Best Cell Phone Plans 2021!

in this video i'm covering the best cell phone plans for 2021. i'll be covering the best plans on verizon 18t and t-mobile and i'll be covering plans ranging from 10 dollars to 15 to 20 to 30 and even the best cheap and premium unlimited data plans these plans will deliver the best value for your dollar and include many of the features you love like voice over lte wi-fi calling mobile hotspot and more hi i'm stetson and i've been reviewing cell phone plans since 2015. i even designed and built bestphoneplans.net to help make it easy for you to find and compare plans my goal is to help you save money on your cell phone bill and to do this we'll be breaking this video down into three main parts how cell phone plans work in the united states how to tell exactly how much data you need and what the best plans are time stamps are linked in the video description so you can jump to the section of the video you're most interested in and you can find links in the video description to all of the plans and resources we talk about in this video with that said let's jump into it in the united states there are three major carriers verizon at t and t-mobile these major carriers build cell towers across the united states and operate their own networks because they operate their own networks they are called mnos or mobile network operators building a network is expensive though so to cover costs these major carriers charge premium prices for their cell phone plans these plans can be great for high income individuals or for families but the truth is not everyone can afford these 85 to 90 dollar price points so what do the major network operators do well they do two things first they create flanker carriers flanker carriers are carriers created by the same company to target different demographics of consumers verizon's flanker carrier is visible for a t it's cricket and on t-mobile it's the inconspicuously named metro by t-mobile these flanker carriers typically offer significantly more affordable plans for example instead of paying ninety dollars per month for an unlimited plan from verizon you can pay just forty dollars per month for unlimited plan from visible and save yourself six hundred dollars per year the second strategy the major network operators use is they sell access to their networks to mvnos mvno stands for mobile virtual network operator because these are the smaller carriers that are operating virtually on the existing networks examples include us mobile red pocket mint mobile puretalk and more mvnos are able to offer more affordable plans because they are getting network access at wholesale prices and because they are using cost saving strategies such as operating online only not offering true unlimited plans creating self-help tools and more recently by offering plans in 3 6 or 12 month packages that's how you end up with plans like these ranging from 25 to 30 dollars per month and including huge amounts of data that go from 12 gigs all the way up to 35 gigs this brings us to the second part of this video how much cellular data do you actually need and how do you tell which cell phone plans are right for you well there are four factors to consider when choosing a cell phone plan first is coverage you want to get a cell phone plan that you can use at your home and other locations you frequently visit if you can't use it it's not worth having thankfully my friend chris has built an awesome tool on his site coveragecritic.com where you can literally enter your zip code and it'll tell you which network likely has the better performance in your area you can also check independent sites like root metrics to see coverage and data speeds collected from different users or you know if you're on the verizon network right now and it works for you you can switch to a more affordable plan that also uses the verizon network for coverage the second factor is data usage how much data you need plays a big role in which cell phone plans are right for you most carriers would like you to believe you need some sort of unlimited plan but the truth is you likely don't you can check your actual cell phone data usage in your phone's settings on iphone or android by checking the usage section in your online account or by checking your current bill or if you're like me and lazy better phrased as time efficient studies are showing that about 82 percent of users consume less than 20 gigs of data per month so odds are that 82 of you watching will be perfectly fine with the cell phone plan that includes about 20 gigs of data otherwise in around that 25 to 30 dollar price point time stamps from the video description if you want to jump to that section right now third is features some people really need features like wi-fi calling e-sim support international calling international data roaming or other features i clearly lay out what features are included with which plan in this video so if you're someone who needs a particular feature just keep your eyes out and i'll make sure you can get a plan that works for you and fourth is price how much are you willing to spend on your cell phone plan could you curb your usage habits so you use less data and could opt for a more affordable plan could you turn on wi-fi at home and at work to again reduce your data usage and opt for that cheaper option or is it worth it to you to pay for a more premium plan to get extra features and benefits that you need this is a personal preference but i'm hoping everyone watching can find an affordable cell phone plan in this video that meets their needs so with that said let's get into the best cell phone plans for 2021. starting off we have the best 10 plans we have great options here from telo red pocket and unreal mobile let's start with tello telo's 10 plan includes unlimited talking text with one gig of high-speed data telo uses the t-mobile network for coverage and supports a lot of features but it turns out many of these features are currently exclusive for android users mms visual voicemail and wi-fi calling aren't working on iphones at the moment telo includes free international calling to canada mexico china and romania and you have the option to purchase pay-as-you-go credit to make calls to over 230 other countries red pocket is another great option here their 9 annual plan includes 1 000 minutes unlimited texts and 1 gig of data and it's available on either the verizon a t or t mobile networks red pocket also offers great feature support for both iphone and android users a couple things to note are that visual voicemail is available as a one dollar per month add-on for verizon and at t customers but it's not available for t-mobile customers and 5g access is currently only available on the t-mobile network at the moment red pocket also includes free international calling to 80 countries though you do have to disable voice over lte for international calling to work and they offer an international data roaming add-on starting at just nine dollars per month for one gig of data that works across 50 countries lastly in the 10 category we have unreal mobile's ten dollar two gig plan and this very well may be the best option here unreal mobile is actually now owned by red pocket so it supports almost the exact same features we saw before this includes red pockets free international calling to 80 countries international data roaming add-ons and even 5g access for android phones now let's move on to the best 15 cell phone plans here we have fantastic options from us mobile t-mobile prepaid mint mobile and red pocket us mobile's plan is simply one of the best options here fifteen dollars gets you five gigs of data on either the verizon or t-mobile network and excellent feature support you've got voice over lte 5g access domestic roaming on the verizon network and international roaming all included for free hotspot is also available as a 5 add-on you should also note that the 10 gigs of international data roaming is included for free but it's only available as an e-sim data add-on so you'll need to have an e-sim compatible phone to take advantage of this feature finally us mobile offers a beautiful account dashboard for managing your plans and monitoring your data usage t-mobile prepaid is another decent option here fifteen dollars only gets you two gigs of cellular data but this plan is packed with features the notable features are e-sim support the included 100 megabytes of domestic roaming data and the fact that you can go to a t-mobile store or contact tforce for help and support t-mobile will also be increasing this plan to two and a half gigs later this year mint mobile is another carrier that supports a lot of features including voice over lte wi-fi calling hotspot 5g access and esim but this time it also delivers an excellent value fifteen dollars gets you four gigs of data per month double the amount t-mobile was offering mint is able to offer such a good value because their plans are sold in bulk either three six or 12-month packages they also offer a great app and good customer support mint mobile wants to make it as easy as possible for you to try one of their plans so we are actually partnering together for a giveaway each month mint mobile is giving away one year of free service on one of their plans it's currently march so there are 10 opportunities left to win a new giveaway will be made available each month so make sure you come back to this video to enter again you can enter the giveaway at the link in the video description and thank you mint mobile for this cool opportunity i hope one of you wins and enjoys the service finally in the 15 category we have red pocket this time i'm recommending their gig plan this plan continues to support many of the popular features from before including red pockets international features i think this plan is best on the atnt network because you can find better deals on the t-mobile and verizon networks from mint mobile and us mobile next we have the best 20 plans we have great options here from us mobile red pocket free up mobile and mint mobile and if you're enjoying the video so far please give it a thumbs up down below as i would super appreciate it us mobile's 20 12 gig plan is probably one of my favorite options here it not only includes the most data but it's also a monthly plan as opposed to an annual plan us mobile's plan is available on verizon or t-mobile and it includes the same features we've talked about before hotspot is still five dollars to enable and you're still getting the 10 gigs of international data roaming included for free via the international esim add-on next up we have another plan from red pocket their twenty dollar plan includes eight gigs of high-speed data before unlimited data at 2g speeds this plan is available on the verizon at t or t-mobile networks and it includes decent feature support along with red pockets excellent international calling perks and international data roaming add-ons if you'd prefer to pay monthly red pocket does offer a 19 plan but the data amount drops from 8 gigs down to only three gigs free up mobile's plan is another option to consider on the at t network they similarly offer an annual plan that breaks down to twenty dollars a month and includes eight gigs of high-speed data free up mobile is missing support for visual voicemail but it actually includes even better international calling than red pocket you can make calls to over 150 countries included for free with this plan lastly in this category we have the plan that i use personally for my primary phone number it's mint mobile's 20 plan with 10 gigs of high-speed data what i love about mint is they support all of my favorite features including wi-fi calling hotspot 5g access and even esim and i feel their plans are a tremendous value oh and a friendly reminder you can win a year of free mint mobile service at the giveaway linked in the video description now let's move on to the best 25 plans and honestly these may be some of the best value plans out there perfect for average users and individuals first up is us mobile's 25.18 gig plan this includes a huge amount of data at an affordable price and it continues to support the features us mobile is known for their most notable features are their impressive 10 gigs of international data available via esim and their beautiful online account dashboard with detailed usage analytics to manage your account this is also the only monthly plan here giving you the flexibility to switch plans anytime you want next we have mint mobile's 25.15 gig plan similar to before i love mint mobile for their excellent feature support great application and good customer service mid mobile's giveaway is linked in the video description if you'd like a chance to win a year of free service and the reason i keep mentioning it is because i'm imagining some of you are skipping to different sections of the video and i wouldn't want you to miss out on an opportunity to win free service because that would certainly help reduce your monthly cell phone bill unreal mobile is another competitive plan in this category and they offer some of the most data you can get on the at t network 25 for 12 gigs is an excellent value unfortunately no hotspot support here but as unreal mobile is owned by red pocket you do get international calling included for free and the option for affordable international data roaming add-ons lastly in this category we have a plan from at t themselves and it's their annual prepaid plan this plan is 300 up front but it breaks down to just 25 dollars per month and includes a decent eight gigs of high-speed data many viewers actually voted this was one of the best plans on the at t network at this price point because of the features it supports it may not be as good of a value as unreal mobile which offered 12 gigs compared to att's 8 gigs but by going with a plan from att directly you get excellent feature support notable features include wi-fi calling e-sim domestic roaming roaming in canada and mexico and rollover data so unused data will roll over each month now we have the best 30 plans like the 25 plans these continue to be some of the best value plans in the industry they offer enough data for over 82 of average consumers at incredibly affordable prices us mobile continues to be one of my favorite options their 30 plan includes 30 gigabytes of high speed data and is available on verizon or t-mobile notable features include 5g access on both verizon and t-mobile and the included 10 gigs of international roaming data available via the international esim add-ons what's also powerful about this plan is with us mobile's usage analytics dashboard you can know exactly how much data you're using and if it turns out you need less data you can switch to one of us mobile's more affordable plans and save yourself even more money each month next in this category we have mint mobile's 30 35 gig plan this offers excellent feature support like all of mint mobile's other plans but there are two key differences video streaming is limited to 480p instead of 4k and you only get 5 gigs of high speed hotspot data instead of being able to use all of your included data as hotspot data i still love this plan though and this is actually the plan mint mobile is giving away right now in march at the giveaway linked in the video description finally we have two plans on the a t network rounding off this category the first is red pocket's annual plan offering 20 gigs of data for 30 dollars per month red pocket continues to be a great option for anyone looking for a plan that includes international calling and affordable international data roaming add-ons if you'd prefer to pay monthly red pocket also offers a 30 10 gig plan and the second great option on the at t network is at t's 33 prepaid plan this is actually a three month plan so 99 up front it doesn't include nearly as much data as red pocket but again what people liked about this plan is the feature support you get wi-fi calling e-sim domestic roaming and roaming in canada and mexico as well as rollover data now let's move on to what may be one of the most popular categories here the best cheap unlimited data plans here we have great options from visible us mobile t-mobile prepaid and at t prepaid first is visible's legendary 40 unlimited plan this has exploded in popularity thanks to its excellent value its excellent features and the fact that visible is using the verizon network for coverage you get support for pretty much everything here most notably e-sim support and even 5g access you also get unlimited hotspot data with speeds at 5 megabits per second the best part is if you join a visible party your bill will drop to just 25 per month all taxes and fees included if you're interested you can join my party best phone plans linked in the video description we currently have 1 325 members and counting and this is a great way to reduce your cell phone bill the one downside to visible is they don't work with all devices so you'll want to make sure your device is supported before you sign up next up is us mobile's 45 unlimited plan this uses either verizon or t-mobile for coverage though the plan is limited to 50 gigs on t-mobile as opposed to the true unlimited plan you get on the verizon network what makes us mobile a compelling option overvisible even though it is more expensive and hotspot data is a 10 add-on as opposed to being included is that us mobile typically offers slightly faster speeds better coverage and it works with more devices as in all devices that work on the verizon network you also get 10 gigs of international data roaming included for free families will also love us mobile for their multi-line discount and perks with three or more lines us mobile drops the price down to just 25 per line all taxes and fees included and you actually get to choose up to two perks to cover the cost of your favorite subscription services options include spotify family apple music family disney plus hulu espn plus netflix hbo max and popular gaming services on the t-mobile network we have t-mobile's 50 dollar prepaid plan this is a true unlimited plan and what i love about this plan is the data is actually prioritized so you'll have the exact same experience as if you were signed up with one of t-mobile's more expensive magenta or magenta max plans t-mobile also goes all out with feature support here including things like 5g esim 100 megabytes of domestic roaming data and the options for international calling and international data roaming add-ons finally the other huge perk about this plan is you can go to a physical t-mobile store for customer service and support you can also chat with t-mobile's t-force representatives on social media for help or questions about your plan and i think t-force representatives provide some of the best support in the industry shout out to all the t-force reps watching this video now i appreciate you and i thank you for all of your work finishing off this category we have the att prepaid unlimited plus plan this is listed for 75 on atnt's website but there is a 15 autopay discount that brings the cost down to just 60 dollars per month this is still one of the more expensive plans i'm recommending in this category but i do think it's worth it at t offers a cheaper 50 unlimited prepaid plan but i'm recommending the 60 one because it includes 22 gigs of priority data 5g access 10 gigs of hotspot data and hd streaming i think the added perks are worth it for the slight extra cost and this is easily one of the best value unlimited plans currently available on the at t network and now on to the grand finale the best premium unlimited plans for 2021 i'm actually breaking this category into two brief sections number one the best value premium plans that i think most people should sign up for and number two the all-out best premium plans currently available on all the major networks for the best value plans i'm recommending verizon play more unlimited at t unlimited extra and t-mobile magenta these come in at 80 75 and 70 dollars respectively and i think for most people they offer the best balance between premium features and price though if you can afford it and you do want to step it up a notch you can also consider the best premium plans currently available in the industry and those are of course verizon get more unlimited at t unlimited elite and t-mobile magenta max i'm surprised to say it but t-mobile is actually offering the most features with their magenta max plan sasha segan from pc whom dennis and i did an interview with for our best phone plans podcast called t-mobile's magenta max plan the only real 5g plan in america right now it includes unlimited priority data the most in the industry the most hot spot data at 40 gigabytes and t-mobile's network has gotten surprisingly good recently i also know a t unlimited elite is a fan favorite shout out to you dennis i do know you love at t unlimited elite it includes 100 gigs of priority data more than verizon the same 30 gigs of high-speed hotspot data 4k video streaming and it includes hbo max which i'm told is a great perk to have so there you go those are the best cell phone plans for 2021. i spent a ton of time on this video so if you enjoyed it or found it helpful i would really appreciate it if you click the like button down below and share this video with one friend also if you're wondering how i came up with all of these best cell phone plans i have a spreadsheet that compares over 300 plans from 50 different carriers i put a ton of time and research into this and you can access a free version of this comparison chart in the video description that has my top 50 recommended plans if you're interested in getting access to the full comparison chart with over 300 plans from 50 different carriers then consider supporting me on patreon all of my patreon members get lifetime access to the full comparison chart and i give you full permission to sign up for just one month and then cancel but i'm hoping you'll stick around for some of the other perks and benefits either way that's gonna be it for this video i'm stetson thank you so much for watching and i'll see you next time

Channel: Stetson Doggett

Views: 267,246

Keywords: best cell phone plans, best cell phone plans 2021, best phone plans, best unlimited data plans 2021, best unlimited data plans, best unlimited plans, best budget cell phone plans, best cheap cell phone plans, cheap phone plans, best t mobile plans, best verizon plans, best at&t plans, us mobile, mint mobile, tello, unreal mobile, red pocket, freeup mobile, att prepaid, best att plans, verizon, att, t mobile, t mobile prepaid, visible

Id: jzGUw876TIo

Length: 23min 58sec (1438 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 27 2021