Best Cell Phone Plans of 2022

Here's the low-down for the best cell phone plans:

• Verizon offers the best overall coverage
• T-Mobile gets you the fastest data speeds
• AT&T strikes a good balance between coverage and data speeds

Any unlimited data plan from the big three carriers gets expensive, so you can go with a smaller prepaid carrier (like Mint Mobile or Visible Wireless) to get a cheaper unlimited plan.

See? That wasn't so hard. Now you have everything you need to find the best cell phone plan, right? Wrong! There's definitely more details to know before committing to any cell phone plan, and we've narrowed down everything you need to know.

Entering into a cell phone plan is a lot like entering into a relationship. The more you know before committing, the better. Here's some quick tips of what to look for a cell phone plan.

• Know how much data you need: It's essential to know how much data you need as many carriers will base their plans on this figure. Not everyone needs an unlimited data plan, so don't overpay for what you don't need. Read our handy guide to see how much high-speed data you actually need.
• Compare prices: With so many options available, we want to make sure you get the best price for your needs. Use the price-comparison tools, like the charts in this review, to make sure you’re getting the best deal available.
• Watch out for extra fees: Not all cell phone plans are straightforward. Many, especially the cheaper plans, have plenty of devils in the details (like data slowdowns and price increases). We've highlighted some of those details to help you out in your search.
• Make sure your area is covered: Not all mobile providers have stellar service in every part of the US. So to avoid having to sit by the window and wait for bars to appear, check out our coverage maps in this review or read our cell phone coverage guide to see which cell phone service gives you the best coverage.

All right, let’s talk plans, beginning with the most powerful.

Verizon Wireless offers the best coverage overall with great speeds. Here’s what the carrier gets right with its Do More Unlimited Plan.

Verizon's claim to fame has always been its excellent coverage. In 2022, Verizon’s network gets you 4G coverage in 70% of the U.S.¹ That’s better than any other carrier. Check out the chart!

This superior coverage won’t matter as much to those who live in major metropolitan areas, where every carrier has good coverage. But those who are outside of major areas will almost certainly want to check out Verizon (there are some places where Verizon is really the only game in town). Likewise, folks who travel around the country often will get the best experience with Verizon. 

Take a look at this coverage map to see just how extensive Verizon's network is.

Verizon may not be the best carrier for overall speeds, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. You’ll still enjoy high-speed data speeds on Verizon and super-fast high-band 5G network technology in select cities (like Salt Lake City, where I live).

Besides that, the 5G Do More plan comes with tons of perks, like 25 GB of premium mobile hotspot data, one TravelPass day per month, and 600 GB of Verizon Cloud storage. If you travel internationally often, the TravelPass (which lets you use your cell phone plan out of the country) is quite a welcomed bonus.

You also get a ton of subscriptions for free (Disney+, Hulu, Apple Music, etc.) for six months after you sign up for this plan. 

The biggest problem with Verizon is a longstanding one: it’s more expensive. If you're worried about your wallet, Verizon might not be the best choice for you. If you end up disliking your service, Verizon does make it pretty easy to unlock your device if you wanted to switch. 

Keeping up the biggest network in the country must take a lot of work, and a lot of money. So it’s not surprising that Verizon’s plans cost a pretty penny. But, for many customers, it will be just a bit too much.

To illustrate this, we’ve put all of the unlimited plans from Verizon and T-Mobile back to back. As you can see, Verizon is more expensive at every tier, while offering slower data speeds and a less powerful 5G network.

You may notice that Verizon's 5G Start plan is included a second time in the above table. But while it's the same monthly price as T-Mobile's Magenta plan, it doesn't come with any priority high-speed data.

That means that if lots of folks are using Verizon's network at the same time as you, your speeds will automatically get slowed.

T-Mobile Magenta, on the other hand, comes with 100 GB of priority high-speed data that won't get slowed down, while both 5G Do More and Play More come with 50 GB of priority high-speed data each.

All three of the above cell phone plans include unlimited high-speed data (no matter how much you've already used) plus at least 40 GB of mobile hotspot data at 4G LTE speeds. 

But you'll notice that Verizon's 5G Get More plan costs $5 more per month—though you do get some extra perks like Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, Apple Music, 50 GB of hotspot data, and 600 GB of cloud storage included.

Read Full Verizon Wireless Review | View Verizon Wireless Plans

If you love the idea of Verizon's 5G Do More plan, but the perks aren't up your alley, there is another option. Verizon also offers the 5G Play More plan at the same price, which substitutes the TravelPass and Verizon Cloud data for a free subscription to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.

Also included is your choice of a free subscription to either Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass—great for the mobile gamers in your family.

If you already use Spectrum as your internet provider, you can get an affordable cell phone plan with them as well. If you’re not a Spectrum internet user, feel free to scroll on out of here.

Spectrum Mobile’s unlimited plan gets you unlimited everything for $55/month, and uses Verizon’s awesome network to provide coverage. You only get a 30GB data cap every month with this unlimited plan, meaning if you use over 30GB in a month, your data speeds will slow down. As long as you keep below that data cap, Spectrum Mobile offers a nice value unlimited plan for Spectrum customers.

If you’re an existing Comcast Xfinity home internet customer, then Xfinity Mobile is a cell phone service that you need to consider. If you aren't, you might as well skip to the next section because this is an exclusive deal.

We call this a bundle because you cannot get Xfinity Mobile as a standalone service. Even though Xfinity Mobile is sorta exclusive, we like its unlimited plan, and here’s why.

Xfinity Mobile’s price for its unlimited plan is the definition of reasonable. You won't find your wallet catching on fire each month when it's time to pay.

Yes, there are other small carriers with lower prices for an unlimited plan, but Xfinity Mobile is cheaper than all of the Big Three—Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T.

Xfinity Mobile provides 5G for all its cell plans—both unlimited and by the gig—at no extra cost.

To get the most out of that, you need to have a 5G smartphone and to live in an area with 5G infrastructure. If you meet that description, then Xfinity Mobile says it can deliver download speeds of around 450 Mbps and upload speeds around 50 Mbps.² That's impressive.

Xfinity Mobile subscribers can access millions of Wi-Fi hotspots across the country. That significantly extends your coverage. Bear in mind that hotspot data speeds are capped at 600 Kbps, which is 3G-level.

Xfinity Mobile continues to rank number one on the American Customer Service Index’s list for full-service MVNOs. ACSI also put Xfinity Mobile’s app at the top of their list for customer service apps.

Be sure to read more in the Customer Service section of our full Xfinity Mobile review.

We want you to know everything we do about this plan, so there are a few aspects we don’t like about Xfinity Mobile. They mostly pertain to data limitations for non-5G devices.

For 4G LTE data, Xfinity says it can deliver download speeds around 5–12 Mbps and upload speeds around 2–5 Mbps. There is a soft data cap of 20 GB, after which you will be deprioritized, and Xfinity will cut your download speeds to 1.5 Mbps and upload speeds to 750 Kbps. That’s partly why we say go with 5G if you can.

Video streaming is where you’re most likely to feel the pain of these data limitations. If you’re on Xfinity Mobile’s unlimited plan, the default video streaming quality may disappoint. It will depend largely on whether your device is 5G and if the network you have access to is 4G LTE or 5G.

The default streaming resolution for non-5G devices on Xfinity Mobile’s unlimited data plan is only 480p, which is just standard definition (SD). But if you're on the 5G network, you'll get the best possible video resolution.

That’s basically the difference between Batman Forever and The Dark Knight. Both are Batman movies, but one is clearly more advanced than the other.

Go with 5G. That’s our best advice when it comes to Xfinity Mobile. With a 5G device on a 5G network, you’ll enjoy 4K streaming. Roar!

If you’re still in a 4G LTE situation, don’t despair—you can still buy HD streaming for any line, which gets you 720p resolution for smartphones and 1080p for tablets.

Read Full Xfinity Mobile Review | View Xfinity Mobile Plans

Let’s say you already have Xfinity home internet, and you’re looking for a new cell phone plan. Xfinity Mobile appeals to you, but you aren’t looking for an unlimited data plan. If that’s you, then take a look at Xfinity Mobile’s By the Gig plans.

We already did the math (you're welcome), and it’s pretty straightforward:

If you use more than 3 GB of cellular data per month, then Xfinity Mobile’s unlimited plan is probably a better deal for you.

Here are Xfinity Mobile’s plans so you can compare them for yourself.

Mint offers cell phone plans that are cheap in the good way: it has a super low price tag while still offering all the basics, unlimited talk, text, and data.

Here’s what we love about the budget-friendly Mint Mobile unlimited data plan.

Mint’s $30 unlimited data plan no longer holds the championship belt for cheapest unlimited plan (carriers like Ting and Tello recently undercut Mint's pricing). That being said, Mint Mobile still offers a killer bargain when you consider its network and high data caps.

T-Mobile currently has the largest 5G network and the fastest data speeds. As a Mint Mobile customer, you get access to that 5G network for a fraction of what it should cost.

While Mint users won’t get premium treatment (your speeds will slow down before T-Mobile customers see any changes), you will get full use of T-Mobile’s 4G and 5G networks. That means Mint customers should see better data speeds than many other customers on discount plans.

Mint Mobile gives its user a 35GB data cap, which equates to about 35 hours of streaming content on YouTube or Netflix (on standard definition). Most cheap unlimited plans give you data caps between 15GB and 20GB every month, and throttle your speeds once you past that point. It's nice to see an affordable MVNO that doesn't screw you over with a low data cap.

Obviously, Mint has cut some corners somewhere to get its price down this low. Here’s what we don’t love so much about this unlimited data plan and why you might want to reconsider.

The biggest drawback to going with Mint (or any mobile virtual network operator) is that your data will be deprioritized. That’s just a technical way of saying that when the network is busy, your data speeds will be slowed down (so that the parent network, T-Mobile, can keep its own customers at full speed).

Deprioritization is a wily issue to have. You never know quite how much it will affect your service. You might have super fast data speeds all day, then see them trickle to almost nothing in the evening. Or, you might have slow-ish but manageable speeds (think 5–15 Mbps) all the time. It really depends on where you live and how you use your phone.

Mint’s T-Mobile-run network still has some pretty sizable gaps in 4G and 5G coverage, specifically in rural areas. Check out this coverage map to see where you might experience some issues.

View Mint Mobile Plans |Read Full Mint Mobile Review 

Mint used to be in a category of its own for cheap unlimited data, but some new plans from other carriers give a Mint a run for its money.  Carriers like Boost Mobile and Republic Wireless can now match Mint's price, or even charge a little less. Check out the other cheap unlimited plans out there:

Family plans, like this one from Visible, basically always save you money on your cell phone bill. In fact, Visible's family plan happens to be one of the best deals out there. Here's why.

Visible’s plan normally costs $40 a month, which is already a good deal for unlimited talk, text, and data. But, for every line you add (up to four), your price-per-line will go down by $5. That means two lines cost $70, three lines cost $90, and four lines cost $100. That cost for four lines equals out to $25 per person a month.

Visible’s plan isn’t technically the cheapest on the market, but we think it offers the best value. The only cheaper family plan comes from US Mobile, which is actually only cheaper because of a temporary discount that expires after six months.

Here's how prices for unlimited data family plans compare.

We already talked about how Verizon has the best 4G coverage in the nation. Well, Visible uses Verizon’s network. That means you’ll have good service in most of the United States, including many rural areas in the West.

We really only have one complaint about Visible Wireless: the data speeds aren’t very fast.

Visible advertises that its data speeds range from 5–12 Mbps. That’s enough for streaming video, music, playing simple games, and even doing Zoom calls (usually). But during times of network congestion, your speeds could dip below that range, making it hard to do much of anything.

But, to be honest, data deprioritization is a problem with every small carrier (and even the cheaper plans from big carriers). So, you’re going to have to deal with it unless you’re willing to shell out a lot more than $25 per line.

Read Full Visible Wireless Review | View Visible Wireless Plans

Like we said before, the best way to save money on your phone bill is to get a family plan. That’s true for many carriers, so check out our list of all the best family plans around.

T-Mobile has, quite simply, jumped ahead of the pack to become the one of the best cell phone providers in the US.

While some of its previous issues persist—specifically poor 4G coverage in rural areas—it has managed to outperform the competition where it matters most: 4G LTE data speeds, data allotments, and 5G coverage. And it has done all of this while still being cheaper, on average, than Verizon and AT&T.

Here’s everything we love about T-Mobile’s premier Magenta MAX plan.

If you want lightning fast speeds for streaming, gaming, scrolling, posting, and everything else, T-Mobile is clearly the best carrier. According to our proprietary data, which we collected from over 100,000 mobile customers, T-Mobile has the fastest 4G speeds. Just take a look at this chart.

But 4G is going the way of dial-up internet and VHS tapes (remember those?). 5G is the new technology in town, and T-Mobile is also dominating in the 5G arena.

When it comes to 5G speeds, OpenSignal’s latest report says, “T-Mobile wins the 5G Download Speed award for the fifth time in a row, increasing once again its lead on Verizon and AT&T … this time T-Mobile places at least 93.9 Mbps ahead of its competitors …”³

Here’s a dirty little secret about the mobile industry: unlimited doesn’t really mean unlimited most of the time. Most unlimited plans actually have a data cap, and once you hit that cap your data speeds can (and will) be drastically reduced.

This is one of the biggest reasons that T-Mobile’s Magenta MAX plan stands out. The Magenta MAX plan gives you 100 GB a month of high-speed data before deprioritization. If you want the best speed, here it is.

T-Mobile doesn’t just have the fastest 5G data speeds. It also has the largest 5G network. According to OpenSignal, T-Mobile users in 16 states were connected to 5G networks 35% of the time.

That might not sound like much, but it’s far more than AT&T customers, who were only connected to a 5G network 25% of the time (in just six states) and Verizon users, who were connected just 17% of the time (in just one state).¹

This network makes T-Mobile the most “future-proof” carrier around, since 5G technology will become the new standard for mobile networks in the years to come.

Obviously, we’re pretty impressed with T-Mobile right now. But that doesn’t mean we are blind to its faults. Here are the things we don’t love about the Magenta MAX plan.

T-Mobile is actually the cheapest of the Big Three. Its prices are generally cheaper than comparable plans from AT&T and Verizon. But that doesn’t matter much when you’re talking about an $85 plan like Magenta MAX.

You can get an unlimited plan from a discount carrier, like Visible or Mint, for less than half that price (although the data will be much slower and you’ll have worse perks)!

In short, T-Mobile knows this is the most powerful plan in the industry right now, so they’re not afraid to stick to a high price. And it’s still totally worth it for those who want performance above all else.

We talked about how T-Mobile’s 5G network is the biggest. But that network doesn’t spread into most rural areas of North America, where T-Mobile’s 4G coverage is also spotty. Just look at the holes in this coverage map—it looks like swiss cheese (yum, cheese).

You can see the broad swaths of Nebraska, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and Nevada where T-Mobile doesn’t have great coverage. So if you live in one of those areas, you might want to go with another carrier (Verizon has the best 4G coverage in rural areas).

View T-Mobile Plans | Read Full T-Mobile Review

If you’re not a big fan of T-Mobile for whatever reason, but you still want a premier, top-shelf, grade-A plan with tons of data and high performance, then check out these plans from AT&T and Verizon.

We’ve already talked about how Mint Mobile is our favorite cheap unlimited data plan. But US Mobile offers an even cheaper set of plans for those who don’t necessarily need unlimited data.

US Mobile offers some pretty mind-boggling deals, like unlimited talk and text, plus 12 GB of data, for just $20 a month. Imagine if paying your phone bill costs less than a Sunday brunch?

It is true that this $20 price tag includes a temporary discount that goes away after six months. But if you’re worried about that, US Mobile has plenty of other data plans that cost less than $20 a month.

If you’re still not convinced, check out how US Mobile compares to other super-cheap data plans.

US Mobile is an MVNO, which means it doesn’t have its own mobile network. Instead it uses both Verizon and T-Mobile to bring service to its customers. Which network you end up on depends on what kind of phone you have (GSM or CDMA).

In terms of data performance and coverage, Verizon and T-Mobile are the two best networks in the game. So, whichever network you end up on you should be pretty happy.

With prices this low, it's natural to look for a gotcha. Here’s what we don’t love so much about the US Mobile unlimited data plan.

As with Mint and Visible, US Mobile customers will be subject to data deprioritization. That means you could see your data speeds plummet during times of peak use (usually in the evenings). If you need fast data all the time for work, gaming, or your social media addiction, then you might want to consider another carrier.

You don’t get a $20 cell phone plan without cutting the fat somewhere. In this case, US Mobile has cut pretty much every perk. There’s no free hotspot data, no free subscriptions, and no special phone deals.

View US Mobile Plans | Read Full US Mobile Review 

If you want to keep your costs as low as possible for your prepaid family plan, you can get a Mix & Match Family Plan from Boost Mobile that gets costs you as little as $15 for unlimited talk, unlimited text, and 2 GB of data shared across three lines.​

If you want to check out some other incredibly cheap cell phone plans, we suggest checking out Red Pocket and Ting.

We’ve gone over the five best cell phone plans on the market right now. It’s up to you to decide which one fits your lifestyle and budget. Here’s a quick recap to help you make up your mind.

• Best overall coverage: Verizon Wireless is still on top when it comes to overall coverage. If you live outside major metropolitan areas, this is probably the best carrier for you.
• Best bundle: If you’re already paying Comcast Xfinity internet, then you should look at Xfinity Mobile. It gets you on Verizon’s 5G network for less than $50 a month.
• Best budget unlimited data plan: Mint Mobile offers a perfectly good unlimited data plan for a ridiculous price. Your data speeds may not be the fastest, but your wallet will thank you.
• Best family plan deal: Visible Wireless will hook you and your loved ones up with an unlimited plan for as little as $25 per line. Yes, it’s a very good deal.
• Best overall performance: The T-Mobile Magenta MAX plan is simply the most powerful plan on the market, offering truly unlimited data, the fastest speeds, and plenty of cool perks.
• Best under $20: If you’re just looking for the cheapest, most bare-bones plans, then we suggest checking out US Mobile. A crisp twenty will get you up to 12 GB of data.

That’s all we’ve got to say about the best cell phone plans. We hope we’ve been helpful (you can always yell at us in the comments if we haven’t been).

We spent over a week researching, compiling data, and writing this article. Our analysis and suggestions are based on a deep knowledge of the industry (having written in-depth reviews of dozens of cell phone carriers), but that’s not all.

For this article we looked at data from over 100,000 mobile customers to determine mobile data speeds. We used the latest reports from OpenSignal and other groups to understand the status of carriers’ 5G networks. And we used comparison tools from sites like WhistleOut.com to help understand pricing and features.

Most of all, we trust the users. So we’ve also looked at customer reviews from each carrier to better understand what they do right, and where they could improve.

We crammed a lot into this review, but we thought of a few more things we want to talk about. Hopefully we’ll cover any lingering questions you may have in this section, but if we’ve missed something then let us know in the comments below!

Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T tend to have much better deals on new phones than their MVNO counterparts. But, out of those three, there isn’t a clear winner. They tend to change their deals frequently to highlight new phones and promotions.

So, the best way to figure out which carrier has the best deals right now is to read our cell phone deals page that we update every month.

It really depends on what you want. Some folks will want Verizon’s awesome rural coverage, while others will go for T-Mobile’s lightning fast data speeds. Others still will prefer Visible for its incredible family plan pricing.

In short, there isn’t a single carrier that’s clearly the best. But if you read about the five plans we’ve featured in this article, then you’ll probably find something that’s a great fit for you.

There are three major networks in the United States: Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. Verizon has the best nationwide coverage, especially in rural areas. T-Mobile has the biggest (and fastest) 5G network. And, while AT&T doesn’t take home the gold medal, it has pretty darn good coverage in most metropolitan and suburban areas.

The easiest way to figure out which network is best for you is to look at coverage maps. You can see maps for all three major carriers and read all about their performance in our up-to-data network coverage analysis.

If you want the best unlimited data plan, regardless of cost, we recommend T-Mobile’s Magenta MAX plan. It comes with truly unlimited data (no data cap), the fastest data speeds in the industry, and tons of amazing perks.

But there are plenty of other great unlimited data plans that cost less. Visible Wireless has an incredible deal on unlimited data family plans, while Mint Mobile probably has the best deal on an individual unlimited plan.

Just be sure to look at the fine print of every unlimited data plan that you consider. You will often find that there are data caps (unlimited isn’t really unlimited) and data deprioritization on the cheaper plans.

It’s hard to choose favorites when there are several great options, depending on what you want from your cell phone plan. That said, T-Mobile has been making some really impressive strides when it comes to 5G coverage, data speeds, and perks.

T-Mobile has the biggest and fastest 5G network right now, and the other two networks (AT&T and Verizon) aren’t very close to catching up.³ This means that T-Mobile will likely be on top for the near future when it comes to overall performance. 

We put the three top carriers to the test for price, coverage, and speed, Check out how each stacks up in our Verizon vs. AT&T review, AT&T vs. T-Mobile review, and our T-Mobile vs. Verizon review. 

Mint Mobile, Visible Wireless, and US Mobile are all great options for affordable cell phone plans. Each of these discount carriers has something to offer the right customer.

But the market is flooded with cheap cell phone plans right now, so it’s worth shopping around for the very best deal. Just be aware that cheaper isn’t always better. There are usually drawbacks hidden in the fine print, like data deprioritization, price hikes, and coverage gaps.

Sources