Best MVNOs that use T-Mobile's network 2025

Going with one of the best MVNOs that use T-Mobile's network makes perfect sense, as it's easily one of the finest mainstream wireless carriers in the United States, offering consumers reliable and consistent network coverage. With nationwide availability of high-speed 5G and continued improvements to the even faster 'Ultra-Capacity' 5G infrastructure, T-Mobile provides an excellent foundation for the best MVNO carriers to base their services on. The T-Mobile network also allows for incredible device compatibility, so just about any of the best unlocked phones will work on it with little to no effort.

Although there are several options to choose from, Mint Mobile remains our top pick as the best Mobile Virtual Network Operator using T-Mobile's network. It's fully owned and operated by T-Mobile and lets you pick from four simple yet feature-laden prepaid plans. You also get multi-month discounts, as well as an option for easier payments if you sign up for multiple lines.

At a glance


Best overall

Mint Mobile review

(Image credit: Samuel Contreras / Android Central)
Best overall

Reasons to buy

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Save with longer service commitment
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Easily upgrade mid-cycle
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Free calls to Mexico, Canada, and the UK
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Mint Family improves family savings

Reasons to avoid

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Video streaming limited to SD resolution
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Only the highest plan has dedicated hotspot data

Having utilized T-Mobile's network for years to provide fantastic coverage, Mint Mobile is now fully owned and operated by the 'Un-carrier' and continues to be a top-tier option. If you're willing to buy up to a year of phone service upfront, you can get 15GB of monthly data for as little as $20 per month with one line. Apart from that, you get hotspot use with every plan. The unlimited plan now comes with no data caps and is ideal if you find yourself running out of data quite often. This plan is the perfect for data-heavy users.

However, Mint Mobile's best rates come from its smaller plans, with the starter 5GB option coming in as low as $15 per month. The 15GB plan costs only a bit more, starting at $20 per month. Then there's the 20GB plan, which starts at $25 per month. You can save quite a bit with Mint Mobile if you're a light user. Do note that all these prices are before limited-time discounts and promotions, so you can save even more.

Still, Mint's Mobile's best savings require you to pay for an entire year of service upfront, 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 required every three months. This makes bringing your family members or friends to the carrier easier, even if you can't afford to pay for a year of service for multiple lines in one go.

To learn more, check out our Mint Mobile review.

Best for multi-line discounts

Metro by T-Mobile web page on a phone

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2. Metro by T-Mobile

Best for multi-line discounts

Reasons to buy

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Full T-Mobile network with roaming access
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Price guarantee for five years
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Good range of plans with autopay discounts
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Multi-line savings and extra perks

Reasons to avoid

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Relatively expensive for one line
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Video streaming limited to SD resolution

Metro by T-Mobile offers three main unlimited plans, with the base option being available only in stores at a price of $40 per month. Then you have the $50 per month unlimited plan having unlimited data on T-Mobile's network, along with 8GB of hotspot data, as well as protection from scam calls. Furthermore, you get 100GB of cloud storage via Google One as well. It's ideal for heavier users who don't want to worry about how much data they use.

Lastly, there's the $60 per month (after autopay discount) plan that offers 25GB of hotspot data, all other benefits of the cheaper plan just detailed above, as well as unlimited texting to more than 210 countries and destinations across the world. With this plan, you also get a five-year price guarantee, Amazon Prime, and a lot of other benefits. You can also get a $40 per month base plan, which also comes with unlimited talk and text, and 10GB of high-speed data access, in addition to having some other benefits. All the plans are backed by a five-year price guarantee, and you can also avail multi-line discounts for up to four lines.

Best international perks

Google Fi SIM cards

(Image credit: Android Central)

3. Google Fi Wireless

Best international perks

Reasons to buy

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Multiple networks with selected phones
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Free roaming data in more than 200 countries
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Flexible or unlimited options
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Hotspot usage available with almost every plan

Reasons to avoid

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Quite expensive for high data usage
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'Bill Protection' isn't available with all plans

Google Fi Wireless doesn't try to have the lowest prices around; instead, it keeps the focus on making things as simple as possible. If you have a flagship like the Google Pixel 10 Pro, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, or even one of the affordable Android phones, you can not only get T-Mobile's network coverage but enjoy intelligent switching to secure Wi-Fi connections if they're available and stronger. This unique approach keeps Google Fi Wireless consumers connected throughout most of the United States without any issues. If you don't have one of the smartphones that are needed for this, you'll still be connected through T-Mobile's network anyway. 5G access is available for both 'Designed for Fi' and 'Compatible with Fi' phones, and you even get to travel to over 200 international destinations without having to worry about data prices.

Among Google Fi Wireless's refreshed plans is the 'Flexible' plan, which costs $20 per month for one line. For every 1GB used, you have to pay $10 until you hit 6GB. After that, the cost freezes at $80 per month with the 'Bill Protection' feature. Do note that the total cost and data consumption varies based on the number of lines on the plan. Then there's the 'Unlimited Essentials' plan, which costs $35 per month and offers 30GB of high-speed data, but not much in terms of international features. For that, you can go for either the 'Unlimited Standard' or the 'Unlimited Premium' plan. The 'Unlimited Standard' plan costs $50 per month and offers 50GB of premium data, 25GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data, and usage in Mexico and Canada. Lastly, the 'Unlimited Premium' plan costs $65 per month and includes 100GB of premium data, 50GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data, and free international calls to over 50 destinations. You also get 50GB of roaming data in more than 200 countries, along with 100GB of free cloud storage via Google One and six months of YouTube Premium.

To learn more, check out our detailed Google Fi overview.

Best ultra-affordable

Tello homepage on phone

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Best ultra-affordable

Reasons to buy

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Incredible prices on small pre-configured plans
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Fantastic customization as required
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Shared mobile hotspot data usage
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Free calls to more than 60 countries

Reasons to avoid

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No discounts on family plans
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Unlimited plan comes with a 35GB limit

Tello is designed in a manner that lets you have as little or as much data or/and talk time minutes as you need. If you're 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 be getting any billing surprises. An unlimited option costs a mere $25 per month and packs in 35GB of high-speed data, after which speeds are downgraded. You can add up to four lines to an account if you want to bring friends or family members, but there are no additional discounts.

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

You can use your own phone too, as long as it's unlocked and compatible with the T-Mobile network. You can check your device's IMEI number to be sure. Tello sells a few phones through its website, including refurbished flip phones as well as affordable smartphones. If you want something a bit more high-end, such as one of the best Android phones, you'll need to buy one yourself.

To learn more, read our Tello review.

Best for customization

US Mobile website

(Image credit: Joe Maring / Android Central)
Best for customization

Reasons to buy

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Loads of high-speed premium data
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International calling and texting benefits
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Flexible shareable data plans
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All prices are inclusive of taxes and fees

Reasons to avoid

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Subscription perks require three lines
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Starter plan only available as an annual option

US Mobile has a trio of unlimited plans and some basic options, so you'll be able to find something that suits your requirements and budget. The starter plan has unlimited talk and text, and 2GB of high-speed data at just $10 per month. From there, you can move up to the 10GB 'Unlimited Flex' plan that's only available as an annual option, as well as two unlimited plans. These are usually priced at $25 per month ('Unlimited Starter') and $44 per month ('Unlimited Premium'), and include international calling and texting, with the higher plan also coming with multi-line subscription benefits. It allows you to choose from over ten streaming and gaming services (e.g., Apple Music Family, Hulu, and Xbox Gamepass) at $15 per month, provided 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 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 available in capacities of 2GB, 5GB, 10GB, and 20GB.

To learn more, take a look at our US Mobile review.

How to choose

Save more with the best T-Mobile MVNOs

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SIM cards

There are numerous great MVNOs utilizing T-Mobile's network that offer a wide range of plans, with everything from just a few minutes of talk time to unlimited data thrown into the mix. As such, many of these prepaid carriers are also some of the best MVNOs overall. While more and more consumers are using up 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 with cheaper plans. If you don't require lots of data, there's a plan with most prepaid carriers having a few GBs of data available at a fabulous 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 most feature-laden but for most customers, it's going to 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 a lot more.

Samuel Contreras

When Samuel is not writing about networking or 5G at Android Central, he spends most of his time researching computer components and obsessing over what CPU goes into the ultimate Windows 98 computer. It's the Pentium 3.

With contributions from