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Comment by epapsiou | Hacker News Reader

I want to jump to Fi but is just super expensive for families. I have 4 lines. With Mint I can get unlimited talk, text and 2GB/per line for $15. So a family of 4 = $60. With Fi it would be $145. The difference is more than double. ATT offers 4 lines for $120 with 3GB per line. I remember when it was launched the price advantage was big. But since then the carriers came down and Fi did not (barring that $15 vs $20 per extra line thing)

The only advantage I see is the use of 3 networks(for those who live in places with bad coverage).

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It simply isn't for high data usage no matter how you slice it.

You're calculating the prices based on hitting the data ceiling on Fi every month, if you are hitting the ceiling that often then you shouldn't be on Fi. T-Mobile's family offering is likely better value for true unlimited.

In general I agree Fi isn't great for families, because kids often consume a ton of data. It might be good for a spouses if both parties don't use much data.

Where do you see $15/mo for Mint? I see that as an intro price which then goes to $23 after the first 3 months.

Hope they will offer a family plan in the future. The roaming is definitely tempting...

Actually, they have discounted rate for additional users:

Does Google Fi offer plans for groups or families?

Yes. If you’re new to Google Fi, you can set up a group plan during your checkout process. Just have the intended plan owner click “Join Fi” to get started.

Just like an individual plan, each month you’ll pay $20 for unlimited talk and text, then add $15 for each additional person. Data costs the same at $10 for each GB used.

If you’re already a part of Google Fi you can invite people to your plan here. You can have up to six people, including the group owner, in a group.

They do and they have a pretty nice calculator, too: https://fi.google.com/about/plan/

For 6 users, the max you will pay will be $275 (data is free after 18GB), minimum $95 (no data used).

For 4 users, the max you will pay will be $205 (data is free after 14GB), minimum $65 (no data used).

For 2 users, the max you will pay will be $135 (data is free after 10GB), minimum $35 (no data used).

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