Mario Bautista
When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
The best cheap cell phone plans offer all the following criteria without compromise: dependable coverage, fast service speeds, and as much data as you need at affordable prices. Affordable plans usually come from mobile virtual network operators (or MVNOs) and stand-alone budget-friendly carriers, and choosing the plan for you will come down to your budget and priorities.
Among the best cheap cell phone plans, it’s hard to beat our top pick, Mint Mobile’s new customer promotion, which sets any of its three-month plans, including its “unlimited” plan (40GB/month), at the same low cost of $15/month. If you want to extend your savings further, we recommend Tello Mobile’s Build Your Own plan, which can cost as low as $5/month.
Our top picks for the best cheap cell phone plans
Best overall: Mint Mobile (Any 3-month plan) – See at Mint Mobile
Best overall alternative: US Mobile (Unlimited Starter plan) – See at US Mobile
Best true budget plan: Tello Mobile (Build Your Own plan) – See at Tello
Best unlimited plan: Visible Wireless (Visible Plus plan) – See at Visible
Best international plan: US Mobile (Unlimited Premium plan) – See at US Mobile
Best overall
Mint Mobile (Any 3-Month Plan)
All of Mint Mobile’s three-month plans are now discounted for new customers. Choose from 5GB to “unlimited” monthly data (40GB) from our favorite MVNO for the same low prepaid cost of $15/month.
Mint Mobile’s prepaid plans for three, six, or 12 months offer affordable options and easy plan management, like adjusting data allotments per line at any time. The MVNO’s plan variety, flexibility, and value make it our first recommendation for a budget carrier.
Your best entry point into the Mint Mobile landscape is its current, limited-time new customer promotion, which sets each of its three-month prepaid plans at just $15/month. This discount means you can get anywhere from 5GB, 15GB, 20GB, or “unlimited” (40GB) monthly data for the same low, entry-level price.
Mint Mobile’s plans include high-speed data on T-Mobile’s network (subject to deprioritization in congested areas), with slower speeds once you’ve hit your data cap.
Eve Montie/Business Insider
After your promotional three months are up, any of Mint’s 12-month plans will provide the most savings, as the monthly price and data remain the same as the three-month plans. All are great deals; in particular, the 5GB ($15/month) and 15GB ($20/month) plans are well-priced considering the competition.
The overall customer experience makes Mint Mobile stand out from the competition. Its user-friendly setup and app experience, readily accessible support and FAQs, and easy-to-understand language, in addition to its price point, make it an easy recommendation.
Consider your data usage patterns before signing up, but with Mint’s excellent app or website, you can change your plan at any time with no added cost.
Read our full Mint Mobile review.
Best overall alternative
US Mobile (Unlimited Starter plan)
US Mobile’s Unlimited Starter plan includes 35GB of high-speed data, which should be plenty for almost anyone. Unique to US Mobile is the option to run on Verizon’s (Warp), T-Mobile’s (GSM), or AT&T’s (Dark Star) networks. Speeds are reduced to 1Mbps after 35GB, which is actually decent compared to other budget-friendly carriers that reduce speeds to frankly unusable speeds.
US Mobile’s Unlimited Starter plan for $25/month is a remarkable option among MVNO and budget-friendly plans. It easily meets and exceeds expectations as a value-forward plan with superior and unique features that directly benefit you, the customer.
Like many budget-friendly carriers, US Mobile operates on major carrier networks. In this regard, US Mobile is unique. Where you typically only have access to one major carrier’s network, US Mobile offers the choice between Verizon’s, AT&T’s, or T-Mobile’s full network, including their fast high-band 5G networks. You can even switch networks as often as twice a month, so you can try which works best for you for everyday use, whether for coverage, data speeds, or for a particular scenario, like traveling.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
US Mobile’s names for Verizon’s, T-Mobile’s, and AT&T’s networks are “Warp,” “GSM,” and “Dark Star,” respectively. Only the Warp network comes with premium prioritized data (labeled “QCI 8”) for 5G phones, whereas the base GSM and Dark Star networks include deprioritized data. (The Dark Star network offers prioritized data for an additional premium.)
However, in our testing of the GSM (T-Mobile-backed) network, we can’t say we’ve felt much of an impact from deprioritization, nor can we directly tell, as there’s no indication or notification specifying as much.
Whichever network you pick, US Mobile’s Unlimited Starter plan price stays the same even if you switch.
The Unlimited Starter plan’s 35GB of high-speed data should be more than enough for the vast majority of users. If you do end up using more than 35GB, US Mobile reduces your data speeds to 1Mbps until the end of the billing cycle. 1Mbps is significantly faster and more usable than the reduced speeds on other carriers, which vary between dubiously slow 40 and 256Kbps speeds.
To be sure, some carriers like Visible don’t include any data caps for speed. Instead, they offer deprioritized data that can potentially slow down without warning when the host network is experiencing congestion. That’s a great proposition, but US Mobile’s option to “teleport,” or switch, to the host network that works for you up to twice a month without an additional fee (and only $2/teleport afterward), along with the other benefits listed here for the Unlimited Starter plan, are ultimately more valuable on the whole.
US Mobile also offers multi-line discounts, unique among budget-friendly carriers and ideal for families or groups.
You get even more value with the annual payment option, which reduces US Mobile’s Unlimited Starter monthly price to $22.50/month ($270 for the year). And to top it all off, taxes and fees are included, so the price you see advertised is the price you pay.
Read our full US Mobile review.
Best true budget plan
Tello Mobile (Build Your Own Plan)
Tello’s unique Build Your Own plan allows you to customize your data and minutes to your specific needs and offers a low base price of $5/month.
The varied plans from Tello Mobile are the cheapest options we can recommend, and they offer the most customization.
With Tello’s Build Your Own plan, in particular, you can adjust the minutes and data allotment for each line on your account, making it a great choice to cover the basics for kids, grandparents, students, or anyone who uses a minimum amount of data or is simply on a budget.
Eve Montie/Business Insider
Like an even less expensive (and comparatively bare bones) version of Mint Mobile, Tello is an MVNO that runs on T-Mobile’s network, and its data speeds are also universally subject to deprioritization at any time behind the major carrier’s higher-paying customers. For a comparative analysis of the two budget carriers, see our Mint Mobile vs. Tello guide.
As you build a plan on Tello, you choose your monthly data amount (from no data to 1GB, 2GB, 5GB, 10GB, 15GB, or unlimited) and your monthly minutes (none, 100, 300, 500, or unlimited), the combination of which adds up to $5/month at the cheapest and $25/month at the most expensive.
The Build Your Own plan is particularly enticing if you want to specify a data allotment on a per-line basis — for example, setting data limits for a kid who just got their first phone while allowing them unlimited minutes.
Read our full Tello Mobile review.
Best unlimited plan
Visible Wireless (Visible Plus Plan)
If you’re looking for a large amount of high-speed monthly data at a reasonable price, the Visible Plus plan from Visible Wireless stands alone among budget carriers in offering up to 50GB of guaranteed premium data for $45/month (or $395/year).
For truly unlimited data and extensive coverage, Verizon’s budget-friendly carrier, Visible Wireless, has an excellent option with its Visible Plus plan at $45/month.
While the Visible Plus plan has the highest price point of all the MVNOs we’ve included in this list, it provides by far the most high-speed monthly data and the closest approximation to “unlimited.” It guarantees 50GB of premium prioritized data while your phone is connected to Verizon’s basic 5G and LTE networks before you experience any form of data speed deprioritization. The Visible Plus plan also offers unlimited premium prioritized data while your phone is connected to Verizon’s fast high-band 5G “Ultra Wideband” network.
Eve Montie/Business Insider
By offering deprioritized data after using up to 50GB of data, you shouldn’t notice a difference in data speeds or usability unless you’re in an area experiencing heavy network traffic at the specific time you’re using your phone. Even if your data is actively being deprioritized, you may not even notice.
For those who use a lot of data and call for a truly unlimited plan, that’s an enticing proposition, as some MVNOs and budget-friendly carriers dramatically reduce speeds to frankly unusable speeds until the next billing cycle if you exceed your plan’s allotted data.
The Visible Plus plan also provides extended coverage with 5G “Ultra Wideband” areas, though Verizon’s standard coverage (and the Visible base plan’s coverage) is already very good. Before signing up, check Visible’s coverage map to ensure you’re covered. If you aren’t covered well by Verizon and don’t mind the occasional data lag from deprioritization, you might be better served by the comparatively inexpensive, T-Mobile-backed unlimited plans from Mint Mobile. See our Mint Mobile vs. Visible guide for a comprehensive breakdown of the two MVNOs.
This year, Visible updated its plans with an annual payment option (versus the standard monthly payment option) that reduces the Visible Plus plan’s price to $33/month (totaling $395/year), which is incredible value and should be considered if making an annual payment is an option.
Read our full Visible Wireless review.
Best international plan
US Mobile (Unlimited Premium plan)
US Mobile’s Unlimited Premium plan includes 100GB of data and 50GB of mobile hotspot, which should be more than enough for anyone. While you can switch between Verizon’s (Warp), AT&T’s (Dark Star), and T-Mobile’s (GSM) networks, the GSM and Dark Star networks offer US Mobile’s enticing international options, and frequent travelers will get the best value with the Unlimited Premium plan.
It’s surprising that so many budget-oriented carriers and plans have international features, and some have pretty decent ones. However, none have anything quite as comprehensive as US Mobile’s Unlimited Premium plan.
Just make sure to pick or switch to US Mobile’s “GSM” or “Dark Star” networks before you set off, as the “Warp” network doesn’t include nearly as many international features. Notably, the Unlimited Premium plan allows you to “teleport” or switch between networks an unlimited number of times each month. In contrast, all other US Mobile plans are limited to two monthly teleports without additional fees.
With US Mobile’s Unlimited Premium plan, you get unlimited calling and texting from the US to over 200 countries. If you’re traveling abroad to one of the 180 supported countries, you get 10GB of data and 500 or 1,000 minutes and texts, depending on the country.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
No doubt, at $44/month, US Mobile’s Unlimited Premium plan is on the pricier side when thinking about “cheap” cell phone plans, but keep in mind that US Mobile offers an annual option that reduces the price to $32.50/month (totaling $390/year).
If the premium price tag is out of reach, US Mobile’s Unlimited Starter plan offers a minimalist international data package with 1GB of monthly data through its annual payment option.
Alternatively, if you don’t need as much domestic data as the Unlimited Premium plan offers in a typical month, you can sign up for US Mobile’s Unlimited Starter plan on a monthly basis, so you pay less when you’re at home and only upgrade to the Unlimited Premium plan for the month(s) you’re traveling.
Read our full US Mobile review.
How we test cell phone plans
Eve Montie/Business Insider
In our testing, we spend at least a week with a specific plan from a phone carrier, often longer, and primarily assess the quality of the plan and carrier by the following criteria:
- Plan offerings and flexibility: We consider the pricing and features included in a carrier’s range of plans and assess its flexibility in allowing you to switch out of or between plans.
- Coverage area: For MVNOs, we note the approximate coverage area provided by the network or networks backing a budget carrier and evaluate whether particular locations consistently match their purported coverage type (e.g., 5G or 4G/LTE).
- Service reliability and speeds: In consistent testing locations, we assess the reliability of phone and video calls, note how fast videos and apps load over cellular data, and, with MVNOs, mark any apparent effects of deprioritization on service speeds.
- Customer support: We make a holistic assessment of a carrier’s customer support system and online (or in-person) user experience for setup, use, and troubleshooting.
We also take into account secondary considerations such as ongoing discounts and any other notable perks or outstanding features.
What to look for in a cheap cell phone plan
Eve Montie/Business Insider
If you aren’t in the market for the best cell phone plans from major carriers, you have no shortage of options for spending less on a phone plan, as affordable carriers have proliferated in recent years.
The best cheap cell phone plan for you will primarily reflect your needs for monthly data and minutes, the constraints of your budget, and the coverage of your local area by the network or networks backing a particular plan.
We set a few baseline criteria in choosing plans for this guide, in that all the plans listed above cost no more than $50/month and, as with most MVNO plans, do not require a contract.
Before signing up for a service, take a granular look at the coverage map that an MVNO should make readily accessible on their website — marking the US network range of its backing carrier — and appraise the coverage of your location to ensure dependable service.
