Best Cheap Phone Plans for March 2024 – CNET
Cheapest option without data: As low as $0 a month
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<div content="LIST ITEM" superlative="Runner-up: $25 per line" description="
Verizon’s Visible restructured its unlimited plans last year, dropping the price for its base offering from $40 per month per line to $30. In doing so, it also tweaked some of the features, perhaps most notably removing access to Verizon’s fastest Ultra Wideband 5G network (for that you’ll need to pay $45 a month for the Visible Plus plan). The carrier also removed its Party Pay family-plan-like option, which allowed for rates as low as $25 a month.
The company has since brought back the $25 monthly rate for the base Visible plan and the company will no longer be capping speeds for those on its base plan to 200 Mbps (though it still won’t take advantage of Verizon’s fastest networks).
All that said, if you don’t need Verizon’s fastest possible speeds but want to be on Verizon’s network, it’s hard to beat this price. You still get an unlimited hotspot (capped at a maximum of 5Mbps speeds) and unlimited talk, text and data in the US. Taxes and fees are also included in this price.
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<div content="LIST ITEM" superlative="Second runner-up for single line: $25 per month, per line" description="
Boost Mobile has added an unlimited plan that offers unlimited talk, text and data to users for $25 a month with taxes and fees included. Unlike Mint Mobile’s 12-month plan, our previous pick in this slot, Boost’s plan isn’t tied to 12-month increments. You do need to be a new Boost customer, or an existing user who brings their own phone or buys one at full price, to get the offer.
The plan includes 5G access and 30GB per month of high-speed data (if you blow through that, your data will slow until your next billing month starts). Hotspot is included as well, with that data pulling from your high-speed allotment. One thing worth noting: You need to set up automatic payments to get the $25 monthly rate. Without it, it’s $35 per month.
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<div content="LIST ITEM" superlative="Best for a family of four: $80 per month for four lines" description="
Google’s phone service got a pricing revamp that makes it a much more appealing alternative to major providers. For a family of four, you can now get its Simply Unlimited plan for $80 per month ($20 per month, per line), which includes not only unlimited talk, text and 35GB of high-speed data but also 5GB of mobile hotspot use. There also is free roaming in Canada and Mexico, although taxes and fees aren’t included in the sticker price.
Google Fi Wireless runs largely on T-Mobile’s network and its service includes 5G access, now including iPhones, which were previously excluded from the fastest data connection.
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<div content="LIST ITEM" superlative="Runner-up: $100 a month for four lines" description="
US Mobile, which runs on Verizon’s network for its "Warp 5G" service and T-Mobile’s for its "GSM" offering, recently changed its plans again. Now its cheapest Unlimited Starter option starts at $25 per line, per month, which is a $5 increase per line compared with its prior Unlimited Basic offering, which for a family of four would run $80 per month (without including taxes or fees).
Taxes and fees are now included in the sticker price, and (after another recent change) you will now get 30GB of high-speed data (down from 40GB on Basic) and 5GB of hotspot data. To add more high-speed data, international roaming or streaming perks, you’ll need to step up to one of the carrier’s pricier Unlimited Essentials or Unlimited Premium plans.
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<div content="LIST ITEM" superlative="Runner-up: $100 a month for four lines" description="
AT&T’s prepaid brand has a decent deal if you’re looking for four lines: $25 a month for unlimited talk, text and data. A single line is $55 a month, but Cricket gives a solid discount if you’re willing to add more lines to the account.
Unlike Visible, this is a traditional-style family plan, where one person pays for all the lines, so you may want to do this with people you know and can rely on to pay on time. Although it’s nearly identical in price, Visible’s plan includes unlimited hotspot data, giving it the edge over Cricket. Like Visible, Cricket includes taxes in the price.
Cricket’s T-Mobile rival, Metro, has a similar four lines for $100 a month unlimited deal. At the moment, it’s back online as a promotional offer, but if that disappears, you may need to buy the plan in-store and switch providers to get the deal.
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<div content="LIST ITEM" superlative="Cheapest option without data: As low as $0 a month" description="
If you’re looking for service for a backup phone that’s rarely used, TextNow has a free plan. Running on T-Mobile’s network, the service offers free unlimited talk and unlimited texting, although ads are placed in its app that you use to call and text people. There isn’t any data included with this option, and removing the ads without adding data would run you $10 a month. If you want to watch YouTube, FaceTime or surf the web, you’ll need to connect to Wi-Fi.
Text messages are also done through the company’s TextNow app, not through iMessage or WhatsApp, which makes sense as those services require data.
If you need data, things get expensive quickly. An unlimited data hour pass runs $1 per hour, a day pass is $5 and a month is $40. If you need data, you’re better off going with a different provider than TextNow.
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TextNow’s free plan affords unlimited calls and text messages using actual cell towers, not Wi-Fi. There’s no data included, but ask yourself if you really need it.
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TextNow’s free plan affords unlimited calls and text messages using actual cell towers, not Wi-Fi. There’s no data included, but ask yourself if you really need it.
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TextNow’s free plan affords unlimited calls and text messages using actual cell towers, not Wi-Fi. There’s no data included, but ask yourself if you really need it.
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<div content="LIST ITEM" superlative="Cheapest option with limited data: One year with 1GB per month for $100" description="
US Mobile has a good option for 5GB of data for $15 a month, which beats comparably priced offers from Mint ($15 a month for 4GB of data), Boost Mobile ($15 for 2GB of data) and others.
Boost has a $100 deal for new customers that offers 1GB of data per month for a full year. That breaks down to $8.33 a month if you prepay for a year. Boost offers service on AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks today, although parent company Dish is in the process of building out its own wireless network.
If you don’t have Boost, you largely use Wi-Fi (but still want some data), and price is the biggest driver for you, then this is the go-to pick for a new service. To find this plan, choose the 12-month option on Boost’s page.
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<div data-cy="infoCard" id="6593f28e-1ea7-46c4-9c26-5f1120df7abd" hed="How we test" description="
Picking a wireless plan and carrier is a personal process. What works for you and your family’s needs may vastly differ from what suits your friends or neighbors. Even geographically, some areas have better AT&T coverage while others work best on Verizon or T-Mobile (and vice versa). Our picks are based on over a decade of covering and evaluating wireless carriers, their offerings and their performance.
Since choosing a provider is unique, we focus on larger plans and the value they provide; as well as calling out ways you can test the different networks in your area for yourself so you can make the best pick.
” primary-topic-slug=”wireless-plans” tocid=”toc-540f8955-fb8c-41cd-b0d0-68e004e494f0-item-3″ class=”c-infoCard g-outer-spacing-bottom-large c-infoCard-leftRail”>
Picking a wireless plan and carrier is a personal process. What works for you and your family’s needs may vastly differ from what suits your friends or neighbors. Even geographically, some areas have better AT&T coverage while others work best on Verizon or T-Mobile (and vice versa). Our picks are based on over a decade of covering and evaluating wireless carriers, their offerings and their performance.
Since choosing a provider is unique, we focus on larger plans and the value they provide; as well as calling out ways you can test the different networks in your area for yourself so you can make the best pick.
<div data-cy="infoCard" id="e437b3ad-7522-4cf5-ae09-76df9831a4a0" hed="Cheap phone plans FAQs" description="<shortcode shortcode="cnetlisticle" content="LIST ITEM" id="e5bd4eca-c37b-48eb-be51-a947c898d676" hed="What about carrier discounts?" superlative="" description="
If you want to stick with a major carrier such as AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile, one easy way to save is to take advantage of its discounts. All of the carriers offer additional discounts that you could be eligible for, depending on your employer, military status, student status or age.
First responders, military members, veterans, nurses and teachers can get discounts on every major carrier. Verizon has discounts for students, while T-Mobile’s Work perk could knock 15% off Go5G Plus plan. AT&T offers a similar program for its Unlimited Elite and Premium plans that it calls Signature and has rolled out a promotion for teachers that offers 25% off its latest unlimited plans.
If you’re 55 or older, you may also be eligible for a discounted plan: T-Mobile offers discounted plans nationwide for as low as $55 a month for two lines, and Verizon and AT&T offer similar options — but only for Florida residents.
We’ve also rounded up the best plans at the Big Three.
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If you want to stick with a major carrier such as AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile, one easy way to save is to take advantage of its discounts. All of the carriers offer additional discounts that you could be eligible for, depending on your employer, military status, student status or age.
First responders, military members, veterans, nurses and teachers can get discounts on every major carrier. Verizon has discounts for students, while T-Mobile’s Work perk could knock 15% off Go5G Plus plan. AT&T offers a similar program for its Unlimited Elite and Premium plans that it calls Signature and has rolled out a promotion for teachers that offers 25% off its latest unlimited plans.
If you’re 55 or older, you may also be eligible for a discounted plan: T-Mobile offers discounted plans nationwide for as low as $55 a month for two lines, and Verizon and AT&T offer similar options — but only for Florida residents.
We’ve also rounded up the best plans at the Big Three.
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