Compare Prepaid Plans in United States

The United States is awash with great prepaid plans and providers. With prepaid plans, you pay for your service at the beginning of your billing cycle as opposed to at the end—plus you can skip the hassle of a credit check. They also have the potential to save you hundreds of dollars per year, especially if you’re currently with Verizon or AT&T, whose postpaid plans tend to be fairly expensive.

Since so many carriers, both big and small, offer prepaid plans, it can be challenging to discern which one is best for you. We’ve sifted through dozens of carriers to provide you with a list of the top prepaid plans—both limited data and unlimited data. Some of the most popular smaller providers (known as MVNOs) for prepaid plans include:

• Boost Mobile
• Metro by T-Mobile
• Cricket Wireless
• Virgin Mobile

Prefer a plan through a major carrier? Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile also offer unlimited prepaid plans.

Prepaid Limited Data Plans

Not everyone needs unlimited data. There are plenty of affordable limited data plans offered through both major carriers and MVNOs. As the name suggests, you are allotted a certain amount of data usage each month, depending on the plan you choose. Each carrier has different rules when it comes to rollover data and overage costs, so you’ll want to do your research.

2GB Prepaid Plans Compared

2GB certainly isn’t a lot of data, but if you mostly text and talk and only use social media every once in a while, 2GB may be enough for you. This may be especially true if you are connected to WiFi the majority of the time. Some carriers to check out for 2GB prepaid plans include:

• Tracfone
• Tello
• Twigby
• Cricket Wireless
• Gen Mobile
• FreeUp
• Verizon

5GB Prepaid Plans Compared

5GB data plans may be best for people who use social media, stream music, and surf the web. Again, if you’re connected to WiFi at work and/or at home, 5GB will mostly suffice any casual phone user’s needs. Some carriers that offer 5GB prepaid plans include:

• Twigby
• Simple Mobile
• US Mobile
• Ultra Mobile
• Red Pocket
• Pix Wireless

10GB Prepaid Plans Compared

10GB is typically enough data for a person on a single-line prepaid plan. With a 10GB prepaid plan, you should be able to stream videos and music, post on social media, and scroll to your heart’s delight. Carriers you may want to check out for a 10GB prepaid plan include:

• Metro by T-Mobile
• H2O Wireless
• Twigby
• US Mobile
• Red Pocket

Best Unlimited Prepaid Plans from MVNOs

MVNOs, or mobile virtual network operators, are small carriers that run on one or more of the four major networks—Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. Nearly every MVNO sells prepaid plans, although some certainly have better plans and deals than others.

Boost Mobile Unlimited Plus

For $60/month, you receive the following features and benefits:

• Unlimited talk, text, and data
• 30GB of mobile hotspot
• HD streaming

Boost Mobile’s Unlimited Plus plan is a flagship unlimited plan without a high price. It includes an amazing 30GB hotspot data allowance in addition to HD streaming. Plus (no pun intended) you can get 4 lines of Unlimited Plus for just $120/month.

Note that Boost Mobile runs on Sprint’s network, which has the weakest coverage out of the Big Four. This is something that you’ll want to take into consideration when choosing a plan that’s appropriate for you.

Metro by T-Mobile $60 Unlimited Plan

Metro by T-Mobile, previously MetroPCS, is a prepaid phone carrier owned by T-Mobile, and as such, customers on a Metro by T-Mobile plan receive the same great coverage as T-Mobile customers. This plan, which costs $60/month, includes:

• Unlimited talk, text, and data
• 100GB of Google One cloud storage
• Amazon Prime
• 15GB 4G LTE mobile hotspot
• DVD-quality video streaming

In addition to all of these great features, Metro Unlimited Plan subscribers don’t have to worry about potential slowing (known as data deprioritization) until they’ve used 35GB in a month.

Cricket Wireless Unlimited Extra Plan

Cricket Wireless is an MVNO that is owned by AT&T on operates on that network, making it a great choice for anyone who wants a budget-friendly plan with AT&T’s same quality coverage. Cricket’s Unlimited Extra plan costs $55/month on Auto Pay and includes the following features:

• Unlimited talk, text, and data
• Unlimited talk and data in Mexico and Canada (at least 50% of U.S. usage required)
• Unlimited text from the U.S. to 37 countries
• DVD-quality video streaming

Note that while Unlimited Extra includes great features and an awesome price, data speeds may be subject to slowing anytime the network is congested. With the Metro plan we just mentioned, this only happens after 35GB have been consumed in a month (which is a lot).

Virgin Mobile $60 Unlimited Plan

Virgin Mobile is a longtime prepaid player owned by Sprint and operating on the same network. As the name suggests, the Virgin Mobile’s Unlimited plan costs $60/month. It includes the following benefits:

• Unlimited talk, text, and data
• 50 domestic roaming minutes on select devices

As with the Metro by T-Mobile Unlimited plan, customers on this Virgin Mobile plan won’t experience potential data deprioritization until they use at least 35GB of data during the billing cycle.

Virgin Mobile operates on Sprint’s network, which finishes far behind the other three major carriers in coverage. If you tend to travel domestically a lot, the 50 roaming minutes may not suffice as you may often find yourself outside of their network.

Best Prepaid Unlimited Plans from the Main Carriers

AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have taken advantage of the growing popularity of prepaid phone plans by offering their own. These plans tend to be affordable alternatives to these carriers’ more expensive postpaid plans.

AT&T Prepaid $50 Monthly Plan

For $50/month, AT&T’s $50/month unlimited prepaid plan (on Auto Pay) includes the following features and perks:

• Unlimited talk, text, and data
• Unlimited text to over 100 other countries
• Unlimited talk and text in Mexico and Canada
• Data use in Mexico and Canada
• Auto Refill Credit Program, which provides you with a monthly $10 credit

Not only do you get many great features with AT&T’s Prepaid Unlimited plan, but you also benefit from AT&T’s quality coverage, which covers 58% of the country.

T-Mobile’s ONE Prepaid Plan

The T-Mobile unlimited ONE Prepaid plan is an excellent choice for anyone who wants all of the same benefits of the ONE postpaid plan without a credit check. It costs just $60/month and includes features like:

• Unlimited talk and text and 5GB of 4G LTE data in Mexico and Canada
• Unlimited text and data in more than 200 countries
• Unlimited mobile hotspot at 3G speeds
• Automatic WiFi calling and texting
• DVD-quality video streaming

Out of all the prepaid plans on this list, T-Mobile has the highest data deprioritization threshold—you must use more than 50GB of data in a month before data speeds are reduced. It’s highly unlikely that anyone will use that much data in a month, so you basically won’t ever experience slowed data.

Verizon Wireless $65 Prepaid Unlimited Plan

Going with Verizon entitles you to the best coverage in the country. Verizon’s Prepaid Unlimited Plan is an affordable alternative to Verizon’s postpaid plans, despite being the most expensive prepaid plan on this list. For $65, you receive:

• Unlimited talk, text, and data
• Unlimited calls to Mexico and Canada
• Unlimited text to over 200 countries

Compared to the prepaid plans offered by T-Mobile and AT&T, this plan is somewhat lacking in features. You’re essentially paying to have service on the top network in the country.

A real bummer about Verizon’s prepaid unlimited plan is that they may deprioritize your data speeds in favor of other customers during times of network congestion—and they can do this at any time, not just when you use a certain amount of data.