Best prepaid phone plans 2024

The best prepaid phone plans are flexible, cheap, and straightforward, all without sacrificing the perks and data that you need. Offered by alternative wireless carriers (often also called Mobile Virtual Network Operators, or MVNOs), these plans usually work well flawlessly with most unlocked phones. Moreover, since you're not tied by complicated and expensive contracts, you can easily move from one plan to another.

It's no wonder that the 'Big Three' carriers — Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T — have all begun buying up MVNOs like there's no tomorrow. Ultimately, this is good for you as the customer, as it means you'll get the same great coverage provided by these big carriers, but at much lower prices. Of course, prepaid carriers aren't perfect, as your service could get deprioritized if the base network is busy, and you might lose out on some of the customer service and extra perks offered by mainstream carriers. That being said, with competition getting fiercer, going prepaid is become more and more tempting. So, if you're planning to switch, we've rounded up some of the top prepaid phone plans that you can consider.

• MVNO deals: Mint Mobile | Visible | Boost | Tello | Cricket Wireless 

At a glance

Best overall

For a prepaid carrier that offers four plans and three service durations, Mint Mobile is surprisingly easy to understand. The basic premise is that the longer a term you're willing to get, the cheaper your monthly cost will be. While that does mean you sign a bigger check upfront, but you don't have to pay again for multiple months. Now officially owned by T-Mobile, Mint Mobile uses the former's vast network infrastructure with full access to 5G, so for most people, coverage and speeds will be great.

Mint's cheapest plan comes with 5GB of high-speed data with unlimited talk and text. If you're a light user, this is the place to start and if you end up going over 5GB there's no need to worry. Our Mint Mobile review found that speeds slow down to about 500kbps after you've used up your data. This includes the unlimited plan that comes with 40GB of high-speed data. If you need more than that consistently, Mint Mobile likely isn't the right choice for you.

One thing to keep in mind is that Mint Mobile offers an introductory price that works out at the 12-month rate for three months. Then after your first three months, you can decide for how long you'd like to renew the service for, and if you can save by switching to a smaller plan. Mint Mobile also has a penchant for promotions, so there's a good chance you can try it out for even less, especially if you bundle your wireless service with one of the best Android phones available out there.

Best budget

Tello manages to be an extremely likeable carrier, all thanks to its straightforward plans and low costs. It even allows you tailor your plan to a perfect fit via its 'Build Your Own Plan' online tool, offering a number of data and talk time combinations that usually end up being cheaper than other carriers. You can save a lot by going for a plan with the bare minimum number of minutes, if you mostly use one of the best text messaging apps to keep in touch with family and friends.

Tello has four pre-configured plans as starting points, with the base 'Economy' plan coming in at $10 per month with unlimited minutes, texts, and 2GB of data. If you spend most of your time on Wi-Fi, this plan could be all you ever need. The unlimited 'Data' plan costs $25 per month and offers up to 35GB of high-speed data. While it's a bit less than what competitors like Mint Mobile offer, most users shouldn't have any issues at all.

Since Tello uses T-Mobile's network, you'll get full 5G access — including mid-band — if you have a compatible phone. Speaking of phones, T-Mobile's network means that just about any of the best unlocked phones should work just fine.

Best for unlimited

Visible is a prepaid carrier from Verizon that offers two affordable yet feature-laden unlimited plans. Unlike many other prepaid unlimited plans, there's no hard cap with slower data after, you can use as much data as you want. This works by lowering the priority of data on Visible compared to base carrier Verizon, which means in a side-by-side comparison a Verizon plan will almost always come out ahead. Still, our Visible review found the carrier to offer plenty of speeds for your everyday usage, though this will vary depending on the strength of Verizon's network in your area.

The two plans are called 'Visible' and 'Visible Plus', and cost $25 per month and $45 per month, respectively. Both include unlimited talk and text, but Visible Plus gives you access to super-fast 'Ultra-Wideband' 5G network. Hotspot use is unlimited on both plans too, with speeds capped at 5Mbps for Visible and 10Mbps for Visible Plus.

Perhaps the biggest drawback with Visible is that it has a much more limited list of compatible phones as compared to a T-Mobile-based carrier, so we suggest checking your phone's compatibility before you make the purchase. For the most part, all the modern iPhones, as well as high-end Android devices like the Google Pixel 9 and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will work fine. Some older devices might be compatible too, so it's worth checking the same on the IMEI Checker tool on Visible's website.

Best for customization

Since US Mobile uses the network infrastructures of both T-Mobile and Verizon, it lets you choose from two SIM cards. However, to get the most out of it, Verizon is the preferred choice. Although T-Mobile SIMs work as expected, they don't get as much priority data. While US Mobile originally had a fully custom plan structure, its newer unlimited plans steal the spotlight when it comes to value. You can save even more when you bring over multiple lines.

The two main plans — 'Unlimited Starter' and 'Unlimited Premium' — have a single-line cost of $25 per month and $44 per month, respectively. Both include unlimited talk and text (both in the U.S. and internationally), mmWave and C-band 5G access, and lots of dedicated hotspot data. Unlimited Starter gives you 35GB of high-speed data, while Unlimited Premium increases it to 100GB. The higher plan also makes you eligible for multi-line subscription perks (if you get three lines), through which you can add a bundle of services (e.g., Audible, Hulu, and Xbox Gamepass) to your plan for $15 per month.

There's also a third 'Unlimited Flex' plan that effectively costs $17.50 per month, but it's available only as an annual option. US Mobile's 'Shareable Data' offering lets you buy chunks of data that can be shared among devices across multiple lines.

Best for families

Cricket Wireless is a prepaid carrier owned by AT&T and is one of the best options for getting more affordable service on the former's network. The fact of the matter is that some people just get more consistent coverage on AT&T, so it's nice that Cricket Wireless offers competitive rates, along with the option of unlimited high-speed data on its most expensive plan. Still, the operator's cheaper plans are quite compelling.

Cricket Wireless has four primary plans, with the base plan offering 5GB of data at $30 per month. Next, the $40 per month plan increases the data allowance to 10GB. Then there are two unlimited plans, with the cheaper option being priced at $55 per month and offering hotspot functionality as an optional add-on. However, the data on this plan gets a lower priority so if you live in an area with a lot of AT&T users, you may notice speeds getting reduced when the network is busy. Lastly, there's the $60 per month plan that not only offers unlimited premium data, but 15GB of dedicated hotspot data as well. It also comes with 150GB of cloud storage (all other plans have 2GB cloud storage) and ad-supported (HBO) Max.

If you want to avail multi-line discounts, Cricket Wireless is definitely worth taking a look at. For example, if you sign up for four lines, you can get the cheaper unlimited plan at just $25 per month for each line.

Best high-speed data

As the name suggests, Metro by T-Mobile is a prepaid carrier owned by T-Mobile and offers plans that quite resemble the parent carrier's offerings, along with a few extra benefits. For one thing, the prices are inclusive of all taxes and fees, so what you see is what you pay. You also get some nice perks that are usually available only with the best T-Mobile plans, without having to get into any contracts.

The cheapest plan costs $40 per month and gives you 10GB of high-speed data. And of course, you get unlimited talk and text too. Next, the $50 per month plan bundles 8GB of dedicated hotspot data, 100GB of cloud storage (via Google One) and a free one-year subscription to ViX, a Spanish-language streaming service. Then there's the $60 per month plan, which increases your dedicated hotspot allowance to 25GB and also adds unlimited texting to over 210 destinations around the world. Rounding off things is the most expensive $70 per month plan, which offers all the goodies of the previous plan, while also packing in Amazon Prime.

It's worth mentioning that all plans of Metro by T-Mobile come with some exclusive benefits like T-Mobile Tuesdays promotions, and Scam Shield for blocking spam and robocalls.

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How to choose

Get a prepaid plan that suits your requirements

Even though all of the best prepaid phone plans come with a diverse range of perks, you should consider your individual requirements before choosing one. To start off, think about how you use your phone. You'll also want to buy a solid Android phone so that you can take advantage of the latest 5G networks. Of course, the phone has to be unlocked so you can take it with you if you decide to switch from one MVNO carrier to another.

If you need a ton of data for cheap, Visible is a great starting point. However, it will struggle in more congested areas, so getting a plan with some premium data such as US Mobile's Unlimited Premium plan may be well worth the extra cost for you. If you don't need truly unlimited data, you can get Mint Mobile's 15GB or 20GB plans. You'll save a lot of cash in the long term, and phone compatibility won't be an issue either.

• MVNO deals: Mint Mobile | Visible | Boost | Tello | Cricket Wireless