Twigby will be the perfect cell phone carrier for some casual users. But it’s definitely not for everyone. Read on for our detailed review to see if Twigby is right for you.
Data: You need data for most of your apps so it can get used up fast. Make sure you have enough data in your plan. Price: Cell phone plans have gotten cheaper in recent years. Don’t settle for an overpriced plan. Coverage: There are three major cell phone networks. Make sure you’re on the one that has great coverage in your area. Performance: Some companies offer faster data speeds, hotspot data, and other perks. Be sure that you’re getting the performance you need to support your lifestyle.
Twigby is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). That means it actually uses other companies’ cellular networks to provide service (in this case, it uses both Sprint and Verizon). This arrangement allows MVNOs like Twigby to cut costs, which is definitely the thing we love most about the company. It’s simple to customize the type of cheap plan you want with Twigby. The company’s website has a handy tool to select the amount of minutes and data you’d like. It looks like this. Once you order online, you’ll get your Twigby SIM card in the mail. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. You might be like, “Sprint? Didn’t it just get bought out by T-Mobile?” Yes, it did. But the Sprint’s network is still in place and that’s what Twigby uses. (Twigby customers may actually see an expansion of their network as T-Mobile and Sprint integrate their infrastructure). Most of the time Twigby customers stay on Sprint towers. But if they’re in an area where Sprint doesn’t have good service, they’ll automatically switch over to Verizon’s towers. That’s good news, since Verizon has the best coverage in the country. We’ll talk more about all of this in the coverage section below. This is why so many companies are prioritizing unlimited data plans. And unfortunately, Twigby doesn’t have one. The most data that you can get in a month is 10 GB of 4G LTE data. That’s about enough to stream a whole season of The Crown. While that may sound like a lot, it’s not nearly enough for gamers, influencers, professionals, and other heavy users. Because Twigby is borrowing bandwidth from Sprint and Verizon, its customers can get kicked to the back of the line, so to speak. That means that during times of heavy use, Twigby customers may see their data speeds plummet to a snail’s pace. For some folks this won’t be a major issue (you are paying less than $20 a month, after all). But for the rest of us who rely on our phones for basically everything, deprioritization can be a total dealbreaker (“It’s not you Twigby, it’s me”). Quite well, actually. You can find cheaper plans with similar amounts of data through Twigby than that of other discount carriers like Consumer Cellular and Red Pocket. Just take a look for yourself. We’ll be up-front about it: Twigby’s family plans have some major flaws (they aren’t actually cheaper, for one). But there are a few things the company gets right. Here they are. But Twigby’s family plans won’t save you any cash. You’ll pay the same amount you would if each line was separate. That means the only real benefit is that you can pay for every line with a single bill. This isn’t a terrible setup. Sprint’s network is pretty strong in major metropolitan and suburban areas, but Verizon’s network has far greater reach. That means Twigby customers should rarely be without at least a few bars of service. Check out these coverage maps to see how the two networks look in your area. If you want to bring your own device (BYOD), use Twigby’s compatibility checker first to see if your phone will transfer. But if you’re looking to buy a new device from Twigby you may find yourself frustrated. Unlike other carriers, Twigby doesn’t sell the latest flagship devices. No Galaxy S20 or iPhone 12. That said, you can get a decent deal on some perfectly good devices that came out in the last few years, like the Google Pixel 3a XL. Here’s a look at all of the phones that the company sells. It’s hard to give an exact grade to Twigby’s customer service, but we can see that the company’s mobile app retains a 3.1-star rating in the Apple Store and a 3-star rating on Google Play. That’s not too impressive, but it could be worse. So maybe we’ll call it a C-minus.
Plans: Twigby’s plans are super cheap and very customizable. The biggest problem for many people will be the lack of an unlimited data plan. Family plans: You can add up to 10 lines to a single Twigby account. However, you won’t actually save any money by bundling multiple lines together. Performance: Twigby keeps its plans so cheap by cutting corners on performance. You may see serious data slowdowns and poor customer service.
If you’re willing to sacrifice a bit on quality to get one of the cheapest cell phone plans on the market, then go ahead and sign up for Twigby. But if you’re looking for an unlimited, high-speed data plan then you’ll need to go elsewhere.
