Get the best value deals on cell phone plans from these top-rated cell phone carriers
Picking the best cell phone company should be simple. You go with the company that offers the best coverage, the most flexible plans, and the widest selection of top- and mid-tier phones, all at a great price. But the most expensive provider still charges more than twice as much as the least, for commensurately better service. Where should you draw the line between price and performance? Bellow, we have listed the top cell phone companies with the best cell phone plans in 2019
Most Companies currently offer a wide range of choices for consumers, from well-known brand names to less known but surprisingly well-established companies. With so much competition from cell phone companies in the last few years, prices of phone plans have definitely fallen, along with plans being offered without contracts. There are many options of plans available, suitable for the most casual to serious users.
The best cell phone service in the nation continues to come from Verizon Wireless. The brand’s extensive coverage, speed, and reliability are unmatched, but great speeds are backed by even better prices.
Our Top Picks Cell Phone Companies for 2019
Tello Mobile – Most Affordable Carrier
Tello is one of the top cell phone companies in the market, and for good reason. Tello allows you to build your own customized plan based on what you exactly need, which gives you full control of your minutes, texts, and data including options for no-data or data-only. You can add more of anything if you find your plan needs adjusting.
Tello offers cheap prepaid phone plans to fit any budget. Starting at just a few bucks a month the plans are infinitely customizable.
All plans come with unlimited free texting and tethering at no extra cost, and also free calls to Canada, Mexico, and China in addition to the U.S.
Customers have the option to purchase additional Pay as You Go plan credits for international calling and texting.
Although Tello doesn’t necessarily have a family plan option it’s important to note that it is one of the cheapest MVNOs on the market and so signing your family up for individual plans will save you hundreds in the long run.
Here are a few amazing facts about Tello Mobile:
- Fully customizable plans; including Data Only plans for Tablets
- Customers can upgrade or downgrade plans for free, anytime.
- No contract, no overage fee, no administration fee, no activation fee and not even port out fees.
- Customers can bring their own devices.
- All plans include free tethering (hotspot)
- Services are available nationwide in the USA.
- Calls from USA to Canada, China and Mexico are included in all voice plans, at the same rate as domestic calls.
- Tello Apps are available for Android and iOS devices, allowing in app outbound WIFI calling and easy account management
Xfinity Mobile – Affordable Unlimited Plan
Do you know about Xfinity Mobile? It’s a Verizon MVNO that gets you unlimited nationwide talk and text and either $12 per GB of data or an “unlimited” plan for $45 per month (capped at 20GB). It’s all the Verizon speed and coverage you could want but through Comcast!
while it’s only available for subscribers of Comcast’s home internet service, it’s a pretty good deal for those that are.
Xfinity Mobile comes with unlimited nationwide calling and texting, access to more than 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots, and 100MB of shared monthly data are included by default with your regular Internet plan.
If you’re planning to cut down your cell phone bill. Check out the cheapest cell phone plans for 2019
The Big Four Wireless Carriers
Verizon Wireless – Best Network Coverage
Verizon is the largest cell phone carrier in the U.S., it has a great reputation and has coverage even in many remote areas where “No Service” is the prominent message from most carriers. However, Verizon does tend to be on the more expensive side. What you’re truly paying for is Verizon’s reliability.
Verizon has recently come out with a new unlimited cell phone plan, dubbed Verizon Unlimited. While continuing the trend of expensive plans, the Verizon Unlimited plan comes packed with perks and solid coverage the carrier is known for.
Verizon Start Unlimited Plan Includes Unlimited talk, text and 4G LTE data, which may be slowed during times of congestion and DVD-quality streaming (480p) plus Unlimited talk, text, and 500MB data a day as well as Free Apple Music for 6 months. check out more of Verizon cell phone plans
- Line 1 – $70 with AutoPay. Plus taxes & fees
- Line 2 – $60/per line = 2 Lines for $120/month
- Line 3 – $45/per line = 3 Lines for $135/month
- Line 4 – $35/per line = 4 Lines for $140/month
- Line 5 or more – $30/per Line
AT&T – Best full-featured Company
AT&T is one of the second-largest cell phone company in the United States. It provides single-line, business, single-line plans to fit every cell phone need.
AT&T carrier has the difference of being the most high-priced of the large four companies, blocking seasonal promotions and specials,
AT&T offers 3 types of unlimited data plans, one of which allows you to save on DIRECTV services. However, you will not be able to save on AT&T U-Verse TV residential service. Both unlimited plans include unlimited talk, data, and text, but there are differences between the two. Check out more of AT&T cell phone plans
AT&T Unlimited Extra includes all Starter perks, plus 15GB of mobile hotspot per line and 50GB of guaranteed high-speed data for $40 per line, with four lines (or $75 for a single line).
AT&T Unlimited Elite nets all the above and comes with HBO (and HBO Max in May 2020) included for the life of the plan, as well as HD video streaming capabilities. Each line will also be able to access 30GB mobile hotspot and 100GB of unthrottled data, all for $50 per line on up to 4 lines (or $85 for a single line).
AT&T Unlimited Starter comes with unlimited talk, text, and data in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada for $35 a line with up to four lines (or $65 for a single line). This entry-level plan has no specific high-speed data cap, though speeds may be throttled if the user is in a congested network area.
- Line 1 – $65 with AutoPay. Plus taxes & fees
- Line 2 – $60/per line = 2 Lines for $120/month
- Line 3 – $45/per line = 3 Lines for $135/month
- Line 4 – $35/per line = 4 Lines for $140/month
T-Mobile – Best for Seniors
After an unsuccessful merger with AT&T in 2012, T-Mobile stays the lowest of the large four U.S. cell phone companies. It now runs an LTE coverage network and after 1st announcing an HSPA+ network that provides LTE-comparable rates of speed.
There are three main unlimited T-Mobile plans from which to choose: Essentials, Magenta, and Magenta Plus. However, there are some unique plans that are only available for specific customers, too.
Keep in mind that nearly every T-Mobile plan is slightly cheaper if you elect to use autopay, usually by $5 for each line. The prices described below all include this discount.
The T-Mobile Essentials plan costs $60 per month for one line, $45 each for two lines, $35 each for three lines, $30 each per month for four lines, and $27 each per month for five lines. This makes it the cheapest way for regular customers to join a T-Mobile post-paid plan.
It offers unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data all across the United States. It also offers unlimited texting in almost every international destination and gives you unlimited 2G data when visiting Mexico and Canada. International phone calls get charged on a per-minute basis and international data has its own charges, too.
Video streaming is limited to SD resolution (480p), and unlimited mobile hotspot data is available but limited to 3G speeds.
Taxes and related fees are not included with your base charge on T-Mobile Essentials.
T-Mobile Essentials plan comes with unlimited talk, text and 4G LTE data, which may be slowed during times of congestion and Stream video at DVD-quality, 480p plus Unlimited 3G mobile hotspot data as well as unlimited talk, text and 2G data in Mexico and Canada. check out more of T-Mobile cell phone plans
- Line 1 – $60 with AutoPay. Plus taxes & fees
- Line 2 – $45/per line = 2 Lines for $90/month
- Line 3 – $35/per line = 3 Lines for $105/month
- Line 4 – $30/per line = 4 Lines for $120/month
- Line 5 – $27/per line = 5 Lines for $135/month
Sprint – Best for Heavy Data Users
Sprint (also known as Sprint Corporation) is the fourth largest network in the United States, serving some 60.2 million customers as of October 2016. Sprint happens to provide wireless service not only through itself but through various wireless sub-branches, such as Boost Mobile.
The carrier’s Unlimited Basic is the cheapest unlimited Sprint plan that’s currently being offered. At the moment, one line on the plan costs $60 a month. Adding a second line will cost an additional $40 a month, and adding a third, fourth, and fifth line will cost $20 more a month for each line. While the plan does offer “unlimited” 4G LTE data, your speeds might get throttled if you exceed 50GB of data before your monthly billing period ends.
In addition to unlimited data, talk, and texting in the US, the Sprint Unlimited Basic offers support for streaming video at up to 480p resolution, along with streaming music at up to 500kbps, and streaming data for games at up to 2 Mbps. Each line on the plan can also offer 500MB GB of 4G LTE mobile hotspot downloads. After that limit is reached before the billing month closes, mobile hotspot streaming goes back down to 3G speeds. The plan also offers unlimited talk, text, and 5GB of LTE data a month for people in the US who travel to Mexico and Canada, along with text and data (likely not LTE data) for over 200 other countries.
Sprint Basic Plan comes with unlimited talk, text and high-speed data, which may be slowed during times of congestion and 500 MB LTE mobile hotspot plus DVD-quality SD streaming (480p) as well as unlimited talk, text and 5GB of 4G LTE data in Mexico and Canada with Global roaming for text and data in over 200 countries.
- Line 1 – $60 with AutoPay. Plus taxes & fees
- Line 2 – $50/per line = 2 Lines for $100/month
- Line 3 – $33/per line = 3 Lines for $100/month
- Line 4 – $25/per line = 4 Lines for $100/month
- Line 5 – $20/per line = 5 Lines for $100/month
If you’re looking for the best cell phone carrier offering No Restrictions. Check out those best prepaid cell phone plans for 2019
List of The Best MVNO Cell Phone Companies
Simple Mobile – Best Prepaid Unlimited
Simple Mobile is a TracFone-owned MVNO operating under T-Mobile’s network, has recently made new changes to its prepaid plan options.
With the new changes in place, Simple Mobile is now offering an unlimited LTE data plan that costs only $50 per month and already comes with unlimited domestic talk and text. The other features included in the simple mobile cell phone plans are unlimited international texting and calling and full roaming access while in Mexico at no extra cost.
these plans include unlimited international texting, unlimited international calling to landlines in 64 countries, and unlimited international calling to Mexico, Canada, China, India, and 16 other countries.
- $25/month ($20 with AutoPay): Unlimited talk, international text, and 3GB of 4G LTE data than 2G, plus mobile hotspot access. This also includes unlimited calling to 69 International countries.
- $30/month ($28.5 with AutoPay): Unlimited talk, international text, and 2GB of 4G LTE data than 2G, plus mobile hotspot access. This also includes unlimited calling to 69 International countries.
- $40/month ($37.5 with AutoPay): Unlimited talk, international text, and 15GB of 4G LTE data than 2G, plus mobile hotspot access. This also includes unlimited calling to 69 International countries.
- $50/month ($45 with AutoPay): Unlimited talk, international text, and Truly Unlimited of 4G LTE data, plus 10GB of mobile hotspot. This also includes unlimited calling to 69 International countries.
- $60/month ($57 with AutoPay): Unlimited talk, international text, and Truly Unlimited of 4G LTE data, plus 10GB of mobile hotspot. This also includes unlimited calling to 69 International countries.
Boost Mobile – Best for Families
Boost Mobile markets itself as the phone company with no surprises. Phone plans include taxes and fees, and you won’t get overage charges, so you’ll know exactly how much you’re paying when you sign up.
If you’re OK sacrificing some of the extras such as international roaming or a specialized streaming service tacked on to your plan for free, Boost Mobile cell phone plans with unlimited talk, text, and data available for $50 a month, the plan includes 12GB of the mobile hotspot and streaming mobile-optimized HD video up to 480p. Customers can upgrade for an additional $10 per month to increase streaming quality to 1080p HD, and with Boost Dealz customers can watch a few monthly advertising videos per month to reduce the cost of their billing statement.
- $35/month: Unlimited talk, text, and 3GB LTE data with a mobile hotspot.
- $50/month: Unlimited talk, text, and data with 12GB Mobile Hotspot plus streaming Videos, Gaming & Music.
- $60/month: Unlimited talk, text, and data with 30 Gigs Mobile Hotspot & HD Streams up to 1080p.
- $80/month: Unlimited talk, text, and data with 50 Gigs Mobile Hotspot & HD Streams up to 1080p.
US Mobile – Best Flexible Phone Carrier
US Mobile is a no-contract cell phone carrier that offers customers calling plans that are flexible and enable them to decide the amount of talk, text, and data that they need every month. US Mobile plans are prepaid plans, which means they are paid for before the billing period before it begins.
US Mobile’s new unlimited data plans all come with unlimited talk, text, and data. Subscribers can still choose their own speeds. Besides offering unlimited high-speed data options, there are now plans with a limited amount of high-speed data and they too are available at different speeds. The new plans are priced as follows.
- $20/month: unlimited talk and text
- $30/month: unlimited talk, text and 1 GB of data
- $35/month: unlimited talk, text and 5 GB of data
- $45/month: unlimited talk, text and 10 GB of data
- $55/month: unlimited talk, text, and data
Metro by T-Mobile – A Cheap T-Mobile Network
Metro uses T-Mobile’s HSPA+ and LTE network, as it is owned entirely by the larger carrier. You have the option to purchase a phone through Metro or bring your own device that’s compatible with the T-Mobile network.
All plans come with unlimited talk, text, data, Wi-Fi calling, caller ID, call waiting, 3-way calling, and Data Maximizer, a feature that helps optimize your high-speed data usage when streaming videos.
The unlimited data plans also include a free Google One membership, which includes 100GB of cloud storage on Google Drive, and the $60 plan even throws in an Amazon Prime membership. That’s a $12.99/month value.
- $30/month: unlimited talk; text and 2 GB of data.
- $40/month: unlimited talk, text and 5 GB of data
- $50/month: unlimited talk, text, and data plus 5GB of Hotspot
- $60/month: unlimited talk, text, and data plus 15GB of Hotspot and amazon prime included
Cricket Wireless – Affordable Unlimited Plans
Cricket Wireless is a well-known no-contract service provider that’s been around for a while. One of the biggest advantages of Cricket’s service is covered. Cricket uses AT&T’s network, so you’ll find more widespread national 4G LTE coverage than plans that use Sprint.
Cricket also has a larger-than-average number of plans to choose from, but its unlimited data plan isn’t as competitively priced as MetroPCS or Boost Mobile. But they do offer good group discounts that can save you up to $100 per month with five lines.
All cricket cell phone plans include unlimited talk and text nationwide. Cricket also offers a $5 discount per month with auto-pay (prices below don’t reflect discount). Taxes and fees included in pricing.
- $25/month: unlimited talk and text
- $30/month: unlimited talk, text, and 2GB LTE data
- $40/month: unlimited talk, text and 5GB LTE data
- $55/month: unlimited talk, text, and LTE data plus Unlimited international texts with unlimited calls, texts Mexico and Canada.
- $60/month: unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data including 15GB mobile hotspot access plus Unlimited international texts with unlimited calls, texts Mexico and Canada.
Picking a Cell Phone Carriers: What Else to Look For
The companies we outlined above suit many people, but they aren’t for everyone. If you’re trying to find cell phone plans that fit your lifestyle, there are a few things to watch out for along the way.
Coverage & Quality
As we’ve mentioned, the quality of a provider’s coverage is the most important factor you should consider as you compare the best cell phone plans. Verizon claims the top spot in terms of performance, ubiquity, and speed. AT&T is a close second, suffering just slightly in rural regions. T-Mobile’s download speeds are superb, but the carrier can feel useless once you leave metropolitan areas. Sprint’s network is slow and unimpressive but sufficient for most people’s needs.
With the exception of US Cellular, which operates a regional network in the Midwest, every other service provider is an MVNO of one of the Big Four carriers, piggybacking off of their networks. The better ones offer service on AT&T’s towers, but most operate on Sprint’s infrastructure.
There’s one last consideration to remember when picking a quality network: the communications standard that’s used. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA, a cellular standard common in the U.S. but rarely used internationally. T-Mobile and AT&T, on the other hand, use the international GSM standard. Unless a device is very specifically made with both types of antennas, GSM phones don’t work on CDMA networks and vice versa. If you plan on buying an unlocked phone and carting it from carrier to carrier, keep this in mind.
Pricing & Fees
For a long time, the chief difference between the big carriers and the smaller prepaid carriers was contracts: You couldn’t buy a new phone from a carrier without committing yourself to two years of service with one company. Now that the Big Four have done away with contracts, cell service is easier to budget, since how much you pay for your connection is separate from how much you pay for your phone.
Of course, many carriers still let you pay for your phone over two years, lumping its price into your monthly bill. But the cost of service by itself is finally easier to understand. It still varies greatly, though; expect to pay anywhere from $30 to $65 per month for service, plus the cost of whichever device you choose to buy.
Plan Features
Beware lest you be drawn in by claims of “unlimited” data; the vast majority of companies that promise it throttle your speeds once you hit a predetermined data cap. Carriers we review here are exceptions to this rule: T-Mobile, Sprint, Cricket Wireless, and Boost Mobile. Far more common is unlimited talk and text, a feature offered by each of the service providers we let into our lineup.
One feature available at only two companies is data rollover: the ability to roll any unused data from your monthly allocation over into the next month. At the moment, T-Mobile and AT&T are the only companies offering any sort of data rollover. T-Mobile’s take on it is far more forgiving than AT&T’s, but both are welcome additions the companies are granting at no extra charge.
Wrapping Up
Finding a decent cell phone carriers can seem hard, but it doesn’t have to be. Looking for cheap cell phone plans that still give you room to stretch? T-Mobile has you covered. On a tight budget but still, want great service? Check out Cricket Wireless. And of course, there’s always Verizon if you’re willing to pay top dollar for a top-quality experience.
There are dozens of cell phone companies to choose from, and with fierce competition, you’re spoiled for choice. We narrowed down our recommendations to widely available services that offer unlimited data plans, but there are a lot of great options that don’t fit these parameters, including Project Fi and Republic Wireless. A few others do fit within our parameters but didn’t make the cut, including CREDO Mobile, Page Plus Cellular, Wing Mobile, Ultra Mobile, and Lycamobile.
Most of the cell phone service providers offer low-cost cell phone plans. Through T-Mobile, Walmart offers a $30 plan that includes unlimited talk and text, and 500MB of high-speed data.
A lot of “virtual carriers” exist that offer inexpensive prepaid plans and pay-as-you-go service. The big four carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile) also offer branded prepaid plans. There’s also FreedomPop, which offers very basic cell phone service for free.
If you use your phone for talk and text there are free phones for people who qualify that would cut your bill in half buy leaving just your wife’s bill to pay.
I’ve heard a lot about Cricket and I honestly love it. It’s affordable and I don’t have a Cricket phone yet because I have to wait about a year with my stupid Verizon phone before I can get a Cricket phone.
For the billions they’ve spent to upgrade their wireless networks, cell phone companies are now trumpeting quarter after quarter of strong gains in revenue from services other than phone calls _ from messaging and games to music and video clips, as well as wireless Internet access
Cell phone company’s? Isn’t this a misnomer? These are not cell phone companies. Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile are examples of cell phone companies. The guts above didn’t start business by making phones. In fact many of them provide wireless first.