Best Mint Mobile plans 2023

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Best Mint Mobile plans
How Mint Mobile plans work
Does Mint Mobile offer family plans?
Is Mint Mobile a good carrier?
The best phones on Mint Mobile

Mint Mobile plans at a glance

1. 5GB plan: $45 for 3 months
2. 15GB plan: $60 for 3 months
3. 20GB plan: $75 for 3 months
4. Unlimited: $90 for 3 months

The best Mint Mobile plans promise low rates — if you're willing to pay upfront for all your data. Mint's four plans offer a range of data with prices that are among the lowest you'll find among the best cheap cell phone plans. And the way you keep you keep those prices low is by committing to a full year of service after your three-month introductory period.

Mint has more going for it than just low prices, although that is a big part of the appeal. Mint uses T-Mobile's cellular network for its coverage, including 5G support on compatible phones. As one of the best phone carriers, T-Mobile earns raves for its extensive network and fast 5G speeds — something you'll benefit from when you opt for Mint's lower-price plans. (Be aware, that T-Mobile snapped up Mint in a $1.35 billion deal in March 2023; that deal should close by the end of this year.)

Our guide to Mint Mobile can give you all the information you need about this low-cost wireless provider, but here we're going to concentrate on the best Mint Mobile plans and how you can keep the carrier's low introductory rates in place.

Best Mint Mobile plans

Mint Mobile | 5GB | $15/month ($180 for full year) - Best overall cheap plan from Mint Mobile
One of the best prepaid phone plans available in terms of overall value, Mint Mobile's 5GB plan will only cost you $15 a month. As with all of Mint Mobile's other plans, that price lasts for three months. At that point, you'll have to commit to a full 12 months to continue at that $15 monthly rate, paying the full $180 up front. The savings on your monthly rate may be worth that upfront commitment, though.

Mint Mobile | Unlimited data | $30/month ($360 for full year) - The cheapest unlimited data offer
Finally, Mint Mobile's unlimited plan has one of the cheapest prices you can get on unlimited data for one line of data. Mint will charge you just $30 a month, but there are some catches. Hotspot data is capped at 10GB. Though you get unlimited data with this plan, if you go over 40GB in a month, you may see your speeds slowed for the rest of the billing cycle. Like the options above, you'll see a rise in price after the first three months if you don't commit to an additional year. This doesn't feel like a major issue for all that data, though.

How Mint Mobile plans work

When you sign up for a plan at Mint Mobile, you pay for your first three months up front. That will get you Mint's lowest rate for each of its four plans. Then, after three months, you've got the option of prepaying for a full year to keep that low monthly rate. Other options three months or six months of service, though the rates with those offerings aren't as low.

Let's use that unlimited data plan at Mint as an example since it happens to be one of the best unlimited data plans currently available. To start, you'll pay $30 a month for the first three months — that's $90 upfront.

At the end of three months, you can then pay $360 to keep your $30/month rate for the next year. Opting for a six-month plan will cost you $35/month or $210, while the three-month plan gives you a $40 monthly rate, bringing your upfront cost to $120.

In other words, Mint Mobile works best if you're willing to commit to the carrier for a full year to get the lowest rate. If you prefer a shorter commitment, you may want to turn to some of the other best prepaid phone plans.

Does Mint Mobile offer family plans?

Previously, Mint Mobile only geared its services toward customers looking for service on a single line of data, but that's changed, as the carrier has expanded into family plans for two or more lines. Just be aware that Mint's approach is a little bit different than the way other carriers handle family plans.

At other carriers, you get discounts as you add more lines. Metro by T-Mobile's cheapest unlimited data plan costs $40 for a single line of data, but when you have four lines, you'll lower that rate to $25 per line once you get up to four lines. Google Fi offers discounts as you add more lines, too.

Mint doesn't do that. Instead, each person on a Mint Mobile family plan gets the same discounted rate. If everyone on your family plan opts for Mint's 5GB plan, you'll each pay $15 — a four line plan would expect to pay $60 a month, with alll of that money expected up front.

Mint earns points for flexibility in that you can mix and match the data allotments in family plans. That means the parents can opt for an unlimited plan for their lines of data, while assigning their kids smaller allotments of data.

Is Mint Mobile a good carrier?

Currently, Mint Mobile takes fourth place in our guide to the best phone carriers. That puts it in quite a lofty position for a carrier that was only founded back in 2015. So why do we rank it so highly?

This comes down to a few factors, but the big reason is affordability. Overall, the best Mint Mobile plans have some of the lowest monthly rates, especially when you pay upfront. This makes them especially tempting in comparison to the likes of AT&T and Verizon.

Secondly, Mint uses the T-Mobile network to provide coverage. T-Mobile is one of the fastest networks around, giving Mint a leg up, as it can piggyback on the T-Mobile 5G network. (That assumes you get one of the best 5G phones, of course). Mint will connect to whichever cellular signal — LTE or 5G — is stronger where you are.

Mint traffic can get slowed on T-Mobile's network if there's a lot of congestion. And Mint plans aren't as fully featured as T-Mobile's or as generous with families. Still, despite that, Mint remains a leading choice for those on a tight budget.

Finally, Mint faces stiff competition from the likes of Visible, Xfinity Mobile, and Google Fi. All three carriers have their own claim to fame, like Visible's $30/mo unlimited plan including taxes and fees or Fi's prorated data charges. Even the Comcast-owned Xfinity Mobile has some attractive benefits, like a $45/mo unlimited plan. The point being, Mint has a lot of benefits if you're willing to commit, but there are other equally good MVNOs with more traditional billing cycles.

The best phones on Mint Mobile

Once you decide on a Mint Mobile plan, maybe you want to consider purchasing a new phone through the prepaid carrier. Of course, as long as your current device is unlocked and works on GSM networks, you can bring what you already have and slot in your new SIM. Mint helps you double check that you're good to go.

But if you're looking for the best options, we recommend the following.

Mint offers discounts on some of those devices. In other cases, you'll get six months of service for free when you purchase a phone from Mint. So it's certainly worth checking out Mint when you're in the market for one of the best phones currently available.

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

With contributions from