Which network has unlimited data
Firstly, being a smaller prepaid carrier means that your speeds will potentially get capped if you're in a high-traffic area, specifically because Verizon will prioritize its own customer service over those who use the network via a third party. Also hidden in the small print is the 5Mbps speed cap for mobile-hot-spotting, which means that while your usage is unlimited, you're not going to be getting those speedy 5G speeds if you're sharing your LTE connection.
Read more about this carrier in our Visible wireless plans guide. Alternatively, for those really on a budget, we'd recommend checking out Mint Mobile - a popular smaller carrier that has recently just added an unlimited option to its suite of excellent prepaid plans.
Mint Mobile operates a unique pricing scheme that offers the lowest rates for those customers who buy their data upfront for multiple months, with the lowest average rate being for those who buy a whole year at once. This slightly offsets that prepaid advantage of not having lengthy contracts, but it does mean Mint can offer dirt-cheap plans all around.
No credit checks either, as you're buying in an upfront purchase. That said, compared to the Visible, Mint Mobile's unlimited data plan is definitely more restricted. After 35GB of usage, for example, the service will cap out at just kbps speeds, which is just about enough for light browsing, but not much more.
Mobile Hotspot allowance is also capped at just 5GB a month, which is much less than most unlimited plans - including Visible. Read more in our guide to this month's best Mint Mobile plans. Both are also strong choices, although the included subscriptions are slightly cheaper by themselves, and the T-Mobile plan specifically has data speed caps after 40GB of usage per month.
No list of the best unlimited data plans would be complete without T-Mobile's offerings, and we think this carrier's family plan options are particularly good if you happen to have a set of particularly data-hungry family members. The standard T-Mobile Magenta plan is already quite good value by itself as a single plan, however, the savings really start when you start to add multiple lines since the carrier throws in the third line for free.
For the price, you're getting GB of priority 5G data, a free Netflix Basic subscription standard definition, 1 screen , and unlimited data hotspotting - albeit at 3G speeds only after you've used your first 5GB of 5G data.
Those are great perks, although the main selling point here is definitely that incredibly competitive pricing for the T-Mobile Magenta plan after three or more lines are added. When considering what carrier to go for and which unlimited data plan is best for you, we strongly recommend you first determine what you value the most in the plan - cost, speed, coverage, and perks being the most commonly used criteria.
Cost is definitely the easiest criteria to start with - simply determine your upper budget each month and browse away. Remember, however, to factor in the cost of your handset alongside your plan as that can really depend heavily from carrier to carrier.
Most of the bigger prepaid carriers, for example, may offer deals on handsets alongside their unlimited data plans, which could really help you bag a flagship device for cheap if that's important to you. Unlimited data is great because you never need to worry about overspending or running out of data as you endlessly use up loads of the stuff. We have hand-picked the best value unlimited data SIM deals available on the market right now. We've only included deals with no speed restrictions, and the majority also come with 5G included.
View Deal. They offer even more flexibility and don't require a credit check, but you will have to pay a little more than a pay monthly plan. Currently they offer three unlimited data SIM plans, two of which are on month contracts and one of which is on a month plan. They come with 5G data, and unlimited minutes and texts, with the main difference between them being whether you get zero, 1 or 3 Smart Benefits included, with the month plan not including any. Those who have multiple plans on their account can also gift up to GB of data per month to another EE plan or GB if you have a 5G Smart handset plan , which is good for those with children who run out of data.
There is a small premium to pay for choosing EE, but the network offers higher average speeds and has more widespread coverage than its rivals. There are some slight fair usage terms though, which you can see in the chart at the end of this article. O2 was the last of the major networks to begin offering unlimited data, but unlimited data is now available on SIM Only and Pay Monthly handset plans.
There are no speed restrictions and all of O2's unlimited plans come with 5G data included. Free data roaming in Europe has a 25GB limit per month, however some plans also let you roam further afield. Plans also include unlimited tethering, so you can share internet with other devices over a personal hotspot. There are no speed restrictions on Three's unlimited data plans, and you can tether as much data as you like.
All plans are also 5G ready at no extra cost, so you can enjoy superfast speeds when 5G comes to your area. Data roaming also comes at no extra cost on all plans until May 23rd, , and covers 71 worldwide destinations in Europe and beyond. Plus, free roaming is being removed on May 23rd, — though customers who signed up for a plan or upgraded before October 1st, , will keep this perk for the duration of their contract. Beyond these roaming restrictions there is currently no fair usage policy for unlimited data on Three.
The network used to mention a GB monthly soft cap which is still far more than most people would ever use , but reference to this has been removed. Vodafone also offers unlimited data SIM Only and phone plans including the option for unlimited 5G data. A choice of 3 plan types are available, each of which offers different maximum download speeds.
Unlimited Lite plans offer max download speeds of 2Mbps fast enough to browse and stream music , Unlimited plans offer speeds up to 10Mbps fast enough to stream HD video , and Unlimited Max plans offer the maximum available speeds with no restrictions, and are the only ones able to benefit from 5G speeds.
Vodafone Unlimited Lite plans. Max download speed 2Mbps. Vodafone Unlimited plans. Max download speed 10Mbps. Vodafone Unlimited Max plans. Entertainment packages are also available on Pay Monthly with a handset. Vodafone now also has an unlimited Pay As You Go plan. The plan is available on a month contract and includes unlimited minutes and texts.
It also includes free roaming in Europe up to 50GB and tethering. If the network is congested, customers who have already used up at least 35GB of data in a given month may experience reduced speeds. It also includes a subscription to Amazon Prime.
Cricket is also a good option for folks looking for unlimited data plans. It also offers unlimited texting to 37 countries and unlimited calling and texting to and from Mexico and Canada. You can stream video at up to p resolution and use 10GB of mobile hotspot data per month. It also includes a 15GB mobile hotspot. However, Project Fi will now stop charging customers if they go over 6GB of data a month.
The only catch is that Project Fi customers who use more than 18GB of data in a month could have their speeds slowed down. Recently, Google Fi introduced a second unlimited plan as well. Taxes and fees are not included in these prices. They include unlimited data, calls, and texts in the US, free calls to 50 countries and territories, and unlimited data and texting abroad in countries.
In addition, Google Fi unlimited plan customers can also get free GB of cloud storage via Google One, special discounts for other Google products, and more. Google states that download speeds may slow down if customers exceed 22GB of data before their monthly billing period ends.
Also, at times video streaming quality may be cut down to p. You may already be familiar with US Mobile — which is not connected to US Cellular — because it offers very customizable plans.
Unlike some other prepaid unlimited plans, US Mobile has quite a few perks with its plan. If you add more than one unlimited line of service, US Mobile will let you pick your streaming perk from an impressively long list. Our own Andrew Grush gave Visible a shot, and you can read about his thoughts right here.
He found it to be a solid option and continues to recommend it to this day. Every carrier and its mother has an option to try, and the prices vary wildly. However, this section will hopefully give you an idea of a few more carriers to look into. Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile are two carriers that are bound by the same restriction — you have to be an internet customer before you can sign up for mobile service.
You can bring your own phone or grab a new one, though you ultimately may not save much money due to the internet plan requirement. You might ponder whether to buy an unlocked phone to bring to a network or to get one as part of your plan when you sign up. We can help you decide.
In general, a carrier phone — also known as a locked phone — is sold through a wireless carrier or a third-party partner of that carrier such as Best Buy , for example. When you buy the phone, it is already attached to your wireless account or will immediately attach when you first set it up.
This lockdown can be removed, but there are usually significant requirements involved. But it is also just about the most feature-packed option out there. Then there's the benefit of Verizon's impressive coverage and speeds as well helping to make this the best overall unlimited data plan. Pros: Excellent coverage, free streaming subscriptions, 5G access Cons: Not the cheapest. You get unlimited 5G data that makes use of Verizon's coverage and speeds, unlimited hotspot data and no caps on LTE speeds.
The other major benefit of Visible's unlimited plan is the 'Party Pay' setup. This allows you to cut down the cost if friends or families join a plan with you. All of the contracts will be separate and you each pay your own bill. Pros: Very affordable, 5G unlimited data, group paying scheme Cons: Not many added benefits.
While Magenta doesn't have quite as many features as the Verizon option above, it is cheaper and actually sees its best value when combined with other lines. Pros: Attractive perks, affordable price, benefits for additional lines Cons: HD video streaming costs extra. And for months where you know you won't use that much data, you can switch to by the gig pricing. However, this plan includes free access to the HBO Max streaming service, and you can stream in both HD and 4K at least in instances where the latter is supported.
The plan now features 40GB of hotspot data as well.