The best cheap cell phone plans in 2025

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The best cheap cell phone plans offer dependable coverage, fast speeds, and enough data for your needs at inexpensive prices. Affordable plans typically come from carriers known as mobile virtual network operators (or MVNOs), and choosing the right plan will depend on your location, budget, and priorities.

Among the best cheap cell phone plans, our top pick from extensive testing is Mint Mobile's introductory three-month offer. The promotion discounts each of our favorite MVNO's three-month prepaid plans for new customers, with rates starting at just $15/month. The cheapest cell phone plan we can recommend is Tello Mobile's Build Your Own plan, which lets you customize your data and minutes and can cost as low as $5/month. 

Our top picks for the best cheap cell phone plans

Best overall: Mint Mobile (Introductory 3-Month Plans) - See at Mint Mobile

Best overall alternative: US Mobile (Unlimited Starter plan) - See at US Mobile

Cheapest plan: Tello Mobile (Build Your Own plan) - See at Tello Mobile

Best unlimited plan: Visible Wireless (Visible Plus plan) - See at Visible Wireless

Best international plan: US Mobile (Unlimited Premium plan) - See at US Mobile

Best overall

Mint Mobile's new customer promotion is an affordable entry point to reliable service from a carrier that can offer serious savings in the long term. It's our top recommendation for most people looking to try out their first MVNO, as long as T-Mobile's network in the US adequately covers them.

The introductory offer sets each of Mint Mobile's three-month prepaid plans at low prices. You can get 5GB, 15GB, 20GB, or unlimited monthly data at discounted rates, starting at $15/month. Those transferring from Verizon or AT&T can even add a second three-month line to the promotion for free.

Mint Mobile's prepaid plans for three, six, or 12 months offer affordable high-speed data on T-Mobile's network and streamlined plan management. T-Mobile owns Mint Mobile, and the MVNO's plans include high-speed data on the major carrier's 4G/LTE and 5G networks (subject to deprioritization in congested areas), with slower 3G speeds after you've reached your data cap.

Following the promotional period, any of Mint Mobile's annual plans provide the best value, as the monthly prices and data tiers remain the same as the introductory three-month offer. The carrier's 5GB ($15/month) and 15GB ($20/month) plans offer exceptional value relative to the MVNO competition and most options from major carriers, as we note in our guides to Mint Mobile vs. T-Mobile and Mint Mobile vs. Verizon.

The overall customer and user experience makes Mint Mobile stand out among phone service providers broadly. Its user-friendly setup and app experience, readily accessible customer support and FAQs, and easy-to-understand language, in addition to its price point, make it an easy recommendation.

While Mint Mobile's introductory three-month promotion makes it our top pick for applicable users, several options below may provide better short- or long-term value, depending on your use case and coverage area.

Read our full Mint Mobile review.

Best overall alternative

US Mobile's Unlimited Starter plan, priced at $25/month (or $270/year), is a remarkable option among plans from budget carriers for its value and unique flexibility.

Like many MVNOs, US Mobile operates on major carrier networks. However, US Mobile is a singular option in that it offers the choice between Verizon's, AT&T's, and T-Mobile's full networks, including their fast high-band 5G networks. You can even switch networks twice for free or periodically for a small fee, so you can try out which network works best for your use case, whether for coverage, data speeds, or a particular scenario, like traveling. 

US Mobile's names for Verizon's, T-Mobile's, and AT&T's networks are "Warp," "Light Speed," and "Dark Star," respectively. Only the Warp network comes with high-end prioritized data (labeled "QCI 8") for 5G phones, whereas the base Light Speed and Dark Star networks include deprioritized data. However, the Dark Star network offers prioritized data for an additional monthly or annual fee.

In our testing of Light Speed, the T-Mobile-backed network, we didn't see much of an impact from chance deprioritization, nor can we directly tell, as there's no direct indication of it or notification specifying as much. Whichever network you pick, US Mobile's Unlimited Starter monthly plan price stays the same even if you "network transfer," or switch between networks, which the MNVO lets you do twice without an additional fee (and for only $2/transfer afterward).

The Unlimited Starter plan's 35GB of high-speed data should be more than enough for the vast majority of users. If you end up using more than 35GB, US Mobile reduces your data speeds to 1Mbps until the end of the billing cycle. 1Mbps is significantly faster and more usable than the reduced speeds on other carriers, which vary between dubiously slow 40 and 256Kbps speeds. 

To be sure, some budget carriers, like Visible Wireless (listed below), don't include any data caps for speed. Instead, they offer deprioritized data that can potentially slow down without warning when the host network is experiencing congestion. That's a great proposition, but US Mobile's option to switch between networks at any time, along with the other benefits listed above for the Unlimited Starter plan, makes it a better overall value for most people.

Read our full US Mobile review. 

Cheapest cell phone plan

Tello Mobile's varied options are the cheapest phone plans we can recommend, and they happen to offer the most customization.

In particular, with Tello's Build Your Own plan, you can customize minutes and data allotment for each line on your account, making it a great choice to cover the basics for kids, grandparents, students, or anyone who uses a limited amount of monthly data or is simply on a strict budget.

Like an even less expensive (and comparatively bare bones) version of Mint Mobile, Tello is an MVNO that runs on T-Mobile's network. Its data speeds are likewise subject to deprioritization at any time behind the major carrier's higher-paying customers. See our Mint Mobile vs. Tello guide for a comparative analysis of the two budget carriers backed by T-Mobile. 

As you build your plan on Tello, you choose your monthly data amount (from no data to 1GB, 2GB, 5GB, 10GB, 15GB, or unlimited) and your monthly minutes (none, 100, 300, 500, or unlimited), the combination of which can add up to $5/month at the cheapest and $25/month at the most expensive. 

The Build Your Own plan is particularly enticing if you want to specify a data allotment on a per-line basis, such as setting low data limits for kids who just got their first phone while allowing them unlimited minutes to stay in contact.  

Read our full Tello Mobile review.

Best unlimited plan

Verizon's budget-friendly carrier, Visible Wireless, offers an excellent option for truly unlimited data and extensive coverage with its Visible Plus plan. While it typically costs $45/month, the Visible Plus plan is discounted to $35/month through March 31.

Even with the discount, the Visible Plus plan has the highest monthly price of all the plans included in this guide. However, it provides by far the most high-speed monthly data and the closest approximation to the high-end unlimited plans from major carriers. It guarantees 50GB of prioritized data while your phone is connected to Verizon's full 5G and LTE networks before you experience any form of artificial data deprioritization.

Though Visible Plus deprioritizes data after you've used up 50GB in a month (a herculean task for most people), you won't notice a difference in data speeds or usability unless you're in an area experiencing heavy network traffic at the specific time you're using your phone. Even if your data is actively being deprioritized, you may not even notice.

For those who routinely use massive amounts of data and warrant a truly unlimited plan, that's an enticing proposition, as some MVNOs and budget-friendly carriers dramatically reduce speeds to frankly unusable speeds until the next billing cycle if you exceed your plan's allotted data. 

The Visible Plus plan also provides extended coverage with 5G Ultra Wideband areas for top-tier speeds, though Verizon's standard coverage (and the Visible base plan's coverage) is already very good. Before signing up, check Visible's coverage map to ensure adequate coverage in the areas you frequent.

If you aren't covered well by Verizon or could tolerate the occasional data lag from deprioritization, you might be better served by the comparatively inexpensive, T-Mobile-backed unlimited plans from Mint Mobile or Tello. See our guides to Mint Mobile vs. Visible and Tello vs. Visible for comparative breakdowns of the MVNOs.

Visible updated its plans in 2024 to include an annual payment option (versus the standard monthly payment option), which reduces the Visible Plus plan's price to $33/month ($395/year) — an incredible value if it's within your budget.

Read our full Visible Wireless review.

Best international plan

It's surprising that so many budget-oriented carriers and plans have international features, and some have pretty decent ones. However, none are as comprehensive as US Mobile's Unlimited Premium plan.

In addition to an expansive domestic offering of 100GB of monthly data and up to 100GB of mobile hot spot data, the US Mobile Unlimited Premium plan offers unlimited calling and texting from the US to more than 200 countries. If you're traveling abroad to one of the more than 180 supported countries, you get up to 10GB of data and 1,000 minutes and texts, depending on the country and which of US Mobile's major carrier-backed networks you plan to use.

You can check the MVNO's supported countries list to see whether its "Light Speed" (T-Mobile), "Dark Star" (AT&T), or "Warp" (Verizon) network offers the best assortment of benefits for a particular destination and choose a network before you travel. Notably, the Unlimited Premium plan allows you to "teleport" or switch between networks an unlimited number of times each month. In contrast, all other US Mobile plans are limited to two all-time teleports without additional fees.

No doubt, at its typical cost of $44/month, US Mobile's Unlimited Premium plan is on the pricier side when thinking about "cheap" phone plans, but keep in mind that US Mobile offers an annual option that reduces the price to $32.50/month (totaling $390/year).

If the premium price tag is out of reach, US Mobile's Unlimited Starter plan offers a minimalist international data package with 1GB of monthly data through its annual payment option. 

Alternatively, if you don't need as much domestic data as the Unlimited Premium plan offers in a typical month, you can sign up for US Mobile's Unlimited Starter plan on a monthly basis, so you pay less when you're at home and only upgrade to the Unlimited Premium plan for the times you're traveling. 

Read our full US Mobile review. 

How we test cheap cell phone plans

As with our testing for the best cell phone plans overall, we spend at least a week with a specific plan from a budget phone carrier, often longer, and primarily assess the quality of the plan and carrier by the following criteria:

• Plan offerings and flexibility: We consider the pricing and features included in a carrier's range of plans and assess its flexibility in allowing you to switch out of or between plans. 
• Coverage area: For MVNOs, we note the approximate coverage area provided by the network or networks backing a budget carrier and evaluate whether particular locations consistently match their purported coverage type (e.g., 5G or 4G/LTE). 
• Service reliability and speeds: In consistent testing locations, we assess the reliability of phone and video calls, note how fast videos and apps load over cellular data, and, with MVNOs, mark any apparent effects of deprioritization on service speeds.  
• Customer support: We make a holistic assessment of a carrier's customer support system and online (or in-person) user experience for setup, use, and troubleshooting. 

We also take into account secondary considerations such as ongoing discounts and any other notable perks or outstanding features.

What to look for in a cheap cell phone plan

If you aren't in the market for plans from major carriers, you have no shortage of options for spending less on a phone plan, as affordable carriers have proliferated in recent years. 

The best cheap cell phone plan for you will primarily reflect your needs for monthly data and minutes, the constraints of your budget, and the coverage of your local area by the network or networks backing a particular plan. 

We set a few baseline criteria in choosing plans for this guide, in that all the plans listed above cost no more than $50/month and, as with most MVNO plans, do not require a contract.

Before signing up for a service, take a granular look at the coverage map that an MVNO should make readily accessible on their website — marking the US network range of its backing carrier — and appraise the coverage of your location to ensure dependable service.

Best overall

Mint Mobile's prepaid plans for three, six, or 12 months offer affordable options for customers to easily manage all lines on their plan in one place and adjust their data allotments at any time. 

Your best point of entry into the Mint Mobile landscape is its current new customer promotion that sets its three-month plans at the following reduced rates: $15/month for 5GB, $20/month for 15GB, $25/month for 20GB, and $30/month for "unlimited" data, which includes 40GB of high-speed data (subject to deprioritization in congested areas), with slower speeds once you've hit that cap.

The overall experience as a customer is what makes Mint Mobile stand out among the competition. Its user-friendly setup and app experience, readily accessible support and FAQs, and easy-to-understand language make it an easy recommendation in addition to the price point.

However, after your promotional three months are up, any of Mint's 12-month plans will provide the most savings, as the monthly price and data remain the same as the three-month plans. All are great deals; in particular, the 5GB ($15/month) and 15GB ($20/month) plans are well-priced considering the competition.

Consider your data usage patterns before signing up, but know that you can change your plan at any time with no added cost with Mint's excellent app or website.

Read our full Mint Mobile review. 

Best true budget plan

The varied plans from Tello Mobile are the cheapest options we can recommend, and they offer the most customization.

With Tello's Build Your Own plan, in particular, you can adjust the minutes and data allotment for each line on your account, making it a great choice to cover the basics for a teen, grandparent, student, or anyone who uses a minimum amount of data or is simply on a budget.

As you build your plan, you choose your monthly data amount (from no data to 500MB, 1GB, 2GB, 5GB, 10GB, or unlimited) and your monthly minutes (none, 100, 300, 500, or unlimited), the combination of which adds up to $5/month at the cheapest and $29/month at the most expensive. 

The Build Your Own plan is particularly nice if you want to specify a data allotment per line — for example, setting data limits for a teen who just got their first phone while allowing them unlimited minutes. 

Read our full Tello Mobile review.

Best unlimited plan

For high-speed data and extensive coverage, Verizon has your back with Visible Wireless. Our top pick for a budget unlimited plan is Visible's upgraded Visible+ plan, available (until February 14) at a promotional rate of $35/month for up to two years — a $10 monthly discount from its typical $45/month rate.

While the Visible+ plan has the highest price point of all the MVNOs we've included in this list, even with its current promotion, it also provides by far the most high-speed monthly data and the closest approximation to "unlimited" data, as it guarantees 50GB of high-speed data before you experience any form of deprioritization.

Most of the nominally "unlimited" plans from MVNOs — including Visible's base unlimited plan ($25/month) — offer data subject to deprioritization at any time behind the higher-paying customers of the MVNO's backing network. If you're in an area with a lot of network congestion, you could encounter deprioritized speeds at any time on such an "unlimited" plan, but you won't see any deprioritization within your monthly allotment of  50GB of high-speed data on the Visible+ plan.

The Visible+ plan also provides extended coverage with 5G "Ultra Wideband" areas, though Verizon's standard coverage (and the Visible base plan's coverage) is already very good. Before signing up, check Visible's coverage map to ensure you're covered.  

Read our full Visible Wireless review.

Best international plan

Google Fi Wireless has three plans at different pay tiers, each offering access to coverage provided by T-Mobile and basic benefits like VPN usage and select smartwatch compatibility. 

The low-tier Flexible plan allows for pay-what-you-use monthly data at $10/GB plus a base monthly rate of $20 per phone line. That's expensive compared to other MNVOs on this list, and Google Fi doesn't come especially recommended if you don't need international features.  

If you need international features, though, Google Fi's Flexible plan includes international roaming for the same price as domestic data usage at $10/GB, so you won't have to worry about being charged an exorbitant price while using your phone internationally. Even if you use more data while you're away, a feature called Bill Protection, unique to the Flexible plan, caps your monthly cost at $80 for a single line to prevent excessive fees from overages. 

Google Fi also offers free texting from the US to over 200 destinations and while traveling internationally.

Given that you have a "Designed for Fi" device (like a Google Pixel phone or a range of other Android phones featured in their list of compatible devices), you might be a great match for Google Fi, particularly if you frequently travel overseas.

Read our full Google Fi Wireless review. 

How we test cell phone plans

In our testing, we spend at least a week with a specific plan from a phone carrier, often longer, and primarily assess the quality of the plan and carrier by the following criteria:

• Plan offerings and flexibility: We consider the pricing and features included in a carrier's range of plans and assess its flexibility in allowing you to switch out of or between plans. 
• Coverage area: For MVNOs, we note the approximate coverage area provided by the network or networks backing a budget carrier and evaluate whether particular locations consistently match their purported coverage type (e.g., 5G or 4G/LTE). 
• Service reliability and speeds: In consistent testing locations, we assess the reliability of phone and video calls, note how fast videos and apps load over cellular data, and, with MVNOs, mark any apparent effects of deprioritization on service speeds.  
• Customer support: We make a holistic assessment of a carrier's customer support system and online (or in-person) user experience for setup, use, and troubleshooting. 

We also take into account secondary considerations such as ongoing discounts and any other notable perks or outstanding features.

What to look for in a cheap cell phone plan

If you aren't in the market for the best cell phone plans from major carriers, you have no shortage of options for spending less monthly on a phone plan, as affordable carriers have proliferated in recent years. 

The best cheap cell phone plan for you will primarily reflect your needs for monthly data and minutes, the constraints of your budget, and the coverage of your local area by the network or networks backing a particular plan. 

We set a few baseline criteria in choosing plans for this guide, in that all the plans listed above cost less than $50/month and, as with most MVNO plans, do not require a contract.

Before signing up for a service, take a granular look at the coverage map that an MVNO should make readily accessible on their website — marking the US network range of its backing carrier — and appraise the coverage of your location to ensure dependable service.