Best Cell Phone Plans of 2023: Compare Plans & Prices

Alternative pick: Spectrum Mobile

If you already use Spectrum as your internet provider, you can get an affordable cell phone plan with them as well. If you’re not a Spectrum internet user, feel free to scroll on out of here.

Spectrum Mobile’s unlimited plan gets you unlimited everything for $40/month, and uses Verizon’s awesome network to provide coverage. You only get a 30GB data cap every month with this unlimited plan, meaning if you use over 30GB in a month, your data speeds will slow down. As long as you keep below that data cap, Spectrum Mobile offers a nice value unlimited plan for Spectrum customers.

Spectrum Mobile Unlimited Plus

Xfinity Mobile’s $45 Unlimited Plan: Best bundle

Comcast Xfinity home internet customers can cut cell bills by switching to Xfinity Mobile

Pros

Superior customer service

Free 5G coverage

Extends network with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots

Cons

Limited to only existing Xfinity home internet customers

Low default video streaming resolution on unlimited plan

What we like about Xfinity Mobile’s unlimited data cell phone plan

If you’re an existing Comcast Xfinity home internet customer, then Xfinity Mobile is a cell phone service that you need to consider. If you aren’t, you might as well skip to the next section because this is an exclusive deal.

We call this a bundle because you cannot get Xfinity Mobile as a standalone service. Even though Xfinity Mobile is sorta exclusive, we like its unlimited plan, and here’s why.

Plan prices are right in the sweet spot

Xfinity Mobile’s price for its unlimited plan is the definition of reasonable. You won’t find your wallet catching on fire each month when it’s time to pay.

Yes, there are other small carriers with lower prices for an unlimited plan, but Xfinity Mobile is cheaper than all of the Big Three—Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T.

Free 5G

Xfinity Mobile provides 5G for all its cell plans—both unlimited and by the gig—at no extra cost.

To get the most out of that, you need to have a 5G smartphone and to live in an area with 5G infrastructure. If you meet that description, then Xfinity Mobile says it can deliver download speeds of around 450 Mbps and upload speeds around 50 Mbps.2 Why would ever need to, but that means you can download a movie off Netflix in under a minute! 

18 million Wi-Fi hotspots

Xfinity Mobile subscribers can access millions of Wi-Fi hotspots across the country. Technically this is a good thing, but coming from someone who used Xfinity, these hotspots can sometimes be more of an annoyance. Occasionally I would drive around and notice that I suddenly didn’t have a strong enough signal to stream a podcast off Spotify. This happened because my phone would automatically connect to Xfinity hotspots that didn’t provide good data speeds. 

If you’re ever in a bind and can’t get access to the internet, an Xfinity hotspot could make all the difference, but don’t be surprised if your speeds feel slow while connected to it.

The best customer service and mobile app according to ACSI

Xfinity Mobile continues to rank number one on the American Customer Service Index’s list for full-service MVNOs. ACSI also put Xfinity Mobile’s app at the top of their list for customer service apps.

Be sure to read more in the Customer Service section of our full Xfinity Mobile review.

What’s a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO)?

Xfinity Mobile is an MVNO, which means it uses one or more networks that are owned by either Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T. (In Xfinity Mobile’s case, it uses Verizon’s network.)

What we don’t like about Xfinity Mobile’s unlimited cell phone plan

We want you to know everything we do about this plan, so there are a few aspects we don’t like about Xfinity Mobile. They mostly pertain to data limitations for non-5G devices.

Expect throttled, capped, and deprioritized 4G LTE data speeds

For 4G LTE data, Xfinity says it can deliver download speeds around 5–12 Mbps and upload speeds around 2–5 Mbps. There is a soft data cap of 20 GB, after which you will be deprioritized, and Xfinity will cut your download speeds to 1.5 Mbps and upload speeds to 750 Kbps. That’s partly why we say go with 5G if you can.

Non-5G devices experience low-resolution video streaming

Video streaming is where you’re most likely to feel the pain of these data limitations. If you’re on Xfinity Mobile’s unlimited plan, the default video streaming quality may disappoint. It will depend largely on whether your device is 5G and if the network you have access to is 4G LTE or 5G.

The default streaming resolution for non-5G devices on Xfinity Mobile’s unlimited data plan is only 480p, which is just standard definition (SD). But if you’re on the 5G network, you’ll get the best possible video resolution.

That’s basically the difference between Batman Forever and The Dark Knight. Both are Batman movies, but one is clearly more advanced than the other.

Go with 5G. That’s our best advice when it comes to Xfinity Mobile. With a 5G device on a 5G network, you’ll enjoy 4K streaming. Roar!

If you’re still in a 4G LTE situation, don’t despair—you can still buy HD streaming for any line, which gets you 720p resolution for smartphones and 1080p for tablets.

Alternative picks

Let’s say you already have Xfinity home internet, and you’re looking for a new cell phone plan. Xfinity Mobile appeals to you, but you aren’t looking for an unlimited data plan. If that’s you, then take a look at Xfinity Mobile’s By the Gig plans.

We already did the math (you’re welcome), and it’s pretty straightforward:

If you use more than 3 GB of cellular data per month, then Xfinity Mobile’s unlimited plan is probably a better deal for you.

Here are Xfinity Mobile’s plans so you can compare them for yourself.

Xfinity Mobile cell phone plans