Prepaid mobile plans are a great way to save money on voice and SMS and that's true for data too.
Here are my favorite operators and MVNOs (listed in alphabetical order) for affordable prepaid voice, messaging AND mobile data on U.S. national carriers. Scroll down the post for recommendations by network and level of usage.
This post is constantly being updated as data plans and pricing change frequently.
Last updated: 2/16/2017: MetroPCS $50 plan gains unlimited data, but loses hotspot.
Air Voice Wireless (888-944-2355) is AT&T MVNO that offers a variety of unlimited voice and text plans with varying amounts of data priced at $20 to $50/month. There's also a $10/month prepaid plan with prices of 4¢/voice minute, 2¢/text and 6.6¢/MB of data.
Air Voice is notable for having highly regarded US based support.
AT&T GoPhone 800-901-9878): The largest US GSM operator's data offerings have gotten a lot more competitive lately, particularly on monthly plans where the options are:
$30/month: unlimited domestic voice minutes, unlimited domestic and international messaging. Data is $5 for 100 MB. The data add-on expires after 30 days, but if you add another one before expiration, the unused data rolls over.
$45/month: unlimited voice and messaging and data with the first 3 GB of data per month at high speeds. Additional data is available for $10 per 500 MB.
$60/Month: unlimited voice and messaging and data with the first 6 GB of data per month at high speeds. Additional high speed data is available for $10 per 1 GB.
Unused data on the $45 and $60 plans roll over to the next month when the plan renews. However, plan data is used before rollover data and rollover data expires after 30 days. That means that unless your data usage alternates from low one month to high the next you are unlikely to be able to use much of your rollover data.
AT&T's GoPhone Daily plan costs $2/day for unlimited domestic voice minutes, unlimited domestic and international messaging. Data can be added as needed for $1 for 100 MB good for one calendar day (day ends at midnight CT). The $2 fee is charged only on days a call is made or answered or a text is sent. A nice feature is that Incoming texts and data use do not trigger the $2 daily fee.
To add a data package to one of these plans you can either call 611 from the handset and wade through the voice response menus or use the AT&T's Pay As You Go Online site. It's also possible to set up automatic refills using the web site.
You can use any phone that supports ATT's 850/1900 bands and isn't locked to another operator. LTE 4G data is available with a compatible phone.
Boom Mobile (800-767-5599) is a Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint MVNO that launched at the beginning of 2016. Boom is part of Enhanced Communications Group (ECG), a provider of residential and business phone service since 1997. Boom offers some of the most cost-effective Verizon plans currently available. Boom's Verizon based plans plans include off-network voice, messaging and data roaming at no extra charge.
Boost Mobile (866-402-7366) Owned by Sprint, Boost offers CDMA service using Sprint's native 2.5G, 3G EVDO and 4G LTE network.
Boost has monthly plans only. The monthly plans include unlimited voice and messaging and varying amounts of high speed data. Throttled speed after the high speed data allowance is consumed is 128 Kbps on all plans.
Cricket Wireless (800-274-2538) AT&T acquired Cricket in March of 2014. Current Cricket phones use AT&T's GSM and LTE network.
AT&T is positioning Cricket as its value priced prepaid brand. Cricket offers more data for less money than GoPhone. However Cricket data speeds are lower. High-Speed data is throttled to a maximum of 8 Mbps for LTE data and 4 Mbps for HSPA+, either of which is still fast enough for most uses including video streaming.
Cricket offers a $5/month auto-pay discount and a group save discount of $5 to $20 per line for multiple line accounts.
Cricket SIMs and phones are sold online, at Walmart, Target and some GameStop stores and through a large network of Cricket stores and authorized dealers. Cricket products are not available at AT&T stores.
Ecomobile (855-825-8855) is a multi-operator MVNO offering service on your choice of Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint. Ecomobile's monthly plans include unlimited domestic and international SMS and points which can be used for either talk or data. One point is good for one minute or one MB of data. Eco's best plan is $55 for 7000 points good for any combination of minutes and MBs adding up to 7000.
GoSmart Mobile (877-582-7788) is owned by TracFone GoSmart phones and SIMs are sold online and by independent mobile dealers.
GoSmart offers monthly plans only, including four plans with unlimited data. GoSmart has native T-Mobile network coverage with no roaming. Any T-Mobile or unlocked phone will work with GoSmart. Hotspot and tethering are permitted on all GoSmart plans that include data.
Lycamobile (866-277-3221) launched in 2005 in the UK and is Europe's largest MVNO,with over 6 million users. In the US Lycamobile has operated as a T-Mobile MVNO in March, 2013. Lycamobile has monthly and pay as you go plans. The monthly plans have generous data allotments and low international calling rates. Data is not available on the pay as you plan.
H2O Wireless (800-643-4926.) is a long established AT&T MVNO with monthly and pay as you go plans. Plan prices are generally competitive with those of Airvoice but with H20 unused high-speed data on all monthly plans will roll over. No more than 5 GB of unused rollover data can be accumulated in an account at any time.
H2O's pay as you go plan is a good value for very light use. It has a minimum cost of $10 every three months ($3.33/month) and rates of 5¢/text, 5¢/minute and 10¢/MB of data.
MetroPCS (888-8metro8), which was acquired by T-Mobile in May 2013, offers unlimited talk, text and data for as starting at $30/month on T-Mobile's GSM network with off-network voice and text roaming. Hotspot and tethering are permitted on all MetroPCS plans.
Page Plus (800-550-2436): Is an América Móvil owned MVNO that uses the Verizon network. Page Plus can activate all clean-ESN postpaid Verizon postpaid and prepaid and postpaid LTE phones. Non-LTE Phones sold for or last active on Verizon's prepaid service and non-Verizon phones are not allowed. LTE capable phones can only be activated on plans priced at $29.95 and higher. "High speed" LTE data is throttled to 5 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up.
NET10 (877-836-2368): Another América Móvil brand with a range of unlimited monthly plans.
NET10 also sells its own line of phones which, depending on phone model, run either the Verizon, Sprint, AT&T or T-Mobile network. NET10 also allows you to use your own unlocked GSM or locked AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint or postpaid Verizon phone.
4G LTE data is available on all four networks. "High speed" LTE data is throttled to 5 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up on the Verizon network, unthrottled on the others. NET10's terms of service prohibit tethering and "continuous" video streaming.
NET10 phones, SIMs and airtime are sold by independent dealers and national chains like RadioShack, BestBuy and Walgreens.
PureTalkUSA (877-820-7873) is another AT&T MVNO with good data pricing on their monthly plans.
PureTalkUSA SIMs are $3 with a plan purchase and work with unlocked GSM phones or any AT&T phone.
Real Mobile (877-316-0493) has monthly and pay as you go plans on the Sprint and AT&T networks. The Sprint based pay as you go plan is the best value plan of its type from any operator.
Republic Wireless (no support phone number) which launched in late 2011, is notable for offering unlimited voice, SMS and 1 GB of data with free off-network voice and extra cost data roaming, for $25/month plus about $7.50/month in taxes and fees. The low price is made possible in part by custom phone firmware which shifts voice, SMS and data traffic to WiFi, if it's available.
Republic is one of the few operators that charges for actual data use rather than "use it it or lose it data bundles". Each month, Republic gives users a refund of 1.5¢/KB ($15/GB) for unused data.
Selectel Wireless (877-218-5744) launched in May, 2013. Selectel's monthly plans are similar to comparably priced plans from Page Plus. But Selectel, unlike Page Plus, includes no extra charge voice and SMS off-network roaming with all plans.
Selectel offers a $10 Flex card that can be used to pay for overage on any Selectel plan. The Flex Card has attractive rares (5¢/voice minute, 5¢/SMS, 5¢/MB of data) and is unusual in that the funds on it never expire.
LTE data is available only on plans priced at $30 and higher. Like all Verizon MVNOs, Selectel's LTE data speeds are throttled to 5 Mbps.
SpeedTalk Mobile (866-701-5577) is a T-Mobile MVNO with a $5/month no-rollover PayGo plan that gives you any combination of 250 minutes, texts or MBs of data for $5. SpeeedTalk's other plans are largely uncompetitive.
Straight Talk(877-430-2355): América Móvil's $45/ month Straight Talk Unlimited plan includes 5GB of high speed data with unlimited data throttled to about 64 Kbps after 5 GB. The same plan with 10 GB of high speed data is $55/month.
Straight Talk allows you to use your own unlocked GSM or locked AT&T or T-Mobile, or Sprint or Verizon postpaid phone on the $45 or $55 plans. SIMs are available online from www.straighttalkbyop.com and from Walmart.
Straight Talk also sells its own line of phones which, depending on phone model, run either the Verizon, Sprint, AT&T or T-Mobile network.
4G LTE data is available on the all four networks. Straight Talk's terms of service prohibit tethering and "continuous" video streaming. On the Verizon network (only) LTE data speeds are throttled to 5 Mbps.
Tello (866-377-0294), a Sprint MVNO which has been in business since December, 2015, offers build your own plans where you create a plan by combining bundles of minutes, texts and data as well as pay as you go plans. Tello allows using your phone as a hotspot and offers BYOSD, auto pay and LTE.
Ting (855-846-4389) Is a Sprint and T-Mobile MVNO. Ting can activate T-Mobile and unlocked GSM phones and most Sprint phones except BlackBerrys, and PTT and WebOS phones. LTE is available.
Ting has an unusual pricing model that's a hybrid of pay as you go and a monthly plan. There's a $6 monthly fee plus separate buckets (Ting calls them tiers) of voice minutes, messages and data. There are five tiers for each type of usage. Minute tiers run from $3 for 100 minutes to $35 for 2100. Data tiers are from $3 for 100 MB to $29 for 2 GB. Prices across all tiers average around 2¢/minute, 1¢/text and 5¢/MB. Ting is a good value for moderate users. The sweet spot seems to be about 75-1000 minutes, 75-1000 messages and under 500 MB of data which costs between $12 and $41 before taxes and fees which run between $1 and $10/month.
A major plus with Ting is no-extra cost voice and SMS roaming.
T-Mobile (877) 479-3502: T-Mobile monthly plans including a$3/month pseudo pay as you go plan.
T-Mobile's $30 plan is one of the best values data values in prepaid. It only includes 100 voice minutes, but there's unlimited messaging and unlimited data with the first 5 GB/month at full speed before throttling to 120 Kbps. Unfortunately, this plan is saddled with restrictions. It's available only online or with new phones purchased at Walmart and requires activating a new account with a new SIM. If you have this plan and switch to another plan you can't switch back to it without activating another new SIM! To get this deal you need to activate a T-Mobile Prepaid Activation kit (a SIM and an activation PIN) online at prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-activate. You can buy the kit online at prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com, amazon.com or some independent mobile phone shops. T-Mobile stores do not sell unactivated SIM kits.
T-Mobile offers two types of prepaid unlimited monthly plans, Simply Prepaid and Simple Choice. Differences are:
Simply Prepaid plans are less expensive than Simply Choice plans with comparable amounts of high-speed data.
Simple Prepaid plans lack the following features which are exclusive to Simple Choice plans: unlimited international texts and "Data Stash" rollover data ($65 and $80 Simple Choice plans only).
Unlimited free Canadian and Mexican calling and roaming is included with Simple Choice and is a $5/month add-n with Simply Prepaid.
T-Mobile's Simply Prepaid and Simple Choice Prepaid plans include no-extra cost hotspot. On the $95 Simple Choice plan which includes 14 GB high speed data on the phone, hotspot data is throttled to 128 Kbps after 7 GB of hotspot use.
Plans with 2 GB or more of high speed data also include a limited amount of data-roaming. There's 10 MB of data roaming on plans with 2 or 3 GB of high speed data, 50 MB of data roaming on plans with 5 or 6 GB of high speed data and 100 MB of data roaming on plans with 10 GB or unlimited high speed data.
A free BlackBerry add-on is available on request by Simple Choice plan users. It provides BIS support which is required for BlackBerry Messenger and Email on pre-BlackBerry OS 10 devices. Although it isn't mentioned on the T-Mobile site, the BlackBerry add-on reportedly is also available for $10/month extra on the $30/month unlimited data, 100 minute plan.
All of T-Mobile's prepaid plans include voice and SMS off-network roaming. LTE data is available with a compatible phone.
Total Wireless (866-663-3633) is TracFone's newest brand, launching at the beginning of 2015. It's a Verizon MVNO sold exclusively at Walmart and online. Total has very good prices. But reliability and customer support have been quite uneven. I've seen an unusually high incidence of reports of activation, number porting and data issues and customer support's inability to resolve issues with Total Wireless.
TPO (The Peoples Operator, 844-876-8326) is a Sprint and T-Mobile MVNO that donates 10% of plan prices and 20% of profits to charities chosen by the customer from a list that includes the World Wildlife Federation, SPCA, Habitat For Humanity and many more. TPO's chairman is Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales.
TPO's best values are its plans costing less than $30 month. Note that TPO charges a laundry list of telecom taxes in addition to the normal sales taxes and e911 fees that most prepaid operators charge. Taxes and fees vary by state. I was quoted taxes and fees of $7 in California on TPO's $40 plan in 2015 when California had no point of sale taxes on prepaid airtime.
TracFone Wireless (800-867-7183) is América Móvil's traditional pay as you go brand. It's now offering Android phones that run on the Verizon and AT&T networks and use a "triple-triple" billing system that delivers very affordable data. TracFone also supports limited BYOP. You can activate most AT&T and Verizon phones including LTE capable phones on TracFone and get triple-triple rates. Verizon LTE data is throttled to 5 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up. AT&T data speeds are not throttled. As with all operators BYOP phones must not be reported lost or stolen or have money owed to their original carrier by the current or a previous owner. Non-LTE Verizon phones are not eligible until after they have been used on Verizon Prepaid for 6 months.
Triple-Triple billing uses separate buckets for minutes, texts and data, a $19.99 "60 minute" card gives you 180 minutes, plus 180 texts plus 180 MB of data. That's quite a deal, especially for data. Assuming you could use all three buckets at an equal rate, the per unit price of a minute, text or MB of data ranges from 3.7ċ with the $19.99 60 minute card to 2¢ with the $79.99 450 minute card. There are also special data only cards that add 300 MB for $10, 750 MB for $20, 2 GB for $30 or 4 GB for $50 and $10 Text Card that adds 1000 texts. Unused minutes, texts and data rollover indefinitely as long as the account is kept active by adding another airtime card every 90 days.
Ultra Mobile (888-777-0446) is a T-Mobile MVNO with monthly plans only. Ultra has some of the best sub $30 plans with data from any operator. Ultra is also notable for it's international calling features. Ultra Mobile supports international direct dialing and all plans include unlimited calls to at least 11 countries and an international call credit.
US Mobile (888-878-1488) is a T-Mobile MVNO that uses a tiered pricing model similar to Ting's. There's a $2 monthly fee plus separate tiers of voice minutes, messages and data. There are five talk and text tiers and six data tiers. Minute tiers run from $3 for 100 minutes to $15 for 5000. Data tiers are from $2 for 100 MB to $35 for 6 GB. US Mobile's prices are lower than Ting's, but Ting offers more flexibility including mid-month plan changes and multi-line plans. Unlike Ting, US Mobile doesn't offer voice and text roaming.
Verizon Wireless (800-901-9878) has two prepaid smartphone plans with unlimited voice, messaging and data. $50/month for 5 GB of high speed data or $60/month for 10 GB. Both plans include unlimited 128 Kbps throttled data after the high speed data allotment is used up. Unlike Verizon MVNOs, Verizon Prepaid high speed data is not throttled.
Customers who purchase their phones or SIMs at Walmart get extra high speed data, 7 GB on the $50 plan and 12 GB on the $70 plan.
For additional data users can add a "BRIDGE DATA" high speed add-on:
$5 - 500 MB good for 30 days, $10 - 1 GB good for 90 days or $20 - 3 GB good for 90 days. The BRIDGE add ons have their own expiration independent from the basic plan activation. You can "stack" two add ons and the second one will be held in reserve until the first one is used up or expires. Any postpaid Verizon smartphone can be activated on this plan.
Recommendations:
If you need unlimited voice and messaging combined with a sizable amount of high-speed data, good choices are:
AT&T network:
Airvoice $20 50 MB (LTE)
Pure TalkUSA $29 for 1 GB, $35 for 2 GB (including LTE)
H2O $30 for 1 GB, $40 for 3GB with rollover (including LTE)
Cricket $30 1 GB, $40 2.5 GB, $50 8GB, $60 10 GB, $70 unlimited (LTE speeds limited to 8Mbps, HSPA+ to 4 Mbps)
AT&T $45 for 3 GB, $60 6 GB (LTE)
StraightTalk $45 for 5 GB or $55 for 10 GB (including LTE)
Sprint network:
Republic Wireless $25 plus about $5 in taxes 1 GB (LTE)
Boost Mobile $35 for 2 GB or $50 for unlimited high speed data (video and audio streaming and online gaming throttled) (LTE)
T-Mobile network:
Ultra Mobile $20 100 MB, $30 1 GB, $35 2 GB (LTE, prices include $1 "cost recovery fee")
Lycamobile $19 100 MB, $29 500 MB, $35 2 GB (LTE),
GoSmart $35 ($30 with autopay) 4 GB, $45 12 GB, $55 20 GB (no LTE)
MetroPCS $30 1 GB, $40 3 GB, $50 or $60 unlimited plans (LTE)
Verizon network:
Boom Mobile $29.95 for 2 GB, $39.99 for 5 GB (LTE, voice and data roaming)
Straight Talk $45 for 5 GB or $55 for 10 GB (including LTE)
Verizon $50 5 GB (7 GB with Walmart SIM or phone) or $70 10 GB (12 GB with Walmart SIM or phone) (LTE)
Selectel $40 2 GB, $55 5 GB, $70 7 GB (LTE, roaming)
If you use mostly data and SMS, with minimum voice usage, the best data deals are:
AT&T network:
Pure TalkUSA $10 or $15 plans (LTE)
AT&T $30 plan with $5 - 100 MB rollover data add-ons (only cost effective for 300 MB/month or less) (LTE).
Sprint network:
Tello 's tiered plans starting $5 (LTE)
TPO $21 (with autopay) 1000 minutes, unlimited texts 500 MB (LTE)
T-Mobile network:
T-Mobile $30 unlimited data, first 5 GB unthrottled, unlimited texts, 100 voice minutes. (LTE)
US Mobile's tiered plans starting at $4 (LTE).
Verizon network:
Boom Mobile $19.99 for 250 MB (LTE, voice and data roaming)
Page Plus $29.95 plan for 1 GB with 5¢/MB add-on data (LTE)
Selectel $30 plan with 500 MB and 5¢/MB overage (LTE)
Selectel's $15 plan with 15 MB and 5¢/MB overage (no LTE, 3G phones only)
Page Plus $12 Plan (10 MB, 10¢/MB overage) (no LTE, 3G phones only)
Ecomobile $55 plan with unlimited SMS and 7000 MB or minutes (LTE).
For light users of voice, messaging and data, the best bets are:
AT&T network:
Tracfone's Android phones or BYOP (LTE)
AT&T's $2 Day plan with $1/day 100 MB add-on
H2O's $10/90 day PayGo (LTE)
Airvoice's $10/30 day PayGo (LTE)
Pure TalkUSA $10 or $15 plans (LTE)
Sprint network:
Tello's never expiring pay as go (LTE)
Real Mobile $10/120 days or $20/year pay as you go (LTE)
Ting's $6/month (plus 10% taxes) plan (LTE)
T-Mobile network:
US Mobile's tiered plans stating at $4 for 100 MB (LTE)
Ecomobile's $10/30 days pay as you go (LTE).
Verizon network:
Tracfone's Android phones or BYOP (LTE).
Page Plus pay as you go
Selectel's Yearly Plan with Flex Card
Hotspot and Tethering: If you want to share your mobile data with a laptop, tablet or other devices, the following operators officially allow tethering and using your phone as a WiFi hotspot at no extra cost: AT&T GoPhone ($45 and $60 plans only), Boom Mobile (iPhones only), Boost Mobile, GoSmart, MetroPCS (except $50 plan), T-Mobile Prepaid, Verizon Prepaid ($45 and $60 plans only), US Mobile and Ting. Cricket Wireless charges $10/month extra for hotspot usage.
The operators that allow hotspot typically provide little or no support for the feature. Users are responsible for finding a way to make it work which may require additional apps and/or phone modifications.
Here are tables summarizing all the plans mentioned above.
Unlimited Voice Plans with Data
Plan
Monthly Price plus sales tax
Network
SIM Cost or Activation Fee
Allowed Phones
Voice
Text
Data (throttled speed 128 Kps unles otherwise indicated)
Republic Wireless
$17.50 - $40 + taxes & fees 7
Sprint, LTE available
0
Republic Wireless Only
unlimited
unlimited
$17.50 0.5 GB,
$25 1GB,
$40 2 GB 11
Lycamobile
$19 - $55
T-Mobile, LTE available
0
Unlocked GSM. Also T-Mobile using "Plus" SIM
unlimited
unlimited
$19 100 MB,
$23 unlim. 500 MB HS,
$29 unlim. 1 GB HS,
$35 unlim 2 GB HS,
$45 unlim. 4 GB HS,
$55 unlim. 10 GB HS
Ultra Mobile
$19 - $45 9
T-Mobile (GSM) LTE available
$9.95
Any Unlocked GSM or T-Mobile
unlimited
unlimited
$19: 100 MB,
$24 500 MB
$29 unlim1 GB + 1 GB 3G,
$34 unlim. 2 GB, 4G + 2 GB 3G,
$45 unlim 5 GB 4G + 2 GB 3G
Boom Mobile
$19.99 - $34.99
T-Mobile (GSM) LTE available
$6.99
Any T-mobile or unlocked GSM
unlimited
unlimited
$19.99 250 MB,
$34.99 1 GB
Boom Mobile
$19.99 - $29.99
Sprint (CDMA) LTE available
$6.99
Any Sprint postpaid
unlimited
unlimited
$19.99 250 MB,
$29.99 2 GB
Boom Mobile
$19.99 - $39.99
Verizon (CDMA) LTE available
$6.99
Any Verizon LTE 15
unlimited
unlimited
$19.99 250 MB,
$24.99 500 MB,
$29.99 2 GB,
$39.99 5 GB
Airvoice Unlimited Talk & Text + Data
$20 - $50 10
AT&T (GSM) no LTE
$4.99
Any At&T or unlocked GSM phone
unlimited
unlimited
$20 100 MB,
$30 1 GB,
$50 5 GB (overage 2.5¢ / MB) 3
TPO
$21 - $55 + taxes & fees 1, 7
Sprint or T-Mobile, LTE available
Sprint SIMs are $6.99 + $9.99 shipping. T-Mobile SIMs are free with plan purchase
Most Sprint, T-Mobile or unlocked GSM
unlimited
unlimited
$21 500MB,
$26 1 GB
$33 2 GB,
$40 3 GB,
$55 5 GB
Pure TalkUSA
$24 - $45 10
AT&T (GSM) LTE available
0
Any Unlocked GSM or AT&T
unlimited
$24 200,
$29 -$50 unlimited
$24 200 MB,
$29 1 GB,
$35 2 GB,
$50 4 GB
Total Wireless
$25 - $35
Verizon (CDMA) LTE available
Any Verizon 15
unlimited
unlimited
$25 none, add 3 GB for $10 16, $35 5 GB
MetroPCS
$30 - $60 10
T-Mobile (GSM) LTE available
0
Any Unlocked GSM or T-Mobile
unlimited
unlimited
$30 unlim. 1 GB HS,
$40 unlim. 3 GB HS
$50 unlim. unthrottled, no hotspot,
$60 unl'd. unthrottled. 8 GB hotspot
AT&T $30 Monthly Plan
$30
AT&T (GSM) LTE available
0 - $20
Any At&T or unlocked GSM phone
unlimited
unlimited
$5/250 MB 8
H2O
$30 - $60
AT&T (GSM) LTE available
$9.99
Any Unlocked GSM or AT&T
unlimited
unlimited
$30 1 GB,
$35 unlim. 500 MB HS
$40 unlim 3 GB HS,
$50 unlim 5 GB HS,
$60 unlim 6 GB HS 6
GoSmart Unlimited Talk, Text & Web
$30 - $40
T-Mobile (GSM) no LTE
$8.00
Any Unlocked GSM or T-Mobile
unlimited
unlimited
unlimited
$35 ($30 with autopay) 4 GB HS, $45 12 GB HS,
$55 20 GB HS
Cricket
$30 - $70 10
AT&T (GSM) LTE available
$10 - $35
Any Unlocked GSM or AT&T
unlimited
unlimited
$30 1 GB HS,
$40 2.5 GB HS 2,
$50 5 GB HS 2,
$60 10 GB HS 2
$70 unlimited HS 2
Boost Mobile Monthly Unlimited
$35 - $50 13
Sprint (CDMA) LTE available
0 ($10 for used phones)
Boost, some Sprint
Unlimited
Unlimited
$35 2 GB HS,
$50 unlimited, unthrottled 14
NET10 Unlimited
$35 - $75
AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon, LTE available 9
$6.99
Straight Talk or T-Mobile, AT&T or unlocked GSM
unlimited
unlimited
$35 500 MB HS,
$40 3 GB HS
$50 5 GB HS
$60 7 GB HS
$75 10 GB HS
throttle 64 Kbps
Page Plus Unlimited Talk n Text
$39.95 - $69.95
Verizon (CDMA) LTE available 9
0
Any Verizon except non-LTE Verzon Prepaid
unlimited
unlimited
$39.95 3 GB HS.
$55 5 GB HS.
$69.95 7 GB HS.
throttle 64 Kbps
Selectel Unlimited
$40 - $70
Verizon (CDMA) LTE Available
0 - $30 4
Any Verizon except non-LTE Verzon prepaid
unlimited
unlimited
$40 2 GB.
$55 5 GB,
$70 7 GB.
(overage 5¢/MB)
T-Mobile Simply Prepaid
$40 - $60
T-Mobile (GSM) LTE available 1
$15
Any T-Mobile or unlocked GSM
Unlimited
Unlimited
$40 3 GB HS,
$50 5 GB HS,
$60 10 GB HS
AT&T GoPhone Smartphone Monthly with Data
$45-$60
AT&T (GSM) LTE available
0-$20
Any At&T or unlocked GSM phone
unlimited
unlimited
Unlimited.
$45 3 GB HS 8,
$60 6 GB HS 8
Straight Talk Unlimited
$45 - $55
Verizon, Sprint (CDMA), AT&T, T-Mobile (GSM) or Verizon, LTE available 9
$699 -$14.99
Straight Talk or T-Mobile or unlocked GSM. Verizon or Sprint postpaid
unlimited
unlimited
$45 unlim.
5 GB HS,
$45 unlim.
10 GB HS,
throttle 64 Kbps
Verzion Smartphone Plan
$50 - $70
Verizon (CDMA) LTE available
0
Any Verizon
unlimited
unlimited
$50 5 GB HS,
$70 10 GB HS 5,
1 GB extra for auto pay users
T-Mobile Simple Choice Prepaid
$50 - $95
T-Mobile (GSM) LTE available
0 - $10
Any T-Mobile or unlocked GSM
Unlimited
Unlimited
$50 unlim. 2 GB HS,
$65 unlim. 6 GB HS,
$80 unlim. 10 GB HS,
$95 unlim. 14 GB HS
1 TPO offers a $5/month discount for using auto-pay
2 Cricket's high-speed data is throttled to a maximum of 8 Mbps for LTE data and 4 Mbps for HSPA+
3 Airvoice: $20 plan includes 50 MB of high speed data followed by 50 MB of throttled data. $30 plan includes 500 MB of high speed data followed by 500 MB of throttled data, $50 plan includes 2.5 GB of high speed data followed by 2.5 GB of throttled data. Throttled speed is 128 Kbps.
4 Selectel charges $15 to activate its own phones and $30 to activate customer's BYOD phones. Some Selectel dealers offer low cost or free activations.
5 Verizon: Available data add-ons: $5 - 500 MB/30 days, $10 - 1 GB/90 days, $20 - 3 GB/90 days. Throttled speed 128 Kbps. Phones and SIMs purchased from Walmart get 7 (instead of 5) GB of high speed data on the $50 plan and 12 GB (instead of 10) on the $70 plan.
6 H20 throttled speed is 128 Kbps. Unused high-speed data rolls over. Rollover data never expires as long as the plan is active. A maximum of 10 GB of rollover data can be accumulated in an account at any time.
7 TPO and Republic add taxes and fees of 10% - 30%
8 Unused data rolls over. Plan data is used before rollover data and rollover data expires after 30 days
9 High speed LTE throttled to 5 Mbps on Page Plus, Selectel, NET10 Verizon and Straight Talk Verizon
10 Plan price includes ALL taxes, even state and local sales tax
11 Republic: Customer receives credit for unused data. Additional data available at $15 per GB or $7.50 for 0.5 GB.
13 $5/month discount for using auto-pay.
14 Boost $50 plan: video streaming is degraded to 480p resolution, audio streaming us restricted to 500Kbps, online gaming data throttled to 2 Mbps, hotspot throttled to 128 Kbps after 8 GB is used. Begining 1/27/2016, Boost will offer a $20/month add-on that will increase video resolution to 1080p or better, allow music streaming at up to 1.5 Mps and gaming streams at up to 8 Mps.
15 Verizon Prepaid LTE phones must be activated on Verizon Prepaid and the first month of service must be paid for before they can be used on Verizon MVNOs. Verizon Prepaid non-LTE phones nust be used on Verizon Prepaid for 12 months before they can be activated on Verizon MVNOs.
16 Unused add-on data rolls over
Non-Unlimited Talk and Text Plans With Data Available
Plan
Monthly Price (sales tax of 0-10.75% of total cost additional)
Network
SIM Cost or Activation Fee
Allowed Phones
Voice
Text
Data
US Mobile
$4 and up 11
T-Mobile (GSM)
$3.99
T-mobile or unlocked GSM.
3.6¢/min (average) 2
1.6¢/each (average) 2
3¢ MB (average) 2, 8
Tello
$5 and up 12
Sprint
$5.00
Most Sprint
2.3¢/min (average) 2
1¢/each or less
1.1¢ MB (average) 2
Selectel Yearly Plan
$75/year ($6.25/mo)
Verizon (CDMA)
0 - $30 4
Any 3G, non-prepay Verzion
2000/yr (167/mo) overage 5¢/min
2000/yr (167/mo) overage 5¢/min
$0.05/MB
Pure TalkUSA Simple plans
$10 - $15 1
AT&T (GSM)
free
Any At&T or unlocked GSM phone
Minutes:
$10 300
$15 600
Count as 1/3 minute each
$10 50 MB
$15 100 MB
Ting
$6 and up 10
Sprint (CDMA) or T-Mobile (GSM)
$9
T-mobile or unlocked GSM. Most Sprint
3.6¢/min (average) 2
0.8¢/each (average) 2
3¢ MB (average) 2, 8
Page Plus The 12
$12
Verizon (CDMA)
0
Any 3G, non-prepay Verzion
250 (overage 5¢/min)
250 (overage 5¢/each)
10 MB (overage $0.10/MB)
Selectel Value Plan
$15
Verizon (CDMA)
0 - $30 4
Any 3G, non-prepay Verzion
300 (overage 5¢/min)
300 (overage 5¢/each)
15 MB (overage $0.05/MB)
TPO
$21 ($16 with auto pay)
Sprint (CDMA)
?
Most Sprint
1000
unlimited
500 MB
Page Plus 1500 Talk n Text
$29.95
Verizon (CDMA) LTE available 9
0
Any Verizon except non-LTE Verzion prepaid
1500 (overage 5¢/min)
unlimited
1 GB (overage $0.05/MB) 8
Selectel Talk & Text
$30
Verizon (CDMA)
0 - $30 4
Any Verizon except non-LTE Verzion prepaid
1300 (overage 5¢/min)
3000 (overage 5¢/each)
500 MB (overage $0.05/MB)
T-Mobile $30 Monthly 4G 3
$30
T-Mobile (GSM) LTE available
$10
Any T-Mobile or unlocked GSM
100 (overage 10¢/min)
Unlimited
Unlimited 5 GB hs,
throttle 128 Kbps 8
Ecomobile
$35 - $55
Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint. LTE available
$9.99 T-Mobile. $14.99 Verizon or Sprint
Any Sprint,, Verizon, T-Mobile, unlocked GSM
$35 3000 min or MB,
$45 5000 min or MB,
$55 7000 min or MB
Unlimited
$35 3000 min or MB,
$45 5000 min or MB,
$55 7000 min or MB
1 Plan price includes ALL taxes, even state and local sales tax
2 Ting, US Mobile, Tello: average prices based on using half the middle tier of minutes, texts and data.
3 T-Mobile: Plan only available with phone + SIM bundles purchased at Walmart or when activating a SIM on new account at www.t-mobile.com/PrepaidActivation
4 Selectel charges $15 to activate its own phones and $30 to activate customer's BYOD phones. Some Selectel dealers offer free activations.
5 Unused data rolls over. Plan data is used before rollover data and rollover data expires after 30 days
6 Pure Talk Simple Plan add-ons: $9.95 400 MB + 200 MMS, $19.90 1 GB + 400 MMS
8 LTE available
9 High speed LTE throttled to 5 Mbps on PagePlus
10 Ting uses a "build your own plan" concept. Combine bundles of minutes, messages and data to build a plan. The following bundles are available:
Talk
100 min $3
500 min $9
1000 min $18
2100 min $35
2100+ $35 + 1.9¢/min
Text
100 texts $3
1000 texts $5
2000 texts $8
4800 min $11
4800+ $11 + 1/4¢/text
Data
100 MB $3
500 MB $10
1 GB $16
2 GB $20
2GB+ $20 + $10/GB
Ting also charges a $6/month service fee regardless of usage and adds a number of taxes and fees that vary by state and average between one to ten dollars per month.
11 US Mobile uses a "build your own plan" concept similar to Ting's. The following bundles are available:
Talk
100 min $3
250 min $5
500 min $9
1500 min $10
5000 min $15
Text
100 texts $2
250 texts $3
500 texts $4
1000 texts $5
Unlimited texts $7
Data
100 MB $2
250 MB $5
500 MB $9
1 GB $14
2.5 GB $20
6 GB $35
There's also a $2/month service fee and taxes and fees that add an average of 9% to plan costs.
3¢ MB (average)
12 Tello uses a "build your own plan" concept. Combine bundles of minutes, messages and data to build a plan. The following bundles are available:
Talk
100 min $3
200 min $5
300 min $7
500 min $10
unlimited min $15
Text
200 texts $2
unlimited texts $3
Data
200 MB $4
500 MB $8
1 GB $11
2 GB $21
4 GB $31
5 GB $45
Tello doesn't charge a monthly line fee but there's a minimum monthly plan cost is $5. Tello charges a Federal Cost Recovery Charge and a Federal Universal Service Fund that combined average 7.25% in addition to applicable state and local taxes.
Pay As You Go Plans With Data Available Unused plan payments roll over unless otherwise noted.
Plan
Monthly Minimum Price (sales tax of 0-10.75% of total cost additional)
Network
SIM Cost or Activation Fee
Allowed Phones
Voice
Text
Data
Tello Pay As You Go
0.17¢ 7
Sprint (CDMA)
0 (SIMs $5)
Sprint
3¢/min
1¢/ea
2¢/MB
Real Mobile Pay As You Go
$1.66 / month ($20/year, $10/120 days)
Sprint (CDMA)
0 (SIMs $12.95)
Sprint
5¢/min
5¢/ea
5¢/MB
PagePlus Prepaid
$2.50 / month 1 ($10/120 days)
Verizon (CDMA) non-LTE phones only
0
Any 3G Verizon except Verzion prepaid
4¢-10¢/min
5¢/ea
10¢/MB
T-Mobile Pay As You Go
$3 / month 6
T-Mobile (GSM)
$10
Any T-Mobile or unlocked GSM
10¢/min
10¢/ea
$5 500 MB/1 day, $10 1 GB/7 days 8
Airvoice Pay as You Go
$3.33 / month 2 ($10/90 days)
AT&T (GSM)
$4.99
Any At&T or unlocked GSM phone
10¢/min
10¢/each
6.6¢/MB
H2O Pay as You Go
$3.33 / month
($10/90 days)
AT&T (GSM)
$9.99
Any At&T or unlocked GSM phone
5¢/min
5¢/each
10¢/MB 8
TracFone Android
$5.00
AT&T (GSM), T-Mobile (GSM) or Verizon (CDMA)
N/A
TracFone Android phones and BYOP
2¢ - 11¢ / min
2¢ - 11¢ / ea
2¢ - 11¢ / MB 8
SpeedTalk Low Cost PayGo
$5.00 10
T-Mobile (GSM)
$5.60
Any T-Mobile GSM phone
2¢/min
2¢ each
2¢/MB
AT&T Go Phone
$6.67 3
($25/90 days)
AT&T (GSM)
0-$20
Any AT&T or unlocked GSM phone
25¢/min
$0.20 each,
200 - $4.99,
1000 - $9.99,
unlimited - $19.99
0.2¢/KB ($2/MB) 4, 8
Airvoice 250 Minute Plan
$10/month
AT&T (GSM)
$4.99
Any At&T or unlocked GSM phone
4¢/min
2¢/each
6.6¢/MB
Ecomobile
$10/month
Verizon, Sprint or T-mobile
0
Verizon 3G, Sprint, T-Mobile or unlocked GSM
5¢/min
2¢/each
10¢/MB
1 PagePlus deducts a 50¢ maintenance fee from your balance each month on the pay as you go plans
2 Airvoice deducts a $1 maintenance fee from your balance each month on the $10/90 day pay as you go plan.
3 AT&T deducts a monthly 911 fee of between 25¢ and 96¢ from your GoPhone balance in some states
4 AT&T ad-hoc data - 0.02¢/KB is not available on smartphones.
5 Selectel charges $15 to activate its own phones and $30 to activate customer's BYOD phones. Some Selectel dealers offer free activations.
6 T-Mobile pay as you go charges $3/month which includes 30 non-rollover minutes or texts. Additional minutes or texts are 10¢/each
7 Tello airtime doesn't expire as long as call, text or surf the web at least once every six months. Tello's minimum top up is $5.
8 LTE available
9 Plus a $1/month "cost recovery fee"
10 Unused balances do not roll over
Image by Cell Phone Tower in the Sky by Kevin Zolkiewicz Attribution License
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