Compare major carriers and MVNOs on cost, data, coverage, and perks.
Visible, Mint, US Mobile use the same towers as the big 3 but cost half. Tradeoff: lower priority during congestion.
Heavy international traveler, stream-heavy family plan, business use.
Taxes, fees, device financing — big carriers stack these. MVNOs usually 'taxes included.'
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Each option has a 1–10 score on multiple criteria (drawn from public reviews, benchmarks, and spec sheets). Your importance weights multiply each criterion's score, then we sum and normalize.
The best option depends on your priorities. Weighting lets you see how the answer changes when you care more about, e.g., camera than battery.
No. No affiliate codes, no sponsor bias, no paid rankings. Scores are based on verifiable public data.
Scores reflect current flagship models. We refresh 2–3 times per year as new generations launch.
This tool compares ecosystems. For specific model matchups, use the related comparison tools.
The big three US carriers (Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T) charge $70-90/mo per line for unlimited. MVNOs (Mint, US Mobile, Visible, Cricket, Metro) ride the same networks for $15-45/mo. In 2025-2026, MVNO quality caught up — most throttle less aggressively, all now include 5G, and many offer eSIM activation.
| Plan | Network | Price/mo (1 line) | Data cap | Hotspot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verizon Unlimited Plus | Verizon | $90 | Unlimited (softcap 50GB) | 30GB 5G |
| T-Mobile Go5G Plus | T-Mobile | $90 | Unlimited | 50GB 5G |
| AT&T Unlimited Extra | AT&T | $76 | Unlimited (softcap 75GB) | 30GB |
| Visible (by Verizon) | Verizon | $25 | Unlimited | 5GB |
| Visible+ | Verizon | $45 | Unlimited (priority) | 15GB |
| Mint Mobile 5GB | T-Mobile | $15 (3mo prepay) | 5GB | Same as data |
| Mint Mobile Unlimited | T-Mobile | $30 (3mo prepay) | 35GB full, then throttled | 10GB |
| US Mobile Warp 5G | Verizon/T-Mobile | $35 | 35GB high-speed + unlimited 1Mbps | 10GB |
| Cricket Core | AT&T | $55 | Unlimited | None |
| Xfinity Mobile | Verizon | $40 | Unlimited | 5GB |
| Google Fi Flexible | T-Mobile | $20 + $10/GB | Pay-per-use | Data = hotspot |
Under 3GB/mo (most users): Mint 5GB at $15/mo ($180/yr). Tello, Twigby, and US Mobile Warp 2GB all hit $8-12/mo. Huge savings.
3-15GB/mo: US Mobile Warp 5G ($35/mo) or Mint 15GB ($20). Both include 5G, good priority on network.
15-35GB/mo: Visible ($25) or Mint Unlimited ($30). Visible is the best value at this tier.
50GB+/mo or heavy hotspot: Big-three plan required. T-Mobile Go5G Plus ($90) or Verizon Unlimited Plus ($90). Visible+ at $45 is a sleeper if you need hotspot-heavy but not priority.
T-Mobile has the largest mid-band 5G (n41, 200-400 Mbps real-world) coverage. Verizon has C-band expanding quickly. AT&T trails on 5G coverage. In rural areas, all three fall back to LTE — typical speeds 20-80 Mbps. MVNOs ride the same network but sometimes get deprioritized during congestion.
T-Mobile Go5G Plus includes 15GB of high-speed international data in 215+ countries. Verizon and AT&T charge $10-15/day for TravelPass. Google Fi uses the same rate domestic + international (best option for heavy travelers). Most MVNOs have no or expensive international — Mint's UpRoam pass is $5/week for unlimited in Mexico/Canada only.
At 4 lines, Verizon Unlimited Plus drops to $45/line ($180/mo total). T-Mobile Go5G Plus is $40/line. AT&T Unlimited Extra is $40/line. At 4 lines, MVNO savings narrow — Visible 4 lines would be $100, still cheaper but you lose priority/hotspot/perks (Netflix, Disney+, etc.).
Each carrier's coverage map is directional truth but marketing optimistic. Tools to verify actual coverage at YOUR address: CellMapper.net (crowdsourced tower data), FCC National Broadband Map (official, updated quarterly as of 2024 Broadband Data Collection rule), Ookla Coverage Maps (real user speed tests). T-Mobile's 2.5 GHz (Band n41) covers 330M Americans as of April 2026 with typical 200-400 Mbps speeds. Verizon C-band (n77) now at 250M covered, 200-500 Mbps typical in urban/suburban. AT&T 5G+ (mmWave + C-band) covers 200M at high speed, but their non-5G+ footprint is much slower (LTE fallback at 30-80 Mbps). For truly rural (sub-50,000 population areas), Verizon historically leads — but T-Mobile is catching up fast with LTE Band 71 (low-band 600 MHz, excellent building penetration). Before switching, try a 30-day trial: T-Mobile Test Drive (free for 90 days via eSIM) and Verizon eSIM Trial (30 days) both let you test coverage risk-free.
| Dimension | Postpaid (Verizon, T-Mo, AT&T) | Prepaid direct (Metro, Cricket, Visible) | MVNO (Mint, US Mobile) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit check? | Yes (impacts credit) | No | No |
| Device financing | Yes (24-36 mo) | Limited / cash only | No / BYOD only |
| Priority data tier | Highest | Medium (often deprioritized) | Varies — Visible+ = priority |
| International included | Yes (various) | Add-ons $5-10 | Varies |
| Family discounts | Strong at 4+ lines | Flat rate | Stacked discounts (annual prepay) |
| Streaming perks | Netflix / Disney+ / Apple One | None | None usually |
| Autopay discount | $5-10/line | $5 | $5 |
| Contract required | No | No | No (annual prepay saves most) |
| Can port in number | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Postpaid's big unspoken cost is the 24-36 month phone financing tied to your line — switching mid-contract often triggers a $400-800 early termination / device payoff. MVNOs and prepaid are month-to-month, genuinely no contract. The credit-check difference matters: prepaid doesn't report to bureaus (good for thin-file/rebuilding credit users), postpaid builds credit history when paid on time. For most US consumers in 2026, buying a phone unlocked from Apple, Samsung, or Google ($800-1,200) and using an MVNO saves 40-60% over a 3-year horizon compared to financing through a postpaid carrier.
As of April 2026: Visible+ at $45/mo — Verizon's in-house MVNO, priority data (same as Verizon postpaid), 15 GB premium hotspot, 1080p streaming, international roaming in 140+ countries. Cricket Wireless Core/More ($55/$60/mo) — AT&T-owned, full AT&T network including 5G+ mmWave, no priority depriotization. T-Mobile Metro Unlimited+ ($60/mo) — T-Mobile-owned, same treatment as T-Mobile postpaid Magenta. US Mobile Warp 5G at $35 — runs on Verizon or T-Mobile's choice (switch between networks), priority on Verizon tier (newly added Jan 2026). Google Fi Unlimited Plus ($65) — T-Mobile network, no deprioritization, free international roaming. Regular MVNOs WITHOUT priority (they get deprioritized during congestion): Mint Mobile, Tello, Twigby, Ting, Patriot Mobile, consumer Cellular. In practice, deprioritization only hits during peak 7-10pm in dense areas — for 80% of users 95% of the time, it's invisible.
mmWave 5G (Verizon Ultra Wideband, AT&T 5G+, T-Mobile Ultra Capacity mmWave): 1-2+ Gbps speeds but 500-foot range, doesn't go through walls. Found in NFL stadiums, Times Square, airports, a handful of urban blocks. Effectively rare. Mid-band 5G (T-Mobile Ultra Capacity 2.5 GHz n41, Verizon C-band n77, AT&T C-band): 200-600 Mbps typical, excellent building penetration, multi-mile range. This is where the 5G revolution actually happened 2022-2026. Low-band 5G (T-Mobile Extended Range n71, Verizon n5): 50-200 Mbps, 10+ miles of coverage, works through concrete buildings. Effectively "LTE with better marketing" but still a real upgrade. For a phone, support for mid-band (n41/n77/n78) is the spec to verify — iPhone 15+, Galaxy S23+, Pixel 8+ all have it. Older phones (iPhone 12, Galaxy S21) often only support mmWave and low-band, missing the middle tier — real-world speeds suffer.
Verizon/T-Mobile/AT&T all offer aggressive trade-in promos — typical deal: trade in iPhone 12 Pro ($150-250 open market value) for a $1,000 credit toward iPhone 17 Pro, spread across 36 months of service. Catch: credit is only valid while you stay on that carrier's unlimited plan, and if you leave early you owe the remaining device balance. Math: iPhone 17 Pro MSRP $1,199, trade-in credit $1,000 over 36 months = $5.53/mo device payment. Premium unlimited plan $90/mo + taxes $12 = $102/mo total. Over 3 years: $3,672 total spend. Alternative: buy iPhone 17 Pro outright from Apple at $1,199 (0% 24-month Apple Card), use Visible+ at $45/mo. 3-year total: $1,199 + $1,620 = $2,819 — saves $853 vs carrier financing. Carrier trade-in math only wins if you'd switch phones every 2 years regardless. For 3-year+ keepers, buying unlocked + MVNO is dramatically cheaper.
Only if you live in areas where Verizon has better rural coverage (still common in some parts of the Midwest, Northeast). Otherwise, an MVNO on Verizon's network gives you the same coverage for half.
When the network is congested, MVNO customers get slower speeds than main carrier customers on the same tower. In practice, this affects <5% of usage in most areas. Visible+ ($45) and US Mobile Warp include priority data.
Yes — all carriers and MVNOs support number porting. Usually takes 1-24 hours. Don't cancel your old plan until the port completes.
eSIM is easier to switch (no chip swap), supported by iPhone 15+ and most newer Androids. Dual-SIM phones can have a primary + travel eSIM simultaneously.
Yes — a soft cap (usually 50-75GB) where speeds slow during congestion. Hard caps don't really exist anymore on postpaid plans, but prepaid MVNOs throttle aggressively past their advertised cap.