Are You Choosing the Right Text Message Plan?

A text is a 160 character written message sent between cell phones. Cell phone companies charge fees for sending and receiving text messages. Text messages plans vary based on the number of allowed per month of coverage. Choosing the right text message plan depends on a number of factors, including how many text messages are sent and received per month.

The Unlimited Plan

Unlimited plans accommodate an infinite number of text messages per month for one monthly fee. Fees are paid in addition to voice plan charges or as part of an unlimited voice/text message plan. Most cell phone providers offer personal or family packages. Personal packages provide unlimited text messages from one cell phone. Family plans allow unlimited messages for every phone covered by the plan.

The Limited Plan

Limited text message packages allow a set number of texts per month for a fee. For example, a cell phone user pays $10 per month for 200 text messages. After the 200 text messages are used, each text message sent is charged at a per-message rate. The per-message rate is different for each cell phone provider, but often falls between 10 cents and 30 cents per text message.

The Pay Per Text Plan

Pay-per-text plans charge the cell-phone account for each text message sent. Some cell phone companies charge for incoming and outgoing texts. Message rates vary, but cell phone companies may charge up to 30 cents per text message on a pay-per-text plan. The fee is charged for every 160 characters sent or received; even one character over counts as a new text message. For instance, if a message is 325 characters long, the company charges for three text messages. Cell phone providers can block incoming and outgoing text messages to prevent unexpected monthly charges.

The Pay As You Go Plan

Pay-as-you-go cell phones offer unlimited and limited text message plans. Unlimited plans place no limit on the number of text messages sent or received as long as the phone account is active. When a limited plan runs out of available text messages, the user must wait until the following month to send or receive text messages.

What They Don't Want You To Know

Cell phone carriers have many little secrets about text messages they don't want the consumer to know, including the overall cost of sending a text message. The cost of sending text messages is near zero for cell phone carriers. Digital messages are sent as part of packages with other information. Each message is broken into tiny pieces and hidden within other data. At the end location, the cell phone you are texting the message to, the bits and pieces are collected again and delivered as a complete message.