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ARTICLE TITLE: The best unlimited prepaid plans in 2024
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A quick glance at all the major prepaid and postpaid mobile service providers makes it clear that almost everyone offers unlimited data nowadays. To make matters even more confusing for the average customer,these plans can range in price from as little as $25 to as much as $100 or more.
How can there be such a wide price gap if all these plans offer the same thing? In short, they don't. The truth is that unlimited data means different things to different carriers. With no regulation around the term, providers define it though they want, sometiems stretching it so far that it's unlimited in name only.
Are there any truly limitless plans? not really. Even premium postpaid options often include throttling during congestion or streaming speed caps, though higher-tier plans may get better data priority or the option to bypass some limits.
The bottom line: no matter how a plan is advertised, there are always restrictions in the fine print. The term "truly unlimited" varies depending on who you ask. While some users expect no data caps at all, others look for UHD streaming or top-tier prioritization. A few carriers might allow massive usage before intervening, but even then, limits still exist in practice.
To simplify things, I'm going to break unlimited prepaid data plans into four categories:
High-priority unlimited data: These plans have no hard data caps and offer mid-tier or better postpaid-level priority. While speeds may slow during congestion, you're still above lower-tier users in the queue.
unlimited with limited high-priority data: You'll get high-priority speeds up to a certain cap (usually 30-60GB), after which you drop to lower-priority access - still unlimited, just slower during busy times.
Unlimited with no caps but low priority: There's no hard limit, but these plans have reduced priority compared to postpaid, so speeds may drop in crowded areas. Some users still call these "truly unlimited," though performance can vary.
Unlimited with caps: These plans typically throttle speeds after hitting a usage threshold (often 20-60GB). They're unlimited in name but behave like large data-limited plans.
major carriers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile each offer one or more postpaid plans that meet the "truly unlimited" bar above. But can prepaid match that? Let's explore the best prepaid options in each category.
SECTION: These prepaid plans are the closest you'll find to truly unlimited data
Below are prepaid plans that offer the closest experience to postpaid service, with minimal speed or latency restrictions. While these are typically the most expensive options in the prepaid world, they justify their price with higher network priority, fewer slowdowns, and overall better performance. This makes these plans ideal for those seeking a truly premium prepaid and unlimited experience.
That saeid, each plan has its pros and cons. All are still subject to deprioritization during network congestion,but you'll generally be closer to the front of the line compared to lower-tier unlimited plans.
Let's start with plans that offer truly unlimited data alongside high-priority access:
Visible Plus - $35/month: Includes truly unlimited high-speed data and unlimited hotspot throttled to speeds of 25GB.There's also a plus Pro tier for $10 more a month that adds higher priority streaming data and a few other extras like better international perks.
AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Max Plus - $65/month: offers unlimited data at QCI 8 (the same priority used by premium AT&T postpaid users), HD streaming, and 25GB of hotspot data. Upgrade to QCI 7 with the Turbo Upgrade.
T-Mobile prepaid Unlimited - $50-$60/month: All three T-Mobile prepaid plans offer high-priority data. The main difference is hotspot: 3G speeds on the base plan, 3GB high-speed on the mid-tier, and 10GB on the top tier. All include HD streaming. There's also family discounts, which can bring pricing down further per line.
US Mobile Unlimited Premium (Dark Star) - $44/month (currently $35): Unlimited high-priority data on the Dark Star network, with at least 100GB of hotspot before throttling. One of the best value "truly unlimited" options.There's also a limited-time promotion that brings pricing down to $35 a month on this tier.
Total Wireless 5G Unlimited & 5G Plus Unlimited - $50-$60/month (as low as $25/line with five lines): Offers Verizon postpaid-level priority, 15GB of hotspot access, international perks, excellent family discounts, and-on the Plus plan-unlimited hotspot and Disney+ Premium (no ads). Note: Streaming is capped at SD resolution.
Cricket Wireless Unlimited Plus - $60/month (as low as $32/line with five lines): Includes unlimited high-speed data on AT&T's network and the same priority as default AT&T mid-tier or higher plans. It also offers Max with Ads, international perks, 15GB of hotspot, and the option to disable HD streaming throttling via customer service. Also includes 150GB of cloud storage.
It's important to note that AT&T,T-Mobile,and Cricket also require you to pay taxes and fees in addition to the above pricing.SECTION: These are the next best, though you have limited priority data
One thing you'll notice is that most plans with unlimited higher priority data use Verizon's network, though there are a few exceptions. While unlimited priority data is great, these plans offer the next best thing. These plans give you a set amount of high-priority data before deprioritization, but with no hard data caps:
AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Max - $55/month: 50GB of high-priority data, then deprioritized speeds. Includes HD streaming and 15GB of hotspot data. Straight Talk Unlimited Platinum - $65/month: 60GB of high-speed data, then deprioritized. Includes 100GB cloud storage, international calling, and other perks.
Simple Mobile Unlimited platinum - $50/month: 50GB of high-speed data, then deprioritized. Includes 15GB hotspot and international calling.
Total by Verizon Unlimited - $50/month: 50GB of high-speed data, then deprioritized. Includes 10GB hotspot and Disney+ (with ads).
Boost Infinite Access for iPhone - $60/month: Unlimited talk, text, and data. 30GB of high-speed data, then speeds slowed to 512kbps. Consumer Cellular Unlimited - $55/month: Unlimited talk, text, and data. 50GB of high-speed data, then speeds slowed to 3G speeds.
