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Is a Mint Mobile family plan worth the switch?
Mint Mobile prides itself on offering cheap phone plans for as little as $15 a month, making it a great deal for someone looking to save money on their phone bill. In 2023 the carrier widened its target to families as well. Is the Mint Mobile family plan worth it? Let’s dive right in and discuss.
What is included in the Mint Mobile family plan?
Like all of Mint’s plans, the Mint Mobile family plan runs on the T-Mobile network and is paid at least three months in advance.
When creating a Mint Mobile family plan, you’ll be asked to pick out specific plans for each line. For example, you could have two users on Unlimited while the third and fourth users are on the 5GB plan. You can see the full list of plans and benefits below:
Plan | Cost | Talk & Text | Data | Extras |
---|---|---|---|---|
Plan Mint 5GB | Cost $75 for three months $120 for six months $180 for 12 months | Talk & Text Unlimited | Data 4GB LTE/5G access | Extras Hotspot up to data limit |
Plan Mint 15GB | Cost $105 for three months $150 for six months $240 for 12 months | Talk & Text Unlimited | Data 10GB LTE/5G access | Extras Hotspot up to data limit |
Plan Mint 20GB | Cost $135 for three months $210 for six months $300 for 12 months | Talk & Text Unlimited | Data 15GB LTE/5G access | Extras Hotspot up to data limit |
Plan Mint Unlimited | Cost $120 for three months $210 for six months $360 for 12 months | Talk & Text Unlimited | Data 40GB premium data Unlimited 4G/5G | Extras 10GB hotspot access |
For most users, we recommend the Unlimited plan, especially right now. For a limited time, Mint is offering all of its plans for the same $ 15-a-month rate if a customer is part of a family plan. That means you can try the unlimited data plan for three months for the same price as the humble 5GB plan.
Okay, but what about savings? Most family plans give you discounts for every line you add. Unfortunately, Mint Mobile doesn’t do this. There is no discount for having a family plan. So why bother? There are some benefits to having a Mint Mobile family plan:
- You can manage every line from one account.
- You don’t have to pay for 12 months at once to get the lowest rates possible.
The last point is the most significant one. Normally Mint Mobile requires you to pre-pay in either 3, 6, or 12-month increments. Paying annually in one lump sum yields the best discounts. For those with at least two lines on a family plan, you’ll still be required to commit to a year’s service, but you’ll only have to pay quarterly. For families with multiple members, this means they can enjoy Mint’s great pricing without having to pay a ton of cash upfront.
Is the Mint Mobile family plan a good value?
Considering Mint Mobile has aggressive pricing for single accounts, I have to say I feel like Mint Mobile could do more to make its family plans stand out. Even a discount of, say, $1 or 2 a month per line would be something. Or maybe take a page from Verizon Prepaid and give loyalty discounts to family plan members that stick with Mint long-term. Really anything to make family plans slightly more enticing.
As it stands, Mint Mobile family plans don’t really offer any major differences from a standard account, other than you can pay in 3-month increments and still get the biggest discounts. However, that doesn’t mean the pricing isn’t still a good value for some users. It’s also worth noting that T-Mobile now owns Mint, and so its services could get even better in the future.
If you are considering a limited family plan, Mint Mobile has some of the cheapest rates you’re going to find. Families will pay $15 a month every three months for 4GB of data. In comparison, Tello offers a 5GB plan for $19 a month, and Fi Flexible offers four lines for $65, or what works out to $16.25 a line.
Things become slightly less impressive when you look at other unlimited family plans. Waving away any temporary pricing discounts, long-term an unlimited plan is going to cost you $30 a line for four people — or $120 a month.
$30 a line is actually pretty decent and manages to one-up several prepaid families, including the plans offered by Metro from T-Mobile and Cricket Wireless. At the end of the day, Mint Mobile has aggressive pricing for families. It’s just not the absolute cheapest if that’s important to you.
Mint Mobile family plan alternatives
If you’re looking to save even more money on a family plan, you’ll want to consider Google Fi, Cricket, or US Mobile. The former two run T-Mobile’s network, while the latter works on Verizon or T-Mobile. Although there are other prepaid family plans out there, these are three of our favorite alternatives to Mint.
Here’s a quick TL;DR on what both of these Mint Mobile alternatives have to offer:
Google Fi Wireless at a glance
Google Fi Wireless is a great choice for those looking for the lowest rates possible for unlimited data. As you can see, four lines will set you back just $80. That’s just $20 a month per person! Like Mint Mobile, you’ll get access through T-mobile’s network. Additionally, Fi also roams on US Cellular’s network, which could be helpful for those who live in the Midwest. All in all, Fi offers a similar experience to Mint but with a few extras, despite costing less.
See more plan details below:
Flexible | Simply Unlimited | Unlimited Plus | |
---|---|---|---|
Cost | Flexible $20/mo + $10/GB per month for 1 line $35/mo + $10/GB per month for 2 lines $50/mo + $10/GB per month for 3 lines $65/mo + $10/GB per month for 4 lines $80/mo + $10/GB per month for 5 lines $95/mo + $10/GB per month for 6 lines | Simply Unlimited $50 per month for 1 line $80 per month for 2 lines ($40 per line) $90 per month for 3 lines ($30 per line) $100 per month for 4 lines ($25 per line) $125 per month for 5 lines ($25 per line) $150 per month for 6 lines ($25 per line) | Unlimited Plus $65 per month for 1 line $110 a month for 2 lines ($55 per line) $135 per month for 3 lines ($45 per line) $160 per month for 4 lines ($40 per line) $200 per month for 5 lines ($40 per line) $240 per month for 6 lines ($40 per line) |
Talk & Text | Flexible Unlimited | Simply Unlimited Unlimited | Unlimited Plus Unlimited |
Data | Flexible $10 per GB used until you reach limit | Simply Unlimited Up to 35GB of free, unmetered data | Unlimited Plus Up to 50GB of free, unmetered data |
Hotspot | Flexible Full-speed at $10 per GB rate | Simply Unlimited 5GB of Wi-Fi hotspot tethering per person | Unlimited Plus Full-speed included |
International | Flexible Free calls from US to Canada and Mexico. On an iPhone, when you travel outside of the US, tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot options are not available. | Simply Unlimited Free calls from US to Canada and Mexico No international calls, texts, and data outside the US, Canada, and Mexico | Unlimited Plus Free calls from US to over 50 countries. Unlimited data and texts in over 200 countries or regions. |
Extras | Flexible Data free after per-month limit | Simply Unlimited None | Unlimited Plus 100GB of Google One storage for each group plan member. One year of YouTube Premium per user at no additional cost. |
Cricket at a glance
Cricket has several family plans available. Its most affordable family plan includes unlimited data at a price of just $100 for four lines or $25 a line. If you want extras like hotspot access and the ad-supported Max service, Cricket Unlimited + 15GB Hotspot adds all this for just $130 for four lines. Although Cricket isn’t the cheapest alternative to Mint Mobile, it’s similarly priced and includes many extras (like streaming) that you won’t find elsewhere.
See more plan details below:
5GB | 10GB | Cricket Unlimited | Cricket Unlimited + 15GB hotspot | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cost | 5GB $30 per month | 10GB $40 for one line $70 for two lines $90 for three lines $110 for four lines | Cricket Unlimited $55 for one line $80 for two lines $90 for three lines $100 for four lines | Cricket Unlimited + 15GB hotspot $60 for one line $90 for two lines $110 for three lines $130 for four lines |
Talk and Text | 5GB Unlimited HD Voice and Wi-Fi Calling | 10GB Unlimited HD Voice and Wi-Fi Calling | Cricket Unlimited Unlimited HD Voice and Wi-Fi Calling | Cricket Unlimited + 15GB hotspot Unlimited HD Voice and Wi-Fi Calling |
Data | 5GB 5GB of 4G LTE or 5G data | 10GB 10GB of 4G LTE or 5G data | Cricket Unlimited Unlimited high-speed 4G LTE or 5G data | Cricket Unlimited + 15GB hotspot Unlimited 4G LTE or 5G data |
Streaming | 5GB Standard Definition 480p | 10GB Standard Definition 480p | Cricket Unlimited Standard Definition 480p | Cricket Unlimited + 15GB hotspot Standard Definition 480p |
Hotspot | 5GB Not available | 10GB Not available | Cricket Unlimited For $10 extra | Cricket Unlimited + 15GB hotspot 15GB included |
International | 5GB Not available | 10GB Available | Cricket Unlimited Texts to 37 countries Canada and Mexico usage (must not exceed 50%) | Cricket Unlimited + 15GB hotspot Texts to 37 countries Canada and Mexico usage (must not exceed 50%) |
Perks | 5GB None | 10GB None | Cricket Unlimited None | Cricket Unlimited + 15GB hotspot Ad-supported Max subscription 150GB Cloud Storage |
US Mobile at a glance
US Mobile costs the same as the base Cricket Unlimited plan, at $100 for four lines. It also offers limited data and a shared data pool plan for those that don’t want or need tons of data. While Fi offers better pricing, US Mobile comes in closely behind it. It also has the advantage of Verizon support, for those areas with weaker T-Mobile signals that want to take advantage of the Big Red network instead.
See more plan details below:
Shared Data | 2-25GB Plan | Unlimited Basic | Unlimited Premium | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cost | Shared Data $9 per line + $2 per GB | 2-25GB Plan $12 for 2GB $15 for 5GB $20 for 15GB $25 for 25GB | Unlimited Basic $35 for one line $20 per line for 4 | Unlimited Premium $45 for one line $30 per line for 4 |
Talk & Text | Shared Data Unlimited | 2-25GB Plan Unlimited | Unlimited Basic Unlimited | Unlimited Premium Unlimited |
Data | Shared Data At $2 per GB | 2-25GB Plan 2-25GB | Unlimited Basic 40GB of 5G/LTE | Unlimited Premium 100GB of 5G/LTE |
Hotspot | Shared Data At $2 per GB | 2-25GB Plan Up to plan limit | Unlimited Basic 5GB hotspot data | Unlimited Premium 50GB hotspot data |
International | Shared Data For purchase | 2-25GB Plan For purchase | Unlimited Basic For purchase | Unlimited Premium Up to 10GB international data |
Post-paid options: AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile at a glance
Of course, value isn’t the only factor in a family plan. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile offer more perks, better customer service, and a few other advantages, despite costing a lot more. Here’s a quick breakdown of the cheapest and best plan from each of the main three carriers:
AT&T Unlimited Starter | AT&T Unlimited Premium | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Welcome | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Plus | T-Mobile Essentials | T-Mobile Go5G Plus | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cost | AT&T Unlimited Starter $65 for one line $60 for two lines $45 for three lines $35 for four lines | AT&T Unlimited Premium $85 for one line $75 for two lines $60 for three lines $50 for four lines | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Welcome $65 for one line $55 for two lines $40 for three lines $30 for four lines $27 for five lines | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Plus $80 for one line $70 for two lines $55 for three lines $45 for four lines $42 for five lines | T-Mobile Essentials $50 for one line $40 for two lines $30 for three lines $25 for four lines | T-Mobile Go5G Plus $90 for one line $75 for two lines $50 for three lines $46 for four lines |
Talk & Text | AT&T Unlimited Starter Unlimited | AT&T Unlimited Premium Unlimited | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Welcome Unlimited | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Plus Unlimited | T-Mobile Essentials Unlimited | T-Mobile Go5G Plus Unlimited |
Data | AT&T Unlimited Starter Unlimited basic 4G LTE 5G access with compatible device | AT&T Unlimited Premium 100GB premium 4G LTE Unlimited basic 4G LTE 5G access with compatible device | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Welcome Unlimited 4G LTE 5G Nationwide | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Plus Unlimited 4G LTE 5G Nationwide Wideband 5G | T-Mobile Essentials Yes, but might slow down during congestion after | T-Mobile Go5G Plus Unlimited 5G & 4G LTE with 100GB of Premium Data |
Hotspot | AT&T Unlimited Starter Not included | AT&T Unlimited Premium 30GB per line | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Welcome None ($10 add on exists, however) | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Plus 30GB 4G LTE or 5G | T-Mobile Essentials Unlimited 3G | T-Mobile Go5G Plus 50GB of hotspot data |
International Service | AT&T Unlimited Starter Unlimited texting to 120 countries | AT&T Unlimited Premium Unlimited texting to 120 countries | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Welcome Talk & Text in Mexico and Canada Texting in over 200 countries | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Plus Talk & Text in Mexico and Canada Texting in over 200 countries | T-Mobile Essentials Unlimited text in 215+ countries Unlimited talk/text in Canada/Mexico, just 128Kbps data | T-Mobile Go5G Plus 5GB of data and unlimited talk text in over 215+ countries 15GB of data and unlimited talk/text in Mexico/Canada |
Extra Perks | AT&T Unlimited Starter Device security and spam risk alerts Standard definition streaming | AT&T Unlimited Premium Device security and spam risk alerts High definition streaming | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Welcome 480p streaming Can add perks for $10 each, including 100GB hotspot data, Apple Music, Apple One, Disney Plus bundle, and more | Verizon myPlan Unlimited Plus 480p streaming Can add perks for $10 each, including 100GB hotspot data, Apple Music, Apple One, Disney Plus bundle, and more | T-Mobile Essentials 480p streaming | T-Mobile Go5G Plus Netflix Basic, one SD screen Apple TV Plus |
As you can see, postpaid offers other perks that might be useful for families too. Ultimately it comes down to if you care more about value or savings. Be sure to check out our guide to the best family plans for even more suggestions and buyer advice.