With so many cell phone providers on the market offering similar packages, you may think that it doesn’t matter which provider you choose. You couldn’t be more wrong. All data packages have distinct differences.
This guide will give you a quick rundown of the four major wireless carriers in the United States – both for individual plans and shared plans.
When you are looking at Verizon, you will notice the plans are geared toward those who are looking to purchase a phone and don’t mind being in a two-year contract.
There is the typical $40 monthly fee for your smartphone line. Shared data plans of 6GB and up are an extra $15 monthly per line and shared data plans of 4GB or less are an extra $25 monthly per line.
Plans are slightly cheaper if you are only getting data for tablets or other devices with no phone line.
The monthly pricing for Verizon data plans for smartphones are as follows:
Verizon is one of the carriers that does not offer unlimited data, although it does offer unlimited talk and text. If you choose an individual rate with just 1GB of data, you will only pay $70 a month.
AT&T differs greatly from Verizon in that it is actually discouraging two-year contracts. In a major strategic change, the company is actually now charging more to sign up for a contract.
They told us that so many people were trying to change phones before their renewals were ready that they are trying to move away from the contract system.
Similar to Verizon, AT&T does not have a plan with unlimited data, but they do offer unlimited talk and text. Whereas Verizon charges a $40 monthly access fee for a smartphone line, AT&T charges just $25 for a monthly access fee ($40 if you are under contract). Also unlike Verizon, which changes the monthly data plan for tablets and other devices without a phone line, AT&T just charges a flat $10 monthly fee ($20 for laptops and hot spots).
The fee for adding a smartphone line (without a contract) to a 6GB data plan or less is $25 per month per line. For a 10GB+ data plan it is $15 per month per line. For smartphones on a contract it’s $40 per month extra regardless of the size of the data plan.
The monthly pricing for AT&T data plans (without a contract) are as follows:
As you’ll notice, for the low-level data plans, AT&T is slightly cheaper than Verizon, but once you get past 6GB, Verizon tends to be less expensive. AT&T also offers fewer options than Verizon. For example, it doesn’t have a 2GB or 4GB plan.
Sprint is unique in several ways. Unlike Verizon or AT&T, it does offer an unlimited individual and multi-device plan, but that’s the only option it offers. Likewise, you can only get a Sprint data plan if you buy or lease your device from Sprint. You’ll get a discount on your monthly data plan if you lease the phone from Sprint, but if you buy, you have to sign up for a 2-year contract and pay more each month for the data plan.
Another significant difference is that Sprint offers a better rate for iPhone 6 users than it does for any other smartphone. It even gives a month of free data to customers who lease an iPhone 6.
Though Sprint does charge a $36 activation fee, it is a one-time charge and does not recur monthly like Verizon or AT&T.
The monthly pricing for Sprint data plans are as follows:
Obviously, Sprint doesn’t offer nearly as many monthly data options, and forces you to purchase a device, but for those looking to get a new smartphone, especially an iPhone 6, and planning to use unlimited data, Sprint could be a good option.
T-Mobile users have the fewest options when it comes to single line plans. Although you can get unlimited data, the provider will lower your speed once you go over 20GB.
The monthly prices for T-Mobile’s LTE service are as follows:
T-Mobile does position itself as having the simplest plans and as you can see above that is true for the most part. Unlike Verizon and AT&T that separate the data charges from the charges for having a smartphone line, T-Mobile combines both into one fee (as does Sprint). Unlike Sprint, there is no requirement to purchase a device in order to get service and there is no complicated leasing option.
As you can see, there is no clear winner. Verizon is probably best if you want a 2-year contract, use a lot of data and want a reliable network with fast speeds. AT&T is probably best if you don’t want to be tied down with a contract, use less data and want a reliable network with fast speeds. Sprint is probably best if you want an iPhone 6 and unlimited data, but aren’t as concerned about network reliability or speed. T-Mobile, meanwhile, is probably best if you already have a phone and want as affordable a plan as possible with some potential network and speed limitations.
A RootMetrics test for the latest half of 2014 reported on by CNET earlier this year ranked the data networks as follows (on a 1-100 scale):
