It is estimated that the business of providing ringtones is a wealthy one, with a large portion of cell phone users choosing this method as their mode of choice for phone customization. These companies advertise their wares relentlessly, offering the very latest pop tunes for a fee. And while the cost of obtaining a single tone might not be prohibitive, many companies rely on consumers becoming subscribers, so that the cost of a regular tone sent to your cell adds up to a tidy profit for them. But if you are looking for some variety in your cell phone sounds, you don’t have to spend your heard earned money to do so, as most of the major handset manufacturers offer a range of ringtones for free.

Ringtone compatibility is important, so your best bet for finding free ringtones is to visit the website of your cell phone handset’s manufacturer. Companies like Motorola, Nokia and Sony Ericsson all offer a range of ringtones at their sites – just look for the appropriate link, usually titled ringtones, tones or rings.

Different cell phone manufacturers offer different choices when it comes to downloading free ringtones, with some providing a far greater variety of options than others. If the availability of free tones is an important factor in your cell phone decision-making, then check out what’s on offer before committing to a particular handset.

The cell phone company Nokia possibly offer the most comprehensive range of free ringtones, adding new tunes to their collection almost daily. Other companies’ repertoire of tones is more limited, so see what’s available before you make your handset choice.

Within particular cell phone handset manufacturer’s models, there are also some differences, and different free ringtones will be suitable for use with only certain handset models. The companies’ websites will usually specify which sounds are compatible with individual handset designs, but if in doubt there is little to be lost by downloading the ringtones and trying them out of your handset – after all, they are free!

There are a great variety of free ringtones on offer today, from classical tunes to techno sounds and almost every thing in between. So before you sign up to spending your hard earned cash on a ringtone subscription, check what is available for free. You might be pleasantly surprised with the music you can make!