Pay once and forget it: These three US carriers can save you $250 or more if you pay annually

Imagine if you could cross your monthly phone service off the ever-growing list of bills for good! Paying annually not only lets you take care of the cost in one go, but it also means you can time your payment around when you have extra cash — like during tax season — or cover it as a gift for someone during the holidays. Even better, in many cases, you’ll save a substantial amount of money.

Because of the nature of postpaid accounts, none of the big three carriers offer annual prepayment plans. That means you’ll need to look at the prepaid market. While Tracfone is one of the oldest and most well-known options, there are a surprisingly large number of prepaid carriers that offer annual plans including US Mobile, Mint Mobile, Straight Talk, and even Visible. 

Based on my experience with many of these carriers, I can cut through the marketing speak and tell you right now: US Mobile, Visible, and Mint Mobile are the three I most recommend. In fact, they’re my top three prepaid carriers overall.

Here’s a quick comparison of what you’ll pay and get with each:

As you can see, Mint is the only one of these options that doesn’t offer monthly plans as well. Both Mint and US Mobile let you save around $12 a month by paying upfront, though exact savings vary by plan. So which should you choose? It depends on what you’re looking for.

• Pick Mint Mobile if you don’t need unlimited data. Mint’s 40GB “Unlimited” data plan isn’t as robust as the top unlimited plans from competitors, as it offers less priority data. However, for customers who don’t need large amounts of data, Mint’s $180/yr 5GB plan is a fantastic value.
• Visible is great, but only if you go with Plus. The standard Visible account has low prioritization and few extras, but Visible Plus offers priority close to Verizon’s postpaid accounts and perks like free watch service.
• Get US Mobile if you want network flexibility. All of US Mobile’s plans are technically unlimited, although Flex provides only 10GB of high-speed data before throttling down to around 1-5Mbps. Pricing is excellent, and you can switch between all three networks, though there’s a fee beyond the first two switches.

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How much can you save over postpaid carriers?

The truth is paying all at once can save you significantly over a traditional carrier — for certain plans. How much you can save will vary depending on your plan and family size. Still, in most situations, you will be able to find a comparable plan that can save you hundreds, even if a few concessions are required. 

What if you only need one line?

Postpaid plans typically start at $50 per month with T-Mobile, while AT&T and Verizon start around $65. That’s a minimum of $600 annually for a basic plan. With the most expensive prepaid option, Visible Plus, you’ll save at least $220 a year — and potentially much more with cheaper options, like Mint Mobile’s 5GB plan, which costs $180/year, which represents a staggering $420 in savings over postpaid. 

While postpaid service may seem worth the extra cost at a glance, the reality is base postpaid plans offer similar features and prioritization to prepaid. As a result, higher-end prepaid plans from Visible, Mint, and US Mobile often provide comparable or better prioritization than entry-level postpaid options.

For extra perks and high prioritization, a mid-tier postpaid plan costs around $75 to $80 a month — around $900 annually. Even then, a prepaid carrier would save you at least $300 and that’s for a more expensive prepaid plan that offers similar features and prioritization while keeping costs low. 

What about families, will they save? 

The truth is postpaid carriers tend to be at their best when you bring multiple lines over. These postpaid family plans offer sizable discounts, streaming perks, and other extras that are hard to ignore.

From a pure service quality perspective, Visible Plus and US Mobile actually offer similar coverage and performance just without as many bells and whistles. Mint Mobile has slightly lower prioritization in comparison, but it’s still pretty close. If you don’t care about the extras, will you save with an annual prepaid plan still? It depends. 

You’ll pay around $25 to $35 a line if you have a basic postpaid plan with four family members, which works out to just $1200 to $1,680 a month. In comparison, US Mobile Flex offers a basic experience that lines up well with the postpaid entry tiers, and yet it only costs $840 for four lines, which is a savings of at least $360. Not all deals stack up this favorably, as Visible Plus would cost you $1,580 for four lines. That means you might actually save with a postpaid plan.

Of course, Visible Plus has better priority than these basic plans. With this in mind, you’d pay at least $1,860 for a year of mid-tier service through T-Mobile’s Go5G plan and as much as $2,160 for Verizon’s comparable myPlan Plus. In contrast, you’d save $280 at minimum with Visible Plus. 

Which option should you choose?

US Mobile, Mint Mobile, and Visible represent the very best of the prepaid world already but annual savings help these carriers stand out even more. We didn’t dive too deeply into how each of these carriers compare beyond the limited table above, but don’t worry we won’t leave you hanging. For a deeper dive you’ll want to check out our US Mobile vs Mint Mobile and Mint Mobile vs Visible guides. 

Know which option will work for you? Hit up the buttons below to sign up for service now.