Sprint vs. AT&T Phone Plans Review

Of the big four wireless providers, Sprint specializes as the budget option. AT&T used to include a free TV service with its unlimited plans, but it recently cut the perk. At this point, AT&T doesn't offer much besides decent coverage and data speeds. So if you’re looking for a better overall value, we’d recommend Sprint.

If you want the absolute lowest monthly bill possible—especially for family plans— then Sprint is still your friend. But AT&T will give you better network coverage and speeds for your money.

If you look at the bare numbers, AT&T and Sprint’s unlimited plans have a huge cost gap. AT&T's cheapest plan is nearly twice the cost of Sprint's cheapest plan.

These lowest tiered plans from AT&T and Sprint are not all that different. Both plans will throttle your data speeds for streaming and can deprioritize your data if you use too much. Neither plan allows mobile hotspots.

Given the big price difference between these two plans, most people will opt for Sprint (assuming they don't care much about having the best coverage).

But when you begin looking into the higher tiered plans, the price gap between the two companies closes and AT&T starts looking better.

For example, when you compare Sprint's Unlimited Premium plan to AT&T's Unlimited Elite plan, there's only a $15 difference. That $15 will add up, sure, but it will also get you better coverage.

AT&T used to have some of the best perks in the industry, but recently the company has been trimming their fun add-ons. Still, there are a few benefits to sticking with AT&T.

• AT&T Next Up: This perk allows you to upgrade your phone early, even if you haven't finished paying off your current one.
• AT&T Thanks: AT&T will give you free movie tickets, presale access to concert tickets, and other little surprises.
• Free overnight shipping: When you buy qualifying new phones or other devices from AT&T you'll have them the next day.

Sprint has a few tricks up its sleeves as well. If you already pay for a Hulu account, then you can kiss that cost goodbye. Sprint includes a Hulu subscription with both its unlimited plans.

The downside to the Hulu joy is you can only watch it on your phone or a device that’s connected to your Sprint account. That means you can’t just log in to Hulu and stream Last Man on Earth on your TV or tablet, which is a pretty weird restriction. It’s also the Limited Commercials Hulu plan, which includes ads.

Sprint also has some extra perks like unlimited data and texting in most countries, plus a Tidal Premium subscription for Unlimited Plus and many other perks for Unlimited Premium.

As it stands in 2020, here are the rankings for best coverage in the country:¹

• Verizon: 70% 4G coverage
• T-Mobile: 59% 4G coverage
• AT&T: 58% 4G coverage
• Sprint: 27% 4G coverage

Both AT&T and Sprint fall to the two bottom spots for coverage networks, but one is way better than the other. AT&T more than doubles Sprint's coverage. Yes, Sprint offers dirtcheap prices for its unlimited data plans, but its coverage feels seriously spotty. Sprint only makes sense if you know you live in a place with solid coverage. Check the map below for reference.

AT&T easily wins the coverage battle over Sprint, but honestly we expected AT&T to cover more than 58% of the country. Hopefully AT&T picks up its game and offers a more reliable network—especially considering its pricey data plans.

When it comes to download speeds, AT&T's data speeds crush Sprint's data speeds. In fact, so far in 2020, AT&T crushes everybody's data speeds.

The average download speed for an AT&T user hovers around 27.5 Mbps, while the average speed for a Sprint user bottoms out at 23.9 Mbps.² Translation: It'll take longer for you to download apps, watch Instagram stories, and buffer YouTube videos with Sprint than it will with AT&T.

Both AT&T and Sprint have the latest smartphone models, both carry top brands, and both cost about the same.

In short, it really depends on what you want.

AT&T has better coverage and better speeds than Sprint. But the company can no longer claim to have better perks. Meanwhile, Sprint offers similar unlimited plans for a much cheaper rate.

So for most folks it will come down to coverage. Do you want AT&T's more reliable network and faster speeds enough to pay extra for it, or are you okay with a budget option like Sprint?

It's close between these two providers, but we would recommend AT&T over Sprint for most people.

When should you pick AT&T or Sprint?

• • Budgeters: Sprint’s prices are consistently lower than AT&T's.
  • Travelers: Sprint includes international texting and data in its plans, while AT&T does not. But AT&T does have better global coverage and unlimited talk to Canada and Mexico. If you travel a lot, you may also want to add an international plan.
  • Data lovers: You can get unlimited data with either provider, but you can get a Sprint unlimited plan for much cheaper than an AT&T unlimited plan.
  • Country dwellers: AT&T has way better coverage than Sprint, especially in more rural places.
  • Speed lovers: AT&T significantly outranks Sprint when it comes to data speeds.

Sources

Additional contributors

Easton Smith