Best Phone Plans for Kids

Your kids want the coolest (most expensive) new gadgets and services. And you want to save some money for their college fund, or maybe for some gadgets of your own. Well, here’s a compromise: Mint Mobile’s Unlimited Data Plan.

We know what you're thinking: Aren't unlimited plans expensive? Not this one. It's one of the cheapest unlimited data plans available right now.

So what exactly is unlimited data? It depends on how philosophical you want to get (what is anything, really?), but essentially it’s enough mobile data to stream a short movie, enjoy some Spotify study music, or, you know, check on coursework.

So, your kid can stream 10 hours of Power Rangers Ninja Steel on Netflix. Or they can play about 100 hours of Fortnite (which sounds like a lot, but parents out there know it’s possible).

And hopefully, your kiddo will choose to put that unlimited data to good use while studying too.

Mint Mobile is an MVNO, which means that it piggybacks off another company’s network. In this case, that other company is T-Mobile.

While T-Mobile isn’t the biggest or fastest network in the country, it does offer great coverage in most metropolitan areas. 

Here's a good rule to live by: your kids’ cell phone plans shouldn’t cost more than your own. Mint Mobile’s Unlimited Data Plan clocks in at just $30 a month, which makes it significantly cheaper than pretty much any unlimited data plan out there.

This cheap price tag is one of the reasons that Mint's unlimited plans tops our list of the best cell phone plans.

We know that your darling little angel of a child is perfect. But, unfortunately, no kid’s cell phone plan is as perfect as they are. Here are a couple of the potential flaws of Mint’s Unlimited Data Plan.

If your offspring has a penchant for naughty behavior, you might want a plan that lets you control how much your kid uses their phone, and what kind of activities they use it for. Unfortunately, Mint doesn’t have great parental control tools.

But check out Verizon Smart Family below, which is designed to help you control how your kids use their phones. (Or check out third-party parental control apps that you can install on your kid’s smartphone.)

Like the idea of Mint Mobile, but don’t like Ryan Reynolds (who is a part owner of the company)? Check out these similar plans from other carriers.

If you’re already a Verizon customer, or you’re just ready to hop on the nation’s best network, then the Verizon Smart Family app is a great option for parents who want to give their kids a phone while avoiding potential safety risks. Here’s a look at everything we love about Verizon's Smart Family app.

Verizon offers two tiers of Verizon Smart Family membership.

With Verizon Smart Family ($4.99/month), you can do all of the following:

• Control screen time
• View texts and calls

With Smart Family Premium ($9.99/month), you can do all of the following:

• Control screen time
• View texts and calls
• Choose your kid's contacts
• Block inappropriate content
• Reduce access to certain apps and manage screen time
• Track the phone's location

Verizon’s Smart Family app allows you to easily control these settings and filters from your own phone. So you can stop wondering if your preteen is using up all of that mobile data doing something inappropriate and just worry about their strange fashion choices instead.

You can add Verizon Smart Family to any Verizon plan. Verizon's entry-level plan, Unlimited Welcome, offers unlimited talk, text, and data. So while they can technically game, stream, and Instagram their little hearts out, you still have control over their total screen time—and the apps they can use. 

Smart Family can also be added to a Verizon prepaid plan if you don't care about unlimited data. You'll spend less and still be able to monitor your kiddo's phone usage.

We’ve talked plenty about how powerful Verizon’s network is, but a visual may really help drive the message home. Here’s a look at Verizon’s coverage map.

Verizon Smart Family is definitely among the best parental control apps for kids, but, as they say, “every path has its puddle.” Let’s wade through the not-so-great stuff.

The biggest roadblock to getting the Verizon Smart Familly app is that you (or some other adult in your family) must already have a plan with Verizon. If you already do, then good on you!

If not, here’s a look at the options.

The silver lining of all this is that Verizon’s plans are pretty great.

The Verizon Smart Family app follows the usual formula for Verizon: it’s great, and it’s pricey. While $4.99/month is a bit easier to stomach, $9.99/month for Smart Family Premium is a bit steep. Especially if you're adding an extra $10 for multiple children. It’s definitely going to cost you more than prepaid phones for kids from companies like Boost and Tello.

If Smart Family sounds great, but you’re not ready to sign up for Verizon, then check out these other unlimited family plans.

We’ve been really impressed with Visible Wireless since the company appeared on the mobile scene a few years ago. It offers two simple and powerful plans with unlimited data.

So if you’re looking for a plan that covers all of your young whippersnappers, Visible is a great option. Here are some details on what we like the most.

Saving money on your kids’ phone plan doesn’t have to mean skimping on data. In other words, phones for kids don’t have to feel like kids phones.

With both of Visible’s unlimited data plans, your kids can do all the things that the grownups do (for better or worse). They can stream, post, browse, game, email, and play PUBG Mobile (whatever that is) to their hearts’ content.

The difference between Visible's $25/month plan and its $45/month plan is the amount of priority data you get. The higher-tiered plan offers 50GB of high-speed data. With the $25 plan, you don't get any premium data, which means your data is subject to deprioritization in moments of high traffic.

Like Mint Mobile, Visible runs on another company’s network. Unlike Mint Mobile, Visible runs on Verizon’s network, which is generally considered to be the best in the nation.

That means your children won’t have any excuse not to call you, whether they’re staying at a friend's house or going off to college on the other side of the continent.

It’s no secret that we love Visible. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have our qualms, too (it’s our job, after all).

Visible Wireless isn’t specifically a phone plan for kids. That means your kids will have access to all of the amazing, horrible, and weird stuff that happens on smartphones. If that worries you, you might want to check out parental control apps.

Visible Wireless only offers one-line plans. Fortunately, Visible plans are cheap enough that users won't need a multi-line discount. But it would be nice to be able to control your kids' lines from one account.

Visible sounds great and all, but how does it compare to other plans? Here’s a gander at other cheap unlimited data plans with four lines.

US Mobile is not one of the biggest or fanciest mobile carriers out there. But not everyone (especially not your 11-year-old kid) needs the best cell phone plan in the world. So, here’s a look at a “good enough” sort of plan for those who want to save some dough.

If you’re looking for a cheap plan for a single kid, you can get unlimited talk and text with 6GB of data for just $18 a month. That’s a pretty small price to pay to know that your kid can call you whenever they need a ride.

And if you prefer your kiddos not to have that much data but can still call if school lets out early, US Mobile has you covered there, too, with its 2GB Shared Data Plan, which costs $10 a month.

Your child won’t have to worry about running out of texts or minutes with this phone plan. That means they can gossip with their friends all weekend, and they’ll have no excuses for not texting or calling you back when they’re out and about!

It seems a bit rude to be nit-picky about a plan this cheap, but that’s our job. Here’s where US Mobile falls a bit short.

If you’re the type of parent who wants to know what’s happening on your kids’ cell phones, then this might not be the best plan. While you might be able to get phone-based apps to help control what’s happening on each individual phone, the plan itself doesn’t have parental controls built into it.

If a cheap, low- or no-data cell phone plan sounds perfect for your kids, but US Mobile doesn’t seem right for whatever reason, there are other options. Here’s a peek at some similar plans from other carriers.

You’ve got kids, which means you probably don’t have a ton of free time to sit around and read reviews. So let’s cut to the chase. Here’s the short and sweet recap of the best cell phone plans for kids.

• Best value: Mint Mobile's Unlimited Data Plan gets your kid unlimited talk and text, plus unlimited data for Tik Toking and gaming. All that will cost you just $30 a month.
• Best parental controls: Verizon's Smart Family App gives you a bird' s-eye view of your children's phone habits, allowing you to manage contacts, block apps, turn on/off the internet, and track location.
• Cheapest unlimited plan: The Visible Wireless $25 Plan gives you unlimited data on Verizon’s network. It’s such a good deal that you might want to get on Visible Wireless yourself. Just know this provider doesn't offer parental controls or multi-line accounts.
• Best low-data plan: The US Mobile 6GB Shared Data plan doesn’t have any bells or whistles, but it is super cheap. Like $18-a-month cheap.