The Best iPhone 4S Plans by Carrier
By Doug Aamoth | Monday, October 10, 2011 at 2:58 am
With three carriers now selling the iPhone, your options have gotten a bit more complex as far as monthly service plans go. We’ll take a look at which carrier’s plans are best for cheapskates, big talkers, big texters, and those who want it all—voice, data and text messaging.
Before we start, some constants between all three carriers:
The iPhone 4S starts at $199 with a two-year contract.
Voice plans include unlimited minutes to people on the same network, so even if you have the 450-minute plan on Verizon, for instance, you won’t use any minutes when calling other Verizon customers.
Apple’s new iOS software features “iMessage,” which lets you send and receive free text messages (for now, at least) between other Apple devices that have the iMessage feature turned on as well.
And with that, let’s get started.
Cheapest Plan
AT&T: $40 for 450 voice minutes + $15 for 200MB data = $55/month
Verizon: $40 for 450 voice minutes + $30 for 2GB data = $70/month
Sprint: $80 for 450 voice minutes, unlimited texting and data
AT&T is the cheapest way to get into an iPhone, especially considering that if all you want is an iPhone—any iPhone—AT&T’s the only carrier giving away the iPhone 3GS for free with a two-year contract.
You give up text messaging with both AT&T’s and Verizon’s cheapest plans. With AT&T, you’ll pay 20 cents per text message (incoming or outgoing) and 30 cents per picture or video message (incoming or outgoing). Verizon charges 20 cents per text message (incoming or outgoing) and 25 cents per picture or video message (incoming or outgoing).
As for data, with AT&T you’ll pay $15 for another 200-megabyte bucket if you go over your initial 200 megabytes. With Verizon, you’ll pay $10 for an additional gigabyte after you go over your two-gigabyte allowance.
Cheapest Plan with Light Text Messaging
Verizon: $40 for 450 voice minutes + $30 for 2GB data + $5 for 250 text messages = $75/month
AT&T: $40 for 450 voice minutes + $15 for 200MB data + $20 for unlimited texts = $75/month
Sprint: $80 for 450 voice minutes, unlimited texting and data
Verizon shows a good mixture of data—two gigabytes should be plenty for most people—and text messages here, though for $5 more per month, you can get the same amount of voice minutes with Sprint and not have to worry at all about data or text messaging overages. AT&T only offers unlimited text messages at a price of $20 per month.
Cheapest Plan with Heavy Text Messaging
AT&T: $40 for 450 voice minutes + $15 for 200MB data + $20 for unlimited texts = $75/month
Sprint: $80 for 450 voice minutes, unlimited texting and data
Verizon: $60 for 450 voice minutes and unlimited texting + $30 for 2GB data = $90/month
For heavy texters, Sprint’s a good worry-free option since you get unlimited data as a bonus. AT&T’s five bucks less but that’s with only a 200-megabyte data allowance.
Cheapest Plan with Heavy Voice Minutes
AT&T: $70 for unlimited voice minutes + $15 for 200MB data = $85/month
Verizon: $70 for unlimited voice minutes + $30 for 2GB data = $100/month
Sprint: $110 for unlimited voice minutes, unlimited texting and data
If you’ll be doing more talking than anything else, AT&T’s your best bet at $85 per month for unlimited voice minutes. Verizon gets you substantially more data, but will cost you an extra $15 per month. Sprint is the most expensive, but you get unlimited data and text messages, too.
Cheapest Plan with Heavy Voice Minutes and Light Texting
AT&T: $70 for unlimited voice minutes + $15 for 200MB data + $20 for unlimited texting = $105/month
Verizon: $70 for unlimited voice minutes + $30 for 2GB data + $5 for 250 text messages = $105/month
Sprint: $110 for unlimited voice minutes, unlimited texting and data
AT&T and Verizon are neck and neck here. AT&T gets you unlimited texts but only 200 megabytes of data; Verizon gets you two gigabytes of data but only 250 text messages. Sprint actually looks pretty good—for $5 more, you don’t have to worry about anything.
Cheapest Unlimited Plan (Voice + Texting + Data)
Sprint: $110 for unlimited voice minutes, unlimited texting and data
AT&T: $70 for unlimited voice minutes + $45 for 4GB data + $20 for unlimited texting = $135/month
Verizon: $90 for unlimited voice minutes and texting + $80 for 10GB data = $170/month
Sprint is the clear winner here, edging out AT&T by $25 per month and Verizon by $60 per month. Sprint’s also the only carrier that offers unlimited data plans. You’re still in danger of overage fees with AT&T and Verizon.
Conclusions
AT&T provides the cheapest path to an iPhone… until you add text messaging. The company’s decision to offer only a $20 all-or-nothing texting plan prices it out of cheapskate range pretty quickly, especially considering that even if you’re not sending any text messages, you can be charged for messages sent to you.
Verizon’s weakness is that its lowest-priced data plan starts at $30. You get more than enough data if you’re a typical user, though, as AT&T’s $15-per-month data plan only provides 200 megabytes to work with.
Sprint actually comes away looking pretty good here. If you can get past the fact that you’re facing a minimal monthly outlay of $80, the peace of mind you get with unlimited data and unlimited text messaging might be worth it. And if you really don’t want to have to worry about anything, you can avoid any and all overage charges with the $110 plan. AT&T and Verizon cost $25 and $60 more per month, respectively, for similar peace of mind, but even their plans aren’t truly unlimited when it comes to data overages.
[This post republished from Techland. Edited on 10/11/11 to correct some inaccurate pricing for AT&T.]
13 Comments
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13 Comments For This Post
October 10th, 2011 at 4:17 am
Nice article but one category that should have been included is "Light Voice Minutes with Heavy Texting and Heavy Data"….that is a much more common category these days than one with Heavy Voice.
Also, unlimited texting on AT&T is $20/mo for individuals, not $30/mo. It is $30/mo for a family plan, which then includes it on all lines. Thanks.
October 10th, 2011 at 5:29 am
Is AT&T the only network which allows you to "talk and surf" at the same time? I found that feature useful more than once, but it's not clear to me the other networks allow that.
October 10th, 2011 at 5:58 am
Phew… Broken market much?
In Sweden you pay $10/month[1] for unlimited data and 3 cents for every minute you call (outgoing). Sms and mms are 5/27 cents outgoing (you never pay for incoming messages). They don't block ip-telephony (like Skype) and you don't pay extra for the ability to tether/hotspot you phone.
Seems like maybe the United States needs stronger consumer protection and oversight.
[1]: http://www.uvtc.com/sweden/Mobil/Mobil18.aspx
October 10th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
I agree totally! Mobile in the US is a huge mess. 4G would be a chance to start to straighten it all out by requiring everyone to go LTE but alas they aren't going to do it…
October 12th, 2011 at 7:24 am
Wow, Sweden has better phone and data plans than the U.S. Sweden is SO awesome. Cool but I think the vast majority of the world would rather live in America than in Sweden. Sorry Sven, I mean Carl.
October 11th, 2011 at 8:18 pm
in AT&T there is an unlimited text plus unlimited voice to any mobile (any cell phone but not land lines). i have that it's really good if you just paying for unlimited text. Not sure if it was limited time offer.
October 13th, 2011 at 3:52 am
Another aspect to consider is speed. I remember reading that AT&T destroyed Verizon on speed tests. Regarding speed, it'll be interesting to see how Sprint stacks up.
October 19th, 2011 at 2:31 am
I have the iPhone 4s for sprint. Dude it pretty fast. It u at a area that have a good signal you’ll be getting fast web browsing. My friend told me a lot of people left AT&T and went to sprint and Verizon. But when it come to the plan sprint is the way to go. Best unlimited plan for only $79.99
October 20th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Sprint Internet is sloooow. I may return before 14 days. Verizon is super fast and super xpensive
December 28th, 2011 at 8:21 am
What do these plans offer in terms of international texting and calling?
January 16th, 2012 at 4:34 pm
If you are on a budget and shopping for a good deal on a cell phone plan then you should take a look at a prepaid or pay as you go plan, because there is no contract no credit check and no deposit and further more if you don’t have the money for the next month then just leave it off and when you have the funds turn it back on again, this is the best plan and most popular plan out there today. Read more: http://etienne.lightyearwireless.com
February 2nd, 2012 at 4:20 am
Is AT&T the only network which allows you to "talk and surf" at the same time? I found that feature useful more than once, but it's not clear to me the other networks allow that. If you are on a budget and shopping for a good deal on a cell phone plan then you should take a look at a prepaid or pay as you go plan, because there is no contract no credit check and no deposit and further more if you don’t have the money for the next month then just leave it off and when you have the funds turn it back on again, this is the best plan and most popular plan out there today.
February 20th, 2012 at 10:55 am
No, try Lightyear http://getmylightyear.com, and you'll save a whole lot of money, you will get unlimited talk text & web with no data cap, no contract, no credit check, no deposit, talk all you want, surf the net all you want, text all you want for $59.99, I have not seen a better deal out there than this one yet!