Mint Mobile review: The top budget carrier for long-term value

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Mint Mobile is one of the frontrunners in the budget phone plan market with its robust marketing strategy and clear and concise plans that readily simplify managing your phone plan. Its plans cost as low as $15/month, and all plans include unlimited calling and texting, access to high-speed data through T-Mobile's network across the US, and free calls and texts to Canada and Mexico. 

In brief, Mint Mobile offers prepaid plans that allow users to manage their data easily. It features three-, six-, and 12-month plans, each with a low monthly rate. You can get exceptional value by signing up for a whole year. But at the very least, you can take advantage of a discounted rate for the first three months with Mint Mobile's new customer offer. One of the best cheap cell phone plans available, the promotion sets each of the carrier's three-month plans, including the unlimited (40GB) plan, at low prepaid rates, starting at $15/month.

We've reviewed Mint Mobile through long-term use in New York City, continually testing the fundamentals: call quality, data speed, and general coverage. We've also noted the setup process, plan offerings, and some other basics that one would look for when switching carriers.

Plan offerings and flexibility

Mint Mobile's offerings have always been geared toward those seeking savings in the long term, in that their three-, six-, and 12-month prepaid plans offer progressively better value with longer-term payments.

Mint Mobile's introductory three-month plans are discounted with a new customer promotion. After the promotional period, the plans reset to standard rates, as detailed in the successive tables below. 

Mint Mobile introductory 3-month plans

Mint Mobile 3-month plans

Mint Mobile 6-month plans

Mint Mobile 12-month plans

*Mint's Unlimited plans offer a 10GB maximum on hot spot data pulled from your monthly data allotment of 40GB. In contrast, all other plans pull from your monthly data allotment without a specific cap. 

All of Mint's prepaid plans include unlimited talk and text, free calling to Mexico and Canada from the United States, and WiFi calling and texting. You can also use your 5G and LTE data access for a high-speed hot spot if you wish. It's worth noting that once your monthly high-speed data cap is reached, you'll have slower data speeds; however, you'll still have access to unlimited data at those lower speeds, so you won't be entirely cast adrift if you meet your data max. 

Before signing up, you'll want to confirm that your phone is compatible with Mint Mobile. Nearly all 5G or 4G LTE-supported phones that use SIM cards or eSIMs will be compatible. To be sure, you can use the compatibility checker provided on their site by entering your phone's brand and model (or, even better, your phone's IMEI number, which you can find by dialing *#06# or in your phone's settings). 

From there, your setup will be fairly straightforward, either through a straightforward eSIM activation or through the "cleverness kit" that comes with the shipment of a new SIM card. The kit includes instructions on how to keep your existing phone number and a QR code to download the Mint Mobile app easily. It refers to additional tips on their YouTube channel, which has a series of designated videos for setup assistance. 

After inputting your SIM card or activating an eSIM, the Mint Mobile app will guide you through the basics of setup. It provides a quick overview of how to use the app and a few checkpoints that confirm whether you want to keep your preexisting phone number. The setup takes less than five minutes, and the app assistance is useful and informative.

If you're unsure whether you'll like the service, you can try Mint Mobile risk-free with their 7-day free trial. With 250 minutes, 250 texts, and 250MB of data included, the trial will allow you to see how it compares to your existing plan, and you can switch back to your previous plan at any time during the trial if it's not for you.

See our guide to the best Mint Mobile plans and deals for the MVNO's latest offers.

Coverage area

As with other MVNOs like Tello Mobile, Mint Mobile runs on T-Mobile's network, so their coverage maps are the same.

Mint has a coverage map on its site that you can use to check if your address is covered by its network; if it is, you'll likely be able to do anything from talk and text to downloading and streaming HD video over high-speed data, subject to deprioritization during local congestion on T-Mobile's network.  

In our testing experience, Mint's coverage far outperformed major carriers like AT&T in New York City, which isn't surprising, as it's generally known that T-Mobile works better in urban areas than AT&T, but the difference was significant.

Where AT&T provided inconsistent and unreliable coverage across testing locations, Mint proved to be more dependable in its coverage in each, including at Business Insider's office in Manhattan, on a walk through Brooklyn's Prospect Park, and various other locations in the city.

Again, Mint Mobile's coverage map will be a crucial initial step for any prospective Mint Mobile customer. Coverage will vary depending on location and should be paramount in your decision to switch carriers. However, as coverage maps are ultimately approximations that may not reflect usability on the ground, we recommend checking with local acquaintances, neighbors, or social media to ensure that T-Mobile covers your area.

If you know that T-Mobile works, you may also want to check our Mint Mobile vs. T-Mobile and Mint Mobile vs. Tello Mobile guides to compare the exact offerings between T-Mobile and the top two budget carriers backed by its network. 

If you know Verizon more effectively covers your location, you're likely better off with Verizon or its MVNO, Visible Wireless. For a comprehensive breakdown of the services, see our guides to Mint Mobile vs. Verizon and Mint Mobile vs. Visible.

Service reliability and speeds

To test Mint Mobile's service reliability in New York City, we viewed and downloaded posts from some of the most-used apps on many people's phones: YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. While videos loaded perfectly on YouTube with no buffering, we've encountered minor loading issues with Instagram and, more prominently, with TikTok.

On TikTok, each video took a few seconds to load over data. While it was only a matter of a second or two of buffering time, those seconds make a difference when discussing an app with a primary focus on instantaneous content generation. Though the app worked perfectly when connected to WiFi and the loading time over data was minimal, if you're one to scroll through TikTok while on the go, you may grow tired of this barrier to immediacy.

In testing phone and video calls, we had mixed results. Phone calls had zero issues, backed by reliable service and good call quality. Video calls were a different story. For instance, video calls made over Google Meet while connected to a full 5G connection were occasionally grainy, and the audio lagged consistently. Tested again with a WiFi connection, Google Meet presented no issue, as graininess and lagging had fully resolved. 

We attribute the occasional poor call quality to deprioritization, an unfortunate byproduct of Mint's use of T-Mobile's network, as T-Mobile customers have faster data speeds than Mint customers in congested areas. However, as New York City is particularly crowded, your experience can vary widely depending on your location.

Customer support

With Ryan Reynolds at the helm, Mint Mobile's advertising, user interface, and customer support are really where the company shines. Straightforward language, readily available FAQs and other support, and a user-friendly app create a cohesive and uncomplicated experience as a Mint customer. 

From the jump, Mint's advertising has appealed to its audience directly and simply, and they carry this attitude throughout the customer journey if you have questions as you go along. The app includes a data usage indicator on the home dashboard to keep track of your usage each month, and you can easily make payments or adjust your plan through the app. 

From a user standpoint, managing your plan and making necessary changes is refreshingly simple. The online chat and phone support are also responsive, with almost no wait time, and agents who are well-versed in their subject matter and friendly.

Should you sign up for Mint Mobile?

If you know that T-Mobile's nationwide network covers you, Mint Mobile is a worthwhile budget option for cell service that has long been our top overall pick among the best cheap cell phone plans.

In our testing, Mint Mobile has consistently provided reliable service. We've been able to send and receive texts and calls with no issues, and occasional loading issues were mostly minimal and concentrated on data-intensive apps. Poor-quality video calls were a circumstantial blemish on an otherwise excellent carrier experience. 

Mint Mobile is a cost-effective service with simple-to-digest materials, readily accessible customer support, and easily adjustable plan management. These user-experience factors and its potential for long-term value place it ahead of its competition. 

The amount you'll save on a plan through Mint is significant compared to what you can expect to spend with most large carriers. With access to T-Mobile's extensive coverage network, it's a great value overall; the only catch is that you'll need to pay for your data in advance and may experience slower speeds behind T-Mobile's higher-paying customers with some frequency, depending on your location. 

FAQs

Who owns Mint Mobile?

T-Mobile owns Mint Mobile. The major carrier finalized an acquisition of the MVNO in May 2024. Thus far, it has effectively changed nothing for the average Mint customer from a user standpoint, as the carriers already shared T-Mobile's network.

Does Mint Mobile work abroad?

With Mint Mobile, you can make international calls to more than 160 countries on a pay-per-minute basis (besides calls and texts to Mexico and Canada, which are free and included with your Mint plan). International calls cost 1 to 60 cents per minute, depending on the destination. 

If you want to use your Mint Mobile plan while abroad, you'll need to use international roaming credits, which you can add to your Mint Mobile balance on their website or in the Mint Mobile app. In increments of $5, $10, or $20, you can add international roaming credits to your balance, allowing you to text, call, and use data overseas in more than 180 countries. 

How does Mint Mobile's family plan work?

Mint's "Modern Family" plan doesn't operate the same way other carriers tend to market their family plans; where some carriers might have a discount for adding lines to the family plan, Mint's plan charges the same amount per line as the first one.

The "family" aspect is about managing plans cleanly in one place rather than the price differential. You can start a plan with as little as two lines, and each line will cost differently depending on the data you've allotted it, so you could have a family plan with one unlimited data line, one 15GB line, and one 5GB line if you so choose.

Though it doesn't provide multi-line discounts, Mint's offerings can still constitute some of the best family cell phone plans for long-term value. The MVNO also offers the option to make payments in three-month increments for those who opt for a 12-month plan, alleviating the burden of making a full annual payment up front.

How does Mint Mobile's unlimited plan work?

Mint Mobile's unlimited plan is one of the cheapest unlimited data plans, starting at $30/month. Technically, "unlimited data" means 40GB of high-speed data (subject to deprioritization). After 40GB, you'll still have access to data, but at significantly slower speeds.

Unlike the best cell phone plans from major carriers, unlimited plans from Mint Mobile and most MVNOs are nominally "unlimited" in that they offer a set amount of high-speed data subject to deprioritization. Notable exceptions are the Visible Plus plan from Visible Wireless, which offers 50GB of prioritized high-speed data for $35/month with a current discount, and US Mobile's Verizon-backed unlimited plans, which start at $25/month for 35GB of prioritized data.