Is T-Mobile cheaper than AT&T?

T-Mobile has taken a strategic market niche of being a low-cost carrier relative to its competitors like AT&T Internet. However, is T-Mobile cheaper than AT&T? So there we have it, there are a few considerations when it comes to the costs of cell phone plans and being a customer of these two carriers.

Monthly Plan Costs
T-Mobile always comes with lower prices for the monthly plan rates compared to other service providers, especially in the unlimited data plans. Their base unlimited plan for starters goes for $70 while AT&T offers the same for a single line a $85. Family plans can also be cheaper than individual ones as it can take less money to cover more users. For instance, 4 lines of unlimited data cost $160 at T-Mobile and are $200 on a similar offer at AT&T. However, while T-Mobile’s limited data plans could be cheaper than AT&T it might not be by much so the cost differences depend on the data requirements of the consumer.

Device Financing
As for now, both T-Mobile and AT&T have 24 or 30-month payment plans when you decide to upgrade your phone. This enables you to upgrade to a new premium phone without having to sign up for a 2-year contract. T-Mobile does not engage the customer into paying any other fees or interest in addition to the price of the phone in installments. It is important to note that AT&T does indeed charge an activation/upgrade fee when financing new devices through Next Up as well as other upgrade programs. This makes it easy for T-Mobile to negotiate adding device financing to your monthly bill.

Activation Feets
And while talking about activation fees, there is another cost that one has to take into consideration and it is what each of the carriers charges to start the new service or transfer the number to its network. While T-Mobile has no activation fee at all, AT&T charges between $25 to $45 depending on the plan that one registers to. On this front, T-Mobile comes out on top.

Network Coverage
Another common yet less apparent cost of cell phone plans is network issues such as slow data speeds or no signal at all. Overall, T-Mobile has expanded its LTE network across the United States significantly but still, there are a lot of uncovered rural areas as opposed to AT&T’s network. And if you want to have coverage in areas with few people, you will be paying for T-Mobile services that are inaccessible, and thus, the value decreases. On the other hand, in the densely populated areas like urban and suburban both networks are strong hence coverage expenses are not an issue at all.

Additional Taxes and Fees
A common concern voiced about wireless companies is the additional taxes, fees, and surcharges that are tacked on to the base monthly price. T-Mobile has incorporated most taxes and fees into their plan prices, which makes it easier to see the total amount that is charged each month. AT&T, for instance, omits these line items so that their advertised prices seem low before being inflated by all sorts of charges. Finally, T-Mobile has a higher degree of cost transparency.

Consumption of information in Canada and Mexico
The roaming now for both AT&T and T-Mobile involves talk, text, and LTE data while in Canada or Mexico. AT&T has introduced their cheaper unlimited plans, which only allow data usage at 2G speeds. It costs more for the higher-speed data bucket since they are considered separate lines. For T-Mobile, high-speed data abroad is provided free of charge and this means we are offering you additional services for the base rate.

Retail Store Experience
Should you ever need to go to a wireless store, prepare yourself to encounter a commission-based salesperson who will push for you to get as many devices and plans as you can. Unlike your base plan and phone selection, T-Mobile stores get retail employees' sales commission mostly from accessories and internet service. This results in a somewhat lower pressure to sell a customer a higher-priced package compared to AT&T stores. The final T-Mobile retail experience portrays less pressure on the clients to purchase additional services as seen in the overall experience.

BYOD Promotions
T-Mobile, for instance, promises bill credits, this is usually availed when you are changing from another carrier and bring along your smartphone. These can cover the costs of your service for almost a year and this is a big incentive in joining. Contrary to this, AT&T less often offers new customers lower rates for bringing their phones.

In conclusion, T-Mobile provides cheaper monthly prices for unlimited data, has no activation or upgrade fees, and has promos exclusive to new T-Mobile customers that cannot even be matched by AT&T. Taking into account all the costs associated with cell phone service, T-Mobile is usually not far from the company’s slogan about cheaper service as compared to the major players such as AT&T. However, there are some things that one must note with any of such airlines as one decides whether to economize or to go for limitations such as the airline networks depending on the places of needed service.

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