The Best Cheap Cell Phone Plans You've Never Heard Of
All the major carriers have low-cost spinoffs, and their deals are worth checking first. AT&T runs Cricket Wireless. Sprint has
If you're looking for a deal on wireless service and fit into one of the groups below, click on that link to see which carriers are right for you:
- Looking for the Lowest Prices
- Frequent International Callers
- Want the Best Network
- Elderly/Charitable
There are several carriers we're not listing here, and want to explain why. Google Fi has a lot of buzz and combines the Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular networks, but we just don't find it to be an extraordinary price deal. Lycamobile's plans are similar to Ultra Mobile, just a little more expensive. Ting's and Twigby's plans are similar to US Mobile, but again a bit more expensive. TextNow has
One big change over the past year is how many of these brands are no longer focusing on selling phones. The AT&T- and T-Mobile-based brands, especially, work with unlocked phones, so take a look at our list of The Best Unlocked Phones and The Best Super-Cheap Unlocked Phones for a handset to use. They may also work with your old device from your previous carrier.
We also need to explain TracFone, which is the grandaddy of the MVNOs, and appears in many guises. All of the TracFone brands tend to change their plans frequently, sometimes even trading bonuses between them, so it's good to know what's TracFone and what isn't. Family Mobile, Net10, Page Plus, Simple Mobile, Straight Talk, Telcel America, Total Wireless, and yes, TracFone, are all TracFone.
Finally, these aren't the only carriers you should consider. Depending on your needs, even one of the big four networks could have a plan that works for you. For more plan shopping advice, check out our story on How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Plan. And for the best carrier service where you live, check out our results for the Fastest Mobile Networks.
Group 1: Lowest Prices
Sometimes you just need a little bit of
The cheapest option other than free services like RingPlus and FreedomPop (which we don't recommend because of customer service complaints), ChatSIM costs $15 for the SIM, plus $15 per year. Yep, that's per year. It even works globally. The catch: it's for messaging only, through a list of approved apps including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. There's no standard calling, no SMS, and no iMessage. You can buy credits for picture messaging and VoIP calling. I have a ChatSIM loaded into the phone I give my 10-year-old when we get separated, because I don't have to worry about maintaining it.- Red PocketRed Pocket runs on several different networks and has a range of plans, but what we're focused on here are
its one-year pay-as-you-go talk cards. There's a 1,000-minute card for $100 that runs on the AT&T network, and a 2,000-minute card for $100 that runs on the Sprint network (yes, Red Pocket has decided that AT&T's coverage is worth twice as much as Sprint's.) Texts "cost" one minute per text. You can use Red Pocket with an unlocked, AT&T-compatible device or with a used Sprint LTE phone.
- TracFone $9.99 at TracFoneTracFone has an extremely complex system of discounts, bonuses, online specials, and in-store promos that feel almost like a table game in Vegas. If you play it right, though, you can get a great value. For instance, some of TracFone's devices offer "triple minutes" that can be combined with a 400-minute, voice-only, one-year prepaid card to give you 1,200 minutes over the year for $99.99, or $8.33 per month. TracFone also offers smartphone options with data, but you'll find better offers elsewhere; the carrier's real deals come for occasional voice users. Most TracFone devices run on the AT&T network.
- US MobileUS Mobile is the least expensive of several "roll your own" plan carriers, like Ting. Its minimum plan is 100 minutes, 100 texts, and 100MB for $9, which is pretty impressive, and you can scale your plan up from there. The carrier uses T-Mobile's LTE network with any T-Mobile-compatible phone. It gives you the best balance of price and heavy 4G LTE usage.
Group 2: Best for Frequent International Callers
Several carriers offer special deals with free international calls. This is the best one.
- Ultra Mobile
Ultra Mobile makes unlimited international talk and text even cheaper. Its $29 plan includes only 1GB of domestic data, but gives you unlimited international calling to 60 different countries, as well as 1,000 included minutes to 15 more countries. It works with any T-Mobile-compatible phone. Ultra Mobile tends to be a bit less expensive than its main competitor Lyca Mobile.
Group 3: If You Need the Biggest Network
Most MVNOs run on Sprint's and T-Mobile's networks because they offer the best rates to virtual network operators. But especially in rural areas, you may need AT&T or Verizon. These carriers put you on those bigger networks. One warning, though: Verizon limits all of their data speeds to 5Mbps.
- Page Plus
The original Verizon MVNO, Page Plus undercuts Verizon's prepaid rates. For instance, Verizon's lowest prepaid smartphone plan is currently $45 for 2GB, while Page Plus has 1GB for $29.95. No, there's no catch, other than that you should buy your phone up front; Page Plus's monthly installment payment plans are a huge rip-off with massive interest fees. - Puretalk
Puretalk is a good choice for a cheap operator on the AT&T network, undercutting rivals like Airvoice and H2O. It offers a low-usage plan at $10 for 300 minutes and 50MB. Once you start to use a lot of data, though, you should move up to AT&T-owned Cricket, which offers better customer service and competitive rates for data plans of 1GB and above on the AT&T network.
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