The best prepaid phone plans for Android users 2026

With one of the best prepaid phone plans, you get high-end features like unlimited high-speed data access, hotspot functionality, bulk savings, international usage perks, and a lot more, all at (relatively) affordable prices. These plans are available from almost all of the best MVNO carriers and work well with most (if not all) of the unlocked phones available out there. What's even better is that there are no contracts involved, so you're free to switch between plans/carriers as you like.

Many popular 'alternative' service providers have now been acquired by the 'Big Three' network operators and thus, work on the network infrastructure of their parent carrier. Although your connectivity is often deprioritized with prepaid carriers if there's quite a lot of traffic and you also don't get some bonus extras (e.g., streaming platforms), but if you don't care about any of that, going with a prepaid carrier makes a lot of sense. Mint Mobile remains our top choice, as it lets you save by offering excellent wireless service in chunks of multiple months. You should also consider Visible if you prefer Verizon's network, and there are several other options too.

• MVNO deals: Mint Mobile | Visible | Boost | Tello | Cricket Wireless

At a glance

Best overall

For a prepaid carrier offering four plans and a number of service durations, Mint Mobile is surprisingly easy to understand. The basic idea here is that the longer the term you're willing to buy, the cheaper your monthly cost will be. Sure, it does mean signing a bigger check upfront, but then, you won't have to pay again for multiple months. Owned and operated by T-Mobile, Mint Mobile uses its parent carrier's vast network infrastructure with full 5G access so for most customers, coverage and speeds will be great.

Mint Mobile's cheapest plan comes with 5GB high-speed data, complete with unlimited talk and text. If you're a light user, this is the place to start. And if you end up going over 5GB, there's no need to worry as there are 15GB and 20GB per month plans available as well. Our Mint Mobile review found that the speeds do slow down to about 500kbps after you've used up all your data, but we're sure it has improved now. This includes the unlimited plan too, which now has no data cap, although speeds are throttled if you use up over 50GB data in a month. If you need more data than that on a regular basis, Mint Mobile likely isn't the right option for you.

One thing to keep in mind is that Mint Mobile offers low introductory prices for a period of three months, which you can lock by paying for an entire year. You can also sign up for six months, but the prices go up slightly if you do so. Mint Mobile also has a penchant for regular promotions, so there's a good chance you can try it for even less, especially if you bundle your wireless service with one of the best Android phones available in the market.

Best budget

Tello manages to be an extremely value-for-money wireless carrier, thanks to its straightforward plans and super low costs. It even lets you tailor your plan to a fit via its 'Build Your Own Plan' online tool, which you can use to decide how much data (starting from 2GB) and talk time (starting from 300 minutes) you need. You can save quite a lot by going for a plan with the bare minimum number of talk time minutes, even more so if you mostly use the best text messaging apps to stay connected with family and friends.

Tello offers four pre-configured plans as starting points, with the base 'Starter' plan coming in at $10 per month with unlimited minutes, texts, and 2GB data. If you spend majority of your time connected to Wi-Fi, this plan could be all you'll ever need. The unlimited 'Max' plan costs $25 per month and offers 50GB high-speed data. While the other perks are somewhat lesser than what competitors like Mint Mobile offer, most consumers shouldn't have any issues at all.

Since Tello uses T-Mobile's network, you get to enjoy full 5G (including mid-band coverage), provided you have a compatible phone. Speaking of which, T-Mobile's network means that just about any of the best unlocked phones should work on Tello just fine.

Best for unlimited

Visible is a prepaid carrier fully owned and operated by Verizon, and it offers a trio of well-priced yet feature-laden unlimited plans. Unlike other prepaid unlimited plans, there's no hard cap with slower data and you can use as much data as you want. This is because the data on Visible gets a lower priority than the data on Verizon, which means in a side-by-side comparison a Verizon plan will almost always come out ahead. Still, our Visible review found the carrier to offer plenty of speeds for everyday usage, though this will vary based on how Verizon's network is in your area.

The base plan is simply called 'Visible' and has a regular price of $25 per month. It includes unlimited high-speed 5G access, unlimited hotspot usage at 5Mbps, SD video streaming, and more. Next up is the 'Visible Plus' plan, which costs $35 per month and upgrades your hotspot usage speed to 10Mbps, while also giving you access to Verizon's super-fast 'Ultra-Wideband 5G' network. Lastly, you have the 'Visible Plus Pro' plan that has unlimited hotspot usage at 15Mbps, up to 4K video streaming, as well as a bunch of extra perks. The prices of all the plans include all taxes and fees, and you can save even more by paying for a full year of service in advance. Not only that, Visible has frequent deals and promotions that can help you sign up for the service at even more affordable prices.

Perhaps the biggest drawback with Visible is that it has a much more limited list of compatible phones as compared to a T-Mobile-based MVNO, which is why we suggest checking your phone's compatibility before signing up. Still, for the most part, the latest iPhones, as well as high-end Android devices like the Google Pixel 10 series and the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will work well on the network. Some older phones might be compatible too, so it's worth checking them on the IMEI Checker portal on Visible's website.

Best for customization

As US Mobile uses the networks of all the 'Big Three' carriers, it allows you to pick which base network you'd prefer for coverage. However, to get the most out of it, Verizon is the preferred choice. You do get differing amounts of data and hotspot usage based on your choice. While US Mobile used to come with a fully custom plan structure, its current unlimited plans are quite incredible when it comes to overall value. You can save even more when you bring over multiple lines.

The two main plans are called 'Unlimited Starter' and 'Unlimited Premium' and have regular single-line costs of $25 per month and $44 per month, respectively. Both include unlimited talk and text (both in the U.S. as well as internationally), mmWave and C-band 5G access, and lots of dedicated hotspot data. Unlimited Starter gives you at least 70GB of high-speed data, while Unlimited Premium makes it, well, unlimited. The higher plan also makes you eligible for multi-line subscription perks (if you get three lines), through which you can add a bundle of services (e.g., Audible, Hulu, and Xbox Gamepass) to your plan for $15 per month.

There's also a third 'Unlimited Flex' plan that effectively costs $17.50 per month, but it's available only as an annual option. US Mobile's 'By the Gig' feature allows you to get chunks of data which can be shared among devices across multiple lines, and the cost also includes the price of the first line.

Best for families

Cricket Wireless is a prepaid carrier owned and operated by AT&T, and remains a fabulous choice for getting more affordable service on the former's network. The fact of the matter is that some users just get a more consistent coverage through AT&T, so it's nice that Cricket Wireless has competitive rates, as well as the option of unlimited high-speed data on its highest plan. That said, the carrier's cheaper plans are quite compelling too.

Cricket Wireless has four primary plans, with the base plan offering 10GB data at $30 per month. Next, the $35 per month plan increases the data allowance to unlimited. That said, both these basic plans lack hotspot functionality, and don't have usage in Mexico and Canada, either. Next are the two unlimited plans, with the cheaper one priced at $45 per month and offering 15GB hotspot data, 100GB cloud storage, and unlimited texting to more than 200 countries and territories. The higher plan increases both hotspot usage and cloud storage, while throwing in ad-supported HBO Max into the mix as well. Apart from these, you can sign up in advance for either three or 12 months of service at effective monthly prices of $15 and $25, respectively. This will give you benefits like unlimited data, 2GB cloud storage, Mexico and Canada usage, and more. The carrier also has a trio of data-only plans if you don't require calling functionality.

If you want to get multi-line discounts, Cricket Wireless is definitely worth taking a look at. For example, if you get five lines, you can grab the lower unlimited plan at a mere $32 per month for each line.

Best high-speed data

As the name suggests, Metro by T-Mobile is a prepaid carrier owned by T-Mobile and offers plans that are quite similar to the parent carrier's offerings, along with a few extras. For one thing, the prices are inclusive of all taxes and fees for all the main plans, so what you see is what you have to pay. You get some nice perks as well, which are generally available with the best T-Mobile plans, without having to get into any contracts.

The starter unlimited plan costs $40 per month and packs unlimited high-speed data and a five-year guarantee, but it's a web exclusive option. Of course, you get unlimited talk and text too. Next up, the $50 per month plan has 8GB dedicated hotspot data, 100GB cloud storage via Google One, and some other perks. Then there's the $60 per month plan, which increases the dedicated hotspot data to 25GB and also adds unlimited texting to more than 210 destinations around the world, along with Amazon Prime and high-resolution video streaming.

It's worth mentioning that all plans of Metro by T-Mobile include some exclusive benefits like 'T-Mobile Tuesdays' promotions, and 'Scam Shield' for blocking spam and robocalls.

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How to choose

Get the right prepaid plan for your requirements

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Even though the best prepaid phone plans offer a wide range of perks, you must consider your individual requirements before picking one up. To start things off, consider how you use your phone. You'll also want to get a good Android phone so that you can take advantage of the latest 5G networks. Of course, the phone has to be unlocked so you can take it with you if you decide to switch carriers in the future.

If you need a ton of data for cheap, Visible is a great starting point. However, it will struggle in more congested areas, so getting a plan having some premium data like US Mobile's Unlimited Premium option may be well worth the extra cost for you. If you don't need truly unlimited data, you can just go for Mint Mobile's 15GB or 20GB plans. These will help save you a lot of cash in the long run, and phone compatibility won't be an issue either.

• MVNO deals: Mint Mobile | Visible | Boost | Tello | Cricket Wireless