Best Cell Phone Service in La Crescenta, CA

How to Choose the Best Cell Service in La Crescenta, CA

With all the different carriers and types of plans on the market, you have plenty of options when you're shopping for new wireless service in La Crescenta, CA. Deciding on a plan typically comes down to what you need and your budget, but even when you find one that fits your needs, it's still good to shop around and compare what's out there. After all, there's no sense paying any more than you have to for your cell phone plan, and you may end up with a better deal for the same talk, text, and data limits. MyRatePlan focuses on simplifying the process of choosing your next cell phone plan, so you spend less time shopping and save more money. That's why we have a comparison tool featuring the best prices on a range of cell phones and all kinds of plans.

Types of Cell Phone Plans in La Crescenta, CA

Residents of La Crescenta, CA typically look for plans that fit their talking and texting needs. They want a plan that has enough talk and text time, as well as reliable data coverage if they aren't using Wi-Fi. When you are choosing wireless service, you should consider how much talk, text, and data you need per month.

Many people now depend on their cell phone plan for all of their communication needs. If this is the case, it is important to have a plan that fits every need that you have. Use MyRatePlan to look up different carriers and their plans to see how much money you could save with each. If you already have a wireless plan, price match with other companies to see if you could get a better rate. When looking for wireless plans, you will come across three main categories: individual, family, and no contract plans.

Individual plans, also known as single line plans, will only give you one line that has one rate for everything: talk, text and data. No other phone plans or devices will be part of this plan. This is perfect when you don't have children or a spouse that you need to add on.

If you need a phone for the different members of your family, then a family plan may be right for you. These types of plans offer a mix of options and devices that are more expensive than a single plan, but still cheaper when you need to have two or more lines. Most family plans offer shared minutes and text messages, as well as a shared data plan. Just remember to purchase a service that will allow everyone the coverage that they need.

No contract plans are also known as prepaid or pay-as-you-go plans. These types of cell phone plans are much more flexible when it comes to pricing and payments. Many people remember these plans as the cheap phones that you would buy along with a card, but nowadays these cell phone plans offer many of the greater smartphones and better service. Most department stores in La Crescenta, CA offer prepaid cell phones that you can buy and start using right away. You can also use MyRatePlan's prepaid plan finder and order a prepaid or pay-as-you-go SIM card. You will only have to pay for what you actually need, but additional fees could apply. However, you will never be bound to a contract.

When you purchase a contract plan, you may have to sign up for a two-year plan, although there are carriers that still offer one-year plans. You can pay every month for both the plan and a new cell phone, but you have to keep up your payments for the whole length of the contract. In order to terminate the contract, you will have to pay an early termination fee, which could cost hundreds of dollars, along with any penalties. However, most carriers offer no contract plans only nowadays.

What Wireless Plan Is Best For You in La Crescenta, CA?

To determine the type of plan you need, decide how many people you want to have on your plan and the services you need. Carriers break down their plans by the talk, text, and data limits.

If you're looking for the lowest price, look into a contract plan with a limited number of minutes and text messages (probably 400 or less). Keep in mind that you get the most bang for your buck with unlimited plans, and those are best if you talk and text often throughout the day. When you're on a prepaid plan, you deposit money onto your wireless card, and then use that money to buy minutes (by either paying per minute or buying a package of minutes).

It's crucial that you find a plan with enough mobile data. It's rare to find truly unlimited data plans, and carriers in La Crescenta, CA typically charge quite a bit for high data use. Data pricing is per megabyte or gigabyte, with gigabytes being more common as data needs have grown. If you go over your data limit, you may get an overage charge or the carrier could throttle (slow down) your data.

Compare Cell Phone Carriers in La Crescenta, CA

All the major national carriers (AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, and Sprint) cover La Crescenta, CA. The city also has alternate, smaller carriers, referred to as MVNOs, available. The MVNOs use the larger carriers' networks, so coverage is still strong when you go with a smaller carrier.

AT&T has been one of the nation's largest wireless providers for decades. The carrier has all the plan options listed above, including individual, family, contract, and no contract plans.

Verizon Wireless has the same types of plans, with a slightly different selection process. The first thing you do with Verizon Wireless is choose your prepaid plan (if you're going no-contract) or your shared data plan, with each plan offering a different data limit. An individual or a family can make use of a shared data plan through Verizon Wireless, and each of those plans include unlimited minutes and text messages.

Sprint has the usual individual, family, and prepaid plans, but it separates itself from the pack with its unlimited data option. Unlike other carriers that throttle your data, Sprint has a real unlimited 4G LTE plan called Unlimited Freedom. It also has a unique type of family plan for friends and family, called the Better Choice Plan.

T-Mobile has nothing but no-contract plans, and chose to call itself the 'uncarrier' because of that. Offering both individual and family plans under its T-Mobile ONE and Simple Choice plans, the carrier offers customers unlimited minutes and text messages, with data throttled at different limits depending on the plan you choose.

Use the MyRatePlan cell phone plan comparison tool above to compare different carriers and plans with service in La Crescenta, CA. We also include other smaller carriers (those aforementioned MVNOs) so you can see what every carrier offers.