The Best Cheap Cell Phone Plans You've Never Heard Of

There are a lot of options beyond the big four phone carriers in the US. If you're looking to save money, these lesser-known plans might be the ticket.

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The Best Cheap Cell Phone Plans You've Never Heard Of

Plans That Pay

While most Americans are signed up with one of the major carrier brands—AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, or Verizon Wireless—there are many more choices available to US cell phone customers looking for a bargain. Known as MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators), these low-cost carriers piggyback on the four major networks and can deliver lower prices, especially for individual users who aren't looking to be part of a family plan.

All the major carriers have low-cost spinoffs, and their deals are worth checking first. AT&T runs Cricket Wireless. Sprint has Boost and Virgin. T-Mobile owns GoSmart and MetroPCS. And Verizon, well, Verizon just has prepaid plans. If you're looking for a wide range of stores and solid customer service, these brands have excellent prices and should be your first shopping stops.

Depending on your needs, even one of the big four networks could have a plan that works for you. For the best carrier service where you live, check out our results for the Fastest Mobile Networks.

How Much Do You Want to Spend?

We're ordering our picks by how much you want to spend per month, to give you the best value at every price level. We also get a lot of comments from people who wonder why their phone service isn't listed, so at the bottom we put the plans we didn't choose, and why they didn't make the cut. You may disagree! If you do, make sure to explain why in the comments.

I Want to Spend $10 or Less Per Month
I Want to Spend $10-$20 Per Month
I Want to Spend $20-$30 Per Month
I Want to Spend $30-$40 Per Month
I Want Unlimited Data
I Have Political or Social Stances
Which Carriers Didn't Make the Cut?

Which Phones Work With These Networks?

Many of these smaller carriers don't sell their own phones, or if they do, they sell an oddball selection. Your best bet, almost always, is to buy a new unlocked phone, or to buy a used phone that's compatible with the right network. They may also work with your old device from your previous carrier.

Most unlocked phones are compatible with the AT&T and T-Mobile, and with any carrier that uses their networks. If you're looking for an unlocked phone that works on all four major US systems, look at any iPhone that's of the 6s or later varieties, the Samsung Galaxy S7/S8/Note 8, the Google Pixe line, or the Moto E4, G4, or G5. Or take a look at our list of The Best Unlocked Phones.

What About Customer Service?

In general, when you turn to these less-prominent carriers, you're not going to get the sort of customer service you get from the Big Four. Yes, I can hear you laughing. But the main issue is that if something goes wrong with your SIM, you won't have a physical store to go and get help at—you'll be stuck dealing with scripted employees at outsourced call centers, and often they know less than a tech-savvy consumer does. I just dealt with a reader who had to throw away a $60 MVNO SIM because of activation problems.

If that worries you, there are two lesser-known carriers that consistently get strong ratings for customer service: Consumer Cellular and Republic Wireless. You can also turn to the wholly owned brands of the big carriers, which have their own store networks: AT&T's Cricket, T-Mobile's MetroPCS, and Sprint's Boost and Virgin.

I Want to Spend $10 or Less Per Month

Yes, it's possible to get quality cell phone service in the US for $10 or less.

There have been a few companies that advertise "free" wireless service. RingPlus is gone now, and we don't recommend FreedomPop because of our experience with its aggressively nickel-and-diming sales tactics. The absolute cheapest plan we haven't gotten a lot of complaints about comes from Scratch Wireless, which sells a year's worth of service for $69, or $5.75 per month.

There's a catch with Scratch, of course. It only works on an $89 low-end Android phone, the Coolpad Arise, and that $69 pays only for Wi-Fi calling and cellular texting. If you want cellular calls or data on Sprint's network, 100 minutes costs $7.99 extra, while unlimited calls costs $14.99. At that point, you're better off with MintSIM.

US Mobile is kicking TracFone off of our list right now, and I'm happy about that, because I've never liked TracFone's gimmicky, confusing, and ever-shifting system of minutes cards. US Mobile's new Simple Plan has 1,000 minutes of talk and text over a year for $75 on either the T-Mobile or Verizon networks, coming to $6.25 per month.

If you need data, look at the Red Pocket $10 Essentials Plan, which has 500 minutes, 500 texts, and 500MB of LTE data per month on any of the four major US networks. Yes, that includes Verizon.

I Want to Spend $10-$20 Per Month

Consumer Cellular gets great reviews from our readers for being an easy-to-use, senior-focused system with excellent customer service. It runs on the AT&T network. Its lowest-cost, sweet-spot plan has 250 minutes, unlimited texts, and 250MB of data for $20 per month, although it can scale up from there. If you find Consumer Cellular appealing, check out our list of The Best Phones for Seniors.

MintSIM has a wonderful gimmick: It sells you three to 12 months of service on T-Mobile's network at a time, in exchange for deep discounts. It often has some amazing limited-time promotions, but even the standard rates are great. A three-month pack with unlimited talk, text, and 2GB of data runs $45, or $15 per month. The company also has 5GB and 10GB plans.

Republic Wireless is beloved for its customer service. Its best deal is probably its $20 plan, which has unlimited talk, text, and 1GB of data on the Sprint or T-Mobile networks.

Finishing off our network list, let's feature a Verizon offer: Red Pocket's $19, 500MB plan with unlimited talk and text. That's priced similarly to ROK Mobile and Puppy Wireless, as well.

Several carriers offer "custom" plans where you can fit together different amounts of talk, text, and data to taste. The best deals on those custom plans right now come from US Mobile for talkers, or Twigby for texters and data users. US Mobile gives you 500 minutes, 500 texts, and 300MB of data per month for $17 on T-Mobile's network or $19 on Verizon's. Twigby gives you 200 minutes, unlimited texts, and 1GB of data for $19 on Sprint's network. Ting and Tello , which have similar business plans, also have their fans, but we didn't find them to be the best service plans at this price level.

I Want to Spend $20-$30 Per Month

If you need data on the AT&T network, H2O Wireless has the best deal right now. It gives you 4GB of AT&T data for $27 (with autopay), with unlimited calling and texting to 50 international destinations. (PureTalkUSA, which has been promoting itself heavily recently, is slightly more expensive.) If AT&T doesn't float your boat, Red Pocket has $30/3GB plans on all four major networks.

Ultra Mobile is an alternative for international callers who prefer T-Mobile's network. Its $29 plan includes 4GB of LTE data, 2GB of HSPA+ data, and unlimited calls to 60 different countries.

I Want to Spend $30-$40 Per Month

Verizon charges premium rates for its network. If you're looking for moderate-to-heavy use, Walmart's Total Wireless offers the best deal. The company has a $35, 5GB plan that can't be beat for Verizon value.

Frequent international callers who want more data than Ultra Mobile's plan provides can step up to Lyca Mobile's $35, 6GB plan, which has similar terms to the Ultra Mobile plan above, but 6GB of 4G LTE data. (Ultra Mobile charges $39 for 5GB at this level.)

I Want Unlimited Data

If you're going to pay more than $40 per month, per line, you should be getting unlimited (or nearly unlimited) data. If you're a Comcast Cable subscriber, Xfinity Mobile gives you unlimited data for $45 per month on Verizon's network, with speeds reduced after 20GB. For non-Comcast subscribers, there's ROK Mobile, which does unlimited data on Sprint, also throttled after 20GB, also for $45, and unlimited data on Verizon, throttled after 20GB, for $50.

Both MetroPCS (owned by T-Mobile) and Boost Mobile (owned by Sprint) currently have $50 monthly unlimited data deals. (MetroPCS will de-prioritize you, but not throttle you, after 35GB per month; Boost does it after 23GB.) That's the least you'll pay for unlimited LTE data. Both also have (somewhat) discounted family plans. AT&T's subsidiary Cricket is a little more expensive at $60 per month.

I Want to Align My Beliefs With My Mobile Plan

Do you want to put your money behind your social or political beliefs? There are wireless carriers that let you do just that. We don't consider any of these to be a good deal, though. They charge higher rates than many of the other carriers we're listing, and donate a relatively small percentage of your bill.

The People's Operator (TPO) donates 10 percent of your bill amount to charity. In general, these are relatively politically neutral charities—things like the ASPCA, the Special Olympics, and the Cure Alzheimer's Fund. Of its several plans on the Sprint network, I'd spotlight its $25 per month (with autopay), 2GB unlimited talk and text as the best deal.

Credo Mobile donates a small, but unstated percentage of your bill to left wing causes; it may be as little as one percent. The carrier runs on Verizon's network and charges $40 for a 3GB plan, which is undercut by Total Wireless.

On the right wing of the spectrum, Patriot Mobile recently brought down its prices to competitive levels, and now it's a better deal than the pro-life Charity Mobile. It charges $40 per month for 2GB of data on Sprint's network, and $60 per month for 5GB. It donates five percent of your bill to your choice of one of 16 organizations.

That said, signing up for one of these carriers is about feeling like you belong to a community rather than actual fiscal effectiveness. If you're interested in Patriot or Credo, for instance, you could sign up for a $30, 3GB Red Pocket plan, kick a 10-spot every month to Emily's List or the Tea Party Patriots, and more money would be going to your cause.

Who Didn't Make the Cut?

These carriers aren't necessarily bad, but their plans weren't the best this time around, though that might change, since we update this story several times each year. Here's how each one compares with similar carriers.