Best unlimited data plans in 2026

Your days of paying top dollar for the best unlimited data plans are over. While major carriers can still charge $70 or more each month for unlimited data, you can now get plans that cost $30 or less that still deliver all the data you can want over reliable and extensive coverage.

Over the past decade, one of the most welcome trends in data plans has been the emergence of lower-cost unlimited data plans from discount carriers. While taking advantage of these low rates means looking beyond the likes of T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon, turning to an MVNOs means you won't pay as much for all that data, without sacrificing service quality.

We've found that Visible is the best choice for most people when it comes to unlimited data. A good alternative to Visible is Mint Mobile, which offers a low-cost unlimited plan of its own if you're willing to pay for a year of service in advance to get Mint's best rate.

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Among the big-name phone carriers, AT&T has one of the best lower-priced options, while T-Mobile is the place to turn for family plans with unlimited data. That said, the family plan options at Total Wireless is a good option if you want unlimited data for multiple lines on the cheap.

For the full details, read on for our full list of the best unlimited data plans.

The best unlimited data plans you can get today

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The best unlimited data plan overall

We reviewed Visible a while back and came away impressed by its reliable service on Verizon's network. You should be getting a great experience no matter which of Visible's three plans you pick.

That said, we would steer you toward the $35/month Visible Plus option, which falls in the middle of Visible's three unlimited plans. While not as cheap as the standard Visible plan, it has a few more perks, including faster 5G service and unlimited high-speed data. The standard Visible plan's speeds can slow down any time there's traffic on Verizon's network.

Some better perks, like free smartwatch connectivity and the ability to make calls and texts to countries outside of Mexico and Canada, are available through the $45/month Visible Plus Pro option. But Visible Plus retains some nice perks of its own like 1080p video streaming, the ability to use your plan when traveling in Mexico and Canada, and one Global Pass per month that covers data usage in another country. You've got unlimited hotspot data as well.

The best unlimited plan from a major carrier

AT&T has the cheapest unlimited plan among the major carriers. Even compared to AT&T's other plans, the Value 2.0 plan is quite the deal. Perks are few and far between, and AT&T can slow your service if its network is busy. But you get relatively cheap unlimited data on a great network.

AT&T used to restrict Value Plus to one line of data, but it is now available for families, too, with per-line discounts kicking in once you add a third line. You get 3GB of hotspot data per month, and unlimited talk/text/data in Canada and Mexico too. But you have only 5GB of data to use before AT&T will potentially throttle your speeds.

There's also a prepaid option at AT&T that offers unlimited data at a lower monthly rate, though you will have to make a big upfront payment. For $240, AT&T will provide 12 months of unlimited data with 16GB of high-speed data each month before your speeds slow down; that works out to a $20 monthly rate, which is lower than what Mint charges annually for unlimited data.

The best unlimited plan value

During our Mint Mobile review, we found its data speeds to be comparable with what you get from a major carrier. Although the price of unlimited data is anything but.

Unlimited data costs $30/month at Mint, though that price comes with a catch. To get Mint's best rate, you need to commit to a full year of service — a $360 upfront payment. That's a steep price for some people to pay all at once, but if you can swing it, you'll be rewarded savings over time and strong service on T-Mobile's network to boot.

Mint had previously done away with a cap on high-speed data, though the fine print on the company's unlimited plan offer reveals that a 50GB monthly cap is back in place, matching what Visible offers.

The best unlimited plan for families

T-Mobile's Experience More plan is a pretty good choice for individuals as the $85 monthly rate is cheaper than what AT&T and Verizon charge for comparable plans. But add additional lines, and it's clearly the best option for families, especially when T-Mobile waives the cost of a third line.

T-Mobile doesn't skimp on perks with its plans: You get unlimited premium data and 60GB of high-speed hotspot data, plus 15GB of high-speed coverage when you travel to Mexico and Canada, or 5GB if you're going further afield.

Outside of your data, T-Mobile will give you Netflix Standard with Ads subscription for free as part of this plan — with an Apple TV subscription for an extra $3/month.

The T-Mobile website promotes the carrier's pricier Experience Beyond plan which comes with better perks as well as the bare-bones Essentials offering. But Experience More has the best balance of benefits to value as far as we're concerned.

The best prepaid unlimited family plan

It's hard to find discounts on multiple lines of data at prepaid carriers, but Verizon-owned Total Wireless is one of the notable exceptions. And its discounts can help families save big on unlimited data. The carrier's Total MAX 5G plan costs $50 for a single line of data, but each additional line drops in price, for a total monthly bill of $110 if you pick a four-line plan. It helps that Total waives the price of a fourth line for this particular plan.

You'll find better prepaid perks with Cricket Wireless' unlimited offering, but some of Total's add-ons are appealing. You get roaming data in 30-plus countries , and the plan comes with six months of Disney Plus.

The most flexible unlimited plan

Unlimited Plus is the more value-packed option among Verizon's top phone plans. You'll play $15 less each month for Unlimited Welcome, but that plan offers little more than nationwide 5G coverage.

If you can swing the more expensive Unlimited Plus option, you'll get faster Ultra Wideband 5G where available without any speed caps, plus unlimited hotspot data and a three-year price guarantee

Add-ons can layer on additional perks for an extra $10/month on any Verizon plan. These include packages like Disney's streaming services, Travel Passes for international travel, an Apple services bundle. and access to Google AI Pro. You can drop add-ons in months where you don't need them, giving you some control over the cost of your wireless bill. But you do have to be proactive about managing those add-ons so the costs don't skyrocket. Verizon also lets you mix and match its different unlimited options on family plans, which T-Mobile doesn't offer.

Best unlimited data plan for travelers

Google Fi's main unlimited plan is not one of the most affordable plans in or rankings. For travelers, though, the Unlimited Premium plan is the perfect option outside of one of T-Mobile's options.

The main benefit here is that Google doesn't charge you extra for texting or using data in more than 200 countries. But there's more, like half a year of YouTube Premium, 50GB of hotspot data, and 100GB of Google One storage.

If you use one of Google's own Pixel phones, you'll be able to switch seamlessly between cellular networks (mostly T-Mobile's) and Google's Wi-Fi hotspots. (Select phones from Samsung and Motorola sold through Google Fi take advantage of this feature, too.) However, any handset can use Google Fi and any 5G-enabled phone can connect to the faster network where available.

The best unlimited data plan rate guarantee

Boost Mobile aims to be another nationwide carrier with its very own network (though it uses AT&T and T-Mobile towers to augment its coverage). One of the ways it's making a name for itself is with an aggressively priced unlimited data plan that will cost you just $25/month. That matches the lowest rates on unlimited data offered by Tello and Visible.

Boost takes its low-cost unlimited data plan one step further with a "lifetime" guarantee for as long as you stick with the carrier. You get 30GB of data each month before your speeds slow down.

Best prepaid plan perks

Among prepaid carriers, Metro by T-Mobile charges less than Cricket with an unlimited plan starting at $40 a month. Yet, we like Cricket's plan, which drops from $60/month to $55 after you enroll in autopay.

More importantly, this Cricket plan also comes with perks like 50GB of hotspot data, 150GB of cloud storage and access to the ad-supported HBO Max streaming service. As an AT&T-owned MVNO, Cricket subscribers can access 5G coverage from AT&T.

Best unlimited data plans compared

Here's a look at all of the best unlimited data plans we've recommended above, all in one place, so you can compare what a single line of data costs each month. (For plans like Mint's, we've marked where you have to pay for a year of service in advance, and what your total cost would be.) To help families judge how much they'd pay for data, we've included the per-line cost for a 4-line plan — note that 2- and 3-line offerings may have different monthly rates, owing to variable discounts.

The high-speed data allotment lists the amount of data you can consume each month with each plan before you will experience slower speeds for the remainder of the billing cycle.

How to pick the best unlimited data plan for you

Besides making sure to choose a carrier that offers good service in your area — ask friends and family about the coverage they get — consider both price and perks. With the best unlimited data plans from major carriers ranging in price from $60 to $90 per month, pick the plan that fits in your budget or turn to a discount carrier like Mint or Visible. Also consider what benefits each wireless carrier includes with their different tiers of unlimited data.

Wondering if you need unlimited data? Unless you’re streaming video and music fairly regularly, you probably can get away with a tiered data plan, like the ones offered by AT&T and Verizon. Mint and Tello have less expensive tiered data plans, too.

While we have a separate guide to the best family cell phone plan options, most of the unlimited plans featured here allow you to add extra lines, usually at discounted per-line rates. The exception is Visible, which charges the same rate for each line you add. Mint's approach to family plans is to offer the same discounted rate for each line of data, so unlimited plans would cost $30 per line, assuming you commit to the full year of service.