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Mint Mobile gives you some of the cheapest plans on the market
Mint Mobile
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Price: $15.00–$30.00/mo.
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Affordable data plans
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Reliable network
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Deprioritization
View Plans
Compare to competitors
By Brianne Sandorf
Feb 01, 2024
6 min read
Do you like low prices? Unlimited data? Ryan Reynolds? Then you and Mint Mobile are mint to be.
Mint Mobile took control of the affordable-wireless world with its $30 unlimited plan. In 2024, Mint Mobile offers the most value out of any cell phone carrier on the market and on T-mobile's network.
And if you love the family plan model of cell service, Mint now lets you add up to five lines to one account. You won't get any extra discounts with a family plan, but in some cases putting the entire family on Mint will be cheaper than opting for a bulk plan with some other carrier.
- Plans and prices
- Comparison
- Family plans
- Coverage
- Cell phones
- Customer service
- TLDR; recap
- Methodology
- FAQ
Pros
Truly unlimited data
Affordable plans
40GB of high-speed data
Cons
Deprioritization
Mint Mobile plans and prices
Mint Mobile offers four prepaid data plans ranging from 5GB of data every month to a true unlimited plan, where you don’t have to worry about extra fees.
You pay for your talk, text, and data three months in advance, but you get a better deal for it than you would if you paid for it as you went along. Prepaid phone plans have the same philosophy as buying in bulk at Costco.
Mint Mobile plans
We recommend the Unlimited Data plan
We think the $30 Unlimited Data Plan is Mint’s best cell phone plan. It’s exceptionally affordable and has truly unlimited data plus 40GB of premium data for your phone to gobble up.
You can upload, download, and stream with Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitch, and social media apps we’ve never even heard of. Go wild, go crazy, Mint doesn’t care.
Just know that deprioritization is A Thing. Mint Mobile piggybacks off of the T-Mobile network. So even with your tasty unlimited data, you might see your speeds go from running to crawling after 40GB because T-Mobile’s customers are the priority, not you. It’s one of the unfortunate drawbacks of Mint’s otherwise clever business model.
Have data left over each month?
Mint will actually help you save money each month by telling you to switch to a cheaper plan if you aren't using all your data every month.
We've never seen a provider actively help its customers downgrade their plans, and we're definitely not mad about it.
Does Mint Mobile have a hotspot?
Yes! You can use your Mint Mobile data to power a mobile hotspot on your smartphone.
All Mint Mobile plans come with hotspot capability. But the 4G LTE or 5G data that you use will be deducted from your normal data allotment, so be careful about how you use the hotspot. (It won’t be ideal for online gaming, for example.)
Those with unlimited data plans from Mint Mobile will have a hotspot data cap of 10GB. That should give you plenty of data for some casual web browsing, standard-definition streaming, or researching that final term paper you’ve been putting off.
How does Mint Mobile compare to other cell phone plans?
Mint Mobile offers some of the most affordable data plans in the industry right now, including one of the cheapest unlimited plans we've seen since Sprint died.
Honestly, if you compare each of Mint Mobile's four data plans with similar plans, Mint Mobile comes out on top. So let’s compare each Mint Mobile plan with the competition.
Comparing Mint Mobile Unlimited plan
Some carriers (like Visible and Boost Mobile) try to out-Mint Mint by offering discounts for the first three or six months. Those discounts bring those carriers’ prices below Mint’s, but only for a short period.
Mint vs other MVNOs
Mint's closest competitors are Visible and Tello, which also offer prepaid unlimited plans for super cheap.
Mint Mobile vs Tello and Visible
Visible offers a higher premium data cap for its unlimited Visible+ plan (50GB), but you'll pay $45 for it. Visible's $25 unlimited plan doesn't offer any premium data, so your unlimited data will be subject to throttling.
Tello's unlimited data plan is cheaper than Mint's, but you'll get 5GB less of premium data (35GB), and your speeds are throttled when it runs out.
While the prices are neck-and-neck, Tello might be a better choice for those interested in maximum monthly savings on an unlimited plan and don't mind dealing with slower speeds. And Visible is a great choice for users willing to spend more for faster speeds.
No matter which carrier you choose, you're getting an amazing deal compared to bigger carriers.
Mint, Tello, and Visible limited data plans
If you don't care about unlimited data, Mint, Tello, and Visible offer limited data plans at extremely affordable prices. Check it out below.
Throttling vs deprioritization
Mint Mobile deprioritizes data, while Visible and Tello throttle it. Deprioritization happens when a network (T-Mobile in Mint's case) prioritizes high-speed data for its own users over prepaid users when the network is busy.
Deprioritization isn't constant since it only happens when there are too many cell phones in one area competing for speeds. Throttling? That happens 24/7 after you hit your data cap. Throttling happens when a carrier deliberately slows your speeds after you hit your data cap.
Mint Mobile family cell phone plans
Mint Mobile's family plans won't get you any extra discounts, but you can enjoy the ease of up to 5 lines on one family plan account. So you can get your whole family on the service, but you won’t get any special discounts or benefits when you do. Even family plans with other MVNOs like Tello or Twigby won't give you a discount with your family plan.
Granted, the monthly price for unlimited data is already pretty cheap. But it would be nice if we could get that price even lower with a family plan.
If you want to get your whole family on a wireless plan, you might get a better deal with more perks from another provider.
Mint Mobile coverage
Because Mint Mobile uses T-Mobile’s network, you'll get the same T-Mobile coverage and data options. And lucky for phone users everywhere, T-Mobile offers one of the best networks in the country.
You shouldn't have to worry about T-Mobile coverage because it covers about 94% of the country. Chances are you’ll have coverage, but there are a few pockets where signal can get spotty—particularly in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West region. Make sure to find your city is covered in purple on the coverage map below for committing to a Mint Mobile plan.
Mint Mobile coverage through T-Mobile's network
Mint Mobile coverage through T-Mobile network cell phones and devices
Not every MVNO supports the latest devices, but thankfully Mint Mobile satisfies all of our tech-nerd needs.
With Mint Mobile, you can get the latest iPhone, Galaxy, One, or Pixel. Check out the top 10 most popular smartphones on Mint Mobile's network.
Mint Mobile cell phones and devices
And guess what? You don’t have to buy a new phone with Mint.
The Mint Mobile BYOP (Bring Your Own Phone) program means that you won’t spend tons of money on a Mint-compatible device, or buy a new phone case, or re-download all of your vacation photos from the cloud.
You’ll just switch out your old SIM card for a Mint SIM card.
The best cell phone deals right now
The Big Three mobile carriers—, T-Mobile, and Verizon—are all offering great deals on the iPhone 15 Pro right now.
Meanwhile, smaller MVNO carriers like Mint Mobile and Boost are offering deals on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, respectively.
Find these and other offers in our monthly roundup of the best cell phone deals.
Mint Mobile customer service
Mint Mobile really connects with its customers! It’s one of the most down-to-earth brands on the market, and it uses simple language and funny Ryan Reynolds ads to show that it gets its audience.
Why Ryan Reynolds?
At this point in this review, you might be wondering if we have a weird Ryan Reynolds obsession since we’ve mentioned him a few times. Actually, Reynolds is one of the owners of Mint Mobile.
Mint has also shown great customer service in its day-to-day dealings with its customers. Many Mint Mobile customer reviews rave about how friendly and helpful the staff is when they’ve called with questions or issues.
Of course, there are negative reviews. Some users who went through Best Buy have tried Mint promotions and then not received the deals they signed up for. That’s not cool.
But overall, Mint seems to be one of those rare companies that excel at giving people what they want.
Recap: Is Mint Mobile a good mobile provider?
In our Mint Mobile review, we found that Mint offers some of the most impressive and cheapest unlimited data plans we’ve seen.
Your data speeds and coverage can vary, but your price will stay the same. If the latter matters to you more than the former, Mint Mobile makes a lot of sense for wireless users looking for a bargain.
- Cell phone plans: All of Mint Mobile’s plans include unlimited data. The only difference is your high-speed data cap. The higher tier of the plan, the higher your data cap, which means you’ll enjoy faster speeds.
- Family cell phone plans: Mint Mobile lets you add up to five lines to one account, but you won't get any special discounts.
- Cell phones and devices: Mint Mobile works with all the latest and greatest cell phones. It also offers an excellent BYOP program so you don’t have to buy an all-new cell.
- Customer service: Mint not only has low prices and stellar advertising, but many of its customer interactions are positive.
Methodology
To research for this review, we read the whole internet. Well, just the parts about Mint. That includes both Mint advertising campaigns, Mint web pages, and professional and customer reviews on lots of different sites. Plus, we compare similar carriers with comparable prices, speed, data, and perks.
And we joined forces with our buddies at WhistleOut to get detailed information about Mint Mobile’s plans and prices—and how they compare to other brands.
Mint Mobile FAQ
Questions about Mint Mobile? We'll be your crystal ball.
The simplest way to sign up for Mint Mobile is to click the “Go” button from the list of popular plans below. It only takes a few minutes to do, and you’ll have a Mint SIM card delivered to your door in just a couple of days.
Visit Mint’s website using your computer or mobile device. Then scroll down the page until you see Mint’s plan options.
Choose one of Mint’s cheap cell phone plans by clicking on the orange View Details button. This will take you to another page where you can see all of the features that come with the plan. Click the orange Add to Cart button to begin your purchase.
Next, you can either add more lines orProceed to Checkout. From there, just enter all your info andPlace Order.
Your SIM card (and phone if you bought one) will arrive in the mail just a few days after you complete your order.
Just insert the SIM card into your phone and then activate your service. To activate your plan, just enter the 11-digit code on the back of your SIM card using Mint’s activation website or the Mint Mobile app on your phone.
And that’s a wrap! You’re finished. Now you can get back to watching TikTok videos and playing Pokémon Go (or whatever it is you do on your phone).
MVNO stands for mobile virtual network operator. An MVNO uses other carriers’ networks instead of building its own.
Because an MVNO isn’t maintaining a network, it can sell its services at lower prices than other carriers. But sometimes, the MVNO’s users will be deprioritized in favor of the borrowed network’s customers. That can get frustrating for anyone using the MVNO.
Mint uses the T-Mobile network, so sometimes, Mint customers are deprioritized for T-Mobile customers.
Every Mint Mobile plan has both unlimited talk and text. You don’t have to forgo calling your grandma so that you can save up minutes for a chat with your long-distance partner. You can do both!
Mint is an online-based service with no storefronts. You can view all your account details yourself in the Mint app, and if you run into any issues, you can contact customer service.
It depends! Let’s go through it.
There’s all this talk about GBs, but what the h*ck does it mean? Which Mint Mobile plan size is going to work best for you?
Let’s put those GB numbers in context. For every hour of HD streaming you do on Netflix or YouTube, you spend about 1 GB of your data.
Allow us to be a little vulnerable with you and share the data usage of one of our writers, Tyler. You probably don’t have the same NBA Twitter addiction that he does, but then again, maybe you do?
Written by
Brianne Sandorf
Brianne has a degree in English and creative writing from Westminster College and has spent 6+ years writing professional, research-based content. Before joining Reviews.org, she wrote safety and security content for ASecureLife.com. Her pieces and quotes are published across the web, including on MSN.com, Social Catfish, and Parents.com. Hobbies include wearing a seatbelt, wearing a life jacket, and keeping her arms and legs inside the ride at all times. Contact her at brianne@reviews.org.
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