Best family cell phone plan in 2024

The best family cell phone plan can keep your wireless phone bill from spiraling out of control. Instead of overpaying for data, you can find a plan that offers a good rate on the exact amount of data you and your other family members need.

For most families, that's going to mean unlimited data from one of the best unlimited data plans. And while you may fret that unlimited data may drive up the amount of your bill, these days, the best phone carriers offer a variety of rates, so there's likely a plan out there that fits into your budget.

Of course, a great family plan means more than just a low rate. In our search for the best options, we also look for perks and extras that come with various plans. Some family plans will include complementary streaming services, so you can cover the cost of streaming when you pay your monthly wireless bill. You may also find travel benefits that can help you stay connected overseas. We particularly like plans that let you mix and match cheaper options with more expensive ones, as that can lower the cost per line for families. 

Families of four can expect to pay between $120 to $220 a month for four lines from the major wireless carriers — in fact, four lines for $120 per month seems to be the sweet spot for plans these days. As a rule of thumb, the more expensive the plan, the better the perks. (We've also compared the cheapest unlimited data plans from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon if you're on a budget.)

Here’s a closer look at the best family cell phone plan options that we found in our search for best cell phone plans overall. Note that the prices in the Quick List section reflect the cost of four lines of data at each carrier.

The quick list

The best family cell phone plan overall

T-Mobile Go5G | 4-line family plan | $180/month - Best value family plan
T-Mobile's Go5G option is a no-brainer when the carrier waives the cost of a third line. But even at $180 for four lines, Go5G is a great option, thanks to all the hotspot data and travel benefits you get compared to the carrier's Magenta plan (normally $160 for four lines). Other than hotspot data and a larger pool of data to use when traveling in Canada and Mexico, the perks are the same, including a free Netflix subscription and six months of access to Apple TV Plus. Opt for the more expensive Go5G Plus ($220/month for a family of four), and you get even more benefits, such as a full Apple TV Plus subscription.

Pros:Cons:

T-Mobile Go5G | 4-line family plan | $180/month - <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=92X1584493&xcust=hawk-custom-tracking&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.t-mobile.com%2Fcell-phone-plans&sref" data-link-merchant="SkimLinks - t-mobile.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Best value family plan
T-Mobile's Go5G option is a no-brainer when the carrier waives the cost of a third line. But even at $180 for four lines, Go5G is a great option, thanks to all the hotspot data and travel benefits you get compared to the carrier's Magenta plan (normally $160 for four lines). Other than hotspot data and a larger pool of data to use when traveling in Canada and Mexico, the perks are the same, including a free Netflix subscription and six months of access to Apple TV Plus. Opt for the more expensive Go5G Plus ($220/month for a family of four), and you get even more benefits, such as a full Apple TV Plus subscription.

Pros: Free Netflix, 5G available, travel perks
Cons: Can’t mix-and-match unlimited plans

The most flexible family cell phone plan

Verizon Unlimited Plus | 4-line family plan | $180/month - Most flexible family plan
Families would save more with Verizon's Welcome Unlimited plan, which costs $120/month for four lines. But that plan has few perks and only features 5G coverage from Verizon's slower nationwide network. With Verizon Unlimited Plus, you get Verizon's fastest Ultra Wideband 5G coverage, plus 30GB of hotspot data and a three-year price guarantee. You can also mix and match the best Verizon plans, opting for Welcome Unlimited on some lines to save money. Bring your own device to Verizon, and you can count on additional discounts to your monthly rate. Perks including Disney's streaming service bundle or travel passes to use overseas are available as $10 monthly add-ons that you can add and drop at any time.

Pros: Cons:

Verizon Unlimited Plus | 4-line family plan | $180/month - <a href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-8900245-15733793?sid=hawk-custom-tracking&url=https://www.verizon.com/plans/unlimited/" data-link-merchant="verizon.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Most flexible family plan
Families would save more with Verizon's Welcome Unlimited plan, which costs $120/month for four lines. But that plan has few perks and only features 5G coverage from Verizon's slower nationwide network. With Verizon Unlimited Plus, you get Verizon's fastest Ultra Wideband 5G coverage, plus 30GB of hotspot data and a three-year price guarantee. You can also mix and match the <a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-verizon-phone-plans" data-link-merchant="tomsguide.com"" data-link-merchant="verizon.com"">best Verizon plans, opting for Welcome Unlimited on some lines to save money. Bring your own device to Verizon, and you can count on additional discounts to your monthly rate. Perks including Disney's streaming service bundle or travel passes to use overseas are available as $10 monthly add-ons that you can add and drop at any time.

Pros: Verizon's fastest 5G coverage, lots of hotspot data, ability to mix and match
Cons: $10 add-ons can add up quickly if you're not careful

Best family cell phone plan value

Mint Mobile | 4-line 5GB plan | $60/month - Cheapest family plan, with a catchPros:Cons:

Mint Mobile | 4-line 5GB plan | $60/month - <a href="https://mint-mobile.pxf.io/c/221109/444520/7915?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mintmobile.com%2Ffamily-phone-plans%2F" data-link-merchant="mintmobile.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Cheapest family plan, with a catch
<a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/us/mint-sim-faq,review-5030.html" data-link-merchant="tomsguide.com"" data-link-merchant="mintmobile.com"">Mint Mobile doesn't offer escalating discounts as you add lines of data to your plan, making it different from most of the other best family cell phone plan options. Instead, each line of data gets the same discount for paying in advance. So a family that opts for Mint's 5GB plan can expect to pay $15 for each line. That's $60 a month, with $180 due up front to cover your first three months of service at the discounted rate. To keep that price after a three-month trial period, you need to commit (and pay for) a year of service. Mint also lets families mix and match its different plans so one line of data could include 5GB for $15/month, while another could opt for Mint's $30 unlimited plan.

Pros: Big discounts relative to other family plans, you can mix and match plans
Cons: Requires a year commitment for best price

Best family cell phone plan for Comcast customers

Xfinity Mobile | 4-line Unlimited Intro plan | $120/month - A good deal for Comcast customersPros:Cons:

Xfinity Mobile | 4-line Unlimited Intro plan | $120/month - <a href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-8900245-14537951?sid=hawk-custom-tracking&url=https://www.xfinity.com/mobile/learn/plan" data-link-merchant="xfinity.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">A good deal for Comcast customers
<a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/us/xfinity-mobile-faq,news-25223.html" data-link-merchant="tomsguide.com"" data-link-merchant="xfinity.com"">Xfinity Mobile has established itself as an attractive option for families, with a discount on its unlimited data plan kicking in once you tack on additional lines. Multiple lines of the Unlimited Intro plan cost $30 each per month, so a two-line plan now costs $60 while a family of four plays $120. (Xfinity also has Plus and Premium tiers for its unlimited plan when you need more hotspot data or prefer high-resolution video streaming.) Xfinity uses Verizon's network, including that carrier's expanding 5G network, so you can expect fast coverage.

Pros: Discounts on multiple lines, uses Verizon's network
Cons: Only available to Xfinity internet customers

Best family cell phone plan at AT&T

AT&amp;T | Unlimited Extra 4 line plan | $164/month - AT&amp;Ts best family plan
AT&amp;T's Unlimited Extra plan offers the best balance of price and perks for the carrier's unlimited plans. Families save $40 each month from the more expensive Unlimited Elite plan, but they also enjoy perks like 15GB of hotspot data and the promise that your speeds won't be slowed unless you use more than 50GB of data in a month. AT&amp;T's cheapest plan for families — Unlimited Starter, which costs a family of four $144/month — slows your speeds at any time.

Pros:
Cons:

AT&T | Unlimited Extra 4 line plan | $164/month - <a href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-8900245-15735111?sid=hawk-custom-tracking&url=https://www.att.com/plans/wireless/" data-link-merchant="att.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AT&Ts best family plan
AT&T's Unlimited Extra plan offers the best balance of price and perks for the carrier's unlimited plans. Families save $40 each month from the more expensive Unlimited Elite plan, but they also enjoy perks like 15GB of hotspot data and the promise that your speeds won't be slowed unless you use more than 50GB of data in a month. AT&T's cheapest plan for families — Unlimited Starter, which costs a family of four $144/month — slows your speeds at any time.

Pros:
15GB of hotspot data, unlimited data when traveling in Mexico and Canada
Cons:
No streaming perks, speeds can be slowed after 50GB of use

Best prepad family plan

Metro by T-Mobile | 4-line plan | $100/month - Low-cost unlimited dataPros:Cons:

Metro by T-Mobile | 4-line plan | $100/month - <a href="https://www.metrobyt-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans" data-link-merchant="metrobyt-mobile.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Low-cost unlimited data
Metro stopped offering Amazon Prime memberships to new customers who signed up for its priciest unlimited plan, which removes one of the best perks for a prepaid carrier. But there's still value to be had for families who opt for the cheaper unlimited plan at Metro. Thanks to discounts on multiple lines, four lines of unlimited data currently cost $100 total — normally, it's a $160 monthly fee. Perks are limited to 5G coverage and Tuesday giveaways, but it's a great overall value available when you switch from another carrier.

Pros: Big discount on unlimited data, Tuesday giveaways from T-Mobile
Cons: In-store deal only


Best prepaid family plan perks

Cricket Wireless | Unlimited + 15 GB Mobile Hotspot | $130/month - Unlimited data for less on AT&amp;T's networkPros:Cons:

Cricket Wireless | Unlimited + 15 GB Mobile Hotspot | $130/month - <a href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-8900245-13751603?sid=hawk-custom-tracking&url=https://www.cricketwireless.com/cell-phone-plans" data-link-merchant="cricketwireless.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Unlimited data for less on AT&T's network
Cricket Wireless is AT&T's prepaid subsidiary, meaning it uses the same network, including 5G coverage. But Cricket plans cost much less, as you can see with this unlimited offering, where four lines of data will cost you $33 per line. This plan even comes with perks, which is a rarity, even among the <a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-prepaid-phone-plans" data-link-merchant="tomsguide.com"" data-link-merchant="cricketwireless.com"">best prepaid phone plans. You get 15GB of hotspot data, and unlike AT&T, Cricket's plan still includes Max among its benefits. (Be aware it is the ad-supported tier of the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max.) Cricket is a great way to enjoy the benefits of AT&T but without paying for that carrier's most expensive plan.

Pros: 5G coverage included, cheaper than AT&T plans, includes Max
Cons: AT&T can slow data if there's lot of network traffic, Max subscription features ads



The best family cell phone plan for travelers

Google Fi Wireless | Unlimited Plus | $160/month - Best perks for travelersPros:Cons:

Google Fi Wireless | Unlimited Plus | $160/month - <a href="https://fi.google.com/about/plans/" data-link-merchant="fi.google.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Best perks for travelers
Google Fi's Unlimited Plus plan features unlimited talk, text and data, with optimized performance for Google Pixel devices as well as select phones from Samsung and Motorola. The true appeal to this plan is if you do a lot of traveling, as <a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/us/project-fi-faq,review-4530.html" data-link-merchant="tomsguide.com"" data-link-merchant="fi.google.com"">Google Fi lets you use your data overseas in 200-plus locations at no additional charge. Other Unlimited Plus perks include a year of YouTube Premium.

Pros: Great international coverage, includes YouTube Premium subscription
Cons: As expensive as plans from larger carriers

How to pick the best family cell phone plans

For families, picking the right cell phone plan comes down to balancing the costs of multiple lines of data with the perks each carrier offers. If you do a lot of video streaming, for example, you’ll want to pick a plan that not only throws in a streaming service as a perk (Netflix with T-Mobile, multiple streaming services with Verizon) but also doesn’t slow your data if you consume a lot of data in a given month. Getting a plan with HD streaming can also be a good idea if you plan to stream on a screen larger than your smartphone's display.

When it comes to unlimited data, remember that there are still some limits on how much data you can use before your speed can slow down. AT&T's Unlimited Extra customers will enjoy a 50GB cap, while Unlimited Elite subscribers face no cap at all. Verizon can slow data for Unlimited Plus customers once they use more than 30GB of data, while Welcome Unlimited customers can see data speeds slowed down whenever there's too much traffic on Verizon's network. T-Mobile Magenta and Go5G customers can see data slowed when they use more than 100GB during a billing cycle; there's no throttling for Magenta Max and Go5G Plus customers.

Use an MVNO like Mint or Cricket, and you can see your data speeds deprioritized in favor of other customers on the parent company's network (T-Mobile and AT&T, respectively).

We’ve mainly focused on unlimited plans, as only AT&T is the only major carrier that continues to offer a tiered data option (a 4GB in this case) among its postpaid plans. If you prefer tiered data, you'd want to turn to service like Mint, which offers plans with different data allocations. 

Philip Michaels

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.

  • TGO
    Is that the car from Vacation??
    Reply
  • Larry831
    admin said:
    Looking for the best family cell phone plan? We can help you find a smartphone plan that brings unlimited data to multiple people without breaking the bank.

    Best family cell phone plan in 2020 : Read more

    Great Read. The problem is that I don't have a family to get these deals! I'm debating on Visible or Circledin. Has anyone tried Circledin before? I know with Visible you can join a family plan, but i heard it's super slow.
    Reply
  • Jwhite326
    This article says it was published 11 days ago. But it looks like maybe it was just reposted from two years ago.

    I love Tom's Guide and read it for all things tech-related. But if these are your "best" family plan suggestions in mid-2022, I'm a little underwhelmed. I need to move a family of four from Straight Talk, and was looking for alternatives. Anyway, I spent 2-3 hours digging and I came up with a few other MVNOs that seem to dominate these.

    For example, Google Fi's Simply Unlimited Family plan offers nearly identical service compared to the Magenta plan you're suggesting: the same prioritized data allocations and hotspot capability along with talk and text, but for $20 a line. That's HALF the price. This would save folks almost a grand a year.

    Similarly, US Mobile offers 30 GB of prioritized data on Verizon, plus unlimited talk and text for $20 a line. It's got the same speed as the Verizon Play More plan you're touting, and it costs $100 less PER MONTH, so people could save $1,200 a year. That's a huge chunk of change!

    I feel like with some more research you guys could come up with some better suggestions.
    Reply