The cheaper “Unlimited” tiers offer unlimited talk and text. But they still have rules about how much unlimited data you can get before they throttle your speed, and some “unlimited” plans may cap your data at any time. Data throttling is the practice of reducing your data speed after reaching a certain limit of data used in a month or during times of congestion. This has been the basis of cell service plans for years.
Below, I’ve highlighted what each major carrier offers for “unlimited” individual and family plans to help you figure out which unlimited plan is best for you and your budget.
Best Unlimited Plan Right Now: T-Mobile Experience More
T-Mobile Essentials, More Experiences, and Experiences Beyond Plans
Essential Plan (with autopay, not including taxes/fees): $60/month for 1 line | 2 Rows $90 | 3 Rows $90 | 4 rows $100 | 5 rows $125
Experience More (with AutoPay, not including taxes/fees): 1 line at $85/month | 2 Rows $140 | 3 Rows $140 | 4 Rows $170 | 5 rows $200
Beyond Experience (with autopay, not including taxes/fees): $100/month for 1 line | 2 Rows $170 | 3 Rows $170 | 4 Rows $215 | 5 rows $260
T-Mobile has the best 5G coverage, highest 5G speeds, fastest downloads, and best overall reliability among the Big Three, according to analysis from OpenSignal and Ookla. The carrier also claims to win on value when you take into account features including entertainment bundles, airplane WiFi, and access to satellite data in case of emergencies.
T-Mobile has re-branded its unlimited offerings this year, but still offers three unlimited talk and text plans: Essential, Experience More, and Experience Beyond. Only two Experience plans offer true unlimited 5G data without any throttling or deprioritizing (ie, making your phone queue for data behind other, more important phones during peak demand).
If cost is more important to you than perks, and you don’t travel internationally a lot, essential planning We recommend this to people with large families. It’s no frills, just a phone ma’am, no subscription money spent on streaming services or international carrier fees. If you’re a laptop warrior your hotspot is limited to 3G speeds, which is an important consideration for many, and video streaming is 480p. But at its price point, Essentials is the only plan to offer premium data (up to 50GB) that won’t be throttled. If you have home WiFi, that 50GB should be enough for most people. Plus, it’ll teach your teen how to budget, and how to ask for the WiFi password instead of using their data. But keep in mind: data will be so slow in Canada and Mexico that you might as well have an old flip phone.
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