AT&T vs. Mint Mobile Cell Phone Plans Review: Can Mint Mobile’s $15 Plans Beat AT&T’s Unlimited Premium Data?

First things first, let’s compare AT&T vs. Mint Mobile plans.

AT&T’s prices are much higher on a single-line basis. In return, you get unlimited standard data with premium data (which doesn’t slow down during network congestion) ranging from 75GB (mid-tier) to unlimited (top-tier). Hotspot data is included with every unlimited plan, and you also get international roaming and security features that improve as you move up to Extra and Premium.

For most single-line and moderate data users in strong T-Mobile areas, Mint Mobile offers far better dollar value: Its 5–20 GB plans and unlimited option cost a fraction of AT&T’s prices without compromising everyday performance. For example, Mint’s Unlimited plan includes 50GB of premium data, just 25GB shy of AT&T’s mid-tier plan, but for less than half the cost.

AT&T’s value is more apparent for heavy data users and families who can use the 75GB high-speed threshold on Extra or the unlimited premium data and 60GB hotspot on Premium, especially once multi-line discounts bring down the per-line cost.

Mint’s family plan lets a primary account holder manage 2–5 lines, and each line can choose its own data amount. However, there is no built-in family discount, so your bill is simply the sum of each line’s plan price. AT&T takes the opposite approach, using aggressive multi-line discounts to make its Unlimited Premium plan surprisingly affordable for larger households. With five lines and the right discounts, per-line pricing can fall into the mid $30s, which is a strong deal for unlimited premium data, large hotspot amounts, and international perks.

Let’s take a look at five lines on each mobile carrier’s most premium plan. With AT&T, one line will cost just $45.99 per month for access to unlimited premium data, 60GB of hotspot data, and international benefits. With Mint, despite the lack of discounts, you’re still paying less than AT&T at $30 per month for one line. However, the difference is that AT&T offers unlimited premium data (never slows down, no matter the network congestion), while Mint offers 50GB of premium data on top of unlimited standard data (can be deprioritized during network congestion). Mint’s 50GB is a generous amount of premium data for an MVNO, but data hounds will want to go with AT&T.

Mint Mobile offers deals on Apple, Samsung, and Google phones, but these deals typically require prepaying upfront (from three to 12 months) for service as part of the bundle. AT&T runs a wider range of device promotions and long-term financing options, including trade-in offers tied to unlimited plans and its AT&T Next Up Anytime program. This particular program lets customers upgrade more frequently, making it more appealing for people who always want the latest flagship phones. If you love new phones, then you’ll generally be better suited to take advantage of “on us” deals with bigger carriers like AT&T.

Mint’s perks are lean but practical: free calling to Mexico, Canada, and the UK, plus the ability to buy extra data in small chunks without reworking the whole plan. But you won’t find streaming subscriptions or heavy security tools.

AT&T includes more from the start: All unlimited plans include unlimited talk, text, and data in and between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, plus AT&T ActiveArmor, and Premium adds unlimited talk, text, and premium data in 20 Latin American countries at no extra cost.

AT&T earns a 5/5 coverage rating in its review, supported by both third-party data and customer anecdotes. That said, while AT&T reliably offers a connection, that doesn’t mean you’re going to get the fastest speeds. An OpenSignal Mobile Network Experience Report from June 2025 finds that AT&T users spend 99.6% of their time with a mobile broadband connection, and customers in Florida and Utah say they have “never had an issue with coverage” and see fewer dead zones compared with their previous Verizon service. That said, OpenSignal’s “availability” metric counts any 3G-or-better connection, which does not necessarily reflect the kind of 4G LTE and 5G speeds people now expect as standard. A small lead in availability does not mean AT&T is categorically faster in every location, only that it keeps some form of connection more consistently.

Mint runs on T-Mobile’s network—a leader in recent 5G coverage experience reports. T-Mobile averages over 150 Mbps download speeds for its 5G users, including Mint customers. In real-world testing, I’ve found solid coverage across urban, suburban, and canyon areas in Utah County, with only occasional drops in service in concrete buildings downtown. Because Mint is a T-Mobile prepaid carrier, its traffic can be deprioritized behind T-Mobile’s direct customers during busy times. But ultimately, Mint’s coverage feels similar to T-Mobile’s, but at a lower cost.

AT&T structures its unlimited plans around standard data, premium data, and hotspot tiers. Unlimited Starter offers unlimited talk, text, and standard data with possible slowdowns when the network is busy. Unlimited Extra adds 75 GB of premium data before any congestion-based slowdowns and a 30GB hotspot. And Unlimited Premium offers unlimited talk, text, and premium data that can’t slow down based on how much you use, plus 60GB hotspot and 4K UHD streaming. In practice, a real-world test on AT&T’s 5G network in Utah showed about 345Mbps download, which the review notes is slightly behind T-Mobile’s peak speeds but easily fast enough for streaming, work, and heavy app use.

Mint’s data performance benefits from T-Mobile’s 5G network but is tuned for efficiency rather than unlimited use. Its 5GB, 15GB, and 20GB options serve light to moderate users, and the unlimited tier is aimed at those who simply need more data that won’t be throttled to slow speeds. Users can add 1 GB or 3GB of data mid-cycle without changing plans. When users fully exhaust their standard allotment on smaller plans, data can feel good as dead, which is typical when throttling kicks in on prepaid plans. For the unlimited plan, Mint’s own disclaimer makes clear that unlimited customers using over 50GB per month may experience lower speeds during congestion.

Ultimately, heavy data users who regularly cross that data cap and rely on hotspot may be better served by AT&T’s Extra or Premium tiers.

AT&T and Mint both receive 3/5 customer service ratings, but for different reasons. AT&T customers who spoke to Reviews.org cited account-management frustrations, especially when combining a standard unlimited plan with a FirstNet line for first responders, to the point of having to visit a physical store to make changes. Reddit discussions shed more light on challenges with headlines using words like “chaos,” “horrible,” and “hate” for AT&T’s customer service.

That being said, AT&T’s online chat was relatively positive with almost instant connection and no upsells on services. Mint’s customer service story revolves more around its online-only nature and some persistent SIM activation problems. Once activated, though, Mint Mobile service is a breeze, and there’s usually no need to reach out to customer service.

AT&T Wireless is the better fit for users who prioritize unlimited amounts of premium data that won’t get slowed by network congestion, hotspot usage, and travel features. Its Unlimited Extra and Unlimited Premium plans are designed for heavy data users and frequent travelers, offering large premium allowances, up to 60 GB hotspot per line, and high-speed roaming in 20 Latin American countries. With multi-line discounts, which can slash Premium’s monthly price into the mid-$40s per line, AT&T becomes best for large families and power users who will actually use those extras and who prefer the option to visit a store for in-person help and device upgrades.