There are hundreds of commercial cell phone plans on the market, and a higher price doesn’t always equal quality. Some expensive cell phone carriers are terrible, and there are cheap services on the market that are mind-blowingly good!
These inexpensive cell phone plans could cut down your cell phone bill
If you are looking for ways to save some money on your bills this year, your phone bill is actually a wise place to start. Luckily, the days of outrageous cell phone bills could be almost over. According to new data, it appears that increased competition from discount carriers has been pushing the price of cell phone plans down over the last few years.
Choosing a cell phone plan can be a huge step to take and it can be overwhelming. You know what you are looking for, could be high-speed data, a family phone plan, no contract, prepaid, unlimited, or for international travel.
If you’re looking for a wide range of the cheapest cell phone plans and deals, these MVNOs have excellent prices and should be your first shopping stops. They’re growing fast and putting real pressure on the big four operators in the cell phone industry.
You don’t have to sacrifice coverage quality when switching carriers, small carriers don’t have to mean lower quality service. Some of the cheapest cell phone carriers use the same technology and towers as the big-name companies which means you get the same service for less money.
Most of these phone carriers have some of the best cell phone plans that are no contract, and with the flexibility to only select and pick what you need in order to bring your phone bill down every month, and the great thing is, there’re lots of cell phone plans available, so if one doesn’t work out, you can try out another one to see if it fits your needs.
Our Top Picks for The Cheapest Cell Phone Plans of 2021
Republic Wireless – Best Value for Money
Republic Wireless is a prepaid cell phone plan that uses Sprint and T-Mobile’s networks and has some of the cheapest rates around. Republic uses a hybrid system for its cell phones. They allow you to utilize WiFi together with phone service for data, which can save you money.
All Republic wireless plans include unlimited talk, text and you can add data for $5 per GB, it also includes unlimited free Wi-Fi calling from anywhere in the world to the U.S. and Canada which is useful for international travelers.
Plans and Pricing:
- $15/month: Unlimited talk and texts
- $20/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 1 GB of 4G data
- $25/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 2 GB of 4G data
- $30/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 3 GB of 4G data ($5 per additional GB)
US Mobile – A Good Budget Choice
For a truly flexible solution, cell phone customers should look to US Mobile for a wireless carrier that provides a wide selection of buckets to help piece together the right plan for you. To help make things easier, US Mobile offers a 30-day risk-free trial to make sure you’re on the right plan and with the right provider with the promise of a full refund if you’re not completely satisfied.
Customers who select US Mobile are required to supply their own device and purchase a US Mobile SIM card for a nominal $3.99 fee to activate the service.
Plans and Pricing:
- $10/month: Unlimited talk and texts.
- $20/month: Unlimited talk, texts and 1.5GB of 4G data with hotspot access.
- $25/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 2.5GB of 4G data with hotspot access.
- $30/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 5GB of 4G data with hotspot access.
- $36/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 8GB of 4G data with hotspot access.
- $40/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with hotspot access.
Tello Mobile – Most Affordable Plans
Tello is a well-known MVNO that runs on the Sprint network. One of Tello’s best-selling factors is their Build Your Own Plan feature, which allows you to select your own monthly talk, text, and data.
With Tello, it doesn’t really matter which plan you start with because Tello customers can upgrade or downgrade their plan for free, anytime. There is no overage, no administration fee, no activation fee to worry about.
Tello has an app for Android and iOS, called My Tello, and you can use it to conveniently see your remaining balance, check rates for any destination, or find answers to your questions. You can also use the app to connect the Tello network over Wi-Fi and do many other things.
All Tello’s plans include free calls to Canada, Mexico, and China, plus mobile hotspot access with WiFi calling through their application at no extra cost, along with visual voicemail and unlimited 2G data. If you are not happy with your plan, you still can change it at any time.
Plans and Pricing:
- $8/month: Unlimited talk and texts with free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania.
- $10/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 1 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania.
- $14/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 2 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania
- $19/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 4 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania
- $24/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 6 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania
- $29/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 8 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania
- $39/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania
Red Pocket – Cheap Reliable Service Provider
Red Pocket offers incredibly affordable plans that are suitable for both light, medium, and heavy data users alike. The cool thing about Red Pocket is that it runs on all major networks. If you plan to bring your own phone to Red Pocket’s services, you should not have an issue with compatibility.
Its monthly plans start at $10, but you’ll pay closer to $20/month for unlimited talk, text, and 1GB of high-speed data. Annual plans are for sale through eBay at a discount. Every plan available of Red Pocket Mobiles services includes calling to over 70 different countries and even offers plans with unlimited calling abroad.
Plans and Pricing:
- $10/month: 500 minutes, 500 texts, and 500MB of 4G data.
- $15/month: 1000 minutes, unlimited texts, and 1GB of 4G data.
- $19/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 3GB of 4G data.
- $30/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 7GB of 4G data.
- $40/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 15GB of 4G data.
- $60/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data.
Twigby – Best Customized Plans
Twigby gives its customers the ability to build their own phone plans. Subscribers first choose how many minutes they want their plan to have, then if desired, they can choose to add a data package to their plan.
All voice plans come with unlimited domestic and international texting. Twigby is giving its new customers 25% off on their first 6 months of service. With this 25% off promotion in place, you can get big savings on your phone plan.
Plans and Pricing:
- $9.75/month: Unlimited talk and texts.
- $14.25/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 1GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge.
- $17.25/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 2GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge.
- $21.00/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 3GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge.
- $24.75/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 5GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge.
- $32.25/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 10GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge.
List of Other Best Cheap Cell Phone Carriers and Plans of 2021
FreedomPop – Best for Light Users
When it comes to providing value for money, FreedomPop is the way to go. You can buy their free phone plan and enjoy 500 text messages, 200 minutes of talk time along 500MB of high-speed data per month.
FreedomPop also has a variety of relatively cheap plans with higher amounts of data. Be sure to look into that if you don’t think the free allotment will cover your needs. Check out their website to find out more about coverage with FreedomPop.
Plans and Pricing:
- FREE plan: 200 minutes, 500 texts, and 200 MB of 4G data.
- $24.99/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 2GB of 4G data.
- $29.99/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 3GB of 4G data.
- $34.99/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 5GB of 4G data.
- $59.99/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 10GB of 4G data.
Xfinity Mobile – Cheap Verizon Coverage
Xfinity Mobile is unlike other MVNOs you must be a Comcast internet customer to be able to sign up for the service. Your cell phone bill will be a lot cheaper after switching to Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile, a low-cost wireless provider that uses Verizon’s network.
All Xfinity plans include unlimited talk and text, along with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. With the By the Gig plan, data can be shared across all lines, and users can switch from “By the Gig” to “Unlimited” data during their billing cycle at no additional charge.
Plans and Pricing:
- $12/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 1GB of 4G data with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. ($12 per additional GB)
- $30/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 3GB of 4G data with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. ($12 per additional GB)
- $60/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 10GB of 4G data with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. ($12 per additional GB)
- $45/line/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. (speeds reduced after 20GB)
Ting Mobile – Pay for What You Need
Ting tends to attract the type of customer who only wants to pay for the minutes and data they use. To offer fair pricing based on actual usage, they place all of their services into pricing buckets and allow consumers to move freely through them each month as their needs change.
The pricing at Ting is more fluid than other cell phone providers, but you can customize a plan to your needs. Ting has a bill estimator on its website for anybody wanting to price out a plan. You can also set up alerts to notify you of reaching your usage limits.
Plans and Pricing:
On Ting, your monthly cost will likely be different each month since it depends on usage.
Let’s say you choose 101-500 minutes, 1000 texts, and 500Mb of data for $30/month. If you use that, that’s what you’ll pay. However, if you use less or more of anything, your bill will automatically be adjusted accordingly. The idea with Ting is that you only pay for what you use, ensuring you’re not overpaying for service you don’t need.
Mint Mobile – Bulk Savings
Mint Mobile offers plans that start at just $15 per month with at least three-month commitment. They have a very affordable starting plan, you get quite a lot for $15 a month.
The starting plan includes unlimited talk, texts, and data via T-Mobile’s LTE network, 2GB of data a month and unlimited data thereafter, a prepaid SIM card, and mobile hotspot access that allows you to turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot.
Mint plans let you pick how much data speed you need, and you never have to commit for more than 3 months at a time. For that reason, we think this is a strong option for folks who live within T-Mobile coverage areas.
Plans and Pricing:
- $15/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 3GB of 4G data (cost upfront is $45 for 3 months)
- $20/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 8GB of 4G data (cost upfront is $60 for 3 months)
- $25/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 12GB of 4G data (cost upfront is $75 for 3 months)
Ultra Mobile – A Remarkable Budget Service
Ultra Mobile is the best value and most affordable no-contract provider for users who frequently make international calls. All of Ultra Mobile’s plans include unlimited talk to international destinations, along with unlimited international texting. Plans start as low as $14, with 1GB of high-speed data. Basically, you pick the plan you want and then order a SIM card for your unlocked GSM phone. The card is included with your order, which covers your first month of airtime.
Plans and Pricing:
- $19/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 1GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access, plus unlimited talk to 80+ international destinations.
- $23/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 2GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access, plus unlimited talk to 80+ international destinations.
- $29/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 5GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access, plus unlimited talk to 80+ international destinations.
- $49/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with mobile hotspot access, plus unlimited talk to 80+ international destinations.
As you can see, There are a lot of options beyond the big four carriers. Over the past few years, several cell phone carriers have stepped up to offer competition and cheapest prices to customers looking to cut down their monthly bills.
If you’re looking to save money on your cell phone bill, consider subscribing to one of the dozens of MVNOs running in the U.S. The cheapest cell phone plans are mostly offered by MVNOs and their popularity is rising. When it comes to overall satisfaction, Tello, Ting, and other cheap cell phone services routinely outscore the Big Four carriers.