Tello vs. AT&T Wireless Review

No one wants to be counting every text they send or every MB of data they use. This is why we have unlimited talk, text, and data plans. But not all unlimited plans are created equal, as we’ll see in this review of AT&T and Tello’s offerings.

While Tello’s low-priced unlimited plan is a great deal, it is not really unlimited. In fact, it gives you 50 GB of high-speed data. Meanwhile, AT&T’s unlimited data plans offer much more but have a steeper price tag. Let’s dive into the details, beginning with Tello.

With Tello, you can score unlimited talk, text, and data for just $25 a month. That’s among the cheapest unlimited plans on the market. It’s certainly a lot cheaper than going straight to T-Mobile (the T-Mobile Essentials plan costs a whopping $60 a month!).

But there’s one big catch: after you use 50 GB of data, your speeds will be throttled significantly to 128 Kbps speeds. Trying to scroll through TikTok at that speed will feel like trying to play Fortnite on a dial-up modem. Not ideal.

It’s also worth noting that this plan doesn’t come with any special perks, like free subscriptions or extra mobile hotspot data. So, for those who want super-fast data speeds and higher-performance overall, AT&T is probably the way to go.

AT&T actually has four unlimited data plans, ranging in price from $50 to $90 a month. Each of these plans comes with unlimited talk, text, and data, but they all have different data caps and perks. Here’s a quick preview before we talk about the specifics.

Here’s the breakdown of AT&T’s unlimited data plans.

• Value 2.0: This affordable plan includes 50 GB of data and 3 GB of mobile hotspot data before any potential slowdowns during network congestion. Keep in mind that the plan doesn't support additional lines for a family discount.
• Extra 2.0: This mid-tier plan includes 100 GB of high-speed data and 50 GB of hotspot data per month, with the ability to add additional lines for a family discount.
• Premium 2.0: The Premium plan gives you a full 100GB of 4G or 5G data before you’ll see any slowdowns. You can use up to 100GB of mobile hotspot data.
• Elite 2.0: This plan comes with truly unlimited high-speed data. That means no throttling, slowdowns, or data caps. Plus, you’ll get 250GB of hotspot data and complimentary connectivity for one tablet and one watch per Elite 2.0 phone line.

That was a lot to go over. The TL;DR version is this: AT&T’s plans cost more than Tello’s, but they offer way more high-speed data and extra perks.

AT&T and Tello have plans for those who have somehow managed to not become addicted to their phones and who don’t need (or want) unlimited data. In general, we’re more impressed with Tello’s selection and pricing for limited data plans, but some users may prefer AT&T’s network.

Because of Tello's mix-and-match system, there are a bunch of plans from Tello besides its unlimited plan, ranging from a $5/month talk and text plan to a $25/month unlimited plan with 50 GB of high-speed data. Take a look at all of the options below.

That may be a lot to take in, but we appreciate the variety that Tello offers. There’s a plan for everyone here, from your nana who’s never sent a text message in her life, to your teenage kid who needs a little data (but not too much) to keep up with their friends.

AT&T doesn’t have quite so many limited data plans — just one 4GB plan — and it's pretty pricey. Here’s a quick peek at the options.

As you can see, the cheapest plan that AT&T offers is $50 a month, which is more than five times as much as Tello’s cheapest plan! And it only gives you 4GB of data and zero hotspot data.

In short, AT&T’s plan structure just makes less sense for those who don’t want unlimited data.

Bundling up in a family plan is one of the best and easiest ways to save money on your phone bill. We encourage everyone to share a plan with their kids, spouses, uncles, aunts, college roommates, co-workers, or whoever else is around.

Sadly, Tello doesn’t really do family plans. Sure, you can add extra lines to your account, but you won’t see any extra perks or cost savings. Meanwhile, AT&T customers will see awesome rewards for going with a multi-line plan.

For example, AT&T’s Extra 2.0 plan costs $70 a month for a single line, which is getting up there in terms of price. But, if you get four lines of Extra, it’s just $160 a month, or $40 per line. That’s a whopping $30 that you save every month per line!

When you consider AT&T’s steep family plan discounts, its plans aren’t actually that much pricier than Tello’s, while offering far more in terms of data, performance, and perks.

For those age 55 or older, you can get AT&T's 55+ plan for $40 per month or as low as $35 per month with two lines. You get unlimited talk, text, and data in the US, Canada, and Mexico, plus 10GB of hotspot data. 

Tello and AT&T both have relatively good coverage and fast data speeds. But there is a difference between the two, especially in certain, more rural areas.

Tello is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), which means that it actually doesn’t operate its own mobile network. Instead, it leases bandwidth from T-Mobile. While T-Mobile doesn’t have the best 4G coverage in the country, it does have more 5G infrastructure than any other network.

You can see how strong T-Mobile’s coverage is in your area using this interactive map.

AT&T can’t match T-Mobile’s 5G network, but its overall 4G LTE coverage is generally a bit better than T-Mobile in rural areas (though Verizon is the best for rural coverage). Take a look at this coverage map to see how it stacks up.

Let’s be real, cell phone companies aren’t known for their amazing customer service. But some companies are better than others at responding to customers’ questions and concerns.

Of the major three carriers, AT&T actually has the highest ranking in the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s most recent Wireless Phone Service and Cell Phone Study¹. In our own experience with AT&T, we’ve had a relatively easy time reaching a real, living human being on the phone who helped us solve our problem.

Tello is a much smaller company than AT&T, which means it has fewer resources to devote to customer service. That said, Tello gets a 4.5/5-star rating from Trust Pilot² and most customers online have small complaints about billing or outages that are relatively easy to solve.

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