The Purchasing Process
Ordering a phone through Consumer Cellular is just about as easy as it gets. In addition to Target and some independent retailers, Consumer Cellular devices and plans can also be purchased through their website, which is what I did. Here I was able to view a list of each of their plans and the devices that could be used with them.
Phones themselves can be purchased with either a one-time payment or several interest-free installments, and the service plans clearly state their cost in addition to what else is included.
Choosing a Cellular Plan
Before I chose a phone, I had to decide on a service plan. Consumer Cellular offers a wide range of plans, (seven, to be exact), and each of them included some amount of talk time, text messages, and data allowance. These plans are divided into two groups, Talk Only and Unlimited Talk and Text. Let’s take a closer look at the differences between the two.
- Talk Only: As the name implies, this type of plan means that your phone is good for one thing only, phone calls. The $15 iteration of this plan comes with 250 minutes, and for $2.50 more a month, the number of minutes becomes unlimited. I know of a good number of old-fashioned folks in my life who shudder at the idea of text messages and social media, so this would be the perfect plan for them.
- Unlimited Talk and Text: This type of plan puts no limit on the amount of phone calls or text messages, and the only difference between its five versions is the amount of data they cover, from the $20 per month, per line plan with 500MB of shared data to the $37.50 per month, per line plan with unlimited data. Data refers to activities performed on your phone that require Internet connection such as browsing Google, watching videos, or sending emails. Although it’s somewhat difficult to put an exact number on it, 500MB of data would be roughly equal to visiting 2,700 web pages or streaming 30 minutes of high definition video per month. For those who plan to purchase a smartphone, I highly recommend this sort of plan, as it will allow you to make the most of all of your phone’s features.
For a full list of Consumer Cellular’s plans, look below, or check out this page: Consumer Cellular Phones for Seniors.
Type of Plan |
Number of Lines |
Monthly Price Per Line with 500 MB of Data |
Monthly Price Per Line with 3 GB of Data |
Monthly Price Per Line with 10 GB of Data |
Monthly Price Per Line with 15 GB of Data |
Monthly Price Per Line with Unlimited Data |
Monthly Price Per Line with 250 Minutes |
Monthly Price Per Line with Unlimited Minutes |
Unlimited Talk and Text |
1 |
$25 |
$30 |
$40 |
$50 |
$60 |
N/A |
N/A |
Unlimited Talk and Text |
2 |
$20 |
$22.50 |
$27.50 |
$32.50 |
$37.50 |
N/A |
N/A |
Unlimited Talk and Text |
3 |
$18.33 |
$20 |
$23.33 |
$26.67 |
$30 |
N/A |
N/A |
Talk Only |
1 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$15 |
$20 |
Talk Only |
2 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$15 |
$17.50 |
Talk Only |
3 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$15 |
$16.67 |
Ultimately, I decided to sign up for Consumer Cellular’s Unlimited Talk and Text plan with Unlimited Data, which would normally cost $60 per month. However, Consumer Cellular offers discounted rates for additional lines. Since I purchased three lines for myself and my children, the total cost for my service plan came to only $30 per month per line, meaning my grand total for service was $90 a month. Now, I can see why this might seem expensive to some, but considering comparable plans from major cellular carriers could run upwards of $200 a month for three people, I was impressed by how much of a bargain I was getting.
FYI: For only $15 a month, you can add on one or more phones to any existing Consumer Cellular plan, making it both easy and affordable for couples and families to share a wireless plan.
Consumer Cellular Phones
Consumer Cellular offers an impressive array of phones, ranging from simple flip phones to the latest offerings from Samsung, Motorola, and Apple. I can safely say that they have something to satisfy almost any taste or need. For example, there’s my father, an older man who has had the same flip phone since the early aughts. It frustrates him that even though he needs a new phone, his major carrier no longer offers simple devices made for calling and texting only. Fortunately, Consumer Cellular has a user-friendly flip phone known as the Consumer Cellular Link II, which fits the bill.
On the other end of the spectrum, Consumer Cellular offers the iPhone 13 Pro Max with a 6.7” retina display and cinematic mode to the Samsung Galaxy A12 in 32GB with an ultra-wide lens to capture memories.
While it’s easy to assume that these types of cutting edge smartphones supersede the needs of most older adults, I wouldn’t be so quick to assume. Studies show that roughly half of seniors with cell phones have smartphones, and the older people that I know get more technologically advanced by the year.
Ultimately, I decided to test out three different phones from Consumer Cellular, the Doro 7050, the iPhone SE, and the Samsung Galaxy A12. Each of them had their own unique set of features, but more on that below.
Keep Your Phone: If you happen to already be using a phone on another network, you can transfer this device to a Consumer Cellular plan with one of their SIM cards, included when you sign up for a service plan.
Consumer Cellular currently offers 17 phones. Check out our detailed chart for a breakdown on pricing below.
Brand |
Model |
Available Colors |
Available Sizes in GB |
One-time Payment |
Monthly Price with EasyPay |
Motorola |
Moto G Play |
Blue |
32 |
$129 |
$33 |
Motorola |
Moto G Stylus |
Black |
128 |
$249 |
$33 |
Motorola |
One 5G Ace |
Grey |
64 |
$349 |
$13 |
ZTE |
Avid 579 |
Black |
32 |
$79 |
$31 |
ZTE |
Wireless Home Phone Base |
n/a |
n/a |
$79 |
$31 |
Apple |
iPhone SE |
Black, white, red |
64,128 |
$399 |
$15 |
Consumer Cellular |
CC ConnectPad |
Blue |
n/a |
$149 |
$29 |
Consumer Cellular |
GrandPad |
n/a |
n/a |
$299 |
$11 |
Consumer Cellular |
All-in-one SIM card |
n/a |
n/a |
$0 |
n/a |
Apple |
iPhone 12 |
Black, blue, red, purple, white |
64, 128, 256 |
$729 |
$33 |
Apple |
iPhone 13 |
Blue, red, white, pink, black |
128, 256, 512 |
$829 |
$13 |
Apple |
iPhone 11 |
Black, red, purple |
64, 128, 256 |
$499 |
$19 |
Apple |
iPhone 13 Pro |
Gold, black, blue |
128, 256, 512 |
$999 |
$15 |
Apple |
iPhone 13 Pro Max |
Gray, beige, blue |
128, 256, 512 |
$1,099 |
$19 |
Samsung |
Galaxy A12 |
Black |
32 |
$179 |
$11 |
Consumer Cellular |
Link II |
Red, black |
8 |
$59 |
$11 |