U.S. Cellular Plans

Offering a variety of phone plans from prepaid to postpaid to family plans, U.S. Cellular has the fourth-largest mobile network in the United States. And while it’s less well known and less robust than its larger counterparts—AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon—it’s still considered one of the major carriers.

It’s worth mentioning that because U.S. Cellular’s network is much less robust, it relies, in part, on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon’s networks via roaming agreements—for areas where it provides limited to no coverage with its own network.

Compare U.S. Cellular phone plans

U.S. Cellular offers several different postpaid and prepaid plans to choose from, ranging from $30/month to $75/month. These phone plans also offer decent features, such as:

• Mobile hotspot
• International roaming
• Redbox movie rentals
• Data payback programs

U.S. Cellular unlimited plans

U.S. Cellular’s unlimited plans range in price from $55/month to $75/month, and you can choose between postpaid and prepaid options. Each U.S. Cellular unlimited plan has a high-speed data threshold, meaning data speeds may be slowed when the network is busy once you’ve met your data threshold—with the highest being 50GB and the lowest being 15GB. Keep in mind, however, that with U.S. Cellular’s lowest tiered unlimited plan (Basic Plan), you may experience slower data speeds during times of network congestion at any point during your billing cycle.

Whether you want to go with a prepaid or postpaid unlimited data plan depends on your priorities. Prepaid unlimited plans grant you the benefits of unlimited data without the hassle of a credit check, while most of the U.S. Cellular postpaid plans include higher premium data thresholds, as well as some additional perks, such as a high-speed hotspot allowance. The good thing about U.S. Cellular’s unlimited plans is the prices—they tend to be a bit cheaper than the unlimited plans offered by the other major carriers.

U.S. Cellular limited data plans

If you’re not a heavy data user, U.S. Cellular offers a handful of limited data plans to choose from as well ranging from $30/month to $45/month. For those who’d prefer the simplistic approach, there’s a plan that includes just talk and text and pay-as-you-go data at $0.03/MB.

Otherwise, you can choose from a 2GB postpaid plan and a 5GB prepaid plan. The 2GB plan is a decent option if you have near-constant WiFi access and only use your phone for basic activities, such as web browsing and emailing. The 5GB plan is probably a better option for most modern phone users, but it’s still not a great choice if you’re going to be streaming video and music. These limited plans can help save you a bit of money if you’re confident that the allotments are feasible for your needs.

U.S. Cellular unlimited plans vs. other major carriers

As far as pricing and features are concerned, U.S. Cellular stacks up decently against the competition—however, things like streaming subscriptions and international roaming features are often included with  AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon’s plans, whereas U.S. Cellular’s plans (for the most part) don’t include as many perks. Below you can compare how U.S. Cellular’s plans stack up against other major carrier’s unlimited plans.