Best MVNOs that use T-Mobile's network 2024

The best MVNOs that use T-Mobile's network let you enjoy outstanding coverage on one of the largest and fastest 5G networks in the United States — but at much lower costs. With most of its coverage area updated to support 5G, along with the quicker 'Ultra Capacity' 5G coming in to improve speeds and capacity even more, T-Mobile's network is one of the best for any prepaid carrier.

Besides that, T-Mobile's network is compatible with majority of the unlocked phones, so you can bring any of the best Android phones you like. Following its acquisition by T-Mobile, Mint Mobile continues to be a standout value, thanks to a simple approach to savings that makes sense to most users, complete with family options that help in keeping multi-month plans accessible.

• MVNO deals: Mint Mobile | Metro by T-Mobile | Google Fi Wireless | Tello | US Mobile

At a glance

Best overall

Having used T-Mobile's network for years to provide excellent coverage, Mint Mobile is now fully owned by the 'Un-carrier' and continues to be a fantastic option. If you're willing to buy up to a year of phone service up front, you can get 15GB of data for as little as $20 per month with a single line. You also get hotspot data on every plan. An unlimited plan with 40GB of monthly high-speed data cap is also available if you find yourself running out of data quite often. This plan is the best option for heavy users. 

However, Mint Mobile's best rates come from its smaller plans, with the 5GB option coming in as low as $15 per month. The 15GB plan costs only a bit more, starting at $20 per month. You can save quite a bit with Mint Mobile if you're a lighter user.

Still, Mint's Mobile's best savings require you to pay for a year of service in advance, which can be daunting, especially if you plan on bringing multiple lines. For multi-line customers, Mint Family offers 12-month rates, but payments are only made every three months. This makes bringing your family to the carrier easier, even if you can't afford to pay for a year of service for multiple lines up front.

To learn more, check out our Mint Mobile review. Also, do note that as part of a limited-time promotion, any plan can be purchased for $15 per month, provided you sign up for a minimum of three months.

Best for multi-line discounts

Metro by T-Mobile has three main unlimited plans, with the cheapest plan including only the basics. You get unlimited data on T-Mobile's network, 8GB hotspot data, a one-year trial of ViX (a Spanish-language video streaming platform), and more. This plan costs $50 per month with autopay enabled and includes 100GB cloud storage via Google One too. It's ideal for heavier users who don't want to worry about how much data they use.

Next up, the $60 per month unlimited plan offers 25GB of hotspot data, all the other benefits of the base plan discussed above, and unlimited texting to more than 210 destinations across the world. The most expensive plan costs $70 per month and it further bundles Amazon Prime into the mix.

All of the unlimited plans have multi-line discounts for up to four lines. There are a few 'Heritage Plans' available too, albeit for a limited time, but you'll have to contact customer care to get them. These plans cost from $25-60 per month and also come with multi-line discounts.

Best international perks

Google Fi Wireless doesn't try to have the lowest prices around but instead, focuses on keeping things as simple as possible. If you have a flagship device like the Google Pixel 8 Pro, the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, or even one of the affordable Android phones, you can not only get T-Mobile's network coverage, but also enjoy intelligent switching to secure Wi-Fi connections if they're available and stronger. This unique approach keeps Google Fi Wireless users connected throughout most of the United States without any issues. If you don't have one of the smartphones that are needed for this to work, you'll just get the T-Mobile network anyway. 5G is available for both 'Designed for Fi' and 'Compatible with Fi' phones, and you also get to travel to over 200 countries without having to worry about data prices.

Google Fi Wireless's primary offering is a flexible plan starting at $20 per month for one line with data, but it increases by $10 per 1GB until you hit 6GB. After that, the cost freezes at $80 per month with the 'Bill Protection' feature. With that said, if your group is blowing through a lot of data, this plan gets expensive quite fast. There are also two unlimited plans — Simply Unlimited and Unlimited Plus — to choose from, and these are priced $50 and $65 per month, respectively. Both of these come with unlimited talk, text, and data. Do keep in mind that high-speed data is limited to 35GB on the cheaper plan and 50GB on the pricier plan. The more-expensive plan gets 100GB of Google One cloud storage, six months of free YouTube Premium, as well mobile hotspot and a data-only SIM. This plan also comes with international data included.

To learn more, check out our Google Fi review.

Best ultra-affordable

Tello is designed in a way that lets you get as little or as much data/talk time minutes as you need. If you are a very light user, it's near impossible to beat Tello's 1GB plan, which also bundles unlimited talk and text for just $9 per month. There are no fees or contracts either, so you won't get any billing surprises. An unlimited option costs just $25 per month and comes with 35GB of high-speed data, after which speeds are reduced. You can add up to four lines to an account if you want to bring your family, but there are no additional discounts.

Tello is a great option if you have family or friends in Canada, Mexico, or India, since you get free calls to these and over 60 other countries. For other destinations, you'll need to pay by the minute, with prices starting at one cent per minute.

You can bring your own phone as long as it's unlocked and works with the T-Mobile network. You can check your IMEI to be sure. Tello sells a few phones via its website, including refurbished flip phones and cheap smartphones. If you want something a bit higher end, like one of the best Android phones, you'll need to bring it yourself.

To learn more, check out our Tello review.

Best for customization

US Mobile has a range of plans offering something that'll work for just about anyone, starting with just unlimited talk and text, and 2GB of data. From there, you can move up to the 10GB Unlimited Flex plan that's only available as an annual option, as well as two higher plans — Unlimited Starter and Unlimited Premium — that offer 35GB and 100GB of premium data at $25 and $44 per month, respectively. Both of these plans include international calling and texting, with the higher option also offering multi-line subscription benefits. Essentially, you can choose from over ten streaming and gaming services for $15 per month, if you have 3 lines on the higher unlimited plan.

Another interesting offering by US Mobile are its 'By the Gig' plans, which allow you to select a specific amount of monthly data to share between any number of devices. The 'pool' of data to be shared also covers one line with unlimited talk and text, at no additional charges. Additional lines can also be added to this plan, at a cost of $8 per month. There's no restriction on the amount of data you can buy to add to the pool for sharing, with data packs being available in capacities of 2GB and 10GB.

To learn more, check out our US Mobile review.

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How to choose

Save more with the best T-Mobile MVNOs

There are numerous great MVNOs using T-Mobile's network that offer a wide variety of plans, including everything from just a few minutes of talk time to unlimited data. As such, many of these prepaid carriers are some of the best MVNOs overall. While more and more people are using large amounts of data on their smartphones these days, the availability of Wi-Fi has continued to get better, allowing many users to get by much cheaper plans. If you find you can get by on a small amount of data, there is a plan on most prepaid carriers with a few GBs available at a great price.

Now officially a subsidiary of T-Mobile, Mint Mobile continues to offer plenty of data for most users with a pricing structure that immediately makes sense. Mint Mobile's unlimited plan isn't the biggest but for most customers, its 40GB of high-speed data should be more than enough. Then there's Metro by T-Mobile, which offers a variety of plans having multi-line discounts, bundled subscription services, and much more.

• MVNO deals: Mint Mobile | Metro by T-Mobile | Google Fi Wireless | Tello | US Mobile