We No Longer Need a Big Carrier’s Wireless Plan. Discount Ones Are the Way.

With plans ranging from $60 to $200 a month for individuals and families, the price of a cellphone is soon eclipsed by the recurring service bills. What if I told you that it no longer had to be this way? Your phone bill could shrink to as little as $25 a month if you picked a wireless plan from a lesser-known service provider known as a discount carrier. The cheaper plans, based on my tests, offer sufficiently fast internet speeds and reliable phone service. It takes some courage and technological know-how to make the switch, but the potential savings outweigh the downsides. On the surface, these budget carriers—which include Cricket Wireless, Straight Talk, Boost Mobile, Mint Mobile, and Visible—lack a cool factor. They do not operate their own cell networks; instead, they lease wireless services from the big carriers and market them toward retirees. The no-frill plans often have trade-offs, including slower download speeds, since Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile subscribers have priority access to faster network performance. Yet in the past few years, so much has changed that I can now confidently recommend discount phone plans for most people, including white-collar professionals and Instagram-obsessed youths.