Best Cell Phone Service in New York

Finding a Cell Phone Plan in New York

There are many companies that offer cell phone plans to the residents of New York, and this makes it easy to find an affordable plan. Prior to looking for plans, be fully aware of what you can pay, and stay within this price range. When you begin looking, it is important to examine as many plans within your price range as possible to ensure you get the best deal. MyRatePlan gives you the tools necessary to find the best plan within your price range. If you think you have found a good plan, do a bit more research to make sure that there isn't one with the same features for a lower price.

Different Types of Cell Phone Plans Available in New York

Most customers in the New York area are looking for a few features when they choose a phone. These are: minutes offered, how many text messages they can make and receive, and data plans. When you plan to use your phone for multiple things, you'll want a service that offers a good deal for all of these amenities.

Many people now completely depend on their cell phone for their communication needs, either through phone calls, text messages, live face-to-face apps, email and more. Our service allows you to look at the different ways you can communicate and see just what you can save. You'll be able to choose from three groups of wireless plans in New York, which will include family, individual and no contract plans.

Single line plans are perfect when you only need to have service for one cell phone. You'll receive a rate for talk, text and data usage that will not include another phone or device. This is the best cell phone plan if you do not have a spouse or children who also need a phone.

If you have a spouse or children who do need cell phones, a family plan may be your best option. Family plans do cost more but are the best choice when two or more lines are necessary. The fees are less than if you would purchase separate lines for your family. Since family plans offer shared minutes, texts, and data, be sure to choose a plan that will cover everyone in your family.

A prepaid cell phone plan, also known as month-to-month, no contract and pay-as-you-go, is the most flexible option in terms of pricing and payments. Prepaid phone service in New York is much more advanced than it was years ago. While you can choose to only pay the amount that you are comfortable with, there can be additional fees. The actual phones themselves may be priced higher to make up the difference in price. However, you're likely to find a newer smartphone with most companies; plus, you will never be bound by a contract.

Most contacts with the major carriers require you to sign up for one to two years, with most contracts being two. Every month you pay a certain amount that goes toward your bill and possibly the actual cost of the phone, if you choose to spread out the payments, and you will have to pay this amount for the whole length of the cell phone contract. Canceling this contract means having to pay an early termination fee, which can cost you hundreds of dollars, especially if you have more than one phone on your plan.

What's The Best Cell Phone Plan in New York

To figure out which plan is right for you, you have to decide which features you want (talk, text, data), how much of each feature you need, the number of people you want on your plan, and whether or not you want a contract.

Looking for a cheaper plan? You can save money if you get a contract plan with a very limited amount of minutes and text messages, usually about 400 or less of each. You're always able to increase the minutes and texts later if necessary. Keep in mind that you pay much less per minute and per text when you go with an unlimited plan, plus you don't have to worry about overages. If you want to avoid a contract, you can get a wireless card for a prepaid plan. You put money onto that card and then use it to buy more texts, minutes, and data.

One of the most expensive parts of the plan is often the data. You'll find that New York phone carriers usually charge quite a bit of money when you use high amounts of data, and that unlimited data plans are few and far between. Data plans limit you to a certain number of megabytes or gigabytes. Once you go past your data limit, your carrier either charges you more, or throttles your data.

Compare Cell Phone Plans in New York

The major national carriers, which are AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, and Sprint, all cover New York. In addition, there are also smaller carriers, which are called MVNOs, that operate on the networks of those larger carriers.

AT&T has long been among the largest wireless providers. Its plan lineup includes all the standard options: individual, family, and no contract plans.

Verizon Wireless has the same lineup of plans, but with this carrier, you start by selecting either a prepaid plan or a shared data plan for a specific amount of data. An individual or a family can use any of this carrier's shared data plans, which all include unlimited talk and text.

Sprint has the standard plans available, but it also has a new family plan option known as the Better Choice Plan, which is unique in that it's available for friends and family. Another way Sprint stands out is its unlimited 4G LTE data plan, which is truly unlimited and doesn't have any throttling or overages.

T-Mobile refers to itself as the 'uncarrier' because it only offers no-contract plans for individuals and families. Its plans are called T-Mobile ONE and Simple Choice. They all have unlimited talk and text, and you choose the amount of data you want (if you exceed your plan's data limit, T-Mobile may throttle your data).

The major carriers have a strong lineup of plans, but there are plenty of other great cell carriers that have service and coverage in New York. We include cell phone plans from the MVNOs alongside plans from the largest carriers on our cell phone plan comparison tool that you can find above.