Prepaid carrier plans help you stay away from the hassle of dealing with traditional postpaid contracts. They're perfect for those who are looking to keep their expenses in check as you only pay for what you use instead of spending on unwanted hidden charges that come with a contract. Thankfully, a lot of carriers in the US offer prepaid plans to bundle with your phones. Whether you're looking for unlimited data, international calling, or flexible plans, these carriers have something for everyone. Here are the best prepaid carriers in the U.S. to consider in 2023.
All major carriers in the U.S. either offer their own prepaid plan or work with an MVNO that offers one. We picked a handful of reliable options after careful consideration and divided them into different categories to make it easier for you to find what you need.
Best value prepaid carrier: Mint Mobile
Mint Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that uses T-Mobile's network to offer services in the U.S. It's one of the fastest-growing MVNOs in the country thanks to its affordable prepaid plans that offer good value to its consumers. Mint Mobile will set you up with a three-month prepaid plan for just $15 per month with unlimited calls, texts, and data (40GB FUP) with nationwide coverage for 5G and 4G LTE right now. The unlimited data plan, despite the throttled speeds after 40GB, is a good value compared to, say, Verizon's $45 basic monthly plan.
If there are no discounts and are looking at full prices, then we recommend picking the $20 per month plan that gets you 15GB of data, as it offers a good balance between price and data. Mint Mobile also lets you bring your family members to the network, and it'll allow you to mix and match different plans. This way, everyone in your family gets the data they want instead of having to stay locked to one particular plan. Mint Mobile also has a bunch of phones in its portfolio, so there's something for everyone.
Mint Mobile frequently offers discounts to ensure its customers get the best value for their money. For instance, you can sign up for all its monthly and three-month plans at a flat price of $15, which is great if you don't mind making frequent payments.
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Google Pixel 8
- SoC
- Google Tensor G3
- Display
- 6.2-inch OLED (1080x2400), 120Hz refresh rate, up to 2,000 nits peak brightness
- RAM
- 8GB LPDDR5X
- Storage
- 128GB, 256GB UFS 3.1 storage
- Battery
- 4,575mAh
- Ports
- USB Type-C 3.2
The Google Pixel 8 boasts of the company's new Tensor G3 processor and features a refined glass and aluminum design. Compared to the Pixel 7, it has a brighter display, a larger battery with quicker charging, and upgraded cameras.
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Apple iPhone 15
- SoC
- Apple A16 Bionic (4 nm)
- Display
- 6.1-inch Dynamic OLED Display, FHD+ resolution 2556x1179
- RAM
- 6GB RAM
- Storage
- Up to 512GB
- Battery
- 3,349mAh
- Ports
- USB Type-C
The base model iPhone 15 features a 6.1-inch OLED display, and a new 48 megapixel main camera for fantastic image creation. The iPhone 15 also features fast multitasking thanks to Apple's A16 Bionic chip.
Best for coverage: Verizon
Verizon is one of the Big Three carriers, so it's a fairly popular name with widespread connectivity. It may not have the most competitive plans out there to go head-to-head with other carriers in this collection, but it's hard to argue against Verizon's strong network coverage commitment. The carrier's coverage is regarded as the best in the country, so you're likely to stay connected to a network at all times with good reception and download speeds.
The widespread connectivity, however, comes at a cost of expensive prepaid plans, so be ready to shell out at least $45 for your first line. That's right, the basic entry-level prepaid plan with unlimited calls and texts with 15GB of data starts at $45 per month, and it goes all the way up to $70 for an individual line with unlimited 5G Ultra Wideband data. You tend to save more the longer you stay on a particular plan, so keep that in mind. The basic $45 per month plan, for instance, will cost you $40 and $35 after three months and nine months, respectively. Verizon also lets you bundle a prepaid plan with almost all smartphones in its portfolio, so you get a good amount of phones to choose from.
The latest ones in its portfolio includes the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
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Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
- SoC
- Apple A17 Pro
- Display
- 6.7-inch OLED Super Retina XDR
- RAM
- 8GB
- Storage
- 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
- Battery
- 4,422mAh
- Ports
- USB-C
The iPhone 15 Pro Max introduces an all-new, customizable Action button, a titanium chassis with round edges, and a USB Type-C port. It exclusively offers up to 5x optical zoom, too, so it's slightly better than the regular iPhone 15 Pro model.
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FollowFollowed- Brand
- Samsung
- SoC
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
- Display
- 6.8-inch QHD+ Edge, Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display, Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate (1-120Hz), 240Hz touch sampling rate in gaming mode
- RAM
- 8GB, 12GB
- Storage
- 256GB, 512GB, 1TB UFS 4.0
- Battery
- 5,000mAh
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of the best phones on the market, packing an all-new 200MP sensor, a refined design, a custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, and One UI 5.1.
Best for unlimited data: Visible
Verizon-owned Visible is one of the top picks in this collection because it offers unlimited data for $25 per month. It's the same as Mint Mobile's plan, except there's no need for a three-month commitment with Visible. You can also choose to pay $45 per month ($35 with promo) for Visible Plus to get Verizon's faster Ultra Wideband 5G connection, so do consider that if you want more reliable speeds. The Visible Plus plan also comes with unlimited international calls and texts to 30+ and 200+ countries, respectively.
Visible also offers a bunch of different phones and wearables to buy, so you can also pick up a new device to go with your prepaid plan in case you don't have a phone to bring. Visible doesn't offer a family plan, so there's no way to save money or manage multiple lines. You can, however, check your phone's compatibility and try Visible for free before opting for a prepaid plan.
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iPhone 15 Plus
- SoC
- Apple A16 Bionic
- Display
- 6.7-inch OLED Super Retina XDR
- Storage
- 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
- Battery
- 4,383mAh
- Ports
- USB-C
- Operating System
- iOS 17
The iPhone 15 Plus is a great base model smartphone from Apple. It features a bright 6.7-inch display up to 2000 nits and a 48 MP main camera.
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FollowFollowed- Brand
- Samsung
- SoC
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
- Display
- 6.1-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display, FHD+ resolution (2,340 x1,080), 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
- RAM
- 8GB
- Storage
- 128GB, 256GB
- Battery
- 3,900mAh
The regular Galaxy S23 is a great option if you're in the market for a smaller smartphone thanks to its 6.1-inch display. But despite the size, it's not lacking any features that the larger S23+ has. It has a 120Hz AMOLED display, a 50MP camera, and more.
Best for families: Metro
Metro by T-Mobile is perfect for families that are looking for unlimited data plans. Metro's $160 per month for four lines of data is now down to just $25 per line. This means you now get four lines with unlimited data for just $100 per month. This plan will not only get you unlimited data, but all the lines also get to benefit from T-Mobile's nationwide 5G network coverage, which is considered to be among the best. Notably, you'll also get access to T-Mobile's Tuesday giveaways with this plan, making it easily one of the best family plans around.
The Metro family plan can only be availed in stores, so keep that in mind. This, however, gives you the option to head over to your nearest Metro store and check out all their smartphone offerings which include the likes of even the newer iPhone 15 series.
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Apple iPhone 15
- SoC
- Apple A16 Bionic (4 nm)
- Display
- 6.1-inch Dynamic OLED Display, FHD+ resolution 2556x1179
- RAM
- 6GB RAM
- Storage
- Up to 512GB
- Battery
- 3,349mAh
- Ports
- USB Type-C
The base model iPhone 15 features a 6.1-inch OLED display, and a new 48 megapixel main camera for fantastic image creation. The iPhone 15 also features fast multitasking thanks to Apple's A16 Bionic chip.
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Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
- Brand
- Samsung
- SoC
- Samsung Exynos 1380
- Display
- 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED @ 120Hz
- RAM
- 8GB
- Storage
- 128GB + microSD up to 1TB
- Battery
- 5,000mAh
The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is a great mid-range phone. It offers a sleek design, a beautiful 120Hz display, plenty of power under the hood, and a triple camera setup on the back.
Best for free international calling: Tello Mobile
Tello Mobile, an MVNO that operates on the T-Mobile network, offers unlimited data plans for $29/mo. The unlimited data plan only offers 256GB of 4G LTE/5G data, after which your connection will throttle down to 2G speeds. It's not the best deal, but it's still a good way to get free data. The highlight of Tello Mobile, however, is the fact that its service comes with free international calls to dozens of countries.
The total talk time will count towards the minutes you get with your plan, but the fact that you get international calls for no additional charge makes it the best in the business. You can even grab Tello's $8/mo plan and get unlimited calls and texts to over 60 countries. You won't get any data with that plan, but it's still great for those who need an active connection for holidays and traveling. Tello Mobile has a very slim collection of phones to choose from, but you can take your GSM-ready phones to its network. Head over to Tello's website using the link in the box below.
Tello Mobile
Tello offers free international calling to 60+ countries, and it also lets you build your own plan based on preferences.
Best for free calls and texts: TextNow
It's true that all carriers mentioned in this collection offer free unlimited calls and texts, but none of them will let you make those calls or send those texts without a plan. Well, that's why we wanted to highlight TextNow, an MVNO that'll let you make unlimited calls and send texts with just a 99 cents SIM card and a mobile app. It uses T-Mobile's network to let you communicate and serves ads in its mobile app to make money.
That's not necessarily a big deal considering you don't have to pay anything for your calls or texts. You will have to pay an additional charge to make international calls, though, and mobile data is also quite expensive if you want to use that over T-Mobile's network. We definitely don't recommend paying $4.99/Wk for 1GB of data, so consider using TextNow only if you want to make free calls and send free texts.
TextNow
TextNow lets you make free calls and send free texts nationwide for absolutely free. All you have to do is get a SIM card and download the app on your device.
Best for pay-as-you-use: Google Fi Wireless
Google Fi's unlimited plans aren't as competitive as the ones offered by many other carriers mentioned in this collection. Its Flexible plan, however, is unique as it allows you to only pay for the data you use. It essentially costs $20 per month, with $10 for every GB of data you use. It'll definitely add up if you use a lot of data, but that's why it's good for those who need limited data and, hence, want to pay only for the data they use. Google Fi Wireless is also more reliable and better than other smaller MVNOs as you get unlimited calls and texts, built-in VPN and spam blocking, and more.
Google Fi Wireless also lets you easily upgrade to its unlimited plans or even add more people to your existing plan. Notably, it also offers some solid deals on various modern devices, so it's also a great place to shop for the latest smartphones if you're in the market for them. You can head over to our best Google Fi phones to check out the options that are available right now.
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Google Pixel 8 Pro
- SoC
- Google Tensor G3
- Display
- 6.7-inch LTPO OLED (1344x2992) LTPO OLED, 1-120Hz, up to 2,400 nits peak brightness
- RAM
- 12GB LPDDR5X RAM
- Storage
- 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB UFS 3.1
- Battery
- 5,050mAh, fast wired & wireless charging
- Ports
- USB Type-C 3.2
The Pixel 8 Pro is the latest flagship from Google, and it packs the best the company has to offer in 2024. It features the newest Tensor G3 processor, like its regular Pixel 8 sibling, but it comes with a 6.7-inch OLED display, a brighter screen, a larger battery, and more storage options.
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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
- Brand
- Samsung
- SoC
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy (4nm)
- Display
- 6.7-inch Full HD+ Dynamic AMOLED internal display with 120Hz refresh rate, 3.4-inch 720x748p external display
- RAM
- 8GB
- Storage
- 256GB, 512GB UFS 4.0
- Battery
- 3,700mAh
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the latest compact foldable from Samsung, offering a flexible 6.7-inch internal display, a 3.4-inch external display, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, and much more.
As you can see, there's no shortage of prepaid carriers and plans, but we recommend picking the ones that are mentioned above. Mint Mobile is the one we recommend for those who are chasing the best value. It operates on T-Mobile networks and offers good value for your money. We've also highlighted some other interesting options, including the likes of TextNow, Metro, and Google Fi Wireless, so be sure to explore all of them and pick the one you like.
Prepaid plans tend to be cheaper than postpaid contracts, but a lot of them also have hidden charges and other confusing terms and conditions. It's important to understand exactly what you get with the plan you pick, so we recommend either visiting a store or getting some help from a customer helpline. You can always just pick one our favorite smartphones and avoid all the hassle by choosing to stick with a traditional contract from one of the major carriers too.