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Mint Mobile’s combination of clever marketing and cheap prices have kept it relevant since it launched with its unusual multi-month plans. While many carriers now offer multi-month plans, Mint’s plans are still some of the best value on the T-Mobile network and their straightforward layout makes it easy to understand what you have to pay.
Mint’s plans have plenty of data for heavy users at the top end with up to 40GB. Light users can save a ton with Mint’s cheapest 5GB plan paired with one of the best budget Android phones.
Mint’s biggest draw is its multi-month discounts which give you savings for paying for the whole year upfront. You can also get a smaller discount with six month plans, with the three-month plans coming in with the highest monthly costs. Mint Mobile’s family plan, Mint Family, gives you the best 12-month rates for three months at a time with up to five lines.
Our favorite Mint Mobile plan
Mint Mobile
Start small and work your way up
Mint Mobile’s data plans are a great way to save for many people with its 5GB plan suiting light users perfectly and its larger 20GB plan working for average to heavy users. These plans come with unlimited calls and texts, including to Mexico and Canada.
- Plenty of high-speed data for most people
- Mobile hotspot can use all data
- Excellent T-Mobile 5G
- Free calls to Mexico and Canada
- Recovery fee and taxes are extra
- Rural coverage falls short of AT&T and Verizon
Mint Mobile includes unlimited talk and text on all of its plans, so there’s no need to count minutes. Mint also allows its three data plans to use all of their available data with mobile hotspot so if you need a connection on something like a laptop or tablet and no Wi-Fi is available, you can use your Mint data. Mint also includes calling to Mexico and Canada, so you can call your friends over the border without worry.
If you find your plan just isn’t big enough for you, you can upgrade to more data by paying the difference mid-cycle. If you just need a few extra gigs to get you through the week, you can add 1GB or 3GB of high-speed data for $10 or $20 respectively. Just bear in mind that while you might use less data than expected, you can’t switch to a smaller plan until the end of your current cycle. At Mint, it makes sense to start small and work your way up to a larger plan if needed.
5GB
Many of us, especially those working from home, spend most of our time within range of our home Wi-Fi and if your phone is connected to it, that usage doesn’t count against your Mint Mobile data. Not only that, but many public places from stores to cafés offer free public Wi-Fi meaning you might not need as much mobile data as you think. The 5GB plan is the cheapest way to get connected with Mint Mobile and is a great starting point for many people looking to sign up.
After the promotion, this plan costs $75 for three months, $120 for six months, and $180 for a year of service.
15GB
As many prepaid carriers are keen to point out, most people don’t actually need unlimited data and a 15GB plan is more than enough for streaming music, videos, and browsing social media. The best way to know how much data you use is to check your phone’s setting or your previous wireless bill. Beyond that, you can still reduce you usage by using Wi-Fi where available and downloading music and videos before you head out. If you don’t want to give up using your phone while out and about, the 15GB plan is an excellent starting point for heavier users.
After the promotional period, this plan costs $105 for three months, $150 for six months, and $240 for a year.
20GB
Mint’s 20GB plan is an excellent choice for those that like to stream a lot while out and about. This larger plan should be more than enough for the vast majority of people considering Mint Mobile and is a safe option for data-hungry teenagers on your Mint Family plan. It’s also a good choice for those that like to download or upload larger files, like HD videos, on mobile data. While many messaging apps will automatically reduce video file sizes, sometimes you just want to send a full 4K HDR video to a friend, and this extra data enables that indulgence.
The 20GB plan starts at $135 for three months, $210 for six months, and $300 for the year.
Best plan for streaming
Mint Mobile Unlimited
Stream to your heart’s content
Mint Mobile’s Unlimited plan comes with 40GB of high-speed data on the T-Mobile network. Naturally, unlimited talk and text is included with calls to Mexico and Canada. This plan also comes with 10GB of hotspot data to share with other devices.
- Tons of high-speed data (40GB)
- Plenty of hotspot data for most (10GB)
- Larger data add-ons
- Not actually unlimited
- Videos stream at 480p
While it shouldn’t be, Mint’s Unlimited plan will be many new users’ first stop as many of them are coming from an unlimited plan on another carrier. This plan is cleverly called UnliMINTed, though it’s not unlimited at all. In fact, it comes with 40GB of high-speed data, which is a lot, but not unlimited. Mobile hotspot doesn’t share this data and has its own 10GB of high-speed data available, which should be more than enough for most people.
If it turns out you need more than that initial 40GB, such as on a vacation without consistent Wi-Fi, you can add more at 5GB for $15 and 10GB for $20. It’s a good call to increase the data buckets available for unlimited users and helps keep this plan competitive for heavy users that only need more than 40GB occasionally. It’s also worth keeping in mind that with this plan video streams are reduced to 480p. That means using services like Netflix or YouTube, your videos may look noticeably softer than when on Wi-Fi. For most people, the downgrade isn’t a big deal, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you’re an avid Twitch or YouTube viewer.
For most people, this plan comes with way more data than they’ll be able to use, but it’s still a nice option to have. Keep in mind that while other plans can upgrade to this one mid-cycle, there’s no downgrade option for this plan, so unless you know you’ll need the data, it’s worth it to start smaller. There is a rumored Unnecessary Plan that shows even larger data allotments in Mint’s documentation, but that plan still isn’t available.
Mint’s Unlimited plan costs $120 for three months, $210 for six months, and $360 for the whole year.
Best plan for families
Mint Modern Family Plan
The perfect plan for every member of the family
Mint’s family plan works by bundling multiple of its plans together for two to five lines. You can mix and match plans, so each member can have the plan that makes the most sense for them. You get Mint’s best monthly rates renewed every three months making it a bit easier to stomach paying for multiple multi-month plans upfront.
- Mix and match and of Mint’s plans
- Pay every three months instead of every 12 months
- Can be set up later in the Mint Mobile app
- No extra discounts for multiple lines
- Mint Family must be set up in the app
The Mint Modern Family Plan really isn’t a plan at all. It’s a feature that allows customers to bundle multiples of its other plans together to suit a family of up to five. This allows you to pick the perfect plan for each member of the family minimizing waste. For example, a teenager will likely need more data than grandma, so you don’t need to buy everyone an unlimited plan to accommodate one heavy user.
While this plan doesn’t give you any direct discounts for bringing multiple lines, Mint Family does make it a lot easier for families to get set up with Mint. Mint’s lowest monthly rates typically come with 12-month renewals which require a larger initial payment. While that’s the whole point from Mint’s perspective, it’s a rather large barrier to entry for a family without a ton of disposable income. Mint Family gives customers its best rates, but renewed every three months instead of 12, reducing your upfront cost.
If you’re already a Mint Mobile customer and want to add another line with Mint Family, you can. In the Mint Mobile app or in your account management settings, you’ll be able to set up your new family plan.
How to pick the right Mint plan
One nice thing about unlimited plans is that you don’t need to think about data or usage at all. Mint Mobile’s approach gives you the freedom to find a plan that fits your needs without needing to overbuy on data. Since you can upgrade your plan mid-cycle or add a few more gigs, you can start with a smaller plan and upgrade as needed. You can get a good idea of where to start by checking your usage on your current phone bill or in the settings on your Android phone. If you want to keep a closer eye on usage, there are some good apps for monitoring mobile data usage on the Play Store.
Mint Mobile is owned by T-Mobile and uses that carrier’s network for all of its coverage. While T-Mobile’s 5G is, without a doubt, the best 5G network available with the widest coverage area, its network still falls behind AT&T and Verizon in some rural areas. Even so, most people will have strong coverage in urban and suburban areas. You can check Mint’s coverage to get a good idea of the coverage available.
T-Mobile’s network does have excellent phone compatibility, however, so as long as your phone is not locked to another carrier, you can probably bring it to Mint. If you’re ready for a new phone, you can pick up one of the best Mint Mobile phones that works great on the T-Mobile 5G network.
Overall, the best Mint Mobile plan for you really comes down to how much data you need and perhaps more importantly, whether you can afford to pay for the whole year upfront. Luckily, there’s a discount for new customers that gives you three months of any plan for $45. You can start with a large plan using this promotion to see how much data you need, then pick a smaller plan when it comes time to renew.
Mint Mobile
Mint Mobile’s data plans are a great way to save for many people with its 5GB plan suiting light users perfectly and its larger 20GB plan working for average to heavy users. These plans come with unlimited calls and texts, including to Mexico and Canada.
Mint Mobile’s best deals on phones
If you’re looking for extra savings with Mint Mobile, bundles are a great place to start. On Mint Mobile’s deals page, you can pick up a new phone with savings and six months of free service. If you’re considering a Samsung Galaxy S24, for example, you can get $50 off from Mint’s store page, but if you pick it up with a year of service from the deals page, you can get $100 off, and six months of service free when you sign up for 12 months.
Mint also has an ongoing deal that gets you your first three months of service on any plan for $15 per month, one $45 payment. This is a good way to try out Mint Mobile for a few months to see if the service is right for you, or if you picked the right plan.
Save on a new phone with Mint
Save on a new phone with six months of free service. You can choose any Mint Mobile plan with this deal. If you’re looking for a payment plan, you can also sign up to pay with Affirm. Some colors and storage sizes aren’t available with these deals. There are also some other phones that qualify for the buy-six-months-get-six-months deal that don’t get the $100 discount, like the iPhone 15. This phone isn’t available with a plan bundle on the main store page, so it could also be a good value.
Besides that, a number of Android phones are also eligible to receive $50 off when you purchase a 12-month Mint Mobile plan with it. The nice thing is that this discount applies if you choose to make payments on your phones instead of buying them outright. Unlike some postpaid carriers that handle payment plans on their own, Mint Mobile uses Affirm, which can be subject to credit approval. If you qualify, however, you can get as low as 0% interest on your payments.
Save on Mint service with a pre-owned phone
If you’re looking to save even more money, you could buy a used phone to get three months of Mint Mobile 5GB service for free when you use Swappa. If you’re a new customer, and you buy a Mint-compatible phone at Swappa, you can get your first three months at Mint for free.
