T-Mobile is one of the more affordable options among the major carriers, but a number of MVNOs offer better prices on their monthly plans — and one of those is Mint Mobile, which is now owned by T-Mobile after a $1.35 billion purchase in March 2023.
Mint specializes in low cost plans while also relying on T-Mobile's network to provide its wireless service. That means you can get T-Mobile's speeds, coverage and 5G performance at a much cheaper price by opting for Mint Mobile.
Find out more about Mint Mobile at the bottom of this page.
Searching among the best T-Mobile cell phone plans for the right option for your needs just became a little bit more complicated.
It's not that T-Mobile doesn't offer some of the best cell phone plans out there — T-Mobile features great unlimited deals in addition to a low-cost Connect Plan that ranks as one of the best cheap cell phone plans if you're on a budget. Rather, the problem is that T-Mobile has expanded the number of unlimited plans you can pick from.
In April 2023, T-Mobile launched two additional unlimited plans joining offerings that already ranked as some of the best unlimited data plans you could sign up for. So which one should you pick? That all depends upon your needs.
Luckily, we can help you find a great option at T-Mobile, wether you need one of the best family cell phone plans or you're interested in a low-cost prepaid plan that still delivers good value. And as affordable as T-Mobile is, you can enjoy the benefits of its network through an even lower-cost option in the form of Mint Mobile, a virtual network mobile operator (MVNO) that uses T-Mobile's towers for its cellular coverage.
If T-Mobile cell phone plans sound like something that would work for you, we've broken down the best T-Mobile cell phone plans below.
Unlimited and family T-Mobile plans
T-Mobile offers five different unlimited data plans, with Go5G and Go5G Plus joining the established Essentials, Magenta and Magenta Max offerings. You can get a plan for just one person or you can add additional lines for the best prices.
If you add extra lines, T-Mobile's different unlimited options stand out as some of the best family plans out there. The Essentials option is aimed at those on a tighter budget, while then the two Magenta plans offer some more luxuries for a higher monthly price. The Go5G Plans are T-Mobile's most expensive plans, but they have the best benefits.
Finally, T-Mobile also has an unlimited plan for any senior customers that ranks as one of the best cell phone plans for seniors.
T-Mobile prepaid plans
If you don't need unlimited data, T-Mobile also has some great prepaid options. These come at much lower costs, which also means you will also receive a lot less data and fewer perks.
Is T-Mobile a good carrier?
T-Mobile is not just a good carrier — it's currently the runner-up in our best phone phone carriers rankings. This position comes down to a couple of benefits and factors T-Mobile does very well.
When it comes to terms of plans and offers, T-Mobile is one of the most diverse options. It offers a wide array of prices that span family plans, unlimited data choices, prepaid plans and more.
Past that, our LTE network testing showed that T-Mobile is one of the faster carriers available, and subsequent testing by third parties backs that claim. In Ookla's most recent testing, T-Mobile was rated the fastest mobile operator in the U.S. with the best download and upload speeds.
T=Mobile also ranks well in 5G performance testing by third parties, with RootMetrics currently rating T-Mobile tops for 5G speeds and availability. (Verizon's 5G is judged to be more reliable.) T-Mobile's 5G service reaches more than 325 million people and through its incorporation of Sprint, 5G speeds have increased further by adding Sprints 5G into the spectrum. Some 265 million people now have access to T-Mobile's higher-speed 5G, and that number should grow to 300 million in 2023.
T-Mobile also has weekly giveaways and a host of incentives for its customers. For instance, this year, it's offering T-Mobile customers the MLS Season Pass that streams ever Major League Soccer match through the Apple TV Plus streaming service. Overall, T-Mobile finishes in the runner-up spot among phone carriers thanks to its blend of affordability, features, the number of options and its great coverage; the carrier has been the victim of several embarrassing data breaches, though.
Getting T-Mobile on a budget: Mint Mobile
T-Mobile itself is an affordable carrier but you can get its services cheaper. As we said above, Mint Mobile is a popular network that uses the connections, coverage and speeds of T-Mobile to provide wireless service at a discount. Mint proved so compatible with T-Mobile that the Uncarrier is buying the discount mobile service.
This means that you will experience the exact same coverage and speeds as T-Mobile customers both for 4G and 5G. However, Mint customers could get throttled in peak times.
The benefit of choosing Mint over T-Mobile is its affordability. Mint for example can offer unlimited data for $30 a month, 20GB for $25 a month or even 5GB for $15 a month. (Those data allotments reflect new Mint Mobile plans that went into effect on April 14 offering more data at the same rates.) However, Mint does its contracts slightly weirdly. You actually pay for your service upfront. When you get Mint, you get a 3-month intro price which, for example, would be how you get the unlimited data for $30 a month.
While the 5GB plan says $15 a month, you are actually paying $45 for that period. When that time period's up, you then sign up for three, six or 12 months and pay the cost upfront. The longer you sign on for, the better the price.
If you can afford to pay for your cell phone plan upfront, Mint offers some of the cheapest prices out there, and it recently expanded service to include family plans. You can read more about the service in our guide to Mint Mobile as well our analysis of whether Mint is still worth it after the T-Mobile acquisition.
