Best Unlimited Data Plans in 2022

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T-Mobile has added a new cheaper unlimited plan for those who don’t need three or more lines. Called Base Essentials, this plan has unlimited talk, text and data including 5G. While the data is unlimited, only the first 20GB each month are at high speed — if you go over that threshold, your speeds will slow to 1.5Mbps for the remainder of your billing period. 

While perks like free Netflix or the bundling of taxes and fees into the sticker price are not included, you do get unlimited hotspot at “3G speeds,” a free year of Paramount Plus, and unlimited talk, text and 2G data in Mexico and Canada. 

Priced at $5 less per month for a single line than AT&T’s Value Plus plan, this could be a solid option for those looking for a single line without frills. The carrier also allows for multiple lines of this plan, with two lines running $80 per month (if you need three or more you may want to look at one of T-Mobile’s other plans which could be cheaper thanks to various promotions the carrier regularly runs). 

T-Mobile keeps this plan surprisingly hidden, but you can find it by heading to the “Plans” section of its website and clicking “See other plans.” 

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If you only need one line, AT&T’s new Value Plus plan could be the way to go. You get unlimited talk, text and data and 5G access. There are no perks like a free streaming service subscription or hotspot data and you will need to stick to one line. 

But if all you need is a simple unlimited plan from your phone, this is $10 less than T-Mobile’s Essentials pricing, $15 cheaper than AT&T’s Unlimited Starter (with this plan including 3GB of hotspot data) not to mention $15 cheaper than Verizon’s Welcome Unlimited and $20 cheaper than Verizon’s 5G Start. 

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Those looking to save the most on unlimited service from the major carriers may be best with T-Mobile’s Essentials. Unlimited talk, text and data are included for all of the carrier’s base unlimited plans. In this price-focused comparison, T-Mobile’s option comes in at $60 for a single line, $5 a month cheaper than AT&T’s Unlimited Starter and $10 less than Verizon’s 5G Start. 

In addition to being $5 less than AT&T’s option, T-Mobile’s Essentials includes unlimited mobile hotspot (albeit at slower “3G speeds”), giving you a little more flexibility. All three carriers offer 5G access with their base plans. We should note that Verizon’s 5G Start doesn’t support its fastest forms of 5G, but it’s unlikely you’ll be missing out on taking advantage of those speeds this early in 5G’s life cycle anyway. You can always reevaluate your options as Verizon and AT&T build out the latest updates to their respective 5G networks over the next two years. 

The savings of T-Mobile’s plan also become more pronounced the more lines you add. Two lines of Essentials is $90 a month, while a similar offering from AT&T or Verizon runs $120 a month. Three lines will also run $90 at T-Mobile thanks to a promotion, compared to $135 monthly at AT&T or Verizon. The four-line option is $105 at T-Mobile, compared to $140 at the other carriers. 

These prices do come with a couple of caveats: Unlike T-Mobile’s Magenta or Magenta Max plans, taxes and fees are not included in any of these prices, making the actual total a little higher. All the deals also require that you set up AutoPay and paperless billing.

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Verizon’s answer to T-Mobile’s cheapest plans has arrived in the form of its Welcome Unlimited offering. There are no streaming perks like the Disney Bundle with this plan, no hotspot data, no discounts for device upgrades and you can’t hop on Verizon’s fastest 5G networks (what it calls Ultra Wideband). But you do get Verizon’s network for $120 per month for four lines (assuming you have automatic payments set up). 

Compared with the competition, the Verizon plan is still $15 per month pricier than T-Mobile’s Essentials plan, but it’s $20 per month cheaper compared with AT&T’s most affordable Unlimited Starter plan and Verizon’s own 5G Start. Those looking to save even further can combine the Welcome plan with Verizon’s other discounts for teachers, nurses, military and first responders. 

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If you’re looking for freebies with your wireless service, Verizon has one of the most aggressive bundles out there with its Play More plan ($80 a month for one line, $45 a month if you have four lines). 

Verizon’s Play More plan includes unlimited talk, text and data and 25GB of higher-speed 5G and 4G LTE hotspot data. Among the perks are a free subscription to the Disney bundle (Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu) and either Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass.

All told, the perks quickly add up if you use any of these services. The Disney bundle normally runs $14 a month, and Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass each run $5. 

That’s potentially $19 a month in services. Verizon offers these benefits as part of its Play More and Get More plans, but for most people, the Play More choice is the best fit. Get More runs an extra $10 a month ($90 a month for a single line, $220 a month for four lines) and adds an extra 25GB of high-speed hotspot data, 50% off a connected device (like a monthly plan for tablet or smartwatch) and 600GB of Verizon’s Cloud Storage. Get More also includes a subscription to Apple Music, normally $10 per month. 

Something to note: These perks are often limited to one per account, so only one line on a family plan would qualify to open a Disney Plus account and get it covered by the carrier. 

Verizon also lets you mix and match plans when you have multiple lines. 

If you have four people on your family plan, only one needs to have Play More to get the perks for the whole family. The rest can be on the cheaper 5G Start, which would make four lines $140 a month as opposed to $180 a month if all four lines had Play More. 

You can also combine these plans with Verizon’s other discounts for teachers, nurses, military and first responders to save a bit more. 

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T-Mobile is the runner-up for perks. Among the benefits are unlimited international data (albeit at slow “2G speeds”) when traveling in over 210 countries, an hour of in-flight Wi-Fi on a number of airlines, T-Mobile Tuesdays weekly giveaways and the bundling of Netflix’s $10 a month Basic plan (which is limited to watching on one screen at a time and without HD). It also now offers a free year of Apple TV Plus, a free year of Paramount Plus’ $5 per month Essentials plan and a free year of TelevisaUnivison’s ViX Plus. 

Its pricier Magenta Max plan ($85 per month for one line, $170 per month for four lines) upgrades the Netflix subscription to the more popular $15.49-a-month Standard plan (which allows for HD streaming on up to two screens at once) and adds 5GB of high-speed international data and unlimited Wi-Fi on a host of flights including those from American, Alaska Airlines, Delta and United. Unlike its Essentials plans discussed earlier, T-Mobile also includes taxes and fees with the pricing of its Magenta and Magenta Max plans.

If you’re on T-Mobile, all of your plans are unlimited, and Verizon has gotten rid of the ability for new users to sign up for a shared data plan. Only AT&T still offers some tiered data plans. 

Although everyone’s wireless needs are different, for most we think unlimited plans make the most sense, especially when it comes to choosing a new plan. 

AT&T’s option isn’t great. It has a 4GB per line plan that runs $50 a month for one line ($160 for four lines). Each line here gets 4GB of data, but if you go over that threshold in a month you’re paying $10 for every 2GB. AT&T’s plan also does not include access to its 5G networks. 

The company’s basic unlimited plan, called Unlimited Starter, is $65 a month for one line or $140 for four lines. 

If you have one or two lines and don’t use a lot of data, you may be fine with one of these plans, though if you have just one line we’d recommend switching over to AT&T’s $50 per month Value Plus option we mentioned above or T-Mobile’s Base Essentials. Two lines of that T-Mobile plan runs $80 per month, which is $10 cheaper than two lines of AT&T’s 4GB plan and comes without the worry of navigating how much data you use. 

For most people, we really do believe unlimited is the best choice when choosing a new plan.

It is, but the speeds you get may vary depending on your plan and how much data you use in a given month. Whereas in the past carriers would slow down or “throttle” your speeds if you pass a certain limit (usually over 22GB of data within a month) for the remainder of your billing cycle, today all three major providers say they’ll only do that in special cases. 

To have your data slowed on most of the plans mentioned above, you will need to have: 

1. Used over 50GB of data in a month.

2. Be in an area that is experiencing “congestion,” “heavy traffic” or if the network is “busy.” Examples of this could be at a sporting event or concert where there are tens of thousands of people in the same area uploading and sharing photos and videos.

All carriers say that in these cases your data should only be slowed “temporarily.” If you have an older unlimited plan, however, your threshold for when your data slows and how long it lasts may be different.

A hotspot, or the ability to share your phone’s connection with other devices, will vary based on the plan you have. Some, like AT&T’s Value Plus and Verizon’s 5G Start, don’t include it at all while others — such as AT&T’s Unlimited Starter and T-Mobile’s Essentials and Magenta — offer limited amounts of high-speed access before capping your hotspot performance to “3G” or “2G” speeds. 

In short, if hotspot access is important for you, check out a pricier unlimited plan such as T-Mobile’s Magenta Max (40GB of high-speed data); Verizon’s Play, Do or Get More (25GB of high-speed data on Play/Do, 50GB on Get More); or AT&T’s Unlimited Extra (15GB of high-speed data) or Unlimited Premium (50GB of high-speed data) options.