Month-to-Month vs. 2-Year Contract?

[tlehmann]

My upgrade is coming up at the end of July, and I'm considering buying my next phone off-contract. I'm curious, with Verizon's current $10 discount for month-to-month customers, is it cheaper to buy a $600 phone off-contract and pay month-to-month, or is the 2-year contract cheaper? Going by my calculations and my understanding of the plans, buying the phone off contract and paying monthly costs some $200 more than the 2-year contract. This can't be right, can it? How would I get the cheapest month-to-month plan?

 

[str8bucs]

With AT&T I have worked the calculations forwards and backwards.

In the end you pay the same amount out of pocket over a 2 year period

 

[Mooncatt]

That's pretty much my numbers as well. Also consider going with a 10 GB plan, as that would give you $25/line off the monthly bill and may work to your advantage if buying off contract.

 

[dpham00]

It depends on your needs and what plan you are on. Verizon does offer $25 discount per line for the 10GB tier or higher.

If you only need 2gb and a single line, the $60 loyalty plan with unlimited talk and text and 2gb data is probably the best option and includes subsidized phones.

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

 

[tlehmann]

I should elaborate on my situation. There are 3 lines on my Shared Everything plan with unlimited texts and minutes and 6GB of shared data. There is an iPhone 5S, a Galaxy S5, and my phone, the Galaxy S3. I am the next line to be available for an upgrade. I was hoping that buying my new phone off-contract and then paying month-to-month would be the same price after two years as it would be if it were a 2-year contract. What I am thinking now, though, is that I wouldn't be able to be on that Shared Everything plan. Is that correct? Also, is it possible to upgrade all three phones to a More Everything plan and have just one of those devices pay on a month-to-month basis? Sorry if that's a little confusing :P

 

[Mooncatt]

I could be wrong, but it sounds like with options like Edge and bring your own device, that phones no longer have to new tied into a plan contract unless you really want it. So add long as you're eligible for renewal/upgrades, I think you can do it like you want. If the phones are under an existing contract, you may have to wait until it's up to move them to different plans.