I was helping someone on Nextdoor in my area, who was looking for a new
low-cost carrier after her Metro by T-Mobile service was not working for
her. T-Mobile coverage in my area can be hit or miss and for her it was
a miss!

I sent her a list of several options on AT&T and Verizon also posted it
on Nextdoor and then I put it all into a Google Docs document for her.

The document is here:
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1svifijs5goT4cWQa82sgwO28CpLcTWrbHsP1jim8A7U/>

If I missed any low-cost plans on AT&T or Verizon please let me know.

Text version:

Low-Cost Cell Phone Plans using AT&T or Verizon
($25 or less per Line)
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1svifijs5goT4cWQa82sgwO28CpLcTWrbHsP1jim8A7U/>

I only include providers with service on AT&T or Verizon. In my area,
the Bay Area of California, T-Mobile coverage is too spotty to consider.

■ Table of Contents
• MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators
• What About “Free Phones?”
• Visible by Verizon
• Red Pocket Yearly Plans
• U.S. Mobile
• Mobile-X
• Boost
• Plans to Avoid
• Online Prepaid Comparison Website
• Phone compatibility checker for Android devices
• Credit Cards that Include Accidental Loss & Damage Coverage
• Why I don’t Recommend T-Mobile MVNOs

■ MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators
MVNOs pay about $1000/TB of data which works out to $1/GB. They count on
subscribers to monthly plans to use far less high-speed data than the
maximum. The amount they pay the carrier for voice minutes and texts is
very inconsequential. Carrier-operated services, like Visible, can offer
a lot of data without fear of the user costing them a lot of money by
excessive data use.
Note that all of these plans are for individual lines. Sometimes
carriers offer good deals on multi-line plans.

■ What About “Free” or Subsidized Phones?
These low cost plans will usually not provide subsidies on phones.
Postpaid carriers usually offer significant discounts on monthly plans
when you finance a new phone through them, as well as offering big
trade-in values for old phones when you commit to 24 or 36 months of
service. If you leave before the 24 or 36 month period is up then you
must pay off the remaining cost of the phone. Visible does offer some
free low-end phones with the trade-in of any old phone. The net cost of
using these plans is lower, but if you want a new phone you have to buy
it at full price.

■ Visible by Verizon. If you need true unlimited data, and you can live
with 5Mb/s throttling on hotspot, then Verizon’s Visible service, at $25
per month (taxes and fees included) is a good deal,see
<https://www.visible.com/shop/select-plan>. A big plus is that Visible
gets the same off-network roaming as Verizon postpaid. The $25 plan
generally works fine, while the $35 plan adds some extra features,
including Canada and Mexico roaming and prioritized data.

• Hotspot: Unlimited, throttled to 5Mb/s (there are ways to bypass the
throttling)
• Prioritization: Deprioritized on the $25/month plan.
• Taxes and fees: included.
• Phones: Verizon compatible unlocked phone required. You can get a free
low-end phone with a trade-in of an old phone. Verizon unlocks all
phones after 60 days whether paid off or not.
• Off-network U.S. roaming: yes (same as Verizon postpaid).
• eSIM support: Yes.
• Physical Stores: No.
• Tech support: Online Chat only. No phone support. No stores for
in-person support.
• Apple Watch Support for Cellular models: Yes (the only good choice for
low-cost service if you have an Apple Watch with LTE).
• Multi-User Plans: No. Each line requires separate billing.
• International Roaming: Canada and Mexico roaming on $35 plan.
• Free/Low-Cost trial: 15 days,iPhone w/eSIM only,
<https://www.visible.com/free-trial/>, no credit card needed.

■ Red Pocket Yearly Plans. For$99/year ($8.25/month), Red Pocket offers
1GB of data, 1000 voice minutes, and unlimited SMS, see
<https://www.ebay.com/itm/133051277200
<https://www.ebay.com/itm/132107101044>; choose Verizon or AT&T, not
T-Mobile. 3GB per month is $180/year with unlimited voice minutes and
unlimited SMS, see <https://www.ebay.com/itm/133058473014>; choose
Verizon or AT&T, not T-Mobile.

• Hotspot: Yes (all your data can be hotspot data)
• Prioritization: Deprioritized
• Taxes and fees: Sales tax is extra, but no other fees, at least for
the first year.
• Phones: Verizon compatible or AT&T compatible unlocked phone required.
• Off-network U.S. roaming: No. Native Verizon or AT&T coverage only.
• eSIM support: Yes, but only for AT&T network.
• Physical Stores: No.
• Tech support: Phone and Online Chat.
• Apple Watch Support for Cellular models: No
• Multi-User Plans: Yes, on the Red Pocket website, but not a good deal.
• International Roaming: No.
• Free/Low-Cost trial: No.

■ U.S. Mobile has a large number of plan options. See
<https://www.usmobile.com/plans>. Verizon compatible unlocked phone
required. Choose Verizon’s network (Warp 5G), not T-Mobile. If they send
two SIM cards use the black card, not the white card.

• Hotspot: Yes, amount varies by plan.
• Prioritization: Deprioritized on lower cost plans
• Taxes and fees: not included, substantial.
• Phones: Verizon compatible unlocked phone required.
• Off-network U.S. roaming: No. Native Verizon coverage only.
• eSIM support: Yes.
• Physical Stores: No.
• Tech support: Phone and Online Chat.
• Apple Watch Support for Cellular models: No.
• Multi-User Plans: Yes.
• International Roaming: Some international data is included, via eSIM
on premium plans, and they sell eSIM data as well.
• Free/Low-Cost trial: 10-100 days,
<https://www.usmobile.com/get-started>, credit card required. Cancel
before trial is over.

■ Mobile-X (<https://www.mymobilex.com/>) is a new Verizon MVNO offering
pay-as-you-go at the following prices:
• $1.99 per month line fee
• Each 1GB of data is $2.10. Unused data carries over.
• Unlimited Talk & Text: $4.50/month
• 150 voice minutes and 150 SMS: $2.50/month
• 50 voice minutes and 50 SMS: $1.50/month

• Hotspot: Yes (all your data can be hotspot data)
• Prioritization: ?
• Taxes and fees: not included
• Phones: Verizon compatible unlocked phone required.
• Off-network U.S. roaming: No. Native Verizon coverage only.
• eSIM support: Yes.
• Physical Stores: No.
• Tech support: Phone and Online Chat.
• Apple Watch Support for Cellular models: No.
• International Roaming: Not yet, but they say that they are working on
offering international roaming data.
• Free/Low-Cost trial: 30 days, details unclear. Cancel before trial is
over.

They also offer “fake unlimited” plans, $20 for 15GB of high-speed data,
$25 for 30GB of high-speed data (with unlimited talk and text, taxes and
fees extra). Unlimited throttled data. Visible is a better option since
they include taxes and fees and offer other benefits.

If you really want to save money you can not buy any voice and SMS and
just use Google Voice for calls and SMS but because 2FA sometimes
requires a real phone number you may want to opt for the 50 voice
minutes and 50 SMS option.

For now, Mobile-X is the least expensive option for a low data usage
plan on a top tier carrier. It’s not a good deal for high-usage.

I tested Mobile-X on an unlocked Motorola One 5G Ace and got 201Mb/s
down, 81.3Mb/s (5G).

You have to install the Android or iPhone app to sign up. You can load
the proper APN using the app (ignore the blank screen, it will download
the proper APN). I advise using a virtual credit card to sign up, then
deactivate it, until you’re sure it will work for you.

■ Boost. Be very careful. Do not go to <https://www.boostmobile.com/>
which is the old Boost that runs on T-Mobile. Go to
<https://my.boostmobile.com/> which is their newer AT&T service. Boost
is the only service listed in this document with physical stores. You
want the black SIM card, not the orange SIM card.

Boost AT&T Monthly Plans (all include unlimited talk & text):
• 5GB: $15/month
• 5GB: $168/year ($14/month)
• 15GB: $240/year ($20/month)
• Fake Unlimited: $25/month (throttled after ?GB, no hotspot data).
• Fake Unlimited: $40/month (throttled after ?GB, 12GB hotspot data).
• Fake Unlimited: $60/month (throttled after ?GB, 30GB hotspot data).
• Hotspot: Yes (all your data can be hotspot data on non-unlimited plans)
• Prioritization: Deprioritized
• Taxes and fees: mostly included
• Phones: AT&T compatible unlocked phone required, however there are
reports that any phone that supports VoLTE will work, even if they won't
work on AT&T or Cricket.
• Off-network U.S. roaming: No. Native AT&T coverage only.
• eSIM support: Yes.
• Physical Stores: Yes. You may pay more at physical stores for activation.
• Tech support: In-store, Phone and Online Chat.
• Apple Watch Support for Cellular models: No.
• International Roaming: Canada and Mexico roaming is available at extra
cost and can be added only when needed.
• Free/Low-Cost trial: $5.99 for 30 days,
<https://deals.boostmobile.com/mypromo/trial-mybm>, credit card
required. Cancel before trial is over.