Your Guide to Low-Cost Smartphone Plans
Prepaid mobile phone carriers are often much cheaper than the major cellular providers. This chart outlines various prepaid phone suppliers and plan details.
Smartphone Plans*
| Company | Sample Plan | Phone | Phone Price | Contract | Fine Print |
| Republic Wireless | $19/month unlimited calls, text, and data (only plan available) | Motorola Defy XT | $259 | No | Connects via Wi-Fi most of the time; uses Sprint network |
| Virgin Mobile | $35/month for unlimited data and messaging and 300 talk minutes | iPhone 4 and 4S; various Android phones | $40 to $450 | No | Plans as low as $20/month available; uses Sprint network |
| T-Mobile | $30/month for unlimited text and Web and 100 talk minutes | Various Android and Windows Phones handsets | $150 to $650 | No | First 5GB of data at up to 4G LTE speeds |
| MetroPCs | $40/month, unlimited talk, text, data with first 500MB at 4G LTE speeds; $50/month plan includes 2.5GB of data at 4G LTE speeds | Various Android models; one BlackBerry handset | $50 to $500 | No | Uses its own cell towers; currently merging with T-Mobile |
| Ting | Build-your-own plan: minutes + text messages + data | Various Android phones | $60 to $644 | No | Free hotspot and tethering; uses Sprint network |
| Company | Sample Plan | Phone | Phone Price | Contract | Fine Print |
| Straight Talk** | $45/month for unlimited phone, text, data | Various Android and other phones | $80 to $400 | No | Service offered by Tracfone; uses either AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, or T-Mobile wireless networks |
| Cricket** | $25/month for 300 phone minutes plus unlimited text and data (at 3G speeds); $50/month service plan with unlimited voice, text, data (full-speed data up to 2.5GB) | Android phones at $80 and up, iPhone 5 for $500 (in limited areas) | $69 and up | No | Subsidiary of Leap wireless; uses Sprint’s 3G network; limited 4G coverage |
| Tracfone | $10/month for 50 minutes plus text and Web | Various feature phones | $10 to $90 | No | Poor selection; mostly feature phones |
| Boost Mobile | $50/month for unlimited talk, text, Web (2.5GB of data at full speed, then drops to 256Kbps or less for rest of monthly cycle) | Various feature and Android phones | $30 (feature phones) to $330 | No | Subsidiary of Sprint; uses Sprint network; “Shrinking payments”: for every six on-time payments, Boost lowers monthly payment by $5 (to as low as $35/month with unlimited plan) |
| Net10 Wireless | $50/month ($45 with auto-refill) for unlimited talk, text, Web | Small selection of Android and feature phones | $30 (feature phones) to $350 | No | Tracfone brand |
*All prices and fees subject to change
**Prices and fees vary depending on location and availability of service