Maximize Savings
Choosing the right phone plan is an important decision—especially if one can benefit your monthly budget. According to CNBC, most people spend $144 monthly on a cell phone plan. This may not seem much compared to your grocery or utilities bill, but trust us, it’s slowly eating away your finances.
We don’t want to overpay for phone bills, nor should you. This is why you should check out our list of the most affordable phone plans and their providers below. We’ve researched immensely—considering unlimited data, data caps, number of lines, international calling and other perks to get you the cheapest plans and ones that hold the most value for your money.
Top 3 Affordable Phone Plans
1. Mint Mobile - Best Cell Phone Plan Overall
Mint isn’t a popular provider compared to big names like AT&T or T-Mobile, which is probably why it ranks first on our list. The company is currently running a promotion where you can avail any phone plan for three months at $15/month before deciding if you want to continue with this provider and choose a plan of your liking.
This promotion includes unlimited talking and texting, so you never have to worry about running out of minutes. While a small company, their lightning-fast 5G technology is one of the best, so you can also use Wi-Fi calling and texting.
After the first three months are up, customer support will contact you to help you find a plan that suits your needs and is within your budget. We recommend the 5GB plan for $15/month. This price is available for the first three months of the plan, but to keep it fixed for the whole year, you need to pay for the entire year of service ($180 for 12 months for 5GB/month). This plan includes unlimited texting and calling, mobile hotspot data and free calling to Canada and Mexico.
Pros
- Affordable pricing.
- Subsidiary if T-Mobile so uses their 5G coverage, which is one of the best.
- You can keep your device with the ‘Bring Your Own Phone’ plan.
Cons
- If you go over the monthly data limit, the connection slows down.
- The cheapest plans require annual payments.
2. Visible - Best Unlimited Data
Visible makes the cut for our list with an unlimited data plan that’s less than $40. While it does cost more than Mint, you’re not bound to any data caps where the connection is slowed down because of data limits. Also, unlike Mint, you don’t have to adhere to yearly contracts and can pay on a month-by-month basis, with the taxes and fees included in the plan. This spectacular plan is their $25/month plan.
This plan includes unlimited texting, calling and a mobile hotspot. Visible also runs on Verizon’s network, so you can rest easy that 5G is one of the fastest. With the hotspot, you can connect your laptop, tablet or any other device to the internet and use your phone as a makeshift WiFi connection. Like the Mint plan, you also get unlimited calls and messaging to Canada and Mexico.
An additional feature that sets it apart from many phone plans is spam protection—this feature filters spam and screens all your incoming calls.
Pros
- Affordable plan.
- No hidden charges; taxes and fees are included in the plan price.
- Spam protection feature.
Cons
- Data speed can slow down during heavy traffic or, for certain times infrequently.
3. Ultra Mobile - Best Pay-as-you-go Plan
If you’re not interested in perks or features besides the basics, Ultra Mobile’s plans may be right up your alley. They have plans starting from $15 per month and offer unlimited domestic and international calls and messaging to 80+ countries. Currently, they offer three different tiers: 250 MB, 2 GB or unlimited data per month. All of these plans include 5G and 4G LTE coverage, mobile hotspots and worldwide texting. We recommend checking out their 5GB plan for $24 per month.
The company offers free shipping on SIM card delivery, which is also compatible with all devices.
If you’ve tried enough prepaid, month-by-month plans and know what they include, then Ultra Mobile’s plans are ones to check out. These plans are especially handy if you’re traveling to the US for a short duration and don’t want to deal with contracts or year-long commitments. But if you do want to give a 3, 6 or 12-month plan a shot, then currently, you can get a 12-month plan for $8/month. This plan is their cheapest and includes 250MB of 5G.
Pros
- No year-long contracts.
- Unlimited calls and texts to 80+ countries.
- Uses T-Mobile’s cellular network.
Cons
- Not the best customer reviews.
Other Cheap Phone Plans and Providers to Consider
In our search, we came across many other phone plans, that didn’t make it to our top 3 list but are still worthwhile and worth a look.
- Verizon has a 15 GB plan for $35: This includes unlimited calling and text plus hotspot data. The plan is offered for this price only if you opt for autopay. Check out this plan here.
- Connect by T-Mobile: Connect by T-Mobile is a phone plan with four tiers: $10, $15, $25 and $35. In the cheapest plan, you get 1 GB of data, 1,000 minutes for calling and 1,000 texts. Check out all four plans here. If T-Mobile looks attractive to you, we recommend getting one of their plans that at least offers 5 GB of data or more.
- Tello is a carrier on T-Mobile's network. They offer various plans under $40. One of their cheapest plans is $9 and includes 1 GB of data plus unlimited calls and texts. You can get unlimited data with their $25 plan. Check out all their plans here.
To make this list, we set some perimeters; plans that have at least 5GB data and are under $40. Besides that, making sure that the network is reliable and providers to suit different needs. We hope you found this list useful but if you want to check out providers besides these, we advise you to shortlist your requirements and stick to those before settling on any phone plan.