When it comes to the wireless industry, competition can be fierce, especially among T-Mobile and the three other major wireless providers. However, said competition, while great for pricing, can cause confusion among us - the consumers.
We may find important information locked away in another section, and the statistics, including speed and reliability, we look into may not be 100 percent accurate. T-Mobile is no different when it comes to hunting down information.
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As consumers, we can all agree on two things:
- Pricing is ridiculous. – the big four often have a high price associated with them. We want to prioritize a strong LTE network and a strong signal but we also want affordable prices.
- Needing to read the fine print is getting real annoying. - We want clear-cut and simple-to-digest information that will help us decide who the best carrier is.
We can assure you that we have all the important details here, to help you gauge whether or not T-MOBILE is a worthy contender, with its 133.3 million customer base as of Q3 2016, for your hard-earned dollar.
In This Guide
Key Considerations When Choosing T-MOBILE
Before you overwhelm yourself with carrier reviews it's best to know exactly what it is you want out of your carrier. Ask yourself:
- Does the T-MOBILE network cover the area you live in?
- How much data do you need each month?
- Will you bring your own phone (BYOP) or will you need one?
- Do you need a single-line plan or a family plan?
- Is there a T-Mobile MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) that will give you a better price? (Don't worry we'll explain later in the article.)
T-Mobile Pricing: Is it Competitive?
T-Mobile and Sprint are known for being the cheaper options of the big four. But are they really cheap? Let's take a look at a comparison of all of their unlimited plans:
| Carrier | Network Coverage | Data Limit | Monthly Price | Annual Price |
Sprint | Sprint 4G LTE | Unlimited* | $60 | $720 |
Verizon | Verizon 4G LTE | Unlimited* | $75 | $900 |
T-Mobile | T-Mobile 4G LTE | Unlimited* | $70 | $840 |
AT&T | AT&T 4G LTE | Unlimited* | $75 | $900 |
Sprint still beats out T-Mobile for the best price however, one could debate that all the prices are too high. Especially when you take into consideration the fact that the average T-Mobile unlimited plan customer only uses around 6GB of data per month on average. So any way you slice it – you're still overpaying.
Interested in seeing how T-Mobile's other plans compare? Check out our guides to:
- T-Mobile Individual Plans
- T-Mobile Family Plans
- T-Mobile Prepaid Plans
- T-Mobile Data Only Plans
- T-Mobile Hotspot Plans
Coverage
T-Mobile may have the nation's fastest 4G LTE speeds - at least the fastest 4G LTE speeds on the east coast - but it does not have the greatest coverage compared to the coverage of the other major wireless providers. Unfortunately, T-Mobile's major disadvantage is the fact that the T-Mobile coverage isn't particularly great in rural areas.
Dropped calls and poor data connections are absolutely common in rural locations, even when a T-Mobile store is near the rural area. In other words, the T-Mobile coverage is fantastic in urban and even many suburban areas, but when it comes to rural areas, you may find the LTE coverage and performance rather lacking.
Keep Your T-Mobile Coverage, Pay Less
If you're not willing to switch coverage but don't want to keep paying those high prices for T-Mobile you're not alone, and you have options with T-Mobile MVNOs.
| Carrier | Network Coverage | Data Limit | Monthly Price | Annual Price |
| T-Mobile | T-Mobile 4G LTE | Unlimited* | $70 | $840 |
| Ultra Mobile | T-Mobile 4G LTE | 5GB | $39 | $468 |
| Savings | $31 | $372 | ||
| * Avg T-Mobile user on unlimited plan uses less than 6GB data per month | ||||
Yep, T-Mobile's MVNOs have the save great reliable T-Mobile 4G LTE coverage their customers enjoy but at a fraction of the cost.
How? Well, MVNOs buy service in bulk from the big four networks and resell it to consumers at a lower cost. They're able to do so because they don't spend the millions of dollars in advertising per year like the big four and they also don't have a lot of brick-and-mortars to run which saves them A LOT of money. In fact, a lot of them operate solely online.
T-Mobile Phone Deals
You have the same great phone options with T-Mobile as you do with almost every other carrier:
- Bring your own phone – T-Mobile operates on the GSM network so you'll have the best luck bringing your own phone if you're switching from AT&T. If you do, you'll just want to change the APN settings and you should make sure your device is unlocked.
- Buy a new phone – T-Mobile offers the latest and greatest phone options both in store and online. Keep in mind though, if you choose to make monthly payments on your device your bill will go up.
- Buy a refurbished phone - You'll save the most money by shopping for the best T-Mobile cell phone deals. Compare prices and features on all your favorite Apple and Galaxy devices from reputable sellers.
If you choose to BYOP in any capacity you can get a T-Mobile SIM card either online or in store.
Recap
T-Mobile plans are cheaper than Verizon and AT&T. But you can save money multiple ways.
- Don't overpay for data - check out our data usage calculator to see what you should be paying for. Always compare cell phone plans from other carriers before making your decision.
- Save even more money on your T-MOBILE bill by purchasing a refurbished phone instead of overpaying for a new phone.
- If you choose to upgrade your phone, it's well worth selling your old phone for cash.
You can check out our T-Mobile user reviews to see what real customers are feeling about the carriers.
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