Comparing prepaid and monthly billing plans

The market for prepaid plans is skyrocketing in the cellular phone business, but monthly plans are still the norm. The question is, which do you take? Before you ask your friends what they're on, look at yourself first. Prepaid and monthly plans fit different people in different situations.

Calling needs and patterns are the key to choosing between prepaid and monthly plans. But the positive differences that you may encounter in choosing a monthly plan are minute when you compare them to what you may experience with a prepaid plan.

There are basic things you should ask yourself. How many minutes do I spend on cellular phone calls per month? Am I maximizing the free minutes on my monthly plan? How much is the rate differential between the two?

After you determine the answers to these questions, then and only then can you decide.

Listed below are the pros and cons of prepaid plans.

Prepaid Pros

1. Prepaid plans are easier to get than monthly plans since they don't require a credit check. This allows someone "in a rut" to avail of a prepaid plan without having to prove one can pay for it.
2. Of course, no monthly fees. No fixed minutes that you need to work with.
3. Prepaid minutes can last for longer months, usually a couple or three. So you don't need to use up your minutes right away. This can prove practical for people who don't make as much calls on their cellular phones, and it's cheaper than paying for monthly minutes you don't even use.
4. Monthly service fees are certainly out of the question.
5. No security deposits, which monthly plans may require
6. There is no contract to pore over or get trapped in.
7. Changing providers is free and easy to do.
8. Perfect for people who only keep a cell phone for emergencies.
9. Improved budgeting, since you know exactly how much you will spend.
10. And as an added bonus, anonymity can be kept, as a prepaid plan can be activated with fake, even funny names. Fit for a celebrity just like you.

Prepaid Cons

1. There are prepaid plans that do not carry all extra services such as web surfing on your phone or using them in analog areas.
2. More expensive minutes, basically. Even doubling monthly plan minute rates. This, my friends, is the clincher.
3. Deals cannot get as sweet as periodical monthly plans which, most of the time, include free cell phone units and discounts.
4. Not fit for people with long term, normalized and usage-heavy calling patterns.

So, have you decided on anything yet? No? Well, think about this, if you don't really call that much and just lug around a cell phone to make sure your kid can call you in an emergency, get a prepaid plan. If you're a businessman burning the wire whenever, wherever, or simply stable and reliant on your cell phone enough to know that you can max out the services of a provider, get a monthly plan.

Or, get the best of both worlds. Get a monthly plan for local business and personal needs. And when you're out of the country, where roaming charges may cost a heck of a lot more if you continue using that monthly plan of yours, get a prepaid plan in the country you're in.