Consumer Cellular vs. Straight Talk

Consumer Cellular vs. Straight Talk: Plans and Costs

Consumer Cellular plans start at $15 per month for unlimited talk; however, most people will likely want the next plan up, which includes unlimited talk, unlimited text, and 1 GB of data for $20 per month. Consumer Cellular also offers plans with 10 GB of data for $35 per month and unlimited data for $50 per month.

Consumer Cellular Plans Compared

With Consumer Cellular, additional lines cost only $15, regardless of the plan you choose. For example, its unlimited data plan costs $50 for one line, $65 for two lines, $80 for three lines, and so on, all the way up to seven lines.

Additionally, if you don’t choose the unlimited data plan, Consumer Cellular doesn’t impose overage charges. Instead, if you exceed your monthly data allowance, you’ll automatically be upgraded to the next plan for that billing period.

Straight Talk’s plans operate a bit differently. Instead of paying on a monthly basis, subscribers must prepay for their service in one, three, six, or 12-month increments. Naturally, paying for more months at a time will result in a greater discount. For example, its Silver Unlimited plan costs $45 per month or $495 per year ($41.25 per line).

Straight Talk does not offer discounts for purchasing multiple lines.

Straight Talk Plans Compared

Straight Talk also gives you the option to purchase additional data and refill an existing plan at $5 per gigabyte. If not used, these purchases will carry over to your next service cycle.

Senior Plan Availability

Consumer Cellular offers a 5 percent discount on all of its plans to AARP members. It also offers a special plan for subscribers age 55 and older. With Consumer Cellular’s senior plan, you get unlimited talk, text, and data for $55 for two lines. While this plan requires you to purchase two lines, it’s definitely among the most affordable unlimited plans for seniors.

Currently, there is no Straight Talk plan for seniors.

Consumer Cellular vs. Straight Talk: Phones and Devices

Consumer Cellular and Straight Talk give you the option to bring your own phone and use it on their networks with one of their SIM cards. To see if your current phone is compatible with their networks, you can visit their websites, where they have a tool to check compatibility. From Consumer Cellular, the SIM card is free, while Straight Talk charges $0.99.

If you want to purchase a new device, both providers offer a similar lineup of iPhones, Android phones, and basic phones. Overall, the pricing is similar; however, we did notice that Straight Talk tended to offer slightly lower prices. For example, Consumer Cellular currently charges $429 for an iPhone SE while Straight Talk charges $380.

Since both providers offer similar phones at similar prices, we think that a choice of devices should not be a decision-making factor.

Consumer Cellular vs. Straight Talk: Coverage

Both Consumer Cellular and Straight Talk are MVNOs, meaning they lease their network from other providers. Straight Talk uses Verizon’s network, while Consumer Cellular uses the networks of both AT&T and T-Mobile.

The downside of an MVNO is that during times of heavy data usage, T-Mobile or AT&T will deprioritize service for MVNO users. One can expect to see this occur with both Straight Talk and Consumer Cellular.

That said, in our tests, we didn’t notice this occurring with either provider.

Our Favorite

While Straight Talk does offer reliable service at decent prices, unless you plan to use your phone for data-heavy tasks like streaming high-definition video, Consumer Cellular is definitely the better option.

Consumer Cellular’s plans start at $15 per month for unlimited talk, and if you’re an AARP member, you can get a plan with unlimited data for $27.50 per month. Whether you’re looking to get one line or seven, Consumer Cellular will offer the more affordable option.

To learn more about this plan, read our full Consumer Cellular review.