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The 8 best nationwide pre-paid cell phone plans in 2024
AT&T
If you think you need to saddle yourself with a contract to get a good deal from AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile, you’re wrong. These three services (and countless others) offer affordable pre-paid phone plans, too. There are no long-term contracts. And any of these plans can typically be activated on any unlocked smartphone.
Our in-house team of cell phone experts have researched and tested many pre-paid cellular plans. We ultimately chose these eight as our top picks.
You can easily find ultra-affordable, 5G pre-paid cell plans from services like Boost Mobile, Straight Talk, Mint Mobile, US Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Visible by Verizon, Tello, Consumer Cellular, Tracfone and the many others. They’re independent cellular service companies that run using the same 5G cellular network operated by AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile.
They can typically offer pre-paid phone plans with far more competitive pricing, with just a month-to-month contract. This means you can upgrade, downgrade or cancel your service plan anytime.
What’s the the best pre-paid phone plan?
While virtually all pre-paid phone plans include unlimited domestic calling and texting, how much you’ll pay often depends on the amount of cellular data included. Very few pre-paid plans offer unlimited talk, text and data.
Best pre-paid phone plan overall: Mint Mobile (12-months pre-paid, unlimited)
Mint Mobile
What we like about Mint Mobile is that the service offers all sorts of pre-paid plans, so you can choose what’s best for you. One of the best deals from Mint Mobile is offered if you pre-pay for a full year of service upfront.
This plan includes unlimited calling and texting throughout the USA, free calling from the USA to Mexico, Canada and the UK, unlimited data (with up to 40GB per month of 5G cellular data service) and 10GB of hotspot data. If you use p your 40 gigs of 5G data in any given 30-day period, you’ll still have cellular data access, but at a slower speed.
One of the best things about Mint Mobile is that is relies on the T-Mobile 5G cellular data network, so you’re virtually guaranteed clear connections in most areas. The plan can be used with any unlocked smartphone when you insert the provided SIM card.
With this Mint Mobile plan, you pay $360 upfront, and get 12 months of consecutive service, with no additional charges. So basically, you’re paying just $30 per month, which is among the very best deals we found for a pre-paid service plan that includes so much.
Best budget pre-paid phone plan: Tello (5GB/unlimited minutes and text)
Amazon
When you get a pre-paid SIM card from Amazon for the Tello service, you’ll get your first month of service for just $10. All subsequent months are just $14 each. This plan includes unlimited domestic calling and texting from within the United States. You also get unlimited calling from the USA to more than 60 countries.
As for cellular data, this plan includes just 5GB, so it’s better for people who talk and text more than relying on their phone for internet connectivity. The SIM card works with any phone with a nano, micro or standard size SIM card tray. You can use your cellular data allocation as a hotspot.
Tello has no activation fees, overage fees or contracts. You can upgrade, downgrade or cancel your plan at any time. Tello relies on the T-Mobile cellular network within the United States.
Best pre-paid phone plan for international calling: Ultra Mobile
Amazon
Upon purchasing your Ultra Mobile pre-paid cellular plan from Amazon, the fee for the first month, which includes the required SIM card, is just $19. Then, on a month-to-month basis, with no contract, you’ll pay $24 per month.
We’re fans of Ultra Mobile because it relies on the T-Mobile 5G network within the United States and offers a wide range of pre-paid plan options. This specific plan includes unlimited nationwide calling, unlimited global texting and the ability to make unlimited calls to more than 90 international destinations from the USA. If you travel abroad, you can purchase pre-paid international call credit that allows you to use your phone in any supported country for a pre-set daily rate.
This $24-per-month plan also includes up to 5 gigs of 5G cellular data per month. If during any given month you need additional cellular data, you can upgrade your plan for that month for an additional fee. The included cellular data can be used as a hotspot.
Best pre-paid phone plan for calls within USA, Canada and Mexico: Visible+ by Verizon
Visible by Verizon
Visible+ by Verizon is this provider’s answer to pre-paid phone plans. Plans start at just $20 per month, but we recommend the Visible+ plan that costs $35 per month if you use promo code CHAMP at checkout. To save a bit more, you can pre-pay for 12 months of Visible+ service for $395.
The Visible+ plan includes unlimited talk and texting anywhere in the USA, Mexico or Canada. You also get unlimited calling to more than 30 additional countries, as well as unlimited texting from the USA to more than 200 countries. With this plan, unlimited data is included — with up to 50GB per month of premium 5G data. If you use up this monthly allocation, your cellular data connectivity speed will be throttled.
Three additional perks offered by the Visible+ plan include your cellular data can be used as a hotspot; for an additional $10 per month you can add cellular smartwatch support; and if you travel abroad, you get one day of unlimited service in any of the more than 140 supported countries. Each additional 24-hour period abroad costs just $10 extra.
All taxes and fees are included, so whether you pay month-to-month or for an entire year, you know exactly how much you’ll be spending. There are no overage fees, activation fees or contracts. The Visible by Verizon service relies on Verizon’s 5G cellular network within the United States.
Best pre-paid phone plan that includes a hotspot: Boost Mobile Unlimited Premium
Boost Mobile
One standout feature of the Boost Mobile Unlimited Premium plan is that it includes unlimited hotspot data. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’re instantly pre-qualified for Boost Mobile service. Simply purchase the SIM card from Amazon and once it arrives, you can activate your service and receive an automatic, one-time, $25 service credit.
While Boost Mobile offers several competitive pre-paid plans, the $25 monthly plan includes unlimited talk, text and cellular data. This rate is locked in forever, as long as you keep the plan active.
Throughout the United States, Boost Mobile relies on the T-Mobile 5G network. The service works with any unlocked phone. For an additional $10 per month, you can add international calling to more than 80 countries and international texting to more than 200 countries.
The unlimited data aspect of the plan includes 30 gigs of 5G cellular data per month. If you exceed this allocation, your connectivity speed may be throttled.
Best pre-paid phone plan with unlimited talk, text and data: AT&T Unlimited Max + 25GB hotspot data
AT&T
The AT&T Unlimited MAX pre-paid phone plan relies of the AT&T 5G network throughout the United States. For $55 per month, this plan includes unlimited talk, text and high-speed data. Throttling may occur once you exceed 50 gigs of high-speed data or the network is heavily congested. Taxes and fees are not included in this price.
The Unlimited MAX + 25GB hotspot data plan also includes an additional 25 gigs of 5G cellular data you can use with your phone’s hotspot feature. You also get 100 gigs of free cloud storage for your data, documents, files and photos. This plan is paid on a month-to-month basis and includes standard-definition video streaming.
If you want to pre-pay for 12 months of service upfront, AT&T offers an Unlimited + 10GB Hotspot plan for just $300 (which is $25 per month). It includes unlimited talk, text and cellular data, unlimited texting from the USA to more than 230 countries, unlimited calling from the USA to Canada and Mexico, an extra 10 gigs exclusively for 5G hotspot data each month, and unlimited standard-definition video streaming. The drawback to this plan is that after using 16 gigs of high speed data per month, cellular connectivity speed gets throttled.
A subscription to AT&T ActiveArmor mobile security (which helps to block fraud and spam calls) is also included with most of AT&T’s pre-paid phone plans.
Best pre-paid, long-term phone plan: Tracfone (1 year unlimited talk, text and 60GB/month data)
Tracfone
By prepaying $288 upfront for a 12-month phone plan, you get unlimited talk and texting throughout the USA, plus unlimited data. However, after using 60 gigs of 5G cellular data in a month, your connectivity speed may be throttled. On the plus side, any unused cellular data that’s part of your 60-gig allocation will be carried over.
Once activated, this plan remains active for 365 consecutive days, with no additional fees. This means you pay just $24 per month for service that will work with any unlocked phone. There are no extra activation or set up fees.
For an additional $10 per month, you can add a global calling card and call from the USA to almost any country for just $0.01 per minute. You can have friends and family in Mexico call a local phone number to reach your phone in the USA, so you can eliminate international call charges for them when they call you.
In the USA, Tracfone relies on the Verizon 5G cellular network.
Best pre-paid plan with all the best features: Straight Talk Platinum Unlimited
Straight Talk Wireless
If you’re someone who relies heavily on a smartphone, the Straight Talk Platinum Unlimited plan for $65 per month will serve you well. There’s no activation fee and no contract associated with this plan.
Included with this Platinum plan, you get unlimited domestic talk, texting and data, plus an extra 20 gigs of hotspot data per month. You also get unlimited calling to landlines in more than 60 countries when you use the International Dialer app. This plan also includes mobile-to-mobile calls to Mexico, Canada, China and India. Also included is 100 gigs of cloud storage for your data, documents, files and photos.
The unlimited domestic data portion of the plan includes 20GB of high-speed data per month. Once you reach this monthly allocation, the connection speed will be throttled.
One perk of this plan is that includes a membership to Walmart+. This gets you free delivery from Walmart stores, a free subscription to the Paramount+ Essential plan for video streaming, free shipping when you shop from Walmart’s website, and discounted fuel prices from participating has gas stations.
What’s the cheapest way to get a smartphone?
Most of these prepaid phone services offer discounts if you want to purchase either a low-cost, unlocked smartphone (often referred to as a burner phone), or a higher-end model from a well-known brand like Apple, Samsung or Google. But in almost all cases, you can also purchase any unlocked phone from anywhere and use it with one of these services. This includes a smartphone you may already own.
If you need help choosing a new smartphone to go along with your selected pre-paid plan, we’ve got you covered with our curated roundups of the six best smartphones with AI in 2024, the best Android phones for 2024, the best folding smartphones in 2024, and the seven best cell phones of 2024. We’ve also published in-depth reviews of the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, OnePlus 12 and other popular smartphones and related mobile gear.
How to pick a pre-paid phone plan
While all pre-paid plans featured in this roundup include unlimited calling and texting (within the USA), many providers that promote “unlimited” data plans only offer a pre-determined amount of high-speed data. Then the provider throttles your connectivity speed, sometimes dramatically, for the remainder of that month.
figure out what you actually need from your pre-paid plan. Beyond domestic calling, texting and cellular data, some plans include unlimited calling and texting to specific countries. And some plans provide an extra cellular data allowance to use with your phone’s hotspot feature. There are also a few that provide phone service when you travel abroad.
Pay attention to which nationwide 5G cellular network you’ll be on and then make sure that network offers good coverage where you live and work. Another perk to look for is free and unlimited, standard-resolution video streaming.
All pre-paid plans require no-contract and are typically paid for on a month-to-month basis, so the one you choose can be upgraded, downgraded or canceled at anytime. But most pre-paid cellular services offer a bigger discount if you pay in advance. We also suggest choosing a plan that guarantees a locked-in rate, either for as long as you keep the plan, or for at least 12 to 24 months. In some cases, you can also save a few dollars extra per month if you sign up for autopay.
CBS News
90-year-old great-grandmother graduates from New Hampshire college 50 years after finishing degree
MANCHESTER N.H. – Some people may have thought there was a celebrity in the building at Southern New Hampshire University’s graduation on Saturday. Annette Roberge certainly felt like one as she crossed the stage to get her diploma at 90 years old.
“I’m still on cloud nine,” Roberge said. “I can’t even put it into words. It was exhilarating, it was awesome, it was beyond anything I could’ve possibly imagined.”
Southern New Hampshire University
Degree 50 years in the making
This degree has been decades in the making for the mother of five, grandmother of 12, and great-grandmother of 15. She began taking classes at New Hampshire College, now SNHU, in 1972 one year after her husband of 20 years was killed in Vietnam.
Southern New Hampshire University
She completed several night and weekend courses before it took a backseat to her five kids and two jobs. Roberge worked as an insurance agent while she finished up as a lunch lady at a nearby school. Roberge retired at age 75, but she was a woman who loved learning, and she knew something was missing from her life.
“If I started something I just have to finish it,” Roberge said.
But it wasn’t until recently that Roberge’s daughter began poking around and learned her mom had earned enough credits for an associate’s degree in business administration. Barring some health challenges, Roberge finally walked across the stage on Saturday to the roaring cheers from her fellow graduates and a standing ovation.
“Never give up on learning because what you learn can never be taken away from you,” Roberge said.
“It matters so much for the example it sets about what we do for ourselves, to keep learning and stretching and growing,” SNHU President Lisa Marsh Ryerson said.
“Don’t ever give up on a dream”
Roberge even had a parting message for all of her new fellow graduates.
“If you’ve got a dream don’t let it just sit there. Do something, make it work, don’t ever give up on a dream.”
If you thought Roberge would be satisfied with her associate’s degree you’d be wrong. She plans to start working towards her bachelor’s degree in January.
CBS News
Potential winter storms forecast across U.S. on Thanksgiving week could impact holiday travel
Forecasters around the United States have issued severe weather warnings ahead of another wave of winter storms that could potentially affect travel around the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Meanwhile, parts of the Pacific Northwest and California continued to recover from storm damage and widespread power outages, as they braced for more impact.
In California, where a person was found dead in a vehicle submerged in floodwaters on Saturday, authorities braced for more precipitation while grappling with flooding and small landslides from a previous storm. Thousands in the Pacific Northwest remained without power after multiple days in the dark.
The National Weather Service office in Sacramento, California, issued a winter storm warning for the state’s Sierra Nevada for Saturday through Tuesday, with heavy snow expected at higher elevations and wind gusts potentially reaching 55 miles per hour. Total snowfall of roughly 4 feet was forecast, with the heaviest accumulations expected Monday and Tuesday.
“A weak low pressure system will continue directing a plume of moisture at the West Coast over the next few days,” the Weather Prediction Center said in an advisory Sunday, which was effective through Tuesday. “This will likely result in coastal and low elevation rain, while moderate to heavy snow proliferates across the coastal ranges of Washington, Oregon and California.”
The heaviest snow was expected to fall over sections of the Sierra Nevada, forecasters said, noting that areas in the Colorado Rockies would likely see snow showers, too, over the next few days. Another atmospheric river event was forecast to arrive in parts of central California on Tuesday.
The Midwest and Great Lakes regions will see rain and snow Monday and the East Coast will be the most impacted on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, forecasters said.
CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan said the holiday outlook was still uncertain at the end of last week, but the weather system could bring rain and snow to the northeastern U.S. while causing temperatures to drop across most of the country, outside of the Southeast.
“While models can change in the days ahead, Thanksgiving Day is showing a low-pressure system moving across the East and entering the Northeast by evening hours,” Nolan said Friday.
Noah Berger / AP
A low-pressure system is forecast to bring rain to the Southeast early Thursday before heading to the Northeast. Areas from Boston to New York could see rain and strong winds, with snowfall possible in parts of northern New Hampshire, northern Maine and the Adirondacks. If the system tracks further inland, there could be less snow and more rain in the mountains, forecasters said.
Earlier this week, at least two people died when severe weather struck the Pacific Northwest, bringing powerful wind and rain, closing schools, and causing widespread power outages. The two who died were killed by falling trees in Lynnwood and Bellevue, both in Washington state, officials said. Hundreds of thousands lost power, mostly in the Seattle area, before strong winds moved through Northern California.
Rescue crews in Guerneville, California, recovered a body inside a vehicle bobbing in floodwaters around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Rob Dillion said, noting the deceased was presumed to be a victim of the storm but an autopsy had not yet been conducted.
Santa Rosa, California, saw its wettest three-day period on record with about 12.5 inches of rain by Friday evening, the National Weather Service in the Bay Area reported. Vineyards in nearby Windsor, California, were flooded on Saturday.
Some 80,000 people in the Seattle area were still without electricity after this season’s strongest atmospheric river, a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows over land. The atmospheric river overwhelmed parts of the Pacific Northwest as well as California, and was the strongest weather event of its kind seen all season.
The storm system hit the area Tuesday. It was considered a “bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. Although the intensity of the atmospheric river peaked later in the week, forecasters had warned that another bout of severe weather was still yet to come.
Godofredo A. Vásquez / AP
The power came back in the afternoon at Katie Skipper’s home in North Bend, about 30 miles east of Seattle, after being out since Tuesday. She was tired from taking cold showers, warming herself with a wood stove and using a generator to run the refrigerator, but Skipper said those inconveniences paled in comparison to the damage other people suffered, such as from fallen trees.
“That’s really sad and scary,” she said.
Another storm brought rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks, and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. The precipitation was expected to help ease drought conditions after an exceptionally dry fall.
“It’s not going to be a drought buster, but it’s definitely going to help when all this melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.
Heavy snow fell in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches, with lesser accumulations in valley cities including Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Less than 80,000 customers in 10 counties lost power.
Precipitation in West Virginia helped put a dent in the state’s worst drought in at least two decades and boosted ski resorts preparing to open their slopes in the weeks ahead.
Israel said Sunday that the body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates has been found after he was killed in what it described as a “heinous antisemitic terror incident.”
The statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel “will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death.” There was no immediate comment from the UAE.
Zvi Kogan, 28, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who went missing on Thursday, ran a Kosher grocery store in the futuristic city of Dubai, where Israelis have flocked for commerce and tourism since the two countries forged diplomatic ties in the 2020 Abraham Accords.
Jon Gambrell / AP
The agreement has held through more than a year of soaring regional tensions unleashed by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack into southern Israel. But Israel’s devastating retaliatory offensive in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon, after months of fighting with the Hezbollah militant group, have stoked anger among Emiratis, Arab nationals and others living in the UAE.
Iran, which supports Hamas and Hezbollah, has also been threatening to retaliate against Israel after a wave of airstrikes Israel carried out in October in response to an Iranian ballistic missile attack.
The Emirati government did not respond to a request for comment.
Early Sunday, the UAE’s state-run WAM news agency acknowledged Kogan’s disappearance but pointedly did not acknowledge he held Israeli citizenship, referring to him only as being Moldovan. The Emirati Interior Ministry described Kogan as being “missing and out of contact.”
“Specialized authorities immediately began search and investigation operations upon receiving the report,” the Interior Ministry said.
Netanyahu told a regular Cabinet meeting later Sunday that he was “deeply shocked” by Kogan’s disappearance and death. He said he appreciated the cooperation of the UAE in the investigation and said that ties between the two countries would continue to be strengthened.
Israel’s largely ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, condemned the killing and thanked Emirati authorities for “their swift action.” He said he trusts they “will work tirelessly to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Kogan was an emissary of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of ultra-Orthodox Judaism based in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood in New York City. It said he was last seen in Dubai. The UAE has a burgeoning Jewish community, with synagogues and businesses catering to kosher diners.
The Rimon Market, a Kosher grocery store that Kogan managed on Dubai’s busy Al Wasl Road, was shut down Sunday. As the wars have roiled the region, the store has been the target of online protests by supporters of the Palestinians. Mezuzahs on the front and the back doors of the market appeared to have been ripped off when an Associated Press journalist stopped by on Sunday.
Kogan’s wife, Rivky, is a U.S. citizen who lived with him in the UAE. She is the niece of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, who was killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The UAE is an autocratic federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula and is also home to Abu Dhabi. Local Jewish officials in the UAE declined to comment.
While the Israeli statement did not mention Iran, Iranian intelligence services have carried out past kidnappings in the UAE.
Western officials believe Iran runs intelligence operations in the UAE and keeps tabs on the hundreds of thousands of Iranians living across the country.
Iran is suspected of kidnapping and later killing British Iranian national Abbas Yazdi in Dubai in 2013, though Tehran has denied involvement. Iran also kidnapped Iranian German national Jamshid Sharmahd in 2020 from Dubai, taking him back to Tehran, where he was executed in October.
90-year-old great-grandmother graduates from New Hampshire college 50 years after finishing degree
The rising price of paying the national debt is a risk for Trump’s promises on growth and inflation
Potential winter storms forecast across U.S. on Thanksgiving week could impact holiday travel
90-year-old great-grandmother graduates from New Hampshire college 50 years after finishing degree
The rising price of paying the national debt is a risk for Trump’s promises on growth and inflation