Subscription Question: Consumer Monthly Essential Plan VS Pro Monthly Basic Plan.

Price is the same, basic features are the same. I only difference of the plans is the "Plan Suspension". The Pro version is the better deal if you don't use it year round and the Essential plan is year round and if you decide you dont want it, you cancel and then if you decide you want it turned on, you pay the activation fee of 40ish. So why not just go with the Pro plan and it has the option of suspension and if you do suspend it and then turn it back on, NO activation fee.  Both are 20 a month anyway.

  • The Consumer plans has Enabled state for USD 7,99 per month, which is kind of like a suspension but with the ability to keep using Messaging and SOS based on pay-as-you-go basis. For some reason this Enabled state is not mentioned on the inReach product page.

    Compare this to the Suspend fee for a Pro subscription which costs USD 4,99 per month and doesn't allow you to keep using Messaging and SOS.

    And in the US the Consumer Essential plan costs USD 14,99 while a Pro Basic plan costs USD 19,99. Local pricing may vary though.

    If you only use your inReach device for a couple of consecutive months, canceling a Consumer plan and re-subscribing is the cheapest option even though you have to pay the activation fee. But best is to calculate the costs for your specific use case to see what is cheaper.

  • Thank you so much for that information on the ENABLED plan.  I looked it up and built a spreadsheet showing costs based on how many months you have it in Essential plan mode and Enabled plan mode.  I found the min cost per year is $143 USD and max is $220 USD.

  • More information about the Enabled plan is available here: inReach Consumer Enabled Plan Explained