See All Prepaid Cell Phone Plans

TracFone

*Est. $10 for 30 min. and up
Reviewed
April 2012
TracFone

Prepaid phone plan with international calling

Pros
  • Good call quality and coverage
  • Wide variety of plan/minute options
  • Affordable plans and phones
Cons
  • Mixed reviews for customer service
  • Limited handset choice
Where to Buy
 
 

In customer surveys, TracFone receives high scores for network coverage, pricing, plan options and low-cost phones, placing first in PCMag.com's reader survey and tying for second overall in J.D. Power and Associates' consumer survey. Service is cheap -- plans start at $10 for 30 minutes -- and TracFone offers very inexpensive phones starting at $10, but all TracFone handsets are very basic, unlike the phones you can get with T-Mobile Prepaid (*Est. $10 for 30 min. and up) or Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk (*Est. $35 per month and up). TracFone does offer some unique advantages -- such as a vast nationwide network that rivals that of Verizon Wireless and free international long distance to locations in over 60 countries -- but although some users are very happy with TracFone, others report poor customer service.

Top reviews of TracFone prepaid wireless service include large user surveys at ConsumerReports.org, J.D. Power and Associates and PCMag.com. PrepaidReviews.com's editors compare and rank prepaid wireless plans; the site also posts user comments.

Where To Buy
 

Our Sources

1. ConsumerReports.org

TracFone is one of six prepaid wireless service providers ranked in this latest report at ConsumerReports.org, based on feedback from more than 66,000 cell phone users.

Review: Prepaid Cell Phone Service Ratings, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, January 2011

2. J.D. Power & Associates

In this survey of about 6,400 prepaid wireless cell phone users, TracFone comes in third place out of nine carriers, with a score convincingly above the industry average overall.

Review: 2011 Wireless Non-Contract Customer Satisfaction Index Study, Editors of J.D. Power and Associates, March 31, 2011

3. PCMag.com

This article addresses overall satisfaction with cell phones and cell phone service as reported by PCMag.com readers in 2012. T-Mobile gets the Reader's Choice award for prepaid carriers. A chart shows how each service stacks up in a dozen categories, such as price and handset choices.

Review: Reader's Choice Awards 2012: Smartphones and Mobile Carriers, Ben Gottesman, March 28, 2012

4. TopTenReviews.com

The editors of TopTenReviews.com place TracFone in 10th place in their 2012 evaluation of prepaid cell phone services for 2012. They find its cost per minute to be more than other providers, and its customer service representatives to not be knowledgable about the service. Note that TopTenReviews.com's evaluation of prepaid cell phone providers is based only on features and doesn't look at how each phone service performs.

Review: 2012 Prepaid Cell Phones Comparison, Editors of TopTenReviews.com

5. PrepaidReviews.com

Editors at PrepaidReviews.com give TracFone a 4-star rating (out of 5), praising its simple, low-cost phones and carryover minutes. Over 1,500 customer reviews, however, give TracFone a disappointing overall rating of only 2 stars, with many citing problems with customer service.

Review: TracFone Prepaid Cell Phone Plans, Editors of PrepaidReviews.com

Prepaid Cell Phone Plans Runners Up:

Net10 *Est. $15 for 200 min. and up

4 picks including: J.D. Power & Associates, MSNBC…

Boost Mobile *Est. $50 per month

3 picks by top review sites.

Straight Talk *Est. $30 for 30 days and up

2 picks including: The New York Times, Viewpoints.com…

AT&T GoPhone *Est. 10 cents per min. and up

1 pick including: J.D. Power & Associates…

Back to top