Smartphone plans on national carriers like Verizon and AT&T can often be expensive and hard to make sense of. From steadily increasing rates to hidden fees, it’s not uncommon for folks on cellular plans to feel like they’re simultaneously being held hostage and taken advantage of. Then, take into account the cost of Apple’s iPhone, and your monthly bill is suddenly even more daunting.
There is, however, an alternative worth looking into if you’re keen on significantly reducing how much you pay for monthly cell coverage. Specifically, you might want to take a hard look at Google Fi, Google’s own makeshift cellular service that was previously known as Project Fi.
There are some caveats to using Google Fi as an iPhone user to cuts your costs, but first, we’ll tackle the service itself and highlight some of its advantages.
Lower your iPhone monthly bill
The cheapest Google Fi plan for an individual is just $20 per month, but this plan only makes sense if you rely heavily on Wi-Fi and barely use any data. The $20/month plan, it’s worth noting, will cost you $10 extra a month for every 1GB of data you use.
The real savings, though, come into play when you sign up for the $60/month plan which provides unlimited data along with unlimited calling and texting. There are also no contracts or activation fees which is a nice perk. The most expensive Google Fi plan, meanwhile, costs $70 per month (closer to $80 with taxes) and includes 100GB of cloud storage, free international data when traveling outside the US, and free calls to over 50 international destinations. Further, Google Fi doesn’t include any additional roaming charges when traveling abroad.
Of course, the savings provided by Google Fi become even more impressive when you explore some of the service’s family plans. A family of four, for example, can sign up for 4 lines with unlimited data for just $120.
All that said, one of the most appealing aspects of Google Fi is how flexible it is. Specifically, it’s easy to pause your plan, cancel it, or even add a new member to your family plan without dealing with the hidden fees and bureaucratic nonsense that often plagues nationwide carriers. What’s more, Google Fi makes it easy to switch between plans on the fly, as often as once a month and as many times as you want.
So if you have an iPhone, is cutting your cost with Google Fi a no-brainer? Well, not quite.
Is Google Fi good for every iPhone user?
As GearPatrol notes, Google Fi for the iPhone is still in beta which means that there are some downsides you should be aware of.
This means that iPhone users won’t get all the same features of Google Fi as Android users. For instance, iPhone users still can’t call or text over Wi-Fi, which is convenient for people in homes with poor cell service. The other big thing is that the iPhone can’t be tied to a carrier – it needs to be unlocked. (If your iPhone was purchased through a carrier, you need to go to Apple to see if they can unlock it for you, but you may be out of luck.)
If you’re an Android user, naturally, you can enjoy the full range of Google Fi benefits without any of the limitations. That notwithstanding, if you’re an iPhone user looking for a markedly cheaper plan, Google Fi might be worth considering, especially if you’re prone to traveling internationally.
