Best phone plans for $15 or less: Are they worth it?

In 2024, even the most affordable postpaid plan usually begins at round $50 a month, give or take a couple of dollars. This worth can come down so much in case you have a household or a bunch of roommates to separate the invoice with, as you’ll qualify for multi-line reductions. For these needing just one or two traces, pay as you go carriers can supply the same service for a lot much less. I made a decision to learn how low you may go and nonetheless get respectable service by concentrating on plans priced at $15 a month or much less.

A lot to my shock, these dirt-cheap plans are way more useable than you may suppose.

Count on to make just a few minor sacrifices if you would like a plan that’s $15 or much less

Over the past yr, I’ve examined a number of pay as you go carriers to see how they examine to the larger networks. There’s so much that goes into mobile service, and lots of occasions, what you’re promised on paper doesn’t truly maintain up in actuality. Even the most effective pay as you go carriers can have trade-offs when you’re searching for service at $15 or much less a month.

The precise compromises will differ relying on the provider, however a few of the most typical downsides to plans at this worth embrace:

• Restricted information. Most pay as you go plans at this worth have caps on high-speed information (usually round 1-10GB). After you employ up this information, you’ll both get considerably decrease speeds or the provider may even reduce you off utterly till the following billing cycle.
• Much less complete customer support. Most plans at these charges received’t have brick-and-mortar areas or in-person assist. Some might rely solely on web-based communication for buyer interactions.
• Deprioritized information. Pay as you go plans at this worth normally have decrease prioritization throughout occasions of congestion, affecting information speeds.
• Restricted cellphone choice. Some cheaper carriers assume prospects will even need an inexpensive cellphone, so the choice of higher-end telephones may be restricted. Most carriers, nonetheless, assist you to convey your personal gadget.

After testing practically a baker’s dozen price of wi-fi suppliers, three carriers stood out for offering high quality experiences at such a low worth: Join by T-Cellular, US Cellular, and Tello. Simply bear in mind every provider has its professionals and cons, although all of them require some stage of sacrifice. Let’s take a more in-depth take a look at every.

• Community accomplice: T-mobile
• Value vary: $15 – $35
• Brick and mortar service: Sure

I usually advocate sub-brands or unbiased carriers for pay as you go service, however T-Cellular strikes an ideal steadiness between prioritized information and worth. T-Cellular presents cheaper plans with information limits below its Join by T-Cellular branding, that are less expensive than what you’d get from Verizon or AT&T straight. All plans embrace limitless discuss, textual content, and a precedence stage virtually on par with T-Cellular’s postpaid choices.

In my testing, I attempted the $15 plan, which provides you 5GB of high-speed information after which limitless gradual speeds (sufficient for checking emails or sending a message by means of a textual content app). I used it for 30 days as my principal quantity and located the expertise surprisingly good. Whereas I don’t have postpaid T-Cellular service, I requested a buddy who lives close to me to check their very own T-Cellular speeds all through the day for comparability. In most conditions, my Join plan had information speeds that have been just about indistinguishable from T-Cellular’s.

Throughout peak hours like rush hour, my service would see deprioritization however nonetheless be inside 75-95% of the everyday goal in comparison with postpaid. I usually noticed speeds of 10-20Mbps, whereas my buddy’s T-Cellular postpaid service noticed round 25Mbps or a bit larger. Be aware that we dwell in a rural space, and speeds can differ dramatically by area. I additionally examined T-Cellular’s service in St. Louis for just a few days and located the speeds have been nonetheless pretty corresponding to T-Cellular’s postpaid charges within the space. Slower, however not considerably noticeable.

Join by T-Cellular was definitely quicker in my expertise than Mint, which usually noticed speeds round 1.5-10Mbps with occasional larger jumps throughout much less busy occasions. In fact, connection is barely a part of the equation. Cellphone choice and customer support are equally necessary.

Beginning with cellphone choices, Join by T-Cellular presents the identical vary you’d get from postpaid, together with flagship fashions from Samsung, Google, Apple, and extra. Nevertheless, T-Cellular doesn’t supply in-house financing or prolonged safety plans for its pay as you go models, although you may all the time purchase an unlocked cellphone at a retailer like Finest Purchase, which can be eligible for a third-party fee plan. There are additionally third-party cellphone insurance coverage choices obtainable from Progressive and others.

Whereas my expertise with Join by T-Cellular went easily, customer support is one main distinction between Join and postpaid. Whereas postpaid usually presents native customer support, pay as you go tends to be much less prioritized and makes use of totally different name facilities. That mentioned, the one time I had a difficulty and referred to as, the customer support rep resolved the issue with out a lot fuss. The expertise felt much like different postpaid customer support interactions. It’s also possible to convey your Join units right into a T-Cellular retailer for in-person help, which isn’t widespread for a lot of pay as you go providers.

• Community accomplice: T-mobile
• Value vary: $5-25
• Brick and mortar service: No

Tello is among the most cost-effective pay as you go providers obtainable, providing a service that’s dependable and feature-packed for the value. For instance, Tello contains worldwide calling and texting to 60+ nations, together with India and Canada. It’s also possible to use your Tello quantity when touring internationally, so long as you’ve got a WiFi community or cell information from one other SIM card.

Pricing varies relying in your wants, and taxes and costs are usually not included within the quoted pricing (usually including round $1.50-$2.50 per line). Tello is very customizable, letting you choose information ranges from none to limitless, and you may even choose what number of calling minutes you want. On the most cost-effective, you could possibly get a line with 1GB of information and no minutes, or no information and limitless minutes, for simply $5. When you principally textual content, you may choose a low restrict, like 100 minutes, as all voice plans include limitless texting.

How does the pricing examine to Join by T-Cellular as you increase the info allotment? With limitless minutes and 5GB of information, you’d pay simply $10 for the primary month after which $14 month-to-month thereafter. That’s a greenback much less, however it nonetheless represents financial savings. Leaping to 10GB would value $4 greater than T-Cellular prices for 5GB. Tello even presents limitless information for simply $25 a month, although there are tremendous print circumstances, resembling briefly slower information after 25GB in a single month.

As for community high quality? Tello received’t be as excessive on the precedence ladder as Join by T-Cellular. In areas with minimal congestion, you’ll usually see speeds within the 10-20Mbps vary, however deprioritization is actual when you’re in a closely trafficked space. Throughout a visit to St. Louis, I examined Tello round lunch hour and will barely get 1-2.5Mbps. Later within the afternoon, speeds improved barely to round 8Mbps. At house, Tello virtually all the time received 7-12Mbps throughout off-peak occasions and stayed within the 2-6Mbps vary throughout peaks.

Tello is designed to run over your native wi-fi community first, however there’s additionally a knowledge allotment for whenever you’re away from a dependable WiFi connection. The community may not be good, however when you plan to be principally related to WiFi for larger downloads or media consumption and simply need cell information for emergencies or gentle social media use, Tello is greater than succesful.

Remember that Tello has no bodily presence however does supply 24/7 cellphone, electronic mail, or internet chat assist. I didn’t must name customer support, however diving into Reddit, I discovered that almost all customers felt it had above-average customer support for the value. The cellphone choice is fundamental, with lower than 20 telephones, most priced at $359 or decrease. There are just a few higher-end fashions just like the Galaxy S23 (refurbished), Google Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Professional, Apple iPhone 14, and Google Pixel 8. Just one is a brand new flagship; the remainder are year-old fashions.

• Community accomplice: T-mobile or Verizon
• Value vary: $5-25
• Brick and mortar service: No

I strongly thought of giving this third choose to Mint Cellular, however US Cellular swayed me with its latest plan adjustments. I’ve been utilizing the 2GB plan for $10 a month for the previous few weeks and have been impressed. Each carriers use T-Cellular for protection and supply related pricing, however on the subject of service below $15, US Cellular is a greater match. Its beginning worth is simply $10, good for these with modest information wants. In distinction, Mint presents 5GB for $15 a month. Moreover, US Cellular doesn’t require a number of months upfront as Mint does, and contains taxes and costs within the marketed pricing. Once more, Mint doesn’t.

One essential distinction between US Cellular and Tello or Join by T-Cellular is provider assist. On sign-up, you may select between Verizon or T-Cellular because the community accomplice — I picked Verizon. It’s a better option when you dwell in an space with strong protection, because it will get the identical prioritization as Verizon postpaid subscribers. The one catch is you could have a 5G cellphone, however you’ll nonetheless get excessive precedence even when you’re defaulting to an LTE community. Based mostly on my analysis, T-Cellular’s prioritization stage must be much like Mint Cellular’s.

I usually received round 15-40Mbps in my space, much like my spouse’s Verizon postpaid account. Within the metropolis, I noticed speeds on US Cellular reaching over 100Mbps round time for dinner, a fairly busy interval but nonetheless respectable speeds. Your mileage will differ relying on the place you reside and the way congested T-Cellular or Verizon’s towers are in your space.

Want extra information? Whereas US Cellular’s plans begin at $10 a month for 2GB, you will get a vast plan for as little as $17.50 a month when you pay for a yr upfront. When you don’t need to pay upfront, US Cellular presents the plan for $25 a month, together with 10GB premium information, 5GB hotspot information, and limitless slower information. There’s additionally worldwide calling and texting. Those that want extra premium information can select from Limitless Starter or Premium.

US Cellular doesn’t have brick-and-mortar areas, so that you received’t be capable of go to a service particular person straight for cellphone questions. Nevertheless, the corporate presents 24/7 buyer assist by means of chat, cellphone, or electronic mail. I didn’t use customer support throughout my trial, however on-line evaluations recommend that whereas there are occasional complaints, many shoppers defend the service they’ve obtained. It is determined by the service agent and your luck, I suppose.

Want cellphone? US Cellular has an in depth cellphone choice throughout all worth factors, together with main flagships just like the iPhone 15 Professional, Galaxy S24, and Pixel 8. Moreover, you’ll discover the OnePlus 12, a number of Motorola telephones, and a variety of price range units from Nokia, Motorola, and others.

Over the past yr or so, I’ve been on a mission to attempt as many pay as you go carriers as I may. For this record, I reviewed the carriers I’d used not too long ago which have plans at or under $15. For these I didn’t have entry to, I requested pals or relations who used the provider and checked Reddit for suggestions. Finally, I picked the three carriers above as a result of every stood out indirectly. Initially, US Cellular wasn’t one in all my picks, as Mint Cellular had impressed me extra prior to now. Then I noticed US Cellular had new plans, so I signed up and have been testing it for the previous few weeks.

Inquisitive about which networks I examined and regarded for this record? First, I eradicated carriers with unhealthy reputations or people who have been mainly carbon copies of one another with nothing distinctive to supply. I additionally eliminated any provider that didn’t have a plan at or under $15, or if their plans at this vary have been unimpressive. This left me with six candidates that I felt went above and past the remainder:

All of those are nice decisions; I merely felt Join by T-Cellular, Tello, and US Cellular stood out essentially the most. Whereas the three listed carriers above labored nice in my space, I additionally understand that each area is totally different. Your precise velocity assessments and experiences may very well be totally different from mine. That’s why I all the time advocate signing up for only a month on a burner quantity earlier than transferring totally, simply to see how properly the MVNO (Cellular Digital Community Operator) truly performs.

Discover that these three don’t work as properly for you? Truthfully, any of the six above could be a fantastic match at this worth vary. If there’s a provider not on my record, it doesn’t essentially imply you shouldn’t take into account it, both. I can’t take a look at every part and sure missed just a few decisions, or they only didn’t carry out as properly in my area. The largest factor is to all the time take a look at out the community earlier than you decide to it in the long run, as what these MVNOs say they provide on paper doesn’t all the time replicate the real-world expertise.