Mint Mobile is a prepaid cell phone carrier that launched in 2015.
It uses T-Mobile for coverage.
What makes Mint Mobile different from other prepaid carriers is that they offer their plans in bulk. You sign up for either 3-, 6-, or 12-months of service at a time. Offering bulk pricing on their plans is what allows Mint Mobile to be so cheap.
You can think of Mint Mobile like the Costco of cell phone carriers.
The more you buy, or in this case the longer you sign up for, the better price you get.
Mint Mobile has been rising in popularity since Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds purchased a majority stake in the company in November 2019. Ryan and the team have been focusing on one key message these past few years: they focus on saving money on advertisements so they can save you money on cell phone service.
They have also created witty and clever ads to promote their service:
I used Mint Mobile as my personal cell phone carrier from 2018 to 2021.
It worked well for me.
Coverage and data speeds were great for me because I was in an area with good T-Mobile service. Audio quality was clear thanks to Mint Mobile supporting voice over LTE and Wi-Fi calling. And the Mint Mobile app made it easy for me to manage my bill.
Mint Mobile's pricing is also super affordable.
T-Mobile offers a prepaid plan for $15 that includes 3.5GB of data. The same $15 gets 5GB of data from Mint Mobile.
And T-Mobile Prepaid's $25 plan includes just 6.5GB of data, which is under a third of the 20GB of data that Mint Mobile includes at that price point.
You can see exactly how Mint Mobile compares to the rest of T-Mobile's cell phone plans, and plans from other carriers, using the compare plans tool.
For a more detailed analysis of Mint Mobile, check out my article: Is Mint Mobile Worth It in 2023?
Before you sign up, you may also want to check out seven reasons why not to get Mint Mobile.
Bottom line: Mint Mobile's features and service are excellent. The price is unbeatable. If you're not opposed to saving money, I definitely recommend them.
The prices you see above are for new customers who sign up for 3 months of service (the smallest bundle Mint Mobile offers), and for existing customers who renew their plan for the 12-month option.
Here are all of Mint Mobile’s plans with their full pricing breakdowns:
Mint Mobile 4GB
Mnit Mobile 10GB
Mint Mobile 15GB
Mint Mobile Unlimited
There are no data overage charges on Mint Mobile. Instead, once you go over your included high-speed data allotment, your data speeds are slowed down to 2G speeds.
Keep in mind that your phone is not actually switching to the 2G network. You still stay connected to either LTE or 5G, but an artificial speed cap is put on your plan to limit your speeds to 128Kbps.
Check out our article here on exactly what it’s like using a plan with 2G data speeds at 64Kbps, 128Kbps, 256Kbps, and 512Kbps.
It is also important to know that Mint Mobile’s unlimited plan is not truly unlimited. Instead, it gives you 35GB of high-speed data before you are slowed down to the 2G speeds.
35GB is plenty of data for most people. In fact, average data usage in North America is at just 14.6GB per month right now, as reported by Ericsson in their 2021 Mobility Report.
Considering 35GB is about 2.4 times more data than 14.6GB, that means a large majority of consumers could switch to Mint Mobile’s plan and continue using their phones exactly how they normally would.
A lot of the major carriers trick consumers into thinking that they need unlimited data when the reality is they do not.
Knowing how much data you actually need and picking an affordable cell phone plan that meets your needs is a great way to reduce your wireless bill.
You can see all of Mint Mobile’s plans below and click on anyone to see what specific features are supported:
Mint Mobile offers an amazing referral program. You earn more credit for each person you refer, and after you refer 5 friends you get an entire YEAR of free service.
Here’s the referral breakdown:
The total credit you get after referring five friends is $240! That’s enough to cover a free year of service on the 10GB plan.
There is no limit to how many people you can refer. Refer five more friends? That’s another $240 in credit.
Plus, if your whole family decides to switch, you can even refer your partner and children! The way it would work is one account would get all of the credit, but then you can use the credit to pay for anyone’s bill by creating a Mint Family.
No discounts or referral programs are available at this time.
Mint Mobile supports family plans, but not in the traditional sense.
When most people think of family plans, they think of group discounts and savings.
Instead of limiting savings to multi-line accounts, Mint Mobile already gives all of their customers the best prices possible.
You don’t need a family account to enjoy saving money on Mint Mobile.
But, Mint recognized that some people prefer managing all the billing and payments for their mobile plans under a single account. So they created Mint Family.
Mint Family lets you manage up to five Mint Mobile accounts under a single account. You need to create each line separately at first, and then you can add them under one account by following our tutorial on how to set up a Mint Mobile family plan.
Each line will keep its own separate plan and its own separate renewal date, but you can change plans for any line under the master account as well as have all lines share the same billing information.
This is a great option for families with kids.
Mint Mobile doesn't support tablets, smartwatches, or hotspot devices at this time.
The above data points come from the FCC.
Check Verizon coverage in your area by using Verizon's official coverage map.
You can also check coverage using third-party maps like CoverageMap.com.
You can test cellular performance in your area by using the SpeedSmart app and running a speed test.
The above information comes from the FCC.
You can check AT&T coverage in your area by using AT&T's official coverage map.
You can also check coverage by using third-party maps like CoverageMap.com.
You can contribute to the CoverageMap.com project by downloading the SpeedSmart app and running a speed test while connected to a cellular network.
The above information comes from the FCC.
Check T-Mobile coverage in your area by using T-Mobile's official coverage map.
You can also check T-Mobile coverage by using third-party maps like CoverageMap.com.
You can contribute to the CoverageMap.com project by downloading the SpeedSmart app and running a speed test while connected to a cellular network.
Mint Mobile supports the same features as premium wireless plans. They support VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling, visual voicemail, MMS, mobile hotspot, 4K video streaming, 5G access, and eSIM.
Add-ons are also available for making international long-distance calls and for international data roaming.
You can check to see if your specific phone will work with Mint Mobile by using their IMEI checker.
Otherwise, you can also consider purchasing an unlocked phone directly from the manufacturer, like Apple, Samsung, or Google.
You can also purchase a phone directly from Mint Mobile. You can pay for the phone in full price, or finance the phone using Affirm.
Mint Mobile is currently offering a deal where you get 6 months of free service when you buy one of their phones, like an affordable Galaxy A12 or even a newer iPhone 12 Mini.
Yes, Mint Mobile supports both international calling and international data roaming.
International calls from the U.S. to Canada and Mexico are included for free with all Mint Mobile plans.
Over 160 additional countries are also available at pay-per-use rates.
International data roaming is also available in a wide selection of countries.
You can enable international data roaming by adding international credit to your account. International usage is then deducted on a pay-per-use basis at the following rates:
International rates may change based on what country you are in. Check Mint Mobile’s website for the full list of supported countries and usage rates.
Keep in mind that you can always grab an affordable international eSIM plan for better rates on data when traveling abroad.
If you run out of high-speed data in a billing cycle, you can purchase additional high-speed data via a data add-on.
You can also purchase international credit to get service when you travel abroad or to make international long-distance calls.
Here are Mint’s add-ons:
Add international calling credit to your account in increments of $5, $10, or $20. International calls, or calls placed from within the United States and made to other countries, will automatically deduct from your international calling credit on a pay-per-minute basis.
Adding international calling credit to your account is the same as adding "money to your wallet." The funds in your wallet can either be used to cover the cost of international calls, or to pay for the cost of your plan. If you add credit to your account for a one-time international call and do not use all of your balance, you can easily apply your remaining balance towards paying for your plan.
International calling rates vary by country. See Mint Mobile's full list of supported countries and international calling rates here.
International calling to Mexico and Canada is included for free with all of Mint Mobile's plans.
Mint supports international coverage in a wide selection of countries. The way it works is you add international roaming credit to your account, which can be purchased in either $5, $10, or $20 increments, and then your international minutes, texts, and data usage will automatically deduct from your international balance on a pay-per-use basis.
The rates for minutes, texts, and data vary from country to country. Here are the rates for a few countries below:
Canada:
Mexico:
United Kingdom:
France:
Mint Mobile's international rates for minutes and texts are reasonable, but their rates for data usage are expensive. $200 per GB of data usage in the U.K., for example, is incredibly expensive when you can get 12GB of data per month from Three (a cell phone carrier native to the U.K.) for an equivalent of $25.18 USD.
If you plan to travel abroad, we think you will get a much better value signing up for a cell phone plan local to the country you are visiting, or by activating a data-only eSIM plan from Airalo, US Mobile, or eSIM.net.
Mint Mobile customer service is available via online chat on their website, the chat section of the application, by direct messaging /u/MintMobileAlex on Reddit, or by calling Mint Mobile at (800) 683-7392.
Human support is available 7 days a week from 5am to 7pm PST.
And Mint Mobile's chat bot, called the “Fox Bot,” is available 24/7 for most questions about plans or the service.
