Best Low-Cost Phone Carriers – Service for Less
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Sharing phone plans with a family member. Living with a cracked screen. The dreaded data throttling. Paying over $150 for your monthly bill. Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past decade, you’ve probably experienced some—or all—of these financial obstacles with major carriers’ traditional cell phone plans.
Fortunately, you don’t have to use a pager to communicate in the 21st century on a budget. Low-cost phone plans do exist. Many are no contract, and some offer similar perks as the big three providers at a fraction of the price.
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Overview of the best low-cost phone carriers
Carrier | Best for |
AT&T | 5G coverage, families |
Verizon Network | Reliable coverage almost anywhere |
Mint Mobile | 5GB data for $15/mo |
T-Mobile Network | High-speed data |
Tello | Custom plans and old phones |
Cricket Wireless | Family plan on AT&T’s network |
Republic Wireless | Annual payment discount, no contract |
US Mobile | No-fee 5G and international roaming |
Ting | All-around value and flexibility |
Consumer Cellular | Good customer service |
Visible | Unlimited plan on Verizon’s network |
Boost Mobile | Perks and add-ons |
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Best low-cost phone carriers
AT&T
One of the big three carriers, AT&T might not seem affordable at first blush. Yet there are several good plans to choose from—including unlimited data in postpaid and prepaid plans.
The Unlimited Starter plan costs only $65 monthly for one person’s unlimited talk, text, and 5G data. This plan’s monthly price gets even cheaper when you add more lines.
With five lines, the Unlimited Starter plan costs only $30 per month per line, making it a great family plan. Plus, it offers unlimited talk, text, and data in Mexico and Canada.
For an even more affordable price, you might consider a prepaid plan. You can pay the equivalent of $30 per month ($360 for the year) for 5GB of data, mobile hotspot, standard-def video streaming, and unlimited text to over 200 countries.
Verizon Network
For a while, it seemed like everyone I knew had a Verizon plan, and for a good reason. The coverage has always been among the best (if not THE best).
Besides great coverage, Verizon’s Unlimited Welcome plan ($60 per month per line) offers a lot of cool add-ons like a Walmart+ Membership. Plans get a lot cheaper the more lines you add.
Verizon’s unlimited plans include unlimited text in 200 countries and unlimited talk, text, and data in Canada and Mexico. But if you need to make many international calls, opt for Verizon’s World Plan 500 or World Plan 300. They charge per minute depending on the country you want to call.
Like AT&T, Verizon’s cheapest plans are prepaid. They start at $45 and include 15GB of 5G data.
Related: How to Save Money When You Are Broke
Mint Mobile
Mint Mobile operates on T-Mobile’s network and offers plans starting at just $15 monthly. Typically, customers sign on to a 6- or 12-month billing cycle, but new customers can try the plan at the cheapest rate for three months.
Mint’s unlimited plan also costs $15 per month, but after you stop being a new customer, you need to pay for the whole year to get that price. It does include unlimited talk, text, and data, as well as free international calls to Mexico and Canada.
The nice thing with Mint is that even if you don’t have an unlimited data plan, your speed just slows down if you go over your data amount. With other carriers, the data goes away if you go over.
Mint also allows you to use mobile hotspot data at no extra charge. The amount of data you use just pulls from your regular monthly allotment.
T-Mobile Network
After merging with Sprint, T-Mobile is in an even better position than the other big three mobile phone carriers. T-Mobile now has the largest 5G network, making it an appealing choice for high-speed data.
The cheapest plan with T-Mobile is $40 per month for a prepaid plan through Metro. With that, you get unlimited high-speed data and unlimited calls and texts. For an additional $15, you can add 8 GB of hotspot data, 100 GB of GoogleOne membership, and a 1-year VIX Premium subscription.
The Essentials plan is a more traditional unlimited talk, text, and data plan for $60 monthly (including a discount for autopay customers). Compared with other phone providers, T-Mobile ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction, according to J.D. Power.
Tello
If you want a crazy cheap, contract-free, just-the-basics plan, Tello is a strong contender. The cheapest plan gives you 100 minutes of talk, free text and 2 GB of data for only $17 monthly. And they even offer international calling at no extra cost.
Tello’s best deal, though, is its Economy plan. You get unlimited talk and text plus 1GB of data for just $10. This is the cheapest plan in our review that includes data.
Because Tello operates on the T-Mobile network, it has similar coverage as Boost, Republic Wireless, and Mint. And if you choose the Economy plan, you can still use up to 2GB per month of data—the catch is that your second GB will be slower than your first GB.
For phones, Tello stays true to its budget-minded customers. The cheapest phone they offer is an NUU F4L phone for $79. Other brand options include Motorola, Samsung, LG, Google Pixel, and iPhone. You can also bring your smartphone if it’s unlocked.
Cricket Wireless
One of the biggest advantages of Cricket is that they have actual store locations. Yes, that means you can bring your phone in and talk to an actual person if you need to troubleshoot something.
The cheapest Cricket plan is $30 per month. It includes 5GB of high-speed data and unlimited talk and text. The next step includes 10GB of high-speed data for only $10 more.
The real value of Cricket plans becomes more apparent if you have more than one line. You would pay $100 per month ($25 per line) for unlimited talk, text, AND high-speed data for four lines.
At its highest level, Cricket offers even more bells and whistles like 15GB of mobile hotspots, 150GB (!!!) of cloud storage, and MBO Max subscription (with ads). Users can even use the phone in Mexico and Canada. This plan costs $60 per month for one line.
Republic Wireless
Republic Wireless offers no contract, customizable cell phone plans on the T-Mobile network. Plans are unbelievably cheap, starting at just $19.99 monthly for unlimited talk and text. You can add data for $5 per gigabyte.
A more popular plan is probably the $29.99 monthly plan, which includes unlimited talk and text plus 10GB of monthly hotspot data. Republic is known for its seamless WiFi calling. It enables users to call over a cell network and when a WiFi signal becomes available, it automatically hands off the call to WiFi.
US Mobile
US Mobile plans start at $25/month for unlimited talk and text (one line). If you want high-speed data, they have that, too. For just $40, you get unlimited talk and text plus 5GB of data.
One of the best value plans is Unlimited Premium. US Mobile charges only $50 monthly for unlimited talk, text, and data. If you have three or more lines, it’s just $40 per line per month.
Ting
Ting is a contract-less MVNO that uses T-Mobile and Verizon’s networks. Flex, the cheapest plan they offer, is only $10 monthly for unlimited talk and text, plus $5 per GB of data you use.
A more realistic plan might be to sign up for Set 5 ($25/month). This includes unlimited talk and text plus 5 GB of fast data, which can also be used as a hotspot.
If you want more data, opt for Set 12 (12 GB of fast data, $35/month), Unlimited (22 GB of fast data, $45/month), or Ollo™ Unlimited Pro (35 GB of fast data, $55/month). Keep in mind that with the higher data plans, only a portion of your data can be used as a hotspot.
The great thing with Ting that makes it extra flexible is the ability to top up your fast data allotment for $5 per GB. And if you don’t use it all, you can use it the following month.
Consumer Cellular
Consumer Cellular is a solid choice if you want a cheap plan, no data, and superb coverage. They use the AT&T and T-Mobile networks, which means you should get a signal almost anywhere.
The cheapest plan at Consumer Cellular includes only unlimited talk for $20 per month for one line. For $5 more, you get unlimited talk and text plus 5GB of data.
Another nice feature that Consumer Cellular offers is a 5% discount for AARP members. And they’ve been named #1 for customer service—11 times— according to a J.D. Power study of MVNOs.
Visible
Visible was started by Verizon as a low-cost, prepaid phone carrier. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly phone plan on the Verizon network, this one is worth a look.
The standard plan is $25 per month for one line. With that plan, you get unlimited everything—including 5G data—and calls to Canada, Mexico, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico at no extra charge. And their referral program is compelling. If your friend joins Visible, you get a month of service for only $5.
Visible also offers a nice selection of premium phones like the iPhone 14 Pro ($999) and pre-owned phones for only $2-300. And if you like wearables, you’ll be pleased to know that for $5 per month, you can get unlimited data on your Apple Watch with your Visible plan.
Boost Mobile
Boost’s most affordable plan costs $15 monthly for unlimited talk and text plus 2GB of monthly data. The downside is that this deal is only for new customers who bring their phones. On the upside, this plan includes a mobile hotspot.
If you want more data, you’ll pay $25 for 5GB. And if you want three lines, you’ll still pay $25 per line per month for unlimited data, talk, and text.
Besides being budget-friendly, Boost knows how to pile on the perks. For an extra $7.99 per month (or FREE with the Unlimited Plus plan), users can chat with a doctor online through K Health. They also offer international calling options. You can pay just $5 extra monthly for unlimited calling to landlines and mobile phones in Mexico and some parts of Canada.
Boost customers are also eligible for rewards at places like Papa John's, AMC, and Sam’s Club through the Boost Perks app.
Raise Your Credit 80 points*
- 5 star service trusted by over 450,000 members
- Have processed over $11,000,000 in bill payments for members
- No deposit, no credit check, no interest
- New member promotions available
*Potential increase based on StellarFi member data. StellarFi numbers observed an average of 80 points VantageScore® 3.0 increase during a member’s lifetime. Score increase based on members with an incoming score range of 300-499 pts, who made regular on-time payments, with regular on-time payments. Results may vary.
Summary of the best low-cost phone carriers
Carrier | Lowest monthly cost for 1 line | iPhone compatible | Network |
AT&T | $30 | Yes | AT&T |
Verizon Network | $45 | Yes | Verizon |
Mint Mobile | $15 | Yes | T-Mobile |
T-Mobile Network | $40 | Yes | T-Mobile |
Tello | $10 | Yes | T-Mobile |
Cricket Wireless | $30 | Yes | AT&T |
Republic Wireless | $19.99 | Yes | T-Mobile |
US Mobile | $25 | Yes | T-Mobile, Verizon |
Ting | $10 | Yes | T-Mobile, Verizon |
Consumer Cellular | $20 | Yes | AT&T, T-Mobile |
Visible | $25 | Yes | Verizon |
Boost Mobile | $15 | Yes | T-Mobile |
FAQs
Do cheap phone plans come with cheap phones?
Mobile offers vary slightly by carrier, so if you’re not bringing your own phone, compare the cost of different phone models on each carrier’s website. When I looked, some of T-Mobile’s phone prices were about $30 cheaper than Ting’s.
What should I look for in a data plan?
If data is important to you, make sure to look into the amount of data they offer at high speeds. Most unlimited plans throttle speeds at some point.
What kind of perks could I get?
Many carriers are offering extras like free streaming subscription services or partner discounts. Others offer add-ons like international calling or even access to telemedicine (like Boost). These add-ons also add up in cost unless you’re already paying for a more premium plan that includes them for free.
Why you shouldn’t use a low-cost phone carrier
Most low-cost phone carriers mentioned above are MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) that rent service from a major carrier. This means they probably slow down your data allotment during peak demand. Before switching over, read the fine print if data usage is important to you.
The bottom line
Even though low-cost phone carriers can be an adjustment, the savings can be quite dramatic. If you’re willing to have slightly slower data or less handy customer service, cutting the cost of your mobile plan in half is an amazing feeling. I’ve used Republic Wireless for years, but I’m considering switching to Ting to have an iPhone.
Raise Your Credit 80 points*
- 5 star service trusted by over 450,000 members
- Have processed over $11,000,000 in bill payments for members
- No deposit, no credit check, no interest
- New member promotions available
*Potential increase based on StellarFi member data. StellarFi numbers observed an average of 80 points VantageScore® 3.0 increase during a member’s lifetime. Score increase based on members with an incoming score range of 300-499 pts, who made regular on-time payments, with regular on-time payments. Results may vary.
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Writer
A veteran wordsmith and research nerd, Brittany Wren spent a decade working in higher education where she helped people overcome challenges to chart a path forward. These days, she writes about personal finance, careers, parenting and education. Her content has been published by a wide variety of brands including T-Mobile, Intuit, LifeLock, Reliant Fund Administration and CURO Financial Technologies Corp.
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