The overwhelming majority of the world’s population now has a cellphone, and its usage is paid for in two distinct ways – prepay or bill pay. Prepay customers buy credit as they go along, topping up their usage accounts whenever the need arises. Customers on bill pay are charged a set amount at regular intervals over a fixed period. Each option has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages; it mostly comes down to which one better suits the needs of a cellphone user.

A lot of people who cannot wait to get their hands on the latest phones will lean towards bill pay, as this enables them to get the phone for a very low initial price and they pay for it in monthly instalments thereafter. It’s also an ideal choice for business owners or people who make a lot of calls, as they can continue to do so even if they exceed their monthly quota – it will just mean footing quite a bit extra for going over the agreed limits.

If, on the other hand, you would rather have complete autonomy over how and when you use your phone, you’re probably better off selecting prepay. If you don’t make calls or send texts all that frequently, you only need to pay for what you use as you use it instead of being tied into a monthly rate. Also, if you wish to switch network providers, it’s very easy if you have the freedom of pay-as-you-go, whereas it would be a painstaking process for anyone bound to a fixed-term contract. Buying a phone on prepay does require you to pay for it in full from the outset, but it gives you full ownership of the phone, whereas you’re essentially hiring it on bill pay.

This infographic by Neon SMS www.neonsms.ie objectively compares the two options side-by-side based on several key criteria. The debate as to which is the ‘better’ choice depends primarily on how you use your phone – the perfect option for one person could well be a very bad idea for another.