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Guide: Best Cell Phone Plans of 2018

Guide: Best Cell Phone Plans of 2018

Finding the right plan for you and/or your family can be a tricky task. When you’re looking to spend your hard earned dollars, you want to make sure you’re getting the best plan possible from a wireless carrier that fits your needs, whether it’s data speeds or coverage. The wireless plan market has a lot of different options to choose from, so it can get confusing. Don’t worry though, we will break everything down for you to help you make the best choice.

JoltPICKS: Best Family Plan

  • Carrier: T-Mobile
  • Plan Type: Family Plan
  • Monthly Price: $160
  • Additional Fees: None
  • Total Cost: $160 (assuming 4 lines for Family Plan)
  • Data Plan: Unlimited

JoltPICKS: Best Unlimited Individual Plan

  • Carrier: T-Mobile
  • Plan Type: Individual Plan
  • Monthly Price: $70
  • Additional Fees: None
  • Total Cost: $70
  • Data Plan: Unlimited

JoltPICKS: Best Individual Plan

  • Carrier: Verizon
  • Plan Type: Individual Plan
  • Monthly Price: $40
  • Additional Fees: $20
  • Total Cost: $55 (w/ autopay)
  • Data Plan: 5GB

JoltPICKS: Best Prepaid Individual Plan

  • Carrier: MetroPCS
  • Plan Type: Individual Plan
  • Monthly Price: $40
  • Additional Fees: None
  • Total Cost: $40
  • Data Plan: 10GB

JoltPICKS: Best Plan Under $30

  • Carrier: Republic Wireless
  • Monthly Price: $15
  • Additional Fees: $5 per 1GB of LTE data
  • Total Cost: $25
  • Data Plan: 2GB

JoltPICKS: Best Unlimited Prepaid Plan

  • Carrier: MetroPCS
  • Monthly Price: $50
  • Additional Fees: None
  • Total Cost: $50
  • Data Plan: Unlimited

JoltPICKS: Best Prepaid Family Plan

  • Carrier: MetroPCS
  • Monthly Price: $50
  • Additional Fees: $30 per line
  • Total Cost: $140 (assuming four lines)
  • Data Plan: Unlimited

JoltPICKS: Best International Plan

  • Carrier: Google’s Project Fi
  • Monthly Price: $20
  • Additional Fees: $10 per 1GB of data
  • Total Cost: $30
  • Data Plan: 1GB

Should You Make The Switch?

Well, it depends on how much you want to switch and if there are an consequences for switching from your current carrier. For example, if you are out of a contract and don’t have to pay any balance on your phone, then you should try and look around the market for a better plan.

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Another thing to keep in mind is if another carrier is willing to pick up the cost of switching over a customer. For example, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile all have offers up to $650 for each phone you switch over and help pay off the phone purchase and any early termination fees associated (this can change anytime). For AT&T, they’re offering a $100 bill credit for switching over to plus $200 for trading in an eligible smartphone.

In our review, we looked at four major U.S. carriers — AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile — and what they have to offer to their customers. In addition, we evaluated five prepaid (discounted) carriers: MetroPCS, Straight Talk, Boost Mobile, Cricket, and Virgin. We did this to assist in breaking things down and to let you know what carrier offers the best possible deals.

Before you switch over, make sure you check our any and all specials your potential carrier is running.

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