When choosing phone carrier for yourself and your family, what features do you consider most important? Marketing race gives customers a chance to find better deals for reasonable money — if you know what you are chasing for. We’ve studied main features of leading US carriers (including low-cost ones) to see what they offer in 2019.
Verizon: speedy & friendly
Verizon’s cheapest Go Unlimited plan offers unlimited talk and text, as well as 4G LTE data. The price is $75-a-month for a single line, and it gets cheaper as you add more lines; 4 lines will cost $160 ($40 per line). However, there are restrictions of 480p video streaming resolution and the possibility of a slower data speed in case there's a lot of traffic on Verizon's network.
A $85 Beyond Unlimited plan includes 22GB of LTE data, 720p HD video streaming and a free Apple Music subscription. With $95 Above Unlimited plan you get 75GB 4G LTE data, 20GB hotspot data, 500GB cloud storage and perks for your travels. Selecting any unlimited plan at Verizon, you can use talk, text and data when traveling in Canada and Mexico.
For the customers who don't need unlimited, Verizon offers a $55-a-month plan with 5GB data. This option is only available for those who use just one phone on Verizon's network. Unused data from current month will be transferred to the next one. If you don’t want to be charged fees for going over your data limit, you can enable Safety Mode feature, which will automatically reduce your data speed.
Verizon is being considered the leading carrier in terms of network speed. According to various speed tests, it shows the fastest LTE performance in most U.S. regions. You can download a regular app within less than half a minute on average.
Verizon plans to deliver 5G in 30 cities by the end of 2019. It has already launched the 5G service in Chicago and Minneapolis on April 11. Next 20 cities to get 5G will be Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Des Moines, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Little Rock, Memphis, Phoenix, Providence, San Diego, Salt Lake City and Washington DC. Unlimited 5G data will cost $10 per month on top of any Verizon’s standart unlimited data plans.
However, you need to have a phone that supports 5G to use the network’s benefits. Verizon exclusively offers Moto Z3, which also requires a Moto Mod add-on in order to connect to 5G where it’s available. Samsung Galaxy S10 5G will be a Verizon exclusive before other US carriers start selling it.
It also remains the only carrier which sells Google's Pixel phones directly. Verizon offers appealing deals for Google Pixel 2 XL and 3 XL, along with latest smartphone models like iPhone XS and XR, Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and LG G8 ThinQ.
Carrier’s support is also worth noting. Customers are happy with its service getting all sorts of high-quality tech support via their website, social networks, online tools and over the phone. You will be impressed by its device simulator which helps you figure out how to use your smartphone.
T-Mobile: unlimited & travels
T-Mobile is the best choice if you want to use unlimited data for reasonable money. A $70 T-Mobile One unlimited plan offers you limitless LTE data, and the speed might only reduce in case you go beyond 50GB during the month. You can watch 480p video, however, you can pay additional $15 per month to upgrade to T-Mobile One Plus and watch HD.
Both plans are perfect for travelers. T-Mobile One and One Plus offer unlimited text and 2G data in 210 countries. You get limitless talk and text and up to 5GB of 4G LTE data in Canada and Mexico.
T-Mobile’s 4-line family plan will cost $160 ($40 per line) with Netflix subscription included.
The carrier offers special pricing for customers aged 55 or older. Unlimited talk, text and LTE data cost $70 per month for 2 lines ($35 per line). 55+ plan includes all other perks of T-Mobile One and One Plus. Military and veteran families can enjoy all benefits of unlimited plans with 20% to 50% discount. All prices already include fees and taxes, so you won’t see them added on top of the plan in the end of month.
When it comes to 5G, T-Mobile is actively working on its network to provide decent coverage in the US. Carrier promised not to raise the prices, keeping it as low as $70 for T-Mobile One unlimited plan. The company plans to merge with Sprint to combine forces and use joint technological resources to have “the nation’s highest-capacity network”.
T-Mobile sells popular smartphones from Samsung, Apple, LG, along with a good amount of devices for less than $300, and T-Mobile branded Revvl and Revvl Plus. It was the first American carrier to offer OnePlus 6T. T-Mobile has decent limited-time deals for latest models like iPhone XR or Samsung Galaxy S10 under trade-in conditions.
When you need help with your device or plan, you can contact T-Mobile customer support via online chat, social media or simple phone call, and get necessary information fast. You can manage your account, check your data usage and ask for help on T-Mobile’s website using your personal ID.
What’s unique about T-Mobile? It contrasts to its rivals by outstanding perks. T-Mobile Tuesdays app allows customers get free prizes and discounts every week. You can also earn 4% interest each month with T-Mobile Money program if you deposit at least $200 in checking account and register for perks.
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AT&T: future of 5G & customer support
AT&T is known for its solid network performance and customer service, however, it cedes Verizon and T-Mobile with plan features. A $70 Unlimited & More and $80 Unlimited & More Premium plans both include unlimited talk, text and data, and free access to 35+ TV channels. Premium plan offers HD video streaming, 15GB of LTE hotspot data and allows you choose one of entertainment perks like HBO, Showtime, Amazon Music and others. Unlimited & More will cost $160 for family of 4 ($40 per line) versus $190 ($45 per line) for Premium.
AT&T doesn’t have much to offer for travellers with the only option for talk, text and data in Canada and Mexico that Unlimited & More and Unlimited & More Premium plans provide. You can pay $10 for the International Day Pass, but the catch is that it doesn’t work in all areas.
If for some reason you don’t want to go unlimited, pick $50 3GB or 9GB $60 AT&T Mobile Share Plus plan. The carrier won’t charge you extra fee for going beyond data limits, but the speed will be reduced.
AT&T keeps showing good results of various LTE speed tests with second-fastest download speed and the best responsiveness among carriers. You can download an average app within just 35 seconds.
In December 2018, AT&T launched its 5G Evolution (or 5GE), which is technically an advanced version of LTE. It is not much different from 4G LTE, however, it is supposed to help customers move to 5G when everything is ready. Meanwhile, AT&T has already launched real 5G network in 19 cities, but as we mentioned above, only couple of smartphones will be able to support it this year.
AT&T currently has special offers for iPhone 7, Samsung Galaxy S10e and LG G8 ThinQ. Most flagships are presented in their online-store, as well as their previous models for reasonable prices, and AT&T’s exclusives LG X Venture and BlackBerry KeyOne. You can find special offers for iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy S9 and Razer Phone 2, or pre-order Samsung Galaxy Fold.
AT&T provides fast and helpful customer support online and over the phone. It gives you an opportunity to manage your account and check your data on the website. Recently they rolled out a new automated system of phone support, which sometimes leads to issues with getting precise information. However, this still doesn’t make AT&T’s customer support worse, as they do provide help in a short time.
Sprint: cheap unlimited
Sprint offers the cheapest unlimited plans among Big Four carriers. Its $60 Unlimited Basic plan includes 500MB of LTE hotspot data and has a restriction of 480p video streaming. However, if you pay additional $10 and go for Unlimited Plus plan, you get full HD streaming and 15GB of hotspot data — for the same money that you’d pay for basic unlimited plan, let’s say, with T-Mobile. Sprint’s Unlimited Basic plan will cost $140 for four lines ($35 per line).
Sprint’s $90 Unlimited Premium plan offers nice perks of Amazon Prime membership and Lookout mobile security service, along with 50GB of LTE hotspot data. You can also use unlimited data in Canada and Mexico. For travels to other countries, Sprint Global Roaming offers free text and 2G data for most regions.
Sprint keeps improving its network performance and raising the speed, but it’s still behinв other Big Four carriers. The 4G availability is good and pretty close to AT&T’s results though. Sprint announced its plans to launch 5G network in Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Kansas City, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix, and Washington D.C. this year.
Sprint offers major flagship smartphones, along with their previous generations. You can find Samsung Galaxy S8, HTC U11, Moto E4 Plus with a really long-lasting battery life, and LG V30, which you can find as Sprint’s V30+ version with 128GB of storage versus 64GB. Sprint also has good deals for pre-owned phones, which are significantly cheaper.
The carrier’s customer support is not that impressive being compared to its rivals. You can get necessary information over the phone, but don’t be surprised if the answers are not too accurate. Nonetheless, online support works better; you can use online chat and get pretty fast reply. You can also find almost any information on your issues at Sprint support web page, sorted into Account and Billing, Connectivity, International and Device categories.
Metro by T-Mobile (former MetroPCS)
Metro customers are happy with T-Mobile’s fast and reliable network, and moreover with really cheap prices of the discount carrier. A $40 plan offers 10GB LTE data, unlimited music streaming and 2GB hotspot data with additional $5 a month. If you need unlimited data, pick $50 plan with 5GB of LTE hotspot data and 100GB of Google One cloud storage included. Upgrade to $60 unlimited plan to get 15GB LTE data and Amazon Prime membership on top of all other benefits. Unfortunately, there is no way you can upgrade 480p video streaming. Every additional line will cost $30, and this means you’ll have to pay at least $140 for 4-line unlimited family plan, which is still a reasonable price.
Metro offers a decent variety of smartphones even being a discount carrier. You can find most popular flagships, and go for special offers for LG K20 Plus, ZTE Avid 4 and others.
Metro’s customer service includes online support, social media and automated phone system. The website has virtual chat, user guides for different models of smartphones, as well as order tracking and common FAQ.
If you want perks, Metro offers some — and they reflect T-Mobile’s love for travels. You can add unlimited calling in either Mexico or Canada for additional $5 per month. Unlimited Canada package offers LTE data while traveling in Canada and limitless texting. $10 World Calling package provides unlimited calls to 75+ countries and 200 minutes of mobile calling in certain countries. Overall, Metro can be considered the fastest discount carrier repeating T-Mobile's decent network performance.
Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile is a discount carrier which uses Sprint's network and shows the same performance at this point. For $35 you get 3GB of LTE data monthly and an opportunity to stream music from six different services. A $50 unlimited plan includes 8GB of LTE hotspot data, but has restrictions for video, music and game streaming. A $60 Unlimited Plus plan includes HD video streaming, and 20GB of hotspot data. If you need unlimited talks and text to Canada and Mexico, you can pay additional $5 per month. It will also bring you 8GB of data while traveling in Mexico.
Boost Mobile is currently offering $80 unlimited plan with 40GB hotspot data, which allows international calls and gives the access to Tidal Premium subscription. Additional lines cost $30 each, and that is same minimum of $140 for unlimited family plan as Metro offers.
Boost Mobile offers a good variety of smartphones under $300, as well as latest models of iPhones, Galaxy and Moto. Shoot for iPhone 8 or Galaxy S8 if you’re seeking lower prices, or check out the exclusive ZTE Max XL. If you expect to bring your device, you might get disappointed, since Boost uses CDMA network which might not fit your model.
Boost Mobile customer service offers contacting them using website (sadly there’s no online chat), Twitter and Facebook, and phone. Support page on the website includes decent guides and tutorials, so you can easily find necessary information about your device.
Cricket Wireless
Cricket Wireless is AT&T’s subsidiary, but it’s losing the network speed race with a result of 8 Mbps even being compared to its parent company. The exception of such speed limit is Cricket’s $60 unlimited plan, which allows LTE speed, but video streaming is only 480p resolution, which is no surprise at all.
The cheapest plan with speed and data limits will cost you $30 a month and includes 2GB of LTE data. A $40 plan offers 5GB of data. You get $5 discount for any Cricket’s plan when enrolling in autopay. The carrier also made an interesting move adding data only plans with no cellular network voice support. Plan with 3GB data is $25 a month, while 30GB costs $70 a month.
Cricket Wireless offers a decent amount of phones that cost less than $300 and gives good discounts when you switch from another carrier. You can find LG X Charge with 4,500 mAh battery, iPhone XR and XS, as well as Cricket exclusive Alcatel Idol 5 and ZTE Blade X Max.
Cricket Wireless provides a solid customer support giving quick responses and as much detail as possible when you need their help, no matter if it’s online or phone call. You can also find all sorts of information about your device, instructions and manuals on Cricket’s support page.
Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile is an iPhone-focused Sprint subsidiary, which matches the company’s network performance just like Boost does. It offers $35 plan with 5GB of data or 10GB for $45 a month. Virgin has a $60 unlimited data plan with 480p video and music and games streaming restrictions, which are pretty unusual for discount carriers’ $60 plans.
You can pay additional $5 a month to get unlimited calls to Mexico and Canada and unlimited text messaging to any country. A $10 add on offers the same plus unlimited calls to landlines in 70+ countries and 200 minutes to mobile numbers in 50+ countries.
Virgin Mobile offers various iPhone models including latest iPhone XR and XS. Despite being iPhone-oriented, the carrier added several Android phones to stock. You can find Moto G6 Play, Moto E5 Play and Samsung Galaxy S10e.
Virgin Mobile does not provide online chat support, and the customers often complain about lack of good advice during phone calls. However, the carrier’s website has a decent amount of helpful information and FAQs, and their support on Facebook replies fast enough.
Which one is the best?
It’s totally up to you and depends on what features you need most and what amount of money you are ready to pay monthly. Most carriers allow customers to mix and match options to get the most satisfying offer. The power of Internet makes the price vary according to the amount of data that the plans provide. However, if you’re looking for perks and decent international connection, check out one of Big Four carriers, since most discount carriers are simply not able to provide it due to low pricing.
