Project Fi takes the guesswork out of splitting the phone bill

By Florence Ion
last updated

Have you ever rounded up a bunch of friends to go in on a carrier subscription in an effort to save some cash on a major family plan? I personally know people who have done this, and it's akin to the same way that I stay subscribed to my family plan to save a couple of bucks. Splitting the bill at the end of each month can be a pain, however, which is why Google wants to help in an effort to convince you to come over to Project Fi.

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Project Fi now offers group plans. Per the official announcement:

To take the headache out of sharing your wireless plan, today we're introducing group repay—an easier way to split your Project Fi group plan bill. Each month, we'll calculate participating members' portion of the bill, send out payment reminders, and provide a simple way for members to repay plan owners directly through Project Fi.

How nice of Google to take on the arduous task of splitting the bill. The company will even do all the math for you based on each individual's data usage. Any Project Fi plan owner or member can set up the monthly repayment reminders, too, though the plan owner will have control over the amount. There is even a payment history tracker so that you'll always have that archived information available when the inevitable dispute comes up. And if you sign up now and add a new member to your group plan, you'll both receive a free month of Fi Basics. This promotional offer is only good for a limited time, though.

Google's working hard to push Project Fi, and why wouldn't it? It's the Android maker's own carrier offering, not to mention that every new user means that there's another person in the world using a Google-branded smartphone.

What do you think? Is this something you'd benefit from as a Project Fi user?

Florence Ion
Florence Ion

Florence Ion was formerly an editor and columnist at Android Central. She writes about Android-powered devices of all types and explores their usefulness in her everyday life. You can follow her on Twitter or watch her Tuesday nights on All About Android.

9 Comments
  • Project Fi costs too much doesn't it?
  • The data on Project Fi is expensive... It's a flat $10 per 1GB... so 10GB of data would cost $100. The only real benefit on the data side is you are refunded any unused data at the end of the billing period. With Verizon for that same $100 I get unlimited data on all my lines... But monthly cost for additional lines on Verizon are still $20 vs $15 on Project Fi.
  • Most people don't use as much data as you do.
  • Will this work with iPhones too? Thinking about switching family members over to this, and some of them have iPhones.
  • Nope Fi does not work with iPhones. Heck, it doesn't even work with most Android phones... Only Nexus and Pixel phones work with Fi.
  • That's the real problem. I was hoping that other phones would start to be compatible with the service. How much better would the OP5 or the Essential do if they managed to ship with Fi support? That being said... as I understand it, you could use an iPhone if you activated on a supported phone first. The problem is that you would only get T-Mobile. You would lose support for WiFi calling and network switching.
  • Your not suppose use Iphone on it but I have personally tried it and it works just fine with a few exceptions. If you google it there is a whole test and explanation about using the Iphone on Fi
  • I tried Project Fi a while ago - i liked their rates, but the reception was bad that i had to cancel it.
    Now i get 5gb + carryover data + calls/text for $51/month. Project Fi says the same would cost me $70. Looks like Verizon quickly beating Project Fi in the pricing game.
    Competition is great for consumer!
  • Hmm, I have actually had better reception with my Fi phone (Pixel), than my AT&T phone some places. The automatic switching between the three carriers seems to mitigate some of the coverage issues. YMMV of course. I'm reasonably impressed with Fi, and the price per GB doesn't really concern me. I personally use less than a Gig a month, so I generally get most of my data fee back. That's not just because of the Pixel being a second device, I generally use less than a Gig on AT&T too. I'm just around WiFi most of the time. Getting back what I don't use is really a nice perk. The whole service is just enjoyable. The bill is dirt simple, the app is easy to understand, the options are easy to change, and things like this bill splitting thing (though I don't need it) are just typical of how they make it easy and convenient.