Best Cell Phone Plans Under $40

Mint Mobile is a prepaid carrier that currently offers the cheapest unlimited plan in the industry, and it's absolutely worth checking out.

When Mint Mobile came out with its $30 Unlimited Plan, it suddenly undercut the entire wireless industry. You couldn't find a decent unlimited plan for under $40; now (for a limited time), you can get one for $15.

If your main objective with your cell phone plan is unlimited data for cheap, then this is your answer. It's hard to imagine another wireless company undercutting Mint Mobile in the near future, so you can rest assured you're getting the most value with Mint Mobile.

You’ll get the most bang for your buck by going with the Unlimited plan that comes with 40GB of high-speed data. For most folk, 40GB of high-speed data should be plenty to last throughout the month, but it all depends on how much data you use.

The rule of thumb with data is every hour of streaming spends about 1 GB of data. So think of it as having 40 hours of wireless streaming available to you every month. And you can always use Wi-Fi to save all that precious high-speed data.

Mint Mobile uses the T-Mobile network for its coverage. T-Mobile’s network covers 62% of the country, making it the worst amongst the big three networks. In particular, T-Mobile struggles offering rural coverage, especially compared to what Verizon’s network offers.

Check out the coverage map below of T-Mobile/Mint Mobile’s network and make sure your city looks good and covered.

If you want to get even further below budget, here are some other wireless carriers even cheaper than Mint Mobile. You won't get unlimited data with these carriers, but you can find a cheaper monthly rate.

Visible's $25 Plan is the cheapest way to get on the Verizon network with an unlimited plan. And you can even get it for $20/month right now with code VISIBLE24.

Visible Wireless has an agreement with Verizon that allows access to its network. It’s like if your friend let you borrow their Bugatti whenever you want. Likewise, Visible uses the super-reliable Verizon network whenever it wants. Good news for you: Verizon is just .2% away from the best coverage in the country. In case you’re curious, here’s how the rankings break down for best coverage providers:¹

1. AT&T: 99.4% availability
2. Verizon: 99.2% availability
3. T-Mobile: 98.3% availability

Verizon's coverage availability ranking means that Verizon users have some kind of wireless network connection, whether it be a 3G, 4G, or 5G connection.

Check out the coverage map below to see what we’re talking about. Visible especially shines in covering more rural areas as well as urban areas.

Along with the best coverage, you also get unlimited data with Visible Wireless. The best coverage and unlimited data is like waffles and syrup or chocolate and pretzels—a match made in heaven. You should be able to reliably stream, play online apps, make calls, and send texts wherever you roam around the country. And perhaps most importantly, your phone’s GPS app should work even in relatively remote areas.

Unlimited data without throttling is pretty impressive for an MVNO, as most prepaid carriers will purposely slow your speeds after hitting a premium data cap. Visible will only slow your speeds when the network is busy. (More on data deprioritization below).

Yes, Visible Wireless does have awesome coverage, but there’s one teensy issue you need to be made aware of.

The secret behind Visible Wireless relationship with Verizon is that it’s a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). An MVNO uses a bigger provider’s network but its users get second dibs on data speeds. In other words, your signal might be deprioritized in more crowded areas because the Verizon network gives the better signal to its own customers. So when you go to a big concert or sports arena, your signal might drop because the Verizon network caters to its own customers before Visible Wireless customers.

Hopefully it’s something you won’t come across too often with Visible Wireless, but it certainly could get annoying when you need to get a text out at a big event.

There are two other MVNOs that operate on Verizon’s network and offer a big chunk of data. Neither plan offers unlimited data, unfortunately, but they’re a few bucks cheaper than Visible Wireless.

Tello is another MVNO that operates on the T-Mobile network. You can get your entire family on Tello's $25 Unlimited plan or choose how much talk, text, and data for each plan.

By customize, we really mean customize. For example, you can pay as little as $5 a month for just 100 minutes and no data, $6 a month for 1GB of data and 100 minutes, $8 a month for 2GB and 300 minutes–you get the point. Add as many lines to one account as you want without any extra fees or contracts.

All of Tello's plans come with unlimited text, so families with teens or grandparents who might not need or want unlimited data can save a lot of money each month without sacrificing the basics.

You won't have to pay any fees to add new lines or to upgrade or downgrade a plan. Plus, Tello's hotspots allow free tethering, meaning you can share your hotspot data with other devices. (Just be aware your hotspot data pulls from your regular data allotment).

Sadly, you won't get any discounts with a family plan, so the prices below are for each person. But with prices this low, you'll still save way more than you would with a discounted family plan from Verizon or AT&T.

Most MVNO's cheap prices come at a cost. For Tello, discounted plans means poorer coverage and data throttling. 

Despite its name, Tello's Unlimited $25 plan only comes with 35GB of high-speed data. Afterward, your speeds will be throttled significantly to 128 Kbps speeds, which is practically unusable. So we really only recommend Tello to users who don't need unlimited data.

Like Mint, Tello operates on the T-Mobile network. It's is available in most states, but users on the East side of the US will have the best luck with coverage, while rural users might experience a spottier connection. 

Check out the coverage map below to see if your location aligns with Tello's coverage area.

So what if all your friends have fancy premium data plans? You can get tons of wireless value for $40 a month or under. You can get unlimited data, unlimited talk, and unlimited text within your budget. Take that, fancy friends!

• Best value plan: You want to keep your cell phone bill under $40 a month? Well, how about $15 a month? Mint Mobile offers unlimited data for $30 a month, but you can get it for $15 a month right now. It's the cheapest plan for unlimited data on the market.
• Best coverage: Visible Wireless gets you on Verizon’s network for a fraction of the price. Trust us, if there were a $40 data plan with Verizon, we would strongly recommend you take that plan. Until that happens, Visible hooks you up to Verizon’s amazing network for a solid price.
• Best family plan: Tello Mobile lets you customize unlimited lines on a family plan at incredibly low prices. Get unlimited text on all plans and just pay for how much data you want, only paying $25 a month max. Just beware of data throttling after 35GB.

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