A cell phone in Spain is a must. A land line will charge you every time you dial out and can get very expensive. The following information is compiled based on past experiences with different providers and we list their newest pricing plans. The information on this page is not biased towards any particular company. We just want to help you out.
The three current cell phone providers in Spain are Orange, Movistar, and Vodafone. Movistar is a subsidiary of Telefonica, the largest phone carrier and once monopoly of Spain, and is the oldest. Vodafone and Orange have been in the market for several years now.
There are two types of phone service contracts for sale in Spain, tarjeta (prepaid) and contrato (contract). Only Spanish citizens and permanent residents can purchase a cell phone wtih contrato, so just forget about it. What you can purchase is a cell phone with tarjeta. The cell phone is affordable, convenient and easy to resell at the end of your trip. Cell phones with tarjeta are prepaid and you can recargar, put money on your phone, at any of your carriers stores around town, some supermarkets such as Más and Día, and at Corte Inglés.
Check out each provider's website for more information on rates and cell phones:
Vodafone
Movistar
Orange
All three have various pricing plans depending on what time of day you talk the most. All three also offer cheaper rates to specific phone numbers (which are from the same company as your service) you choose as the numbers you will call the most often. There are also some hidden charges that you should know about.