Sprint is the cheapest? What am I missing...

[wiltok]

Iphone convert who now has an EVO (and loving it). But what I don't understand is how everyone says Sprint is so much cheaper. My ATT bill - for 450 mins, unlim nights/weekends and 200 texts was 85.00 all in (no discounts). My Sprint bill - for 450 mins, unlim nights weekends and unlimited texts is 88.60 (no discounts).. Admittedly I am getting unlimted texts on sprint and also free mobile to mobile calling (doesn't really matter though - i use Google voice for most texting and only used 7 mins airtime for phone calls last month). I am really happy with my EVO and would not switch back - but why do people say Sprint is so much cheaper?

 

[SirSlayer]

Iphone convert who now has an EVO (and loving it). But what I don't understand is how everyone says Sprint is so much cheaper. My ATT bill - for 450 mins, unlim nights/weekends and 200 texts was 85.00 all in (no discounts). My Sprint bill - for 450 mins, unlim nights weekends and unlimited texts is 88.60 (no discounts).. Admittedly I am getting unlimted texts on sprint and also free mobile to mobile calling (doesn't really matter though - i use Google voice for most texting and only used 7 mins airtime for phone calls last month). I am really happy with my EVO and would not switch back - but why do people say Sprint is so much cheaper?

Well I feel the key is that 450 min on ATT is land-line and mobile right? That makes a huge difference when you have unlimited mobile to mobile regardless of carrier.

 

[CzarMatt]

Iphone ...and 200 texts... ...Admittedly I am getting unlimted texts on sprint..."

Perhaps this is your answer? Sort of comparing apples to oranges here. Maybe we can compare equal elections in plan options and see who is cheaper?

 

[Ze2o]

The pricing for your Sprint plan is totally wrong for voice+text. 450+unlimited text is $49.99 so i'm assuming you are also getting charged for the unlimited Data plan and the $10 "4G" fee. The pricing on your ATT plan is also wrong.

Sprint
450 voice
Unlimited text
Unlimited Data
$10 fee
88.60

ATT
450 voice
200 text.
Unlmited data
85.00

The difference here is the 200 text compared to unlimited text. So if you made your ATT plan look exactly like Sprint's plan. You would have to add an addition $15 for unlimited text making your total ATT bill to $100. So you save a total of about $12 which might not be a lot on paper but it adds up. You'll save about $140 per year compared to ATT.

 

[BenChase7]

Sprint has unlimited calling to ANY mobile on ANY carrier.. huge plus. Also, night and weekends start at 7pm (not 9). That adds up to alot of minutes for most people.

No extras on Sprint for Data... its truly unlimted... no caps like VZW and ATT. Unlimted Texts with Sprint. No charge for GPS, Sprint TV or visual voicemail. Seems pretty clear Sprint, has the best deal.

 

[putch]

I think T-mobile is really the cheapest of all the major carriers. But, yeah, it's the unlimited texts on sprint that makes the difference at&t and sprint.

Yeah, I could do everything through gvoice on android but it's not quite so easy to do that on an (unjailbroken) iphone (at least not until very recently). but you can't port your number to gvoice yet. So, you have to get all of those people to call you on a new number. I love google voice. but it's not quite ready to completely replace my existing number yet.

Also, new at&t subscribers have some pretty low data limits which should be factored in.

I wound up saving about $10/month after switching to sprint.

 

[Mr. Ed]

were you grandfathered in on an unlimited data on att...

the difference is that

uncontracted NEW customer through att deals with the new data caps i.e. my bill through att would come out to be roughly $175/month due to my data usage

some att users that have unlimited data are grandfathered in and not effected by the new plan structure at att. (it's this way for my gf...she kept telling me I was crazy until I showed her what the att site said my bill would be for the same thing she has. Her's is $75 a month..mine would be $175. We called...found out about the grandfather clause)

sprint...$88

 

[putch]

Sprint has unlimited calling to ANY mobile on ANY carrier.. huge plus. Also, night and weekends start at 7pm (not 9). That adds up to alot of minutes for most people.

No extras on Sprint for Data... its truly unlimted... no caps like VZW and ATT. Unlimted Texts with Sprint. No charge for GPS, Sprint TV or visual voicemail. Seems pretty clear Sprint, has the best deal.

i think the 7pm thing is largely offset by the fact that at&t still does roll-over minutes. Yeah, vzw doesn't do roll-overs but no one would argue vzw is the cheapest either.

 

[philly0128]

Perhaps this is your answer? Sort of comparing apples to oranges here. Maybe we can compare equal elections in plan options and see who is cheaper?

I agree

Sprint
450 voice
Unlimited text
Unlimited Data
$10 fee
88.60

ATT
450 voice
200 text. ($20 more for unlimited text)
Unlmited data (new ATT cust. isn't getting unlimted) $25 for new users
Navigation add $10
85.00

you're close to $130 if you did ATT unlimited compare rates. click on "You do the math" to the left

 

[dan330]

yes.. i agree with others....
you are not comparing apples to apples...

you have to add in all the extra you are getting from sprint for no additional charge..

you can get a cheaper deal with any other carrier.. but you have to take the scaled down service.. with no extras!!! Not many smartphone users will want that.

Data is most important part!
GPS is needed
unlimited everything is just great (except min on calls to land lines)

now add all that to your ATT plan.. and see where you are with money left you pockets.

 

[motoman740]

Cell Phone Rate Plans - Filter and Results

check this out... the att plan starts cheapest but when you even it out it costs you $93 bucks.

 

[wiltok]

OP here. Yes - all good points. Adding unlimited texting to ATT bumps the cost up quite a bit. I was grandfathered on unlimited data for ATT - so I really didn't factor that in. But if I did pick up a new ATT plan I would be paying more for data as well.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Tyler Perez]

Well, for 1 person with all the bells and whistles through sprint is going to be cheaper than most carriers... but with sprint, you really start to see the savings when you add your family members ands kids to your bills. I get like 1200 minutes a month, unlimited everything and the 4g for 3 phones for 165.00... huge savings.

 

[AndroidSPCS]

With Sprint you also get 12 month full upgrades as a Premier customer, not sure about AT&T.

Any Mobile Any Network is a big deal because using Google Voice can be a pain, since the GV app will use random numbers to dial your contacts, and your contacts will get charged minutes even if they're using AT&T cellular. With AMAN you never have to worry about hassling with Google Voice.

Unlimited data - no caps if you're paying the 4G fee, sometimes rewards for Premier status like a $5 credit, discounts on accessories, etc.

Sprint is the cheapest generally speaking, unless you do not need unlimited stuff.

 

[Seddy]

With Sprint you also get 12 month full upgrades as a Premier customer, not sure about AT&T.

Any Mobile Any Network is a big deal because using Google Voice can be a pain, since the GV app will use random numbers to dial your contacts, and your contacts will get charged minutes even if they're using AT&T cellular. With AMAN you never have to worry about hassling with Google Voice.

Unlimited data - no caps if you're paying the 4G fee, sometimes rewards for Premier status like a $5 credit, discounts on accessories, etc.

Sprint is the cheapest generally speaking, unless you do not need unlimited stuff.

I work for Sprint and I approve this message!

 

[SoFLO]

Basically you get more for the money.

 

[BenChase7]

^^^
He is right. Without a doubt.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

Attempting to make an AT&T plan look like Sprint's plan would go like this:

Unlimited calling (69.99) + 2 GB of Data ($25) + Unlimited Messaging ($20) + AT&T TV ($9.99) + AT&T Navigator ($9.99)

 

[IOWA]

Attempting to make an AT&T plan look like Sprint's plan would go like this:

Unlimited calling (69.99) + 2 GB of Data ($25) + Unlimited Messaging ($20) + AT&T TV ($9.99) + AT&T Navigator ($9.99)

And it still wouldn't even compare.

 

[RiverOfIce]

It is about...(dropped call)...va...(dropped call)..lue here, with...(dropped call)... sprint...(dropped call)...I never...(dropped call)...had a dropped call. With att...(dropped call)...I was...(dropped call)...getting about...(dropped call)... 80%...(dropped call) dropped calls. Not joking, happened to me one day, said two complete sentence with 9 dropped calls in there. And if you complain, they will say in order. 1.) Your phone got wet. 2.) Your phone is damage. 3.) Your phone is just a bad phone, upgrade to this one, which is what they told you last me. 3.5.) Your holding it wrong, (not joking). But the best thing is the lies that some att representatives will tell you. Bottomline, it is not about the money. If you live in an area with good service for sprint, it is by far the better company, but it does matter where you live. For me, sprint is the cheapest and works the best. Verizon loves to fiddle with your bill. Nickel here, dime there. Every bill it was something. I had unlimited data and got random data fees. I had to do monthly inspections and reports. It was a pain in the butt.

 

[Bob Maxey]

$55.00 per month, no matter how I use my Zio. Unlimited, and great service

Bob Maxey

 

[AndroidSPCS]

$55.00 per month, no matter how I use my Zio. Unlimited, and great service

Bob Maxey

Sorry to be off topic but how are you liking the Zio?

 

[mamiamjo]

Well, for 1 person with all the bells and whistles through sprint is going to be cheaper than most carriers... but with sprint, you really start to see the savings when you add your family members ands kids to your bills. I get like 1200 minutes a month, unlimited everything and the 4g for 3 phones for 165.00... huge savings.

Do you have 1200 minutes or 1500? I have 1500, but never come close with two phones and would love to reduce it if they offered less minutes for less money. I only ask because I only see 1500 or 3000 minutes listed, but was wondering if they had a lesser minute plan that wasn't advertised.

 

[K4KAI]

Sprint is not the cheapest. I paid $250 (not counting a $20 Gift Card from Target...final cost was $230) for a new Samsung Intercept (Android) phone for Virgin Mobile. For $25 per month, I get 300 minutes of phone calls and unlimited Text, Web, Email and Data. In addition to the $25, I have to pay State Sales tax of $1.25, which makes my monthly bill $26.25...and all of this on Sprint's network. What a deal!!!

 

[dan330]

Sprint is not the cheapest. I paid $250 (not counting a $20 Gift Card from Target...final cost was $230) for a new Samsung Intercept (Android) phone for Virgin Mobile. For $25 per month, I get 300 minutes of phone calls and unlimited Text, Web, Email and Data. In addition to the $25, I have to pay State Sales tax of $1.25, which makes my monthly bill $26.25...and all of this on Sprint's network. What a deal!!!

so what does sprint have over this plan??

free cell to cell
free nights and weekends
free roaming
free long distance within usa
unlimited data