Cell phone service for less — the cheapest plans we've found at each phone carrier

[admin]

With the Affordable Connectivity Program ending, we look at the cheapest wireless plans available at the wireless providers we're tracking to help you keep your mobile costs down.

Cell phone service for less — the cheapest plans we've found at each phone carrier : Read more

 

[IKAL]

I used the info from the article for selecting a provider for my father in law who only uses the phone for calls so I went with TextNow. Turns out that the free text and call service they offer is quite misleading as the stock phone/text apps that come with your phone do not work with their SIM card and you have to install and use their own app for calls and texts. Their app is littered with ads (thus the free service), is confusing for older folks and is not localized (so good luck if English is not your primary language). I chatted with their customer service, seems like they intentionally do not volunteer the fact on their FAQ page that the stock call/texting apps are not usable with their SIM card.
Would be nice to mention in the article if any of these providers' services work only with their own apps.