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If you’ve ever been to a cell phone store, you know how overbearing and confusing all the pricing and plans can get with add-ons, accessories bundles, and multi-year payment plans for phones. When it comes down to it, you mostly need a plan with enough data for your monthly usage and compatibility with the phone you want. You also want to make sure you’re on the right network, so you have the kind of coverage that works for your needs. For example, if you want the best 5G speeds in a suburban environment, T-Mobile is the way to go. If you live in the country, however, you’ll likely see more consistent results with AT&T or Verizon.
T-Mobile has handily taken the crown in terms of 5G coverage and speed thanks to its 2.5GHz spectrum, while offering competitive postpaid plans. If you want the best prices and aren’t interested in financing a new phone, a prepaid plan makes a lot more sense with simplified plans, more predictable fees, and the ability to switch whenever something better comes up.
Get covered by signing up with the best carrier for your needs
T-Mobile
Best overall
T-Mobile’s biggest strength is its network with its 5G coverage reaching most of the people in the country. Not only that, T-Mobile’s 5G is consistently the fastest overall thanks to the 2.5GHz spectrum is got from Sprint and advancements like carrier aggregation. The carrier has also been quick to maximize its new network dominance with tons of fast data on its mobile plans and Home Internet.
- Unequaled 5G coverage and speed
- Taxes and fees included with some plans
- Strong phone compatibility
- Too many data breaches to ignore
- Rural coverage is weaker than AT&T and Verizon
T-Mobile’s network is no joke, with its 5G network now covering the vast majority of Americans with the best network speeds overall, as shown by analysts like Ookla in its quarterly report. But T-Mobile didn’t just win, it dominated with median download speeds more than double that of Verizon in second place. T-Mobile has also decided to make its faster mid-band coverage, called Ultra Capacity 5G, available to all plans, including MVNOs, unlike Verizon and AT&T.
When it comes to plans, T-Mobile has five major plans available; an Essentials plan, two magenta plans, and two new Go5G plans. Essentials comes with 50GB of premium data, unlimited talk and text, and not much else. There’s also an Essential Saver plan available in select stores that’s very similar to Essentials for up to three lines. Go5G and Magenta are quite similar, with 100GB of premium data, but Go5G makes its $5 price increase worthwhile with 15GB of hotspot data compared to 5GB and the addition of 720p streaming video.
The biggest story with T-Mobile’s newest plans comes with Go5G Plus. At first, it looks a lot like Magenta Max with unlimited premium data, but it upgrades the hotspot data from 40GB to 50GB. Most importantly, it adds a new feature called New in Two which allows new and existing customers the same upgrade deals and allows them to upgrade every two years. This is in response to AT&T and Verizon both making three-year payment plans the norm and requiring them for their phone discounts, and it is available for all the best phones on T-Mobile.
One thing that cannot be ignored with T-Mobile is its semi-regular data breaches. As recently as late March 2023, T-Mobile experienced a data breach that allowed a hacker access to customer information. This is following multiple data breaches in the last few years, which ended up with T-Mobile paying a $500 million settlement, including $150 million to beef up security. Evens so, its network continues to be the best in the country for 5G speed and coverage.
Verizon
Best customization
Verizon’s network has a well-earned reputation for widespread coverage with solid speeds thanks to its LTE network and growing 5G coverage. Verizon has retooled its plans to be more á la carte with perks and plan features available to add on.
- Strong LTE and 5G coverage
- Home Internet savings
- Choose from multiple streaming perks
- Easily add smartwatch data or travel passes
- 5G coverage falls short of T-Mobile
- Ultra Wideband 5G speeds excluded from Unlimited Welcome
- Expensive plans
Verizon is no longer the coverage juggernaut it once was when 3G was king, with AT&T and T-Mobile steadily taking bites out of its coverage map for the past few years. Even so, Verizon still offers excellent coverage with plenty of speed for streaming and swiping through social media. While T-Mobile has built a comfortable 5G gap, Verizon hasn’t stopped improving with consistent coverage improvements thanks to its C-band spectrum.
Verizon starts with just three plan starters to pick from, Unlimited Ultimate, Unlimited Plus, Unlimited Basic, starting at $90, $80 and $65 per month, respectively. Keep in mind, this includes an autopay and paperless billing discount of $10 per month and excludes promotions such as BYOD offers. In fact, if you bring your own phone and number, that Unlimited Plus price comes down to $65 with 36 months of bill credits. Unlimited Basic gets a smaller discount of $60 per month. Unlimited Ultimate comes with the biggest BYOD discount by far with up to $540 worth of promo credits. Verizon doesn’t include taxes and fees in the plan pricing, so your bill will be a bit more than the sticker shows.
Unlimited Basic keeps things simple with unlimited data, no hotspot data, and SD-quality streaming. Unlimited Plus upgrades that with premium data, full Ultra Wideband 5G speeds, 30GB of mobile hotspot data, and 50% off a connected device plan. Unlimtied Ultimate lives up to its name with hotspot data bumped up to 60GB, international usage in 210+ countries, 1080p video streaming, and 50% off two device plans.
Once you’ve chosen your plan as a starting point, you can choose from a selection of add-ons, including high-speed mobile hotspot data, travel passes, and smartwatch plans. You can also add subscription services like Apple One, a Disney+ bundle, Walmart+, and more. Verizon wants to be your one-stop-shop for online subscriptions, and at just $10 per add-on, it could be a good way to save, especially if you were already paying for some of them.
AT&T
For First Responders
While AT&T has failed to keep up in the race to 5G, the carrier continues to offer excellent rural coverage and reliable wireless service across the country. AT&T is still building its 5G network with plenty of mid-band capacity and mmWave in city centers and venues where it matters the most.
- Strong rural coverage
- Signature Program Member discounts
- FirstNet provides priority access and lower prices to first responders
- Worse 5G coverage than T-Mobile or Verizon
- Expensive postpaid plans
- Taxes and fees are extra
AT&T isn’t fighting for the lead in terms of 5G speed or coverage, but its massive and reliable LTE network makes it the obvious pick for many people across the country. Even so, its 5G network is well underway with the dedicated low-band spectrum for nationwide 5G as well as mid-band and mmWave spectrum for 5G+. AT&T makes good use of its network and even offers priority services to first responders such as firefighters, paramedics, medical workers, and more. They can even get 25% off on service.
For most people, AT&T has five plans available, with four unlimited options and a 4GB plan. Starting with Unlimited Premium, you get unlimited premium data, 50GB of hotspot data, and unlimited video streaming quality. This plan also qualifies for AT&T’s Signature Program discounts. For people with certain employers, such as a school or hospital, employees can save $10 per month per line. Check AT&T’s Signature Program page to see if you qualify. Before discounts, this plan comes in at $85 per month or $50 per line with four lines.
AT&T’s Unlimited Extra plan comes with 50GB of premium data, 15GB of hotspot data, and low-quality SD video streaming. This plan starts at $75 per month or $40 per line with four lines. Unlimited Started gets rid of the premium data and reduces the hotspot data to 3GB but comes in at a more attractive $65 per month for one line or $35 with four lines.
AT&T also still has a 4GB plan for $50 per month, $40 with four lines, that also qualifies for a Signature Program discount. Finally, if you’ve only got one line, you can sign up for the Value Plus plan for $50 per month which is AT&T’s best postpaid plan for single-line customers with unlimited talk, text, data, and 5G access. You also get unlimited talk, text, and data in and between Mexico and Canada.
Visible
Best prepaid unlimited
Visible is a prepaid carrier owned and operated by Verizon that offers unlimited data on two plans. Pricing is simple with taxes and fees included so you know how much you’ll have to pay before signing up. Visible also comes with unlimited hotspot data at 5Mbps.
- Totally unlimited data on a prepaid plan
- Premium data with Visible+
- Taxes and fees included
- No high-speed hotspot data available
- No Ultra Wideband 5G on the base plan
- No multi-line savings
Visible makes a lot of sense for heavy users looking to save money on unlimited data. Visible has no brick-and-mortar stores, so activation and phone setup are up to you, but if you can follow some instructions, setup is simple with a free SIM or an eSIM activation. Visible uses Verizon’s network, so most people will have no issues with coverage where they live and work. Visible users also have access to the faster Ultra Wideband 5G network with Visible+, but unfortunately, the cheaper plan is limited to nationwide 5G speeds.
Visible’s cheapest plan, called Visible, is the right starting point for most people with unlimited talk, text, and data in the U.S. with unlimited hotspot data at 5Mbps. At $25 per month with taxes included, Visible is one of the cheapest unlimited plans you’ll find. And what’s more, it’s actually unlimited, so you won’t see your speeds cut after a certain amount of high-speed data. If you want the best speeds Verizon’s network has to offer, upgrading to Visible+ is an excellent option. At $45 per month, this plan comes with 50GB of premium data and access to Verizon’s Ultra Wideband 5G speeds. If you want to try it, you can get your first six months for $35 per month by using code “35FOR6” at checkout.
Visible doesn’t have any multi-line savings, so if you want to bring the family, each line will have the same cost. Fortunately, taxes and fees are included, so it’s easy to know how much your family will need to pay. If you have access to Verizon 5G Home Internet or Fios, you can get $10 off with Visible+ and $5 off with Visible.
Finally, since Visible is a prepaid carrier, you won’t get the big phone discounts that postpaid carrier use to keep customers locked into their service. This can be seen as a pro if you buy the best phones unlocked and want the best prices on data with the option to switch to another carrier at any time. Still, if you need a new phone and don’t have the cash on hand to pay for it outright, financing is available via Affirm on Visible’s web store. You can also get payment plans from manufacturers like Apple and Samsung when you buy your phone directly.
Mint Mobile
Best Multi-month Savings
Mint Mobile is a prepaid carrier, now owned by T-Mobile, that offers four data plans on T-Mobile’s LTE and 5G networks. Mint Mobile offers discounts for those willing to pay for a longer term upfront, with a minimum term of three months and maximum savings at 12 months. Mint Family is also available to those with multiple lines, which gives you the best 12-month rates with three-month renewals.
- Excellent multi-line savings
- Recently increased data buckets for new and existing users
- Full T-Mobile 5G speeds
- Must buy at least three months
- Fees are extra
- Unlimited plan is really 40GB
Mint Mobile has been growing in popularity thanks in part to actor Ryan Reynolds buying the carrier and participating in marketing with T-Mobile purchasing the carrier in early 2023. Mint uses T-Mobile’s LTE and 5G network for all of its coverage, including T-Mobile’s fastest Ultra Capacity 5G coverage.
Mint also offers genuinely good plans, with each one available in 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month increments with greater discounts for those willing to sign up for longer. Mint Mobile often offers discounts on the first three months of service and currently offers all plans for $15 per month ($45 upfront) before reverting to the normal price. Taxes and fees are extra at Mint Mobile, including a recovery fee of up to $7.75 on the unlimited plan.
Mint offers four plans with 5GB, 15GB, 20GB, or 40GB (Unlimited) of high-speed data included. Notably, the data amounts have increased twice since with carrier launched with its current data buckets making the carrier more competitive than ever. The three smaller plans can share their data with other devices using a mobile hotspot, while the unlimited plan comes with 10GB of high-speed hotspot data. All Mint plans come with free calling to Mexico and Canada. If you have two or more lines, you can use Mint Family to get Mint Mobile’s best 12-month rates, but they renew every three months instead, making the higher rates a bit more palatable.
US Mobile
Best Prepaid for Families
US Mobile is a prepaid carrier that offers three unlimited plans and a shared data plan. US Mobile offers coverage on both Verizon and T-Mobile, so you can pick the network that works best for your area and phone. You can also save when you bring the whole family with multi-line savings.
- Tons of data on the Verizon network
- Multi-line savings for unlimited plans
- T-Mobile coverage available
- Taxes and fees are extra
- Less high-speed data on T-Mobile
US Mobile is a prepaid carrier that allows you to use either the Verizon network or T-Mobile, so you can get signed up living in just about any location while being able to bring your phone with you. US Mobile has three unlimited data plans as well as a more custom shared data plan for multiple lines. For most people, the best way to use US Mobile is with the Verizon SIM and one of the unlimited plans.
The cheapest unlimited plan, Unlimited Starter, is really more of a 20GB plan. You get 20GB of high-speed data with speeds reduced as low as 1Mbps if you use it all before the end of the month. You get no hotspot data, but you do get fast 5G speeds on your phone with C-band 5G access. Luckily, this plan is cheap at $25 per line. Stepping up to Unlimited Essentials, you get 50GB of high-speed data and 5GB of hotspot data. This plan starts at $40 for one line but comes down to $35 per line with two lines and $30 with three lines.
Unlimited Premium gets 100GB of high-speed data, 50GB of hotspot data, and an international SIM for traveling abroad. This plan also gets multi-line perks at three lines. That is, if you bring three lines to this plan, you can choose a perk such as a streaming service. You can choose from services like Spotify Family, Apple TV Plus, or PlayStation Plus. This plan starts at a hefty $50 per month but comes down to $45 with two lines and $40 with three or more lines.
Keep in mind that you’ll need to pay a bit more than shown since taxes and fees are extra. Even so, US Mobile estimates this charge to be between $1 and $5, depending on your location, so overall, the carrier is still a bargain. If you don’t need unlimited data and still want to bring the family, US Mobile also has a shared data plan that can be customized for your family’s needs.
MobileX
Best custom prepaid plan
MobileX is a prepaid carrier that offers customers the ability to pay for only the data they use. With a low starting price, and cheap data rates by the gigabyte, light users can save quite a bit with MobileX. Even heavier users could find a plan with a large 30GB plan available.
- Data access on the Verizon network
- Cheap data prices with surplus data forwarding
- Cheap talk and text add-ons
- No truly unlimited plan
- No physical store locations
MobileX isn’t like your typical carrier with a set of plans that you need to try to fit yourself into. MobileX starts with a very basic plan featuring 1GB of data for a few cents over four dollars. From there, you can add data at $2.10 per GB, which is one of the lowest rates on any prepaid carrier, and talk and text packages as needed. You can add 50 minutes of talk time and 50 texts for $1.50, for example, or go up to unlimited for $4.50.
You aren’t giving up any coverage by moving to MobileX either, with the carrier using Verizon for its coverage. That means you’ll get Verizon 5G in suburban and urban areas with solid LTE coverage in rural areas. Phone compatibility is also solid with all Google Pixels supported, Galaxy S phones starting with the S10, iPhone starting with the 6s, and more. You can check your IMEI on the site to be sure, or download the MobileX app from Google Play Store or the Apple app store. You might also be able to activate your device with eSIM instead of waiting for the free SIM to arrive.
Finally, MobileX has two plans labeled as unlimited that really aren’t unlimited at all. The carrier is open about this and even notes on its home page that these aren’t truly unlimited. The smaller plan comes with 5GB of high-speed data for just under $15 per month with the larger 30GB coming in at just under $25 per month. These plans, however, do not include taxes and fees in their prices and also don’t support forwarded data. Overall, however, MobileX is a strong choice for those that are willing to save a bit of data and can be great for the user that spends most of their time connected to Wi-FI.
Get the coverage you need
There is no single best carrier, as each one depends on your needs and the coverage in your area. It doesn’t do you any good to save money with a carrier if your signal isn’t strong enough to make good use of it. Still, T-Mobile comes out on top with its massive and fast 5G network that has reached the majority of Americans. T-Mobile’s network is also compatible with a ton of different phones, including the best OnePlus phones, such as the Nord N20 5G, which lacks 5G support on Verizon and AT&T.
T-Mobile’s plans have also stayed reasonably competitive, and the carrier even offers discounted versions of its plans for 55+ and military customers. If you’ve tried T-Mobile in the past but didn’t get the coverage you need, it’s worth taking another look at its coverage map as T-Mobile has continued to improve its coverage with low-band nationwide 5G with supplemental speed provided by its mid-band Ultra Capacity 5G coverage. T-Mobile also hasn’t kneecapped its cheaper plans by limiting them to nationwide 5G as Verizon and AT&T have done, so if you don’t need premium data, you don’t have to give up Ultra Capacity 5G.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile’s biggest strength is its network, with its 5G coverage reaching most of the people in the country. Not only that, T-Mobile’s 5G is consistently the fastest overall thanks to the 2.5GHz spectrum it got from Sprint and advancements like carrier aggregation. The carrier has also been quick to maximize its new network dominance with tons of fast data on its mobile plans and Home Internet.
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