How to Save $500 on Your Cell Phone Plan

Before you begin comparing plans, it helps to know how much data you use each month and which of the Big Three networks provides the best coverage in the area where you live.

Find out how much data you need. Premium plans from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon can serve up far more data than an average person actually needs, with some promising 30 gigabytes or more per month in mobile hot spot data alone. If you’re routinely connected to WiFi and you never use your phone to access internet service on your laptop, there’s no reason to pay for all that.

By contrast, budget providers give you a more reasonable range of options—anywhere from 1 gigabyte to around 20 gigabytes of total data a month—in addition to unlimited plans. Better yet, some allow you to add data on an as-needed basis, which can be helpful if you’re traveling and need more than usual. Ting, for example, lets you add a gigabyte of fast data for just $5 more and Google Fi has a plan that charges you $10 a month for each gigabyte of data you use. This lets you choose a less expensive plan and scale up when necessary.

To properly weigh the merits of those plans, you need to understand your typical data use. Fortunately, that information is readily available from your current provider. Your monthly billing statement lists data usage figures for each phone on your plan. And if you sign on to your account online, you can even see how much hot spot data you use.

You can also use your phone to see how much data you typically use.

On an iPhone: Go to Settings > Cellular, then scroll down to Cellular Data to see the total for your current tracking period. (Note: Scroll to the very bottom to see the Last Reset date; that’s when the tracking period began.)

On an Android phone: Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Data Usage.

Both options break the data totals down by app, too, helping you identify the data hogs (social networking and streaming apps are usually the main culprits). To keep costs down, turn off the cellular data for apps you rarely use, and download podcasts and playlists to your phone instead of streaming them.

Premium plans from both big and small carriers also offer more high-speed data, which is helpful for gamers or those who love streaming high-definition movies. Once you’ve used up your fast data allotment, you can be slowed down to 2G speeds, which are fine for certain basic activities but less so for data-intensive applications. So think through your family’s needs. If you mostly use your phone for checking email, texting, and scrolling through Facebook while connected to WiFi, you likely need only a few gigabytes of data and can skip those premium data offers.

Pick the best network for your home. As noted earlier, MVNOs (smaller providers) piggyback on the wireless networks owned by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon to provide service.

If you get great reception with your current provider, it’s smart to choose an MVNO that runs on the same network. If you’re unhappy with the coverage in your area, look for a better alternative by asking your neighbors which service they use and whether they’re happy with it. AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon provide ZIP code-based coverage maps on their websites, but they don’t adequately identify the dead zones in certain spots.

Once you know which network is most reliable in your neighborhood, it’s easy to determine which MVNOs make the most sense for you. Consumer Cellular and Cricket run on AT&T’s network, Mint Mobile and Google Fi run on T-Mobile’s, and Ting runs on both T-Mobile’s and Verizon’s networks.

A few budget providers are actually owned by a major carrier. For instance, AT&T owns Cricket, T-Mobile owns Metro, and Verizon owns Visible. But as you can see from the ratings, the customers at smaller carriers still tend to be more satisfied.

Consider perks and discounts. Certain premium plans offer additional benefits, such as streaming services or cloud storage at a discount. Cricket, for example, includes a subscription to Max (with ads) in its $60-per-month unlimited plan, which might allow you to cancel your streaming service.

Providers may also offer discounts if you agree to less frequent payment schedules. Mint Mobile, for example, has three-, six-, and 12-month bundles. You can pay $360 up front for the year (which breaks down to the equivalent of $30 a month).