# What Do You Pay For Your Cell Phone Service? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 4, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204 "2011-04-04T22:37:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/21 "2011-04-05T13:35:50Z")
I have a pay-as-you-go plan through AT&T. I refill it $100 at a time and I don’t think I’ve refilled it more than once a year so far. I really want a smartphone so I can be looking stuff up all the time and playing with apps. Oh, and text. I can text with mine but it’s oldschool, no keyboard, so it’s a pain in the ass and I never use it. Plus, with my plan, a text costs more than a minute-long call! I can’t really justify the cost of upgrading to a smartphone, though. I don’t _need_ one. But the peer pressure and the “ooh, shiny new technology” pressure are getting to me. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/22 "2011-04-05T13:47:15Z")
Hmm, I selected $60 and under but I forgot we recently increased our minutes. $45/month for 700 minutes (which can be shared since it’s a family plan) and 6gb of data $20/month for the Iphone value pack which includes visual voicemail, call display, unlimited text messaging. $4/month for US and international text messaging (limit of 25 in and out) Including taxes it’s $80/month ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/23 "2011-04-05T14:09:24Z")
I have pay as you go from Virgin Mobile and it’s a bit more than the other poster’s experiences with PAYGO, as I have to “top up” a bit more than once every two months for $20 a pop. So it’s really only around $15 a month. But it’s my only phone, so it’s really cheap when you consider that. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/24 "2011-04-05T14:11:31Z")
£28/month for a HTC Wildfire on 3’s One Plan, which includes thousands of minutes and texts I never use up and unlimited internet data - I use my phone to read news and send/receive emails a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/25 "2011-04-05T14:38:44Z")
$19.95 a month for a basic phone service with ATT. We use it maybe once a week. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/26 "2011-04-05T15:07:21Z")
$26/mo as one of 5 people on a non-data family plan from Verizon. We share something like 1000 mins, which includes texts. Thanks to the “My Circle” and Nights & Weekends, we never go over our minutes even though my SIL and brother use their phones constantly. Four of the 5 people on our plan are home all day (two retired and me and bro work from home) so there’s never been a reason to have a data plan. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/27 "2011-04-05T15:22:11Z")
Smartphone pay-as-you-go on T-Mobile. $100 for 1000 minutes that last for a year. When I need it, Internet access is $1.50 per day for unlimited access. What makes this work is that we work from home and don’t do much daily traveling. So we rarely have to refill (maybe once a year), and with wireless connectivity built into the phone, important things (e.g., calendar) update automatically in the house when we add something on the fly. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/28 "2011-04-05T15:29:46Z")
iPhone: $83 450 minutes: $40 Data: $30 Taxes/Fees: $8 Messaging: $15 Discount: -$10 ---
**Author:** ![inkling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkling)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/29 "2011-04-05T15:45:59Z")
Voted “Smartphone: Under $60.” We have three lines via a family plan through Sprint; 1500 min (pooled) and unlimited data/text/other stuff. I do get a significant discount because I work for a company which does a ton of business with Sprint, but the package price would average (just) under $60/line even without that discount. ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy8467](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Cowboy8467](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy8467)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/30 "2011-04-05T15:53:29Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > iPhone: $83 > > 450 minutes: $40 > Data: $30 > Taxes/Fees: $8 > Messaging: $15 > Discount: -$10 This is my exact phone bill right down to the -10 discount. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/31 "2011-04-05T16:14:49Z")
> [@Cowboy8467](#): > > This is my exact phone bill right down to the -10 discount. Do you look just like me, but have a curly mustache? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/32 "2011-04-05T16:32:01Z")
Verizon, non-smart phone, 450 minutes/month, 250 text messages per month, total with taxes around $55/month. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/33 "2011-04-05T18:35:15Z")
I have a pay-as-you-go phone that’s designed mainly for “emergency” use. It sometimes gets used for extremely minor emergencies, but it’s not kept on most of the time. I pay something like $100 a year to keep it active, and have far more credit than I ever expect to use. ---
**Author:** ![Charley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/97f17d/32.png) [@Charley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charley)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/34 "2011-04-05T19:31:04Z")
I have a smartphone with unlimited text, “unlimited” data (actually 50GB I think), 100 minutes talk a month, unlimited UK GPS, for £15 including taxes. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/35 "2011-04-05T20:28:37Z")
iPhone, $50-$60 a month. I have no idea how many minutes, I’m guessing around 250. I don’t know because I have a 5 numbers unlimited thinger, and my social circle is small. 😃 Unlimited texts are included along with 1GB of data. Awesome plan in Canuckistan. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/36 "2011-04-05T20:43:27Z")
I pay 100 dollars a year (so, 8.33 a month) for my non-smartphone. It is for emergencies only and lives in the glovebox of my car. The idea of being constantly reachable scares me. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/37 "2011-04-05T22:59:17Z")
I pay-as-you-go. It is for emergencies, but I also use it if I’m on a trip and bored. That only happens on major holidays. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/38 "2011-04-05T23:02:55Z")
> [@phall0106](#): > > Hallgirl 1, Hallboy and I share a plan with AT&T. Hallgirl1 and I both have iPhones with unlimited texting and data (I use the internet on my iPhone a LOT). Hallboy has a plain old phone with texting (no internet). We share minutes and have so many rollover minutes it’s outrageous. (All of our family and friends are apparently AT&T customers so we rarely even get anywhere near close to using our minutes.) Our plan for all three phones is $160 a month. That includes taxes and fees. Exactly this for me too. AT&T Family Plan, iPhones, data plans, unlimited texting, with taxes and fees ~$160 a month. Ye’GODS!:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/39 "2011-04-05T23:03:01Z")
I have a smartphone, and share 400 minutes with my SO for $50/mo. I have also have unlimited data and 400 texts for $25/month. Taxes/fees add another $10/month. It’s about $85/mo. total. I have another non-smartphone that my work pays for. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204/40 "2011-04-06T01:17:33Z")
T-Mobile pay-as-you-go. I used it a lot last year when I was a US Census crew leader, enough so that I now qualify for all my minutes to last a year (and can be extended indefinitely just by buying a few more minutes). I don’t use it that often so I probably am now stretching out $30 worth of minutes a year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-pay-for-your-cell-phone-service/577204.md?page=3)