That’s why we keep such close tabs on the different plans offered by the best phone carriers offer. That way, we can point you toward the best unlimited data plans out there right now. You may think that the best unlimited data plan is out of your reach, given that carriers used to only include that much data in their priciest plans. But that’s changing, especially if you’re willing to go beyond the major carriers for your wireless service. You can find some pretty affordable unlimited data options with even the best cheap cell phone plans including unlimited data for $40 or less each month. We’ve studied the unlimited data plans offered by AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon to assess which one best fits the needs of different types of users; you can check out our look at the cheapest unlimited data plans from those three carriers. We can also highlight lower-priced options among the best prepaid phone plans from Mint Mobile, Visible and others that deserve a spot among the best unlimited data plans.
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How to pick the best unlimited data plan for you
Besides making sure to choose a carrier that offers good service in your area — check out our guide to the fastest wireless networks in addition to asking friends and family about coverage — consider both price and perks. With the best unlimited data plans from major carriers ranging in price from $60 to $90 per month, pick the plan that fits in your budget or turn to a discount carrier like Mint or Visible. Also consider what benefits each wireless carrier includes with their different tiers of unlimited data.
Wondering if you need unlimited data? Unless you’re streaming video and music fairly regularly, you probably can get away with a tiered data plan, like the ones offered by AT&T and Verizon. While we have a separate guide to the best family cell phone plan options, most of the unlimited plans featured here allow you to add extra lines, usually at discounted per-line rates. The exceptions are AT&T’s Value Plus Plan, Tello’s $29 option and the Visible Plus plan. Mint’s approach to family plans is to offer the same discounted rate for each line of data, so unlimited plans would cost $30 per line, assuming you commit to the full year of service.
Are unlimited data plans truly unlimited?
That depends. While you do technically get unlimited data on all of these plans, many of them will impose a restriction somewhere in the plan to limit you slightly. AT&T reserves the right to start throttling data at 50GB for Unlimited Extra; Unlimited Starter customers can be throttled at any time. Unlimited Premium customers no longer have to worry about caps, though, as AT&T has removed that limitation from its most expensive plan. Verizon is able to slow data after 50GB are used by 5G Play More and Do More customers; 5G Get More and One Unlimited for iPhone subscribers don’t face any caps. T-Mobile lets you use 100GB of data before throttling can begin, though if you opt for the more expensive Magenta Max plan, there’s no cap on data usage at all. Get your service from a discount carrier, and you run the risk that your speeds will be slowed in favor of other customers on the parent carrier’s network. Visible guarantees customers who sign up for its Visible Plus plan 50GB of premium data free of throttling. There could also be limits on the quality of video you can stream — some plans restrict video streaming to 480p, requiring you to pay more for HD video streaming. Many plans also impose limits on hotspot data, only allotting a limited amount of high-speed hotspot data. This isn’t really as big of an issue as it sounds. For the average person, hotspotting is simply an added benefit and you won’t really lose out too much by being limited on it.
