We’ve probably been saying this for too many years now, but it is truly the year of finding savings wherever you can. While basics like groceries, gas, and rent keep going up, it’s more important than ever to tighten up the budget where possible, including your phone service. Luckily, there are plenty of budget-friendly prepaid options nowadays, including Mint Mobile and TextNow.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow Summary
Both carriers offer nationwide phone service with unlimited data plan options and widespread coverage. For a true value-driven choice, however, TextNow is the better option as it offers more affordable prices in the long run and is more flexible to fit different budgetary needs as they arise.
In short:
TextNow is the better option for customers looking for a cheap phone plan that won’t hold them to any commitments.
Mint Mobile is the better option for customers looking for broader data options or family plans.
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Mint Mobile vs. TextNow At a Glance
If you want to know more about Mint Mobile’s service in detail, check out our most recent Mint Mobile review. Otherwise, you can follow these basic feature and pricing guidelines:
- Affordable if you're able to pre-pay for 12 months in advance.
- Includes mobile hotspot data.
- Includes sufficient amount of high-speed data in their unlimited plan.
Cons:
- Can't pay month-by-month.
- Discounted price only applicable in first payment as a new customer.
- No other complimentary perks or subscriptions included.
Exclusive monthly offers, discounts and rewards from brands you love.
- Can always default to free base plan to keep phone service on.
- Flexible data options that work with small budgets.
- Includes weekly drops of discounts and free offers from brands you love.
Cons:
- No eSIM support.
- No mobile hotspot.
Final Verdict: Should you Choose Mint Mobile or TextNow?
When it comes down to which service provider is the true budget-conscious choice, TextNow wins hands down. While their free ($0/month) service comes with limited data service, their flexible options to pay for unlimited data at a daily, weekly, or the traditional monthly rate is a great way to save money in the longer run. TextNow also offers more perks, although it lacks mobile hotspot data.
Mint Mobile looks promising on paper, but to get the actual advertised “low price,” you have to commit to a 3-, 6-, or 12-month term and pay a lump sum in advance. Once the promotional period is over, that advertised low price is no longer applicable, so Mint can end up being more expensive than other prepaid carriers or MVNOs. It does offer flexible family plans that allow for different data allotments on each line, so if you’re looking for an affordable family or multi-line plan, it is the better option as TextNow does not currently offer multi-line discounts.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Detailed Review
What is Mint Mobile?
Mint Mobile is a prepaid phone service provider (an MVNO) that operates on T-Mobile's network.
It offers a range of prepaid phone plans that offer unlimited talk & text, plus data options: 5GB, 15GB, 20GB, or Unlimited. All plans can only be purchased at lump sum amounts that include a 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month bundle.
What is TextNow?
TextNow is a prepaid phone service provider (an MVNO) that operates on a nationwide 5G network.
It offers a range of prepaid phone plans that offer unlimited talk & text, plus data options. Its main benefit is the free base plan that allows customers to keep their phone line active for $0/month with unlimited talk & text, plus up to 1GB of data for select essential apps like email, maps, finance, and rideshare. Its unlimited data plans are provided with flexibility in mind, giving customers the option to purchase data for a day, a week, or for a more traditional month.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Plan Prices and Features
Both TextNow and Mint Mobile offer prepaid unlimited data plans at similar pricing (once you take out the promotional introductory price of Mint Mobile’s plans). Their similarities end there, though, as both carriers approach the affordability and flexibility (no commitments) of their data plans quite differently.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Contracts, Commitments, and Billing Structures
Mint Mobile praises their plans as no-contract phone plans, and while that's technically true in comparison to postpaid plans, we wouldn’t call them no-commitment-at-all plans. Mint Mobile does not offer monthly phone plan rates, only 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month plans that have to be paid upfront. So, you are forced to commit to a certain amount of time to use their service – or benefit from deeper discounts.
TextNow, on the other hand, starts with a base plan that’s free – yes, $0/month – and provides unlimited calling & texting, plus up to 1GB of data for select apps like email, maps, finance, and rideshare. All of this on a nationwide 5G network. For more data, you can then purchase an unlimited data plan for a day, for a week, or for the whole month. These are all prepaid, with no commitments, and at any point in time, whether you choose to cancel or can’t pay, you will always default back to the free base plan that keeps your phone number and other essential services on.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Promotions
TextNow’s promotions revolve around its SIM card: Free when you purchase an Unlimited Data Plan. Otherwise, if you’re just signing up for its base Free Flex Plan, the SIM card is $4.99 to purchase.
Mint Mobile, on the other hand, does consistently offer promotions for its plans – most used one being a 50% off discount for new customers for their first package/bundle purchase.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Tradeoffs
With Mint Mobile, you’re restricted to paying for service up front in multi-month increments rather than month-by-month, and unlike postpaid plans (or even some prepaid plans), there are no additional perks or extras.
With TextNow, the tradeoff to its free service specifically is the ad-supported app. The ads (which only show up within the TextNow app) may be intrusive to some, although it’s important to note they do not show up in the weekly or monthly unlimited data plans.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Catches or Hidden Fees
As with most other phone service providers, Mint Mobile does not include all its extra fees in its sticker price. If you look at their Broadband Facts sheets for each plan, on top of the advertised price they will also add government fees, recovery fees, and taxes. Those shouldn’t add up to more than $10 overall but are worth noting when working on your budget. Otherwise, the most obvious catch to Mint Mobile’s low prices is the “new customer only” price that increases as soon as your bundled plan is up for renewal.
TextNow does not have any hidden fees. Whether you choose the $0 base plan, or any of the paid unlimited data options, there are no other fees or taxes included. The only catch, again, is the prevalence of ads in the app if you’re on the Free Flex Plan.
Compare Mint Mobile and TextNow Data Plans
Choosing either TextNow or Mint Mobile can help you lower your cell phone bill overall, but their offerings are significantly different enough that you should determine whether it’s overall affordability you’re looking for (TextNow) or convenience with added features, like mobile hotspot availability (Mint Mobile).
15GB
20GB
Unlimited
15GB: $60 | $150 | $240
20GB: $75 | $210 | $300
Unlimited: $90 | $210 | $360
15GB: $105 | $210 | $420
20GB $135 | $270 | $540
Unlimited: $120 | $240 | $480
Free calling to Mexico, Canada, and the U.K.
Unlimited Day (2GB high-speed)
Unlimited Week (5GB high-speed)
Unlimited Month (20GB high-speed)
Free Flex: $0
Unlimited Day: $2.99
Unlimited Week: $8.99
Unlimited Month: $35.99
Free calling & texting to Mexico and Canada.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Family Phone Plans
Mint Mobile has an overwhelming edge over TextNow when it comes to family phone plans, as TextNow does not offer any.
While Mint Mobile’s family phone plans are flexible in that they allow you to pick different data plans for each line (not forcing everyone on Unlimited), what they lack is a multi-line discount. Each line pays the regular price (both introductory and non), same as a single line would, with the “family plan” benefit of managing all the billing under one account.
Without the introductory pricing, you may find that other carriers’ family phone plans are cheaper and come with more perks.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Senior Phone Plans
Mint Mobile offers two of its plans – the 5GB and the Unlimited data plan – for customers aged 55+ with the added benefit of specialized customer support access to help with activation, transferring service, etc. The pricing of the plans appears to reflect the same “new customer” discount as a regular single line, so there isn’t a special discount for senior plans like many other supporting carriers offer.
While TextNow does not offer a senior phone plan directly, its affordable pricing and intuitive app-based service does lend itself well to seniors who just want basic phone service that works without paying for all the extras and perks.
Note that neither of these services have physical locations, so if hands-on customer support is crucial, these senior phone plans may not be for you.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Coverage & Network Performance
Both Mint Mobile and TextNow are MVNOs operating on two of the leading networks in the U.S. As MVNOs, they do not receive network priority over those networks’ postpaid services, meaning that during times of peak or busy usage (say, at a sports event in a major city), both Mint Mobile and TextNow customers could experience slower speeds.
That being said, Mint Mobile operates on T-Mobile's network, which has great 4G LTE and 5G coverage, and most recently jointly won (with Verizon) the Reliability Experience Award from OpenSignal’s latest 2025 update. To see how the coverage will hold up in your area, check out Mint Mobile’s coverage map.
TextNow operates on a leading 5G network, which has similar (or slightly broader) 4G LTE and 5G coverage. To see how the coverage will hold up in your area, check out TextNow’s coverage map.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Data Speed Performance
In terms of mobile data speeds, Mint Mobile’s broadband facts sheets show faster download speeds (79-357 Mbps) compared to TextNow’s (5-75 Mbps) as well as faster upload speeds (6-30 Mbps) compared to TextNow’s (1-15 Mbps). However, both carriers’ speeds are sufficient for data-heavy actions, including video streaming and video calling. If you’re planning on using your phone heavily for online gaming (multiplayer, specifically), then you may opt for Mint Mobile’s plans over TextNow’s.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Customer Service & User Experience
Neither Mint Mobile nor TextNow have any physical locations, so there is no in-person support available. Instead, Mint Mobile offers live chat support 24/7, or you can call their phone number at 1-800-683-7392 between 5 a.m. – 7 p.m. PST Monday-Friday. While that is a comprehensive support system, the reviews from real customers are hit-and-miss. Mint Mobile has a 3.3/5 rating on Trustpilot, with online reviews complaining of poor customer service with multiple calls to resolve the same issue, dropped calls, minimal follow-ups, and poor resolution time.
TextNow also offers live chat support, with an AI-help bot that’s available 24/7, and live support from human representatives that is available from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. EST daily. TextNow’s Trustpilot score is slightly more favorable, at 3.8/5, and real reviews tend to be positive when it comes to real troubleshooting support, with most complaints centring around a lack of resolution for TextNow accounts that have been disabled, or other similar terms & conditions-related issues.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Phone Compatibility & Deals
Both Mint Mobile and TextNow have BYOP (Bring Your Own Phone) support, where you can activate your own unlocked phone with one of their SIM cards. Note that TextNow does not currently support eSIM, so you will need to order a physical SIM card to activate your service with them.
TextNow also does not offer its own lineup of phones for purchase, while Mint Mobile does – both Android and iPhone. Their phone deals are not usually enticing, with the current best offer being $250 off a new Google Pixel 10 (still amounting to $1,029 sticker price).
In both cases, you’re better off finding the best unlocked phone deal and bringing it to the service you choose for the best economical choice. To bring your own phone to Mint Mobile, first check its compatibility on their online phone compatibility checker before purchasing a plan/SIM. To bring your own phone to TextNow, follow the same step and first check its compatibility on their online phone compatibility checker before purchasing a plan/SIM.
Mint Mobile vs. TextNow: Safety and Security
Both TextNow and Mint Mobile collect the standard personal data related to signing up for phone service: name, phone, email, billing and shipping addresses, logs and device details. They secure their customer passwords, and the credit card data isn’t stored on their servers for an extra measure of protection.
As with any service, you should take specific precautions to keep your account/phone safe: create a strong password for your account that is either changed every 6 months or backed up by a 2-factor authenticator, know how to spot and avoid phishing scams, and know how to spot and avoid SIM swap scams.
