Lower cost. Flexible plans. No credit check. No contract.
There are a lot of reasons to consider a prepaid phone plan. There are also a lot of plans to consider, should you chose to do so. Plans that let you pay as you go. Plans that let you pay monthly for unlimited talk and text and a few gigabytes of data. Plans that let you split the cost with family and friends.
Do those last two sound familiar? They should. Prepaid phone plans are starting to mimic the traditional plans offered by major carriers such as Sprint, Verizon and AT&T, minus the contract, credit check and expensive plan. And many prepaid providers are owned by those big-name carriers.
Sprint owns Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. AT&T owns Cricket Wireless. T-Mobile owns MetroPCS. Each of the major carriers also offers its own prepaid plans.
There are some tradeoffs with prepaid service, though. You pay full price for a new phone, rather than spreading the payments out over 24 months. This means that the iPhone 6S you’re eying will set you back about $650 up front, instead of around $27 per month. And some prepaid carriers don’t carry the newest, most popular smartphones. But they almost all have inexpensive phones — as low as $1 in some cases — and some prepaid providers will let you bring your own phone.
If you’re still considering a prepaid plan, but don’t know where to start, keep reading. We evaluated the prepaid plans offered by more than a dozen wireless carriers, including Tracfone, Consumer Cellular, Verizon and AT&T’s GoPhone, to find the best prepaid plans out there.
Before choosing a prepaid cell phone plan (or any cell phone plan, really), take stock of how you use your phone. If you regularly check email and Instagram, a pay-as-you go plan is not for you. If you go weeks or months without using your phone, though, pay as you go is a great option.
Best prepaid phone plans
- Plan name: Virgin Mobile Data Sharing Done Right (3GB)
- Monthly price: $40
- Data: 3GB
- Activation fee: $0
- Bonus: Minutes and messages are unlimited with this plan, but you can step down to 300 minutes and save $10 per month
- Plan name: Cricket Wireless Basic
- Monthly price: $40
- Data: 2.5GB
- Activation fee: New customers could pay a $25 in-store activation fee
- Bonus: Sign up for auto pay and save $5 per month
WhAT WE LIKE
Virgin Mobile and Cricket Wireless hit a sweet spot for most smartphone owners, who average 2GB to 3GB of data usage each month. Virgin uses Sprint’s nationwide network, and customers can get 3GB of data, plus unlimited minutes and messages, for $40 per month. That’s $5 less than Sprint’s own 3GB prepaid plan.
Cricket’s plan includes slightly less data, but customers have the option to bring their own phone if it’s compatible. They can also save $5 each month if they enroll in autopay. Cricket runs on AT&T’s network, but it offers a more affordable prepaid plan than its parent company.
These plans from Virgin and Cricket are also better values than similar plans offered by competitors. Verizon, for example, charges $45 for just 1GB on its prepaid plan. And $40 with Republic Wireless will only get you 2GB of data, plus you’ll have to pay taxes and fees.
Best pay-as-you-go plans
- Plan name: T-Mobile Prepaid Pay As You Go Plan
- Price: $3 per month
- Included: Any combination of 30 minutes or text messages
- Additional charges: 10 cents per minute or message over the 30 included in the plan
- Activation fee: $15 SIM Starter Kit fee waived when you buy a phone
- Bonus: Get a free $40 prepaid refill card when you buy a phone
- Plan name: AT&T GoPhone Daily Plan
- Price: $2 per day of use
- Included: Unlimited minutes and text messages
- Additional charges: Data usage is 1 cent per kilobyte
- Activation fee: No activation fee, but a $25 refill card may be added to online purchases. Customers can remove this item from their cart before checking out.
- Bonus: You pay nothing if you don’t use your phone that day
WHAT WE LIKE
These two plans are about as bare bones as it gets and have price points to match. You can get started with T-Mobile’s Pay As You Go Plan for as little as $18 ($15 for a SIM card and $3 for a month of service) if you have a compatible phone. If you need to purchase a phone, they start at around $60. Right now T-Mobile will waive the $15 SIM fee and give you a free $40 prepaid card, which will cover you for about a year if you don’t exceed the included 30 minutes or text messages. Additional calls and texts are 10 cents per minute or message. By comparison, Tracfone customers pay as much as 35 cents per minute, depending on their plan.
AT&T GoPhone’s $2 Daily option is unique in that you only pay the $2 fee if you place or receive a call or send a text message. So if you don’t use the phone for three months, you pay nothing for that time. Just keep in mind that checking your voicemail counts as using your phone. And, unlike other plans, there’s no need to count your minutes if you do use your phone. The $2 fee gives you unlimited minutes and text messages for that day.
Best prepaid family plans
- Plan name: Cricket Wireless Basic Plan with Group Save
- Monthly price (four lines): $100
- Price per line (four lines): $25
- Data: 2.5GB per line, 10GB total
- Activation fee: $25 per line when activated in store
- Bonus: Save $10 to $40 off additional lines, up to 5 lines total
- Plan name: Virgin Mobile Data Sharing Done Right
- Monthly price (four lines): $115
- Price per line (four lines): $28.75
- Data: 14GB shared
- Activation fee: $0
- Bonus: Set limits on data usage for each line using the Virgin Mobile app on your phone
WHAT WE LIKE
A family of four can easily pay $140 or more each month, before taxes and fees, for cell phone service. Cricket Wireless Group Save discount brings the total cost down to $100 per month. No taxes. No fees. And until March 1, you can add a fifth line for no additional charge. How do other prepaid family plans stack up? With MetroPCS, $100 will get you 1GB of data per line on four lines. And Boost Mobile’s family plan offers 1.5GB per line for $100 (for four lines).
Virgin Mobile’s Data Sharing Done Right plan truly does it right. The prepaid carrier, which is owned by Sprint, gives users 14GB of shared data for $115 per month, taxes and fees included. But what really makes Virgin stand out is the carrier’s mobile app, which lets you set usage limits for each line so one person doesn’t hog all the data. You can also set curfews to restrict data usage, calls and texts during designated times, like school nights. Parents, take note.
Best no-data prepaid plans
- Plan name: Republic Wireless Unlimited Talk + Text XXS
- Monthly price: $10 plus taxes and fees
- Included: Unlimited minutes and text messages
- Activation fee: $0
- Bonus: Customers can still access data via Wi-Fi
- Plan name: Verizon Wireless Basic Phone Plan
- Monthly price: $15
- Included: Up to 300 total minutes, text messages or picture messages (sent and received)
- Activation fee: $0
- Bonus: No additional taxes or fees, and customers with a Verizon Wireless phone may be able to bring their own device
WHAT WE LIKE
You don’t want data. But you don’t want to be limited to a 30-minute phone call each month, either. Enter Republic Wireless. This carrier lets customers call and text to their heart’s desire for just $10 per month. Unlike other prepaid plans, Republic charges taxes and fees separately, so your actual monthly costs will be a bit higher. Also unlike other carriers: Republic’s phones use a hybrid of cellular data and Wi-Fi for calls, texts, etc. That’s great news for people who have trouble getting a cellular signal, but bad news for those who want a lot of phone options. Republic currently offers just three models, and prices start at $129.
Verizon’s Basic Prepaid plan is another great option for those looking for a prepaid plan without data. Customers have a few more phone options with Verizon, most of which are priced below $100. If you already have a Verizon phone you may be able to keep it on the prepaid plan. The $15 monthly charge with Verizon includes taxes and fees.
Kelsey Sheehy is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: ksheehy@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @KelseyLSheehy.
Image via iStock.
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