Best Affordable Cell Phone Plans

Last Updated on February 13, 2026 by Ewen Finser

When I was in college, the best cell phone plan was the lowest dollar amount. Back then, we didn’t have much data to worry about, and most of the concern was focused on text messaging. 

However, over time, “affordable” plans have taken on a different meaning. When I was living as a digital nomad in the woods in Massachusetts, I needed hotspot data because there was somehow no internet out there. My phone was the only thing that kept me employed (and let me rewatch episodes of Arrested Development). When I got married and had kids, the “best affordable cell phone plan” became more about lowest costs for multiple lines

Today, I understand “affordable” in terms of long-term cost control, not just the lowest advertised monthly price, as well as based on different usage levels (for instance: light users, seniors, or backup phones). 

The Breakdown

What I’ve found overall is:

• Tracfone is a strong option for users who want to avoid paying for unlimited data they don’t need
• US Mobile works for teleport access and travel
• Visible is ideal for heavy data users 
• Tello offers the cheapest rates possible for low, low phone usage
• Mint Mobile is great for prepaid savings

Let’s look at each of these in more detail. 

Most Affordable for Flexibility and Light Usage: Tracfone

Tracfone really stands out in terms of its flexibility, as one of the best phone plans for light usage. They offer prices that are relatively low using a prepaid, no-contract model. For light users, they have data plans that start at $15 per month for unlimited talk and text with 1 GB of data. 

They don’t have any unlimited data plans in large part because their focus is on inexpensive, simple plans for low data users. They will also cut your data off, so if you start to go over your data, you’ll get a hard cut off instead of an overage fee, which is ideal for people trying to budget who prefer their phone cut off rather than charge them unnecessarily. 

What’s more, all of the unused minutes, texts, or data from a particular plan roll over monthly, which means that a light user can bankroll data for an emergency, especially if they are using their Tracfone plan as a secondary phone for travel or emergencies. 

Much like Mint, Tracfone offers discounts when users prepay, so buying a plan and paying 12 months in advance still lets you properly budget for the year, but gets you discounts over paying monthly. 

Pros:

• They have prepaid plans that start at $15 per month, which is some of the cheapest out there
• Tracfone has rollover benefits, so light users who don’t use all of their data or minutes will have that available to them as long as their service remains active
• Tracfone uses Verizon’s 4G LTE and 5G network, so it provides dependable and strong nationwide coverage

Cons:

• There are no options for unlimited data plans, which can be a problem for heavy data users
• They don’t have multi-line family plans or discounts for families 

Best for:

• Budget-conscious consumers who want low monthly costs
• Seniors who want inexpensive, cheap plans with no complexity
• Low-income individuals who want to avoid credit checks on phone plans
• Light users who use their phones mostly for calling and texting
• People who want a second phone for two-factor authentication, travel, or emergencies 

Most Affordable Plans for Travelers and Teleport Access: US Mobile

I’ve found US Mobile to be a very flexible provider. This means users who are not looking to be tied directly to a single carrier would do well to consider US Mobile. US Mobile doesn’t just lease access on a single carrier’s infrastructure; they actually lease access to AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. 

In this case, users can pick plans that allow you to teleport or switch back and forth to whichever provider has the best connection wherever you happen to be. So, for people who travel for work, this can be useful. I found that when I used to travel for three weeks out of every month for work, there would be five locations I had to visit for meetings that definitely could have been emails, and almost every time, there was a different carrier that had good coverage where I was –  it was just never the same carrier. That would have been too easy! 

US Mobile also allows solid coverage for plans, akin to Tello, where customers can choose to pay based on the data they use, with low data plans for a much cheaper price as compared to the unlimited data plans. However, the “low” data plans for US Mobile are still higher than Tello in GBs and cost. 

Pros:

• US Mobile lets users choose between Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T networks, which means better performance based on location
• They have really well-rated customer service
• Their plans come in the form of pay-per-usage options for low data, with discounts on annual prepayments, and rollover features

Cons:

• They don’t support discounts on multi-lines
• On lower-tiered plans, hotspot performance will degrade, and data gets deprioritized
• They have online-only forms of support, which can make it harder for people who are not tech-savvy

Best for:

• Budget-conscious users who want access to multiple carriers
• Tech-savvy consumers who can bring their device
• Digital minimalists who want to prioritize simplicity and affordability
• People in areas with strong Verizon or AT&T coverage
• Consumers who travel a lot and need good connection wherever they are

Most Affordable Plan for Heavy Data, Remote Work, and Streaming: Visible

Visible is an affordable cell phone plan specifically for heavy data users because they offer an unlimited premium data plan on Verizon’s network. A lot of other budget cell phone providers might throttle speeds once you reach a data cap, but the top two plans with Visible don’t have deprioritization.

This is a rare feature, something that most affordable carriers don’t offer, and it means that you can stream videos, FaceTime with your nephews, or use Mobile Hotspot data during busy hours or crowded areas, and it won’t matter; you still get reliable speed.

That reliability comes at a cost, around $45 per month, which can be higher than many of the other affordable plans but is significantly cheaper than Verizon’s contract equivalents and is ideal for travelers, remote workers, and people who stream a lot on their phones.

Plus, Visible plans all come with unlimited hotspot data, which is not something I’ve ever seen with budget carriers. 

Pros:

• Visible has truly unlimited data on their plans, with no artificial caps
• They run on Verizon’s 5G networks, which covers up to 99% of the population
• Their plans include taxes and fees, so the advertised price is exactly what you will pay, which makes it a lot easier to budget

Cons:

• They only support one line per account, so you can’t set up a multi-line discount for a family
• On their cheapest option, data gets deprioritized during Network congestion 

Best for:

• Budget-conscious users who want unlimited data without the average $90 cost of major carriers
• Tech-savvy users who can manage their account through an app
• Single-line users who don’t need discounts for their family
• High-data users who work remotely, game, or stream from their phones and don’t want deprioritization

Most Affordable Without Paying for Unused Data and International Calling: Tello

Tello is the most affordable cell phone plan for light data users, specifically people who don’t like paying for something they don’t use. Tello is uniquely positioned as possibly the cheapest mobile phone provider because they let you choose exactly what it is you are paying for. 

When you go to their website, it’s almost like Wheel of Fortune, where you get to change the settings for your talk, text, and data separately. So if you are someone that wants a cell phone plan with 1 GB of data just for emergencies, but you still want unlimited talk and text so you aren’t counting minutes, they have plans for that at around $9 per month. 

If you are a senior or someone looking for a backup phone that you won’t use that much, their cheapest prices go down to $5 per month with no data plan and basic 100 minutes of talk. This makes it the best feature for low-data needs and predictable pricing. 

No matter the plan you pick, they have free international calling to over 60 countries, which is a very rare perk to find and makes it appealing to anyone who might have family overseas or does business overseas. 

Pros:

• They let you build your own plan, tailoring it to your text, talk, and data needs
• Plans go as low as $5 per month
• They have free international calling to 60 countries

Cons:

• Tello will deprioritize data after you reach your cap
• They only offer online support
• Technically unused data and minutes can roll over, but you have to set up this manually; it won’t happen automatically

Best for:

• Low-data users who rely almost exclusively on WiFi for their phones
• Seniors who want no-commitment plans with full control of spending
• Consumers who want a phone just for emergencies or as a second phone
• Families who want different plans for each of their family members

Most Affordable for Prepaid Discounts: Mint Mobile

Mint Mobile leverages T-Mobile’s Network but it keeps costs down because it doesn’t actually own that infrastructure, nor does it have physical storage you can go to for help. However, what it lacks in infrastructure ownership and sales staff, it makes up for with the multi-month payment model. 

If your goal is to budget annually, this payment model can offer the most attractive discounts when you pay 3, 6, or 12 months up front. One of my family members, for example, does cinematography for the NFL, so the majority of their work is seasonal, and as such, being able to pay for an entire year’s worth of cell phone coverage without a contract makes it easy for them to budget their seasonal income more effectively.

Tello gives users free calls to over 60 countries, and Mint Mobile includes free international calls specifically to North America, meaning Mexico and Canada, as well as the United Kingdom. This is not nearly as robust as Tello, but if your family is located exclusively in one of those three areas, it might be enough for you.

The long-term savings that their plans offer is incredibly compelling, especially for new users who are often able to get the highest tier, unlimited plan for the same price as the lowest tier plan when they sign up, taking advantage of a new member discount. 

However, I will also say that I have never seen any advertised discounts in all the years I’ve looked at them for existing customers. This means you get a discount if you lock in your first commitment, which, for the sake of argument, should definitely be 12 months in order to maximize your savings, but after that, it reverts back to the full price.

Pros:

• Mint Mobile gives really low starting prices (only to new users, and the best deals are for a 12-month prepayment)
• They include free mobile hotspot on some plans and free international calls to the UK, Mexico, and Canada

Cons:

• The prepayment minimum is 3 months
• They will slow your speed during network congestion
• They have limited customer support

Best for:

• Budget-conscious users who want low-cost plans
• Tech-savvy users who can manage their account online
• Single-line users who don’t need high-end customer service, international roaming, or in-store support
• People who have an unlocked phone and are not under contract elsewhere 

Summing Up 

There are many affordable cell phone plans out there. For brand new users who have no problem with the idea of taking advantage of a 12-month discount by prepaying, and then switching to a different provider, Mint Mobile has some of the most attractive new user deals. US Mobile, meanwhile, makes it easy to get good coverage by teleporting. Tello is ideal for free international calls and low cost plans while Visible is best for unlimited data. The most affordable for flexibility and light usage in my experience, though, is Tracfone, which boasts some of the simplest plans and most affordable options that don’t require prepayment or cater exclusively to new customers.