Summary
The best cheap cell phone plans 2024.. If you choose one of the most affordable mobile phone plans, you may easily reduce the cost of your cellular service. Compared to far more costly cellular plan alternatives, you may acquire a plan that has just the right amount of data — even unlimited data — for $40 or less, with only minor concessions.
The best cheap cell phone plans 2024
We’re always searching for the greatest mobile phone plans, so we know. It turns out that several of those best plans have really low prices and provide large amounts of data. All you need to do is know where to search.
It should be rather simple to choose a low-cost phone plan if your monthly data use is little. However, you can get some of the greatest unlimited data plans for less than $40. All you have to do is figure out which benefits you truly don’t need. If you want to get great deals on wireless service, our guide to the top affordable mobile phone plans will help you make the correct decisions.
THE QUICK LIST
Mint Mobile
AT&T
Verizon Wireless
Visible
Tello Economy
T-Mobile
Consumer Cellular
Google Fi
Cricket
The best overall cheap cell phone plan
Reasons to believe in tkgap Guide To assist you in selecting the finest options, our writers and editors examine and analyze a wide range of goods, services, and applications for hours on end. Read more about our methods for rating, analyzing, and testing.
THE BEST CHEAP CELL PHONE PLAN OVERALL
Mint Mobile: The best all-around low-cost mobile phone package, $5/month for 5GB
If you’re looking for one of the most affordable mobile phone plans available, Mint Mobile is definitely worth checking out. Plans with 5GB of data start at $15 per month, but you have to pay for a full year of service to get that amount. You can use your phone as a hotspot and enjoy 5G coverage anywhere T-Mobile’s 5G network is available as part of your Mint plan. Mint often offers price discounts that further cut their already cheap prices in an effort to entice new clients. For more information, see our guide on Mint Mobile.
Positives: Reasonably priced, good quantity of info
Cons: To get the greatest pricing, you have to pay for a full year.
BEST VALUE PLAN
AT&T | Prepaid 12-month unlimited access | $25/month – AT&T offers great value!
While most major carriers avoid providing inexpensive mobile phone plans, one of the finest AT&T phone plans provides overall great value. You can receive unlimited internet, with a generous 16GB of high-speed data, for only $25 a month. (If you exceed it, your speed will be reduced to 1.5 Mbps for the remainder of the month.) Even if Tello or Mint charge less for comparable data volumes, this package is still an excellent deal for AT&T. AT&T costs $30 per month for 5GB, so you can pay for a month at a time, but committing to a full year will offer you the best possible deal on both price and data.
Positives: Reputable carrier, enough data for the cost
Cons: Data slowed when 16GB were used up, and the best deal required a longer contract.
BEST CHEAP PLAN WITH EXTENSIVE COVERAGE
Verizon | Prepaid 15GB plan | $35/month – The best coverage option
Prepaid plans from Verizon, which offer a 15GB plan with substantial reductions straight out of the gate, are worth looking into for anyone looking for a good deal. Although this option costs $45 a month, which is more than our $40 monthly limit, signing up for autopay reduces the monthly cost by $10. In addition to a sizable data pool, this plan offers you countrywide 5G service from Verizon, which is a really excellent value.
Positives: Huge autopay savings, excellent coverage and speeds
Cons: There is no longer a cheaper 5GB package.
THE BEST CHEAP UNLIMITED DATA PLAN
Visible | Unlimited Data | $25/month – The most affordable prepaid unlimited data plan
Visible’s $25/month basic unlimited data package is now more affordable than ever. Visible leverages the fast network of its parent firm, Verizon, so if you have a phone that is compatible, you can access 5G. We’ve evaluated Visible’s service and can guide you toward more savings options with our analysis of the finest Visible offers.
Advantages: very cheap, limitless 5G data
Cons: $45. Visible Plan has superior benefits.
LOWEST ABSOLUTE PRICE ON DATA
Visible | Unlimited Data | $25/month – The most affordable prepaid unlimited data plan
Visible’s $25/month basic unlimited data package is now more affordable than ever. Visible leverages the fast network of its parent firm, Verizon, so if you have a phone that is compatible, you can access 5G. We’ve evaluated Visible’s service and can guide you toward more savings options with our analysis of the finest Visible offers.
Advantages: very cheap, limitless 5G data
Cons: $45. Visible Plan has superior benefits.
LOWEST ABSOLUTE PRICE ON DATA
Tello Economy | 1GB | $9/month – The most affordable mobile package
After changing its tariffs, Tello now provides the lowest of the cheap in terms of new mobile phone plans. Even though you only pay $9 a month, you will only get access to 1GB of data. (If you exceed the 1GB restriction, your speeds will drop down.) Tello offers free mobile tethering, limitless calls and texts, and no-term contracts for that amount. Stated differently, this is the ideal plan for someone on a tight budget who doesn’t need a lot of data. The provider offers several inexpensive plans, all of which cost less than $40 per month, as mentioned in our Tello guide. These include a $14 5GB package and a $25 unlimited data option.
Advantages: Most affordable mobile plan, limitless texting and calling, six options for less than $40
Cons: The $9 plan has really little data.
THE BEST CHEAP CELL PHONE PLAN AT T-MOBILE
T-Mobile Connect: An affordable mobile phone plan from a well-known provider, with 3.5GB of data and $15 a month
Relying on Tello or Mint for service entails eschewing the main carriers. However, several of the Big Three—including T-Mobile and its inexpensive T-Mobile Connect options—offer affordable rates. The 3.5GB monthly plan for $15 will soon increase to 4GB. (T-Mobile increases the size of your data pool by 500MB year until 2025.) If you really want to save money, there is also a 1GB version available for $10. Rather than only having your speeds restricted, once you reach your data quota, you are done using data until the start of your next cycle.
Pro: Cheap, yearly data increases of 500MB
Con: After you reach your limit, you run out of data.
BEST VALUE FOR SENIORS
Seniors with plenty of data: Consumer Cellular | 10GB | $35/month
There are now only three options available from Consumer Cellular, but the $35 monthly plan offers 10GB of data for less than you would spend at some other carriers. Your package includes 5G coverage, and you can add a second line for just $15 a month, which is not a typical feature for low-cost phone plans. Members of AARP are eligible for an additional savings of 5% off their monthly fee at Consumer Cellular. In the event that you use more data than your plan permits, Consumer Cellular will upgrade you to the subsequent data plan tier.
Advantages: AARP discount, extensive data, and up to four lines of input
Cons: Limited benefits
BEST CHEAP CELL PHONE PLAN FOR TRAVELERS
The best travel plan is Google Fi’s 2GB Flexible plan, which costs $30 per month.
Google Fi’s flexible rates aren’t as affordable as the other top cheap mobile phone plans we’ve identified, with $20 for call and text and an additional $10 for every gigabyte of data used. However, those who purchase a Pixel 8, Pixel 7a, or Pixel Fold—devices suited for Google’s network—will find Google Fi appealing. There are benefits to Google Fi, such as the option to utilize your plan when traveling in more than 200 countries. Also, you don’t have to pay more for data that you don’t use abroad.
Benefits: International coverage; you just pay for the data you use
Cons: You only get 2GB of data for $30.
ALSO WORTH CONSIDERING
Cricket | 10GB | $40/month: Now this is a more affordable choice.
It’s time to give Cricket, an AT&T-owned low-cost carrier, another look if you’ve previously written it off. Cricket no longer places speed limits on plans, allowing you to take use of all the features available on AT&T’s network, including 5G availability. (Should you exceed your monthly allowance, your internet speeds may decrease.) Cricket’s $40 plan offers a big 10GB data pool, and by setting up autopay, you can save an additional $5 per month. As a result, Cricket’s plan is just as expensive as Verizon’s, while having less data.
Pros: Autopay savings; elimination of speed limits
Cons: Not many benefits
Your first priority while searching for the greatest inexpensive mobile phone plan will be cost overall. To ensure that we’re analyzing plans that will fit into a variety of budgets, we set a $40 monthly restriction.
However, money isn’t the only factor to consider. Your investigation should focus on determining which local provider has the greatest mobile phone coverage and if the cheap carrier you’re thinking about is part of that provider’s network. None of the low-cost carriers we’ve highlighted here run their own networks, with the exception of AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Instead, they use the cellular networks that one or more of the big carriers have constructed as mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs. As part of their attempts to keep monthly rates low, several carriers, including Google Fi and Republic Wireless, also offload calls and texts to Wi-Fi when available.
If your demands for call, text, and data vary, you should consider your options and the range of plans that each carrier provides. Although we have concentrated on individual plans, check to see whether a carrier gives savings on several lines if you’re looking for the best mobile phone plan for your family. Check to see if there are any extra advantages, like hotspot data, even though most low-cost mobile phone plans don’t contain any.
HOW WE PICK THE BEST CHEAP CELL PHONE PLANS
As part of our investigation of the top mobile phone plans, we are continuously checking out what phone providers have to offer. This entails examining the offerings from both bargain and large carriers, such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Every month, we compare the costs of various services by checking their offerings.
We established a $40 monthly cap for our guide to the top inexpensive mobile phone plans, and we only considered plans that fit within this amount. In our evaluations, price is the most important factor, but we also consider the quantity of data each plan offers and any other benefits to consider. This may assist separate two plans with similar prices or even improve the overall value of a little more costly plan.
We attempt to provide a broad range of mobile phone plans priced at $40 or less since we know that different areas have different coverage for cell phones. This way, you can get the cheapest deal for the wireless carrier with the strongest coverage in your location.
