which mobile phone plan is more cost effective? contract lines or pay as you go?

Answer 1

The answer to your and most other mobile users' question all depends on your usage.

If you are only intending on using your phone to make one or two calls per day and for a short conversation to another person in the UK then Pay as You Go is definately for you.
Remember that PAYG usually costs more per minute than contract deals.

If you are likely to use your phone for more than the time stated above then you should opt for a contract deal.
Try to get as close as you can when picking a contract deal to the amount of minutes and text you are going to use on a monthly basis, even try beaking it down to a daily avarage first.

Try not to get drawn into a deal that looks fantastic with FREE gifts and line rental if the minutes and text don't match your requirements.

With Line Rental discounts you will need to claim these as stated in the retailers T & C's - sometimes up to four times within your contract term, remember, some people do forget and lose out.

For Pay As You Go see:
http://www.bestbuymobilephones.com/pay-as-you-go.html

For Contracts see:
http://www.bestbuymobilephones.com/index.html

Hope this helps,

Andrew

Answer 2

Depending on how much you think you are going to use it, contracts are the way to go for most people, because you can get packages with free minutes and depending on the carrier you can also get roll over, free mobile to mobile, free nights and weekends.

The key to picking a plan is figuring out how much you are going to use the phone, and then not going nuts with your phone. That's why a lot of the cell phone carriers give away free minutes. They want to get you use to using your cell phone a lot. It actually doesn't cost them anything extra. Eventually, once they have everybody hooked on using cell phones I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see the amount of free minutes starting to go away. Right now, it's a very competitive market, but you know how things go they do change.

I have never had a Pay As You Go, so I don't know very much about them, but it's my understanding that if you don't use up your time within 3 months (I think, that's the time limit) you lose your time and your money.

Answer 3

I had several contracts with various providers over the years for my work. Upon moving to FL however my cell phone use dropped considerably because the office I work in does not allow cell phones and no signal reaches them.

Also my responsibilties for being -on call- have disappeared so I don't get random calls anytime day or night. I haven't had a pager now in a year- What joy that is!

Because my usage dropped through the floor when it came time to switch the rep told me flat out not to bother with a contract. I was paying to have a phone I barely used.

It comes down to how often you will use the phone and what times of day.And of course who you call. If you make alot of local calls but need to be reachable whereever whenever and don't work in an office you need a cell phone.

If your calls will be after 7-9 pm social cell phone then see if you can piggy back on someone's plan or chose a low rate with free minutes after 7-9pm. It will keep your cost down. If you are a business person who makes calls during the day you need a high minute rate plan that wont ding you when your bill comes.

Remember you can always- upgrade a plan rarely do they allow you to downgrade. Watch your calls and times during the first 30 days if you see you are using more then you expected- upgrade before the end of the month usually they will redo your bill to reflect the new plan before a huge bill hits.

The pefect plan depends on usage- location (roaming verses home areas) and being responsible. Watch your bill- check it online once a week so you know exactly what your costs are and upgrade as needed so you don't get a monster bill.

Answer 4

I was on contract but now pay as you go as cheaper for me.

With contracts it made sound good if you get a free phone but then you got to go on a certain price plan to get phone free in some cases and also sign up to a 18 month contract (not many 12 months ones left and some are even 24 months!!) but when you look at the cost of a free upgrade every year if you get one you have virtually piad the cost of the "FREE" phone over the contract period!!!!!

I did a calclation on a contract price plan how much the "FREE" phone would have cost me and its cheaper to buy phone on pay as you go.

There's lots of good deals on T Mobile and 02 on pay as you go at moment and is actually cheaper than their contract deals and also you can unlock your phone and just buy a new sim card without having to give notice if a better deal comes up on another network and you can still take your existing number with you!

Answer 5

Depends on your usage and how often you are likely to change your handset. i.e if you like a new model every 12 months or so, a phone that is 300 pounds on pay as you go could be free on contract for bout the same money over 12 months but with the benefit of inclusive calls, texts etc. Pay as you go is really only cheaper if you don't use your phone a lot and if you're not bothered about keeping up with the latest handsets. It varies from person to person.
I've always stayed with contract as it offers me the best solution.

Answer 6

I think contract is the best, and Orange do some amazing online deals! Although you might not get all the freebies thrown in, it gives you around 500 minutes plus unlimited texts (unless that offer has ended) Contract phones are great when you spot a good deal, and you dont have to keep topping up every so many days. (I forgot to mention that on contract with Orange you get free broadband)

I personally would go for contract

Cuddles x

Answer 7

Pay as you go are certainly the best bet if you are often out of the country. However, contract phones are a bit cheaper, if you are going to be in the country for the greater part of the month, and you do not lose it or have it stolen!

Answer 8

For me pay as you go.
Have spent less than £20 in the last 8 months.
But I only use it for emergencies, I'm late, what do you want for tea? sort of calls.
Also, I have no friends.

Answer 9

contracts, if you get the right one, are almost half the cost of running a pay as you go. Nowdays, there are some great deals out there, that are far better on contract. some companies, even pay you!

Answer 10

pay as you go is more cost effective, you wont be tempted to overspend and run up the mobile bill