Independent since 2019 · No paid placement, ever Rates verified monthly · Updated July 30, 2026
Methodology

How We Rank Phone Plans

Last reviewed July 30, 2026

Every plan in our database is evaluated against the same four pillars on a 0–10 unweighted scale. No carrier pays for placement, and no plan is excluded for editorial reasons. This page documents how we score, verify, and update plans — and the commitments behind those rankings.

For the broader story of why ShopCellPlans exists and how we stay independent, see our About page.

The scoring model

The four pillars

Each plan earns a 0–10 score on every pillar. Here is exactly what we look at in each.

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How scores are calculated

Each plan receives a 0–10 score on each pillar; the four combine into the single overall rating displayed across the site.

Scores are unweighted.

Value for Money, Network Reliability, Hotspot & Features, and Customer Experience contribute equally to the overall score. We don’t weight categories to favor plans that pay higher commissions or produce specific outcomes.

For category-specific rankings, we apply additional editorial filters that favor the use case:

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Scores display to one decimal place (8.4, 9.3, 7.6). Internal calculations may use higher precision; display rounds to one decimal.

Pricing verification

Every pricing claim on this site is verified directly from carrier websites. We don’t rely on third-party aggregators that may be 30–90 days stale.

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When we encounter conflicting claims (carrier marketing versus actual fine print), we cite the fine print. When pricing is “all-in” versus “taxes extra,” we surface that distinction explicitly.

The commitment

Editorial independence in practice

The four-pillar methodology is applied identically to every plan, regardless of commercial relationship. What that looks like:

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What we don’t do

For transparency, here are the practices we explicitly avoid:

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How we update rankings

Reviews and rankings update continuously based on:

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If you encounter a discrepancy between our claims here and what you experience on the site, please reach out. Reader feedback is one of the most valuable inputs we have for keeping the cluster accurate.