which carrier for non contract

[kdm0516]

I am trying to figure out which carrier offers the best pricing and service for a non-contract. First I thought Consumer Cellular was the only option then found t-mobile, virgin and cricket. I live in St. Louis, MO
thanks

 

[Digital Controller]

Hey there kdm0516, welcome to the forums

I found this chart online that did some comparing of carriers in the US: 2012 Chart Comparison of Plan Prices of Cell Phone Providers

Hopefully this helps.

If you are looking for something more indepth, i personally have only dealt with Verizon, and i love there service, it might be a little more expensive, but they have always been helpful if something goes wrong, or i don't like something, and i always have service no matter what.

 

[Crashdamage]

T-Mobile.

 

[JP279]

The best thing to do is find a plan that best fits your needs. Consider coverage area, usage limits, and cost. I use the T-Mobile $30 monthly plan. Now their coverage is pretty good in the city, but can be spotty in the outlying areas. I don't really use the phone to talk a lot, mainly use for messaging and data. The plan comes with 100 minutes a month, unlimited messaging, and unlimited data (first 5GB at 4G) The plan fits me to a T.
I stream audio at work 6 hours a day and listen to podcasts on my drive to and from work and still only use about 2 GB in a month. I get poor phone signal at home, but T-mobile has wifi calling so when I'm at home it's not a problem. There are also numerous apps that you can use to call over your data plan or wifi so I only use about 25 of my 100 calling minutes a month on my plan.
I tell everybody that I basically got unlimited talk, messaging, and data for $30 a month.
Plus that T-Mobile chick has the best commercials.
It beats paying $80 or more and getting locked into a plan for 2 years.
Now this might not be for everyone, but like I said, do some research and find a plan to fit YOUR needs.

 

[Bob Maxey]

As a Cricket and VM user, I can tell you their services are quite good. I have been in places where my phones connect and friends using other carriers could not easily connect.

I remember when these no-contract companies did not have much to offer past your basic phone. Now, we have iPhones and Galaxy S3 devices as well as other devices that are great phones.

I believe Net10 offers a way to go off contract with almost any phone. Not sure, but I seem to recall something about that.

The downside is you are largely paying for the phone upfront. That said, on contract, you are paying for the device, just over time.

I know exactly what my bill will be each month. No matter how much I use my phone, the bill never changes.

I see that ATT and T-Mobile offer no contract deals, but I am not familiar with the details. I'll never go on contract again.

 

[PeteCress]

I am trying to figure out which carrier offers the best pricing and service for a non-contract.

I do not need data, so Tmob's prepaid works for me. Minutes rolling over instead of expiring is the reason I gravitate to Tmob. Otherwise, I'd be looking to optimize coverage/minimize per-minute cost.

 

[rui-no-onna]

I prefer AT&T and T-Mobile (or MVNOs using either network) as they're both GSM. Plenty of devices to choose from, particularly now that T-Mobile is converting their GSM 1900 band to HSPA. Want to switch from AT&T to T-Mobile or vice versa (or to an MVNO offering better plans)? Just swap the SIM card. There's no need to buy a new device.

If you don't need cellular data, both have 10 cent/minute pay as you go plans and you can spend as little as $8.33/month ($25/90 day refill card). The balance rolls over if you refill before the load expires. This is probably the primary thing I like about both carriers. You can use a $600 Galaxy S3 or HTC One X and they won't force you to subscribe to a higher tier voice+data plan if you don't want to.

I'd love to use an Android phone on Verizon prepaid (I've found Verizon and AT&T to have the best coverage) but their prepaid plans for smartphones are just as bad as their normal contract pricing at $80 per month.

If you're heavy on data but not so much on calls, then T-Mobile's 100 minutes, unlimited text, unlimited data (5GB at 4G, then might be throttled to 2G) $30 Monthly 4G plan is hard to beat.

That said, I'm lucky enough to live in an area with decent coverage that I can have my pick of carriers. Coverage should always be your primary concern, cost and device availability second. Even if you're only paying less than $10/month on service, that's money down the drain if you can't get a signal and can't make a call if, say, your car breaks down on the freeway or something.

 

[Creakyknees]

here's a handy wiki article:

List of United States mobile virtual network operators - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also, I found this Verizon MVNO with pretty good plans. Have't found any customer reviews yet though.

Choose the Talk & TXT Plan That's Right For You!* - TalkForGood

 

[Digital Controller]

I know alot of people go the Unlimited T-Mobile route for 30$/m, unlimited data and text and then 100 minutes i believe. There is a throttle at like 4-5gb though, think someone mentioned that above.

 

[laurelp52]

Since I have a Google Voice # I do not need a lot of minutes on my plan. So with Virgin Mobile besides my great phone, LG Optimus M701, qwerty, touch, Google, for $35.00 a month I have unlimited Internet (phone has wifi), unlimited texting and 200 minutes. I have never used 200 minutes because all of my friends use my Google # to call or text.
Verizon's plans are expensive with not as much as any of the other carriers, Tmobile was okay, but I couldn't get this great phone with them.

 

[blarelli]

I am trying to figure out which carrier offers the best pricing and service for a non-contract. First I thought Consumer Cellular was the only option then found t-mobile, virgin and cricket. I live in St. Louis, MO
thanks

I like T-mobile's monthly 4g plans. I use the $30 a month plan, and have a skype subscription to make up for the 100 minute limit.
The service is good, signal is good, data speeds aren't ground breaking but are good enough, and best yet, if they piss me off I can take my phone elsewhere. You can't do that with Virgin or Cricket.

 

[Crashdamage]

Since I have a Google Voice # I do not need a lot of minutes...I have never used 200 minutes because all of my friends use my Google # to call or text.

To make this clear, GV *does* use your minutes normally. To avoid using minutes GV must be used along with GrooveIP or a similar app to make VOIP calls.

Linux user #266351. Android since v1.0

 

[Digital Controller]

To make this clear, GV *does* use your minutes normally. To avoid using minutes GV must be used along with GrooveIP or a similar app to make VOIP calls.

Linux user #266351. Android since v1.0

Or use a SIP provider along side it.

There are a lot of different ways to effectively use Google Voice