Skip to main content

Cell phone plan comparison: The best deals at every price level

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Check out our picks for the best Verizon phonesbest T-Mobile phonesbest Sprint phones, and the best AT&T phones.

Choosing a cell phone plan has never been simple, but lately every carrier seems to be claiming to have the best deals on plans and features. We’re here to set the record straight. We’ve compared the four carriers in three separate use scenarios: an entry-level user who just walks to talk, an experienced cell phone user who wants to step up to a smartphone as cheaply as possible, and an advanced user who needs all the minutes and data providers will offer.

Keep in mind that this doesn’t account for factors like which carrier offers the best phone selection, coverage and customer service — just which offers the most features for your hard-earned dollar.

Just the minimum, please

You would just assume keep using a land line for a couple of bucks a month, but those goons you call friends and family insist on being able to reach you at all times. You’re ready to relent with a cell phone, but want to keep price to an absolute minimum — and you know how to keep a conversation short.

Best Deal: Sprint

If all you’re looking for is a cheap plan with no features, Sprint has the best deal, by far. Beating out the competition by about 25 percent, Sprint offers fewer “anytime” minutes, but still offers nights and weekends beginning at 9 p.m. Unfortunately,Sprint offers no 200 minute plans available for users seeking texting or data. AT&T is the runner up here due solely to its inclusion of rollover minutes, which can be accumulated for up to 12 months before expiring.

 

Price:

$39.99 $39.99 $29.99 $39.99
Minutes: 450 minutes 450  minutes 200 minutes 500 minutes

Dabbling with a smartphone

That creaking Motorola Razr is starting to show its age. You’re ready to shell out a little more every month for a smartphone, but not knowing how much you’ll really use it, you don’t want to spend too much.

Best Deal: Sprint

When looking for a bare-bones smartphone plan, Sprint isn’t the cheapest, but it is the best value. Though $69.99 is $10 more than AT&T and T-Mobile, the inclusion of unlimited (your bandwidth may be choked after 5GB) of data is huge compared to the competition, which offer puny 200MB packages. These are virtually useless if you actually browse the Web or use data-intensive apps more than a few times a month. Downloading few or less podcast episodes of a single radio show will eat through 200MB of data alone. To add unlimited data to a 500 minute T-Mobile plan, it’ll cost you $79.99. AT&T doesn’t even offer plans that reach 5GB, though another $10 on AT&T would get you 2GB of data, which is enough for many users.

 

Price:

$64.99 $74.98 $69.99 (Everything Data Plan) $59.99 (Even More 500 plan)

Plan Breakdown:

       
Minutes: $39.99 for 450 minutes $39.99 for 450 minutes 450 minutes 500 Minutes
Texts: $10 for 1000 texts $5 for 250 texts unlimited texts unlimited texts
Data: $15 for 200MB data $29.99 for unlimited (5GB) data unlimited (5GB) data 200MB data

Running a life without wires

Your phone is an appendage. You have 40-minute conversations with relatives on your commute, text nonstop with friends, and whip out your phone to stream your favorite YouTube videos without hesitation, gobbling up data with reckless abandon. You’re the user cell phone companies dread, but you’re willing to pay for the all-access key to the kingdom.

Best Deal: Sprint & T-Mobile

For those who love their smartphones and do a lot of texting, talking, and data using, an unlimited plan is what you want. It’s here where underdogs Sprint and T-Mobile truly shine. Verizon and AT&T both cost $15 to $20 more than the competition, and in AT&T’s case, you get less than half the data for the price. Cuts in texting and talk time are needed to bring Verizon and AT&T’s plans to comparable prices with Sprint and T-Mobile. Now, if only the two carriers had the phone selection of the big guys.

 

Price:

$114.99 $119.98 $99.99 $99.99

Plan Breakdown:

       
Minutes: $69.99 for unlimited talk $69.99 for unlimited talk Unlimited talk Unlimited talk
Texts: $20 for unlimited texts $20 for 5000 texts unlimited texts unlimited texts
Data: $25 for 2GB data $29.99 for unlimited (5GB) data unlimited (5GB) data unlimited (5GB) data
Digital Trends Staff
Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…
Insane Best Buy Labor Day deal drops Jabra Elite 65t price to $45
true wireless earbuds nuheara iqbuds jabra elite deals amazon 65t

There are some crazy Labor Day sales out there right now, including the chance to buy the Jabra Elite 65t wireless earbuds for just $45 at Best Buy. A savings of $35, they're a fantastic pair of earphones to buy if you're on a tight budget but still want great quality in every way. You'll need to be quick though as this offer is available today only and you won't want to miss out on such a great discount.

The Jabra Elite 65t are a highly reliable pair of earphones offering surprisingly good passive noise isolation and some punchy bass and bright highs. That means that while they won't quite rival the best earbuds on the market right now, they're more than good enough for the price tag.

Read more
The best small business cell phone plans
best small business cell phone plans plan feature image

Just as one shoe size can't fit all, there's no single cell phone plan that will suit every small company. But there are numerous high-quality plans that are worth considering as they strive to meet the needs of different types of businesses. To settle on the best cell phone plan for your business, you first want to figure out what kind of plan best fits your company.

Business owners generally buy and pay for employee cell phones or plans or both when workers spend at least some part of their time off-site. With employees, you may want to track hours and data. In that case, to streamline operation and collaboration, a specialized business cell phone plan might be optimal. Today, more American businesses are accommodating work-at-home schedules that avoid meetings and travel, but note that quarantines and shelter-in-place orders will not last forever, so it's a good idea to take the entire spectrum of your business activities into account.
How to choose a plan
There are numerous factors to reflect on when choosing a cell phone plan for your small company. Here are some major issues you'll want to consider.

Read more
AT&T plans explained: 5G, pricing, and deals
att plans explained at amp t

T-Mobile phone plans may have gotten all the attention as the first carrier to launch a nationwide 5G network coverage, but AT&T has since followed suit. Now, we are seeing a rapidly expanding AT&T 5G network, and the carrier offers 5G access in the majority of its phone plans.

Speaking of plans, AT&T offers a few of them. Between its unlimited data plans, its prepaid plans, and other plans, there's a lot to consider if you're thinking about switching to AT&T or switching your plan within AT&T. There are other major 5G carriers to choose from.

Read more