Simple plans
Mint Mobile
Mint Mobile offers four data packages with a range of plans and discounts depending on how much service you pay for at once. With up to 40GB of high-speed data on the top unlimited plan, Mint Mobile has an option for most people.
Pros
Multi-month discounts
Family plan savings available
Strong 5G coverage with T-Mobile
Cons
No one-month option
Taxes and fees are extra
Robust international features
Ultra Mobile
Ultra Mobile looks a lot like Mint at first glance with multi-month discounts and coverage on the T-Mobile network. Ultra stands out with strong international features and more plan flexibility than Mint, with the same T-Mobile coverage domestically.
Pros
Multi-month and single-month plans
Solid family plan savings
Strong coverage, international options
Cons
Taxes and fees are extra
Higher prices at three and six months
Ultra Mobile and Mint Mobile are cut from the same cloth. Both carriers use the T-Mobile network with straightforward multi-month plans offering unlimited talk and text with a fixed amount of high-speed data. Ultra Mobile offers more variation with better international options, but to most people, the two carriers look very similar. When it comes to price, Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile trade blows, but are rarely more than a few dollars off of each other.
With the choice between Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile, the biggest factors are stronger international features and more overall choice with Ultra Mobile. Still, Mint Mobile has an edge in some other features, like new phone deals and selection. Itâs also worth mentioning that Mint Mobile is now owned by T-Mobile, though the carrier hasnât made any significant changes since taking over.
Mobile carrier features
Mint Mobile is fairly well-known for being a prepaid carrier, with marketing driven by Ryan Reynolds and plenty of press coverage. Mint Mobile is easy to understand with its multi-month discounts allowing customers to save over postpaid options. With Mint, youâll buy a plan in three-, six-, or 12-month increments with greater savings for those willing to pay for a longer term. There is no single-month plan with Mint.
One of the biggest problems with paying for a plan for multiple months upfront in that you need a lot of cash on hand. This problem is multiplied when you've got multiple lines to bring with you. Luckily, with Mint Family, if you have two or more lines, you can get Mint's best rates, usually only available with a 12-month plan, renewed every three months instead. With Mint Family, you'll be making a payment every three months.
Mint Mobile is owned by T-Mobile and uses the T-Mobile network for all of its coverage. Mint has access to T-Mobileâs fastest 5G speeds with full Ultra Capacity mid-band support, though priority will still be lower than a postpaid T-Mobile plan. Still, for most people, these plans offer more than enough speed. Itâs also worth noting that the data is yours to use as you see fit, with shared mobile hotspot data on all but the unlimited plan.
Ultra Mobile shares some DNA with Mint Mobile with simple multi-month plans, but Ultra stands out with more flexible plans that feature a one-month option. Ultra Mobile generally has more plans as well, with seven plan sizes compared to Mint Mobileâs four. While this means a bit more confusion for less savvy customers, for those who know exactly how much data they need, itâs nice to have a few more options, including a larger unlimited plan.
Ultra Mobile uses the same T-Mobile 5G network as Mint Mobile, so you can expect roughly the same network experience on either carrier. Ultra Mobile, like Mint, allows you to use your data as a mobile hotspot if you like, though Ultraâs two unlimited plans have a fixed amount of hotspot data.
For families, Ultra Mobileâs Family Plan is a bit easier to understand than Mintâs. Ultraâs family plan starts with the Unlimited plan for $49, with additional lines coming in at $24 each. You can even get the third line for half off at the time of writing. Ultra Mobile has a few more international features as well, with calling to 90+ countries, talk and text in Mexico and Canada, and an international roaming credit including monthly with many plans.
Coverage and reception
Both Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile use the T-Mobile network for all of their coverage. While some rural customers may find T-Mobileâs coverage to be lacking, most people will see quick 5G speeds across the country with T-Mobile. T-Mobile offers 5G coverage with both low and mid-band coverage, so you should spend most of your time connected to 5G with either of these carriers.
According to the carriersâ coverage maps, Ultra Mobile has some rural roaming coverage that Mint Mobile doesnât. You can check Mint Mobileâs coverage map as well as Ultra Mobileâs coverage map to make sure youâre covered. While Ultra offers some roaming that Mint doesnât if youâre going to be spending a lot of time in these areas, you donât want to rely on roaming for your everyday coverage. Still, itâs nice to see if you travel off the beaten path a lot.
Phone compatibility
Since both of these carriers use T-Mobile, phone compatibility is essentially identical. Therefore, you can use any of the best Android phones on either carrier. This includes some options not designed for the North American market, like the Nothing Phone 2a, though youâll still likely get better speeds and coverage with a phone designed for this market, such as a Galaxy S24, Pixel 9 Pro, or even something cheaper like the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024).
You can check your phoneâs IMEI with Mintâs BYOD compatibility tool, as well as the tool on Ultra Mobileâs site. For the most part, your phone should support 5G bands n71 and n41 for the best T-Mobile speeds. T-Mobile can also use some other bands at the same time with a technology called carrier aggregation if your phone supports it. For the most part, band n41 will provide plenty of speed for most people.
If youâre looking for a new phone, both Mint and Ultra sell them, though Mint Mobile has a bigger selection of new devices. Still, with either carrier, you can get a new phone bundled with a plan for some additional savings. If you canât find the phone you want, you can more than likely buy it unlocked and bring it to either carrier, however.
Plans
Both carriers focus on offering multi-month data plans on the T-Mobile network, though there are a handful of differences to be aware of. Firstly, Mint Mobileâs shortest plan duration is three months, while Ultra Mobile is happy to offer monthly options for all of its plans. Ultra Mobile also focuses a bit more on international calling, texting, and roaming. Both carriers also have a family plan, though the way theyâre set up can result in some big differences.
Both of these carriers add taxes and fees to the end, so youâll end up paying a few more dollars per month than the price would suggest. Thereâs also a hefty recovery fee charged by each carrier, which can add up with a yearly plan.
Mint's plans
Mint Mobile has distilled its plan down to just four options with the smallest plan offering 5GB of data. For 12 months, this plan comes in at $15 per month; for six months, itâs $20 per month; for just three months, itâs $15 per month. This plan gets 5GB of high-speed data, followed by 2GB speeds, with hotspot usage on all of it. While you need to pay for multiple months upfront, your data renews every month.
Moving up, the 15GB and 20GB plans are largely the same apart from the data amount. The 15GB plan comes in at $35 per month for three months, $25 for six months, and $20 for the full year. The 20GB plan is $45 for the three-month plan, $35 for six months, and $25 for 12 months.
The Unlimited plan comes with 40GB of high-speed data to use on your phone with 10GB of high-speed hotspot data. While this isnât a truly unlimited plan, itâs still the biggest available on Mint and should come with plenty of data for the vast majority of users. Mint Mobile Unlimited comes in at $40 per month for three months, $35 for six months, and $30 per month with a 12-month plan.
With Mintâs plans, youâll need to pay the full amount upfront, so if you want the best price on its 5GB plan, for example, youâll need to pay $180. This can be daunting if you have multiple lines, but Mint Family can help. Mint Family allows you to bundle up to five lines with Mintâs best rates, normally reserved for the 12-month plan, but you only pay for three months at a time. This can make paying a bit more palatable if you donât have a ton of cash sitting around.
Free calling to Mexico and Canada is included, as well as texting to 190+ countries. You can call other countries by adding international calling credit and paying per minute.
5GB | 15GB | 20GB | Unlimited | |
---|---|---|---|---|
5GB | 15GB | 20GB | 40GB | |
Shared | Shared | Shared | 10GB | |
$75 | $105 | $135 | $120 | |
$120 | $150 | $210 | $210 | |
$180 | $240 | $300 | $360 | |
Extra | Extra | Extra | Extra | |
3 month: $4.50 | 3 month: $4.75 | 3 month: $5.00 | 3 month: $5.50 | |
6 month: $7.50 | 6 month: $7.75 | 6 month: $8.00 | 6 month: $8.75 | |
12 month: $14.00 | 12 month: $14.50 | 12 month: $14.75 | 12 month: $16.25 |
Ultra's plans
Ultra Mobileâs plans look a lot like Mint Mobileâs, but youâve got more choices with seven plans available, including a smaller Talk & Text Plan and a larger Unlimited+ plan. On the low end, the Talk & Text Plan comes with just 250MB of data and unlimited talk and text for $15 per month when paid monthly, but as low as $10 per month with a 12-month plan. There are also three-month and six-month options in between,
Ultra Mobile's 3GB, 5GB, 10GB, and 15GB plans offer solid upgrades to those who know how much data they need, with lower prices for the smaller plans and discounts for paying for a longer term upfront. Like Mint Mobile, hotspot data is shared on these plans. Unlike Mint Mobile, though, you get calling to 90+ countries and unlimited global texting.
You also get unlimited talk and text in Mexico and Canada; a one-time international roaming credit is included, plus a monthly international calling credit with larger credits included with the pricier plans.
There are two unlimited options available, called Unlimited and Unlimited+. The cheaper unlimited plan gets 40GB of high-speed data like Mintâs Unlimited plan, but Unlimited Plus takes that up to 60GB. For hotspot data, the smaller plan comes with 10GB, while Unlimited+ gets 20GB. If youâre looking for more than 40GB of data, of the two, only Ultra has it.
Keep in mind that Ultra Mobile frequently has sales on specific durations for plans. For example, Unlimited+ is 10% off if your buy three or six months with 20% off for 12 months.
Talk and Text | 3GB | 5GB | 10GB | 15GB | Unlimited | Unlimited+ | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | |
250MB | 3GB | 5GB | 10GB | 15GB | 40GB | 60GB | |
Shared | Shared | Shared | Shared | Shared | 10GB | 20GB | |
None | Talk and Text | Talk and Text | Talk and Text | Talk and Text | Talk and Text | Talk and Text | |
$15/month | $19/month | $24/month | $29/month | $39/month | $49/month | $59/month | |
$13/month | $16/month | $22/month | $28/month | $36/month | $46/month | $56/month | |
$11/month | $15/month | $21/month | $27/month | $35/month | $45/month | $55/month | |
$10/month | $14/month | $20/month | $25/month | $30/month | $40/month | $50/month |
Which should you choose?
These carriers offer very similar plans with very similar pricing. With slight differences in multi-month discounts, the two carriers trade blows when it comes to the best value.
Still, for most people, Ultra Mobile offers more flexibility and better international options. Ultra Mobile offers all the same data options, apart from a dedicated 20GB plan, with more data available thanks to Unlimited+ for very heavy users. Ultra Mobile also offers monthly plans, so if you donât want to pay for multiple months for some reason, Ultra doesnât force you.
With Ultraâs family plan, you donât have as much flexibility in which plans people use, but with the unlimited plan as a base and fairly cheap prices for additional lines, it can still be a solid way to save over postpaid carriers.
Ultra Mobile
With multi-month discounts, strong international options, and even a solid family plan, Ultra Mobile is a great option for someone looking to give up postpaid prices without giving up features like international calling.
Mint Mobile is far from a bad deal, however, and for some people, it still comes out ahead of Ultra Mobile. Mintâs 20GB plan is an excellent sweet spot for a lot of people signing up for the first time, and itâs a drag that Ultra Mobile doesnât have a matching plan.
Mintâs family plan also opens up a few new options with any combination of plans, though youâll still need to make a fairly large three-month payment. Still, for most people, Mint Mobile is an excellent value, and while it doesnât do enough to definitively beat Ultra Mobile, customers can still save a lot over a postpaid carrier.
Mint Mobile
Mint Mobiles multi-month plans are a great option for someone looking to save over a postpaid plan with four plan options that will work for most people. Mint even makes it easy to save with multiple lines thanks to Mint Family.