Mario Bautista
Get one of the best cheap cell phone plans, and you’ll never need to spend more than $40 each month on your wireless phone service. That’s not an opinion — it’s a fact, which I know thanks all the time I spend looking into the cost of wireless plans for Tom’s Guide.
I do this research for our guide to the best cell phone plans, which I’ve overseen for just about a decade now. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in that time it’s that you don’t have to pay big bucks for a lot of data. You can get unlimited data — in some cases by signing up for the best unlimited data plans — without spending more than $40. (That said, if you can get buy with less data, you can save even more money each month, as tiered data plans are often cheaper.)
The picks below include several different options, so that you can find one that uses the phone network best serving your area. According to my research, Mint Mobile and Visible have the best low-cost options, but I’m spotlighting the cheap phone plans at AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon for people who are more comfortable getting their service from big-name providers. Of the Big Three, Verizon‘s prepaid data plan offers the right mix of data and price.
In addition to our top seven picks, I’ve also listed what you can find at a variety of different carriers with a hard cap of $40 each month. That way, you can get a true comparison of what the best cheap cell phone plan really is.
The quick list
5GB for $15 at Mint
Mint plans start at $15/month for 5GB of data, though after the first three months, you have to pay for a full year of service to get that attractive rate.
Unlimited data for $25 at Visible
Visible offers unlimited data for $25 a month — and you don’t have to sign up for a year-long plan like at Mint. Even better: Visible relies on Verizon’s network, including 5G.
15GB for $35 at Verizon
Verizon’s cheapest prepaid plan is $35/month, which gets you 15GB of data after an autopay discount. Your plan includes 5G coverage, too.
5GB for $15 at T-Mobile
T-Mobile’s $15 monthly plan features more data than ever — it’s grown to 5GB after yearly allotment bumps — with 5G coverage included as part of your plan. Hit that 5G cap, though, and you’re out of data until the next cycle.
Unlimited for $25 at AT&T
AT&T requires a big upfront payment for this prepaid unlimited plan — $300 — but that works out to to $25/month for unlimited data. Your speeds are slowed if you use more than 16GB, but that’s a hard monthly price to beat.
Unlimited data for $25 at Boost
Boost’s lowest-priced plan matches what a lot of other carriers on this list charge. The difference is Boost is willing to lock in this rate for as long as you’re an active customer with its service.
Load the last cheap cell phone plan…
10GB for $19 at Tello
Not everyone needs unlimited data, and Tello provides more than enough data for most people without charging more than $20. Need more or less than 10GB? Tello has a wide range of plans, with nothing costing more than $29.
Philip Michaels, our managing editor for mobile devices, has been writing about tech since 1999, with a focus on smartphones since the first iPhone debuted back in 2007. He joined Tom’s Guide in 2014 and has been following wireless carriers ever since. In addition to keeping tabs on the big three carriers, he’s also studied plans for smaller mobile virtual network operators, so he’s well versed on what different wireless providers charge for monthly coverage. He spends far too much time looking at his phone screen.
The best cheap cell phone plan overall
Mint Mobile has a whole host of cheap cell phone plans, with four different options costing less $30 or less. We’re recommending the 5GB plan as that’s Mint’s lowest-priced offering, and it includes a decent amount of data alongside unlimited talk and text. You’ll get that rate for three months, but to keep it, you’ll need to pay for a full year of service upfront. (That’s $180 for the 5GB plan.) If you can swing the upfront payment, Mint Mobile’s low monthly rate delivers good value, especially since you’ll get coverage from T-Mobile‘s network. That includes the carrier’s far-reaching 5G service.
For new customers, Mint is charging $15/month for the first three months of every plan, which is a great way to get its unlimited plan at a discount. (Normally, that plan will cost you $30/month when you commit to a year of service.) At the end of the three months, the old rate returns, and you’ve got to pay for a full year to lock in Mint’s best rate.
The best cheap unlimited data plan
Visible joins Mint Mobile in offering an unlimited data plan for less than $40, but Visible’s option is cheaper. And unlike Mint, you don’t have to pay for a year up front — Visible charges on a month-to-month basis with taxes and fees baked into its $25 rate. Customers can now save more by choosing to pay for service annually, which turns out to be $275 for the entire year. By paying annually, it makes the $25/month rate turn out to be $23/month.
The cheaper of Visible’s two unlimited data plans comes with some trade-offs: your data speeds can be slowed whenever parent network Verizon is experiencing lots of traffic, and you won’t get faster Ultra Wideband 5G.
A current promotion at Visible does temporary lower the cost of the $45/month Visible Plus plan, which does feature Ultra Wideband 5G: Use code ‘HALFOFF,’ and Visible Plus drops to $22.50 for your first month at Visible before the $45 rate returns.
See Visible’s unlimited data plan.
Best cheap Verizon plan
The best prepaid phone plan at Verizon also happens to be one of the best cheap cell phone plans under $40, provided that you enroll in autopay. That saves you $10 a month on your bill, bringing the cost of this 15GB down from $45 to $35 per month. In exchange, you get a large pool of data — 15GB to be exact — which you can also draw on for hotspot data.
You’re able to use talk, text and data while traveling in Canada and Mexico so long as it only accounts for 50% of your usage over 60 days. You also get 5G service, though it isn’t through Verizon’s fastest Ultra Wideband network, which requires a more expensive Verizon plan.
See Verizon’s 15GB prepaid plan.
Best cheap T-Mobile plan
T-Mobile Connect offers the cheapest way to get T-Mobile’s service with a $15 plan that’s grown to 5GB thanks to annual data boosts from T-Mobile. (Those increases are supposed to come to an end next year.)
Opt for the Simple Connect plan — one of the best T-Mobile cell phone plans — only if you know you can stick to your data allotment each month, because once you hit that cap, you’ve either got to refill your account by paying for more data or wait for the next billing cycle to begin; T-Mobile doesn’t just slow your speeds like other carriers. Still, with 5G coverage included, Simple Connect is a cheap way to get fast speeds on a great network.
See T-Mobile’s 5GB Simple Connect plan.
Best cheap AT&T plan
AT&T’s prepaid plan features unlimited data, with 16GB coming in the form of high-speed data, for just $25/month. To get that low monthly rate, you’ve got to pay for a full-year in advance. But if you can swing the one-time $300 payment, you’ve locked in a low rate for the year that matches what Visible charges. And while your data slows down to 1.5 Mbps speeds after you use 16GB, most people won’t approach that limit.
To put AT&T’s monthly rate in context, the carrier also has a $40/month prepaid plan with unlimited data. By paying in advance, then, you’re saving $15 each month, or $180 over the course of a year.
Perks on the prepaid unlimited plan at AT&T include 10GB of hotspot data, 5G coverage where available, unlimited texting to 230 countries and calls to Canada and Mexico from the U.S. But again, the real lure here is a $25 monthly rate for a very large pool of data on AT&T’s network.
See AT&T’s unlimited prepaid plan.
Best cheap cell phone plan with a locked-in rate
Boost Mobile is now a nationwide carrier with its own network, competing with the likes of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. To take on those more established brands, Boost has a few bold offers, and the best one if you want a cheap cell phone plan under $40 is the Boost Unlimited option. This plan costs $25/month — a rate that will stay there so long as you remain a customer with Boost.
There aren’t many perks with this plan, and it’s the only unlimited offering at the carrier where your taxes aren’t baked into the rate. But you do get 30GB of high-speed data each month. Use that up, and your speeds will slow down.
See Boost’s $25 unlimited data plan.
Best cheap plan under $20
Tello is an MVNO with a wide range of plans staring at $9 for 1GB and going all the way up to $29 for unlimited data. For most people, the 10GB plan should hit the sweet spot, as it delivers more than enough data for most people. Also, it comes in at just under $20/month.
Perks are few with Tello, though you can make calls to 60-plus countries with your plan. You coverage comes via T-Mobile’s network, including the carrier’s 5G service. Should you hit the 10GB cap, you’ll either need to refill your plan or purchase add-on data, though Tello lets you upgrade or downgrade your line whenever you need to.
Perhaps Tello’s biggest appeal is that it’s a true month-to-month plan, without requiring the big upfront payment that a service like Mint does for its cheapest rate. With Tello, what you see is what you get.
See Tello’s 10GB plan.
Other cheap cell phone plans to consider
Our research has turned up a few other cheap cell phone plans under $40 that deserve some attention, even if they didn’t make the cut for our top picks.
- Consumer Cellular: For $35/month, you can get 10GB of data on the networks of AT&T or T-Mobile. AARP members get a 5% discount, making this a top choice for seniors.
- Cricket: Enroll in autopay and you can reduce the cost of a 10GB plan to $35/month on this AT&T-owned prepaid carrier. Like AT&T, Cricket lets you pay in advance for an unlimited data plan, where your one-time payment works out to $25/month — nice if you can afford that $300 upfront.
- Google Fi: Google charges a lot for wireless coverage — $20 for talk and text, plus $10 for each GB of data you use. But you get the best international coverage with the Flexible plan.
- Metro by T-Mobile: Metro’s plan scrapes under our $40 limit after you enroll in auto pay, but you get 10GB per month, plus the ability ot upgrade your phone after a year.
- Now Mobile: This low-cost service from Comcast provides an unlimited data plan for $25/month, with taxes and fees included in that rate. You will need to get your broadband service from either Xfinity or Now to sign up for Now mobile coverage.
- TextNow: Pay nothing for talk and text at TextNow and use Wi-Fi for your data connection. Need cellular data? Prices range from 99 cents for a day pass to $40 for a month of unlimited data, though TextNow’s free plan now includes some data for essential tasks like checking email and accessing ride-sharing apps.
- Total Wireless: Verizon’s renamed prepaid service has a Base 5G Unlimited plan that hits our $40/month limit for cheap phone plans. You get some pretty good perks like 5GB of hotspot data and a $200 credit on a 5G phone purchase after 12 months of service.
- Ultra Mobile: We like the low-cost options available at this T-Mobile-owned carrier, where you can pay $15/month for talk and text plus a mere 250MB of data. There are more data-packed plans available at Ultra, and you can pay in advance to lower your monthly rate further.
Best cheap plans compared
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Cost | Data | Data cap reached |
| Mint Mobile | $15/month | 5GB | data slowed to 128 Kbps |
| Visible | $25/month | Unlimited | Speeds can be slowed when network congested |
| T-Mobile | $15/month | 5GB | Must refill data |
| Verizon | $35/month | 15GB | data slowed to 128 Kbps |
| AT&T | $25/month | Unlimited | After 16GB, data slowed to 1.5 Mbps |
| Boost Mobile | $25/month | Unlimited | speeds slow to 512 kbps if you use more than 30GB in a month |
| Tello | $19/month | 10GB | Must refill data |
Frequently asked questions
What should I consider when looking for the best cheap cell phone plan?
Overall price is going to be your biggest consideration. That’s why we imposed a limit of $40 a month to make sure we’re evaluating plans that will fit in many budgets.
But price isn’t the only criteria to look at. You’ll want to concentrate your search on who provides the best cell phone coverage in your area and whether the discount carrier you’re considering uses that carrier’s network. With the exception of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, none of the discount carriers we’ve mentioned here operate their own network. Rather, as mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs, they piggyback on the cellular networks built by one or more of the major carriers. Some carriers, such as Republic Wireless and Google Fi, also offload calls and texts to Wi-Fi when available, as part of their efforts to keep monthly costs low.
You’ll want to look at the variety of plans each carrier offers and whether you could move to a different plan if your talk, text and data needs change. We’ve focused on plans for individuals, but if you’re searching for the best family cell phone plan, look into whether a carrier offers discounts on multiple lines. While perks generally aren’t included with cheap cell phone plans, look to see if there are some added benefits such as hotspot data.
How do you pick the best cheap cell phone plans?
We are constantly looking at what phone carriers offer, as part of our research into the best cell phone plans. That includes looking at what’s available from the major carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon — as well as from discount carriers. We check prices monthly, comparing what different services have to offer.
For our best cheap cell phone plans guide, we set a limit of $40 per month, only looking at plans that fall under this threshold. Price is paramount in our rankings, though we do make note of how much data each plan provides as well as any perks to keep in mind. That can help distinguish two equally priced plans — or even make a slightly more expensive plan a better value overall.
Because cell phone coverage can differ from area to area, we try to include a wide variety of cell phone plans priced at $40 or less, so that you can find the best rate for the wireless service with the strongest coverage in your area.
