Buying a Google Pixel? Consider Republic Wireless, Project Fi
The new Google Pixel smartphone is being sold "exclusively" by Verizon Wireless, except that it's not. If you don't want to attach your Pixel to a Verizon Wireless plan, you can go straight to the Google Store and get an unlocked Pixel, including a financing plan, for $27 per month.
That lets you hook up your Pixel to a wide range of service plans from major and minor carriers. But there are two special plans, which haven't historically been available with a wide range of phones, that we'd like to call out as worth looking at for Pixel purchasers.
Google Project FiGoogle's Project Fi virtual carrier is only available to owners of Nexus and Pixel phones. Although Project Fi may be a good buy for you, it's not always the cheapest plan available. For example, 6GB with Project Fi costs $80, while 6GB with T-Mobile is only $65, and 10GB with Straight Talk costs $55.
Project Fi's advantages are that it rebates you for unused data, which can save you money if you use varying amounts of data; it also taps into the T-Mobile, Sprint, and US Cellular networks for the best possible coverage. If you move between urban areas covered by T-Mobile and rural areas where US Cellular is strong, that can bring some major benefits.
Project Fi users tend to love the service, and it won our Readers' Choice award this year.
Republic WirelessRepublic Wireless originally became popular for offering super-low-cost, Wi-Fi-oriented service plans. Its plans have become more expensive recently (its zero-data, all-Wi-Fi plan is now $15/month, up from $10), but it does very well in our Readers' Choice awards not just because of its low prices, but also because of its high-quality customer service.
Over the summer, Republic went from offering only a small selection of phones with specialized firmware to being able to run on a wider variety of Android devices. Republic confirmed that its service will work with the new Pixel and Pixel XL phones.
For more, see The Best Cheap Cell Phone Plans You've Never Heard Of.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.