I posted this about our experience with H20 (me) and Ting (my wife). It's contingent on not using much data. So, if you're (1) on wifi, (2) don't use Pandora when driving (I download podcasts) and (3) download local maps on Google Maps instead of navigating with data I think it's a good alternative.
If you've you don't use data, I think that you could be fine with a lower cost option than Republic Wireless.
I'm currently on H2O wireless. It's a pay as you go service that charges $0.05/min, $0.05/text, $0.10/MMS, and $0.10/MB data. You can get better rates elsewhere, but these are for loading $10/(90 days) or $3.33/month.
That being said, I have very low usage: I almost never use data or call anyone and I'm usually on WiFi so I can send texts through hangouts for free. During my commute, I listen things I download before hand (podcasts or free audio books from the library with Overdrive). I acutally don't use up the $10 in 90 days, so my balance is accumulating. It's a bit unfortunate that they won't let you autorenew at $10 / 90 days, so I have to use a Google calendar reminder. But, I think it's worth it to save ~ $15 / month on Ting. I won't be too dissapointed if I lose my accumulated balance because I won't ever go through it (although it's handy to have the surplus for data usage when travelling for work).
https://www.h2owirelessnow.com/mainControl.php?page=planMinMy wife uses Ting because she texts more than I do. I think her bill is usually $12-18/month (again little data).
https://ting.com/ratesTing has some benefits to having multiple people on the same account. Check out how their billing works and see if it works for you.
Note 1: On my Moto X (2nd gen), I had to actually go into the settings and disable mobile data to prevent Android from using data. I could individually restrict apps from using data, but I couldn't figure out how to do that with the OS.
Note 2: we also set up a free Google Voice landline which we use when we want to call people when we're at home.