Find the absolute best unlimited data plans for your smartphone. Find out which carrier offers the best deals, the most perks, and the cheapest prices…
Plenty of carriers do unlimited plans but they all do things slightly differently. For instance, the main carriers – Verizon, for instance – offer unlimited data plans that come with loads of additional goodies like free subscriptions to streaming services and things like Apple Arcade.
But these types of plans from big-name carriers cost more money.
But you do get lots of additional extras, so if you want to go with main carrier this is the biggest reason to do so. But if you can live without all of these extra goodies, you can save a ton of money on your unlimited data plans by going with an smaller carrier – AKA an MVNO – like Mint or VISIBLE.
For this reason, unlimited data plans kind of breakdown into two distinct types:
- Premium Plans – premium unlimited data plans, like Verizon’s 5G Get More, come with lots of free extras (like free subscriptions to Disney+ and Apple Arcade) and things like priority network access, whereby you’ll always get the fastest 5G speeds regardless of how congested the network is.
- Cheaper MVNO Plans – cheaper unlimited plans from MVNO networks like Mint Mobile and VISIBLE cost considerably less than plans from proper carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile but they come with far fewer features. You just get data and calls. That’s it. No freebies, no bolted-on extras. If all you need is unlimited data and calls, this is the way to go.
As of right now, based on our market analysis and research, these are currently the best unlimited data plans you can get today:
The Best Unlimited Data Plans You Can Buy Today
Which Is The Best Plan?
Finding “the best” anything is always a loaded term. What’s best for you will be different to what’s best for someone else. If you’re on a budget, for instance, the best unlimited data plan will be the cheapest one. And in that case, you’ll want to go with Mint Mobile – its unlimited plan costs just $30 a month, making it the cheapest unlimited plan by a significant margin.
If you want the best coverage and 5G speeds, the best unlimited data plan will be Verizon’s – it is the biggest network in the US, it has the best infrastructure, and it offers the most additional perks. You get things like subscriptions to Hulu, ESPN Plus and Disney Plus and 25GB of LTE hotspot data with all of Verizon’s unlimited plans.
Again, if you’re price sensitive but still want unlimited data, you’ll want to keep things focussed on the following carriers:
- Mint Mobile – Mint Mobile’s unlimited data plan starts from $30 a month, making the cheapest plan overall. Mint is powered by T-Mobile too, so you’re getting access to one of the fastest, most reliable networks in America with brilliant 5G and LTE speeds and coverage.
- VISIBLE – Similarly, VISIBLE is another MVNO that offers very low cost unlimited data plans. You’ll pay $40 a month for unlimited data from VISIBLE which runs on Verizon’s network. That means rapid 5G and LTE speeds and great coverage.
Additional Resources
- Verizon’s 5G Get More vs. One Unlimited For iPhone: Which Is Best?
- Best Verizon Unlimited Plan? Let’s Compare & Investigate…
- Get A Free iPhone 14 From Verizon – Here’s How…
- Best Unlimited Data Plans For 1 Line
- Best Family Phone Plans
Which is The Cheapest?
If you’re after the absolute cheapest unlimited data plan, currently it is Mint Mobile. Mint Mobile offers a $30 per month unlimited data plan and it is $10 cheaper than the next best offering from VISIBLE which starts at $40 per month.
This is massively cheaper than Verizon and AT&T. You do get more add-ons and perks going with Verizon, things like free subscriptions to Hulu, ESPN+, and Disney+, but $80 a month is still $80 a month and that is a sizeable amount more than Mint Mobile’s $30 per month cost.
If you’re a Comcast user, however, you can make sizeable savings by going with Xfinity Mobile. Unlimited data plans start from $45 per month but you can accumulate discounts as you add more lines.
If you have a family and you use Comcast as your ISP, Xfinity Mobile could well end up being the cheapest way to get unlimited data.
Additional Resources
- Xfinity Mobile Reviews: Is It Worth Switching Over?
- How Much Is Unlimited Data? All The Big Carriers Compared…
- How To Get Free AirPods (w/ Visible’s EPIC iPhone 14 Deal)
- Save $1000 on iPhones w/ Trade-In at Verizon
Which Unlimited Data Plan Has Best Coverage?
When it comes to overall coverage, Verizon is currently ranked the best carrier for overall speed and coverage in the US right now. If you value things like LTE and 5G speed, as well as access to loads of free perks, and you don’t mind paying extra, Verizon is the carrier to go with – it has the biggest and best infrastructure. Period.
The group of four major cell phone providers in the U.S. is known as the Big Four, and it includes Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint. Without question, Verizon’s 4G LTE network has the best coverage, with 70% nationwide coverage, followed by AT&T with 68%, T-Mobile with 62%, and Sprint with 30%.
Let’s Talk
If want Verizon’s market-leading coverage but do not want to pay its market-topping prices, you should go with a Verizon MVNO. The best, currently, would be VISIBLE. You can pick up a plan for $40 – or, half the price of one from Verizon – and still take advantage of Verizon’s incredible infrastructure, coverage, and overall speeds.
This is one of the main reasons why MVNOs are becoming increasing popular; if you don’t want all the additional perks you get with big carriers like Verizon, you can save a considerable amount of money by going with a smaller MVNO carrier like VISIBLE (Verizon) and Mint Mobile (T-Mobile).
Which Plan Comes With The Best Perks?
Out of all the carriers listed in this review roundup, Verizon is the clear winner with respect the most freebies and perks you get when you sign-up for one of its plans.
The sheer amount of free stuff you get with a Verizon unlimited plan is actually kind of nuts; it certainly makes the monthly cost of $80 way more palatable. I mean, just LOOK at all this stuff:
Start Unlimited ($102/Year In Freebies)
- Disney+ for 6 Months
- Apple Music for 6 Months
- Play More Unlimited ($288/Year In Freebies)
- Disney+ Included
- Hulu Basic Included
- ESPN+ Included
- Apple Music for 6 Months
Do More Unlimited ($102/Year In Freebies + Discounts)
- Disney+ for 6 Months
- Apple Music for 6 Months
- 50% off Unlimited Connected Device Plans
- 600GB of Verizon Cloud Storage
Get More Unlimited ($348/Year In Freebies + Discounts)
- Disney+ Included
- Hulu Basic Included
- ESPN+ Included
- Apple Music Included
- 50% off Unlimited Connected Device Plans
- 600GB of Verizon Cloud Storage
Which Unlimited Plan Has The Fastest Speeds?
When it comes to overall speed, the current fastest carrier in the US is T-Mobile – it recently topped the charts with an average download speed of 54.1Mbps. Verizon came third with 30.2Mbps and AT&T placed second with 30.2Mbps.
You can see a breakdown of the speeds below:
T-Mobile
- Average download speed: 54.1 Mbps
- Average upload speed: 10.5 Mbps
Verizon
- Average download speed: 30.2 Mbps
- Average upload speed: 8.2 Mbps
AT&T
- Average download speed: 35.3 Mbps
- Average upload speed: 6.7 Mbps
VISIBLE
- Average download speed: 30.2 Mbps
- Average upload speed: 8.2 Mbps
Mint Mobile
- Average download speed: 54.1 Mbps
- Average upload speed: 10.5 Mbps
But while T-Mobile is the fastest, Verizon still has the best coverage, so even if the network is slightly slower, you WILL be able to get coverage in more areas. And slightly slower data is better than no data, so, as always, this is a perfect case of swings and roundabouts.
Still, for raw network performance, T-Mobile is the carrier to beat right now.
