Best family cell phone plan in 2024
The best family cell phone plan puts a lid on out-of-control wireless phone service costs. All you need to do is find a good rate on a plan with the exact amount of data that you and your family need. And hopefully, there's per line discounts as you add more people to your plan.
Fortunately, in our research into the best cell phone plans overall, we've found plenty of family options that meet that exact description. Best of all, our top choices include some of the best unlimited data plans so you and your family members won't have to share a pool of limited data. These days, unlimited plans don't cost as much as they used to, particularly if you look beyond the major wireless providers for your coverage.
Of course, a great family plan means more than just a low rate. In our search for the best options, we also look for perks and extras that come with various plans. Some family plans will include complementary streaming services, so you can cover the cost of streaming when you pay your monthly wireless bill. You may also find travel benefits that can help you stay connected overseas. We particularly like plans that let you mix and match cheaper options with more expensive ones, as that can lower the cost per line for families.
Families of four can expect to pay between $120 to $220 a month for four lines from the major wireless carriers — in fact, four lines for $120 per month seems to be the sweet spot for plans these days. As a rule of thumb, the more expensive the plan, the better the perks. (We've also compared the cheapest unlimited data plans from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon if you're on a budget.)
Here’s a closer look at the best family cell phone plan options based on our research into the service options out there. Note that the prices in the Quick List section reflect the cost of four lines of data at each carrier.
The quick list
Best overall
1. T-Mobile
Unlimited data for $180 at T-Mobile
T-Mobile's Go5G is the best option with hotspot, data, travel perks and streaming benefits included in the plan. (Taxes and fees are covered, too.) And you may find the plan for less if T-Mobile is running one of its frequent family plan promotions.
Most flexible plan
2. Verizon
Unlimited data for $180 at Verizon
Verizon's Unlimited Plus plan costs $180 per month for four lines and features hotspot data and fast 5G coverage. You can pick and choose additional benefits for extra and mix and match with the cheaper Unlimited Welcome plan.
Best value
3. Mint Mobile
5GB for $60 at Mint
Mint doesn't add discounts as you add lines, but every line in a plan is subject to the same low rate when you sign up for a year of service. That means four lines of Mint's 5GB plan can cost as little as $60 per month and everyone gets their own pool of data.
Best plan for Comcast customer
4. Xfinity Mobile
Unlimited data for $100 at Comcast
Comcast lowers the per line cost of unlimited data as you add more lines. That means a family of four will pay $100 each month for Xfinity Mobile's service, which relies on Verizon's network for coverage.
Best AT&T plan
Unlimited data for $164 at AT&T
The best option for families at AT&T is the carrier's Unlimited Extra plan. Four lines cost $164 per month, and you get hotspot data along with coverage when traveling in Mexico and Canada.
Best prepaid plan
6. Total Wireless
Unlimited data for $110 at Total
Formerly Total by Verizon, the rebranded Total Wireless has a much more attractive unlimited data plan that waives the cost of a fourth line. As a result, you're paying less for faster 5G coverage.
Load the next 3 plans...
Best prepaid perks
7. Cricket Wireless
Unlimited data for $130 at Cricket
Four lines of unlilmited data cost $130 per month at Cricket Wireless, which uses AT&T's network. But the real story here is a subscription to the ad-supported Max streaming service, a rare benefit for prepaid plans.
Big discounts
8. Ultra Mobile
Half-off extra lines
Add additional lines of Ultra Mobile's unlimited plan, and you'll pay just $24 for each new line. That's half-off the $49 monthly cost on the first line of data for coverage on T-Mobile's network.
Best for travelers
9. Google Fi
Unlimited data for $160 at Google Fi
Google Fi's Unlimited Plus plan includes unlimited talk, text and data, and you can use that data when traveling overseas to 200-plus countries at no additional cost.
The best family cell phone plan overall
The most flexible family cell phone plan
Best family cell phone plan value
Best family cell phone plan for Comcast customers
Best family cell phone plan at AT&T
Best prepaid family plan
Best prepaid perks for families
Big discounts for extra lines
The best family cell phone plan for travelers
How to pick the best family cell phone plans
For families, picking the right cell phone plan comes down to balancing the costs of multiple lines of data with the perks each carrier offers. If you do a lot of video streaming, for example, you’ll want to pick a plan that not only throws in a streaming service as a perk (Netflix with T-Mobile, multiple streaming services with Verizon) but also doesn’t slow your data if you consume a lot of data in a given month. Getting a plan with HD streaming can also be a good idea if you plan to stream on a screen larger than your smartphone's display.
When it comes to unlimited data, remember that there are still some limits on how much data you can use before your speed can slow down. AT&T's Unlimited Extra customers will enjoy a 50GB cap, while Unlimited Elite subscribers face no cap at all. Verizon can slow data for Unlimited Plus customers once they use more than 30GB of data, while Welcome Unlimited customers can see data speeds slowed down whenever there's too much traffic on Verizon's network. T-Mobile Magenta and Go5G customers can see data slowed when they use more than 100GB during a billing cycle; there's no throttling for Magenta Max and Go5G Plus customers.
Use an MVNO like Mint or Cricket, and you can see your data speeds deprioritized in favor of other customers on the parent company's network (T-Mobile and AT&T, respectively).
We’ve mainly focused on unlimited plans, as only AT&T is the only major carrier that continues to offer a tiered data option (a 4GB in this case) among its postpaid plans. If you prefer tiered data, you'd want to turn to service like Mint, which offers plans with different data allocations.
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