Best budget plan
T-Mobile Essentials
T-Mobile’s Essentials plan is the most affordable premium plan out of the major carriers, and it’s a downright bargain with four or five lines on a single plan. It includes a generous 50GB of premium data before T-Mobile slows down your data speeds. Just note that Essentials customers experience slower speeds in general than customers on Go5G Next and Go5G Plus plans.
When it comes to more affordable plans, you forfeit unlimited premium data, and your data speeds will be considerably affected after reaching a certain limit.
Among the three major carriers, T-Mobile’s Essentials plan easily offers the best deal in the budget category thanks to its generous 50GB of premium data. That means T-Mobile won’t slow down your data speeds until you’ve used 50GB of data, even when the network is busy. Meanwhile, AT&T and Verizon don’t offer any premium data in their equivalent budget plans.
T-Mobile’s Essentials plan starts at $60/month for a single line, with the price per line reducing with every line, up to four lines. If you can manage four or five lines in a plan, $25/month for T-Mobile’s Essentials plan is an absolute steal.
T-Mobile’s Essentials plan includes access to the carrier’s full and extensive 5G network, including its Ultra Capacity 5G network (mmWave and C-band) and its Extended Range 5G (Sub-6). Despite the inclusion, it’s worth noting that data speeds for Essentials customers may be slower overall than other customers on more premium plans, even before the 50GB data limit. Still, data speeds should be fast enough for pretty much anything you do on your phone, including video streaming and calling.
T-Mobile offers unlimited mobile hotspot functionality on its Essentials plan, but only at 3G speeds. It limits you to basic tasks, like emailing, that don’t involve video streaming or even loading photos. If you’re looking for at least some flexibility to use your phone as a mobile hotspot, AT&T’s Unlimited Starter plan will be the better option with 3GB of mobile hotspot at faster speeds, which can better serve you for light use or in an emergency.
Finally, T-Mobile offers some international perks with its Essentials plan. You get unlimited texting, $0.25/minute calls in 215+ countries, and unlimited international texting from home. In Canada and Mexico, Essentials offers unlimited talk and text, but up to 128Kbps data speeds, which is so slow you may even struggle with an email. T-Mobile Travel is also included.
We hesitate to use the word “budget” here, as this plan could also apply to people who simply don’t use their phones away from a WiFi connection very often, and don’t need to spend much on a plan that offers more data. As detailed below, you’ll have to stray from major carriers to find the best cheap cell phone plans.
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