Looking for an individual plan for cell service from U.S. carriers can make you feel even more alone than heating up a frozen lasagna for one. Even though our wireless carriers have become better at simplifying and presenting plans, you’re still going to run into asterisks and exceptions that if misunderstood, could mean accidentally signing on for two years of contract hell by mistake.
Don’t get stuck with the wrong plan. We’ve compiled a comprehensive guide on how to pick the individual plan that best serves your needs and saves you money.
Choosing contractsDo you want a two-year contract?
If you’re looking to stick around with a plan for two years, you’ll have to pass on T-Mobile. As a part of the company’s “Uncarrier” plan, T-Mobile has done away with contracts entirely. There are a handful of different plans — the differences between them related only to data — but all of them are month-to-month, requiring no long-term commitment. C&c alpha group. If for some reason you’re desperate to get into the two-year territory, you’ll have to take a look at the other major carriers: Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T.
Because it’s not interested in making life easy for anyone, Verizon has two options that are hard to tell the difference between:
Verizon also has a program called Edge that has some vague benefits like getting out of contracts and upgrading devices early. The Edge contract is monthly and is only available to customers of seven months or longer, or those who pass a credit check. Single-line plans with Edge do have the added benefit of $15 off monthly line access up to 8GB and $25 off over 10GB. There’s also a $100 bill credit for new customers for each new line on the Verizon Edge plan.
Over at AT&T, things are a little simpler. Start with unlimited talk and text, then pick the level of data you want. We get into data next, so we won’t break it down here. If you want to go monthly with AT&T, you can save $15 a month on your bill.
Paying full price for your phone
The downside of contract-free plans is that you’ll have to pay the full, unsubsidized price of the smartphone of you buy. Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile let you pay installments on the device, typically $20 to $30 a month over a period of 24 months. The two-year contract option gives you the benefit of a nice discount on your new smartphone right from the get go. However, depending on which smartphone you buy and how often you like to upgrade, the two-year contract plan may end up costing you a whole lot more in the long run.
Contract-less plans can be cheaper over the long term and offer you more flexibility because you’ll be able to switch carriers at any time. If you decide to get a two-year contract, you’ll have to pay an early termination fee (ETF) if you leave the carrier before the contract period ends. At Verizon, ETFs cost as much as $350 with $10 knocked off for every month on contract and at AT&T, you’ll have to pay up to $325 with the same $10 off for every month on contract. Sprint’s ETF starts at $350 and remains the same until six months into the contract, then takes $10 off in month seven and $20 off every month after that — though your ETF will never drop below $100.
How much data do you need?
Since talk (phone calls) and texting come unlimited essentially by default from major carriers, the real place that you’ll have to make your decision — aside from the bottom line — is the amount of data you’ll need. This will depend on what you plan to do on your phone. If your primary use is entertainment — streaming videos, music, and the like — keep in mind that those things use megabytes of data quickly unless you do them on Wi-Fi networks. If you’re more of an email person who makes the occasional Google search, don’t pay for more than a gigabyte or two of data.
Also keep in mind your general proximity to Wi-Fi throughout the day. If you’re in the house, office, or hitting up public hotspots on a regular basis, you don’t need to dip into your well of data at all times. If you download stuff while on Wi-Fi, you may not use much at all. But if the Internet is how you pass the time on long commutes, business trips, or other stays away from a grounded connection, then having a bigger hopper of bandwidth is handy.
If you choose wrong or underestimating your usage, you’ll face overage charges. This is less than ideal, because carriers are not generous when it comes to spotting you some extra bandwidth.
First, it’s worth noting that T-Mobile doesn’t mess around with overages. You have a limit but if you exceed it, T-Mobile just cranks down your connection to 3G speed, or lower. It’s a minor inconvenience at worst, and considerably better than an extra charge on your monthly payment.
Verizon’s overage charge actually varies on your base data plan. If you purchase 1GB of data a month, you pay $15 for every additional 500MB you need. Purchase 2GB of data a month and you’ll get 1GB of data for the same $15. So if you spend more up front, you get a little more leeway on the backend if you need it. Regardless of the plan you get, you’ll pay at least $15 just for going over.
For those on AT&T, the overage process is similar. If you don’t choose a data plan, every MB you use is $2, which is, well, yikes. For those with data, you’ll pay a different rate depending on your plan—and that price will only get you so far. It’s $20 per 300MB on a 300MB plan, $20 per 500MB on a 1GB plan, and $15 per 1GB on all other plans.
Sprint’s overage cost is 1.5 cents for each MB. That works out to $15 per 1GB, the same as the upper level plans on Verizon and AT&T, but you don’t pay for it in a full chunk — you just pay for what you use. It’s the fairest overage system we’ve ever seen, other than T-Mobile’s complete lack of overages.
On Friday, Sprint added a new tier to its unlimited data plans called Unlimited Premium that includes Amazon Prime, Hulu, Tidal and a 50GB LTE mobile hotspot. The new plan will cost $90 a month and be the company's most expensive plan and yet for what's included one of the better values offered by any carrier.
This announcement falls on the heels of T-Mobile adding the Essentials unlimited data plan which, at $60 a month, is basically a cheaper version of the T-Mobile One plan without the free Netflix and international data. Both T-Mobile's Essentials plan and Sprint's Unlimited Premium plan are among the more than a dozen unlimited data plans offered by the four major US carriers. Keeping track of the ever-changing unlimited plans, prices and features can be exhausting. That's why we're here.
For over a year, the unlimited data wars between AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint have been heated to say the least. Each one tries to outdo the others in terms of price and how much data you actually get. On the one hand, unlimited data is like a bottomless cup of coffee at a diner: At some point you'll be cut off. On the other hand, many people don't actually need all that data -- or coffee for that matter.
For most people, these large data plans should be more than enough. But to make sense of what you actually get, we compared the unlimited plans from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon and all the fine print that came with them.
Now playing:Watch this: Jumping on AT&T's cheaper unlimited plan? Not so fast..
Editors' note: This article was originally published on Feb. 13, 2017. Since that time, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon all announced multiple changes to their unlimited data plans. The information below reflects the prices and features of unlimited plans as of Sept. 4, 2018.
Data limits, prioritization and throttling
The unlimited plans from the big four carriers all come with unlimited talk, texting and data -- oh, if only things were that straightforward. But there's a catch -- when you hit a certain data limit, your 4G LTE data speeds can be slowed temporarily or for the remainder of the billing cycle. Some carriers like Verizon send your data needs to the back of the line. Here's how each carrier handles prioritization and throttling when you cross your data limit:
Verizon: 'We may prioritize your data behind other Verizon customers during network congestion.'
T-Mobile: 'On all T-Mobile plans, during congestion, the small fraction of customers using more than 50GB per month may notice reduced speeds until next bill cycle due to prioritization.'
AT&T: 'On AT&T Unlimited &More Premium, after 22GB of data usage on a line in a bill cycle, for the remainder of the cycle a customer may temporarily experience reduced speeds on that line during times of network congestion. On AT&T Unlimited &More, for all data usage, customer may temporarily experience reduced speeds on these line(s) during times of network congestion.'
Sprint: 'Customers who use more than 50GB of data during a billing cycle will be 'deprioritized' during times & places where the Sprint network is constrained.'
Cost for a single line
Obviously, one of the reasons unlimited plans exist is to offer lots of data at a reasonable price -- reasonable enough to beat overage charges. Here's what a single line of unlimited data on each carrier costs. Sprint's Unlimited Plus at $70 per month and T-Mobile's One Plus at $80 per month are two of the best values giving you hotspot data and 1080p HD video streaming -- the higher price of the T-Mobile plan includes taxes, fees and surcharges.
A few notes on these plans:
Taxes, fees and surcharges
T-Mobile has done away with the taxes, fees and surcharges that phone plans normally have -- kind of. The carrier simplified pricing for its customers by folding those additional costs into the price of its plans. So a $60 per month plan on T-Mobile actually costs $60. Obviously, if you're financing your phone your bill will also include that cost.
AT&T, Sprint and Verizon data plan prices do not include taxes, surcharges or additional fees. Trying to estimate how much these will cost you is a study in patience because these additional costs vary quite a bit depending on where you live. To help this, each carrier has a site to help you estimate how much it those charges will be: AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.
Cost for additional lines
If you need additional lines of unlimited data, each of the big four has a range of prices. Below are the monthly prices for one, two, three and four line bundles.
Unlimited prepaid
All four carriers offer prepaid plans with unlimited data. For a more detailed comparison of prepaid plans from both major and regional carriers read our roundup of the best prepaid wireless plans for 2018.
HD video vs. SD video
Here's where things get tricky. Despite all these plans being unlimited, the carriers cheapest plans limit the videos you stream to 480p standard definition -- think DVD quality. That means if you're on T-Mobile Essentials, T-Mobile One, Sprint Unlimited Basic, AT&T Unlimited &More or Verizon gounlimited that streaming videos will not in HD. It would be such a bummer to have a Galaxy S9 with its gorgeous 2,960x1,440-pixel screen and only to be able to watch videos at less than one-tenth the resolution.
But if you pay more, and are on AT&T Unlimited &More Premium, Sprint Unlimited Plus, Sprint Unlimited Premium and T-Mobile One Plus the carriers let you use the unlimited data you bought to stream video at 1080p HD resolution. Verizon's higher cost beyondunlimited and aboveunlimited plans let you stream at HD, but it's only 720p.
Mobile hotspot data
All carriers offer hotspots with LTE data speeds, but not all plans do. Also, keep in mind there are limits on how much data you can use. Sprint's Unlimited Premium plan gives you 50GB of hotspot LTE data. T-Mobile One and Verizon's gounlimited give you unlimited mobile hotspot streaming at 3G speeds. AT&T Unlimited &More gives you nothing.
Unlimited plan savings
I recommend checking carrier websites from time to time for deals and discounts on unlimited data plans. For example, Sprint currently offers a $20 discount per month, per line on its Unlimited Basic plan when you bring your own device or buy one outright.
Carriers also offer discounts for members of the military, veterans and their families.
The final word
It is truly wonderful to have unlimited data options from all four major US carriers. This comparison of costs and features is just part of the bigger picture though. Keep in mind other factors that will hit your wallet: the cost of the phone, extended warranties, taxes, surcharges and activation fees -- the last three of which T-Mobile has folded into its pricing. It's also worth considering network coverage and the quality of that coverage, too.
But before you do anything, take a look at how much cellular data you're currently using. There's no need to be on an unlimited plan, if you don't use lots of data.
Here are links to each carrier's unlimited plans: Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon.
Best prepaid wireless plans for 2018: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, Boost and more compared.
Unlocked phones vs. locked: Everything you need to know.
Samsung Galaxy S9 (64GB, Lilac Purple)
Get Amazon Prime Day deals without being a member: You won’t have to pay a thing -- unless you buy something, of course.
7 best Prime Day shopping tips: Master these to snag the best deals on July 15.
Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links.
The Rundown
Individual Phone Plans Comparison Chart CanadaOur Top PicksBest Overall: Ting
Ting is a wireless re-seller that operates off both Sprint and T-Mobile’s 4G LTE networks and it's by far the cheapest. Unlike most wireless providers that offer pre-packaged plans, Ting’s offerings are a little more buffet style and allow you to select the number of lines you want (up to six), the number of minutes you want (up to unlimited), text messages (up to 18,000) and data plans that can go as high as 30GB.
To keep costs low, a single user can opt for 100 text messages, 100 minutes and 1GB of data for just $28 per month. A family of two with the exact same options increases that cost to only $34 per month. At the end of the day, customers use what they need and Ting bills appropriately.
Find out everything you need to know about cell phone plans if you have any uncertainties.
Best Individual: Project Fi
With a base rate of just $20 per month for unlimited U.S. calls and texts, Project Fi is an inexpensive option with plenty of highlights. Unlike the more traditional carrier model that offers set plans, Project Fi allows you to select the amount of data you want each month, which is payable in different increments. And every month, you’re only paying for the data you use and anything unused is credited back to your next monthly statement.
With a set rate of $10 per GB, it’s easy to calculate your bill right from the start, so expectations are easy and budgeting is a breeze. There’s only a smaller selection of Android-based phones available, so iPhone fans are out of luck, but if you’re OK with the device selection, Google’s Project Fi runs on both the Sprint and T-Mobile networks for nationwide 4G LTE coverage.
Best Pre-Paid: Mint Mobile
Mint Mobile offers some of the lowest prices for individual plans, with base rates of $15, $20, and $25 per month with three-, six-, and twelve-month plans. Each mobile package comes with unlimited “talk and text,” along with nationwide 4G LTE coverage, an included mobile hotspot, and 3GB of data to start off, with the option to expandto 12GB for $25 a month). Need more data? With one quick text, you can replenish your account in real time, for a small fee. Additionally, Mint offers a decent amount of flexibility with its plans, allowing you to switch between the various data packages with relative ease.
Switching to the Mint network is a hassle-free process: all you have to do is sign up online, choose your plan, and register your mobile device. While Mint sells an array of smartphones on their site, they also let users keep their current phone number and device, making for a seamless transition to their network.
Like this option? Read through our list of the best prepaid cell phone plans.
Best No Data: Republic Wireless
For millions of wireless users around the country, having a data plan is a must, but that’s not the case for everyone. If it's not a necessity to you, check out Republic Wireless and their $15 monthly rate for a plan that includes unlimited talk and text, no data required. In fact, Republic says nearly 20 percent of their customer base isre out and about.
Republic works with both Sprint and T-Mobile's 4G LTE networks, though it primarily operates off Wi-Fi calling in your home for a boosted signal and then defaults to whichever of the two carriers have the strongest cellular signal. With low rates and support by two carrier coverage maps, Republic is a standout choice for going without data.
Best Everyday: Sprint Unlimited Plus
For everyday cell phone users who want deep coverage and a slew of features, Sprint’s individual rate plan offerings are best-in-class. With two options overall, Sprint’s Unlimited Plus plan adds the first line for $70 with an additional $5 savings if you sign up for autopay. For $70 a month, you receive unlimited talk, text, and data, as well as access to Hulu’s limited commercial plan that is full of thousands of shows and movies, as well as 1080p video streaming.
If that’s too rich, for $60 a month Sprint offers a similar plan with unlimited talk, text, and data that includes limited international text messaging and Hulu, but which drops the streaming quality and hotspot data allowance. At the end of the day, Sprint’s individual rate plan is the least expensive among the four national carriers but still offers nearly the same features with Hulu streaming separating it from the pack.
Mount and blade warband rome. Share on:Waiting for Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlords? Mount & Blade: Warband’s best mods and where to get themIn anticipation of the sequel hopefully hitting its potential 2017 release date, we’ve rounded up some of the best mods for you to try in Warband as, and it’s a good a time as any to dip your toes into the water.Let us know if your favourites made the list, and if you have any suggestions of your own.
Best Unlimited: Boost Mobile
If you’re OK sacrificing some of the extras such as international roaming or a specialized streaming service tacked on to your plan for free, Boost Mobile offers the best-unlimited plan, dollar-for-dollar. With unlimited talk, text and data available for $50 a month, the plan includes 12GB of mobile hotspot and streaming mobile-optimized HD video up to 480p. Customers can upgrade for an additional $10 per month to increase streaming quality to 1080p HD, and with Boost Dealz customers can watch a few monthly advertising videos per month to reduce the cost of their billing statement.
Perhaps the biggest highlight of Boost’s $50 plan is the lack of additional taxes and fees. When the company says $50 per month, that’s the exact amount you’ll see on your bill every month until you make a switch. Add in BoostTV with free 24/7 live broadcasts and on-demand programming and Boost’s plan gets even more attractive.
Best for Streaming: Visible
Get the best of both worlds: Visible runs on Verizon’s network, so you can have the reliable coverage of a major phone carrier but at a bargain price. Visible offers unlimited talk, text, and data usage, for just $40 a month (no taxes or hidden fees, just one flat rate). The carrier’s main draw is its overall streaming capabilities; with 5Mbps, you’re essentially getting hyper-fast wireless connections and lag-free video streaming at 480p. Visible’s data package also turns your phone into a mobile hotspot, so you can enjoy your unlimited data access on any device.
Additionally, Visible supports the most recent Apple models, from the 6/6s to the iPhone X/XS/Max/XR, along with Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ and SE devices. You can purchase a new phone or keep your current device as long as it meets Visible’s compatibility requirements and has completed the most recent software updates.
Best for Seniors: Consumer Cellular
For senior citizens, the use of a cell phone is often more for emergencies, so peppering them with data plans and unlimited talk and text is unnecessary. Fortunately, providers such as Consumer Cellular offer rate plans dedicated to this age group and have inexpensive plans that keep costs to a minimum while providing peace of mind.
Consumer Cellular pricing starts around $20 for 250 minutes per month, 250MB of data, as well as unlimited text messages. Plans can jump north as high as $75 per month, but for most Consumer Cellular customers, the lower tier plans are the best solution.
As an added bonus, Consumer Cellular connects with AARP to offer their customers an additional five percent discount on monthly service. Customers can bring their own devices, but there’s also a wide selection of the latest devices, as well as flip phones that are designed with larger buttons and numbers for easier functionality.
Want to take a look at some other options for seniors? See our guide to thebest senior cell phone plans.
Best for Families: Cricket Wireless
A subsidy of AT&T, Cricket Wireless is a less expensive solution that piggybacks on the AT&T network and has less expensive rates for a more budget-minded customer. The cost savings stands out right away for a family of four, with four lines of unlimited data for just $100 (and that includes monthly taxes).
Star wars dark forces walkthrough. To see the cost savings, a similarly-featured rate plan on the AT&T parent network would cost around $180, which is a saving of around $960 per year by selecting Cricket Wireless. The Cricket rate plan gets you unlimited talk, text and data. Also included are unlimited texts from the U.S. to 38 countries, as well as unlimited calls, texts and picture messages to/from Mexico and Canada to the U.S.
Cricket also offers additional international plans for customers traveling overseas, plus an optional 8GB mobile hotspot plan for an added cost each month.
Individual Phone Plans Comparison Chart Unlimited Data
You might also be interested in checking out our roundup of the best family cell phone plans.
T Mobile PlansHow to compare mobile plans with the Mobile Plan finder engine
Choosing your next mobile plan is easy with the finder Mobile Plan comparison engine. Here's how it works:
Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |