Are you looking into family cell phone plans? Check out the family cellphone plans comparison of the 5 major carriers on this page.

One of the most cost effective ways to keep everyone in your family in touch is to sign up for a family plan with one of the major cell phone carriers. It helps to do a family cellphone plans comparison first though, because each carrier offers different packages and features and some are more affordable than others.

All of them are the same though in that they allow two or more family members to use the same pool of minutes and receive just one bill, which is far more convenient than keeping track of several individual plans. Best of all, the family plans are very affordable, come with all of the same features you can find on the individual plans and they are available for both traditional cellphones and smartphones. Better still, many of the family cell phone plans come with free phones.

Here's what you can expect to find from each of the top four cellphone carriers, including their cheapest family plan:

AT&T

Nation Family Talk 550 w/ Rollover -- $59.99

Plan Features:

• 550 minutes
• Unlimited night and weekend minutes
• Unlimited mobile to mobile
• 24 month contract
• $62.00 activation fee

AT&T is the second largest cellphone carrier in the US and is the only one to offer rollover minutes. Any minutes that your family does not use during the course of the month are not lost like on other carriers. Instead, they continue to accumulate and will be used in the event your family goes over your total minute limit for that month, which can save you a bundle on additional minute fees. Best of all, these rollover minutes don't expire for a full 12 months. AT&T is also the exclusive home to the popular iPhone from Apple.

Sprint

Talk for Family 700 -- $69.99

Plan Features:

• 700 minutes
• Unlimited night and weekend minutes
• Unlimited Sprint Mobile to Mobile calling
• 24 month contract
• $72.00 activation fee

Sprint's consumer ratings have suffered in recent years and they trail behind the other carriers in overall customer satisfaction; however they do offer low pricing and one of the best high-speed networks. They are also the exclusive carrier for the Palm Pre and the Samsung Instinct.

T-Mobile

Classic 1000 Minute, Unlimited Text, Unlimited Data for social networking -- $119.98 For 2 lines

Plan Features:

• 1000 minutes shared
• Unlimited night and weekend minutes
• Unlimited T-Mobile to T-Mobile calling
• 24 month contract
• Add an extra line for as little as $30/month

T-Mobile offers some of the lowest prices of any of the four major carriers and their overall customer satisfaction are on par with that of the industry leading carrier Verizon. It's also one of the least expensive carriers for users who need web access, text and multimedia message capability and is home to the "Google phones" like the myTouch 3G and Motorola Cliq series, which makes T-Mobile a popular choice for anyone looking for family cell phone plans with unlimited texting. In 2011, T-Mobile has updated their offering to include value family plans starting at $49.99 a month per line.

Verizon

Nationwide Talk Family SharePlan 700 -- $69.99

Plan Features:

• 700 minutes
• Unlimited night and weekend minutes
• Unlimited mobile to mobile
• 24 month contract
• $60.00 activation fee

Verizon is the nation's largest carrier in terms of coverage area and subscribers and they are the industry leader in terms of overall customer satisfaction and service, so you should definitely check them out when you look to see how the different family cell phone plans compare. They are also the home to the popular Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Incredible which run on Google's Android operating system.

Tracfone

Tracfone Family Value Plan -- $9.99

Plan Features:

• 50 minutes included
• $5.99 for each extra line (40 min talk time)
• No contracts
• $0.00 activation fee
• $0.00 cancellation fee

For families with light to moderate cell phone usage, a Tracfone family plan might fit the bill just right. TracFone happens to be the largest prepaid cell phone service provider in the US. The service is low cost, and network reception is reliable as they leverage on the networks of companies like AT&T and Verizon.

The bundled minutes are nothing to shout about (50 min of talk time and 150 text messages), but you can always purchase extra minute bundles at low prices. One tip with buying TracFone is to purchase initial phone bundles that include a free double-minute or triple minute benefit. That will boost your monthly 50 min credit immediately to a monthly 100 min or 150 min credit. To find out more, visit the official Tracfone site.

If you want to consolidate multiple phone plans and bills, then consider switching to one of the family plans offered by the these major carriers. You'll save time and money, but make sure you do a thorough family cellphone plans comparison first so that you find the best plan and carrier for your family's needs.