Metro’s Heritage Plan ($60 per month for one line, $120 per month for four lines)
Best unlimited plans with perks
Most cellphone users subscribe directly to mobile providers like AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon for their wireless service. However, there is a way to save money on your mobile plan, and that’s by going for smaller providers. They can get you reliable service at a cheaper rate. Traditional wireless providers tout unlimited data plans as the big attraction, but smaller carriers still offer a variety of plans with high-speed data or even a better price on unlimited plans. If you want to switch over, these are the best prepaid phone plans for October 2023.
Boost Mobile will use a combination of AT&T, T-Mobile and parent Dish’s own network.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Know the prepaid phone plan promos and deals
As with the leading carriers, there are periods when the prepaid players offer deals. Boost Mobile used to run a promo for new customers that let you get three lines with unlimited talk, text and data for $90 per month ($30 per line) after “your first payment of $100.” It has since added a new unlimited plan that is $25 per month for new users, though each line must be separate and cannot be grouped on a family plan.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Pros: Runs on T-Mobile’s network, more high-speed data than some comparably priced plans from other prepaid rivals, includes hotspot data and free international calls to Mexico and Canada.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Pros: Runs on T-Mobile’s network, good pricing and perks like hotspot data, Amazon Prime and Google One storage.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Pros: Very cheap rate for 1GB of data, runs on AT&T, T-Mobile and Dish’s own network.
Will your area get good cell coverage?
As I noted when covering the best unlimited plans, to get the most out of your deal you need to make sure you have the coverage you need. This makes it hard to give a blanket recommendation of any one carrier: T-Mobile’s service in New York may be excellent, but if you’re in, say, rural Iowa, Verizon is more reliable.
