Look at a zoomed-out map of the US on the websites for AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon and you'll likely see it pretty well colored in by their respective color. Zooming in is where things get a bit more complicated, which is why we can't offer blanket recommendations for one carrier over another. T-Mobile's service in New York may be excellent, but if you're in a rural area in Colorado, Verizon could be more reliable. All three, however, offer 5G and ever-increasing coverage and data speeds as they all ramp up deployments of the latest wireless flavor. It's quite possible that a decade ago you left a network complaining about its weak service, but now it's beefed itself up because of that race to acquire customers. This is also why we recommend talking to friends, family or colleagues that have a different provider where you live, as locally your mileage may vary. You could also go to a carrier's store and see if it offers any free ways to try out the service before switching over, such as T-Mobile's Network Pass . Verizon now offers a similar 30-day program , while the Cricket prepaid service has rolled out its own trial program that lets you sample parent AT&T's network. As for the smaller carriers, they often use the networks of the larger providers. This includes the prepaid options owned by the big carriers (AT&T owns Cricket, Verizon owns Tracfone, T-Mobile owns Metro) as well as smaller options like Mint Mobile (which runs on T-Mobile), Google Fi Wireless (which largely runs on T-Mobile) and Boost Mobile (which runs on AT&T, T-Mobile and parent company Dish's 5G networks). We explain this all in more detail here .

If you're on T-Mobile, all of your plans are unlimited, and Verizon no longer lets new users sign up for a shared data plan. Only AT&T still offers some tiered data plans and... it's not great. It has a 4GB-per-line plan that runs $50 a month for one line ($160 for four lines). Each line here gets 4GB of data, but if you go over that threshold in a month you're paying $10 for every 2GB. AT&T's plan also does not include access to its 5G networks. Although everyone's wireless needs are different, for most we think unlimited plans make the most sense, especially when it comes to choosing a new plan. AT&T's basic unlimited plan, called Unlimited Starter, is $65 a month for one line or $140 for four lines. If you have one or two lines and don't use a lot of data, you may be fine with one of these plans, though if you have just one line we'd recommend switching over to AT&T's $50-per-month Value Plus option or T-Mobile's Essentials Saver. Two lines of that T-Mobile plan run $80 a month, which is $10 cheaper than two lines of AT&T's 4GB plan and comes without the worry of navigating how much data you use.

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Best Cellphone Plans of 2023: Our Top Picks for November

Looking for a reliable phone plan? Here are our top picks for the best ones on the market.

Eli Blumenthal Senior Editor

Eli Blumenthal is a senior editor at CNET with a particular focus on covering the latest in the ever-changing worlds of telecom, streaming and sports. He previously worked as a technology reporter at USA Today.

Expertise 5G, mobile networks, wireless carriers, phones, tablets, streaming devices, streaming platforms, mobile and console gaming,

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Eli Blumenthal

Nov. 3, 2023 6:00 a.m. PT

12 min read

See at T-Mobile

T-Mobile Essentials Saver

Best value phone plan for a single line

See at T-Mobile

T-Mobile Essentials Saver for 2 lines, T-Mobile Essentials for 3+ lines

Best value phone plan for multiple lines

See at T-Mobile

See at Verizon

Verizon Unlimited Welcome

Best phone plan for perks

See at Verizon

See at Boost Mobile

Boost Mobile unlimited for $25 per month

Best unlimited phone plan for a single line

See at Boost Mobile

See at Google Fi

Google Fi Wireless Simply Unlimited

Best phone plan for a family of four: $80 per month

See at Google Fi

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Mint Mobile 15GB Plan

Best phone plan for 15GB of data or less

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See at TextNow

TextNow

Best budget phone plan without data

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With AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon offering dozens of plans, not to mention the exponentially larger assortment from prepaid and smaller carriers like Mint Mobile, Visible and Google Fi Wireless, it's not easy choosing the best cellphone plan. Without doing the right research, you could end up paying a lot more than you should, and no one wants to lose out on saving money.

Are early Black Friday sales a good time to buy?

Many retailers start "Black Friday" sales as early as Halloween, or even earlier. The quality of deals can vary early on, but as November progresses, many of the deals are as good as the deep discounts you’ll see during Thanksgiving weekend. See the best Black Friday deals we’ve found, and keep up with all the latest deals with our full Black Friday live blog coverage.

We're going to try to fix that. We've been covering the latest in wireless plans -- from breaking down how to switch carriers, to picking the top unlimited and prepaid plans, to explaining which network the smaller carriers use, as well as T-Mobile's and Verizon's recent plan revamps.

After covering the wireless industry for over a decade, here's CNET's guide for sorting through the madness along with some of our picks for what we think are the best unlimited and prepaid plans available right now.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Best phone plans of 2023

Postpaid phone plans

Sarah Tew/CNET

T-Mobile Essentials Saver

Best value phone plan for a single line

Additional details:

See at T-Mobile

Sarah Tew/CNET

T-Mobile Essentials Saver for 2 lines, T-Mobile Essentials for 3+ lines

Best value phone plan for multiple lines

Additional details:

See at T-Mobile

Sarah Tew/CNET

Verizon Unlimited Welcome

Best phone plan for perks

Additional details:

See at Verizon

Prepaid phone plans

Sarah Tew/CNET

Boost Mobile unlimited for $25 per month

Best unlimited phone plan for a single line

Additional details:

See at Boost Mobile

Sarah Tew/CNET

Google Fi Wireless Simply Unlimited

Best phone plan for a family of four: $80 per month

Additional details:

See at Google Fi

Sarah Tew/CNET

Mint Mobile 15GB Plan

Best phone plan for 15GB of data or less

Additional details:

See at Mint Mobile

Sarah Tew/CNET

TextNow

Best budget phone plan without data

Additional details:

See at TextNow

Phone plan FAQs

What's the difference between 'prepaid' and 'postpaid' plans?

When choosing a phone plan, there are generally two main options: a postpaid carrier like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile (plus cable options like Spectrum Mobile and Xfinity Mobile) and prepaid providers such as Mint Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Google Fi Wireless and Cricket.

What about networks?

Look at a zoomed-out map of the US on the websites for AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon and you'll likely see it pretty well colored in by their respective color. Zooming in is where things get a bit more complicated, which is why we can't offer blanket recommendations for one carrier over another. T-Mobile's service in New York may be excellent, but if you're in a rural area in Colorado, Verizon could be more reliable.

Why get unlimited?

If you're on T-Mobile, all of your plans are unlimited, and Verizon no longer lets new users sign up for a shared data plan. Only AT&T still offers some tiered data plans and... it's not great.

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