Best Cell Phone Plans for 2023
Everyone wants unlimited data these days, so in this article I’m covering the nine best unlimited data plans for 2023.
Getting the right unlimited plan for you can save you over $42 per month, or over $500 per year.
That’s money you can put towards fun vacations, adventures, eating out, or even upgrading your phone.
I’ve been reviewing cell phone plans for almost a decade on my YouTube channel. During my senior year of college, I launched this website to help make it easy for consumers to compare cell phone plans. My mission is to help 1 million people save $10 per month or more on their cell phone bill.
So let’s dive into the best unlimited data plans on T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T that will save you some money.
I’m grouping the best unlimited data plans for 2023 into three categories:
- The best high-data plans
- The best value unlimited plans
- The best postpaid unlimited plans
1. Best High-Data Plans
Starting off we have the best high-data plans.
You may be wondering, Stetson, why are you including high data plans in a video about unlimited plans?
Great question.
Two reasons:
- Most importantly, these plans will save you the most money
- It turns out a majority of people don’t need truly unlimited data plans. Average cell phone data use in North America was just 17.4GB per month according Ericsson’s 2022 mobility report.
The cell phone plans I’m about to recommend include well above 17.4GB, so they’ll be perfect for a majority of people, and they’ll save you the most money out of any of the plans here.
The three best high-data plans I recommend are from Mint Mobile, US Mobile, and Boost Mobile.
Mint Mobile Unlimited
Mint Mobile uses the T-Mobile network for coverage, and the plan I recommend is their unlimited plan.
It’s $30 per month and includes 35GB of high speed data before unlimited data at 512Kbps. You get 5GB of hotspot hotspot data here and also free calling to Canada and Mexico. This plan supports all your favorite features like visual voicemail, voice over LTE, Wi-Fi calling, and it even has support for 5G access and eSIM.
I used Mint Mobile as my personal provider for over two years and had a great experience.
If you get good T-Mobile service in your area, I think you’ll like Mint Mobile, too.
US Mobile 25GB
Next up is US Mobile’s plan.
US Mobile uses either Verizon or T-Mobile for coverage, but they are best on the Verizon network.
Their $25 plan includes 25GB of high-speed data. After 25GB the data stops, but you always have the option to buy more data at affordable rates with a data top-up. If you’re a hotspot user, you can also enable hotspot for this plan for $2 extra and use up to all 25GB of included data as hotspot data.
US Mobile also has a super cleanly design application that makes it easy to manage your account and view your usage.
Affordable international data-only eSIM plans are also available if you want data when you’re abroad.
VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling, visual voicemail, 5G access, and eSIM are all supported by US Mobile on the Verizon network.
Boost Infinite
Next is Boost Infinite’s plan.
This uses AT&T’s network for coverage, and it’s pretty simple.
For $25 per month, you get 30GB of high-speed data and then unlimited data at 512Kbps after the high-speed allotment. You can use up to 5GB of hotspot data. Video streams at 480p. Free international texting, free international calling, and 1GB of free data roaming in Canada and Mexico are all also included.
The only feature Boost Infinite doesn’t support is international data roaming.
Pretty soon, Boost Infinite will even automatically switch between the AT&T, T-Mobile, and Dish 5G networks based on which network has the best coverage in your current area.
It’s a great plan at a great price.
2. Best Value Unlimited Plans
For the next category, we have what I consider to be the best value unlimited plans out there.
These plans will give you truly unlimited data on T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T networks for just a couple of dollars extra per month.
If you’re someone who uses over 25GB to 35GB of data per month, these plans are going to be for you.
The three best value plans come from Metro by T-Mobile, Visible, and AT&T Prepaid.
Metro by T-Mobile Unlimited
The first plan is Metro by T-Mobile’s $40 unlimited plan.
This obviously uses T-Mobile for coverage, and it’s the single most affordable truly unlimited data plan I’ve ever seen on the T-Mobile network.
Unfortunately, there is no hotspot support, video streams at 480p, and it has no extra features.
This plan also has 1 catch: it’s only available to new customers who transfer their phone number to Metro by T-Mobile.
As a alternative, if you’re already a Metro customer or you simply want hotspot data, check out Metro’s $50 unlimited plan. It’s a bit more expensive, but it adds 5GB of high-speed hotspot data and a free 100GB Google One membership.
Visible Base
Next up I recommend Visible’s Base plan.
This is probably the single best value unlimited plan out there.
It’s just $30 bucks a month for truly unlimited data on the Verizon network. You also get truly unlimited hotspot data, too. The only catch is that hotspot speeds are limited to 5Mbps.
This plan also has free calls and texts to Canada and Mexico.
And the best part is that all taxes and fees are included in the price, so what you see is what you pay.
You can even add an Apple Watch to this plan for $5.
Visible supports visual voicemail, Wi-Fi calling, VoLTE, and eSIM. 5G is also supported on both Verizon’s 5G Nationwide and 5G Ultra Wideband networks, but you should know that 5G speeds are limited to 200Mbps maximum. Still, that is plenty fast for literally everything, so you should be just fine.
AT&T Prepaid Unlimited MAX
The next plan here is AT&T Prepaid’s Unlimited MAX plan.
This launched as a Walmart exclusive plan for $45 per month, but now anyone can get for $50 per month on AT&T’s prepaid website.
The plan includes 22GB of premium data with unlimited deprioritized data after that, 10GB of hotspot data, and 4K video streaming.
You also get free international texting to 230 destinations, and free unlimited data roaming in Canada and Mexico.
VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling, visual voicemail, eSIM, and 5G are of course all supported here as well.
It’s a bit pricer than the other plans at $56.12 after all taxes and fees, but it’s still the best value truly unlimited plan on the AT&T network.
3. Best Postpaid Unlimited Plans
That brings us to the last category: the best postpaid unlimited plans.
These are going to be great for people who want a true postpaid experience, the ability to walk into a carrier store to get help and support, and the opportunity to get free flagship phones with device trade-in deals and promotions.
T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T offer a total of 14 different postpaid unlimited plans.
I’ve gone ahead and narrowed those down to just the top 3 plans I think are the best value.
T-Mobile Magenta MAX
First up on the T-Mobile network is T-Mobile Magenta MAX.
This is T-Mobile’s most expensive plan, but it comes packed with features.
You get unlimited premium data, 40GB of hotspot data, 4K video streaming, 5GB of data roaming in Canada and Mexico, 5GB of data roaming internationally in over 210 supported destinations, free Apple TV+, and free Netflix.
It might sound expensive at $85 per month, but T-Mobile includes all taxes and fees here.
Plus, the Magenta MAX plan is eligible for the best trade-in deals and discounts, which could have gotten you a free iPhone 14 Pro.
You’ll see what I mean when we compare all the prices in just a moment.
Verizon 5G Play More
Next up is Verizon’s 5G Play More plan.
This is $80 per month and includes 50GB of premium data, 25GB of hotspot data, 720p video streaming, 2GB of high-speed data roaming per day in Canada and Mexico, and a free subscription to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. You’re also eligible for 50% off a Verizon 5G Home Internet plan, or up to $30 off a Verizon FiOS plan.
You can also get up to $800 off the latest smartphones with a trade-in with this plan.
AT&T Unlimited Starter
Lastly we have AT&T’s Unlimited Starter plan.
This is actually the entry-level plan from AT&T, which may seem surprising because I was covering the more expensive and premium plans on T-Mobile and Verizon.
But the reason AT&T Unlimited Starter gets my pick is it has everything you need, and it gives you up to $1,000 off the latest devices with a trade-in.
I think it’s the best value postpaid plan AT&T offers.
It’s $65 per month and includes unlimited data, 3GB of hotspot data, 480p video streaming, and free unlimited data roaming in Canada and Mexico.
What more could you want at a great price?
Side-By-Side Total Monthly Price Comparison
How do these plans compare when we look at the full cost of getting a device and service?
To find out, I calculated the total cost of trading in an iPhone 11, getting an iPhone 14, and paying for 3 years of service.
I then divided that total by 36 months to give us the average monthly cost for each plan and phone.
It’s by no means perfect, but I think it does a pretty good job putting the plan costs into perspective.
When we compare the full cost of the postpaid plans side-by-side, you can see AT&T Unlimited Starter comes out to the most affordable option.
The $1,000 of trade-in credit plus the lower plan cost saves you around $180 per year compared to the other postpaid plans.
In fact, AT&T Unlimited Starter is even cheaper than the AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Plus plan.
But if you wanted to save even more money, you may want to check out the other two best-value unlimited plans I mentioned.
Even without the phone discounts and just getting $200 of trade-in credit from Apple, Metro by T-Mobile and Visible will save you up to $476 per year compared to the postpaid plans.
And Visible’s plan in particular is even a lower cost than Mint Mobile and US Mobile’s high-data plans after all taxes and fees.
See? I told you Visible was probably the single best-value unlimited plan out there.
The only plan more affordable than Visible is Boost Mobile’s high-data plan. It’ll save you just about $36.96 per year.
My Personal Pick
What unlimited plan do you think is best?
Personally, I would sign up for Mint Mobile here.
It’s more expensive than Visible, but T-Mobile coverage is just so much better in my area, it would absolutely be worth it for me.
Plus, I love how Mint Mobile emails you your average data use after your first 3 months and actually recommends you a cheaper plan based on your usage.
So who knows, maybe I’d end up saving even more money.
I’m Stetson, and my mission is to help 1 million people save $10 per month or more on their cell phone bill.
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