US Mobile vs Mint Mobile: Which suits you best?

If you’re really looking to squeeze the most value out of your prepaid plan, there are few better MVNO options than US Mobile and Mint Mobile. Both offer affordable prices, a range of plans to suit your needs and some nice perks. But if you were to compare US Mobile vs Mint Mobile, which one would come out on top?

We’ve done just that, examinging both US Mobile and Mint Mobile in terms of plan pricing, perks, coverage, and more. Here’s what you need to know in the heads-up comparison.

US Mobile vs Mint Mobile — Pricing

For many people, the amount coming out of your bank account is the number one consideration when it comes to choosing a new carrier. US Mobile and Mint Mobile both offer a nice range of plans but with noticeably different approaches.

There are unlimited and limited data plans, as well as some customizable options. We’ll lay out the main plans from each provider in the table below, then we’ll go through some of the key points in a bit more detail.

US Mobile

When it comes to US Mobile plans, the table above doesn’t tell the whole story. There are limited and unlimited data plans, plans with just talk and text, and build-your-own plans. Add in savings for multiple lines, and you’re left with countless different iterations that are difficult to summarize in a table.

There are two prepackaged unlimited plans: Unlimited Basic and Unlimited Premium. They’re $35 or $45 for one line of service, but that drops to $20 and $30 per line if you add four lines, making it a handy provider for families. Adding lines also unlocks perks, as discussed below. Unlimited Basic offers 40GB of Premium Data, which uses the trademark Warp 5G signal of US mobile, and 5GB mobile hotspot. Unlimited Premium ups those limits to 100GB and 50GB, plus 10GB of eSIM international data.

There are four limited-data plans to choose from, not including the bespoke plans we’ll mention in a moment. The data allowance is obviously determinative of the price, which ranges from $12 per month for the 2GB plan to $25 per month for the 25GB plan. There are even two packages with no data allowance if you just need a line of service for calls and texts. They start from just $5 per month.

Finally, as we’ve alluded to, you can build your own plan. You choose how many minutes of talk you want, how many texts, and how much data, and each allocation adds a fixed dollar amount to your monthly total. For example, 500 minutes of talk costs $5, 1,000 texts is $4, and 500MB of data is $5. If that’s about what you use then you can build it for $14 per month. But it’s worth checking out the off-the-shelf packages first as they often represent a discount compared to the individual costs of what’s in them.

Mint Mobile

The comparison table above also doesn’t quite do Mint Mobile justice either, as the operator has a tasty introductory offer to new clients. Your first three months with Mint are at the best prices available, which are the equivalent monthly rates that you’d pay on the 12-month plan.

So for the 4GB plan, the prices indicated in the table will be $45 for the first three months, $60 for the first three months on the 10GB plan, $75 for the first three months on the 15GB plan, and $90 for the first three months on the Unlimited plan. The rates will return to normal after the initial three months unless you commit to one of the longer plans.

All Mint mobile plans are technically unlimited — it will just slow your speeds after you use up the agreed data allowance. In the case of the Unlimited plan, your speeds will slow down after 35GB. There’s free hotspot too, but the amount you use draws from your plan allocation, with a maximum of 5GB per month on the unlimited plan.

The Mint limited-data plans are a bit pricier than the equivalent US Mobile plans. Even making the maximum savings by signing up for a 12-month plan, the 15GB on Mint works out to $25 per month, compared with $20 for the US Mobile 15GB plan. But the tables are turned when it comes to unlimited data. $30 per month for the sole Mint unlimited data plan is $5 cheaper than even the US Mobile unlimited Basic option.

US Mobile vs Mint Mobile — Coverage

Mint Mobile uses the T-Mobile network, so coverage is generally very good. You can check out Mint Mobile’s coverage map for more details, but as long as you’re not in the most rural parts of the US, you’re likely to get good 4G LTE reception and 5G coverage in major conurbations. T-Mobile and Mint by extension, claim 99% of Americans can receive 4G LTE reception, and the 5G network is rapidly expanding.

US Mobile claims to offer next-generation speeds and coverage, and in theory, they have a point. Unusually, the operator works on both the Verizon and T-Mobile networks, giving it broad access for its 4G LTE and 5G users that goes beyond that of most providers.

We’ve already mentioned the Warp 5G, of which you can get a 100GB allocation on the top unlimited plan. US Mobile claims that its Warp 5G network is ten times faster than a standard 4G LTE network and can deliver potential speeds of up to 3Gbps where coverage is available.

US Mobile vs Mint Mobile — Perks and promotions

On the surface, US Mobile seems to offer more potential advantages than any other MVNO. However, there is a significant catch since most consumers will not be able to benefit from them. While complimentary membership to some of the best music, video, and gaming platforms is offered, it is only available if you subscribe to multiple lines on the Unlimited Premium plan.

Signing up for three lines on this top-tier plan gets you to choose one service, and activating four lines allows you to choose two. As restrictive as that is, some of the options are quite impressive. There’s everything from Disney Plus and Netflix to Spotify Family and PlayStation Plus.

Mint Mobile plans don’t come with many extras such as extra subscriptions, but it’s worth mentioning a fantastic promotion available at Mint right now. If you’re bringing your number to Mint you can get a huge discount on the Google Pixel 7 and couple it with a half-price plan. You’ll only pay $199 for the device, so the whole package with a 12-month subscription to the 4GB plan is a total outlay of $289. It’s one of the best MVNO deals you’ll find if you want both a new line and a new phone.

US Mobile vs Mint Mobile — Phone selections

US Mobile has a reasonably limited phone selection. It offers the iPhone 14 range but not the latest flagships of Samsung. So you can get any of the phones in the Galaxy S22 line as well as some of the more affordable Samsungs such as the Galaxy A53, but the Galaxy S23 series isn’t on offer. Google Pixel phones are well represented in the US Mobile shop, as are some of the popular Moto handsets.

Mint Mobile has a more expanded range of handsets to choose from, including the top Apple handsets and flagship Android phones such as the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The most notable omissions are probably the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus 10 Pro, although the budget-tier OnePlus Nord 100 is available.

Which carrier is right for you?

There isn’t a wrong answer between these two carriers. Both have varied and affordable plans, plus excellent coverage.

The chance to customize your plan and choose your perks with US Mobile will appeal to some people, and Warp 5G is also intriguing in terms of the speed claims. The marginally cheaper limited-data plans are also a tick in the box for US Mobile, but there isn’t much in it, and Mint has better prices on the unlimited data plans.

If you’re looking to purchase a phone when you join your new network, Mint is probably the better bet. Not only does it have a wider selection of the most popular handsets, but it also has some extremely tempting phone-plus-plan deals, as outlined above.

Without a clear winner, it’s probably best to peruse the plans and coverage maps to see what most appeals to you. If neither is quite right, you could look into other MVNOs such as Google Fi, Metro by T-Mobile, and Boost Mobile.