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This is not my site, I am making nothing off of it, but I consulted it back when I used a prepaid phone (though I admit I never actually switched off Virgin Mobile since at the time, it was the most convenient and _close_ to cheapest with its autopay system).

http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

I do miss the $15 prepaid candybar Nokia phone. Only did basic texts and phone... but it worked well, and Nokia's UI for the feature phones is unmatched.

Cheap prepaid plans at $3/month or less can still be found: http://www.cellguru.net/prepai...
There are even some cheap unlimited plans without data for $20 or less: http://www.prepaidphonenews.co...

Can you link me to it? I think it is now $35/month.

As I said, it's $30 with autopay. Virgin Mobile saves you $5/month on various (maybe all) plans if you set up credit card autopay. I was doing that when I had a prepaid mobile phone, and was down to $5/month overall cost (it charged $15 every 3 months).

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/shop/cell-phones/iPhone4S-16GB-phone/features/#plan

Though here's the link I have posted before about even cheaper prepaid plans. I have no idea which if any can be used with an unlocked iPhone.
http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm I think you'll find something you can use.

No they aren't. Of course I'm actually talking of one who doesn't use the phone a _ton_. For someone who talks very frequently on the phone, a regular subscription could be cheaper. But for low/moderate use, prepaid can be way cheaper. Before I had a work supplied phone, I had a prepaid phone and paid only $5/month, but it was effectively an emergency phone (rarely used). This site has a good comparison for prepaid phone: http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

If you don't use many minutes, you don't need a "plan" at all. Just get a prepaid phone..

http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

You can go way lower than $30/month, especially if you're carrying it essentially as an "emergency" phone. I think of it as "a pay phone in your pocket". (Though I let mine lapse since I currently have a work supplied phone.)

http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

I presume you are referring to a US prepaid phone, right? If so, I'm curious which it is. I currently have a work supplied phone, but previously had a prepaid phone. While I do see one for $.83/month on the page I'll mention next, that is for a $100 prepayment.

I have no affiliation with this site, but the chart I've used in the past for comparison is this:
http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

You can get cheap service in the US. Prepay. As low as $3.00/month + 8 or 9 cents per minute. 5 cents per SMS. Using this article's ridiculous number of 1680 minutes per year as "high use" that would cost $12.60/month at the 9 cent rate. Using their 660 MMS number for "high use", $2.75/month. 12 MMSs per year... that's $0.29/month. Total for a "high-use" plan in the US using pre-pay: $18.64.

So just what the heck is so expensive about that?

If you spend $150/year, and you're paying a $1 fee on the days that you use the phone at all, it seems to me like you'd save a lot of money going with another prepaid phone. I have a Virgin Mobile phone, and I spend $5/month because I have it auto-pay via my credit card. I could go lower if I switched to another phone. (I keep it mostly as an 'emergency' phone. I realize that unsubscribed phones can call 911.. I mean that as well as calling AAA if necessary or very rare other calls.)

A site that compares a ton of different prepaid phones is http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm (I have no affiliation with the site).

You're paying way more than you need to for pay as you go. Check out http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm
(not my site), or other comparison sites.

That's WAY more expensive than you need to pay. You are talking about VOIP for all phone use from work & home, then a 'real' cell phone for other use, right?
Then use a prepaid cell phone. I pay $5/month for mine, some go even lower.

http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

That's still awfully expensive.

Check out
http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

(I actually have one of the _more_ expensive ones on there, and I pay $5/month for my cell phone.)

I'm not sure how much you pay for your current phone, but even at 100 minutes/month, you should consider a prepaid phone.
A good comparison site (not mine) is http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

Even at the highest rates, you'd be paying at most $25 for that (i.e. .25/minute), though prepaid phones are often much less than that, especially when more minutes are used on a single day (i.e. the rate drops for me after 10 mins/day, which I don't think I've ever hit).

U.S. PAYG plans are massive ripoffs.

Prepaid phones don't allow rollover minutes

Most of them don't. I have one. 7-11 stores have a prepaid plan called Speakout Wireless ( http://www.cellguru.net/speakout.htm is a good intro) where any minutes you add to the card are good for a year--and if you add more minutes, even nearly year old ones that otherwise would have expired are brought back to current.

I can only comment on the Cingular-based version of the plan, but I've gotten two of those models with Nokia phones and been very happy. The coverage seems no crappier than what other Cingular subscribers in the area get, it's been basically reliable for me on the east coast (I'm at points from DC to Boston regularly), and I can easily hold my monthly expense to under $10 if I'm only using the phone occasionally.

Dave at http://www.cellguru.net/ has an excellant chart comparing prepay plans. Alas, most eat your time every 30/60 days. But some less so than others...

Some areas can get really cheap pre-paid old-tech these days. But without a location, I'll assume you want something that could be just about anyplace in the U.S.

If you need the best national coverage, it will end up costing you at least $8/month to keep alive a plan from. (That's CDMA or TDMA... Tracfone has a newer setup using GSM, but that will cost more money and much worse coverage.) Get a referral from someone before activating, you'll get free minutes and so will they. Starter kit with phone and a few minutes will cost you $20 on up. That's about the cheapest way to get started, but beware that you have to use their phone, and their phones only work with tracfone.

The cheapest national option I've found is if t-mobile has prepaid coverage where you need it (most metro areas, interstate highways, etc). The coverage map on is really good, but do not confuse the prepaid map with the post-paid contract map. Buy a starter kit for about $30-40 (walmart or after rebate, better if you watch slickdeals or fatwallet) or more depending on what phone you want (any t-mobile or unlocked GSM phone with U.S. frequency bands will work if you just buy a prepaid sim on e.g. e-bay), and buy a $100 refill (1000 minutes, use a coupon at e.g. staples or online discount reseller and get it for $80). Those minutes will last for a year, so under $9/month (plus the phone) for 1000 minutes total. It's a HUGE win in year two IFF you don't need minutes. A $10 card will keep your minutes alive for another year, or under $0.10 per month.

Check out the best prepaid plan comparison I've seen.

sdb

P.S. Wife and I have t-mobile prepaid. Several members of my extended family have tracfone. I hate that t-mobile started charging for incoming SMS/MMS messages, but haven't found anything better enough to be worth switching or even to recommend instead.