Best no contract prepaid cell phone plans

I used to say my family was “cheap” until my grandpa pointed out the correct term was “frugal.” So whatever you call it, my goal in life is to spend as little money as possible on my necessities so I have money for everything else. My phone was one of those necessities. I need it, and it needs to work well, but I don’t want a contract that adds to my cost. I want to buy a phone outright without monthly payments, and I want a good deal. So I looked at:

• Visible
• Total Wireless
• US Mobile
• Straight Talk
• Mint Mobile

When reviewing the best no contract prepaid cell phone plans, I looked at:

1. Deprioritization: Whether your prepaid data speeds get slowed down when the network gets congested or if you are in a busy place like an airport
2. Perks: Not a total deal breaker but it’s good to know if they have things like international calling, hotspot options, or streaming services
3. Network: The coverage maps for different areas and which towers they actually use

Now each of those seem to serve a different customer base, even if they use comparable network providers, so let’s see who they work best for:

• Visible: Best for Unlimited Everything
• Total Wireless: Best for Family Plan/Multi-Line Discounts
• US Mobile: Best for Network Hopping
• Straight Talk: Best for Single Plans and Perks
• Mint Mobile: Best for Cheap Price with Upfront Payments

Visible

Visible by Verizon is an app based provider meaning they only offer online support. This is juxtaposed by competitors like Total Wireless or Straight Talk both of which have physical locations you can go to for help.

That said, this is an ideal choice for anyone who’s really comfortable troubleshooting problems with their phone via chat or through an app.

They are also a standout company because of the premium data access they have. Their top-tier plans come with unlimited premium data which is prioritized and connects to Verizon’s 5G Ultra wideband network with 50 gigabytes of priority data using the same 5G networks. This makes Visible a great choice for heavy hotspot users and digital nomads who work from the road, their car, or a local Starbucks and need an unlimited connection. There was a year when I was in a remote area of New England with basically zero internet or other supportive infrastructure and the only way I could work was by using my phone to get a reliable connection via hotspot data. Visible was the only company that made it possible for me to do this reliably without having to constantly worry about reaching my cap and not being able to finish my work for the month. 

There are other perks as well like Smartwatch support on some of the premium plans with things like free Apple watch services as well as international travel perks like a global pass for those who travel internationally. 

Best for: Heavy data users, digital nomads, self-sufficient individuals, solo users

Pros:

• Visible is the best for unlimited data on Verizon’s 5G UW. 
• You get good value with unlimited talk, text, and data for all their plans, not just the expensive ones.
• They are pretty affordable.

Cons:

• Customer service is text-only. Bummer.
• No real discounts for families or multi-line situations. 

Total Wireless

Total Wireless runs on Verizon’s networks but they don’t give you deprioritized data which means that even though you are on a non-contract, prepaid cell phone plan, you won’t see your data slow down if you live in a busy city or you work in a crowded area.

However, I don’t think that’s really what makes Total Wireless great, although it certainly is a perk. What makes them great is that they are ideal for families. They are one of the most family-friendly prepaid carriers I’ve ever seen, specifically because the price drops significantly the more people you add to a package and the fourth line is free. This makes it easy to set up a plan for all of your family not to mention the fact that new subscribers get a 5-year price guarantee so if you add five lines to your plan for all of your family members at only $20 per month per plan, you can lock that in for the next five years and budget accordingly.

Their perks include things like a Disney plus subscription, which I throw into the category of why they are family friendly, and they give you things like $200 anniversary credit after you’ve been with them for 12 months which you can put toward a new 5G phone.

Best for: Families that need discounts, those who want to lock in their price, people who live in crowded areas. 

Pros:

• Total Wireless has some of the best prices for family plans, giving increasing discounts the more lines you add.
• The fourth line is free.
• Top-tier plans come with a Disney Plus subscription.

Cons:

• They max out at five lines per plan. 

StraightTalk

StraightTalk comes from Walmart, and because it’s associated with Walmart one of the biggest perks is the Walmart+ membership. You also get to manage it in stores so if you have a Walmart near you, and you have any issue with your phone or you’re not sure about how to make the switch, you can actually go in and get help from whoever is working the desk.

The same cannot be true for providers like Mint Mobile which is entirely online. 

They run on Verizon’s infrastructure so it’s usually a better option for people who live in rural areas and have pretty weak signal from competitors like T-Mobile or AT&T. 

They don’t give a lot of discounts if you add multiple lines which can be a drawback for families, but they do have unlimited Platinum plans that is one of the few non-contract, prepaid options that gives unlimited mobile hotspot data. So, if you use your phone a lot without Wi-Fi and you need that hotspot data, this is a good option to consider. 

Best for: Walmart shoppers, heavy data users, people in rural areas who want to use hotspot data.

Pros:

• StraightTalk has good perks like the Walmart+ subscription but only with higher-tier plans
• You can pick up a phone and SIM in person at Walmart. Done and done. 
• You get access to Verizon’s 5G UW network.

Cons:

• Perks only come with more expensive plans. 
• Discounts for multi-lines are great. 

Mint Mobile

Mint Mobile has access to the T-Mobile network so you get a lot of 5G coverage in most areas. The carrier makes their prices very affordable if you are a low data user, with data tiers starting at 5 GB per month and going up to unlimited gigabytes per month so you can choose the amount of data you need.

I, for example, had a Verizon Prepaid Plan once upon a time for which the minimum data available was 15 GB. I never used more than 2% of my data because I worked primarily using Wi-Fi at work or at home which meant I was overpaying for data I didn’t use.

Had Mint Mobile been an option for me at that time, it would have saved me a few hundred dollars per year because I could have picked a lower, 5 GB data plan.

Mint Mobile, for those who don’t know, is designed as a non-contract option but you have to pay in advance, with an upfront lump sum for however many months you can afford, either three, six, or 12 months up front. The more you buy, like the 12-month package, the less it costs, usually half the rate of other comparable plans. 

Best for: Solo users or anyone on a tight budget that can pay ahead of time, people who own their unlocked phone, those who can manage everything online without a physical store, and use limited data.

Pros:

• Mint Mobile is great value if you are a low data user. 
• You get high-speed options with data priority.
• The more months you buy in advance, the better your discounts. 

Cons:

• So far as I’ve seen all of the discounts seem to apply to new customers only.
• You have to pay all of your months in advance, with a minimum of 3 months in advance.

US Mobile

US Mobile is unique in that it is a prepaid option with a unique proposition: you can choose (and switch) which network carrier you should use. They are the only carrier that lets you do this, teleport, or switch between AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon.

They name their plans based on the network provider with the warp plan associated with verizon. This is important because it’s one of the few non-contract providers that gives you QCI8 prioritized data on 5G devices through Verizon plans. QCI8 is a technical term that basically means you get priority status on the cellular network so even when there’s a lot of people around you like at a baseball game or there’s a lot of traffic because everyone is using the same towers at the same time, you get priority status, basically the fast lane.

US Mobile is ideal for single users. They don’t give cheap rates only for bundled packages but they also don’t have a lot of discounts for bundles. However, if you are looking for perks, if you get three or more lines with the unlimited package you can qualify for reimbursements if you sign up for things like spotify, netflix, or Disney+. 

Best for: People who travel and switch carriers, mobile workers, families who want perks. 

Pros:

• US Mobile lets you choose flexible plans based on your budget especially if you need low data.
• You can choose different networks like AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon.

Cons:

• Switching network carriers has to be done manually unless you have a phone that can support dual SIMs. 

Summing Up

Overall, Visible, Total Wireless, and Straight Talk all use Verizon’s towers, but Visible and Total Wireless give you access to unlimited support for talk, text, data, and mobile hotspot usage, and they don’t deprioritize or slow down. You won’t find a lot of perks here but really your perk comes in the form of being truly unlimited.

Mint Mobile also doesn’t have a lot of extra perks or frivolity but the perk here is really the savings you get when you are a new customer paying up front for as many months as you can.

US Mobile’s biggest perk is of course being able to choose your network so if you are in an area that has great coverage by both T-Mobile and Verizon, but let’s say you do a lot of work underground or your apartment is a very old building, being able to switch back and forth can make it easy to sustain good coverage and connection no matter where you are.