4 Best Cheap Phone Plans (2023): Alternatives to Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile | WIRED

Subscribing to a cellular plan from the Big Three providers—Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T—is akin to owning a high-performance sports car. If you never take it onto a twisty road to unwind it, then what’s the point of saddling yourself with such a high monthly payment? The Big Three have piled on the luxuries over the years: 1080p video streaming, generous hot spot plans, complimentary streaming subscriptions, and sky-high data-throttling caps. Yet if you rarely use them, you can save a fair chunk of coin each month by switching over to one of the smaller, lesser-known cellular providers. Mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) charge cheaper prices because they lease wireless capacity from bigger companies rather than maintaining their own infrastructure. 

It may not have the money for splashy advertising campaigns, but an MVNO can offer many core features that were once restricted to the big players. Nowadays, it’s reasonable to expect all the best cheap phone plans to include 5G network access with the option to use your phone as a Wi-Fi hot spot. These are our favorites.  All prices are given for one line per plan. Typically, the cost per line goes down the more of them you have on your plan, up to a limit.

Don’t see anything useful to you? Read our Best Unlimited Plans, Best Android Phones, Best iPhones, and Best Cheap Phones guides for more recommendations.

Updated January 2023: Few details have changed since September, although Google Fi Unlimited Plus now includes a year of YouTube Premium and Xfinity has added new Unlimited plans.

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Best Overall

Courtesy of Mint Mobile

Mint launched in 2016 and has become the best value among smaller cellular networks. Its Unlimited plan is our favorite data service and starts at $30 a month (for your first three months) for impressive benefits. This introductory offer will revert to $40 per month when it’s time to renew at the end of those three months. Mint Mobile lets you renew service every three, six, or 12 months. 

You get 4G LTE and 5G in every plan, though speeds on the Unlimited plan are reduced after you use 35 gigabytes of data per month (videos also stream at 480p, unless you’re on Wi-Fi). All plans have unlimited talk and text, and you can make free calls to Canada and Mexico. You get mobile hot spot capability with your phone so you can connect your laptop to the internet, though the tethered data is restricted to 5 GB per month on the Unlimited plan.