Crunching the Numbers On Shared Cellphone Contracts

itwbennett writes "The Wall Street Journal has a handy online calculator to help you sort out which phone plan is best for you. But one thing you'll notice is that shared or 'family' plans rarely offer any real savings, or benefits beyond the convenience of having a single bill, says blogger Kevin Purdy, who is bracing himself to propose a phone plan separation with his wife."

Comments

Wrong conclusion?

[Todd Knarr]

I priced it out using that calculator for 4 lines (unlimited voice, unlimited messaging, 2GB data per line). T-Mobile costs $140/month for a shared plan vs. $240/month for 4 individual plans. For 2 lines it'd be $100/month shared vs. $120/month for 2 individual plans. I see exactly the opposite of the claim: the shared plan is more economical than individual plans for everything but the most limited usage. And that T-Mobile's plans are more economical than anybody else's, which may explain why T-Mobile had such a good quarter.

Re:What About the MVNOs?

[Phreakiture]

The calculator is also wrong.

According to this calculator, I should be paying $210/month before any taxes and fees, with my particular carrier and profile. I am, in fact, paying $140 after all taxes and fees. Given that it provides incorrect information for what I know, I don't feel I can trust it to provide me correct information for comparison purposes.