When choosing between the two major mobile phone carriers in China, there are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration:

- Price
- Speed
- Contract options 
- International Compatibility

However, a direct comparison can be somewhat difficult to make as there are many variables that need to be addressed. One particularly important point that needs to be addressed is degree of variability in pricing and contracts on offer between different locations within China.

Regional differences

Of the above factors, speed, reliability and international compatibility are usually the same across the country, but prices and contracts can differ substantially depending on the city one resides in.  

For example, China Mobile Beijing offers fixed mobile phone plans. The one displayed below is 58 RMB/month for 50 minutes of talk time and 400 MB of data per month (see figures below). China Mobile Jilin on the other hand does not offer fixed mobile plans, and instead has a ‘build-your-own-plan’ option on their website. The minimum talk time one can buy on China Mobile Jilin is 150 minutes for 18 RMB/month. Mousing over the data button for China Mobile Jilin reveals that the minimum amount of data that can be selected is 30 MB for 5 RMB/Month, or perhaps more comparably, 280 MB for 30RMB/month. Combined, that gives us 150 minutes talk time and 280 MB per month for 48 RMB/month for China Mobile Jilin.

China Mobile-Beijing 58 RMB monthly plan:

China Mobile-Jilin talk time options as of May 23, 2014:

China Mobile Jilin data options as of May 23, 2014:

Similar regional differences exist for China Unicom’s mobile plans. For the purposes of this article, the comparisons made will be based on mobile services in Beijing.

The comparison

Even after ruling out regional differences, there is still a great deal of variability that remains. Because there are so many different phone plans, add-on options, contract linked phone discounts and temporary sales, the comparison between China Unicom and China Mobile will need to be done on 12 month contracts that are available on both carriers. The contracts compared feature talk time and 4G data. This comparison also assumes that data speeds are similar on both China Unicom and China Mobile networks provided the correct hardware (phone) is used. See tables below for details on price/talk time/data.

China Unicom 4G Monthly Plan Chart – Taken May 23, 2014:

- Green circles – Deposit 240RMB and 720RMB will be credited back to the customer in monthly installments. Each month the customer will receive 60RMB account credit over 12 months.

China Mobile 4G Monthly Plan Chart – Taken May 23, 2014:

- Red Circle – data only usable in the customer’s home city. The column to the left is data that is usable in all cities across China.

China Unicom vs. China Mobile Comparison Table

*Features and final price after all ‘permanent’ discounts and offers are applied.

- For China Unicom, the 196RMB plan was chosen. Depositing 240RMB up front yields a 60RMB monthly credit bringing the net cost to 136RMB/month for the end user.
- For China Mobile, price is as cited in the table above.

** Of the 1.6GB data, 600MB can be used across the country, 1GB is only good for use in Beijing

From the table above, China Unicom takes the cake, offering almost twice the amount of data

Why technology matters

- Limits the selection of phones that are compatible with international carriers
- TD-SCDMA (3G) & TD-LTE (4G) are mobile standards that are only used in China, primarily by China Mobile, most internationally compatible phones do not work with these standards.
- Compatibility aside, both China Unicom and China Mobile data speeds perform similarly well.

Online and offline inconsistencies

- Online prices are typically better than offline brick and mortar store prices (both for contracts, and phones)
- Online promotions and prices are not available at brick and mortar stores (both Unicom and Mobile)

Phones locked to carriers

- iPhones are locked to their respective carriers when purchased with a contract discount.
- Android/Windows based phones do not appear to be locked to specific carriers.

Takeaways

- For the best deal, have a local friend help you get your contract through the websites
- Contracts in Beijing (and I imagine most major cities) are more expensive than contracts in smaller cities
- China Unicom typically offers the better deal for 12 month 4G data contracts.
- China Unicom’s network technology means better compatibility with international carriers.