Do You Need a Data Plan?

No matter where you look, it seems like every company is shouting that they have the best data plan available, and that you need more data, which of course only they can provide. But… do you? In fact, do you even need a data plan at all in this day and age when Wifi connectivity is just about everywhere? Plans without data are incrementally less expensive than their data-hungry counterparts, so if you can ditch the data, you’ll definitely save some dough. But then again, the connectivity that data provides can be awfully convenient.

Wifi vs. Data

Why Wifi is better

Wifi is not only cheaper (since chances are you’re paying for it anyway) but many phones, individual apps and carriers support calling on wifi. Plus, depending on your router there might even be a chance that your Wifi calling will be better quality than the network calls. That’s dependent on multiple factors though—personally, I’ve not had good experiences with wifi calling. I know people who swear by it, and if you have frequent access to stable Wifi, then you might not even have to pay anything with some of these apps.

Why Data is better

The main draw for data is that it’s always available. While driving on trips, there’s a good chance that you won’t have wifi while on the road unless you take a mobile hotspot with you. But at that point, you are paying extra and might as well just pay for the data and not have to juggle multiple devices or worry about security.

Do you need data?

Here are some questions to consider when deciding if you should go all Wifi, all the time:

1. How often are you connected to Wifi?
2. Do you have a way to make Wifi calls/texts with your device?
3. Do you travel frequently? If so, what are the chances that you’ll have Wifi while travelling?

Going without data isn’t going to be for everyone. For example, I can’t use the Wifi at the office on my phone because IT has it password protected and does not give out the codes to non-management. However, if I worked from home then it would probably be more than good enough. So, what do you think? Is data worth the price?]]>