Metro vs T-Mobile: Who Should You Go With?

When you’re looking into signing up for a new wireless carrier there are a lot of factors to consider, especially if you are debating on signing up for one of the “big three”. What’s the “big three” you ask? Well, the “big three” is a nickname given to the top cell phone providers in the country: Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Millions of customers are users of these three carriers and there’s a lot to be said about each of them. 

Many debate on whether it’s worth signing up for one of these giants or going with a smaller provider that could save you money- but may not have all the fancy bells and whistles of those packed cell phone plans. There are pros and cons to each, so today we thought we’d help you make that decision by comparing two members of the same family: Metro vs T-Mobile.

That’s right we’re talking about Metro by T-Mobile and T-Mobile themselves. We’re going to be looking at each provider, their coverage, and cell phone plans so you can decide to go for broke and sign up for the big one or look at their younger sibling: Metro. There’s a lot to discuss so let’s get started!

• Quick Overview: Metro and T-Mobile
• What the Coverage Looks Like from Both Providers
• How the Plans Compare: From Price to Features
• The Verdict

Quick Overview: Metro and T-Mobile

Before we take a look at what the coverage and phone plans look like from Metro and T-Mobile, let’s first talk a bit about what makes these two carriers that are on the same tree branch different, so you can get a general idea of what to expect as you figure out if you should sign up for Metro or their parent company.

-> Metro by T-Mobile

“Metro” is known to many by a few different names, firstly it was known as MetroPCS, then it was brought under the T-Mobile wing and is now, Metro by T-Mobile, but most commonly you’ll hear it referred to as Metro. Metro by T-Mobile is a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), which describes a smaller wireless carrier that doesn’t own their own cell towers/infrastructure and instead piggybacks off a provider that does. This leads MVNOs to have more budget-friendly and “cheaper” options for phone plans so the general public can have access to wireless communication. However there are some downsides to a MVNO including but not limited to data deprioritization and more-frequent throttling. 

What is data deprioritization?

Data deprioritization is “the temporary slowing of data speeds for certain customers in order to give priority to other customers.” This will happen when there is network congestion (which is when the network is trying to transmit more data than it can handle), or if you are in a high traffic area like a concert, sports stadium, and/or festival. At these high-traffic areas there are normally thousands of others also using their phone the same as you which can cause the network to get a bit overloaded. The primary network, which is T-Mobile in Metro’s case, will give priority to direct T-Mobile customers and your data will be a bit slower until the problem(s) are solved. 

What is throttling?

Throttling is “the dramatic slowing of your data speeds to the point that it becomes almost unusable.” And unlike data deprioritization, throttling will last until the start of your next billing cycle date. This occurs when the user goes over their monthly allotment of data for the month, or data “cap” as it’s usually referred to. The data cap number can be found in various places: on the phone plan itself, on the provider’s Terms of Service page, or in small print at the bottom of the website’s page. These speeds are significantly slower than deprioritized speeds and can be quite a pain to deal with if you are in need of the internet and are not connected to wifi.

Metro’s phone plans might be a bit more enticing to your wallet, but if you are a frequent heavy data user then you might run into some trouble sometimes when these two things occur. 

-> T-Mobile

Here’s where things get a bit interesting. We know that we’re comparing T-Mobile to Metro, but Metro is essentially a branch on T-Mobile’s tree. So when we’re now talking about T-Mobile, we also get a little more insight into Metro! T-Mobile as we said in the intro is a part of the big three. They have been around since December 1999 which is a very long time, and it’s especially long as we’ve been through quite the tech revolution over the past 15 years. 

We’ve seen the rise and fall of flip-phones and BlackBerrys, now we have mini-computers in the form of touch screen Smartphones in our pockets. To keep up with that rise of technology and the ever-growing demand of faster wireless communication is quite the task and you can say T-Mobile has been quite the star player with millions of customers behind its gates. 

They feature great deals and bundles with their phone plans along with their patented “T-Mobile Tuesdays” which is their program for customers to get free stuff, great deals, potential savings, and exclusive offers every Tuesday. Another gold star in their column is their coverage… 

What the Coverage Looks Like from Both Providers

Coverage can make and break a potential sale. If the wireless carrier doesn’t have the coverage you need in your area then they are immediately crossed off the list. It’s important to look into a provider’s coverage before you sign up so you know what to expect as you venture out into the world on their data plan.

Since would essentially be comparing T-Mobile with T-Mobile since Metro is under T-Mobile, let’s just talk about T-Mobile’s coverage as a whole shall we:

T-Mobile continues to impress year after year with its 5G coverage. In fact they are the leader in 5G coverage which is an absolutely massive boon to have with more and more phone users getting the latest in 5G capable phones. When you purchase a 5G capable phone, of course you’re going to want to use 5G technologies, so being under the T-Mobile brand ensures your best chance at finding those 5G speeds.

But like any company, there are some downsides too. T-Mobile may be the best in 5G but they are number three in the Verizon and AT&T lineup when it comes to 4G LTE coverage. It’s not by a huge amount but it could cause some spottier signals if you are inclined to go to more rural areas or venture too far out of a T-Mobile tower’s signal range.

When you’re looking into the coverage of a wireless carrier the one thing everyone should take a look at is their coverage map. A coverage map shows off an approximation of the provider’s coverage. You can zoom in and out of this map and look up your own location so you can see what the coverage looks like in your area. Here is a look at Metro by T-Mobiles- and by extension, T-Mobile’s coverage map:

Coverage available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands.

On the Metro by T-Mobile coverage map you do get a look at what type of coverage is available in your area. Here’s a close look at New York, Pennsylvania, and other Northeastern United States:

T-Mobile covers the majority of the United States along with parts of Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands. You can view the full T-Mobile coverage map here.

How the Plans Compare: From Price to Features

Let’s get to the fun stuff, the phone plans. We’re going to go over all the perks, benefits, and basics each phone plan offers from both providers starting first with Metro by T-Mobile’s unlimited plans:

Then for our limited data users:

Most other MVNOs won’t have the fun benefits you see here with Metro by T-Mobile’s phone plans. The VIX Premium Subscription and Google One 100GB Membership already is a great deal but the real juicy steak of it all is for the Metro Flex Plus plan you get an Amazon Prime Included which is really nice especially if you are someone that’s already paying for it. That way if you choose the Flex Plus plan you get a chance to save some money every month as you won’t have to pay for Amazon Prime by itself anymore. And every plan, including their limited plan gets access to T-Mobile Tuesdays which we know is their program that gets you free stuff- and who doesn’t love free stuff?

Now let’s take a look at the T-Mobile postpaid plans and see what they leave on the table to potential customers,

T-Mobile has three “Go5G” plans and two “Essentials” plans, along with two “Magenta” plans, let’s first look at their Go5G plans:

And here are the two Essentials plans:

And finally let’s look at the Magenta plans:

As you can see from the sheer amount of plans and the perks and benefits they come with, T-Mobile’s postpaid plans have a lot going for them. You’ve got top streaming services like Apple TV+, Netflix, and Hulu, along with high-speed data and hotspot usage. Now we will say that it’s important to look at their full terms for each plan as there are, of course, like any product you pay for, stipulations and terms that apply for everything. When you’re looking at the T-Mobile Cell Phone Plan page scroll down till you see the “See full terms” link, click that and read up so you know what you’re signing up for before you go ahead and pull your credit card out.

T-Mobile also offers plenty of other plans for people age 55+, first responders, and vets.

The Verdict

We’ve got the coverage and phone plan information from both Metro by T-Mobile and T-Mobile’s postpaid plans, now’s the time to decide who you should sign up for and we think after reviewing all of the information that signing up for T-Mobile should be the way to go. Although we like Metro’s prices, when comparing them to either of the T-Mobile Essentials plans, the Go5G, or the Magenta®- the amount of perks you get for prices similar to Metro’s far outweigh them in the competition.

T-Mobile wins today!

And if you want to compare and contrast Metro by T-Mobile and T-Mobile to over 1,200 other phone plans so you know you’re getting the service that’s right for you, then make sure to check out the REALLY compare page which allows you to look at pricing, coverage, what phone plans are available, current deals and steals, and how you can make the most of your potential phone bill.