Categories: TECHNOLOGY

Virgin Mobile, Tracfone, or Straight Talk: How to Choose Your First Prepaid Phone

When you’re looking for a new prepaid cell phone, it can be very helpful to do some good solid research. Every company is going to say they have the best plans and phones and you may even hear expert reviews from friends and family who have had good experiences with a certain company or phone–or maybe they had bad experiences. But the truth is you need to analyze your own situation and decide for yourself just what you need out of a cell phone. All it takes is a little bit of time. Use this as a basic guide on how to choose a prepaid phone.

You may find yourself in a situation thinking: “Net10, Straight Talk, TracFone, Boost Mobile, MetroPCS, Virgin Mobile? With so many providers out there, how will I ever choose a prepaid phone?” But it doesn’t have to be like that. Here’s what you do (or at least how you get started). There are three steps in how to choose a prepaid phone. These may seem basic, and they are, but the more you put into the effort the more you will get out of it.

How to Choose a Prepaid Phone Tip 1

First, figure out how many minutes, texts, web browsing you need in a given month. The way to do this is by taking out your previous cell phone bills–at least the ones for the last six months. You will see patterns.

How to Choose a Prepaid Phone Tip 2

See what the market for prepaid phones is offering. Have a look at three or four different companies (no need to overdo it). Look at how their plans stack up against each other. Check out their phone selection (for example, here are some of the Straight Talk Samsung phones). You will notice that often prepaid carriers really only carry one or two brands of cell phone and then multiple handsets from each brand.

How to Choose a Prepaid Phone Tip 3

Look for deals and read the fine print about the plan you end up deciding upon. You want to know exactly what you’re getting. Look for information about roll over minutes and how they really work. How much do the phones cost? Look at the coverage maps (here’s the Straight Talk coverage map as an example). Then make an informed decision about which company to buy from. These are the basic three steps there are in choosing a prepaid phone plan.

What Are Some Good Prepaid Companies?

Net10, Straight Talk, MetroPCS, Virgin Mobile, and Tracfone are good places to start. Verizon Wireless even has a prepaid branch if you didn’t know it. AT&T; does as well. The best part is that prepaid plans by nature have no contracts so if you feel you made the wrong decision or down the line your selected company blows it, you can always move on. It’s not the most optimal thing to do, but it’s a nice parachute if you need it.