The best cell phone plans aren’t necessarily the most expensive. In fact, some of the best plans are very affordable, which is great news for everyone.

When looking for the best cell phone plans, coverage and price are the most important factors and with cell phone plans coming up every weekend is really hard to choose the best plan that will fit your needs and budget.

In the end, money is what this is all about. You want to get the most value for your money, and most of us know about the cell phone plans offered by the Big Four carriers: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. But the Big Four can only go so low on the rate. After all, they have networks to maintain. That’s where MVNOs, enter the picture.

An MVNO is an alternative carrier that leases network coverage from one of the Big Four companies and can offer similar levels of service at a lower cost. The advantage with MVNOs is that there are so many plans available, that you can choose the one that works best for your own personal needs and preferences.

Most of the listed companies allow you to customize your plan to fit your preferences whether you want lots of data or need to text often and you’ll save hundreds of dollars per year while only paying for what you need in terms of talk, text, and data. Don’t be afraid to adjust service as needed to find an affordable plan that doesn’t sacrifice quality.

Our Top Picks For Best Cell Phone Plans of 2020

Tello Mobile – Most Affordable Plans

Our pick for the best cell phone plans goes to Tello. Tello is one of the most popular MVNO in the US with flexible plans and low rates, allowing you to build your own personal plan with no contract, no overage fee, no administration fee, and not even an activation fee.

Tello allows tethering (hotspot) through their application at no extra cost, and it even offers free calls to Mexico, Canada, and China along with the U.S. Customers can upgrade or downgrade plans for free, anytime.

Plans and Pricing:

$8/month : Unlimited talk and texts with free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania.

: Unlimited talk and texts with free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania. $10/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 1 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania.

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 1 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania. $14/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 2 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 2 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania $19/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 4 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 4 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania $24/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 6 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 6 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania $29/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 8 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 8 GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania $39/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, and Romania

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Republic Wireless – Best for General Users

Republic Wireless is one of the top cell phone carriers in the market and had been among the simplest service providers in the U.S., and is a no-contract carrier, which means you can sign-up and leave whenever you feel like. The carrier will reimburse you for the unused data in your account, which is a very good service.

Republic has an app that makes it easy to check your usage, make adjustments, and pay your bill. There are no hidden fees or overages. The only downside is Republic Wireless doesn’t offer cellular service internationally.

Plans and Pricing:

$15/month : Unlimited talk and texts

: Unlimited talk and texts $20/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 1 GB of 4G data

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 1 GB of 4G data $25/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 2 GB of 4G data

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 2 GB of 4G data $30/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 3 GB of 4G data ($5 per additional GB)

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Xfinity Mobile – A Big Network for Less

Xfinity Mobile is the mobile phone service from Comcast that relies on the Verizon network and Xfinity network of Wi-Fi mobile hotspots. The service is available only to customers with an Xfinity internet cable.

Xfinity comes with unlimited talk, text, and access to 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. For 4G data, you have a couple of choices. You can go with By the Gig plan, with data costing $12/month for 1GB, $30/month for 3GB, or $60/month for 10GB.

Plans and Pricing:

$12/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 1GB of 4G data with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. ($12 per additional GB)

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 1GB of 4G data with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. ($12 per additional GB) $30/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 3GB of 4G data with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. ($12 per additional GB)

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 3GB of 4G data with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. ($12 per additional GB) $60/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 10GB of 4G data with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. ($12 per additional GB)

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 10GB of 4G data with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. ($12 per additional GB) $45/line/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with 18 million Wi-Fi hotspots. (speeds reduced after 20GB)

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Cricket Wireless – Best for General Users

Cricket Wireless is a prepaid wireless carrier owned by AT&T, and it uses its large network for great coverage and reliability. It offers plans that start at $30/month for unlimited talk; text and 2GB of data and go up to $60/month for unlimited talk, texts, and data with 15GB hotspot access. The carrier $40/month plans are eligible for the Cricket Group Discount option, which extends a discount to subscribers with more lines.

Plans and Pricing:

$30/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 2GB of 4G data

Unlimited talk, texts, and 2GB of 4G data $40/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 5GB of 4G data

Unlimited talk, texts, and 5GB of 4G data $55/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with roaming in Mexico and Canada for calls, texts, and data. (Cricket may slow data speeds when the network is congested)

Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with roaming in Mexico and Canada for calls, texts, and data. (Cricket may slow data speeds when the network is congested) $60/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with 15GB of high-speed mobile hotspot plus roaming in Mexico and Canada for calls, texts, and data. (Cricket may slow data speeds when the network is congested)

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Ting Mobile – Pay for What You Use

Ting is another popular option for those looking for best cell phone plans for kids. Ting is a cheap option if you know you can limit your cell phone usage. You only have to pay for what you use, so there is no overcharging for stuff you don’t even need. It seems like a very fair and economical way to use a phone service.

Ting offers free domestic roaming for voice and text and international roaming for GSM phones in numerous countries around the world. Again, you will only be charged for what you use. So if you don’t make any calls for one month, you won’t be charged for minutes at all.

Plans and Pricing:

On Ting, your monthly cost will likely be different each month since it depends on usage.

Let’s say you choose 101-500 minutes, 1000 texts, and 500Mb of data for $30/month. If you use that, that’s what you’ll pay. However, if you use less or more of anything, your bill will automatically be adjusted accordingly. The idea with Ting is that you only pay for what you use, ensuring you’re not overpaying for service you don’t need.

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List of Other Best Cell Phone Carriers and Plans of 2020

Twigby – Highly Customizable Plans

Twigby is a cheap phone carrier that allows customers to build their own phone plan by choosing the number of minutes and LTE data that fits their needs. There are no contracts or activation fees, and you have the option to bring your own Sprint device. Twigby has cornered the market on great prices for basic cell phone plans for seniors.

Twigby offers coverage anywhere on the 4G and 3G Sprint Nationwide Network and also provides Verizon network coverage as a secondary network.

Plans and Pricing:

$9.75/month : Unlimited talk and texts.

: Unlimited talk and texts. $14.25/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 1GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge.

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 1GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge. $17.25/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 2GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge.

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 2GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge. $21.00/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 3GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge.

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 3GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge. $24.75/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 5GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge.

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 5GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge. $32.25/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 10GB of 4G data with mobile hotspot access plus international talk and text at no additional charge.

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Page Plus – Best for Light Users

Page Plus is a unique cell phone service provider. It is one of the few prepaid cell phone service providers that piggybacks off of Verizon Wireless’s network. As such, this is one cell phone service provider that is able to give you a ton of value for your money.

Page Plus Cellular plans start at $10/month with AutoPay turned on, and while you will only get 500 talk minutes and 500 texts messages with 100MB of web data, it’s a really cheap option that just may work for some people that only uses their phone here and there for basic communication.

Plans and Pricing:

$12/month: 500 minutes, 500 Texts, and 100MB 4G data

500 minutes, 500 Texts, and 100MB 4G data $29.95/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 3GB of 4G data plus $10 free international calling credit.

Unlimited talk, texts, and 3GB of 4G data plus $10 free international calling credit. $39.95/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 8GB of 4G data plus $10 free international calling credit.

Unlimited talk, texts, and 8GB of 4G data plus $10 free international calling credit. $55/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data plus $10 free international calling credit.

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Tracfone – Best Rural Service

If you are looking for a reliable and affordable calling plan, Tracfone has got you covered. TracFone has MVNO agreements with the big four U.S. carriers, so your coverage is among the best.

Tracfone’s cheapest data plan is $20 a month for 1GB of LTE data with unlimited talk and texts. You can increase your data usage for $5 more each month per addition gigabyte. you can Carryover your unused data.

Plans and Pricing:

$20/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 1GB of 4G data.

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 1GB of 4G data. $25/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 2GB of 4G data.

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 2GB of 4G data. $30/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 3GB of 4G data.

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TextNow – Best Value for Money

TextNow has expanded from being an app that offered WiFi-based calling and messaging to a standalone service. It can point to a few things that help it stand out from the MVNO crowd, such as an ad-supported free tier of service and a new unlimited plan with a price that undercuts what you’d pay at a major carrier.

All TextNow plans offer unlimited talk and text, there’s no need to calculate how many minutes and texts you’ll need each month, the only difference is on the Data allotments. If you go over your limit, TextNow merely throttles your data to 2G speeds for the rest of the billing cycle.

Plans and Pricing:

$9.99/month : Unlimited talk and texts

: Unlimited talk and texts $19.99/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 2 GB of 4G data

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 2 GB of 4G data $29.99/month : Unlimited talk, texts, and 5 GB of 4G data

: Unlimited talk, texts, and 5 GB of 4G data $39.99/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data.

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Visible – Best Unlimited Plan

Visible is a good option for college students looking for an affordable unlimited data plan. Visible is actually owned by Verizon, which means it runs solely on Verizon’s network. This is a key selling point as Verizon has long been considered the best network in the country.

There’s just one plan to choose from at Visible, and it costs $40/month. For that price, you get unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data with uncapped speeds. Mobile hotspot is included, there aren’t any annual contracts.

Plans and Pricing:

$40/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with free Wi-Fi calling and mobile hotspot access. (Taxes and fees are included)

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Total Wireless – A Solid Verizon’s Network

Total Wireless is a subsidiary of TracFone Wireless and has an MVNO agreement with Verizon, one of the top-performing networks with a strong reputation for being an excellent network, so you’ll likely be fine using their signals wherever you live in the U.S.

Total Wireless stands out for its extremely competitive 5G plan at $35 per month and its family phone plans for $100 per month you can get up to 4 lines with unlimited talk, text and 15GB of shared high-speed data. Total Wireless offers a 5% discount if you use autopay each month. All of the following plans include unlimited talk and text.

Plans and Pricing:

$25/month: Unlimited talk and texts.

Unlimited talk and texts. $35/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 5GB of 4G data.

Unlimited talk, texts, and 5GB of 4G data. $50/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 25GB of 4G data.

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Google Fi – Best for Travelers

One of the biggest reasons to get Google Fi is if you travel abroad. Even if you don’t, upfront pricing and limit on data charges make it a great option for the occasional heavy user.

Google fi plans start at $20 a month for unlimited calling and texting. It can be affordable, if you use data, it cost $10 for each 1GB used, although if you use 500MB, you will only pay $5. Best of all, web data is only billed up to $60, meaning if you go over, your bill will be $80.

Plans and Pricing:

$20/month : Unlimited talk and texts. Each additional line is an additional $15 per month and $10 per 1GB of data, but anything over 6GB is free.

: Unlimited talk and texts. Each additional line is an additional $15 per month and $10 per 1GB of data, but anything over 6GB is free. $70/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with free international data and texts while traveling plus free Google One membership. (data speeds might slow down if you exceed 22GB of data before your monthly billing period ends)

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Metro by T-Mobile – Best for Families

Owned by T-Mobile, Metro provides standard prepaid phone plans similar to the popular carriers. Metro by T-Mobile has three plans that cater to any budget, backed by one of the most expansive LTE networks in the country. In addition to providing nearly blanket coverage, Metro by T-Mobile now offers tempting perks on certain plans.

Metro by T-Mobile supports domestic roaming but at a price, while worldwide roaming is also offered in 21 countries. Plans with 5GB of data and unlimited data plan cost $40 and $50 a month, respectively. There is also a $60 plan that gives similar benefits to the $50 plan however contains 10GB of dedicated hotspot tethering.

Plans and Pricing:

$40/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and 10GB of 4G data with unlimited music. Save $10 on each additional line.

Unlimited talk, texts, and 10GB of 4G data with unlimited music. Save $10 on each additional line. $50/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with 5GB of mobile hotspot, along with 100GB of Google One storage. Save $20 on each additional line.

Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with 5GB of mobile hotspot, along with 100GB of Google One storage. Save $20 on each additional line. $60/month: Unlimited talk, texts, and unlimited 4G data with 15GB of mobile hotspot, along with 100GB of Google One storage and a free Amazon Prive subscription. Save $30 on each additional line.

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Consumer Cellular – Best for Seniors

Consumer Cellular is one of the best cell phone plans for seniors in the market. Consumer Cellular, which targets senior citizens, runs on AT&T’s network and has a plan that offers 250 minutes and 250MB for about $25 per month. The plan makes it easy for seniors to use their phones and gives a 5 percent discount for AARP members.

You can build your own plan with one or two lines, choosing from 250 minutes or unlimited, as well as data in 500MB, 3GB, 10GB, 15GB, and 25GB plans depending on your needs. There’s also the option of skipping texting and data altogether if you want a plan that keeps things simple.

Plans and Pricing:

Talk plans start at 250 minutes for $15/month or unlimited minutes for $20/month.

start at 250 minutes for $15/month or unlimited minutes for $20/month. Data plans start at 250MB for $5/month and go up to 20GB for $40/month. All data plans include unlimited texting.

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You might not recognize some of our carrier picks. Having so many choices makes it easier to find an affordable phone plan, but it can also be very confusing for consumers. The carrier you choose is even more important than the type of phone or service plan you select. After all, if the carrier has patchy service in your area, you’re going to be extremely unhappy.

You don’t have to buy the latest smartphone and the most expensive plan to have phone service. Smaller companies like the ones listed above host numerous alternative options that can help you save big on your cell phone bills.

keep in mind that phone carriers offer promotions and discounts frequently. Some of these phone carriers offer discounts for using automatic billing and paperless billing, so your phone bill might be less than what you are seeing here.

These were our top picks of best cell phone plans of 2020 in the United States. These service providers differ from each other. It’s essential to understand that each come with their own perks, have their own shares of pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages and no matter what kind of plan you decide to choose, make sure it’s realistic to your habits and lifestyle.