Pros / Cons of Tracfone and Net10

[K2RRT]

I know they are sister companies and I've done some number crunching but I'm looking for some real world comparisons between Net10 and tracfone. Which do you prefer and why?

[CeluGeek]

TracFone's rates are good for texting so if you text more than you talk, your search ends here. Also, it is easier to rack up service days on Trac than it is on Net10 so it makes for a great emergency phone.

Net10 is easier to manage. You know how much you'll pay per minute no matter what phone you choose and what airtime card you buy. You can get more minutes in TracFone for your money, but only if you have a phone with double minutes for life (DMFL) and you are willing to spend on an airtime card costing more than $60. Any TF airtime card of less than $60 will give you less minutes than Net10 even when DMFL phones are used.

That said, if you are willing to hunt down for TracFone promotional codes, you can get some good minute deals; plus using promo codes adds some fun and excitement to the experience I guess. However, if you expect prepaid service to be as uncomplicated as possible and are a moderate user, I think Net10 is a better deal.

Net10 also has an unlimited talk and messaging plan for $79.99/month for heavy users that do not want to get into a contract with one of the main carriers. I know MetroPCS and Cricket offer the same unlimited plans for less, but they are not present in all markets so Net10 has that option to ponder too.

[JimBones]

You can get more minutes in TracFone for your money, but only if you have a phone with double minutes for life (DMFL) and you are willing to spend on an airtime card costing more than $60. Any TF airtime card of less than $60 will give you less minutes than Net10 even when DMFL phones are used.

While it's true that you need DMFL it's actually a $40 (200 minutes) card or a $30 (120 minutes) card plus the $15 Supersize (an additional 120 minutes) option and that will give you 10 cents per minute or in the latter 0.93 cpm. This is without bonus codes which would give you a lower cost per minute.

Net10 (online) offers a refurbished Nokia 1600 with 300 minutes and 60 days on activation and a 300 minute card with an additional 60 days for $30.00. That would give you a cpm of 5 cent and 120 service days which you could then transfer to the phone of your choice. If you go that route, I suggest you buy two of them at time to qualify for free shipping. The refurb deal won't last forever so you might want to stock up on them.

[mharris127]

I prefer the Net10 format because I get a reasonable price (for my use) without having to hunt for bonus codes and hope they are accepted. In practice I use both because I had Trac before Net10 -- and my Trac phones have 1700 minutes that I do not want to waste, and my father uses so few minutes that Net10 is not practical for him (he has 746 minutes as we speak, built from 60 min. cards with bonus and 50 minute easy pay plan months).

[andrew2]

Tracfone fer sure. Don't use that many minutes and the days stack nicely.

[25jive1]

If it were'nt for stacking I would not have a Tracfone. I don't use a Trac very much, so long due dates are important because I can just set and wait for cheap minutes to come around. I actually enjoy playing the Trac game. Its just a hobby for me. I've accumulated several minutes on one of my phones at a sub .06 CPM rate....you can't do that with Net10.

[MikeZ3]

Tracfone - it has a cheaper minimum monthly rate. $100 for one year of Tracfone = $8.33 / month for 800 minutes of service (DMFL) plus bonus minutes, and not including the two free months that come with the phone.

Net10's minimum is $15 per month.

If you talk at least 150 minutes per month then Net10 is great and simple to use, but if you talk for less than 150 minutes per month then Tracfone is better.

[lovellbird]

I prefer Net10, simply because I use quite a few minutes each month. Knowing I only have to pay 10 cents per minute no matter where I am or where I call is great. I also like the fact that, no matter where I happen to travel, I almost always have service.

I'm not a big fan of their foreign-speaking customer service, but I rarely have to speak to them at all, since when I buy minutes I can add them right on the phone.

I did hear that if you use your phone minimally (just for emergencies, etc.), then Tracfone is a better deal.

[jimates]

Has anyone had any experience with this?

I want to port my Net10 number to Tracfone but I want to reactivate the net10 phone so I can keep the minutes and service days. I currently have 2100+ minutes and service until May 2010.

The CS rep said if I reactivate within the grace period I would not loose my minutes (just like a normal reactivation). He did not specifically say I would keep the service days.

It seems that if it had service days it would not be inactive to reactivate.

Since the same people provide support for both maybe I can call and have the number ported and a new number assigned at the same time.

[K2RRT]

I appreciate everyone's replies. I think I'm going to go with Tracfone. With double minutes, and the right card denomination I can get .10 a min or cheaper and cheaper texting. Bonus minutes and longer expiration dates are the icing on the cake. I will save 20-30 a month over my postpaid plans! That's crazy!

Now to decide on a phone!

[JimBones]

I appreciate everyone's replies. I think I'm going to go with Tracfone. With double minutes, and the right card denomination I can get .10 a min or cheaper and cheaper texting. Bonus minutes and longer expiration dates are the icing on the cake. I will save 20-30 a month over my postpaid plans! That's crazy!

Now to decide on a phone!

If you decided on either the W376g or the LG 600G, I'd not buy them from Tracfone's website. You can get them cheaper elsewhere. Online at Walmart the LG600G is $49.97 and the W376g is 29.97. I know you can pick up the W376g that price in Walmart stores, but I don't know about the LG600g. Someone posted that the W376g was selling at Circuit City for $30 also.

[jimates]

If you decided on either the W376g or the LG 600G, I'd not buy them from Tracfone's website. You can get them cheaper elsewhere. Online at Walmart the LG600G is $49.97 and the W376g is 29.97. I know you can pick up the W376g that price in Walmart stores, but I don't know about the LG600g. Someone posted that the W376g was selling at Circuit City for $30 also.

ai bought 2 w376 at Dollar General today for $30 each.

[tracnet]

Family dollar price matched with Walmart at $29.?? yesterday with a printout of the online ad. $29.97 or whatever the pennies were.

[K2RRT]

Hit Walmart today. They have the W376g but not the LG 600G. I'll give it a few days and try again.

[ShadowCat]

If it were'nt for stacking I would not have a Tracfone. I don't use a Trac very much, so long due dates are important because I can just set and wait for cheap minutes to come around. I actually enjoy playing the Trac game. Its just a hobby for me. I've accumulated several minutes on one of my phones at a sub .06 CPM rate....you can't do that with Net10.

I'm not sure I'm understanding what you're saying here.

I dunno about tracfone but you can stack minutes and airtime with Net10. Any minutes or airtime you have left over when you add another card just gets added to the total. My daughter has a net10 phone. She alwaays ends up with scads of air time. And you only have to buy a 30.00 card evrey other month. That's a 300 minute card. So it works out to 15.00 a month if you don't talk much.

Tracfone gives me a headache trying to figure out all the angles.