4 ms·

Genuinely curious why anyone would choose Google Fi over a way cheaper prepaid plan that's almost half the monthly cost for roughly the same experience. Also Go

Genuinely curious why anyone would choose Google Fi over a way cheaper prepaid plan that's almost half the monthly cost for roughly the same experience. Also Google support is truly terrible.

dont__panic 4y ago
Happy customer for 4-5 years here. I don't stream much over cellular -- I keep maps, music, podcasts, etc. mostly on my phone storage -- so I never use more than 1GB. Price comes out to less than $30/mo as a result. None of the major carriers can even scratch that price point for a single device. Most are upwards of twice the price per month, plus BS activation fees etc. I've considered switching to other MVNOs like Mint, but when I take a look at the pricing, it seems like the only way to go lower in price than what I currently pay is promotional rates. And if the price will spike after a year, I'm not interested in going through the process of switching my line over, creating a new account, and all that jazz. Fi works well and costs me a reasonable price per month so I stick with it. Another benefit: if I ever get a cellular smart watch or a cellular tablet, you can get data-only SIMs on Fi for no monthly cost -- it just shares the same data pool as your phone. That means I could someday run a laptop, hotspot, phone, watch, tablet, etc. all off a "1 person" Fi unlimited plan for $70/mo all-in. Not too shabby.
papa_bear 4y ago
The ease of international usage with no roaming charges or extra eSims is what keeps me using it.
wnevets 4y ago
> a way cheaper prepaid plan that's almost half the monthly cost for roughly the same experience. Which prepaids? The last time I compared Fi to my prepaid plan they were roughly the same cost.
- eBombzor 4y ago
  Single user? Mint comes out to 20 a month for 10gb if you pre pay for a year. Google fi starts at 20 and then 10 for an additional gig. That's actually way more 2x the price if you use more than 2gb of data.
  - dont__panic 4y ago
    Pre-paying for a year is a significant sunk cost. What's the per-month cost if you don't prepay for a year?
    - eBombzor 4y ago
      Google it yourself
  - wnevets 4y ago
    edit: nm, I misread the page.
cmeacham98 4y ago
Link the prepaid plan with unlimited data for both a phone, a tablet, and via a hotspot (and unlimited text/call on the phone obviously) each for 4 lines at $40/line/month and I'll switch today.
- teg4n_ 4y ago
  Us Mobile is very competitive. I use a pooled data plan tho instead of “unlimited” because it’s only $2/gig and i typically use way less than what i would need to to make the unlimited plans worth it. I end up paying $30-$40 a month total for 2 lines.
  - cmeacham98 4y ago
    I use on average 30-40 GB/month and have hit as high as 100 in a month in the past (the other people on my plan aren't as bad, but are similar). I understand that "unlimited" plans mean I'll generally eventually hit a limit where my speeds get throttled but $2/GB is not comparable to Google Fi at all.
    - teg4n_ 4y ago
      They have plans similar to GoogleFi as well.
      - cmeacham98 4y ago
        Their unlimited plans look interesting (roughly equivalent for $30/month) but I don't see any info on if they offer data-only SIMs similar to Google Fi. If they do I'd definitely strongly consider switching.
        cmeacham98 4y ago
        Update: US Mobile does not include taxes and regulatory fees in their listed pricing (Google Fi does), which still makes them better but not by as much.
- 4y ago

Genuinely curious why anyone would choose Google Fi over a way cheaper prepaid plan that's almost half the monthly cost for roughly the same experience. Also Google support is truly terrible.

dont__panic 4y ago

Happy customer for 4-5 years here. I don't stream much over cellular -- I keep maps, music, podcasts, etc. mostly on my phone storage -- so I never use more than 1GB. Price comes out to less than $30/mo as a result. None of the major carriers can even scratch that price point for a single device. Most are upwards of twice the price per month, plus BS activation fees etc. I've considered switching to other MVNOs like Mint, but when I take a look at the pricing, it seems like the only way to go lower in price than what I currently pay is promotional rates. And if the price will spike after a year, I'm not interested in going through the process of switching my line over, creating a new account, and all that jazz. Fi works well and costs me a reasonable price per month so I stick with it. Another benefit: if I ever get a cellular smart watch or a cellular tablet, you can get data-only SIMs on Fi for no monthly cost -- it just shares the same data pool as your phone. That means I could someday run a laptop, hotspot, phone, watch, tablet, etc. all off a "1 person" Fi unlimited plan for $70/mo all-in. Not too shabby.

papa_bear 4y ago

The ease of international usage with no roaming charges or extra eSims is what keeps me using it.

wnevets 4y ago

> a way cheaper prepaid plan that's almost half the monthly cost for roughly the same experience. Which prepaids? The last time I compared Fi to my prepaid plan they were roughly the same cost.

eBombzor 4y ago
Single user? Mint comes out to 20 a month for 10gb if you pre pay for a year. Google fi starts at 20 and then 10 for an additional gig. That's actually way more 2x the price if you use more than 2gb of data.
- dont__panic 4y ago
  Pre-paying for a year is a significant sunk cost. What's the per-month cost if you don't prepay for a year?
  - eBombzor 4y ago
    Google it yourself
- wnevets 4y ago
  edit: nm, I misread the page.

cmeacham98 4y ago

Link the prepaid plan with unlimited data for both a phone, a tablet, and via a hotspot (and unlimited text/call on the phone obviously) each for 4 lines at $40/line/month and I'll switch today.

teg4n_ 4y ago
Us Mobile is very competitive. I use a pooled data plan tho instead of “unlimited” because it’s only $2/gig and i typically use way less than what i would need to to make the unlimited plans worth it. I end up paying $30-$40 a month total for 2 lines.
- cmeacham98 4y ago
  I use on average 30-40 GB/month and have hit as high as 100 in a month in the past (the other people on my plan aren't as bad, but are similar). I understand that "unlimited" plans mean I'll generally eventually hit a limit where my speeds get throttled but $2/GB is not comparable to Google Fi at all.
  - teg4n_ 4y ago
    They have plans similar to GoogleFi as well.
    - cmeacham98 4y ago
      Their unlimited plans look interesting (roughly equivalent for $30/month) but I don't see any info on if they offer data-only SIMs similar to Google Fi. If they do I'd definitely strongly consider switching.
      - cmeacham98 4y ago
        Update: US Mobile does not include taxes and regulatory fees in their listed pricing (Google Fi does), which still makes them better but not by as much.
4y ago