What type of phone contract do you have?

Not entirely sure how it works in the US, or anywhere else, but my contract is going to expire soon and since I got a hyper top-of-the-line phone two years ago I'm paying way too much monthly. My initial idea was to cut it in half or more, but I'm seeing some deals that look pretty tempting.

Where I live you have to pay monthly for a pre-determined amount of data. I can currently use 6GB monthly for € 40,50 which is way too much of course. But I'm seeing some good deals now for € 27 per month where you get 10GB of data and music you stream through Spotify, Napster and the like is data-free; meaning it won't be deducted from that 10GB and you don't have to pay for it.

Seems tempting since the contracts for less than € 20 per month don't offer free music data.

How is your contract structured? How much do you pay, for what?

I'm a bit of an idiot because my plan was to get a contract for like € 18 per month for one year instead of the standard two years, but I'm already eyeing a new phone to go along with it for € 30 now which was absolutely not the plan. Phone companies are smart I'm dumb.

None. I use a pay as you go phone plan. I live in a capital city of Europe where every bus, train, coffee shop and pub has a free wifi service. I put an sd card into my phone and use google music. I reckon I put about €20 into my phone every 7-8 weeks at this rate.

I've seen a number of people warning against using packages that do things like give you "unlimited" use of things like Facebook and Spotify as they see it as being anti-competitive and bad for net neutrality.

I used to have a ~$20 for unlimited data from 2012 up until last year when I had to renew as I got a new phone, and they no longer had that contract. My current is ~$70 a month for 50 GB (which also includes paying for the phone for the first 24 months, when the phone has been paid for it'll be around $50, and I'll probably switch to one of their cheaper options then, since I very rarely use up 50GB of mobile data anyway).

EE 4G/LTE - 20GB data cap, unlimited phone calls and text messages. Around £19.99 ($24) a month.

I never use my calls or messages because I communicate with friends mostly by text or use an app to call them.

The 4G is extremely fast, it's about equivalent to a 60MB broadband connection. My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge which is the best phone I have ever used.

My contract also came with a £90 Amazon voucher, kinda sweet.

i'm on google project fi which i'm fairly pleased with. the coverage outside of urban areas isn't the best (mix of sprint/t-mobile/US cellular networks), but $20 unlimited talk/text and $10/GB data (for both domestic and international)- it's a square deal. i do a lot of travel between nyc and toronto, so the lack of international fees of any kind has been awesome.

edit: should note- this isn't under contract, it's strictly pay as you go.

I pay $75 a month for an unlimited plan. But $30 of that is my new phone I just upgraded to. I was on month to month for $45 unlimited. But I just signed a two year contract plus the new monthly cost of the new phone.

I don't follow that logic. How do you figure that?

I pay 30 euros a month for 4G LTE and unlimited everything here in Finland.

Luckily data caps don't really exist over here. I'm looking to switch soon though, because there are cheaper plans available with just some restrictions on messages and calls, which I rarely use anyhow. I've never bought a phone with a contract, always separately.

A shitty one. They're all bad. Only thing I "like" about mine are the international options (I'm with T-Mobile with their "unlimited" plan): free international texting and free data (lower tier than what's typically available). Despite the slow data, it's good enough for GPS which is 90% of what you need in terms of travel international data.

@w00master: I never use data when traveling, outside of WiFi of course. Oh and I did get a 24 hour data package while in Amsterdam once.

I really recommend using offline maps like Maps.Me, Here Maps or the downloadable maps in Google Maps.

I'm on a corporate plan in Canada, which means it's super expensive still. $79 after tax for 5GB of data with unlimited Canada wide calling and all the other bells and whistles. The non-corporate price for the same plan is $146/mo.

@haz: All I care about is data, so you're essentially telling me there is a plan for 5GB a month for 146 bucks? Goddamn.

Before I signed up for T-Mo, I was the same: never used international data when I traveled overseas. Honestly, the international stuff is the only thing I really like about T-Mo, despite the extremely slow data speeds - they are more than enough when you travel.

But again, they all freakin' suck.

No contract, bought the phone myself, $20 a month for 1 GB of data, unlimited talk, text, and wifi. I just do light web browsing when I'm off wifi, so I never need more than a gig of data in a month.

Damn. Im really starting to question my plan now. Currently paying ~$150 a month for i believe 15gb shared data, unlimited calls/texts, and have 3 lines, one of which is a standard non-smart phone. Granted I am aware there are cheaper options out there but I always seem to see friends and coworkers having issues on them. This all doesnt include the price of my phone and my wifes phone which brought the total monthly to about $206. Thankfully mine is paid off this month so that should reduce it. But then again I kinda want a new phone...

@zevvion: In Canada yeah, Actually I just looked at the prices now --

I essentially have that 5GB plan but at a corporate rate.

I switched to Project Fi so I could get a Pixel phone. I pay $20 a basic phone features (calling and texting), plus $10 per gig of data I use. I'm also paying off my Pixel through monthly payments. The cool thing about Project Fi is they credit you if you don't use the data that you paid for at the beginning of your data cycle. I usually get a $5 credit every month, which is pretty nice. Once I am done paying for my phone, I will pay about $35 a month, which is cheaper than what I was paying for in a family plan through Verizon.

@haz: Dude... what? Aren't there at least options to get limited calls and messages (since most people don't need that anyway) and still 10GB or so of data a month for a more reasonable price? Otherwise, Canada might be the worst for this type of stuff I've ever heard of. 115 bucks for 5GB is insane. I get 10GB here for € 27. Heck, I can get unlimited data for € 35.

@zevvion: Not really. There's one service provider that offers 12GB for $120 every three months with limited minutes I believe. There's another with unlimited data for $50 or so (haven't checked in a while). The problem is the the big three companies have two categories of plans -- talk and text or talk, text and data. So you don't have an option.

I spent a little extra and bought a new pay as you go iPhone 6. Previously to that I had an extremely shitty cheap Android that took 10 seconds to do anything.

I figured that I don't use my phone a ton so there is no need for a contract, but it turns out I end up topping up my phone monthly already because I use 4G internet a lot. I'm going to keep this phone for years though, so until it literally breaks I'm glad I spent the money upfront.

I think I pay about £15 for 8gb data and unlimited minutes and texts and I think I use about 5 texts and minutes a month and maybe a gb or 2 of data. Sim only ofc so I can buy my phone from China and save £500 :)

I use ting which charges me for what i use. Bill is typically $30 bucks or so.

I have a plan for three lines, 15gb data with rollover data, unlimited calling and texting for 160$ a month. I also have BMW discount of 20%. And both of my vita 3gs are on the plan. All the phones were purchased from the manufacturer so there are no additional costs there that I've paid.

I use "Straight Talk", which lets you buy a month at a time. $45 for unlimited everything, not bad.

£25 a month. 500 free texts and unlimited data usage.

My Mom is graciously (not sarcastic) letting my wife and I stay on her plan and not having to pay. It's a pretty expensive (like ~$390/mo) because she has the wife and I, herself, her husband, and my little sister on there. It's unlimited + like 30gb (?). I'm hoping to become financially stable enough soon and just get a small plan for us to take some weight off her. Once our phones become "unlocked" from verizon's commitment I'll be doing that.

Having a cell phone in Canada sucks

£12.50 monthly rolling contract - so I can cancel whenever with no fees - with 6GB data, 500 minutes and 5,000 texts. SIM-only, so you have to buy your phone separately. Right now, I'm using a Nexus 6P.

Pay-as-you-go, and I don't go very far.

I have a 5gb monthly data pack and for calls and sms I pay as I use. Monthly bill is about 10€.

Don't use streaming services outside wifi connections as there's always free ones available around where I live.

200 minutes, 200 sms, unlimited (no 'fair use policy') LTE, £7.50/mo through work

edit: sim only, using a oneplus3

I actually got a second sim and a LTE router which i use for internet at home, i get around 40mbit on it

Canada here - $85 a month, 1gb data, 500 minutes of phone, unlimited texting.

The worst part is my contract recently expired, so i just received a note saying that my plan is no longer offered. So in 30 days my plan changes to 512mb data or I can pay an extra $10 a month for 1gb again.

Is everything in Canada expensive? What the heck is going on up there? What have you guys done?

$100 for two phones with unlimited talk, text and 7gb of data through T-mobile.

I use prepaid, I can choose with every reload wether I want more data or more calling. Better rates for the first month after reloading, prepay more for better rates. I wasn't too sure if it was still an economical choice, but seeing responses here it seems pretty decent. Honestly I dislike the semi-complex rates, would rather have it just be flat.

For €25 for example I would get either 6GB (4G) and calling for 100 min for one month or I could get 3GB and 200 min of calling, both offer 3000 texts (which basically means texting is free for the month after reloading). After the first month, I pay €0.10/MB and either 20 or 40 cents per min. This is with Mobile Vikings in Belgium, who I believe are also active on the Dutch market.

Cellphone, TV, and internet plans in Canada are all pupped up. There are a few reasons but the biggest one is that the government protects the 3/4 big telecommunication Canadian companies from USA companies coming up and offering better plans.

100 minutes of talk, unlimited text, unlimited data with the first 5gb being LTE, all for $30. It's a pre paid T-mobile plan that's promoted through Walmart.

thanks giant bomb for telling me how much i'm doing it wrong, yet again. verizon with 12gb for around $120/month. only one line. yes i know.

if such a thing is advertised, the safe assumption is the carrier is being paid to offer it (draw people into their services) and people are signing up and paying for a service plan that offers the unlimited use. as long as the arrangement is in place, the carrier will fulfill its end of the bargain. now, assume you're in an area where a ton of people use those services and end up hogging most of the available bandwidth at any given moment. if you want to, say, watch a youtube video you'll end up with degraded service since youtube isn't part of the deal. you'll also get the short end if you aren't paying into a premium plan that offers unlimited use. the data is "reserved" for the VIPs.

the other side of the coin is that it starts driving prices up for other services, since they'll have to pay too if they want to be in the exclusive clubhouse. nothing stopping them from passing that right on to customers, which is exactly what netflix did when comcast started throttling them for basically no reason a while back.

extend the analogy to something like a highway: how shitty would it be if car manufacturers could pay local governments to "reserve" lanes for their customers' exclusive use and strip the speed limit off those lanes?

@ishinji32: I think you're confusing different things. Internet speed is not part of this. It concerns not having to pay from your data-cap if using a service like Spotify or Napster. I'm not sure how or why you arrived at your conclusion, but it doesn't work like that. When I get a plan one step below this one that doesn't include data-free music streaming, it doesn't mean I get slower internet or less priority somehow.

A better analogy would be that for a certain price per month I get to use the exact same highways other people use, except I don't have to pay for gas. Which means if I drive a lot, it's cheaper for me.

I have a Pay-as-you-go. I pay $13 a month to get unlimited texts and 1GB of data, and however many minutes that $13 will pay for. Not many. But I barely use texts and don't often use it to call.

1gb of internet has also been enough for me so far. If I'm travelling somewhere I'll download podcasts and spotify songs offline before I go. I don't stream videos on mobile. The 1gb is enough for me to use whatsapp and googlemaps and whatever minor browsing I need while out and about.

There are absolutely situations where you would want lots of minutes and good data for work, but for now I don't need that.

@paulmako: Makes sense. I'm in the train a lot and the WiFi in there sucks donkey balls. Watching a Quick Look is an extremely uncomfortable experience with that, so I use my 4G connection instead.

My mind is boggled at the variety of prices around the world. I pay 40'000 won (currently ~$35 US) a month for 2gb and unlimited calling and texts with SKT in South Korea. There are better deals to be had, but I wanted a Nexus. Google phones in the land of Samsung and LG aren't very popular. The Pixel isn't even being released here. My last phone was an LG Optimus GPro and I had 1.5gb and unlimited texts and calls for ~$20 US a month. It didn't start at that price though since I got the phone with the plan. My bills were closer to $60 for the first two years.

I have the most barebones contract humanly possible because I don't really use my phone for anything except work contacts. 1gb of surf monthly, I think calling is limited too but I've never hit it. It's like $10 a month. Last time the company called me up to try and sell a bigger package I just told them to look at my usage. They gave up. Lul.

Ah, I also always buy my phones fully separate from the contracts so they never really factor into the monthly. I can get away with paying full price up front and saving in the long run, so that's just better for me.

£10 a month for 500 texts and minutes, and a 1GB a month data cap. Seeing as how I download all my podcasts on home wifi to listen on my walk into work, I rarely go over my data cap. It's also a SIM only contract, I bought the phone seperately for £100

@tobbrobb: Yeah, I would do that, but the amount of money I save over a two-year period is not worth the immediate kick to my wallet's balls compared to a slightly higher monthly rate. Even when I have the money, I can't justify spending € 700 on a phone as a one-time payment. That's like going to Barcelona for a weekend, then going to Paris the weekend after that and still having enough cash left over to buy two games.

You are indeed paying more if you increase your monthly rate, but it also holds some value to me to not have to pay everything at once. That said, I am trying to trim down my monthly rates too. Would ease my mind a bit.

At&t Unlimited talk and text, 4gb of data (shared) with rollover data. Two phones $79.95 (includes all taxes and fees) after my wife's 20% corporate bank discount. I've had this plan for years now and couldn't be happier. At&t's coverage in my area is good and the price for two phones is great. We don't use a ton of data since we are on wifi at home & work. My wife still uses the bare minimum of about 200-500mb a month of data, while I will pull in 1-2gb max since I am on the road more.

Worth noting that we are not on contract and I don't have any phone payments or subsidization. We had been using Iphone 4's for years and last year I bought Iphone 6s's outright. Which, side note, absolutely stunned the employees at the At&t store that I'd be buying something up front as opposed to entering another payment plan....

Interesting to see people prioritizing data plans over talk and text. Maybe I'm in a growing minority, but unlimited talk and text are still the first priority for me in a phone contract. Having data is must nowadays too, but is everyone not in wifi coverage at home/work/school? Just curious.

For my finance, I snuck in and got a $60 canadian 3GB corporate plan that came with "free" Nexus 6P. They don't have that plan anymore and I need to update my own phone. Now, they want $35 for a basic phone plan and 4gb on top is additional 30 bucks a month, and the new phone will be like 300-400 as well.... so I'm sticking with my 3 year old Nexus 5 for now.