Best cell phone plans TL;DR
If you’re looking for the best cell phone plan overall, turn to Mint Mobile and its affordable 5GB plan with service via T-Mobile’s reliable network. For the data-lovers, you can opt for Visible’s unlimited data plan. And if you want to get a whole household on a plan, AT&T is your best bet.
I’ve spent a decade at Tom’s Guide reviewing what the best phone carriers charge for their phone service so I know what your options are — and which ones stand out from the crowd. My trick to finding great plans? Look beyond the big names like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, and turn to some off-the-beaten path choices for options.
Ultimately, the question I ask myself when picking cell phone plans is how much data am I getting for my monthly payment. I also weigh network performance along with the perks that come with a plan when I’m sorting through various options.
Right now, I like the 5GB plan at Mint Mobile for people who don’t need a lot of data and a new unlimited data plan at Visible for those who do. And because there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to find the best cell phone plan, I also highlight other options from Verizon, AT&T, and elsewhere that might fit in better with your budget.
Written byWritten byPhilip Michaels
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Managing Editor
I’ve been working for Tom’s Guide since 2015, where I’m now the managing editor for mobile coverage. If it’s about phones or cell phone plans, I’m on the case. I’ve been looking at phones since the debut of the iPhone back in 2007, as my career in technology coverage dates back to 1999. From my Northern California home, I’m constantly checking in on phone carriers to see what they charge for data and how that compares to other options. When I’m not doing that, I’m cooking, traveling, and staring at a phone screen.
The best cell phone plan overall
The best unlimited data plan
The best family plan
The best budget family plan
The best prepaid data plan
The best annual data plan
Best cell phone plan price guarantee
The cell phone plan with the best perks
How we pick the best cell phone plans
(Image credit: Tint Media / Shutterstock)
What goes into picking the best cell phone plan? For me, it’s research, research, research. I’m specifically taking these factors into consideration when I make my picks.
- Price: How much a plan costs is the first thing I look at. That doesn’t necessarily mean cheaper plans are better or that more expensive plans shouldn’t be considered — there are cheaper options out there than AT&T’s Unlimited Extra plan for families, for example. But it’s important to know upfront what a phone carrier is charging you and how that compares to the competition.
- How much data comes with each plan: A big part of how much value a plan delivers hinges upon the ratio of data to price. A lot of data for a lower price is a winning combination, which is why I tend to favor low-cost unlimited data plans. Even with unlimited data you have to be careful, though — some carriers put caps on the amount of high-speed data you get. So look for a bigger number, or no limit at all.
- Coverage: How a network performs varies widely based on where you happen to be, so you should figure out which carrier offers extensive coverage in your area by talking to friends and neighbors. That said, I do take third-party testing data into account. And the current numbers tell me that T-Mobile’s service is generally the fastest — Ookla ranks T-Mobile as the fastest U.S. network as of this writing — and it’s got the farthest reaching 5G coverage. That said, Verizon continues to offer an extensive network of its own.
- Perks: Plans that pack in a lot of perks are more valuable than bare-bones offerings. I look for things like hotspot data, overseas coverage and whether streaming service subscriptions come with your plan. 5G coverage should be standard, though some plans get faster 5G service than cheaper options (such as the Visible Plus plan). Perks are a nice-to-have, not a must-have, but they can give one plan an edge over the other.
- Commitment: One of the reasons I include Verizon’s prepaid plan is that it’s a month-to-month plan — if a better option comes along, you can easily switch. As good as the Mint Mobile plan is, it does require a year commitment to get the best rate. It’s good to know things like that when you’re picking your phone service.
- Price guarantees: More carriers than ever include price-lock guarantees with their plans, like the Boost and T-Mobile options we cite above. And of course the advantage of committing to annual plans like the Mint and AT&T offerings is that your wireless expenses are set for the full year, with no worries about monthly rate changes.
I go through cell phone plans on a monthly basis to see if there are new options or changes to existing plans. And then I adjust my picks accordingly, based on this criteria.
Best cell phone plans compared
So that you can better see how much each of the best cell phone plans cost, we’ve put them in one chart, with their monthly rate for one line of data. We’ve noted where plans like the Mint’s require annual payments, and the notes field also lists the family price for multiple lines of the AT&T and Total Wireless plans.
As you can see, Boost and Visible all have the lowest rate for unlimited data on a monthly basis, though AT&T’s annual plan offers a lower monthly cost if you pay for a full year. Mint’s 15GB plan is the cheapest of all.
As for family plans, the appeal of the AT&T and Total Wireless options come from the discounts that you get as you add lines — contrast the per line prices for one, two and four lines of data.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Plan
Data amount
Monthly price, 1 line
Notes
Mint Mobile 5GB plan
5GB
$15 (requires $180 annual payment)
$180 annual payment required for $15 monthly rate
Visible Wireless Visible Plus plan
Unlimited data
$35
Other unlimited plans at Visible cost $25 and $45
AT&T Unlimited Extra
Unlimited data
$76
2 lines of data costs $132 ($66/line) while family of four pays $164 ($41/line)
Total Wireless Total 5G
Unlimited data
$50
2 lines of data costs $85 ($42.50/line) while family of four pays $110 ($27.50/line)
Verizon Prepaid 15GB plan
15GB
$35
Rate reflects $10 autopay discount
AT&T Prepaid unlimited plan
Unlimited data
$20 (requires $240 annual payment)
Annual plan requires upfront payment
Boost Mobile Unlimited plan
Unlimited data
$25
Rate is guaranteed for as long as you remain at Boost
T-Mobile Experience More
Unlimited data
$85
For family plans, T-Mobile currently waives the cost of a 3rd line
How to choose the best cell phone plan for you
Price is a big consideration when looking for the best cell phone plans, especially if you’re getting more than one line for other members of your family. Most carriers offer escalating discounts as you add lines, so you’ll want to compare the total cost of your plan based on the number of lines that require service.
Cell phone plans are about more than just the amount on your bill each month, though. As I’ve mentioned above you also need to consider who offers the best coverage in your area and whether they support the phone you’ll want to use. Our guide to the best phone carriers can answer many of those questions, but you’ll also want to ask around about how a specific carrier’s coverage is at your home and office if you’re looking to switch wireless providers.
Speaking of switching carriers, the major carriers are all willing to pick up some of the cost to get you to switch. These promotions can vary over time, so we’d suggest keeping an eye on any new carrier deals when you’re mulling a switch, as you could find extra ways to save money.
Wireless carriers have spent the past several years building out their 5G coverage, and if you’ve got the right 5G phone, you can benefit from faster speeds if a carrier offers 5G service in your area. T-Mobile includes 5G coverage with all its plans, and that coverage extends to carriers like Metro By-T-Mobile, Mint Mobile and others that use T-Mobile’s towers for coverage. AT&T now includes 5G with all its plans, including prepaid options. Verizon does, too, though only some plans include access to that carrier’s faster 5G Ultra Wideband network.
What kind of cell phone plan do I need?
(Image credit: AndreyPopov)
As you would expect, there is no simple answer to this and the question is more about what is the best plan for you. This will obviously depend on a wide variety of factors.
For those on a budget and looking for some flexibility, a prepaid cell phone plan will be an excellent way to go. These are often the cheapest options and the lack of contracts is going to be a massive bonus, especially if you like to change up carriers frequently.
If you frequently stream Netflix on the go, like to play games on your phone or just generally drain your data at impressive speeds, an unlimited plan is an excellent way to go — especially as 5G becomes more common.
For more on picking a plan, check out our guide on how much data you need in your cell phone plan.
Family cell phone plans are an excellent way to save money on each phone line, since many carriers drop the per-line cost for each additional line. Some carriers, such as Verizon and AT&T, let you mix and match plans, so parents can get an unlimited line with greater perks, while giving kids a cheaper line of data to save money overall.
If you are simply after the lowest price possible, carriers including Visible and Boost Mobile can offer you really low costs if you don’t mind settling for fewer perks and lower caps on data (even high-speed data in the case of some unlimited plans). In some cases, you can get a lower rate by paying for a full year of service ahead of time, as is the case at Mint Mobile.
MVNOs vs other carriers
MVNOs are a slightly strange concept but they do offer an excellent way to get a cell phone plan on a budget. So what are they and how do they differ from the main carriers?
First, it’s important to note the main carriers. These are: AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, which absorbed Sprint in 2020. Boost Mobile is trying to establish itself as another nationwide provider, building out its own network.
MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators), on the other hand, don’t own and operate their own technology and instead piggyback off of the services of one of the above brands. This allows them to be far cheaper than the main carriers but does mean they are the first to be restricted during peak usage periods and don’t get access to as many additional benefits.
We explain more about this in our MVNO guide, but the main players are:
- Mint Mobile runs on T-Mobile
- Metro by T-Mobile runs on T-Mobile
- Tello runs on T-Mobile
- Cricket Wireless runs on AT&T
- Visible runs on Verizon
- Xfinity Mobile runs on Verizon
