If you are looking for a cell phone plan that will meet your needs and won’t break the bank, this article is for you.
I’m covering the 5 best low-cost prepaid cell phone plans.
These plans will:
Let’s dive right in.
Here’s the full list of the best cheap cell phone plans:
Quickly, before we talk about the details of each plan, we need to cover two things:
Knowing these two facts are important.
They will help you pick the best low-cost cell phone plan for your needs.
Let’s get started.
Before we dive into the best plans, it is important to understand how much cellular data you need each month.
A critical part of getting an affordable phone plan is not overpaying for cellular data you don’t need.
Thankfully, it’s easy to find out about how much data you need each month.
You can simply go into your phone's settings and see how much data you’ve used in the past few months to get an idea of how much cellular data you need.
Here's a quick video that shows you how to do it:
If you’re unsure how much data you need, you can always pick an affordable unlimited data plan so you can use your phone as much as you want without worrying about data usage.
Before you sign up for a cell phone plan, it is important to check which cell phone carrier offers the best service where you live.
In the United States, there are four major cellular networks:
It turns out all cell phone plans will use one of these four networks for coverage.
This is because small carriers make agreements with the big carriers, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, to use their existing cellular networks for coverage.
You can learn more about how this works in our article How Can Some Cell Phone Plans Cost So Much Less Than Others?
So how do you tell what network has the best service in your area?
Simple.
Use the Check Coverage tool on CoverageMap.com.
Simply enter any state, city, county, or ZIP code and the website will spit out the top ranked network in your area based on available coverage, data speeds, and reliability.
You can also download the free Coverage Map app for iPhone and Android.
*As a disclaimer, I am a co-founder of CoverageMap.com
Once you know what network has the best service in your area, you’ll want to pick a plan that uses that network for coverage.
Now you know how much data you need and what network you want for coverage.
So now it is time to dive into the best cheap cell phone plans for 2024.
US Mobile Unlimited Flex is one of the best overall value cell phone plans on the market right now.
It is not perfect though.
US Mobile Unlimited Flex costs $17.50 per month with all taxes and fees included.
It comes with 10GB of high-speed data before unlimited data at 1 Mbps. You also get 5GB of hotspot data, which deducts from the 10GB high-speed allotment, 480p video streaming, and free international calls and texts to 200+ destinations.
For the price, you won’t find a better cell phone plan.
There is a catch though:
To offer Unlimited Starter at such a low rate, US Mobile sells the plan in a 12-month package.
That means you pay $210 up front for 12 months of service.
Unlimited Flex remains an exceptional value for the money, but it definitely will not be the best option for people who prefer the flexibility of month-to-month plans.
International data roaming is available as an add-on. The paid add-on is for data-only international eSIM plans though, so calls and texts won’t work while you’re abroad (unless you’re on Wi-Fi and use Wi-Fi calling).
You can choose to activate US Mobile Unlimited Flex on either the Verizon or the T-Mobile network.
The four closest competing plans are Mint Mobile's 5GB annual plan, which costs $17.43 per month after taxes and fees, Red Pocket’s 5GB annual plan, which is $16.47 per month after taxes and fees, and Tello’s 5GB monthly plan, which comes out to $16.19 after all taxes and fees.
So for just $1.31 per month extra, US Mobile’s plan gives you 2x the high-speed data as the closest competition, and the flexibility to choose either the Verizon or T-Mobile network for coverage.
If you’re not opposed to paying annually for your cell phone plan in exchange for saving a couple bucks, US Mobile’s plan is easily a winner in my book.
US Mobile’s 2GB plan is undoubtedly the best option for $10 or less per month.
The plan costs $10 flat per month, with all taxes and fees included.
Included with US Mobile’s plan are 2GB of high-speed data, hotspot support, up to 4K video streaming, unlimited minutes and texts, and free stateside international calling and texting to 200+ destinations.
You can add more data anytime you need it for just $2 per GB. You just need to purchase 2GB or more each time. Any unused data from your top-up automatically rolls to your next month of service.
You can activate US Mobile’s 2GB plan on either the Verizon or the T-Mobile network for coverage.
If you look at the competition, there isn’t much.
Tello’s 2GB plan for $7 comes close, but it is not quite as good.
It only includes 100 minutes of talk time, as opposed to unlimited minutes, 480p video streaming, and international calling to only around 60 destinations.
Tello also charges much more for data top-ups. Adding 1GB of data costs $5, 3GB costs $10, 5GB costs $15, and 10GB costs $25.
Plus, Tello’s plan comes out to $9.08 per month after all taxes and fees.
Spending the extra $0.92 to go with US Mobile’s plan gives you unlimited minutes of talk time, free calls to substantially more international destinations, cheaper add-ons for extra high-speed data if you need it, and the flexibility to activate on either the Verizon or T-Mobile networks for coverage.
Other close competitors are MobileX’s 1GB custom plan, which comes out to $10.19 for 1GB of data, Tello’s 2GB plan with unlimited minutes and texts for $12.13 per month, and Good2Go Mobile’s 12-month 3GB plan for $12.50 per month.
Of these options, I believe US Mobile is the best overall in terms of price and features.
You won’t find a better deal for 2GB of data.
If you want total control over your cell phone plan, MobileX is for you.
MobileX lets you customize exactly how many minutes, texts, and MB of data you get in your cell phone plan.
First, you choose how many minutes and texts you want. You have four options:
Then, you add however much data you want, down to the MB.
Data on MobileX costs just $2.10 per GB.
The only other fee is a $1.98 service fee and state and local taxes.
An example plan with 150 minutes, 150 texts, and 4GB of data comes out to just $12.88 per month before taxes.
You can also try MobileX’s AI forecaster.
The AI forecaster gives you 10 days of free cell service. During those 10 days, the AI monitors your talk, text, and data usage. Then, at the end of the 10 days the AI suggests a cell phone plan to meet your specific needs.
The best part about MobileX is you can always purchase more data any time you need it, and you get account credit at the end of each month for any of your unused data.
Lighter data users will love the flexibility and customizability MobileX offers at such an affordable price point.
Want one of the best cell phone plans available at a crazy low price?
Look no further than Good2Go Mobile’s 1GB annual plan.
It costs just $5 per month. And for the price, you get a surprising number of features. You get unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, and 1GB of high-speed data.
The plan also includes free unlimited international calling to over 60 destinations.
Yes, this is an annual plan, so you do have to pay upfront for 12 months of service. My total came to $83.49 after all taxes and fees, which breaks down to just $6.96 per month.
Good2Go Mobile uses AT&T’s nationwide 4G LTE and 5G network to provide coverage.
There are two main cons to the service though:
My runner-up plan in the best dirt-cheap category would be Red Pocket’s 500MB eBay annual plan.
This plan is exclusively sold on Red Pocket’s eBay store. It is listed for the same $5 per month price. However, Red Pocket’s plan includes half the high-speed data as Good2Go Mobile’s plan.
It comes with just 500MB of data and only includes 100 minutes and 100 texts.
Still, if you are looking for something that’s an even lower cost, Red Pocket may not be a bad option.
Somehow it has even lower taxes and fees. My total was just $65.52 for the year, or $5.46 per month.
I genuinely don’t think you can find a cell phone plan cheaper than that.
Still, my preference would be Good2Go Mobile’s plan with 1GB of high-speed data and the unlimited minutes and texts.
Need unlimited data at the best price?
Visible Base is hands-down your best choice.
It’s $25 per month and includes unlimited high-speed data, unlimited hotspot data at 5Mbps, 480p video streaming, and free international calling to Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Saipan.
Plus, Visible Base runs on the Verizon network for coverage.
You will likely get robust service across the United States as Verizon has the second largest network in the U.S.
If you’re looking to save even more money, you may even consider the Visible Base annual plan. Going with the annual option knocks the price down to just $22.92 per month.
Stetson graduated from Ithaca College in 2019 with a degree in Communication Management and Design. He launched BestPhonePlans.net as part a senior project in school. He loves helping people find great, affordable cell phone plans that meet their needs. When he’s not reviewing cell phone plans on his YouTube channel or website, Stetson is out hiking in the crisp Colorado air, playing board games with friends, or competing in an epic game of pickleball.