I recently switched to Ting from Virgin Mobile. I have already blogged a couple times about the switch. In one post I talked about why Ting is better than Virgin Mobile and in the other post I talked about why I made the switch. In this post I want to compare Ting vs. Virgin Mobile for different types of users.
Always On Wifi – Advantage Ting
If you are like me and always on wifi then Ting is for you. Ting’s voice minutes are cheap enough and their text minutes are cheaper. If you use a lot of data Ting can get expensive. I myself am always on wifi so my actual mobile data usage is minimal. There are lots of days when I use no data at all because I was at home all day and on my wifi. Because I’m on wifi so much, I also minimize my mobile minutes by using a voip app like Magicjack’s app or SparePhone or GrooVeIP.
Always On The Road – Advantage Virgin Mobile
If you are on the road a lot and not connected to wifi then Virgin Mobile is for you. They offer unlimited data plans which only throttle your data speed when you cross 2GB. Heaving mobile data users should not switch to Ting. Ting will get very expensive fast for heavy mobile data users.
Sir Talks A Lot – Slight Advantage Virgin Mobile
If you talk a lot then the unlimited voice plan with Virgin Mobile might be for you. For $55 per month you can have unlimited talk time on Virgin Mobile. If you talk 3000 minutes a month, on Ting it would cost you $52 for just the voice minutes (not counting service, mobile data or text messages). So, it really depends on what you consider a lot of talk minutes. If you consider 1000 minutes a lot, then Ting could still be for you. If you talk more than 1000 minutes on a single phone plan, then you should look at Virgin Mobile. If you talk have multiple devices then the lines start to get fuzzy. One heavy talker in a family of four might still come out ahead on Ting.
Family Plan – Advantage Ting
Virgin mobile does not offer any discounts for multiple devices. Ting only charges $6 per device and all devices contribute to the overall voice minutes, data usage and texting charges. Since neither provider offers any discount for texting or calling between family members, that doesn’t come into play. Ting is a better choice for families unless you have a couple heavy mobile data users or a couple heavy talkers.
Texty Texterson – Slight Advantage Ting
Ting does charge you for each text message but the rates are pretty low. Unless you are texting many thousands of times a month, Ting probably still makes sense. Virgin Mobile will offer unlimited texting for $35/mo. On Ting you could send 4000 texts, medium data usage and flip flop between 100 and 500 voice minutes for the same price. On a family plan it tilts more towards Ting as well.
If you find my blog posts about Ting helpful and are considering signing up for Ting, please consider using this link. If you use this link to sign up, we will both get a $25 credit in our Ting accounts (thanks!) https://zejffn1eh54.ting.com/
Monty Kamath 