The 8 best nationwide pre-paid cell phone plans in 2024
If you think you need to saddle yourself with a contract to get a good deal from AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile, you're wrong. These three services (and countless others) offer affordable pre-paid phone plans, too. There are no long-term contracts. And any of these plans can typically be activated on any unlocked smartphone.
Our in-house team of cell phone experts have researched and tested many pre-paid cellular plans. We ultimately chose these eight as our top picks.
- Best pre-paid phone plan: Mint Mobile (12-months pre-paid, unlimited)
- Best budget pre-paid phone plan: Tello (5GB/unlimited minutes and text)
- Best pre-paid phone plan for international calling: Ultra Mobile
- Best pre-paid phone plan for North America: Visible+ by Verizon
- Best pre-paid phone plan that includes a hotspot: Boost Mobile Unlimited Premium
- Best pre-paid phone plan with unlimited talk, text and data: AT&T Unlimited Max + 25GB hotspot data
- Best pre-paid, long-term phone plan: Tracfone (1yr unlimited talk, text and 24GB/month data)
- Best pre-paid plan with all the best features: Straight Talk Premium Unlimited
You can easily find ultra-affordable, 5G pre-paid cell plans from services like Boost Mobile, Straight Talk, Mint Mobile, US Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Visible by Verizon, Tello, Consumer Cellular, Tracfone and the many others. They're independent cellular service companies that run using the same 5G cellular network operated by AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile.
They can typically offer pre-paid phone plans with far more competitive pricing, with just a month-to-month contract. This means you can upgrade, downgrade or cancel your service plan anytime.
What's the the best pre-paid phone plan?
While virtually all pre-paid phone plans include unlimited domestic calling and texting, how much you'll pay often depends on the amount of cellular data included. Very few pre-paid plans offer unlimited talk, text and data.
Best pre-paid phone plan overall: Mint Mobile (12-months pre-paid, unlimited)
What we like about Mint Mobile is that the service offers all sorts of pre-paid plans, so you can choose what's best for you. One of the best deals from Mint Mobile is offered if you pre-pay for a full year of service upfront.
This plan includes unlimited calling and texting throughout the USA, free calling from the USA to Mexico, Canada and the UK, unlimited data (with up to 40GB per month of 5G cellular data service) and 10GB of hotspot data. If you use p your 40 gigs of 5G data in any given 30-day period, you'll still have cellular data access, but at a slower speed.
One of the best things about Mint Mobile is that is relies on the T-Mobile 5G cellular data network, so you're virtually guaranteed clear connections in most areas. The plan can be used with any unlocked smartphone when you insert the provided SIM card.
With this Mint Mobile plan, you pay $360 upfront, and get 12 months of consecutive service, with no additional charges. So basically, you're paying just $30 per month, which is among the very best deals we found for a pre-paid service plan that includes so much.
Best budget pre-paid phone plan: Tello (5GB/unlimited minutes and text)
When you get a pre-paid SIM card from Amazon for the Tello service, you'll get your first month of service for just $10. All subsequent months are just $14 each. This plan includes unlimited domestic calling and texting from within the United States. You also get unlimited calling from the USA to more than 60 countries.
As for cellular data, this plan includes just 5GB, so it's better for people who talk and text more than relying on their phone for internet connectivity. The SIM card works with any phone with a nano, micro or standard size SIM card tray. You can use your cellular data allocation as a hotspot.
Tello has no activation fees, overage fees or contracts. You can upgrade, downgrade or cancel your plan at any time. Tello relies on the T-Mobile cellular network within the United States.
Best pre-paid phone plan for international calling: Ultra Mobile
Upon purchasing your Ultra Mobile pre-paid cellular plan from Amazon, the fee for the first month, which includes the required SIM card, is just $19. Then, on a month-to-month basis, with no contract, you'll pay $24 per month.
We're fans of Ultra Mobile because it relies on the T-Mobile 5G network within the United States and offers a wide range of pre-paid plan options. This specific plan includes unlimited nationwide calling, unlimited global texting and the ability to make unlimited calls to more than 90 international destinations from the USA. If you travel abroad, you can purchase pre-paid international call credit that allows you to use your phone in any supported country for a pre-set daily rate.
This $24-per-month plan also includes up to 5 gigs of 5G cellular data per month. If during any given month you need additional cellular data, you can upgrade your plan for that month for an additional fee. The included cellular data can be used as a hotspot.
Best pre-paid phone plan for calls within USA, Canada and Mexico: Visible+ by Verizon
Visible+ by Verizon is this provider's answer to pre-paid phone plans. Plans start at just $20 per month, but we recommend the Visible+ plan that costs $35 per month if you use promo code CHAMP at checkout. To save a bit more, you can pre-pay for 12 months of Visible+ service for $395.
The Visible+ plan includes unlimited talk and texting anywhere in the USA, Mexico or Canada. You also get unlimited calling to more than 30 additional countries, as well as unlimited texting from the USA to more than 200 countries. With this plan, unlimited data is included -- with up to 50GB per month of premium 5G data. If you use up this monthly allocation, your cellular data connectivity speed will be throttled.
Three additional perks offered by the Visible+ plan include your cellular data can be used as a hotspot; for an additional $10 per month you can add cellular smartwatch support; and if you travel abroad, you get one day of unlimited service in any of the more than 140 supported countries. Each additional 24-hour period abroad costs just $10 extra.
All taxes and fees are included, so whether you pay month-to-month or for an entire year, you know exactly how much you'll be spending. There are no overage fees, activation fees or contracts. The Visible by Verizon service relies on Verizon's 5G cellular network within the United States.
Best pre-paid phone plan that includes a hotspot: Boost Mobile Unlimited Premium
One standout feature of the Boost Mobile Unlimited Premium plan is that it includes unlimited hotspot data. If you're an Amazon Prime member, you're instantly pre-qualified for Boost Mobile service. Simply purchase the SIM card from Amazon and once it arrives, you can activate your service and receive an automatic, one-time, $25 service credit.
While Boost Mobile offers several competitive pre-paid plans, the $25 monthly plan includes unlimited talk, text and cellular data. This rate is locked in forever, as long as you keep the plan active.
Throughout the United States, Boost Mobile relies on the T-Mobile 5G network. The service works with any unlocked phone. For an additional $10 per month, you can add international calling to more than 80 countries and international texting to more than 200 countries.
The unlimited data aspect of the plan includes 30 gigs of 5G cellular data per month. If you exceed this allocation, your connectivity speed may be throttled.
Best pre-paid phone plan with unlimited talk, text and data: AT&T Unlimited Max + 25GB hotspot data
The AT&T Unlimited MAX pre-paid phone plan relies of the AT&T 5G network throughout the United States. For $55 per month, this plan includes unlimited talk, text and high-speed data. Throttling may occur once you exceed 50 gigs of high-speed data or the network is heavily congested. Taxes and fees are not included in this price.
The Unlimited MAX + 25GB hotspot data plan also includes an additional 25 gigs of 5G cellular data you can use with your phone's hotspot feature. You also get 100 gigs of free cloud storage for your data, documents, files and photos. This plan is paid on a month-to-month basis and includes standard-definition video streaming.
If you want to pre-pay for 12 months of service upfront, AT&T offers an Unlimited + 10GB Hotspot plan for just $300 (which is $25 per month). It includes unlimited talk, text and cellular data, unlimited texting from the USA to more than 230 countries, unlimited calling from the USA to Canada and Mexico, an extra 10 gigs exclusively for 5G hotspot data each month, and unlimited standard-definition video streaming. The drawback to this plan is that after using 16 gigs of high speed data per month, cellular connectivity speed gets throttled.
A subscription to AT&T ActiveArmor mobile security (which helps to block fraud and spam calls) is also included with most of AT&T's pre-paid phone plans.
Best pre-paid, long-term phone plan: Tracfone (1 year unlimited talk, text and 60GB/month data)
By prepaying $288 upfront for a 12-month phone plan, you get unlimited talk and texting throughout the USA, plus unlimited data. However, after using 60 gigs of 5G cellular data in a month, your connectivity speed may be throttled. On the plus side, any unused cellular data that's part of your 60-gig allocation will be carried over.
Once activated, this plan remains active for 365 consecutive days, with no additional fees. This means you pay just $24 per month for service that will work with any unlocked phone. There are no extra activation or set up fees.
For an additional $10 per month, you can add a global calling card and call from the USA to almost any country for just $0.01 per minute. You can have friends and family in Mexico call a local phone number to reach your phone in the USA, so you can eliminate international call charges for them when they call you.
In the USA, Tracfone relies on the Verizon 5G cellular network.
Best pre-paid plan with all the best features: Straight Talk Platinum Unlimited
If you're someone who relies heavily on a smartphone, the Straight Talk Platinum Unlimited plan for $65 per month will serve you well. There's no activation fee and no contract associated with this plan.
Included with this Platinum plan, you get unlimited domestic talk, texting and data, plus an extra 20 gigs of hotspot data per month. You also get unlimited calling to landlines in more than 60 countries when you use the International Dialer app. This plan also includes mobile-to-mobile calls to Mexico, Canada, China and India. Also included is 100 gigs of cloud storage for your data, documents, files and photos.
The unlimited domestic data portion of the plan includes 20GB of high-speed data per month. Once you reach this monthly allocation, the connection speed will be throttled.
One perk of this plan is that includes a membership to Walmart+. This gets you free delivery from Walmart stores, a free subscription to the Paramount+ Essential plan for video streaming, free shipping when you shop from Walmart's website, and discounted fuel prices from participating has gas stations.
What's the cheapest way to get a smartphone?
Most of these prepaid phone services offer discounts if you want to purchase either a low-cost, unlocked smartphone (often referred to as a burner phone), or a higher-end model from a well-known brand like Apple, Samsung or Google. But in almost all cases, you can also purchase any unlocked phone from anywhere and use it with one of these services. This includes a smartphone you may already own.
If you need help choosing a new smartphone to go along with your selected pre-paid plan, we've got you covered with our curated roundups of the six best smartphones with AI in 2024, the best Android phones for 2024, the best folding smartphones in 2024, and the seven best cell phones of 2024. We've also published in-depth reviews of the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, OnePlus 12 and other popular smartphones and related mobile gear.
How to pick a pre-paid phone plan
While all pre-paid plans featured in this roundup include unlimited calling and texting (within the USA), many providers that promote "unlimited" data plans only offer a pre-determined amount of high-speed data. Then the provider throttles your connectivity speed, sometimes dramatically, for the remainder of that month.
figure out what you actually need from your pre-paid plan. Beyond domestic calling, texting and cellular data, some plans include unlimited calling and texting to specific countries. And some plans provide an extra cellular data allowance to use with your phone's hotspot feature. There are also a few that provide phone service when you travel abroad.
Pay attention to which nationwide 5G cellular network you'll be on and then make sure that network offers good coverage where you live and work. Another perk to look for is free and unlimited, standard-resolution video streaming.
All pre-paid plans require no-contract and are typically paid for on a month-to-month basis, so the one you choose can be upgraded, downgraded or canceled at anytime. But most pre-paid cellular services offer a bigger discount if you pay in advance. We also suggest choosing a plan that guarantees a locked-in rate, either for as long as you keep the plan, or for at least 12 to 24 months. In some cases, you can also save a few dollars extra per month if you sign up for autopay.
