the line when traveling that actually doesn't sound bad.

 

[Brainonska511]

MVNOs are almost certainly cheaper if you're buying an individual plan. I pay about $30/mo for Fi. Now, if you have 4+ phones, or use a ton of data, you may be able to save money with a postpaid, major carrier plan (coupled with a corporate discount of you get one).