Mint Mobile vs. Google Fi: Which wireless is best for you?

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  Multi-month savings

  
  Mint Mobile
  
  

  Mint Mobile is a prepaid carrier owned by T-Mobile, offering a solid range of data plans with multi-month discounts for each. Mint’s plans are available in three-, six-, or 12-month increments, with longer terms offering better discounts. Mint even has a way for families to save with Mint Family.

  Pros & Cons

  • Fast 5G support with the T-Mobile network
  • Great multi-month savings
  • Savings for up to five lines with Mint Family

  • Must buy at least three months
  • Taxes and fees are extra

  From $15/month
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  Unmatched international support

  Google Fi
  

  Google Fi feels like it was created with Android in mind, with features like an automatic VPN for Wi-Fi, encrypted messaging, and even support for Android smartwatches. With Google Fi, you can save by bringing multiple lines, but it lacks multi-month savings.

  Pros & Cons

  • Fast data with T-Mobile and Wi-Fi partners
  • Excellent international roaming options
  • Data-only SIM available on two plans

  • Expensive for a single line
  • No truly unlimited option
  • Taxes and fees are extra

  From $20/month

Google Fi is a fairly well-known MVNO carrier among Android fans, especially those traveling abroad. Its plans aren’t that dissimilar to those of many other MVNOs, with a high-speed data cap on its unlimited plans and the T-Mobile network providing the majority of the carrier’s coverage. But it also has quite a few nice software features, even for iPhone users. Google Fi even supports multiline savings on all of its plans, so you can bring the whole family along.

Mint Mobile has stuck to the basics, providing data on the T-Mobile network. T-Mobile owns Mint Mobile and offers a set of four primary data plans with 5GB, 15GB, 20GB, or unlimited data. Like Google Fi, there is a high-speed cap on the Unlimited plan, but for most users, Mint should offer plenty of data. With Mint, you want to pay for as long a term as possible for the best savings, up to a year. Since annual plans can be quite expensive, if you bring multiple lines, the same rate can be obtained with a three-month payment instead.

Mobile carrier features

When it comes down to it, what most users want from their phone service is plenty of data, unlimited talk and text, and coverage where they live and work. Mint Mobile, owned by T-Mobile and using the T-Mobile network for all its coverage, has honed in on these requirements with three fixed data plans and an Unlimited plan to support light and heavy users.

Mint Mobile’s three data bucket plans support hotspot data shared with the primary pool, while Unlimited has a separate 10GB pool of hotspot data. Beyond the hotspot data, the Unlimited plan truly has unlimited data. While Mint Mobile originally had a 40GB cap on data before the speed was throttled, there is now no cap on the data you can use, which is a rarity among carriers.

However, it’s important to note that after a 35GB point is reached, Mint will consider you a Heavy Data User and may deprioritize your data compared to users that use less data. That said, this is not speed throttling, so you may only feel slower speed during busy periods or network congestion, if at all.

When it comes to international support, Mint offers calling to Mexico and Canada, as well as free roaming in Canada. If you need international roaming anywhere else, roaming passes can be purchased for one, three, or ten days.

Google Fi has three plans with a range of features. Hotspot data is included with each plan, with two of Fi’s plans even available with a free data-only SIM for a second device. Similarly, smartwatch support is also included with these plans. If you have one of the best smartwatches for Android with LTE support, Fi can be the right option. For software, the top Unlimited Plus plan comes with a 100GB Google One plan, plus six months of YouTube Premium.

However, all three of Google Fi’s plans have data caps before speed is throttled. For the Flexible plan, speed is throttled at 15 GB; for Simply Unlimited, the data cap is 35 GB; and for Unlimited Plus, the cutoff is 50 GB.

Fi’s best feature is its international roaming. Roaming in Mexico and Canada is included with all plans. On Unlimited Plus and Flexible, you get the same data in over 200 destinations. If you leave the country frequently, Google Fi could make a lot of sense, especially if you’ve been spending money with day passes on another carrier or getting travel SIMs. Nothing’s stopping you from switching to a cheaper plan if you’re home for a long period, either. Google Fi also offers a free VPN, spam detection and blocking, and end-to-end encrypted calling with carriers that support it.

Mobile coverage and reception

Google Fi’s coverage is very similar to Mint Mobile, with the majority of its coverage provided by T-Mobile. Google Fi does have some partnerships with Wi-Fi providers to improve coverage and speed in congested areas. Android phones on Google Fi can access the full 5G network, including Ultra Capacity 5G on band n41. But if your phone connects to one of the partnered Wi-Fi hotspots, data will be used as if you were on a mobile network. However, if you connect manually to public Wi-Fi at a business, it won’t count against your Google Fi plan data.

Mint Mobile’s network is much simpler, using only T-Mobile for coverage. This will be fine for most users since Mint supports 5G — and T-Mobile’s 5G coverage reaches most users in the country. This gives the two carriers similar coverage and network speeds in most locations.

Phone Compatibility

In the past, it was more important to have a phone that was officially supported as a Designed for Fi phone due to network switching between Sprint, T-Mobile, and UScellular, but now that Sprint’s coverage has been worked into T-Mobile and Fi no longer uses UScellular, it’s not as big a deal. That being said, some of the best Android phones, such as the Google Pixel 9 Pro, support network switching and can use Fi’s Wi-Fi partners.

If your phone isn’t fully supported, you won’t get this network switching. While iPhones work, Google Fi for iOS is still in beta, so users may need to manually input some information to get SMS texting up and running for green bubbles. You can see how compatible your phone is with Google Fi’s compatibility tool.

Phone compatibility doesn’t get much better than with Mint Mobile, as the carrier accepts almost any unlocked phone. Since Mint only uses the T-Mobile network for coverage, phones don’t need custom software to get as much out of it as they do with Mint. While some phones purchased from another carrier may not work, you can check and make sure before signing up by using Mint Mobile’s compatibility tool.

Plans

Google Fi and Mint Mobile keep their plan structures reasonably simple, with three plans on Google Fi and four on Mint. Both carriers have unlimited options for heavier users and can bring multiple lines. Google’s discounts come mostly from bringing multiple lines, with scaling discounts for up to six lines. Mint Mobile has no multiline discounts, but you can save by signing up for a longer term. But if you bring multiple lines to Mint, you do get Mint’s lowest 12-month rates paid only every three months.

Google Fi’s plans

Google Fi’s first plan was as simple as can be, with the Flexible plan offering unlimited talk, text, and data at $10 per gigabyte. The Flexible plan isn’t a great value for power users, but it could be a good value if you only need to use a couple of gigs of data or less within a month. International roaming is included in this plan.

Next up, Simply Unlimited has 35GB of high-speed data and 5GB of hotspot data. Fi has stripped out most of the international perks to reach a lower price point, but calls to Mexico and Canada are still included. This plan has a lot in common with Mint’s Unlimited plan, though it’s much more expensive for a single line. However, the price decreases to only $25 per line with four lines, making it quite competitive with prepaid carriers.

Finally, Unlimited Plus offers the best of Google Fi, with all the international features intact and 50GB of high-speed data, all of which can be used with your hotspot. On top of that, you can get a data-only SIM for another device, like a tablet, that shares your data. Fi also includes a year of YouTube Premium and 100GB of Google One cloud storage. All Fi’s international features are supported, including roaming and calling to 200+ destinations.

The best way to save with Google Fi is to bring multiple lines. All Google Fi’s plans are eligible for multiline discounts for up to six lines, so bringing the family to Fi is the best way to save. If you’d prefer a single line, plenty of options are available if you can live without Google Fi’s extra features.

Mint Mobile’s plans

Mint Mobile has three data plans and an Unlimited plan with three-term lengths for each. You can get Mint Mobile plans in three-, six-, or 12-month increments, with the best monthly rate for those willing to get the 12-month plan. For example, the top Unlimited plan breaks down to $40 per month for three months, $35 per month for six months, and $30 per month for 12 months. If you’re looking for a Mint Family plan, these are only available to purchase in three-month increments.

Mint’s data plans are available in 5GB, 15GB, and 20GB sizes. Realistically, most users will fit into one of these plans. Check your bill or usage report on your current carrier to see how much data you normally use. If you end up needing more, upgrading is possible.

Mint’s Unlimited plan has unlimited high-speed data and 10GB of hotspot data. This plan is ideal for heavier users who always like to have something streaming or just want to download the latest games as soon as they are released. Like all Mint Mobile plans, talk and text are unlimited, including calls to Mexico and Canada. You can upgrade your plan in the app anytime by paying the price difference.

There is also the Mint Modern Family Plan. While the prices are the same as a single line on the surface, family plans will receive the 12-month discounted prices even when renewing for only three months. This offers a lot of flexibility to families, especially if they need to add or remove lines down the road.

All Mint Mobile plans come with hotspot support, so data can be shared with a tablet or a smartwatch. This is important since Mint Mobile does not support connectivity for wearables, so you’ll be relying on your phone’s Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection for your smartwatch.

The best way to save with Mint Mobile is to sign up for as long a term as possible. Luckily, you can get your first three months for the same monthly rate as a 12-month Mint Mobile plan. That means you can see if Mint is right for you without committing to an entire year.

Which carrier should you pick?

Both carriers offer excellent wireless coverage with plenty of data for most people. And, both carriers offer very competitive pricing. In fact, if you’re used to paying for one of the Big Three carriers, most prepaid phone plans can save you money. While either carrier could likely save you money, if you don’t need Google Fi’s international features, Mint Mobile makes a bit more sense.

Mint Mobile can save you money with multi-month plans, but it has a secret up its sleeve when it comes to families. Mint Family supports up to five lines and gives customers its best rates with three-month renewals. That means you get the same monthly rate as you would if you bought a 12-month plan, but you can pay every three months instead. That can make Mint Mobile a lot more palatable for large families since they won’t need to pay for a year’s worth of service on multiple lines simultaneously.

Mint Mobile comes out on top overall thanks to its single-line savings, but it’s not far enough ahead to completely count Google Fi out. The second you step off a plane in a foreign country and your Google Fi phone works, it feels worth every penny. Yes, Mint has some international roaming options, but they’re nowhere near as simple as Google Fi, and require more planning.

Finally, Google Fi’s service can be better in some dense areas, thanks to its access to some Wi-Fi networks in place of LTE or 5G. Fi’s VPN service also makes it easy to save data by using public Wi-Fi where available. While the overall recommendation goes to Mint Mobile, there are still many reasons to love Google Fi.