When choosing a cell phone plan, the elephant in the room is always this: which type of plan should I choose? Should I go with a pay-as-you-go (prepaid) plan or a contract (postpaid) plan? Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but first, we should probably know how the two of these plans work.
Prepaid Mobile Plan
The prepaid mobile plan works by allowing subscribers to purchase airtime or minute and then use it wherever they like. They have benefits such as a long expiration date as well.
Contract (Postpaid) Plan
Postpaid cellular plans allow the user to have a plan that generally lasts much longer than a prepaid plan. However, there are plenty of other differences besides these two, so it’s important to fully investigate each choice before going with one or the other. Consider these factors:
Postpaid plans will usually have a longer duration
A postpaid plan will generally last longer than a prepaid plan. They will also offer you a plan with specific data bundles and voice minutes depending on just what your needs are. Like prepaid plans, postpaid plans will usually provide you with a plan of at least 30 days. However, with a postpaid plan, you can get plans with a quarterly or even yearly rate with all bells and whistles.
Prepaid plans are much easier for those who often want to change their tariff plans
Are you a creature of habit? If not, then are you a creature of change? If you enjoy change, then the chances are that you would prefer a prepaid plan on your phone. Companies such as cell pay, with their Verizon prepay recharge plan, make it easy not only to add minutes to your phone but to change your plan as often as you like! According to them, “Making My Verizon wireless prepaid payments through cell pay online bill pay is 100% secure.”
Postpaid plans are more adaptable than prepaid plans
If you like your cell phone to have a lot of data (and you use it a lot for things such as a hotspot or tethering), then a postpaid is definitely a better option to go with. That’s because even though all cell phone plans put a data cap on these factors, a postpaid cell phone will usually let you GO OVER that data a lot easier than a prepaid phone would.
Of course, there is a drawback: some postpaid cell phone customers have a company that will give them sticker shock with a jacked-up bill due to this.
Prepaid plans will generally offer a better data package
One of the problems with a prepaid phone plan would have to be the data caps. This means that after a certain amount of data usage, you will lose all of your data on a prepaid plan.
Alternately, with a postpaid phone, you will have the ability to keep all of your data, but you will also often have the option to roll over the data to another month. With a prepaid plan, whatever unused data you have is gone after that month is over.
Of course, there are plenty of other characteristics that you will have to keep in mind, but the key to any personal decision is education. Making an educated decision is always important, even when it comes to cell phones.