CNET

Best Cheap Phone Plans in 2022 (Plus the Fine Print)

Here are CNET’s top budget phone plan picks in 2022, with one plan costing $0 a month! Mint Mobile: Visible: Boost Mobile: TextNow: Tello: Google Fi: Cricket: *CNET may get a commission from these offers 0:00 Introduction 0:29 How Can a Plan Cost $0? 0:48 Prepaid Plans & MVNOs 2:36 Cheapest Unlimited Data Plans 4:08…

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Here are CNET’s top budget phone plan picks in 2022, with one plan costing $0 a month!

Mint Mobile:
Visible:
Boost Mobile:
TextNow:
Tello:
Google Fi:
Cricket:
*CNET may get a commission from these offers

0:00 Introduction
0:29 How Can a Plan Cost $0?
0:48 Prepaid Plans & MVNOs
2:36 Cheapest Unlimited Data Plans
4:08 Cheapest Buy in Bulk Plans
5:14 Cheapest Basic Phone Plans
6:03 Best Group Plans
7:11 What To Do Before Switching

Cheap phone plans are great, but there are often caveats to keep in mind before switching to one. Let’s break down CNET’s best budget phone plan picks, along with the fine print, so you can decide if one of these plans fits your needs. **Keep in mind that these plans are only available in the US and the plan costs we highlight may not include taxes and fees.

For more information, check out some of our written coverage on phone plans below.
Cheap Phone Plans Compared: 8 Affordable Alternatives to Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T
Best Phone Plan Deals: Options Starting at Just $15 a Month
Best Unlimited Data Plans for 2022
Best Prepaid Phone Plans in 2022

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56 Comments

  1. green9227

    May 27, 2022 at 12:46 pm

    Very heavy data user 200-300 a month none of this plan will be good for me.

    • Paul

      May 27, 2022 at 2:53 pm

      ATT family plan works out to $45 per device all in (taxes and fees). This is more or less true unlimited everything plus HBO Max access. Not amazing but solid.

      Edit: plan includes hotspot too

    • The CunninLynguist

      May 27, 2022 at 5:59 pm

      Mint is 300 for the year

  2. Cdawg6429o

    May 27, 2022 at 1:03 pm

    Just got an Unlocked Nokia 225 on Tello and it’s fantastic. Unlimited 4G LTE VoIT running through T-Mobile, wide coverage area, monthly with no annual contract whatsoever, plus free for students for the first month, with every other month being $20.

    Also mint mobile and visible both steal and sell your data

  3. Walter Cafaro

    May 27, 2022 at 2:10 pm

    Spectrum is pretty solid

    • D T

      May 27, 2022 at 2:23 pm

      Nope

    • Adam Brock

      May 27, 2022 at 4:58 pm

      Spectrum could not activate our phones . We never got to use them even one day ,they then refused to refund our money stating restocking fees . On phones we never got to use cause they could not activate them . Be Careful

    • Montana Man

      May 28, 2022 at 12:14 am

      @Adam Brock That was a bad decision made by a phone rep. Call them back and explain the problem to someone else. If necessary, ask to speak with a supervisor.

    • Adam Brock

      May 28, 2022 at 12:24 am

      @Montana Man oh trust we have . We also reached out to BBB and corporate . Who makes promises and never has refunded us .

    • Adam Brock

      May 28, 2022 at 12:26 am

      @Montana Man We asked to speak with a supervisor was informed ,We could not. Mind you this was after a couple of months . Still could not activate phones and Charter refused to help . Corporate made promises months later ,still waiting .

  4. Emerald Flame

    May 27, 2022 at 2:22 pm

    I have US Mobile prepaid. It is 17 before tax , unlimited talk and text with 5g of data.

  5. Robert Newstrand

    May 27, 2022 at 2:51 pm

    I use Tracfone.

  6. Seascape Feedback

    May 27, 2022 at 3:11 pm

    Those off brand wireless companies that are under the wing of their big brothers are those wireless companies way of using a loop hole in regulations that prevent prioritized tiers.

  7. Keith Barnett

    May 27, 2022 at 3:29 pm

    I use Ting. It’s a good one to use.

  8. Samuel Liu

    May 27, 2022 at 3:40 pm

    i had MintMobile for 6 months, but now happily use tracfone- where are the new phones!

  9. Torkijo

    May 27, 2022 at 3:54 pm

    in the US……….. (Dont forget you have a worldwide audience)

    • Bruh

      May 27, 2022 at 4:32 pm

      Yeah, us American’s get screwed with Mobile and Internet costs. It’s sad.

  10. Johnny A

    May 27, 2022 at 4:28 pm

    Definitely sticking with what I got. which is AT&T prepaid $30 a month with 5Gigs of data. not going back to postpaid $85 a month Which for 3years

    • Vattana Thach

      May 30, 2022 at 3:00 am

      US Mobile may be a good choice for you. They’re the best deal in wireless right now.

  11. Bruh

    May 27, 2022 at 4:30 pm

    Tello is $29 a month plus tax for unlimited, I don’t know why this wasn’t mentioned but then again it was a T-mobile option, so they probably decided to use Mint instead

  12. Shady Bachelor

    May 27, 2022 at 4:34 pm

    Meanwhile in UK £10 unlimited everything

  13. Juan Cabrera

    May 27, 2022 at 5:18 pm

    The AT&T yearly plan has been the most convenient for me. $300 per year for 8GB data a month. 😊

    • jestin

      May 28, 2022 at 6:15 am

      12gb month less than $2 here

  14. Bella

    May 27, 2022 at 5:23 pm

    What do you think about Spectrum mobile?

    • Montana Man

      May 27, 2022 at 10:56 pm

      I really like it, but that’s because I’m happy with only 1Gb of data for $14 per month. However, those who use the internet features when away from their personal router may use a lot more data, and end up with a higher bill. You really need to call them and compare their prices.

  15. Alain Saintvil

    May 27, 2022 at 5:39 pm

    Buying in bulk doesn’t work for me. I use well over 30 GB of data each month. Make sure to read the fine print on these plans. I only do prepaid from Cricket, AT&T prepaid, Metro by T-Mobile, T-Mobile prepaid, Boostmobile, or Verizon prepaid.

    • murcielago Batman

      May 27, 2022 at 6:02 pm

      Visible is unlimited no data cap. I use also over 30 gb

    • Alain Saintvil

      May 27, 2022 at 6:32 pm

      @murcielago Batman Visible is picky about accepting certain unlocked devices. It wouldn’t allow me to use my Samsung Galaxy S10 which was unlocked. Not to mention I was able to use it on Verizon itself. That turned me off from Visible.

    • murcielago Batman

      May 27, 2022 at 10:34 pm

      @Alain Saintvil yeah I not 100 on what work. My S10+ work but not a s8.
      Also I currently using a LG wing Verizon version that I bought after LG wing t mobile version didn’t work. The both were unlock.
      Visible have it con that I put up with because 25 pricing for truelly unlimited data

      They also have a free trial that you can use to test which phone work. No credit card required

  16. murcielago Batman

    May 27, 2022 at 6:10 pm

    Hello mobile is $5 for unlimited talk text n some data

  17. Josh Nixon

    May 27, 2022 at 7:02 pm

    straighttalk 45 a month unlimited everything and data only slows after 60 gb month

  18. William Genitempo

    May 27, 2022 at 7:18 pm

    Surprised metro didn’t make the list

  19. my gins

    May 27, 2022 at 7:27 pm

    First of all I think the research for this video wasn’t done very well as it should have been very clear and mentioned that mvno’s security is absolutely horrible as a general rule especially with visible US Mobile remains the cheapest and the best when it comes to security and price also there has been many incidents of people having their number held Ransom with mvno’s as their security is very subpar additionally when it comes to customer support visible only offers an online chat service and email so no phone calls at all as of this moment in time so that is a big differentiating factor for a lot of people if you want customer service also almost no envionos allow you to finance your phone through them and rather through a third party service like affirm I would definitely do your own research check out stetson dogget on YouTube and not rely on this video I definitely expect a little bit better from CNET lastly if you live in a city like New York or Los Angeles the networks get very congested very quickly and so going with a service like Verizon or T-Mobile is a very very big plus as you get priority network access over mvno’s however that was mentioned in the video

  20. RoroTono

    May 27, 2022 at 7:37 pm

    Love the information! I’m shopping now for a phone service.

    Don’t love the vocal fry though.

  21. Chad

    May 27, 2022 at 8:07 pm

    Stetson Doggett on YouTube is great at breaking down mobile plans.

  22. rk

    May 27, 2022 at 8:12 pm

    Ok grandma

  23. Abhishek Abhi

    May 28, 2022 at 12:30 am

    Everyone loves the luxury life the problems most people have about buying luxuries are having enough money to buy one, but that won’t matter if you have a stable financial life

    • Jeffery Pool

      May 28, 2022 at 12:53 am

      The contact info on the comment is correct she’s mostly available on Whats App

    • Jeffery Pool

      May 28, 2022 at 12:53 am

      美國十𝟭𝟰𝟬𝟰𝟲𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟳𝟱𝟵美國

    • Jonathan D.Morgan

      May 28, 2022 at 12:54 am

      I’m glad to see Mrs. Regina T oconnell mentioned here, my spouse recommended her to Me after investing $4000 and she has really helped us financially in times of COVID -19 lockdown here in Australia 🇦🇺

    • Dr Akash Kumar

      May 28, 2022 at 12:54 am

      Acess to a good information is what the investors needs to progress financially in life here is a good one and I’m grateful

    • Marines King

      May 28, 2022 at 12:55 am

      She deserves more accolades, just the same way i was going through comment and I saw this. I gave a try and bet something I never regretted

    • James Johnson

      May 28, 2022 at 6:16 am

      Wow, I’ve never seen a bot chain before. Y’all stepping up your game

  24. Beef and Carrots

    May 28, 2022 at 1:14 am

    Why no mention of roaming charges and service abroad?

  25. James Johnson

    May 28, 2022 at 6:24 am

    Visible works well for us. Unlimited allthethings, decent in our area, free hotspot from our phones for the kiddos, and being able to include randos in our party plan (since there are only two of us for now) is a good way of bringing the cost down to $25 (after taxes!). I haven’t tried the others on the list so I don’t know how they compare service-wise but they work well for us!

    • hnnotyy

      May 29, 2022 at 6:48 pm

      Visible is trash.. lol nothing but complaints from users on all forums..

    • James Johnson

      May 29, 2022 at 7:20 pm

      Well naturally, you think people flock to forums to sing the praise of their mobile carrier? Of course not, complaints are always the loudest and you can find that for anyone I’m sure. Anyway, not trying to convince you or anything but they’re far from trash, at least in my area.

  26. jMon

    May 28, 2022 at 8:33 pm

    red pocket…? hello…?? anyone…?

  27. Model 3 Forever

    May 28, 2022 at 9:20 pm

    What about US Mobile. I use them and have 30GB data with unlimited calls and unlimited text for $30. Why they didn’t make this list?

  28. whiteandnerdytuba

    May 29, 2022 at 12:47 am

    How much did Netflix pay for that stranger things ad

  29. thesuremen

    May 29, 2022 at 4:03 am

    what about for international plans?

  30. Sven Loftlive

    May 29, 2022 at 9:50 am

    I use a esim from Orange Luxemburg whitch allows free US-Roaming as well.

    I can use up to 250 GB than the speed will slowed down to only 512kbit’s!

    Why are the US-Plans so bad?

  31. Tarkus

    May 29, 2022 at 1:38 pm

    Yeah no, pass. I’d rather pay a bit more but not having to deal with restrictions.

  32. hnnotyy

    May 29, 2022 at 6:46 pm

    I see this was paid my Mint Mobile..lmao.. No mention of US Mobile huh why????

  33. Chad Butler

    May 30, 2022 at 2:51 am

    Well I use Visible($25) and Cricket wireless ($55). I use both an iPhone for personal use and a S20 Ultra 5G for business. In all 80 bucks and can use both plans as hotspots. If one network goes down (which has happened with Verizon too many times for my liking) I’m good. I go Mexico a lot so Cricket works there without me having to do anything or buy any sims for international use!

  34. Hussien Alsafi

    May 31, 2022 at 8:14 am

    😊😊😊😊😊😊🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

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