Overview
Ting is an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) that offers an affordable tiered rate plan that runs off of the Sprint CDMA network. This cheap cell phone plan company has grown in popularity over the last year enticing customers with simplicity and frugality. To put it simply, when you have a mobile phone plan with Ting, you only pay for what you use, unlike many of the other big wireless carriers.
Cell Phone Plan Rate Structure
Ting’s cell phone plans are kind of like a pay as you go plan except your usage for talk, text, and data fall into different rate tiers. In addition, the three rate categories are not tied to each other, thus if you use talk minutes, texting, or data at varying levels you only pay for whatever each of those rate tiers fall into.
For example, if you were to use 42 minutes of talk time, then your rate for the month in the “Minutes” category would fall in the $3 tier level which is for between 1-100 minutes used. Had you gone over by one minute to 101 minutes then you’d be charged for the next rate category at $9.
So lets say for one of your billing periods you had used 42 minutes of talk time, sent or received 230 text messages, and used up 80 MB of data; then your total monthly bill would come out to $11 for your usage ($3 + $5 +$3 = $11) plus there is an additional $6 flat monthly fee for each device supported on the plan. The total bill in the end would come to $17.
Depending on what you use, your monthly bills could vary greatly. Some months could be less than $12 if you are a person who doesn’t use the phone too much. Although some months could be quite costly if you don’t keep tabs of usage, especially for data.
The way I see it, is that Ting has a fantastic rate structure for those who can get by with just talk and text, yet rarely ever use data. Otherwise, heavy data users would be advised to steer clear of this program since higher data usage would not be more beneficial than a cheaper unlimited prepaid plan like Republic Wireless or Cricket Wireless for instance.
Ting Phones
One nice thing about Ting is that they tend to have a fairly decent size selection of phones available in their shop that range from support for different versions of iPhone, iPad, Samsung, LG, Motorola, and others. However, one thing to keep in mind is that since they are a MVNO provider, they tend to only get support for new phones around six months after you see them offered with the big carriers.
You can check out some of their supported upcoming phones here, or check this list of Ting phones for sale at discounted prices.
Another nice aspect of Ting is that they allow you to bring your own device. If you bring your own phone, it would have to be compatible with the Sprint CDMA network. To find out if your phone is compatible with the Ting service click here and enter your phones information.
Pros
- Flexible no nonsense tiered rate structure which can be very cheap for those with low cell phone usage, particularly data.
- Wide selection of phones available along with ability to BYOD (bring your own device).
- Great customer support.
Cons
- Runs on Sprint CDMA network which sometimes has poorer coverage compared to other carriers like AT&T and Verizon.
- New release phones take longer to be supported which is generally six months later.
- Not a good choice for heavy data users as the higher tier levels could be costly, thus requires one to be mindful of data usage and to use WiFi when possible.
Other Ting Wireless Reviews
Below is an ongoing updated list of some more Ting reviews from other social media sites (mostly Reddit), possibly some bloggers and technology journalists who I trust to give a fair objective review of the Ting service:
- Comprehensive Reddit review for Madison, Wisconsin – January 30, 2014
- Reddit review after 4 months use – July 3, 2014
- Matt Richmond 1 year review – January 1, 2014
- YNAB Blog – September 4, 2013
- Comprehensive Reddit Review – September 6, 2013
If there are any readers who are currently using the Ting wireless service or have used them in the past please let us know what your experience was like in the comments below.
I have found the coverage to be great. We came from Sprint so the difference is non-existent. The pricing is wonderful. I switched my daughter’s line to ting and her first bill was about $26.
Editor’s Note: Removed Referral Link.
Hi Riki,
Thanks for the feedback, sounds like you’re having a good experience with using Ting. FYI – I removed your referral link since I don’t allow posting/spamming of affiliate and referral codes.
Anyone wanting the $25 sign-up credit can get the info from our Ting Discount page for referral information.
Ting is not competitive if there is any data usage involved. Better options are Republic Wireless and Cricket. Ting doesn’t even offer unlimited. If you are a power user or have a smartphone Ting is not an option if you care about your bill.
I have been with Ting for over 2 years now. At first I treated it as a curiosity. But now I am using it exclusively. I have had a very good experience with them. I recently had an occasion to contact them for support. I used a chat session and was blown away at how quickly they resolved the issue.
I consider myself a heavy data user but utilize wifi for most of it. I use an iphone 4 but am able to keep my data to less than 500MB per month. If you are one of the people that wants to use lots of data anywhere, anytime, without thinking about it then clearly Ting would not be a good choice. But I happen to like the idea (and business model) of treading lightly. And paying for what I use.
One last point is that the company is very straightforward to deal with. Their pricing structure is very simple. No BS. Anyone that uses The Big Red V will know what I am talking about.
I still have several lines with Verizon. I will be moving those other phones to Ting as they come off contract.
I purchased a refurbished phone from Ting and signed up for service. The phone crashed after ten days of use. I contacted customer service and was told they would send me a replacement phone which was to arrive in “several days”. That was a gross mis-statement. Due to company errors and lack of diligence in their replacement actions, after 15 days without a phone, today I got a message that they sent the replacement to Fed Ex and that it would arrive in 5 days — that means that due to the faulty phone Ting sent me, I will be without phone service 20 days. If I had known up front this might happen, I never would have switched over to Ting.
You are fortunate. They sent me a phone with a cracked screen and I gave up getting it activated (it will not recognize the sim card) and they will not take it back.
I’ve been on Ting for over 3 years now. I really like their service, and I especially like the web interface for account info. I recently upgraded to new iPhone and the entire process was so easy on Ting. It’s amazing how good their service is, especially when the prices are so low.
I am planning to purchase an iPhone from United using my miles. So that means the phone hasn’t been with any carrier. Will the phone work with Ting and will it also be able to use WiFi for calling?
Nancy, your iPhone will work fine as long as it’s unlocked. Apple does sell unlocked iPhones (not specific to any carrier), so just make sure that’s what you’re getting. As far as WiFi calling, Ting doesn’t offer the kind of WiFi calling that some carriers offer, where the phone automatically switches between WiFi or cell network for calls depending on what’s available. Part of the reason for that is it needs specially programmed phones, but Ting works with pretty much any unlocked phone. But you can still do free calling over WiFi using an app like Skype or Google Hangouts.
Anyway, I tried Ting in April 2016 and here’s my take on it:
It’s great if you can control yourself – if you can’t, it’s basically unlimited everything, and the more you use, the more you pay. And even though it’s correct that “You only pay for what you use”, the tiers are kind of big, so for instance you pay the same for voice whether you use 101 minutes or 500 minutes – a familiar drawback of traditional plans that Ting hasn’t quite gotten beyond.
Ting is *not* a good idea if you want to get multiple lines on one account and control family or business usage, as I learned firsthand. You can set up alerts and caps, but doing it is EXTREMELY tedious, and Ting can’t guarantee caps will kick in in time, which can push you into a higher more expensive tier. Apperently for various reasons, if you’re in the middle of a call or a download when you go into the next more expensive tier, they can’t/won’t cut off the call or interrupt the download. I think that’s pretty much how all cell networks work, and it’s fine until Ting comes along and sets up a pricing scheme that doesn’t play nice with that reality.
Ting suggests that to reduce the chances of this happening, you set a cap to kick in before the next tier; for instance cut off data at 475 MB so that you aren’t likely to go over 500 and into the next tier. But that only improves the odds; it doesn’t guarantee it’ll work, and the earlier you set your cap, the more money you’re wasting on minutes or data you’ll never use. I actually followed their advice to stop data at 475 MB and still ended up hitting 509 and a more expensive tier.
Another drawback for family/business use is that if caps are in place, there’s no way to find out how much you have left for the month unless the main account owner logs in and looks; there’s no code you can text to see usage like most other carriers have. You can (tediously) set up alerts to warn when getting close, but they don’t say how much is left.
Ting does have excellent customer support and great pricing if your usage fits their model. But I would never recommend it for anyone who wants a family/business plan and wants to control usage.
P. S. If you’re looking for a carrier that can be even cheaper than Ting and has simpler more traditional plans and pricing, look into US Mobile. I’ve been using them since I gave up on Ting and so far so good. Like Ting they also have great support.
Hi, I just want to tell you that I’ve had Ting for about 3 months. They’re great! Very, very customer-friendly. I’ve never dealt with a phone company before that is so easy to deal with. I use my cell phone only for urgent calls — just to have a phone in the car when I’m driving. So, I got the cheapest plan $6/month plus a charge for each minute. So far, my bill has run about $10 a month. I’m a happy camper.
My phone is on the T-Mobile network. When I call a landline with my Ting phone, the caller ID shows “Farmington, NM”. This is a city 200 miles from where I live. The real problem is that no one will answer my phonecall! What good is a phone that no one will answer? I have called and texted Ting again and again, and get the answer that they will change it to “wireless caller”. But it never happens. And now they have stopped even answering me. I suggest that no one in the 505 area code use Ting.(unless they are from Farmington.)