Saving Over $2,000 A Year With Republic Wireless Review – How Much Money Could You Save?

Have you ever heard of Republic Wireless and their cheap cell phone plans? If you haven’t, you definitely need to continue reading this Republic Wireless review, especially if you are paying anything over $50 a month for your current phone bill. I first heard about Republic Wireless last summer when I was reading a Republic Wireless review…

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Last Updated: May 31, 2023

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

Have you ever heard of Republic Wireless and their cheap cell phone plans? If you haven’t, you definitely need to continue reading this Republic Wireless review, especially if you are paying anything over $50 a month for your current phone bill.

I first heard about Republic Wireless last summer when I was reading a Republic Wireless review on a possible cheap cell phone plan. I was shocked by how cheap their prices were, and they’re even cheaper now.

We spend around $25 a month on each phone from Republic Wireless and it comes with unlimited talk, text, and wi-fi. There are even cheap cell phone plans as low as $15 a month.

Yes, FIFTEEN DOLLAR CELL PHONE PLANS!

This is much better than the $225 we used to pay for our phone service each month through AT&T.

Yes, this is an affiliate post by the way. If you are interested in skipping my review but you want to try Republic Wireless right at this moment, please click on my affiliate link. It’s very appreciated and it helps me create other reviews just like with this Republic Wireless review! 🙂

 

Why is Republic Wireless so cheap and how can they offer such cheap cell phone plans?

I’m sure this is a question you are asking yourself right now as you are reading this review.

Republic Wireless IS really that cheap. It’s that easy to save money by switching to Republic Wireless. It’s not a scam, a joke, or something where they are going to jack the price up later (they are not like cable companies).

There is no catch, there are no contracts, no activation fees, no roaming charges, and you can switch your plan easily if you need to (up to twice a month).

So, how is all of this possible at such a cheap price?

I know if you are anything like me, sometimes a price so low can seem too good to be true. It only makes sense to want to look into it further.

Republic Wireless is able to offer such a great price on their phone plans because of the hybrid technology they offer. All of the phones on the Republic Wireless network use wi-fi as the default setting. This means that whenever you are near a wi-fi network, your phone will attempt to connect to it and use it. This makes it very cheap for both you and Republic Wireless.

This also means that if you are traveling internationally, you can use your Republic Wireless phone for the same low flat price!

Wi-fi is everywhere these days, so it’s not a hard thing for them to be able to do.

 

What happens when there’s no wi-fi around with my Republic Wireless phone?

You might be wondering, but what if I don’t always have wifi available? That’s no big deal because your phone will still work even if you are not in a wi-fi area.

This is because your cell phone will then connect to a cell network (a Sprint tower and if that’s not available then a Verizon tower) so that you can still make phone calls, send texts, and more.

Now, if you’re worried that you might lose wi-fi during a phone call, no need to worry about that situation either. Republic Wireless’ phones can switch seamlessly to a cell tower so your phone call doesn’t drop. Also, if the wi-fi you are currently using isn’t the greatest, you can switch your phone manually to use a cell tower (or the opposite way around as well). This way, you can always use what’s best for you.

The service is great and at the prices Republic Wireless offers it honestly can’t be beat.

 

What kind of cheap cell phone plans does Republic Wireless offer?

Republic Wireless has four different plans. They are all cheap and very affordable. I don’t think it gets much better than the plans they offer.

There is the $15 plan that is wi-fi only. You have unlimited talk/text/data with this plan over wi-fi with this plan. That is an incredible deal and for the most part it should be very easy to find wi-fi.

 

What Republic Wireless phones can I use?

If you sign up for Republic Wireless, you can bring your own Android phone or purchase a phone through Republic Wireless.

They have many different phones to choose from, such as the Samsung Galaxy, Moto, LG Stylo, Google Pixel, Motorola moto, and more.

 

Saving Over $2,000 A Year With Republic Wireless - How Much Could You Save? 1Should you cancel your current contract and switch to Republic Wireless?

You can also use your old phone number, so you can’t use that as an excuse for not switching to Republic Wireless. When you switch to Republic Wireless, you can bring your old phone number with you, so no one will even know you switched phones and you won’t even be affected by the switch. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

However, one negative is if you cancel your current contract with a company such as AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon, you may have to pay a fee. This fee may seem large in the beginning, but when you think about how much money you could save over the course of a year, switching to Republic Wireless still wins hands down because of how cheap their service plans are.

Below are the different cancellation fees cell phone companies charge. It may vary slightly depending on when you started your contract, when your contract ends, and what type of phone you have, but this is what I found on online:

  • AT&T charges $175 for a basic phone cancellation and a $325 fee for a smartphone cancellation. However, keep in mind that many AT&T plans are not on a contract nowadays so you may be able to leave for free.
  • Sprint charges $200 for a basic phone cancellation and $350 for a smartphone cancellation.
  • Verizon charges $175 for a basic phone cancellation and $350 for a smartphone cancellation.

 

What do I think of Republic Wireless?

I honestly think Republic Wireless is awesome and there is a clear reason I am writing this review. I have been a paying customer for a little over a year now, and their cell service is definitely improving.

I won’t lie, one year ago the cell service was not the greatest, but either was my AT&T service that I paid over $200 a month for. Now, Republic Wireless has fixed a lot of their problems they had in the very beginning, and they are definitely doing loops around AT&T and the other big cell phone networks because of their amazing pricing and service plans.

Let’s just think about it – $2,700 for cell phone service for one year for both me and Wes through AT&T, OR $600 a year ($25 multiplied by two phones multiplied by 12 months) for both me and Wes through Republic Wireless?

Yes, you might think $2,700 is a ton, but if you add up your monthly cell phone service over the year, I’m sure you are somewhat close to that number or perhaps even higher. Isn’t it insane how much cell phones cost us?!

So, even if you pay a cancellation fee (lets use a simple $250 as the cancellation fee), buy two Moto Gs for $149 each, and then pay for 12 months of the $25 service for two phones, your price would be around $1,150 for everything for the WHOLE ENTIRE YEAR. It would be even cheaper (of course) if you had a plan with only one cell phone.

That could mean a savings of $1,500 a year. You could use that money on savings, a vacation, retirement, whatever you want! You would save even more if you kept your phone past the first year. Your savings could then increase to around $1,800 a year.

And that savings amount above is for two phones. If you only need one phone and you choose the simple $5 plan, your cost could be as low as $209 for the year (one Moto G plus 12 months of service at $5). This means if you only get the $5 cell phone plan through Republic Wireless, your yearly cost could be just a little over $60 FOR THE WHOLE YEAR for the phone service.

 

What if you’re not happy with Republic Wireless?

Republic Wireless is also awesome because they have a 14 day guarantee where they will refund the price you paid for your phone AND the price you paid to use their service. So, you can try out their service for FREE.

I’m pretty sure you will be hooked anyways, but the guarantee is nice just in case you are not happy with the service. There is also no contract with Republic Wireless, so you can leave with no problem.

If you are interested in Republic Wireless, please click on my link. It’s an affiliate link but I promise this review was 100% my opinion.

How much do you pay for your cell phone service? Do you think you pay too much? Would you ever switch to Republic Wireless? 


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Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Author: Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Hey! I’m Michelle Schroeder-Gardner and I am the founder of Making Sense of Cents. I’m passionate about all things personal finance, side hustles, making extra money, and online businesses. I have been featured in major publications such as Forbes, CNBC, Time, and Business Insider. Learn more here.

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  1. Aldo@MillionDollarNinja

    I took a look at Republic Wireless and loved the prices, but ended up going with Ting since I already had a Sprint phone and only had to transfer the number. Also with my usage I pay on average $21 a month. I’ve had Ting for 3 months and my usage has been consistent. The only downside is that I can’t use the phone internationally, but I’ve never been able to do that so that’s not really a concern.

    Whichever people choose, Republic Wireless or Ting, is going to help them save a lot of money on cellphone service. I can’t believe I didn’t know about these services before and was paying so much more money.

    1. Michelle S.

      Ting sounds awesome as well!

  2. Nikki Ooi

    I would switch over. If it was available in my country, which it sadly isn’t. And yes, I definitely think I’m paying too much for mine. But we don’t have such great plans here to begin with.

    1. Michelle S.

      I’m sorry 🙁 I hope better plans become available to you soon.

  3. Erin @ Journey to Saving

    I switched back in January and haven’t looked back. I was paying $92/month with Verizon which was awful. My boyfriend should be switching over soon, we’re just waiting to have room in the budget for the Moto G. He has a “dumb” phone which is costing him $40/month, which isn’t worth it compared to what you get with RW!

    1. Michelle S.

      Ack yeah I hope he switches over soon!

  4. Kipp

    Republic Wireless sounds like a great system, but the Sprint Network doesn’t work to well where I work, which is why I haven’t made the switch. If I work in a different location sometime in the future I will definitely look into switching. Even though my prepaid AT&T phone is only $25 a month, $15/mo savings is still $15/mo. (Comparing to the $10 a month plan that I would consider).

    All that money adds up!

    1. Michelle S.

      Yes, money adds up quickly!

  5. Natalie @ Financegirl

    Wow, I had no idea how inexpensive Republic Wireless is! That sounds like a great deal. I’m lucky that my work pays for my phone, but I’m going to keep this in mind for the future. I had no idea it was so cheap!

    1. Michelle S.

      Yes, it’s extremely cheap. Thanks Natalie!

  6. Andrew

    Not to rain on the parade, but I want people to know (assuming they get down this far in comments to read it) that connecting to open wifi networks is incredibly dangerous if you do anything that requires a password connection.
    Unsecure networks (wifi with no password to access) means any data you are transmitting to that router can be intercepted and read by anyone nearby. Passwords, account numbers, credit cards.

    That being said, there are ways to keep yourself safe, best options may be VPN which encrypts your communication to someones server before it goes out to the web, but that also costs money for decent ones.

    Not trying to shy people away from Republic, just want to make sure you are informed of the risk.

    Don’t forget to check the coverage map. This service would not work for me where I live unfortunatly, but it looks like all the major cities are covered.

    Thank you for the article.

    1. Michelle S.

      Thanks Andrew. Yes, there are risks, just like if you were to connect to wi-fi with a “normal” cell phone in open areas. Republic Wireless is great if you are at home, and if you are afraid of public wi-fi, you can always turn off the wi-fi and instead connect to a cell tower just like with a normal phone 🙂

  7. Michelle S.

    That’s an awesome deal for international use!

  8. DC @ Young Adult Money

    I’m actually writing a post about this as well! I have Walmart Family Mobile (really T-Mobile), which is very comparable to Republic Wireless. I saved about $1k/year from switching to Walmart Family Mobile. Savings would be minimal to switch to Republic Wireless, but I’m still considering it.

    1. Michelle S.

      Sounds awesome DC!

  9. Cami

    I wish Republic was available in my area! My phone bill is getting ridiculous.

    1. Michelle S.

      I hope they will be everywhere one day 🙂

  10. Katelyn @ Diaries of a Wandering Lobster

    I switched from Verizon to Republic Wireless back in January and love it. I was paying almost $100 a month for something that I barely used! I’ve had a few of my friends switch to RW this past summer as well. I’m hoping RW and other similar cell phone companies act as a wake up call to the big name brands (i.e. AT&T, Verizon, etc.). Paying $100+ a month for a phone plan is ridiculous! But, of course, I hope RW is here to stay! 🙂

    1. Michelle S.

      Yes, other big name brands need to learn! They are charging way too much money.

  11. Jason B

    I changed to Verizon prepaid last year and thought that $60 a month was a great deal. I stand corrected. Republic Wireless has some great options. How do those Motorola phones work though? I haven’t had the best luck with Motorola.(Razr and Droid pro both sucked) For that reason alone I’m up in the air about switching.

  12. M.Clark

    I have never heard of Republic Wireless, but this does sound like a very good deal. I pay less than $25 a month because I do not use my cell phone on a daily basis, I only pay when I use it. The Republic Wireless $25 a month plan sounds good to me because it includes wifi. If I used my phone more often I would definitely switch. Thank you for sharing this review.

    1. Michelle S.

      Thanks! 🙂

  13. Meaningful Life @ Financewand

    You have just sold Republic Wireless to me. Yes, that’s true. While reading the post everytime I was having a question, the next line your post was giving the answer. Excellent. However, only one question: I’ve to go to such places for work, where there is no Wi-Fi connection. In that case what I understand is the network connection will work. But does that mean I’ve to pay higher rate than the normal?

    1. Michelle S.

      Yes, the phone would just use a network connection just like with a normal cell phone. You just need to select the correct package. They don’t charge overage or anything like that. The package you choose is the package you pay (plus tax).

  14. Poor Student

    Is it similar with Ting? Sounds like a great product but I unfortunately live in Canada 🙁 Even if I were able to have it, I’m not sure about the Motorola thing. I’m not really familiar with it so I don’t know if I’m going to like or not. It would be awesome if I can use Samsung/iPhone with it though!

  15. Maria Carla Perez

    i live in the Philippines and i’ve never heard of Republic Wireless from anyone and anywhere here! But our Telecommuncation service here have their own set of promos either by call or text. From Prepaid to postpaid 🙂

    1. Michelle S.

      I’m hoping Republic Wireless expands. They have a great service!

      1. Maria Carla Perez

        Yes I agree, I hope they expand! I wanna taste their great service too!