08.04.25
Best Affordable Unlimited Data Plans 2025, Starting at $0
by Valeria
Key takeaways
A prepaid phone plan has you pay up front for a set amount of service. When you’ve used that up, you can add money, restart the billing cycle, or change your plan or carrier.
Compared to postpaid plans they offer cheaper prices, more flexibility, and — a big plus — no credit check or contract. Tradeoffs include fewer frills and lower priority when the network is busy.
They're good for people who want to save money, avoid a contract, or skip a credit check.
With a prepaid plan you pick how much service you want — calls, texts, data — and pay to start the service. You don't have to undergo a credit check and enter a contract for a year or more. And because you pay first, there's no possibility of getting hit with extra charges.
How does a prepaid phone plan work?
You chose and pay up front for the service you want, then activate the plan by inserting a SIM card or activating an eSIM.
Most prepaid plans have unlimited talk and text, so what you might “use up” is data if you chose a plan with a set amount of gigabytes (GB). If you need more data, you might have the option to pay for a top-up. However, many plans offer essentially unlimited data, simply slowing speeds for the rest of the billing cycle after you exceed a certain amount of mobile data. Read the fine print before committing, to understand how much high-speed data you get.
These plans usually work on a 30-day billing cycle, with some exceptions (pay as you go and bundled plans). At the end of the service period you can just let the plan auto-renew, if you signed up for automated payments, renew it yourself, or switch to something else if you want.
Types of prepaid phone plans
You’ll see a few types of prepaid plans:
Traditional prepaid plans: You pay in advance, typically for a month, and when your 30 days of service are up, you can restart another billing cycle, upgrade or downgrade your plan, or even switch to another carrier.
Good for: People who want a set monthly bill with no chance of excess charges, plus the ability to change things up as their needs change.
Pay-as-you-go plans: With these plans you’re also paying in advance. The difference is you pick out set amounts of the service you want: talk, text, data. When you’ve used up those amounts, you have to pay to top up with more.
Good for: Budget-conscious people who don’t need a lot of service and who like the flexibility to pay as needed versus on a set monthly basis.
Bundled prepaid plans: Some prepaid providers offer a cheaper per-month price if you pay for a longer period of service, typically 3, 6 or 12 months. Some providers, like Mint Mobile, simply set 3 months of service as the smallest purchase choice. You may have a short window to get a refund if you don't like the service before being locked in, but read the terms and conditions so you’re sure.
Good for: People willing to give up some flexibility in order to lock in a lower price — and who don’t mind committing a chunk of cash all at once.
How much does a prepaid cell phone plan cost?
Here at TextNow we track prices across more than 100 phone plans, covering the Big 3 carriers and the most popular MVNOs.
For a single line, the cost of a prepaid phone plan ranges from $0 for TextNow’s Essential Data plan up to $75 for the highest AT&T choice. You can easily find a prepaid phone plan for $40 or less. Compare that to $50-$105 per month for a single line on a postpaid phone plan.
Pros and cons of prepaid phone plans
| Pros of prepaid phone plans | Cons of prepaid phone plans |
|---|---|
| Pay only for the service you want, with no worry about incurring extra charges. | Usually have lower limits on high-speed data and lower network priority than postpaid plans, so service might suffer during busy times. |
| Cheaper and more flexible than postpaid plans, which involve a contract and may have early termination charges. | Less likely to offer perks such as free streaming subscriptions. |
| No credit check or potential to affect your credit score. | Fewer choices for phone financing, so you may need to bring your own phone or buy outright. |
Prepaid phone plan alternatives
If the prepaid phone plan structure doesn’t appeal, you have a couple different options:
You could opt for a postpaid plan, where you pay after each month of service. You get higher priority on the network during congestion, and if you’re in the market for an unlimited data plan you’ll often find higher amounts of high-speed data before any slowing. The tradeoff is typically a higher price, a credit check and being locked into a contract for one to three years.
Or, you could explore free calling apps and free texting apps. These mobile applications offer services like calling, texting, video calling. Note, however, that some of them require an existing phone number to sign up, and some only allow communication between other users of the same app.
Prepaid vs. postpaid, which is better?
The choice comes down to what suits your lifestyle and budget best:
Postpaid plans: Some people prefer postpaid plans for their features, perks, phone financing offers and better prioritization (speeds) on the cell networks. But that often comes with a higher price, and you might get hit with additional costs if you use extra services like data roaming. They also require a contract — which means a credit check and penalty fees if you exit early.
Prepaid plans: Some people prefer these for the flexibility to switch plans and reliable costs with no surprise charges. They’re also a good way to get temporary service when traveling abroad with a SIM card for international travel. However, they have fewer extras and typically lower priority, so you might have slower speeds when the network is busy.
How to choose a prepaid plan and what to expect
1. Decide your coverage needs
There's a wide variety of prepaid phone plans. The Big 3 phone networks (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) have some, but many more are offered by companies called mobile virtual network operators. Those MVNOs contract with the Big 3 to resell service on their networks, usually at a discounted price. Start by deciding which network has the best coverage in your area, then look for prepaid plans that use that network and see how well they’d fit your budget. (See this list of popular MVNOs and the networks they use.)
2. Set your budget
Prepaid plans have a wide range of prices and levels of service. Deciding what will fit your budget first will help you narrow down options to look at.
3. Figure out your service needs
Most prepaid phone plans come with unlimited calls and texts, plus a set amount of mobile data. But some carriers let you build your own plan, mixing and matching talk & text minutes and data amounts.
If you don’t need mobile data — say you always use Wi-Fi for internet access — you could choose a talk & text only plan. These are also called no-data plans, although some choices do offer a tiny amount of data for basic tasks or the ability to purchase data when needed.
If you do want data but aren’t sure how much data you need, explore your current usage or check out how much data your typical activities use. Some plans give you a set amount of data for the month and you must pay to add more if needed. Others offer unlimited data — although typically data speeds will slow down after you’ve used a set amount, until your next service period starts.
As with any phone plan, be sure to read all the fine print: Does a low starting price end after the first few months? Can you only get the advertised price if you buy 3-, 6- or 12-month blocks of service?
4. Decide if you’re bringing your own phone or buying a new one
If you already have a phone you want to use, check whether it’s compatible with the carrier you’re considering. Look for a “compatibility checker” on the carrier’s website. If your phone is locked to one carrier, it won’t work on others.
Or maybe you want to get a new phone. Signing up for a prepaid plan doesn’t require a credit check, but financing a phone may. Keep in mind, it might be cheaper to buy a phone outright than choosing a higher-priced plan that offers financing. Check out our free phone bill calculator to see. Then compare phone deals, which you can find at big box stores as well as through carriers.
5. Pick and activate a plan
Sign up and pay for the plan you want. You may also be able to, or required to, add a bank account or card for automated billing. Then start service by installing and activating a SIM card or eSIM.
A big advantage of prepaid is the ability to switch plans as your needs change or hop to a different carrier if you spot a better deal. If the prepaid plan you choose has automated billing, be sure to note the auto-renew date so you can decide whether to continue or switch before the charge goes through.
How to cancel a prepaid phone plan
To cancel a prepaid plan, contact the carrier to end service before the next time your card or bank account is automatically charged.
Or, you can simply turn off AutoPay or auto renewal, and the plan will expire after a certain period of nonpayment, anywhere from 30 to 120 days.
Important note: Once you leave a carrier it can reassign your phone number unless you port it out to a new service, so switch your number to your new service first. Even if you’re OK with getting a new number, check out important steps to take before changing phone numbers.
Why choose a prepaid phone plan?
Prepaid plans are a good way to get service without stretching your budget. They’re great when you:
Are starting out and ready to get off a parent’s phone plan.
Are new to credit or have damaged credit, since prepaid plans don’t require a credit check. Also, since you’re not on a contract, missing a payment doesn’t affect your credit score.
Want the flexibility to change details of your plan, or switch to another carrier, whenever you want.
Want to add a phone plan for a kid or teen. Getting them an inexpensive prepaid plan may be cheaper than adding a line to your existing postpaid plan, and the inability to use more service than you prepaid for means no surprise bills for exceeding limits.
