VS

With the massive number of prepaid MVNOs and carrier options, it’s sometimes hard to keep track of it all and even harder to compare and decide which company is the right one for you. So, every once in a while we’re going to go through and do a Face-off of two popular companies, comparing plans and services to help you better decide. Today, we’ll look at two companies – AT&T and T-Mobile MVNO Jolt Mobile, and Sprint MVNO Text Now. Both MVNOs are not very well-known, and while Jolt Mobile may not be a contender for high data users, Text Now seems to offer some competitive pricing. Here’s how they compare:

Plan Prices – Price range? What is included?

Jolt Mobile – Plans range from $25 — $55

Jolt’s unlimited monthly plans start at $25 per month, and the basic plan includes unlimited talk and text with 100MB of data. You can check out Jolt’s plans in detail here.

TextNow – Plans range from $13.99 – $59.99

Text Now offers five different plans. The only real variances from plan to plan is the amount of data received. You can view TextNow’s plans in details here.

Unlimited Talk/Text – Is it offered? What is the lowest price?

Jolt Mobile – For the $25 plan and all of the ones after, unlimited talk and text is included.

TextNow – The basic $13.99 plan includes unlimited talk and text to the U.S. and Canada, as do all of the plans after.

Data Ranges – What is the most and least data available?

Jolt Mobile – The basic plan includes 100 MB of data, while the unlimited $55 plan includes 5 GB of data. Data is hard-capped through Jolt Mobile, and there are no upgrades readily available.

TextNow – TextNow offers unlimited 2G data with all of its plans. The high speed data included ranges from 100 MB with the Short plan, to 6 GB with the Quattro plan.

Pay-As-You-Go Rates – What are the pay-as-you-go per minute rates?

Jolt Mobile – Jolt offers a low-cost “PayGo” plan for $15 a month. This can support either 250 minutes at $0.06 per minute, 500 texts at $0.03 per minute, or 30 MB at $0.50 per MB. The prepaid rates are based on the value purchased.

TextNow – N/A — no pay-as-you-go options available.

International Calling – What options are available? What does it cost?

Jolt Mobile – The $40 and $55 monthly plans with Jolt come with $1 free international call credit. Rates vary by country. You can find a full list of international rates here.

TextNow – TextNow offers unlimited texting and calling for Canada, but other than that, customers pay for international calling as they go. Rates vary by country. You can find TextNow’s international rates here.

Activation Fees – How much do they cost?

Jolt Mobile – No activation fee and free SIM cards.

TextNow – No activation fee and free shipping on any new devices.

BYOD – Can you activate your own device?

Jolt Mobile – Any unlocked GSM device or phone from AT&T or T-Mobile can be activated. You just need to grab a new SIM.

TextNow – Some unlocked Sprint devices will work. Otherwise, you must purchase a phone through TextNow.

Network/Coverage – What network does it use?

Jolt Mobile – AT&T and T-Mobile | Coverage Map

TextNow – WiFi and Sprint | Coverage Map

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