CHEAP PREPAID PHONE PLANS
Prepaid cell phone providers used to offer simple, pay-per-minute and pay-per-text services to customers, and many still do. But with antipathy toward contracts on the rise, many services are broadening their plan selections to attract new customers. Prepaid plans tend to favor flexibility over all-in-one bundling. Many offer unlimited talk, text and data options, but the data allocations in these plans are usually throttled. If you go over a specified limit (usually around 1GB), you’ll see your speeds drop to molasses-like 2G rates.
The best prepaid providers have daily cell phone plans and pay-as-you-go deals, in addition to monthly offerings. If you use your phone only rarely, you can go with one of these plans and pay for your phone service only when you have to use it. Even paying for every voice minute or text message can be a money-saver for infrequent phone users, if the charges don’t add up to the amount of a monthly package.
2016 Best Prepaid Cell Phone Plan Reviews and Comparisons
|
Company |
T-Mobile |
Ting |
H2O Wireless |
Kajeet |
Cricket |
AT&T GoPhone |
|
|
Standout Features |
Best for Most People |
Excellent Prices & Support |
Great Network |
Parental Controls |
Great Network |
Flexibility & Phone Selection |
|
|
Monthly Plans |
|||||||
|
Basic Starter Plan |
$40 |
$15 |
$30 |
$24.99 |
$40 |
$45 |
|
|
Average Usage Plan |
$40 |
$35 |
$40 |
$24.99 |
$40 |
$45 |
|
|
Unlimited Talk/Text Available |
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
Unlimited Data Available |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Unlimited 4G LTE Available |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Plans |
|||||||
|
Daily Up-Front Cost |
$3 |
|
|
$0.32 |
|
$2 |
|
|
Per-Minute |
None |
|
|
$0.10 |
|
None |
|
|
Per-SMS |
None |
|
|
$0.10 |
|
None |
|
|
Per-MMS |
None |
|
|
$0.25 |
|
None |
|
|
Data |
None |
|
|
$1/MB |
|
$0.01/kb |
|
|
Pay-as-You-Go Plans |
|||||||
|
Monthly Up-Front Cost |
$3 |
$6 |
$10 |
$4.99 |
|
None |
|
|
Included Minutes |
30 |
None |
200 |
10 |
|
None |
|
|
Additional Minutes |
$0.10 |
1.90¢ |
$0.05 |
$0.10 |
|
$0.10 |
|
|
Per-SMS |
$0.10 |
1/4¢ |
$0.05 |
$0.10 |
|
$0.20 |
|
|
Per-MMS |
$0.10 |
1.5¢ /MB |
$0.10 |
$0.25 |
|
$0.25 |
|
|
Data |
Varies |
1.5¢ /MB |
$0.10/MB |
$1/MB |
|
$0.01/5kb |
|
|
Fees |
|||||||
|
Roaming (per minute) |
None |
None |
N/A |
None |
Varies |
None |
|
|
Online Activation |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
|
|
In-Store Activation |
None |
None |
None |
None |
$25 |
None |
|
|
Restocking |
$50 |
20% |
None |
None |
$25 |
$35 |
|
|
Features |
|||||||
|
International Calling Available |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Family Plans / Group Discounts |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
411 Directory Assistance |
$1.99/call |
$1/call |
$0.10/min |
$1.50/call |
N/A |
$1.99/call |
|
|
Primary Coverage Network |
T-Mobile |
Various |
AT&T |
Sprint |
AT&T |
AT&T |
|
|
Urban Coverage Score |
75% |
80% |
95% |
65% |
95% |
95% |
|
|
Rural Coverage Score |
55% |
70% |
85% |
55% |
85% |
85% |
|
|
Markets with 4G LTE Coverage |
268 |
Varies |
620 |
525 |
620 |
620 |
|
|
Average 4G Speed (Mbps) |
8.3 |
Varies |
7.9 |
4.4 |
7.9 |
7.9 |
|
Owning a cell phone is a modern necessity, but the expense of decent service can often pinch at your wallet. Prepaid cell phone plans are a useful solution, offering cheap, contract-free rates for those who don’t spend hours on the phone or stream videos on the move. They’re flexible, adaptable and affordable; you can pay month-to-month and cancel at any time, with no termination fees and nothing tying you to a single provider.
