Everything you get with Tello Mobile

Tello website on a Galaxy S8
Tello website on a Galaxy S8 (Image credit: Joe Maring / Android Central)

If you're trying to save money on your monthly phone bill, going with a prepaid carrier can make a lot of sense. Prepaid carrier options offer access to the same great networks that you're used to, but are able to offer substantially cheaper rates.

One such carrier is Tello Mobile. Tello Mobile has been making itself known as one of the more appealing carriers on the market, and despite having such low prices, Tello Mobile customers get a lot of goodies included with their monthly fee.

Interested in joining Tello Mobile but aren't 100% sure if it's a good fit for you? Here's a quick rundown of everything you get with it!

Customizable plans

Tello's Build Your Own Plan tool

Source: Tello (Image credit: Source: Tello)

One of the things we love most about Tello Mobile is how it handles wireless plans. Rather than having a set of predefined plans for you to choose from, Tello allows each customer to create something that works right for them.

Don't plan on using a lot of minutes but want a lot of data? You can get 100 minutes, free texting, and 12GB of data for $36/month. Want something more in the middle? Try 300 minutes, free texting, and 4GB of data for $17/month.

You can play around with Tello's Build Your Own Plan tool as much as you want until you find the plan that's just right, and if you need some inspiration, Tello's created a handful of pre-made plans that it thinks offer the best value and features.

Texting is free

You know how I mentioned "free texting" above? Yeah, that's legit.

As long as your Tello plan includes some amount of minutes (100, 300, 500, or unlimited), unlimited texting is included for free.

Some wireless carriers only allow you to send a set amount of texts each month, and after just a couple nights of texting your buddies or significant other, you can blow through more texts than you thought possible.

Not having to worry about this at all with Tello is a huge perk, and it's one we think a lot of people will be quite drawn to.

Mobile hotspot doesn't cost extra

On a similar note, Tello includes something else for free with all of its wireless plans — mobile hotspot.

Whether you get the base 500Mb of monthly data or go all the way up to the 12GB max, you can tether that data access to other devices free-of-charge. Any data you use via your mobile hotspot counts toward your monthly data usage, so you'll still need to be mindful of that, but Tello doesn't charge you extra for the privilege of using this feature.

That may not sound like anything out of the ordinary, but considering that some carriers charge an extra $10/month for hotspot access, Tello could potentially save you $120 every year compared to signing up for another carrier and having to pay extra to use your phone's hotspot.

Nationwide Sprint coverage

Tello website with coverage map

Source: Joe Maring / Android Central (Image credit: Source: Joe Maring / Android Central)

Like all prepaid carriers, Tello sources its wireless service from another carrier. In this case, Tello gives you coverage from Sprint.

Sprint tends to get a bad rap for having the worst service out of all the Big Four wireless carriers in the U.S. (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon), but Sprint's actually made a lot of headway in improving its network over the years.

You can use Tello's interactive coverage map to see what the service situation looks like where you live, but chances are Sprint will have you covered. This is an area where your mileage will certainly vary, but don't let the Sprint name deter you from Tello. You may be surprised by how well the carrier has your back these days.

No contracts or pesky fees

When you sign up for Tello, the prepaid carrier keeps things simple. You'll never have to worry about contracts, activation fees, early termination fees, or anything like that.

This means you can come and go to Tello as you please, and when you do, never have to pay an extra dime for starting or ending your service.

Free calls to Canada, Mexico, and China

For those times when you need to make a good old-fashioned phone call, Tello gives you a lot of flexibility with your minutes.

In addition to being able to make calls to U.S. numbers, you can also make/receive calls to Canada, Mexico, and China — all for no additional fee!

These international calls will count against your regular monthly minutes, but doing so won't cost anything extra on top of that. If you have family or friends in these countries, that's a massive perk.

Affordable international rates

Speaking of international calling, Tello has competitive rates for making calls to other countries beyond Canada, Mexico, and China. We don't have time to run through every single one, but here are some examples to give you an idea of what to expect:

  • United Kingdom (0.7¢/minute)
  • Spain (0.7¢/minute)
  • France (0.8¢/minute)
  • India (1¢/minute)
  • Japan (2.2¢/minute)
  • Russia (2.9¢/minute)
  • South Africa (9.9¢/minute)

Easy online access to your account

My Tello app showing account details

Source: Joe Maring / Android Central (Image credit: Source: Joe Maring / Android Central)

As a Tello customer, managing your account is as easy as can be.

You can access your account on Tello's website or through the My Tello mobile app, and through either one, you can view how many minutes/texts/data you've used for the month, update your wireless plan, and more.

Everything is laid out nicely, and you can access My Tello through the desktop site and app 24/7.

Competitive referral program

Should you find yourself really liking Tello and you want your friends and family to experience the carrier for themselves, Tello has a referral program in place to ensure both of you benefit.

Every Tello customer gets a unique link they can send to people, and when someone signs up through that link, both you and the person that signed up get $10 in Tello Dollars that can be used towards your monthly bill.

Tello doesn't allow partial payments with Tello Dollars, so if you have $20 in Tello Dollars but your monthly bill is $30, you'll need to refer another friend before you can put your Tello Dollars towards your bill.

Joe Maring

Joe Maring was a Senior Editor for Android Central between 2017 and 2021. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoeMaring1.