For those of you who have overcome those evil forces to arrive here, we welcome you and hope you can find the information you seek. In the meantime, we are pondering how to counteract The Forces and become relevant again. We do it for enthusiasts like you. If we have lost our way, we're hoping we can eventually get back on the right path. In the meantime, here's looking for you, kid.
We still apply 10 Gb as "Average" data usage and some prepaid carriers miss the mark by not offering that level of data at a good price. Some prepaids now offer more data but raised the price. Generally, prices have fallen for the same amount of data. Specially noted is the 10Gb US Mobile Unlimited Flex plan that is now offered at $17.50 per month, but you need to pay for a year in advance. For us, paying a year in advance kinda defeats the purpose of prepaid. Sorry, we want to escape if things go sideways.
Intriguing are the variable plans from Mobile X, Google Fi and Consumer Cellular. However, on the surface, these variable plans don't appear to ever drop you to a cheaper plan. Not because they always push you to a more expensive plan, but because they generally have more expensive plans or fees than average. Perhaps another gimmick gone awry.
Keep in mind, the prices shown on the Prepaid Price Chart are what you'll pay after any promotional period. One company now offering a a great promotion is the Visible $5 off per month for a year (or longer): $20 a month for unlimited data, and we can leave when we want.
Consumer Cellular is actually one of our more expensive Prepaids, mainly due to their extra fees tacked on to look like they're government-mandated. They have the reputation as being focused on seniors, but all of us Gen X, Y, & Z's can benefit from it too. We're not real happy with being slipped automatically into a higher-priced tier if we go over our Data allotment, but that also allows us to sit at a lower-priced plan and be pushed into the higher-priced plan we should have been on, anyway.
Personally, Consumer Cellular terminated their discount relationship with us but we still include them in our Prepaid universe, mostly due to this foreign roaming advantage. So this is not an "influencer" article, this is just our experience over the last 6 months of international travel. There are a few prepaids that are a bit more reasonable, but their roaming charges are at a fixed rate, so Consumer Cellular's charges for roaming per Call/Text/Mb can be a real bargain. Our last roaming trip to Mexico resulted in only $2 of additional charges! However, we overlooked the fact that if you use foreign data, you can easily go over your normal monthly allotment. Weeee, up we went to the next price tier, but it's still OK.
There are numerous legal challenges being made to these aggressive T-Mobile moves, but you can do something about it right now. We have composed a list dedicated just for wireless users who want to use the T-Mobile network, and their existing T-Mobile phone, but without dealing with T-Mobile directly. These are Prepaid carriers, and they may be easier to deal with than T-Mobile themselves. From the OZ Wireless T-Mobile alternative page, we have several great choices that use the T-Mobile network:
Like it is for most other families, our home phone has become almost redundant, but how many of us hesitate letting go of the home phone number and completely eliminating the security of a communications device in nearly every room in the house? Yes, I realize there are many households who never had it to begin with.
Now that VOIP is no longer the lowest-cost alternative to the landline, we have returned to the home phone savior of last decade, the Wireless Home Phone. Now that US Mobile is offering their wireless home phone for only $10 a month, all these old but still cool cordless phones around the house are back in touch, if for no other use than as a cell phone finder.
This is in stark contrast to the postpaid plans the major carriers are selling, which, if they are not increasing the plan prices themselves, they are adding mysterious charges and fees. Many of the differences relate to the phone you get with your plan and what you pay for it, which can be helpful, but there's still no free lunch. Expect more Prepaid prices drops before the end of the year. The best way to find them is to look for Prepaids that catch your attention and visit their site.
We also understand that few wireless customers want to bother changing plans, carrier or phones. If there is a small price difference, it's not a big deal. But have you considered that you could be paying half of what you're paying today? I bet you don't roll up to the highest-priced gas pump. Do you?
The reason this deal is of special interest is that Visible was recently featured on Mountain Prepaid as the BEST Prepaid for Unlimited Data. On top of that, Visible is one of the few prepaids that includes all taxes and fees. That could amount to as much 20% for those of us who live in high tax areas. While the discount is only for 3 months, it's a great way to get your feet wet with a good Unlimited prepaid plan, and be able to escape if it's not to your liking. Visible is now officially known as "Visible by Verizon" which reflects their relationship with Verizon which has good coverage and features.
There will be other great Holiday Prepaid deals and we might not catch them all. So if you're thinking of switching (to) prepaid, choose one from our Prepaid Reviews and see what they're offering in December. We both might be surprised.
This combination of factors kept me offline, or so I thought. Of course we could log in to the hotel's Wi-Fi and the occasional restaurant, but I really wanted my SIM. We hopped on the local bus to see if we could find a SIM shop open on the weekend and found that every city bus also has Free Wi-Fi which worked quite well. My wife's phone plan includes Wi-Fi Calling so she was not only online almost everywhere, she could make calls and texts as well as she does at home. Without Wi-Fi Calling, I normally use my Google Voice app to make calls and texts. I found a shop on a Saturday with a lady with limited English skills, but, oops, forgot my passport.
This experience with so much widespread foreign Wi-Fi, took the pressure off finding a SIM, although I finally scored one Monday morning. The experience reminded me that many of the rules in Europe have changed and it's no small deal that almost any cellular service in Europe roams freely anywhere else in Europe. Had I remembered this I would have spent more time finding a SIM during my layover in Germany knowing that a German SIM would work equally well in Greece, or Spain, or most of Europe.
This one of the reasons why we give extra credit for US carriers that offer Wi-Fi Calling that works universally, both on our Prepaid Reviews and our Roaming Zone pages. There are also now several Prepaid carriers that readily roaming in most of the developed world with few or no roaming charges.
As we noted on Mountain Prepaid Reviews, US Mobile appears in more than one of our Prepaid "BEST OF" categories. We have used US Mobile in previous years with positive results and it appears they have improved since then. US Mobile is a great alternative for people who have decided not to stay with the TracFone Prepaids which have required a change of networks.
This pretty much assures that you'll always have good 5G coverage, and if 5G isn't available, the best of 4G LTE on one of the partner networks. There are plans from other carriers that will access roaming partners, but not roaming on major networks and not within the main carrier's service area. Verizon once had a plan that if your phone lost Verizon coverage, it would roam automatically on Sprint. Verizon found their customers would roam on Sprint far more often than they expected, so they slowly began to roll back where roaming on Sprint would occur.
Now, with Boost Infinite, and your 'Smart Network' iPhone, you could get a strong Boost 5G signal at work, but you live out in the suburbs where there is no Boost coverage, so your phone automatically switches to, say, AT&T. Then you head to the fitness club where there is no Boost coverage and no AT&T coverage. No problem. Your Boost Infinite phone seamlessly switches over to T-Mobile, which just happens to have strong coverage at the fitness club.So go ahead and revel in your 'Latest iPhone Every Year' status, but also enjoy the best of 3 major networks wherever you go. (BTW, we were not compensated for this post)
Boost Mobile has introduced a really cheap plan, $10/month for 2GB Data and Unlimited Talk & Text. I've looked for gotchas on this plan but can't find any. They'll send you a SIM for FREE and it appears that once you get this plan it doesn't expire. My kid is in Wi-Fi coverage all day so doesn't mind the 2GB limit and at this price he can pay for it by himself.Net10
By now you know that Verizon has discontinued Net10 as a prepaid carrier. We're not sure what will happen to existing Net10 customers, but they are being directed to move to Simple Mobile instead. You may need a new phone or a different choice if your phone is not compatible with Verizon. Simple Mobile is a good choice and has better features than Net10. You can also choose Tello which has lower prices, and also uses the Verizon network.
GoSmart
GoSmart has been a carrier to avoid from day one. Their downloads are limited to 3G speeds (with the exception of Facebook access). Their roaming and price advantages just don't make up for that speed limitation. Even their web site is difficult to access. You're advised to switch to a Prepaid that has 4G LTE and 5G coverage which would be Simple Mobile which has the same Latin America roaming capabilities, or Tello which has lower prices. If you
Page Plus
We always liked Page Plus because they had rock-bottom prices and used the Verizon network. But Verizon hasn't promoted anything about Page Plus, so we will guess it too is headed for the chopping block. We don't see a need to escape from Page Plus just yet, but you'd be more confident about the future if you moved to prepaid like Visible which has the lowest price that includes Unlimited Data, on the Verizon network, or Tello which has lower prices and lets you escape the Verizon family of prepaids.
Walmart Family Mobile
Walmart's Family Mobile web site says it is still "powered by T-Mobile", although coverage for new Family Mobile customers use the Verizon network. Does Verizon still want to handle these customers for Walmart or do something else with them? Straight Talk was to be the 'official' Walmart carrier so what is the need for Family Mobile? This one is less obvious. Verizon could sell it to somebody else or just bring new Family Mobile customers onto the Verizon network and let Walmart do all the rest of the work. Since Walmart sells phones and service from all the other carriers, what's the advantage?
Verizon Prepaid
Verizon's own Prepaid is a high quality choice and they offer all of the advantages of the Verizon network but with none of the savings. If you truly are credit-challenged, you might benefit from Verizon 's own prepaid, but there are better alternatives. Besides, Verizon is already prepaid-heavy so why not get one that saves you the most money? Which one? Check out Visible who just recently lowered their price for Unlimited Talk, Text & Data.
What to Do?
Are you using one of these Prepaid carriers and want to switch? If you have a Verizon-compatible phone you have easy choices. In addition to the alternatives listed above, Visible is one of the best Verizon prepaids. For those of us who have a phone that is limited to a different network, like T-Mobile or AT&T, or if you want to get a new Prepaid phone, we highly recommend Boost Mobile. Boost gives you the best of AT&T and T-Mobile coverage at lower prices than the above carriers, and may eventually access Boost's own all-5G network. Another top choice is US Mobile. It's good for T-Mobile compatible phones, with great prices and international roaming capabilities.
Visible has officially dropped the rate on their regular plan. Originally priced at $30/month, it's now $25 a month, taxes & fees included, for Unlimited Data, Talk, Text and Hotspot. It appears Visible has finally realized they were a bit overpriced and yet wants to ensure they offer a simple, fundamentally accessible and audaciously inclusive product. That means no more requiring port-in, using a code, or acting within a promotional window to get the rate.
The Visible+ plan will remain $45 a month and still includes 5G Ultra Wideband access, 50 GB of premium network experience, roaming coverage in Canada & Mexico, and global calling to 30+ countries. When users bring their own phone to the Visible+ plan in August they are also eligible for a Wireless Noise exclusive discount of $10 off/month with code VISIBLE35!
Visible uses the Verizon network and is one of the few Prepaids that now includes taxes and fees, and have now qualified for placement into our Prepaid Price Chart.
For $55 per month, which may be more or less than what you're paying now, it should improve service for those AT&T customers who are limited to those slow DSL internet connections. Downloads speeds are expected to be 100 Gb+. In those areas of the country where AT&T provides wired internet access, there may also be room for new Wireless Internet customers. So, if you or your neighbors get AT&T Internet at home, you may be able to switch today. Hopefully, they will offer it to the rest of the country when they can finally make enough 'boxes'.
We have 2 pages with details and comparisons of the various Wireless Home Internet options:
Straight Talk, one of our most popular Prepaids, is now offering discounts for 2, 3 and 4-line plans. The problem? For now, this is just a promotion and expires on October 22, 2023. This is offered by so many other Prepaid carriers, I can't help think Straight Talk would keep it. These plans include all the same benefits as the $45 Silver Unlimited plan, but at a bigger discount and this offer is available to new and existing customers. If you've been considering adding or starting multiple Straight Talk lines, go ahead and do it now.
Here are the new plan discounts, available today:
We looked at dozens of Prepaid wireless offers to settle on about 10 plans that will satisfy the needs of most users who are moving from expensive 'regular' plans to budget plans. Our price review eliminated several carriers that claim to be "low-cost", but aren't really. A few high points are from Boost Mobile who offers a great combination of Data and features starting at $15, and US Mobile who offers price points at $15, $20, $25 and $30. Remember, each of the plans shown have 'Unlimited' Talk, Text and Data, with the difference being the amount of High-Speed Data included.
We still show a few low-priced plans ($10!) for those of us who may be within range of free Wi-Fi most of the time and only need 1 Gb of Data. Visit our new Prepaid Price Chart and keep it real.
