"Unlimited" is a funny term. Unlimited cell phone plans often come with a long list of footnotes, terms, conditions, and exceptions. Mercifully, all of the Big Three cell companies have, by now, ditched throttling on their highest-paid tiers, and include 5G data access in all their unlimited plans. Yet there are still many differences in the services they offer, and from tier to tier within each company.
Cheaper “unlimited” tiers do offer unlimited talk and text. But they still have rules on how much unlimited data you get before they start throttling your speed, and some “unlimited” plans may throttle your data at any given time. Data throttling is the practice of reducing your data speeds after you hit a certain threshold of data used in a month or during times of congestion. It's been a fixture of cell service plans for years.
Below, I've highlighted what each of the major carriers offers for “unlimited” individual and family plans to help you figure out which unlimited plan is best for you and your budget.
The Best Unlimited Plan Right Now: T-Mobile Experience More
T-Mobile Essentials, Experience More, and Experience Beyond Plans
The Essentials plan (with autopay, taxes/fees not included): 1 Line for $60/month | 2 Lines $90 | 3 Lines $90 | 4 Lines $100 | 5 Lines $125
Experience More (with autopay, taxes/fees not included): 1 Line for $85/month | 2 Lines $140 | 3 Lines $140 | 4 Lines $170 | 5 Lines $200
Experience Beyond (with autopay, taxes/fees not included): 1 Line for $100/month | 2 Lines $170 | 3 Lines $170 | 4 Lines $215 | 5 Lines $260
T-Mobile has the best 5G coverage among the big three, the highest 5G speeds, the fastest downloads and the best overall reliability, according to analysis from OpenSignal and Ookla. The carrier also makes claims to winning on value, when you take into account perks that include entertainment bundles, airplane WiFi, and access to satellite data in emergencies.
T-Mobile has rebranded its unlimited offerings this year but still offers three unlimited talk and text plans: Essentials, Experience More, and Experience Beyond. Only the two Experience plans offer true unlimited 5G data without any throttling or deprioritizing (i.e., making your phone stand in line for data behind other, more important, phones during peak demand.)
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