Being informed is great for us, but big carriers would rather keep you in the dark when shopping for phone service.

There are plenty of reasons to use an MVNO instead of one of the four major network providers here in the U.S. We have talked about many of them and most center on the service to cost ratio and how an MVNO can usually be a better value for most people. We think that value is a big consideration — who doesn’t love paying less without getting less?

There are a few little things that carriers won’t mention about MVNOs that can make using one even more attractive. Here are a few things you won’t hear about when you see a commercial from the Big Four.

These are the cheapest data plans you can buy in the U.S.

They are MVNOs themselves

All four carriers have at least one MVNO that is part of their corporate entity. They can incorporate them individually and appoint someone else as a company CEO, but when you follow the money back to the bank it’s going to the same account in the end.

All four carriers run one or more MVNOs.

They have several reasons for doing this. One is that if they didn’t, they would risk losing more customers to smaller companies that operate independently as MVNOs. For example, Virgin Mobile USA and Boost Mobile are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Sprint Corporation. Together they have about 11 million subscribers. Sprint can’t afford to lose revenue from 11 million accounts, and the revenue from Boost and Virgin USA goes directly to Sprint.

What is an alternative carrier?

Sprint also has its own Sprint-branded prepaid service. It doesn’t try to hide the fact that it owns Boost or Virgin USA, but it lets them act as if they were their own MVNO because they can offer different plans at different prices marketed to all types of customers. You can feel good about saving money on Boost instead of paying more for a Sprint plan, even though you are on a Sprint-owned plan and network.

Sprint counts everyone with a Sprint postpaid plan and one of its MVNO subscribers in its subscriber count every quarter because it’s all the same company. It sees the value in an MVNO for the same reasons we see the value: to get more for less. It’s not just Sprint: AT&T and T-Mobile both run their own MVNOs for the very same reasons. (Verizon offers prepaid service, but only as part of its main brand. It also sells its service to other alternative carriers.)

You are paying for things you don’t need or use

If you have a post-paid account with one of the four major operators in the U.S. you are paying for things you don’t use. You don’t use them because you don’t need them.

Customer service, international “extras” and other plan perks aren’t free. Neither is the cost to develop and maintain extra services the companies offer like live TV broadcasts or cloud storage accounts or NASCAR sponsorships. The cost of all these things, as well as corporate facilities and accountants and lawyers, come from you and me. It’s part of our monthly bill and a big reason why you pay more for a data plan than you would through an MVNO. Many of us make use of some of these services, but think about the ones you don’t use and are still paying for.

An MVNO buys bulk data from these same carriers at a highly discounted rate. It can pass those savings on to you because it isn’t building billion-dollar corporate headquarters or paying millions of dollars to be an internet television service provider. It deals in phone calls and data plans. That’s what it sells you and that’s what you are paying for.

Hardly anyone needs huge data plans

Someone is going to comment that he use hundreds of gigabytes per month on his unlimited data plan. I’m sure that’s true, and it’s great that there’s an option to do it. But the simple fact is that most of us don’t use very much data, and the smaller 1GB or 2GB plans are all we would ever need. We still want to help save you money if you need unlimited data, though.

Which unlimited plan should you buy: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon?

This doesn’t diminish anyone’s need for 100GB of data per month. If you need that much, stick with one of the Big Four and their unlimited plans. But if you don’t need a shared family plan with 10GB of data for your family, you don’t have to pay for it. An alternative carrier usually offers small data packages or services that can be maintained by paying for calls and texts that you can top up with data as you need it. This can mean substantial savings over the course of a year compared to even the smallest “smartphone” data package from a postpaid carrier.

They use the same wires as an MVNO

T-Mobile (for example) has the same network footprint as MetroPCS (which is an MVNO that’s really part of T-Mobile like we talked about earlier) or any other MVNO that uses T-Mobile’s network. It doesn’t split the network into different areas when it sells wholesale data to another company.

A carrier only has one network and it’s the one it also sells to MVNOs.

If a carrier tells you it has a bigger network footprint that an MVNO that uses its network, it’s because it is paying another carrier to use its data network in some places. This is more common that you think, and even the U.S. telecom giants that are AT&T and Verizon have agreements with other carriers for places where their networks needs some help. If you are in one of these areas, some features of the plan you pay for aren’t going to work, and your data speeds may be diminished, but it’s still better than a dead spot. And cheaper than network expansion.

This isn’t a bad thing. Plenty of people travel all over the place and need service to follow them, and roaming agreements between companies help make that happen. But for the majority of its network coverage map, the service and data connection is the same as an MVNO that uses its network.

They love MVNOs as much as we do

Selling bulk data to an MVNO is very profitable for a big carrier. It doesn’t need to do anything extra when selling wholesale data to an MVNO so it means it is getting more (money) for less (work).

Big carriers have to maintain the network for their own customers. They have to expand the network for their own customers. They have to improve the network for their own customers. These are real costs, and selling data to an MVNO helps the bottom line because there isn’t anything they need to do after they sell it.

They can even make more money by offering things like billing services and in-store sales for an MVNO as an extra service. And after all that, your MVNO can still offer service cheaper than the company it is buying it from. Makes one wonder just how much profit is in every megabyte of data the Big Four sells, doesn’t it?

An MVNO isn’t making deals with hardware companies

At least not as many deals and not the same kinds of deals.

For a long time, AT&T was very interested in getting you to buy an iPhone every year. That’s because it had a special deal with Apple, and for that deal to be profitable it had to sell a whole lot of iPhones. That’s great for Apple and AT&T, but not so great for you and me.

A Galaxy S7 works great on an MVNO, but nobody is pressuring you to buy one.

That hasn’t changed now that everyone can use a Galaxy S7 on any network (it’s awesome on an MVNO, by the way!). Apple, Samsung, LG and everyone else works with the major carriers to find ways to make even more money, and employees are directed to do certain things to help make it happen.

When you sign up for service from an alternative carrier, you might find a deal on an older model phone or a refurbished phone, but nobody is there to steer you towards a specific brand or model. MVNOs are interested in selling you good, cheap phone service. Not the next big thing from Samsung or Apple.

And that next big thing from Samsung or Apple will work just fine if it’s what you really want.

Alternative carriers are businesses and designed to make money. They aren’t out to be our friends or to operate at a loss. But there are plenty of reasons why they can make money by selling the same service for a lot less, and the Big Four carriers don’t really want to talk about them.

Updated June 2017: Made sure all the information was still great and current.

GoPhone is now AT&T PREPAID and you can get two months of service for free.

We like prepaid service because of the flexibility and freedom it offers, usually for a lower price than you will find for a postpaid plan. When a company throws in freebies, we really love it.

AT&T has a new promo starting July 14 where you can get two months of prepaid service if you keep using it.

Starting July 14, simply activate and keep a new line of service on select plans, and you’ll receive an account credit for the 3rd and 12th months.

This promo applies to the $ 60 unlimited and $ 45 6GB plan that used to be GoPhone service. You don’t even have a lot of fine print to sift through — read the full press release below.

Take a few minutes and tame those unruly apps — you’ll save some data!

Your phone needs an internet connection to do just about anything. That could be a Wi-Fi connection where how much data you’re using isn’t a concern for most — but you could also be sucking up those vital megabytes of cellular data.

This is exactly why you bought a data plan, so you could do just about everything with your phone. But some apps can be total data hogs. Identifying and taming them is easy once you know where to look!

Twitter

Twitter is a great way to see topical (and sometimes funny!) short clips and videos. As you scroll down your timeline you’ll see them peppered in with tweets, and if you notice them playing on their own, it’s eating a lot of data. The reason they can autoplay is that they are being downloaded in the background even before you scroll to them.

You can fix this in the settings:

• Open Settings and Privacy by tapping on your account photo.
• Open Data usage and tap Video autoplay.
• Set it to Wi-Fi only or Never.

Google Photos / Google+

Backing up all your pictures and video is pretty awesome, and we recommend you use Google Photos to do just that. But if you don’t have things set up correctly, auto-upload may be eating your data. Check and make sure you’re only uploading on Wi-Fi.

• Open the Settings from the menu.
• Look for the Back up & sync menu item, and tap it.
• Make sure Cellular data back up is disabled so photos and videos don’t upload in the background.

Instagram

Instagram is all about sharing media, and like Twitter, those photos, videos, and content from Stories will autoload in the background unless you shut this off in the settings. This can add up!

• Open the Settings and look for Cellular Data Use.
• If it’s set to Default you’re preloading all the content.
• Choose Use Less Data to stop preloading content and save some data.

Widgets

Widgets are a live look at a slice of an app. Some can use a lot of data if you don’t dig into the app settings and tame things down.

This is especially true of widgets for apps like news readers or anything with a live feed. The more often a widget refreshes, the more data it will use.

Open the app associated with the widget and find its settings. Look for things like refresh rates or data usage in the settings and see what you can adjust.

Facebook

Facebook will do the same thing as Twitter and Instagram when it comes to media in your timeline. Reading ahead and preloading the content can make for a great experience, but it comes at the cost of data usage; not to mention using more of your battery to do it.

• Open the menu and scroll way, way down to find the App settings.
• Tap and look for Videos in News Feed Start With Sound and toggle it off.
• Further down in the settings find Autoplay and you can set it to autoplay on Wi-Fi only.

Netflix

Netflix only uses data when you’re using it and know you’re using data. But you can dramatically lower how much by changing the Cellular Data Usage setting. And don’t forget you can now download some videos from Netflix to watch later.

This is Netflix-specific, but it’s not a Netflix-only problem. Any app that streams video can kill your data plan if you don’t manage the quality settings.

• Open the settings and find Cellular Data Usage.
• Choose the setting that suits you best based on the amount of data it uses.

YouTube

The YouTube app will also stream video at a few different quality settings, some of which can put a dent in your data for the month. You can change these settings if you need to save some data.

• Open the Settings and tap the General section.
• Under Limit mobile data usage, set the quality limit you want to use.

Hangouts/Duo/Any video chat app

Two-way video conferencing can (and will) eat your data. The video is compressed and usage is usually cut down as much as possible, but you’re still using a lot of data to chat over your favorite video app.

Most apps of this type don’t have user-adjustable quality settings and do a good job compressing things to be as efficient as possible. If you see a setting to limit data on mobile, be sure to enable it.

It’s just important to know that they can gobble up the data while you’re using them. Try to stick to Wi-Fi.

Your turn

What are your tricks for saving data when you’re on a prepaid plan? Let us know in the comments below!

See how Cricket and Straight Talk measure up against each other.

Cricket and Straight Talk have a few things in common. Both operate on AT&T’s network (although Straight Talk also operates on Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon networks) and each do unlimited plans differently than any other pre-paid carrier.

Cricket offers a cheap unlimited plan but caps your network speeds at 8 Mbps or 3 Mbps (depending on the plan), and Straight Talk requires you to buy a phone through it to have unlimited LTE for $ 55 per month as a promotion, while normally the unlimited plans only include a set amount of LTE data. While some may balk at these weird ways of offering service, they can work for quite a few people. With that in mind let’s run the numbers and crunch the data to see which network is better.

• Cricket background
• Straight Talk background
• Cricket plans
• Cricket phones
• Straight Talk plans
• Straight Talk phones
• Which should you go with?

Cricket background

Who owns it? AT&T

Which network does it use? AT&T

How long has it been around? Since 1999

Tethering allowed? Yes, for $ 10 per month

Cheapest plan: $ 30 for one month: 1GB 4G LTE, unlimited nationwide talk and text

Straight Talk background

Who owns it? América Móvil DBA TracFone in the U.S.

Which network does it use? AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon

How long has it been around? Since 2012

Tethering allowed? No

Cheapest plan: $ 35 for one month: 2 GB 4G LTE, unlimited nationwide talk and text

Cricket

Cricket offers five plans in total, with two separate unlimited LTE plans, differentiated by the data speed cap. The cheaper $ 55 plan caps LTE speeds at 3 Mbps and the $ 60 plan caps speeds at 8 Mbps. Here is the full list of plans Cricket offers. All Cricket plans include unlimited domestic talk and text.

Notes: Video streaming at SD quality (about 480p). After 22 GB of data usage on an Unlimited Plan line, Cricket may temporarily slow speeds to 128 Kbps.

Family Plan

Cricket’s Group Save is available for plans starting at $ 40 per month. You save $ 10 for the second line, $ 20 for the third, $ 30 for the fourth and $ 40 for the fifth. An account with five lines of service at the $ 40 monthly tier or higher would save a total of $ 100.

Add-ons

• Cricket Protect: $ 7 per month
• Additional data: $ 10 per GB, per month
• Tethering: $ 10 per month

International use:

All plans that cost $ 50 per month or higher include unlimited text messages to 38 countries, calls from the U.S. to Canada and Mexico.

• Cricket International: $ 5 per month for unlimited calling to landlines in 36 countries
• Cricket International Extra: $ 15 per month for unlimited calling to landlines in 36 countries, Unlimited MMS to 36 countries, 1,000 minutes of mobile-to-mobile calling
• Individual country add-on: See the Individual Country Add-Ons support page

Cricket phones

Cricket actually has some great phones exclusive to it from ZTE and LG, including the ZTE Blade X Max and LG Harmony. Higher-end devices like the Galaxy S8 are also available if you are willing to spend a bit more.

Learn more at Cricket Wireless

Straight Talk plans

Straight Talk offers five plans with data, plus a special promotional plan with unlimited LTE data if you buy a Samsung phone through the company. All Straight Talk plans include unlimited domestic talk and text.

Family Plan

Straight Talk does not offer a family plan at this time.

Add-ons

• $ 10 Global calling cards with rates as low as 2.5 cents per minute to any destination, including mobile numbers

International add-ons:

• Straight Talk’s $ 60/8 GB LTE plan includes unlimited mobile-to-mobile to Mexico, China, Canada, and India, calls to 15 unique destination numbers per service month, and 400 bonus minutes to call Claro Guatemala phone numbers.

Straight Talk phones

Straight Talk offers a wide variety of Android and Apple phones, but a promotional offer that ends November 2017 gives you unlimited LTE data on the $ 55 monthly plan with the purchase of a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+.

Learn more at Straight Talk

Which should I go with?

First, you need to check what the AT&T network is like where you’ll be using your phone the most. If it’s not acceptable, rule out Cricket. Straight Talk has the advantage of using all four U.S. carrier networks and has better service in more areas.

Next, decide if you want to buy a new Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 + from Straight Talk. If not, Straight Talk offers no unlimited LTE plans. Its advertised unlimited data packages have an allotment between 2 and 12 GB per month for LTE data and unlimited 2G data. In the 21st century, 2G data speeds are insufficient for anything except checking text-based email.

We’re unable to offer a blanket recommendation for either of these companies to anyone who needs unlimited.

Finally, decide if 3 Mbps or 8 Mbps data speeds are acceptable on an unlimited plan. Cricket throttles its unlimited plans much like its parent company AT&T on lower-tier unlimited plan.

If you need unlimited LTE data, it’s hard to outright recommend either Cricket or Straight Talk. Each company has an eccentric unlimited offering that’s just not going to work for a good many people. Between 3 Mbps and 8 Mbps are enough for a usable internet experience if not an enjoyable one for streaming media junkies, but even the FCC thinks broadband internet access requires data speeds of 25 Mbps or higher.

And if you’re in the market for a new phone, willing to buy before November 2017 is finished, and don’t mind the choice of a Galaxy S8, Straight Talk offers unlimited data. Otherwise, its advertised “unlimited plans” are what we would call deceptive advertising.

If you need unlimited high-speed data, look elsewhere.

If you don’t need unlimited data, Straight Talk’s $ 45 plan with 8 GB of LTE is a better option than Cricket’s $ 50 plan with 8 GB of LTE data, but as you can see it’s only a difference of $ 5. Both companies slow your data speeds to a crawl once you reach your limit, though Cricket will sell you extra data at the rate of $ 10 per GB, per month.

These prices are in line with most MVNO offerings. Because of the $ 5 price difference and its comprehensive $ 60 plan for international users, Straight Talk will be the better choice for more people. But there is nothing either carrier offers that is a stand-out feature unless you need international extras.

Flexible data tiers and multiple line discounts make this an enticing offer for families that rely on Verizon’s coverage.

With smartphones creeping closer and closer to the $ 1000 range this year, many of you will likely be looking to cut costs elsewhere so you can still pick up the latest and greatest that 2017 has to offer. Prepaid service plans typically provide cheaper month-to-month rates than what you’ll find with most major carriers, and Verizon‘s new Prepaid Family Account aims to bring monthly savings to those with multiple lines.

Before we get into the money-saving side of things, one big change for the Verizon Prepaid Family Account is that each line will have access to its own allowance of data each month. This gives each family member more data for themselves rather than having to share a single amount with everyone else, and it allows for even more tweaking of your plan based on each person’s own data usage habits.

All prepaid lines come with unlimited talk and text, and data tiers include 3GB, 7GB, 10GB, and Unlimited. Each data tier will have a base price for the first line that’s added, but you’ll be able to get a discounted rate on your second to fifth lines to help cut down on costs.

The exact breakdown of the pricing is as follows:

• 3GB Plan – $ 40/month for the first line | $ 30/month for the second-fifth lines
• 7GB Plan – $ 50/month for the first line | $ 35/month for the second-fifth lines
• 10GB Plan – $ 60/month for the first line | $ 40/month for the second-fifth lines
• Unlimited Plan – $ 80/month for the first line | $ 60/month for the second-fifth lines

Per Verizon Prepaid’s Executive Director, Ron Zanders:

Now you and four members of your family can get onto one prepaid plan and say goodbye to create separate accounts for everyone. Combine that with the flexibility of mixing different prepaid plans to fit each member of your family and Verizon Prepaid Family Account is a really great value.

See at Verizon

Travel Pass for Mexico and Canada is also coming.

Although they may not come with as many amenities as traditional post-paid wireless plans, going the prepaid route is a great way to still get reliable service while saving those precious dollars. Verizon Prepaid is one of your best prepaid options if you rely on Verizon’s network, and starting February 20, it’s getting a few upgrades.

First off, Verizon is introducing a new $ 30/month plan for customers that want to spend as little as possible. You’ll get unlimited talking and texting in the U.S., but data is limited to 500 MB. That’s not a bad deal if you’re someone that uses Wi-Fi most of the time, but if you spend just $ 10 more, you can double your monthly data allotment to 1GB.

Verizon Prepaid Unlimited is the most expensive prepaid plan that Verizon sells at $ 75/month, and in addition to unlimited talk, text, and data, it now comes with 3G mobile hotspot support for free.

Lastly, Verizon’s Travel Pass is finally coming to prepaid customers. Similar to Verizon’s post-paid plans, prepaid subscribers can spend $ 5 for day passes so they can take their talk, texting, and data to Mexico and Canada.

As mentioned above, these changes will go into effect on Tuesday, February 20, 2018.

Best Verizon Wireless Deals of February 2018

There’s also better multi-line discounts.

AT&T’s prepaid plans are a great way to get reliable service without having to mess with pesky contracts, and today they’re getting even better with lower monthly rates for people that sign up for automatic billing through AutoPay.

For $ 50/month, AT&T will sell you unlimited talk and text with 8GB of high-speed data. Starting today, customers that enroll in AutoPay will be able to take that price down to just $ 40/month. Additionally, the $ 65/month Unlimited plan is getting an increased AutoPay discount from $ 5 up to $ 10 – bringing the final price down to just $ 55/month.

Speaking of unlimited plans, the $ 85/month one (which can be taken down to $ 75/month with AutoPay) is getting upgraded to 10GB of monthly hotspot use each month from the previous 6GB allotment.

Lastly, AT&T is increasing its multi-line discounts. Paying for two active lines now sees a $ 10/month discount (up from $ 5/month) and four active lines now gets a $ 20/month savings (up from $ 15/month).

See at AT&T

Sick of committing to annual contracts? Enjoy the flexibility of a prepaid wireless plan.

The days of being locked into a lengthy wireless contract are over, as there is a plethora of prepaid options that allow you to pay for your phone service on a month-to-month basis. We’ve taken the liberty of breaking down the top prepaid wireless options for you in this handy guide.

Check your coverage

One of the first things you should consider when deciding on a prepaid carrier is the coverage provided in your area. Prepaid carriers often have a smaller coverage map than postpaid carriers because of their limited roaming agreements, so it’s good to re-check your area, even if you’ve used the carrier before. Here are the coverage maps for the carriers we will be looking at:

• MetroPCS — Map
• AT&T Prepaid — Map (make sure to check the Prepaid map)
• Boost Mobile — Map
• T-Mobile Prepaid — Map
• Mint Mobile — Map
• Straight Talk — Map (requires Zip Code, and preferred phone/carrier)
• Cricket Wireless — Map
• Virgin Mobile — Map
• Simple Mobile — Map
• GoSmart Mobile — Map
• Project Fi — Map

MetroPCS

MetroPCS uses T-Mobile’s HSPA+ and LTE network, as it is owned entirely by the larger carrier. You have the option to purchase a phone through MetroPCS, or bring your own device that’s compatible with the T-Mobile network.

Price

Plan pricing is based on how much high-speed data (LTE) you think you’ll use on a monthly basis. There are no annual contracts, and taxes and fees are included in the price.

• 2GB of high-speed data — $ 30/month
• 5GB of high-speed data — $ 40/month
• Unlimited LTE data — $ 50/month
• Unlimited LTE + 10GB hotspot — $ 60/month

All plans come with unlimited talk, text, data, Wi-Fi calling, caller ID, call waiting, 3-way calling, and Data Maximizer, a feature that helps optimize your high-speed data usage when streaming videos.

Music Unlimited is included on $ 40 and higher-rate plans, which allows you to stream from over 40 streaming music services including Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, and more, without dipping into your monthly high-speed data allotment.

Note that once you’ve burned through your allotted LTE data, you’ll notice your data speeds fall to 2G.

How to reload

Log into the MetroPCS website to make a payment or set up Auto Pay. You also have the option to pay in person at a MetroPCS store.

AT&T Prepaid

AT&T’s prepaid option lets you choose from a selection of phones specifically for their prepaid plans, or you can purchase a prepaid SIM card kit if you’d prefer to bring your own device.

Price

AT&T prepaid plans include unlimited talk and text in the U.S., as well as unlimited messaging to Mexico, Canada, and over 100 countries. For data, AT&T offers several types of prepaid plans:

• Pay-as-you-go ($ 5 per 250MB) LTE data — $ 30/month
• 1GB of LTE, with rollover data — $ 35/month
• 8GB of LTE, with rollover data — $ 50/month
• Unlimited LTE data — $ 65/month
• Unlimited LTE + 10GB hotspot — $ 85/month

The 8GB and unlimited LTE plans also include unlimited talk and text within and between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, and allow you to use your high-speed data allotment from your plan when in Mexico or Canada. You can also save $ 5 per month on any plan by signing up for Auto Refill.

You can also pay $ 2 per day for unlimited nationwide talk and text or pay $ 0.25 per minute and $ 0.20 per text message. Data is available at $ 2 per MB (based on their stated $ 0.01 per 5KB rate), or you can add on a data package that gives you 100MB for an extra $ 1 a day.

How to reload

Pay online via myAT&T using a credit/debit card or eCheck, buy a Refill card (available online, at AT&T wireless stores, and at more than 200,000 retail locations), or call 611 anytime from your phone (or 1-800-901-9878) and follow the prompts for Refill.

Boost Mobile

Boost Mobile uses Sprint’s nationwide LTE network. You have the option of buying a phone through Boost or bringing your own Sprint-compatible device.

Price

Boost Mobile offers four types of monthly prepaid phone plans featuring LTE high-speed data. Once your plan’s data allotment has been reached, speeds are reduced to 2G for the remainder of the plan cycle.

• 3GB of LTE + hotspot — $ 35/month
• Unlimited LTE + 8GB hotspot — $ 50/month
• Unlimited LTE + 20GB hotspot — $ 60/month
• Unlimited LTE + 40GB hotspot — $ 80/month

Boost’s unlimited plans come in different tiers; the $ 50 plan reduces media streaming quality with unlimited LTE everywhere else, whereas the $ 60 and $ 80 plans offer up to 1080p streaming. The Ultimate Unlimited plan included for $ 80 also includes bonuses like TIDAL Premium and international calling and texting.

All plans come with unlimited domestic talk and text (available even if you haven’t paid for up to 60 days), unlimited music streaming with select music partners, call waiting, voicemail, 3-way calling, as well as the ability to turn your phone into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot.

How to reload

Pay online via My Account on the Boost Mobile site or sign up for Auto Re-Boost. Pay by phone by dialing #-A-D-D (#-2-3-3) and following the prompts to pay with your credit, debit, or Re-Boost card, text ADD and the pin on the back of your Re-Boost card to 7225 (ex. ADD 12345678912345), or text “PAY,” the dollar amount, and the last four digits of the credit or debit card associated with the account to 7225 (ex. PAY 50 1234).

Alternatively, you can pay in-store at any Boost Mobile location.

T-Mobile Prepaid

T-Mobile’s prepaid service gives you access to T-Mobile’s nationwide network without signing up for an annual contract. You have the option to buy a prepaid T-Mobile phone, or bring your own device for only the cost of the SIM card.

Price

T-Mobile offers prepaid plans for individuals and families, as well as a pay-as-you-go option.

Individual plans include:

• 4GB of LTE + hotspot — $ 45/month
• 10GB of LTE + hotspot — $ 50/month
• Unlimited LTE + unlimited 3G hotspot — $ 60/month
• Unlimited LTE + unlimited 3G hotspot + 5GB data in Mexico and Canada — $ 70/month

All plans include unlimited talk, text, and data on T-Mobile’s nationwide LTE network, with data speeds slowing to 2G upon reaching your monthly data allotment.

The only difference between T-Mobile’s $ 60 and $ 70 unlimited plans is your data speeds when internationally roaming. The former offers unlimited talk, text, and data in Mexico and Canada, but only at 2G speeds, whereas the latter offers 5GB of LTE.

If you’d rather pay as you go, T-Mobile offers a plan that starts at $ 3/month for any combination of 30 minutes of talk or 30 texts, with options to add a high-speed data pass with daily ($ 5/day for up to 500MB of LTE data) and weekly ($ 10/week for up to 1GB of LTE data).

How to reload

To reload your account online, go to T-Mobile’s website, either through one-time payments or by setting up recurring payments. You can also call -A-D-D (-2-3-3) from your T-Mobile phone to reload your account via credit, checking account or T-Mobile Refill card. Refill cards are available to be purchased online or in-store at a T-Mobile location.

Mint Mobile

Mint Mobile is a T-Mobile subsidiary owned by Ultra that sells its plans in multi-month bundles. You can buy a phone from Mint or bring your own T-Mobile-compatible or unlocked GSM phone.

Price

All of Mint’s plans include a 7-day money back guarantee, along with unlimited talk, text, and 2G data, international calls to Mexico and Canada, and mobile hotspot.

• 2GB of LTE per month — $ 45/3 months
• 5GB of LTE per month — $ 60/3 months
• 10GB of LTE per month — $ 75/3 months
• 2GB of LTE per month — $ 108/6 months
• 5GB of LTE per month — $ 144/6 months
• 10GB of LTE per month — $ 180/6 months
• 2GB of LTE per month — $ 180/12 months
• 5GB of LTE per month — $ 240/12 months
• 10GB of LTE per month — $ 300/12 months

If you try out one of the 3 month plans and decide to stick with Mint, you can retain the introductory pricing by buying a whole year at a time — otherwise, there’s a slight price increase.

How to reload

Sign into your Mint Mobile account online or download the Mint app on Android or iOS to renew your plan manually or set up automatic re-ups.

Straight Talk

Straight Talk is a prepaid carrier that doesn’t rely on just one wireless network to provide services to it’s customers. It purchases the right to use other the towers of the four major carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint.

Straight Talk offers prepaid phones for purchase, and also lets you bring your own device. But just because it offers service from four carriers, that doesn’t mean you get access to all four at the same time — you get to choose between T-Mobile or AT&T if you bring your own phone, or Straight Talk may choose the right carrier based on your location when you buy a phone from it.

Price

Straight Talk has five tiers of wireless plans available for your smartphone starting as low as a dollar a day, as well as extended plans up to a one-year unlimited plan for $ 495.

• 100MB of data, 1500 minutes of nationwide talk, unlimited texting — $ 30/month
• 2GB of LTE, unlimited talk and text — $ 35/month
• 10GB of LTE, unlimited talk and text — $ 45/month
• Unlimited LTE data — $ 55/month
• 10GB of LTE + international talk and text — $ 60/month
• 3-Month Extended Plan: Unlimited talk, text, and data (10GB of high-speed data) for 90 days — $ 130
• 6-Month Extended Plan: Unlimited talk, text, and data (10GB of high-speed data) for 180 days — $ 255
• 12-Month Extended Plan: Unlimited talk, text, and data (10GB of high-speed data) for 365 days — $ 495

How to reload

Go to the Straight Talk site to reload your account via service card, setting up recurring automatic payments, or downloading the Straight Talk My Account app for Android or iOS.

Cricket Wireless

After being acquired by AT&T, Cricket Wireless has supported devices that use AT&T’s HSPA+ and LTE network. You can purchase a phone from Cricket, or BYOD.

Price

Cricket Wireless offers five plan levels, from talk and text to unlimited data.

• Talk & Text: Unlimited nationwide talk and text — $ 25/month
• 2GB of LTE, unlimited talk and text — $ 30/month
• 5GB of LTE, unlimited talk and text — $ 40/month
• Unlimited data at up to 3Mbps — $ 55/month
• Unlimited LTE data — $ 60/month

Any plans starting at $ 40 are eligible for a Group Save Discount when you add additional lines to your account. Save $ 10 when adding a second line, $ 20 off your third line, $ 30 off your fourth line, and $ 40 off your fifth line for a total eligible savings of $ 100.

Receive a $ 5 credit on your monthly bill by signing up for Auto Pay (not available with the Group Save Discount).

Cricket’s unlimited data plans include unlimited texts to 37 countries, as well as unlimited calls, texts, and data to and from Canada and Mexico — though Canada usage can’t exceed 50% of your overall usage for the month.

There’s also a bunch of add-on features available for each plan.

How to reload

Log in to My Account on the Cricket Wireless site to pay your bill or sign up for Auto Pay, or download the My Cricket app for Android, iOS and Windows Phone.

Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile uses Sprint’s CDMA and LTE networks. You have the option of buying a phone through Virgin or bringing your own Sprint-compatible device.

Price

All of Virgin Mobile’s plans are no-contract and offer unlimited talk, text, and 2G data, along with the LTE data you pay for. You also get access to Virgin’s Member Benefits, including discounts on food and merchandise.

• 5GB of LTE — $ 35/month
• 10GB of LTE — $ 45/month
• Unlimited LTE data — $ 60/month

Virgin’s plans don’t include mobile hotspot by default, but you can add it for $ 3 a day (500MB), $ 5 a month (1GB), or $ 10 a month (2GB). You can also add international calling to your plan for $ 5 a month — unlimited calls to Canada and Mexico, and unlimited worldwide texting.

How to reload

You can top up your Virgin Mobile account by buying a Virgin Mobile Top-Up card and entering it along with your Virgin Mobile number online, or simply pay online with your credit/debit Card or PayPal.

Verizon

Verizon’s prepaid option gives you full-access to Verizon’s nationwide network without locking you into a lengthy contract. You have the option of buying a prepaid phone from Verizon or BYOD.

Price

Verizon offers monthly smartphone plans, featuring no annual contract, no activation fee, and no credit checks.

• 500MB with data rollover — $ 30/month
• 3GB with data rollover $ 40/month
• 7GB with data rollover — $ 50month
• 10GB with data rollover — $ 60/month
• Unlimited LTE data — $ 75/month

Verizon’s prepaid plans all include unlimited talk and text, but it’s important to note that they don’t fall back to 2G when you run out of LTE data. On the bright side, every plan includes mobile hotspot and unlimited international texting to 200 countries, and the 10GB and unlimited data plans include unlimited calling to Mexico and Canada.

How to reload

Reload your Verizon account online, buy refill cards, or pay in-store at a Verizon Wireless location.

Simple Mobile

Simple Mobile uses T-Mobile’s HSPA+ and LTE network and offers options to purchase a new phone or bring your own T-Mobile- or AT&T-compatible GSM phone.

Price

Simple Mobile offers five prepaid plans, which all feature no contract or credit check, unlimited talk and text, unlimited international texting, international calling to 68 countries, and roaming to 16 Latin American countries.

• 1GB of up to LTE speeds + hotspot — $ 25/month
• 2GB of up to LTE speeds + hotspot — $ 30/month
• 6GB of up to LTE speeds + hotspot — $ 40/month
• Unlimited LTE data — $ 50/month
• Unlimited LTE + 10GB hotspot — $ 60/month

How to reload

ReUp through the Simple Mobile website via credit card or pin. You also have the option to pay in advance with Stash, allowing you to add money to your plan when you have it, so you don’t have to worry about re-upping when your service runs out.

Project Fi

Google’s first foray as a wireless carrier only charges you for the data you actually use. Sounds great, huh? The only unfortunate bit is that the service is currently limited to to a handful of Google-approved devices. You can bring your own phone if you already have one of the approved devices, or you can buy one from Project Fi with some attractive pricing incentives and financing options.

Price

Project Fi’s pricing is fairly flexible and straightforward. For $ 20 per month, you get unlimited domestic talk and text, unlimited international texts, mobile hotspot, and coverage in 170+ countries.

You pay for data as you use it. Featuring LTE speeds, you set your own custom data budget at $ 10 for every GB of data you use — but you’re refunded if you don’t reach that limit, measured down to the MB. Once you’ve hit past 6GB, you’re no longer charged for the extra data, but you may get slowed down for the month after exceeding 15GB.

In addition, you can add up to 5 people to your plan for $ 15 each, though the threshold to reach unlimited data increases with each user, and you all pull from the same collective data bucket.

How to reload

Everything is controlled through the Project Fi app and website.

Updated September 2018: This guide has been completely revamped for 2018. Enjoy your bargain-hunting!