Picking up one of the best mobile hotspots could be one of the best decisions you'll make if you're travelling or working outside of your home or office.
While the best phones and many others nowadays can offer hotspot functionality, using them as dedicated internet connections for devices like your laptop while you travel can mean huge data bills and dead batteries. A proper hotspot can relieve your phone of its duties, and deliver reliable and fast internet to multiple devices where Wi-Fi is otherwise unavailable.
That’s why I really recommend getting any of the best mobile hotspots. Although many of them cater to one wireless provider, there are others that work on multiple networks. Most of them offer faster 5G connectivity, but there are also some that have mmWave support that work well in densely populated areas with uninterrupted speeds. This is handy when there’s a rush of connections in an area.
Here's a closer look at the best options for a mobile hotspot.
The best mobile hotspots
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Best mobile hotspot overall
Verizon customers will want to turn to the Orbic Speed 5G UW, which not only connects to the carrier's nationwide 5G coverage but also its super-fast Ultra Wideband service in the areas where the mmWave-based 5G connectivity is available. Up to 30 Wi-Fi-enabled devices can connect to the Orbic Speed, and the hotspot's dual-band Wi-Fi 6 support should translate to fast data speeds.
At 9.91 ounces, this is one of the heavier hotspots we've seen and the promised 12 hours of continuous battery life is nothing to write home about. Still, the reason to turn to the Orbic Speed is support for faster 5G speeds via Verizon's C-Band 5G.
At $299, this is pricier than T-Mobile's 5G hotspot, though you can spread out monthly payments of $8.33 over 36 months.
Best mobile hotspot for AT&T
The Netgear Nighthawk M7 Pro weighs a little less than the Orbic Speed 5G UW, but only has up to 10 hours of continuous use. This AT&T-friendly hotspot can charge to 50% in 120 minutes, while its 5,400 mAh removable battery lets you easily swap it for another when you need to keep powering through the day.
You can connect up to 64 devices to the Netgear Nighthawk M7 Pro, which is more than double than Verizon's 5G hotspot supports. At the same time, though, the M7 Pro costs way more than the Orbic Speed 5G UW at $449, but 36 monthly payments reduce the cost to $12.50 per month.
Best mobile hotspot for 5G connectivity
You'd think there's little difference between the Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro and the standard M6, save for the black exterior that the Pro offers. But there's an important difference hidden in the specs — the Nighthawk M6 Pro can connect to AT&T's 5G Plus network for the fastest speeds.
5G Plus isn't exactly as widespread as AT&T's nationwide 5G network — as of this writing, it's only available in 43 cities as well as a number of stadiums, arenas and airports. If your travels take you to where 5G Plus is an option having a hotspot that can deliver those faster speeds should help justify the Nighthawk M6 Pro's higher price. As a result, these faster speeds are ideal for gaming.
And you will pay more for this hotspot over the M6 despite the fact that they share many other features. (The Pro model does support the more cutting-edge Wi-Fi 6E instead of Wi-Fi 6 in addition to its 5G Plus compatibility.) The Nighthawk M6 Pro costs $459, though that breaks down into monthly payments of $12.78 over 36 months.
Best mobile hotspot for T-Mobile
T-Mobile subscribers can turn to one of the more affordable mobile hotspots for 5G connectivity. And that's great news since T-Mobile can currently lay claim to having the largest and fastest 5G network in the country.
T-Mobile's 5G coverage currently reaches 321 million people; of that, 235 million people have access to the carrier's faster Ultra Capacity 5G. The good news with the T-Mobile 5G Hotspot is that it supports Ultra Capacity in addition to the Extended Range 5G.
A massive 5,000 mAh battery promises all-day battery life, and the Franklin JEXtream RG2100 can connect up to 20 devices simultaneously. This hotspot is also pretty compact compared to what other carriers offer for 5G connectivity, so it's easy to tote around.
The T-Mobile 5G Hotspot costs $198.
Best mobile hotspot for travelers
The vividly orange Simo Solis Lite is a brilliant travel hotspot with its portable, brightly colored design making it easy to pack and hard to leave behind. It's also ideally suited for this purpose on the inside, with an affordable basic price or the option to buy a lifetime 1GB/month data plan for hassle-free hotspotting.
You can only connect up to 10 devices, and there's no 5G support, which means both the number of people you can share it with and the data speeds you'll get are limited. But this should be plenty for casual users who want to make sure they can still keep in touch with their loved ones back home.
What to consider when shopping for a mobile hotspot
Before you shop for a mobile hotspot, consider if you even need one. If your cell phone plan includes hotspot data at 5G speeds, that may be good enough for staying connected (assuming you don’t plan on using more data than your allotted hotspot amount). If your mobile plan only allows 4G hotspot speeds — or doesn’t support hotspot data at all — you’ll want to consider a separate device.
After considering what network you’ll be using — unless you want separate bills for cellular connectivity, you’ll probably want to stick with the carrier who already provides your smartphone service — make sure to find out how many devices can connect to the mobile hotspot and whether that limits fits your needs.
You’ll also want to pay attention to the size and weight of the mobile hotspot, making sure it’s something you can easily tote around. How you plan to use the hotspot — is this for international travel or just about having backup connectivity on the go — is another consideration since some hotspots are designed specifically for overseas use.
5G mobile hotspots tend to cost more than their LTE counterparts, though prices have come down considerably as 5G is more widespread than it was a couple years ago. The typical 5G mobile hotspot costs around $300, though we've seen some like T-Mobile's new 5G hotspot that cost around $200.
If you’re going to buy a hotspot using your current cellular provider, you should expect to pay $10 to 15/month for the additional cellular connection, plus the cost of the device. If you’re getting new service with a new provider, you can expect to pay around $60 a month for 10GB of data. Unfortunately, few MVNOs offer service for mobile hotspots.
And finally, it's worth pointing out that there are mobile hotspots that offer support for external TS9 antenna connections. They allow you to boost the hotspot's connectivity by attaching an external antenna to them. However, many of the newer models don't offer them because of the powerful reach and signals of 5G radios. Still, if you need one, the Verizon Jetpack MiFi 8800L offers such a connection.
How we pick the best mobile hotspots
We look to feature hotspots from a number of wireless providers, so that we can help people find the right device for their network. We also try to include hotspots that are capable of both 5G and LTE connectivity to meet different use cases.
We turn to user reviews to help us refine our selections, and we also consider the price, feature set and portability of the devices we include in our final list of the best mobile hotspots.
