Total Wireless vs. Straight Talk – What sets them apart?

Total Wireless and Straight Talk are known to be affordable for users, especially for family settings. They come with a good number of similarities, but their differences are what piqued our interest.

Mobile plans for talk time, SMS and data have long been thought to be expensive, especially when you subscribe from the three main industry players which are Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. However, smaller and cheaper service providers such as Total Wireless and Straight Talk have come up to make your work a whole lot easier and your spending significantly less. They are cheap, and they provide different plans that work in different settings.

When to use Total Wireless

This mobile carrier provides an incredibly affordable solution to families who spend a good deal of money on mobile plans on an individual basis. Since it comes with cheap family plans that offer more to them as opposed to individual plans, it makes an ideal fit for homes that need to reduce on their spending while capitalizing on the amount of talk time, SMS and data they receive.

When to use Straight Talk

If you are looking to get your hands on a mobile plan that comes with loads of data on a budget, Straight Talk is definitely your best bet. Unlike Total Wireless that ideally works best for families who would want to reduce on costs, Straight Talk is strictly for individuals who are not looking to register multiple phone plans for different users.

Total Wireless vs. Straight Talk Features Comparison

Total Wireless vs. Straight Talk – What criteria did we use to evaluate them?

To determine the better mobile carrier of the two, we focused our attention on the number of plans they offer clients, especially those that might need a family plan. We also sought to find out the amount of data available to users, and whether or not they have wide spread coverage. Most importantly, we sought to determine the mobile carrier that offers the best and cheapest data plans for heavy internet users.

Total Wireless vs. Straight Talk – A Detailed review

Total Wireless Review

Easily one of the cheapest mobile carries around, Total Wireless has made a name for itself for its ability to provide a wide array of affordable plans for both individual and family use. However, being one of the smaller players in the industry, Total Wireless still does not have its own network and, therefore, relies on other established networks such as Verizon to deliver its services.

One of its most outstanding features is flexibility, and it comes with up to 6 plans from which to choose. They are divided into two categories, the first being for individuals, and the other for families. They are distributed as such;

Individual Plans

Note that the prices indicated above are inclusive of refill, but they would cost a dollar more each without refill. Also, the data indicated above comes with 4G speeds, but once the limit is exceeded, the speed drops to 2G. 

Family Plans

Just like in the individual plans, when the available limit in each category is exceeded, the internet speeds automatically drop, limiting internet activity such as streaming. On the flip side, though, you will have access to mobile hotspot in case you need it.One of the features that works as a disadvantage is that Total Wireless comes with data deprioritization which causes your speeds to drop to 2G when you are in crowded paces, and during high traffic hours such as evening.

Pros

• Comes with a good number of plans
• They are pretty affordable
• All plans come with full speed data

Cons

• Speeds drop when data limit is exceeded
• Data deprioritization

Straight Talk Review

Also one of the most commonly used mobile carriers in the country, Straight Talk seeks to provide users with ideal speeds as well as commendable talk, SMS and data packages for regular use. One thing worth noting, however, is the fact that it only comes with individual packages, and does not support family bundles at all.

Just like Total Wireless, this mobile carrier does not have its own network, and it relies on other major network providers to distribute its own. This is largely why coverage for Straight Talk is at 99%. With Straight Talk, individuals gain access to three main bundles, and each comes with a unique combination of SMS, talk and data. They are distributed as such;

With the plans above, note that mobile hotspot is not supported with the exception of the 100 GB data plan. However, even this is restricted, and AT&T compatible SIMS will not gain access to the same. Just like Total Wireless, Straight Talk data plan speeds have a tendency to drop from 4G to 2G when the provided limit is exceeded.

Pros

• All plans come with unlimited calls and SMS as well as data
• Wide network coverage
• It is pretty affordable

Cons

• No family plans
• No mobile hotspot

 Total Wireless vs. Straight Talk – How do they compare?

Number of available plans

Even though both Total Wireless and Straight Talk are pretty cheap, it is important to have packages that include everyone. With Total Wireless, you can choose one of 6 plans; 3 for individual use and 3 for a family setting. Straight Talk, on the other hand, comes with just 3 plans, and all of them are designed for individual use.

Seeing as Total Wireless comes with a total of 6 plans for both individual and family use it sets itself above Straight Talk t become the better mobile carrier.  

Data Prices

With Total Wireless, individuals and families gain access to plans that range from 0 to 100 GB which is delivered at full 4G speeds. The plans rage from $33.20 for 5GB data for an individual and up to 100 GB of data for a family of 4 at a price of $95.00.

On the other hand, Straight Talk comes with three plans that range from 3 GB data for $35 and 100 GB data for $100 for an individual.

Total Wireless is clearly cheaper than Straight Talk, making it the better one of the two.  

Mobile hotspot

For mobile hotspot, Total Wireless comes with a provision of 10GB that allows for you to stream your favorite programs from wherever you are. Straight Talk, however, does not support mobile hotspot.

Since Total Wireless supports mobile hotspot, it makes a better service than Straight Talk.  

Conclusion

Total Wireless and Straight Talk are both mobile carries that are affordable and that come with their own set of perks. However, Total Wireless comes with better plans, is cheaper and also supports mobile hotspot. This combination of features is what makes it a better mobile carrier than Straight Talk.

FAQs

1. Does Total Wireless come with offers for mobile phone purchasing?

Yes, it does.

2. Can I get a Global Calling feature on Straight Talk?

Yes, you can.