Here are The Best No-Contract Phone Plans 2023

No one can get around the fact that everyone needs a smartphone these days. But a phone isn’t very useful without some kind of internet plan, and not everyone needs a traditional plan from one of the big carriers.

Even though most plans from AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint/T-Mobile no longer come with an official contract, they still have deals that lock you into a certain plan, at a certain price, for a certain amount of time. Also, they are “post-paid” plans, which means that you agree to follow certain rules and pay your bill at the end of the month.

Smaller carriers, MVNOs, and other companies offer similar deals on the same networks, but they don’t have any restrictions. That means you can switch from one company to another more easily if your needs change or your situation changes and you need to switch to a different plan.

Even though we can’t try every carrier in every place, these are the best no-contract and prepaid plans we could find on the best networks. We think these are the best no-contract phone plans on the market. They won’t be right for everyone, though.

Visible

VisibleMost of the pre-paid providers here are actually owned by one of the big three network operators (AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile/Sprint). Verizon owns Visible, so you have unlimited access to the network that has always been ranked as having the best 4G service.

Here, Visible stands out from the rest in a few important ways.

At just $30 per month for a single line, it’s one of the cheapest unlimited data plans you can get right now. Visible’s “plus” plan costs $45 per month and gives you 50GB of premium data, as well as better foreign calling and texting.

There are a few rules to keep in mind, but they are pretty standard. For example, if the network is busy, your data may not get as much attention. Also, your plan limits video streaming to 480p, which is DVD quality. Even the big carriers do this, though, and it isn’t that obvious on a small phone screen.

You can use your Visible data to act as a hotspot for another device, but speeds are limited to 5Mbps and you can only tether one device at a time. Other than that, this is the best prepaid phone deal for both single lines right now.

Google Fi

Google Fi calls itself “a different kind of phone plan,” but in reality, it’s more like a pre-paid phone plan with a few extra perks. The ones that stand out are endless full-speed hotspot use and unlimited texts and data when traveling abroad. Not many prepaid phone plans have those, so getting one with no contract is a good deal.

The only problem? Fi plans cost more than other plans. A single endless line costs $70, but if you have four people, the price drops to $45 per line (plus fees) per person. You can choose a flexible plan, but it will cost you $20/month (plus fees) for one person and $10/GB of data used.

Google Fi has great service because your data can go through the T-Mobile and Sprint networks. If your phone supports T-Mobile’s 5G bands, you can even use 5G. It’s a nice plan, but the monthly cost only really makes sense if you use the foreign and hotspot features.

Tello

There are a lot of cheap plans for prepaid phones, but Tello has a lot to give for a small monthly fee. You can make your own plan. For $10 a month, you can get 500 minutes of calls, unlimited texts, and 1GB of internet. That probably isn’t enough for most people, but if you don’t use your phone very often, it’s a great low-cost choice. You can get 2GB of data and unlimited calls and texts for just $14/month, or you can get 5GB of data for $19/month.

The T-Mobile network moves your info. You can even choose “unlimited” data, but after 25GB, the speed drops to 2G.

You’ll need a phone that works with the T-Mobile GSM network, which is the only problem. Tello will sell you a lot of them, but we think the best deal is on an open GSM phone like the iPhone SE or Google Pixel 3a. It will cost more up front, but if you don’t like Tello, you can move to another provider.

Metro by T-Mobile

Previously MetroPCS, this is now T-Mobile’s in-house prepaid brand. The plans are comparable to the primary T-Mobile plans, using the same network and providing a combination of unlimited data, hotspot features, and substantial discounts for signing up for multiple lines.

A single line with unlimited speak, text, and data costs $50 per month and includes 5GB of mobile hotspot usage. However, Metro’s higher-tier plans, particularly if you’re switching multiple lines, begin to pay off significantly. Metro offers a variety of promotions, phone discounts, and additional benefits (such as Amazon Prime membership included on some plans) to sweeten the deal.

If you discover the right combination, you can save a lot of money. For instance, four lines of the highest-tier plan offer unlimited everything, Amazon Prime, and 15GB of hotspot utilization for just $120 per month. There are even phone discounts for converting, which can reduce the price of a device like the new iPhone SE to just $99, after a plethora of confusing discounts and restrictions (it’s still a phone plan).

Boost Mobile

Boost (at least in the United States) is yet another T-Mobile-owned carrier, but it provides access to one of the finest mobile networks. Boost is not the finest in any one category, but its combination of unlimited data, an affordable price, and a large amount of hotspot data is appealing.

Boost’s unlimited talk/text/data plan for a single line begins at $50 per month, which is slightly more expensive than Visible but less expensive than Google Fi. Additionally, it offers excellent group discounts, including four unlimited data lines for $120 and three lines for $100 per month. If you favor T-Mobile’s network over Verizon’s, this is not a terrible backup option.

Keep in touch with cell plan store for more money saving plan.