If you are thinking about saving some money this new year, switching to pay as you use phone plans can cut a good amount of cost. These pay as you use phone plans are quite cheaper than postpaid plans from the major carriers. Moreover, you don’t need to be stingy with data use.
The good thing is that the market has various options for the best pay as you use phone plans. Those plans are divided into several levels and prices considering what you need.
But, some trade-offs are unavoidable when you go for cheaper options. For example, the perks of these plans are nowhere near what is offered by large providers. Not to mention free subscription from various streaming platforms, even your data speed is limited while traveling to different parts.
Still, these are not something much to sacrifice when comes to reducing monthly bills. In this article, I will tell you some best pay as you use phone plans providers which you can consider taking. Anyways, before we start, I would like to tell you my best recommendations for you.
My Recommendation
Best Value: Mint Mobile is, depositing being new, getting a lot famous for their low-cost plans. Their pay as you go plans are also pretty cheap but offer a good value.
And, They are the first provider to introduce a different type of prepaid plan, which allows you to purchase a plan for longer than a month. And, as the longer the period is, the overall price goes cheaper.
Most affordable: If you are looking for the most affordable one, Gen Mobile is offering you that. Their plans start with only $9 each month. But, for that, you need to sacrifice a lot.
Moreover, Gen Mobile is a new name, and network connection stability isn’t ensured. But, the provider and its plans are excellent for seniors and kids.
Best Overall: For high-speed internet, large data caps, and various parks, you need to spend a little extra money. And, for those who are ready, AT&T has the best offer for them. The plan is expensive compared to other plans, costing $33 each month. But, what it is offering is also not comparable with the other plans.
Best Pay As You Use Phone Plans 2023
Now, let’s see the plans with some other considerable options in detail. Here I Highlighted all the pros and cons I found while testing. So, depending on your need, pick the best choice.
1. Mint Mobile – Best Value
As I said, Mint Mobile offers to pay as you go plans at a reasonable price but with good services. And, they were the first to offer month-to-month prepaid plans, which saves you more money with the more extended service you take.
Their prepaid plans start with a 10GB data plan, including unlimited text and call at only 20 dollar phone plan. But, the sad thing is, this plan is only for the first three months. After that, you plan to sign up for a three, six, or twelve months plan. The longer you sign up, the more discounts you get.
For the three-month plan, after the initial 3-months, you get 4GB per month with unlimited text and talk. The 4 GB data let you make WiFi calls and messages to Mexico and Canada without any cost. There is also free hotspot data with these plans.
To enjoy all these benefits, you need to pay $75 for three months, which means it costs $25/month. As you pay in advance, the cost per month goes down.
If you purchase the plan for six months, it will cost $120 ( $20 each month). And, for the longest time, you can pay for 12 months in one go and enjoy the plan at $15/month only.
Mint Mobile offers decent coverage and speed. The network runs delicately under the T-Mobile network; and, customers can fully utilize T-Mobile’s massive coverage and fast speed.
What Users Are Saying About Mint Mobile
Like every other thing in this universe, these plans from Mint Mobile also have both positive and negative sides. On the good side, you get huge benefits at a reasonable price. No other provider offers a more affordable plan for the first three months.
But, the data cap gets down after that, and you even need to pay more if you get the plan for another three months. Anyways, Getting 5G data at this low price is still a fantastic considerable option.
The opposing sides are that the plan gets more expensive after three months. And, you need to go with the six months or twelve months plans to keep the low price. And, during network traffic, your data will be deprioritized first.
When you go for a long-term plan, it’s likely to miss all the opportunities coming along the way.
But, still considering everything, you can make some adjustments for this great deal.
2. AT&T Month To Month Plan
AT&T is among the large carriers and also offers a decent prepaid deal for its customers. Usually, large providers don’t invest much in prepaid plans, leaving them to MVNOs. But, AT&T’s first time set up from the tradition and comes with a 12 monthly plan.
The plan is more expensive than the other plans in this list, but it also offers the offers among them. As you can expect from a large name like AT&T, they offer unlimited data, call, and messaging with their plan.
Yes, users get unlimited data; the first 8 GB is a high speed, prioritize data, and 3G data after the limit is reached. This cycle is reset every month till your contract date.
The traveler, who moves between the US, Mexico, and Canada, has good news. They don’t need to pay any additional fees for roaming. All the plans include international roaming between those countries.
Like the previous plan, AT&T’s plan was also divided into three different options. It costs $33/mo to get the plan for three months. And, it goes down up to 25 dollars per month on the 12 months pack.
What Users Are Saying About AT&T
I don’t think anybody has any issue with AT & T’s network coverage and internet speed as they are among the best in the country. And, the plan is also pretty satisfactory. It is acutely not too expensive (twelve-monthly plans) if you consider everything.
Very few providers offer unlimited everything at this price point, whether it’s MVNOs or major carriers. And, the best thing? The First 8 GB is high-speed data, and after that, you get unlimited 2G internet.
Without that, if you want, you can Stream videos at 4K. But, I don’t think this quality is suitable with this plan.
But, the plan is still expensive. If you are thinking about renewal every month, it will take a troll out of your pocket. On the contrary, twelve months is a pretty long time to stick with the same plan.
3. Gen Mobile
Gen Mobile is a less famous MVNO that specializes in low-cost prepaid family plans. The theme of their plan is low-price talk and message with little to no data. The operator is better for seniors.
Gen Mobile is also one of the simplest operators, in my opinion. You can buy a sim and start calling within ten minutes. And, you won’t even need anyone’s help to set up.
Although it’s not a famous operator, still, it offers a decent service. The voice calls are crystal clear and come with good coverage. The data it comes with isn’t much, but additional top-ups will be enough for mini downloads and browsing.
Gen Mobile uses Sprint’s 4G network unrestrictedly. As Sprint and T-Mobile merge, the coverage and internet speed will also get a massive boost for the MVNO.
Gen Mobile offers a plan only at $9 per month, including 300 minutes of talk, unlimited texts, and 1 GB of high-speed data. There isn’t anything attractive, but considering the price, you can say it’s pretty decent.
Without that, you can add some add-ons to your plan. The following add-ons are –
- Get 500 minutes at only $5.
- Get 500 MB at only $5.
- Enjoy international calling at some selected counties with $5.
What Users Are Saying About Gen Mobile
There isn’t much to tell about the plan. It’s a simple plan with clear voice calls and good enough internet speed. It goes perfectly with people who aren’t reliable on mobile internet. And, seniors are one among this list.
Still, the 1 GB data limit is too low for most of the users. And, an additional 500 MB which comes at $5, is too expensive. Other than that, it isn’t a bad deal if you have home internet and you work from home.
4. T-Mobile
Among the top carriers, T-mobile is known for its low-cost plans. You can also find cheap pay per use cell phone plan from them. And, the plan is different from what was discussed so far.
The biggest difference between the other plans and the T-Mobile plan is that – it’s a monthly plan. This means you pay per month and if you even pay for the whole year, there won’t be any additional discounts. However, the plan is among the lowest price points, only $15 per month.
This $15 monthly plan lets you unlimited calling, texting, and 2.5 GB of internet data. Moreover, you can spend the whole data on hotspots at full 4G LTE speed if you want to.
One interesting factor is, the monthly data cap gets a 500 MB boost each year for the first five years. That means you will get a 5 GB internet, unlimited talking, and texting at only $15 after five years.
The data is high-speed data, which means it won’t be deprioritized during network congestion.
If you know T-mobile, you may also know how broad their coverage and internet speed are. After merging with Sprint, T-Mobile has recently become the most significant 5G network in the USA. So, there shouldn’t be any anxiety with the network.
What Users Are Saying About The Plan
The users find both satisfactory and unsatisfactory factors with the plan. Firstly, the plan is among the inexpensive plans among the top carriers. And, if you compare it with price, you can get outstanding returns.
Moreover, T-Mobile’s 4G LTE speed won’t disappoint you when it comes to speed. You can even steam at 4K speed.
However, the high speed and streaming don’t matter a little if you don’t even have enough data. And, that is the biggest issue with this plan. First, the 2.5 GB data is nothing when you do more than browsing. And, to get the maximum out of it, you need to wait for five years.
But, for those, who don’t rely on mobile internet much, the plan is an excellent option for them. They get unlimited talk and text only plans with some internet as a backup in case of emergency.
5. Verizon
Another reliable carrier, Verizon, also pays as you use phone plans. But, the issue is with these plans are – they pretty expensive.
Currently, Verizon has two prepaid plans on its arsenal. The first plan costs $30 ( including a $10 auto pay discount) for the people who don’t stream videos on their phone or are regular Wifi users. It offers unlimited text, talk, 5 GB of data, and a few other perks.
Few outstanding features make the plan worthy despite the high-price tag. Thanks to the safety mode feature, you can keep connected with your loved ones, even when the selected data is over, without paying overage charges.
Then, if you aren’t required to use all the data for the month, the leftover data will be added to the next month. This feature makes the plan suitable for home internet users.
The second plan comes at $45 each month with 15 GB of data. Similarly, here you also get unlimited texting and messaging options. The difference among these plans is that, without the data cap, the previous plan lets you access 4G LTE, whereas the plan offers 5G coverage.
If you stick with the plan for three months, you can get a $5 discount, and after nine months, the cost will cut down an additional $5. So, you will end up paying only $35 per month by sticking with the cheapest unlimited phone plan.
How To Choose A Pay As You Use Phone Plan
Although data and other perks are essential, you also keep in mind call quality, reliability, and customer care. Still, picking a plan for your smartphone can be daunting. So, here are a few steps to help you out in the process.
- Try to calculate how much data you need per month. For that, you can look at your previous month’s data history.
- Know how you spend your data. Do you stream high-quality videos, play games, or only use social media? If you know where your majority of data goes, you can select a plan according to that.
- Know how much you can spend on a plan and how advanced you can go.
- According to your budget, pay monthly, every three months, six months, or a year. But, don’t go for too long as plans change pretty often and you don’t know when you miss a good opportunity.
- Select a reliable company as your phone plan provider. But, before finalizing, check how their performance in your area is. Sometimes, few local cell phone plan providers work better than large carriers in a specific area.
- If you already have a phone, find out if there is any BYOP program with that provider. If you need to buy a phone, select a provider with great deals (most of the providers offer excellent phone deals for new customers).
- Decide what network (3G, 4G, or 4G) you want to use. But, before that, make sure your phone is compatible with that network technology.
- You can check what network your phone is compatible with from the provider’s website.
Be careful when signing a contract. The contract may offer you a discount or even a free phone, but it also binds you with that company. If you want to leave the company before the contract ends, you need to pay a huge termination fee.
What is Pay As You Use Phone Plans?
The pay as you go phone plans are where you buy minutes, text, or data to use the whole month or week. Some plans also include daily billing and only when you use the phone. In a nutshell, you first pay and then use the benefits. They are also known as ‘Prepaid Plans’.
How Many Types Of Prepaid Plans?
The Pay as you use plans can be incremented one, three, six, or twelve months. You can pay for the service for over a few weeks or even a few days.
What is the Cheapest Pay As You Use Phone Plans?
The prepaid plans can vary a lot depending on what you are offering. Currently, Gen Mobile has the most inexpensive pay as you use phone plans, which start with only $9/month and offer 1 GB of data with other features.
Final Verdict
Pay as you use phone plans is the best way to save some money. Cell phone providers have options from the most expensive to the cheapest at only $9/month.
Depending on what you need, you should select a plan. But, remember that prepaid plans have both their pros and cons. Mostly, you won’t get any luxurious perks, like streaming service subscriptions, unlimited 5G data, or hotspot sharing without any limit. But, to decrease your monthly cost, those sacrifices are nothing. That’s all for today’s article. Stay tuned.
