A phone plan is essential when you're getting setup. It may seem like something that you can worry about later but you'll realize quickly that having a local phone number opens the door to most of the tools and services you will need to setup your life. So get onto it early!
In the States, you may need to adjust your lingo. A “mobile” has become a “cell” and you'll also hear the term “wireless” thrown around a lot when discussing plans and options. Just like anywhere there are lots of competing companies, and all have differing values making them hard to compare, so here's my summary.
There are also lots of smaller deals that we may have missed but here are the big players:
Mint Mobile Cell Phone Plans
Mint Mobile is a more recently player on the market and they've “re-imagined the wireless shopping experience and made it way easier.” They've basically taken the good bits and made it all a little bit easier to get signed up without too man hurdles when you're first arriving – and it's our top recommendation. Julie at America Josh recently signed up:
I visited Mint Mobile's website and entered my zipcode and phone type to check coverage.
You need to pay for 3 months in advance to get their range of deals and after the initial three months is up you can renew with a 3, 6 or 12-month plan to keep the savings going or just go back to the normal monthly plan ($30)
You can get a new sim, or use your existing sim if you have an e-sim compatible phone. I ported my existing number from T-mobile but you can easily get a new number if required. It was very quick and simple and I would recommend it to anyone.
I chose it because of the price but then found one of the best added bonuses is it allows wi-fi calling so I can call regular numbers in Australia! It also allows for hotspotting which my t-mobile prepaid did not.
Julie @ America Josh
Verizon Cell Mobile Phone Plans
The big gun in the US, but some phones won't work with their network so you will have to check. For all intents and purposes they're very good, but you will pay a premium (think of it as the Telstra of the US).
Prepaid plans include $40 for 2GB of data up to $70 for 10GB of data that can all be found here.
AT&T Mobile Mobile Phone Plans
The second biggest player in the game and the one from this list with the WORST website.
However, after lots of digging and some help from the internet, I've found GoPhone – AT&T's prepaid bring-you-own-phone service.
T-Mobile Mobile Plans
Without a credit score, one of these prepaid deals should do you just fine. T-Mobile is the go-to for a lot of new arrivals because they are less demanding when it comes to showing who you are.
I used to personally recommend T-Mobile to every single person who visited or moved to the United States but after having all my accounts canceled without notice (and with no recourse except for writing letters to them, seriously, real letters through the post), I don't anymore.
Finding the best cellular cell phone plans in 2023
There is a great resource on Reddit's /r/NoContract which can really help you with the latest and greatest deals as they do change and offer specials quite frequently.
Getting a Prepaid Cell phone plan
For prepaid, you really only need:
- A form of ID (preferably passport);
- Money;
- Your phone;
- Time.
