BillShrink compares smartphone data plans; T-Mobile comes out on top

BillShrink claims that 8 out of 10 people overpay for their cell phone service. Do you? Sprint and T-Mobile overhauled their calling plans last year then AT&T and Verizon followed suit this month. It is hard to keep up with all the different pricing options, so BillShrink has created The Ultimate Cell Phone Plans Comparison chart.

When comparing plans that included talk + text + web, T-Mobile had the best deal with their Even More Plus plans. I’m not surprised because I am a T-Mobile customer and decided to stay with the company last year when they began offering the no-contract plans.

The upside to the Even More Plus plans is that they provide the most freedom and flexibility. I get the best value by being able to easily switch which plan I am on without any additional fees. I am also free to leave T-Mobile whenever I want without having to pay an early termination fee. If someone offers me a better deal in the future, I have the ability to switch without all the normal wireless contract headaches.

T-Mobile is able to offer the lowest priced plans because they do not add in the cost of subsidizing the price of your phone. This means customers must pay full price for their phone, but it actually ends up being cheaper in most cases versus a 24 month contract. For customers who cannot afford the full price of a phone up front, T-Mobile offers an equipment installation plan that allows them to split up the price into 20 interest-free payments.

For example, let’s look at purchasing a Nexus One phone paired with T-Mobile’s cheapest talk + text + web plan. Customers can get the Nexus One for $179 with a 2 year contract and pay $79 a month for 500 minutes and unlimited text + web. The other option (which I chose) is to pay the full $529 price of the phone and get an Even More Plus plan at $59 a month.

• Contract: 179 + (79 x 24) = $2075
• No contract: 529 + (59 x 24) = $1945

The Nexus One might be a bad example since Google wants you to purchase it with a single line plan, but you can see the point I’m trying to make. If someone signs up for an Even More Plus plan and needs more minutes they can easily upgrade from 500 to 1000 (+$10) or unlimited (+$20).

Conclusion

I’m sure some people will hammer me over this article (because they are paying more), so head over to BillShrink.com and test out their wireless service analyzer. If you know your online carrier login, BillShrink can easily import your current account information and automatically compare calling plans in your area. I tried it out and found it was easy to use and extremely accurate.

Are you overpaying for your Android experience?

Link to large version. Right click and open in new window.

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