What Is The Least Expensive Cell Phone Plan for Seniors?

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Nowadays, people need a cell phone to connect with others. Everyone including seniors uses a cell phone on a daily basis. To maximize the utilities of cell phones, you need to have a cell phone plan or internet. As we know, seniors are mostly a retired people and don’t have a lot of income. That’s why many seniors can have a cell phone but cannot afford the plans. There are many choices of affordable cell phone plans. If you’re wondering what is the least expensive cell phone plan for seniors, we have the answer. Take a look at our recommendation of the top 10 least expensive cell phone plans below.

What is a Cell Phone Plan?

When you have a cell phone, you can use it as it is. Having a cell phone plan helps to maximize the utilities. A cell phone plan is a paid agreement between you and your designated mobile carrier. It allows you to use the carrier network so you can connect to the internet. You will also able to receive or make phone calls and do text messaging via cellular data. There are many brands of mobile carriers and the service plans that they offer. You have to choose the cell phone plans that suit you best.

In case you’re also interested in getting free cell phones for seniors, read how to get one on Medicare here.

How to Choose a Cell Phone Plan?

There are many kinds of cell phone plan that mobile carrier offers. It offers plans at several prices depend on the service that you will get. The plans are different according to the amount of mobile data, talk time, and the number of texts per payment period. Before deciding the best plan for you, you can consider a few things below:

  • Which mobile carriers provide a good signal and coverage at your place? You can ask other people in your area about the carrier that they use and the quality. You can also find information about the reliability of a certain carrier in your area online.
  • If you already have a phone, you can find which carrier that the phone is manufactured with. The service usually works better with your phone.
  • Get to know how much data you expect to use per month. Same with the number of talks and texts that you expect to use per month. You can choose a plan that provides more data than talks and texts if you use most time on the internet. And vice versa, choose a plan that provides more talks and texts than data if you need it most.
  • Do you need extra lines (phones or phone numbers)? If so, find carriers that provide a family plan. It allows you to have a cheaper option of cell phone plan.

Types of Cell Phone Plans

Various types of cell phone plans might be confusing for seniors. These are confusing for many reasons such as the payment periods and regulation. To make it simpler, we sum up the 4 main types of cell phone plans for you.

  • Prepaid Plan

A prepaid plan is suitable for seniors who want to save more money because you will only pay for the minutes and texts that you want to use. This plan is also very flexible because it has no contract in it, meaning that you are not locked into any long-term agreements. You can change to another mobile carrier or plan that you find cheaper anytime. If you have poor credit, a prepaid plan can be an answer. Since the prepaid plan is not a contract plan and usually a short-term plan, it won’t ask for your credit history. The downside of this plan is you have a time and data limit as per your purchased plan. You may not use your phone if you exceed the limit of the plan and may get charged for more data.

  • Family Plan

If you use a cell phone mainly to communicate with your family or your loved one, you can choose a family plan. As you can tell from its name, a family plan is a plan that is specialized for families. This plan offers unlimited calls between people in your plan, which can be up to 4 different phones. The downside of this plan is you have to share your plan with your family or plan members.

  • Pay-as-you-go plan

This plan allows you to pay the exact amount of minutes, texts, and data that you use. Unlike the other plan, it only charges the data or minutes that you consume. A Pay-as-you-go plan can be a very good choice for seniors who want to save their money. This plan can be the best option if you are data-driven and responsible for your phone usage. But it is not recommended for seniors who love spending time watching videos or taking long calls.

  • Postpaid plan

Do you use your phone a lot? If so, you can consider choosing a postpaid plan. It usually provides larger data at a cheaper price. A prepaid plan sometimes offers a more expensive price at the same value of data (GB), minutes, and texts. This plan is a contract plan, so you have to pay the bill at the designated time or get charged on the next payment period. There is also the risk of overspending data that causes you to pay more than the amount on the contract. You have to fully aware of your consumption before signing up for a postpaid plan.

What Is The Least Expensive Cell Phone Plan for Seniors?
cell phone for senior

What Is The Least Expensive Cell Phone Plan for Seniors?

With many choices of mobile carriers in America, it can be difficult to choose the best one. Varies price of plans are also offered by the mobile carriers to fulfill the varying needs of people. If you are seniors looking for a cell phone plan that will help you save money, we got your back. Let’s check out our recommendation of mobile carriers with their least expensive cell phone plans here!

T-Mobile ($15 for 2GB)

With its nationwide coverage, T-Mobile connects up to 99% of American citizens. It means that seniors can access the T-Mobile network at most of the places in America. Not only the coverage, but they also lead in a speed network. It provides 3-34 Mbps upload speeds and 5-111 Mbps download speeds. The speed depends on the network that you use. For seniors who want to have a cheap plan, T-Mobile has the least expensive plan option for you. With only $15 a month, you will get unlimited talks and texts plus 2 GB of data. If you have a 5G-capable phone, this data also covers 5G coverage as well as LTE. You also get a free cell phone deal if you switch to t-mobile service.

TracFone Wireless ($20 for 1GB Carryover Data)

Claimed as the largest 4G LTE network in America, TracFone comes with several kinds of prepaid plans. The least expensive plan that is suitable for seniors is only $20 per month. You will get unlimited talks, texts, and 1 GB carryover data at 4G LTE speed. With carryover data, seniors will be allowed to use the unused data on the next purchased period. So the data will not expire as long as the service is still active. This feature saves up a lot of money because we won’t lose the unused data.

Verizon ($45 and less)

Tested as the fastest LTE speed among the other carriers makes Verizon one of the best choices for you. It is also one of the best companies that offer cell phones with no credit check. Equipped with mmWave-based, it can deliver 1 Gbps download speed consistently. It provides a 5G network that covers more than 60 cities and 230 million people in America. Verizon will ensure you have access everywhere you go. Its plan may not as cheap as another carrier, but there is a loyalty discount if you use it in a long term. The plan costs $45 a month for 15GB of data after a 5$ autoplay discount. You will get a $5 discount after three months of service and the rate falls to $35 after nine more months of using it.

Republic Wireless (±$15 for Talks and Texts)

Republic Wireless offers an interesting plan with a flat rate of $15 for talks and texts. This plan doesn’t include internet data and only charges you $5 for each gigabyte of data that you use. It does save money for seniors who don’t use a lot of data. But if you need another option, Republic Wireless also provides a plan that costs $25 per month. This plan includes talks, texts, and 2GB of data. It even can be cheaper if you sign up for the annual payment. You will only be charged $20.83 for a month with the same features as the $25 plan. If calculated, it means that you got a free 2 months of service by paying annually. One downside of this carrier is it only supports the android phone.

AT&T (±$30 for Local Use)

AT&T offers a $40 per month plan for 15GB of data. You have more data for the money you pay compared to the other $40 plan from another carrier. You can use it for many entertainment purposes and other things with no worries. If you still have data left at the end of a month, the unused data will be rolled over to the next month. So there will be no a wasted data. For you who may think that $40 is out of your budget, AT&T also provides a $30 plan. You will get 5GB of data in it, but this plan will not work in Canada and Mexico.

GreatCall (Start From $14.99)

GreatCall is a nationally recognized brand with no long-term contracts. As a cell phone carrier, GreatCall not only serves a plan but also offers a cell phone. It is a Jitterbug Phones that is specially made for seniors. Built with oversized buttons, it’s easy for seniors to see and navigate the phone. It also comes with an emergency button on it to make it easier for seniors when in need.

Talking about the plans, GreatCall offers many plans start from $14.99 monthly. With this plan, you will get 200 minutes of talk, not including the data. For seniors who like to call and text, GreatCall offers an unlimited plan for $39.99 per month excluding the data. But this plan is limited only to the designated phone.

Consumer Cellular ($15 talk-only plan)

To figure out what is the least expensive cell phone plan for seniors, let’s take a look at Consumer Cellular. It offers a talk-only plan for $15 for 250 minutes monthly. But if you need unlimited calls, choose the unlimited minutes plan for only $20 per month. If you need data to use every month, there is a $35 plan that comes with 250 minutes of talks and 10GB of data. All this plan comes with unlimited texts. Seniors who are members of AARP can get a lot of benefits from Consumer Cellular. Since it has been the official partner of AARP, it gives a 9% for AARP members on their monthly fees. This means you can save up to $37.8 annually if you choose the $35 monthly plan.

Boost Mobile ($15 for 2GB)

Boost decided to be a rival for T-Mobile by offering a 2GB plan for the same $15 rate per month. Sometimes it can be cheaper and only cost you $10 during a promotion. There is also a loyalty discount if you use the plan for three months and six months. It will cut your rate by $5 per three months. The plan costs $45 per month and you get 15GB of data with it. As a result, you will be paying only $35 for the same amount of data. Another plan for Boost Mobile is a 10GB plan for $35.

Metro by T-Mobile ($40 for 10GB)

This carrier is owned by T-Mobile and uses its network. So the coverage is something not to be questioned anymore. There is also no gap in performance between T-Mobile and Metro. In fact, it offers faster speeds at some places compared to its parent company.

For seniors who want to save money, Metro focuses more on low-cost handsets. Most of the phones that it offers cost you only less than $200, that is where you can save up your cash. Metro provides 10GB of data for $40, which is generous. It includes the taxes and fees, so you will not be surprised by the extra fee at the end of the month.

Visible ($40 and less)

Visible can be an answer for seniors who live in a big family and want to control their budget. . This carrier gives you unlimited talks, texts, and data for only $40 per month. As one of a company that owned by Verizon, visible has a large coverage as the Verizon. It means that it saves to use at the most places in America. Another plus side is Visible allows you to use the 5G network from Verizon. Visible only has one plan but it will be cheaper if you take it in a bulk. You will get a $5 discount on each billing per one line that you add. For example, if you add one other line, both of you only have to pay $35 per month. The same goes on until the fourth line. Any line past the fourth line will cost $25 per month.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this answers your question about “what is the least expensive cell phone plan for seniors?” Among all these 10 plans, each one has its own pros and cons. Choose which one fits the best for your needs. And remember to check their service and coverage first before signing up for their monthly or annual contract.